Murphy smiled at his friend and partner, Camier, it was a wonderful chase. Lasted just long enough to be interesting without becoming tedious. Looking up at the J. Edgar Hoover Building, The Cleaners, entered finally at the end of their most particular chase. Opening the door, Camier waved their guests in.

* * *

Two hours earlier:

Mulder stood in the alley watching the two men. They had to be M and C, the ones who had asked to meet him here. The two men stood under the lights, apparently not afraid that Mulder would kill them from the shadows. Suddenly they raised their heads in tandem. One, with a long face and wearing a trench coat stepped towards Mulder, his cultured voice reached Mulder in the alley.

"Please Mr. Mulder, do come out. I would say I promise I won’t kill you but I can’t lie. Mr. M and myself do wish to talk to you. It will be based on our discussion that we determine whether it is in the best interest to kill you."

Mulder blinked rapidly and checked his gun, taking the safety off he walked over to the two under the streetlights. From the opposite direction came another person; as they walked closer Mulder saw it was Skinner. His ex-boss was dressed in dark pants with a maroon shirt. Mulder smiled, it looked as if Skinner had been clubbing.

Skinner gave no sign that he was surprised to see Mulder, he merely turned to the two men. "What is this about?"

"My dear Skinner, please, Mr. C and myself invited you here to talk about a mutual acquaintance, our protégé so to speak. Come let us sit down on the benches over there." Murphy led them over to the benches and sat neatly. Crossing his legs, he stared at the two of them. "It has been many years since we two were this close to you two. Sigh, hopefully we can rectify that. You see, we have a problem."

Camier turned his long face to them, "Yes, quite. Our young protégée has fallen in with you two. He thinks he’s hidden it from us but we can tell. The last one to go this way we had killed. But this one is special. He is a lovely young man. I had doubts at first that he would do well. But since then all our doubts had been laid rest... until now."

Murphy covered one of Camier’s hands with his own. "Unfortunately true... and what we have to discuss with you is the manner in which you treat our Alexei. He is like our son and our contract is soon up with the Consortium, it will be wonderful to go back to the Directorate, will it not?"

"Yes, Cam it will! But the manner in which you have treated our Alexei and will treat him in the future is what we need to discuss with you. Now what shall we do?"

* * *

Alex stood at the window. Outside the air was so cold; he could feel it through the glass when he laid his hand on the windowpane. Inside it was hot, he probably should have left the leather coat but it was part of him. He dumped the prosthetic in the dumpster. He watched as a car slowly circled the building and parked on the curb. A thought that they would get a ticket made him laugh, as if a ticket would bother them. They were good. They never would let that slip their mind. Head down Alex picked up the metallic briefcase. Inside were a massive amount of disks. Sitting it on the desk, he turned back to watch the street. The car was there and empty. He had hoped Skinner would find him in the office early tomorrow morning but it looked like Alexei Sascha Krycek was not going to be there to greet him. Alex leaned his head against the window; it was so cool, soothing his headache. A stubborn itching bothered his stump. Hearing the door open behind him, he took a deep breath.

"I’m tired, Murphy, Camier. So tired." Alex’s voice cracked, softly he continued. "I want out. I do. I know that they won’t let me. I knew they would send you after me. I left traces, I know. I got sloppy... is that why we shouldn’t love anyone but each other? We get sloppy? You and Cam trained me, Murph. Taught me to be the best killer I could be. You taught me to clean up behind myself. I always wanted to be your best and favorite student. I would love to say I was but I know it’s not true. Their mistake was to send me to destroy Skinner and Mulder. I tried but I couldn’t do it. I fell in love with them... different loves for each of them, but love the same. I know I disappointed you. Did you know that through everything I went through with Mulder and Skinner, I saw you? You two are so much in love. You are. So I thought someone could certainly love me. When they took me away from my family, when my parents sold me, you two took care of me. That’s why I never wanted to disappoint you.

"I hate the Consortium. I know most people hate their employers but I hate them for more personal reasons. I hate them because in trying to kill Mulder’s dream, they killed mine. The Consortium fueled my hate in making me implant those infernal machines in Walter, I sometimes called him ‘My Sergei’. I love his middle name. I had to kill him with those machines. I used them to stop his heart. I used them to kill him because if I didn’t make him fear me then they would put a bullet through his brain. He didn’t fear them when they killed his wife. He didn’t fear them when they killed Scully’s sister. He didn’t fear them when they destroyed things he loved. So I implanted small machines to wreak havoc on his system. He feared *me* then. When he next saw me, those beautiful brown eyes looked at me with fear. He should never fear me but if he didn’t then I would have lost him forever.

"Right after I used the nanites to give him a heart attack, I visited him in the hospital. He was having a nightmare. His heart rate went up, he twisted in the sheets, he moaned as if trying to fight it off. I couldn’t take it... I sat down next to him. I stroked his face, caressed his forehead until he drifted off. He turned his head and nuzzled my hand. I lay down next to him and held him close to me. I wanted to wake up to him, Cam. I see you with Murphy. One time, we were waiting for some mark to be hit, he was tired. Murph curled up next to you and laid his head on your shoulder. Now, I’ve done that at times to both of you but then I was just a hitling, your baby, not like Murphy. You were tender with him. In a way, on that night, for a second, I hated you. You just showed me how wondrous love was.

"Mulder... hates me. He does. Sergei just wants me dead, but Fox hates me. He hates me for working for the Consortium even though I knew nothing else. He hates me for killing his father, even though Bill Mulder was not his father. Bill Mulder wasn’t even a good stepfather to him. He tortured Fox, made him think it was his fault that Samantha was taken. To do that to a child. But then for him to try to kill his own son. He knew if he ever told Fox what he knew, that the Consortium would kill Fox... and him. He didn’t care. So I killed him, I killed him to save Fox and Fox hates me. I mislead the Consortium and they killed the wrong sister, he hates me for not saving her. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. Fox is so hard to please. Yet I keep trying.

"Skinner is much easier to please in a way. All I would have to do is live a life where I don’t have to kill. Mulder wants me to atone. I want to please them so much. I won’t kill for the Consortium anymore. That takes care of Skinner’s desire. I will serve my life in prison or take a death sentence, which you will fulfill. Can you tell them I managed to live 24 hours the way they wanted me to?

"The briefcase on the desk... it has all the information that I could steal from the Consortium’s computers, I was going to give it to them. Don’t think you would. Anyway, thanks Murphy, Camier. One more thing? Do you mind if I face you while you kill me? I don’t doubt that that’s what you are here for. I knew you would come. Since I decided to do this, I knew this would happen. Just like you had me kill Arsenault for falling in love. The difference is that it’s not a stranger or my brother killing me. It’s my fathers, the only two people, other than My Sergei and My Fox, which I love." Alex slowly turned, his feet slipping from under him, he was grabbed and held.

"Damn it, Krycek, you’re burning up. Walter, grab him." Fox cried.

"He’s got an infection, Fox. Kry- Alexei, don’t go to sleep. Alexei!"

"Sergei, Fox?" Alex slipped into the dark.

"ALEX!"

* * *

Warm. Being dead was Warm.

Made sense, since living was so cold. A hand brushed his hair back and a scent tickled his nose. A warm scent, musky, slightly smelling of bad cologne. A Mulderish scent. That too made sense ... no it didn't. Mulder isn't dead and if Mulder is here, he was either dead or somehow, someway, Alexei Sascha Krycek was in heaven. The first he had worked too hard to let happen, the other was an impossibility.

Moaning slightly, Alex opened his eyes. The room was dark. Light barely passed through the thick drapes on the window. Turning his head slightly caused a gasp to come from him and sharp pain lanced through his shoulder and up his neck. Grinding his teeth, he tried to sit up. Arms came around him and carefully lifted him.

"Well, Murphy should have known you weren't going to stay down, dear one. And you were never a disappointment to us. We didn't have you kill Arsenault for falling in love, we had you kill him because he was in love with a spy. Now rest. We just sent your two fellows to bed. Now, I know how much you hate to be put to sleep when you are sick, but I'm afraid we have no choice. Do not worry about it, Alexei, when you next wake, we won't be here but we will be watching you." Camier gently lowered Alex back to the bed. "Sleep, little boy, Sascha."

Alex felt a sharp prick in his neck and slowly closed his eyes. The sedative was powerful enough that he didn't hear Murphy come up. Murphy sat on the bed next to him; slowly he tried to lift his hand. Murphy took it and squeezed it, "Sleep, hitling, you will see us soon enough. Come, Camier, it's time to finish what our child started." Over his bed, Murphy took Camier's hand and walked out.

* * *

Mulder stumbled out the room where Murphy had taken them. The banging on the door was really getting on his nerves. As he tried not to trip over his own feet on the way to the door, he discovered a note.

"Remember what we talked about and take care of our Sascha. We contacted your friends, they should be here soon. The house is stocked well and all of Sascha's favorites are marked in the cookbook. For a while, this will be your home.

M&C"

Mulder dropped the note on the table and walked over to the door. Looking through the peephole, he saw Frohike, Langley, and Byers. Stepping back, he looked around the room for a weapon when he realized he still felt the weight of his ankle holster on his ankle. Leaning down and pushing up the red and white striped pajama bottoms, he drew his gun.

"Minute." He drew the gun and flattened himself against the wall next to the door. Reaching across his body, he unlocked the door and threw it open, whirling around and pointing the gun at the Gunmen.

"Hey, Mulder, we're alone, just like you wanted. You said you had something for us."

"I didn't call you but I know who did. Get in. Byers lock the door."

"What's up with you, Mulder?" Langley brushed his lanky. dirty blond hair from his face.

"Alex."

"What does he want?" Byers asked quietly, locking the door.

"It's not what he wants, it's what the people who raised him want. All Alex wants is to come in from the cold. We found him in Walter's office. He's sick. An infection in the stump."

"And? Why do you want us here?"

"Because before he decided to come in from the cold, he downloaded everything he could onto the disks in that briefcase over there," Mulder waved towards the shiny metallic briefcase on a table. "It's all there, he left you a directory and instructions. You can bring down the Consortium. I know all I need to know. Now, I have to help Alex. We owe it to him. Don't ask why, just stay out here. If you need anything. Anything, the bathroom, something to drink, a gun, you call one of us. Don't leave this room." Mulder turned and walked away leaving the three men stunned.

Walking down the hall, he thought of what he and Walter had heard in the office. Pushing open the door, he sat on the bed and wrapped one arm around Alex's shoulders. "I'm sorry... I didn't think you were able to love, I didn't think you even had a heart. I'm so sorry." Mulder leaned down and kissed Alex's forehead.

* * *

Walter watched Fox, strange that after this they were all on first name basis; but maybe not so strange. He watched as Fox leaned over and kissed the forehead of the man they had both hunted, on and off, for the past seven years. Stepping in quietly, he pulled down the red and white-stripped top.

"Mulder..."

"You can call me Fox, if I can call you Sergei." Fox gave him a twisted smile.

"To you and to him, I will be Sergei, at least here at home." Walter sat on the other side of Alex, taking his hand. "Did it surprise you, Fox, to find out so much that we thought about him to be so wrong?"

"A bit... but then we knew that we didn't really know him. I... guess I always thought that he was like he was because if I had been in his place I would have done it for those reasons. I never thought he could have any other reason except to be a problem, to annoy me, to hamper me, to keep me from the truth. Those two slapped some sense into me. Did you just hear me? Me. Me! ME! Always I thought it was about me. About my being able to storm the gates and drag those dirty bastards into the light. And once I did... what? What would happen? Would Sam just show up and say, 'Been waiting for you big brother'? Would everything be ok? Would I go back to live with mom and dad and Sam? No. But I was so determined that I just ran over anyone who didn't help me. Ser..."

"Stop it Mulder!" Walter reached across Alex to take Fox's hand. Neither man noticed the dark green sliver focused on them from the bed. "Just stop. They did destroy your life. They killed almost everyone you loved. Many times, it was Alex who had to arrange it or carry it out. I read the same journals as you, Fox. I know you have a penchant to punish yourself. Don't. Right now we concentrate on getting Alexei better. He doesn't need this and neither do you."

Alex stared at the two men arguing over him. Slowly he built up saliva in his mouth and used it to moisturize his mouth. Breathing deeply, he quietly opened his eyes. "Murphy and Camier told me to sleep, which is hard to do when you two are being loud. Where are they?"

"Alex, you're awake." Mulder snatched his hand from Walter and hugged Alex tight.

"Yes, where is Camier, Murphy?" Alex demanded, turning his eyes toward Walter.

"They left, said they needed to 'finish what their child started'. Alex..."

"And they left me here with you? You expect me to believe that? What did you do to them?" Alex struggled to sit up. Grunting, he tried to shove Mulder up.

"Alex, stop. You were ill, they left you here with us."

"LET me go!!" Alex bucked up and tried to throw the two of them off.

" 'The difference is that it's not a stranger or my brother killing me. It's my fathers, the only two people, other than My Sergei and My Fox, which I love.' You said that Alexei, we were there. Murphy and Camier knew where you were all the time. They really love you. I'm jealous a bit." Fox smiled.

"Fox!" Walter brushed the too long dark hair back, "Alex, Fox and I both got letters from an 'M and C' who wanted to meet us. They said they knew you were tired, giving up. They told us, it was our fault." Walter leaned down and brushed his lips over Alex's head. "We didn't know. Alex... Alexei, we didn't know how much we hurt you, but we will find a way to make it up to you. Rest now. Trust us, we won't hurt you again. I don't think Murphy and Camier would let us."

Skinner carefully took Alex's hand between his two and kissed it, "I don't think we want to anymore."

* * *

"Well, then they called the Lone Gunmen, Fox got up to let them in, and came in to sit with you. That’s it." Walter finished, carefully using his nail to trace patterns on Alex’s hand.

"Rest, Alex. Sergei, let’s go make him something to eat, k? And you, rest." Mulder stood up and waited for Walter to get up. With a last smile, they walked to the kitchen.

* * *

Alexei watched as the two men stood up and walked out of the room. It seemed strange to him but then again, most things Murphy and Camier did seemed strange to him. He just has to trust them. Frowning, he shifted his body and reached for the phone. The table was just a bit too far, but he could do it... after all he is Alexei Sascha Krycek and Alexei Sascha Krycek does not give up. The thought made him stop. Alexei Sascha Krycek does not give up? But he had... he gave it up. He gave up the running, the hiding, everything. Alex lay on the bed, thinking about that. Enough was enough, he needed to talk to Murphy and Camier, because what Fox and Ser- Walter told him, can not be true.

Taking a deep breath and remembering what they taught him about pain management, Alexei rippled and inched his way closer to the phone. The three or four minutes it had taken him to get there exhausted him. Sweat ran down his face and dripped into his eyes. Shaking his head to get rid of the stinging, he tried to calm his heart down. He didn’t expect to be this tired or this weak... could they have told the truth... had he been sick or was he poisoned? There are several poisons that would do this to him but it didn’t make sense. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward and felt behind the headboard. It should still be there.

His hand closed around the small leather case. Using his hand, he carefully unsnapped the latch and caught the small six shot pistol. Trying not to groan, he pushed it under the pillow and moving his hand a little to the right, he unsnapped another small leather case and caught the small box of twelve bullets.

Smiling his crooked smile, he lay back. Damn but he should have known not to exert himself so much. His prosthetic was somewhere he couldn’t see. And the shoulder was hurting. He was feeling the fever every time he blinked. Every time he closed his eyes, the eyeballs burned under flaming lids. The sweat fell and stung his eyes. His mouth was dry and swallowing hurt. Every... single... breath... seared his lungs. Closing his eyes despite the fiery lids, he took a deep breath and imagined himself back in the snow, in Russia. Russia where he was born. Russia where he was happy with his mother until she died. Russia, the first place he met Murphy and Camier. Beautiful, white, cold, clean, crisp Russia.

* * *

Murphy walked into the room. It seemed that now that they had managed to graduated from merely second best to the best, they were to be saddled with more than a mere student. This one apparently was going to be their protege. Murphy looked around the room. The only person in that cold drafty room. In a corner sat a small boy, his dark and curly hair lay matted against his head. Knotted and oily, where it wasn’t stuck to his head, it hung limp. He was thin, so very thin and pale. His eyes seem way too large for his head. They stared out of emaciated face with bright green eyes. His lips were pale almost colorless and pinched thin. His hands had the skin stretched tight and the nails were all broken and chipped.

Murphy knelt down beside the boy and looked at him, "Do tell, what is your name?"

"Alexei." He whispered.

"Well what did you father call you?"

"Alexei." He repeated.

"What did your mother call you?"

"Sascha."

"Very well, Sascha. In a second, my partner, Camier, will join us. First though, aren’t you cold, Ale... Sascha?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, because now you are my and Camier’s child and our child will never go cold unless he wishes to or because he needs to." Murphy took off the warm coat he arrives wrapped in.

The dark brown and sable colors made the small boy’s face look like a corpse. So much so that when Camier came in, he wasn’t sure what Murphy was holding. It looked to him like a ghost or a possum. "Murphy, this place is sty. We won’t stay here tonight. Let’s take the child and go."

"Camier, his name is Sascha."

"Hello, Sascha." Camier came over and brushed the cape of the fur coat up onto Sascha’s head. "Don’t worry if you fall asleep, we are taking you somewhere safe. Far away and safe, Sascha. And you will never have to see him again."

"My father?"

"We are your fathers now, he’s nothing but your seller." Camier slammed the door open and bowed them through.

It was almost seventeen years before Alexei Sascha Krycek saw his seller again and that time, he put a bullet through each of his eyes.

* * *

Alexei shook his head and opened his eyes. He couldn't fall asleep, not now. Forcing his eyes open, he crawled slowly towards the phone. Carefully turning so he could rest against the headboard, he raised his leaden arm and picked up the phone. Placing it carefully between his whole shoulder and head, he reached over and slowly dialed fourteen digits. A tone whistled in his ear.

"Aloysha, Lexi, 622." The tone stopped and a quiet burring noise started. In less than ten seconds, a click revealed that the line was open.

"Sascha, I know you aren't up yet. Are you using your bedroom telephone?" Camier asked.

"Yes, father. I'm sorry; I'm a little... tired. Ummm... I woke up to find Mulder and Skinner sitting next to me. They told me an improbable tale that you two left me here with them. Except you wouldn't. Unless you were punishing me? Are you?" Alexei asked softly, lowering his voice.

Camier heard the small boy in his child's voice, "Sascha. You are in love with them. They care for you. I merely wanted to give you three some time to come to terms with your feelings." A crack of a fired bullet in the background, cut through the silence on the line. "Hold on, child." The sound of Camier placing the phone on the ground clattered. "Murphy, do hurry up and finish them off, Sascha is on the line."

"Yes, Darling." Murphy quickly dispatched the last two assignments and came over to take the phone out of Camier's hand. "Sascha, go back to sleep."

"Don't wanna." Alexei sulked.

"You will... don't make us come home right now... if you do, then it's obvious that they do not know how to take care of you and they will be punished." Murphy told his little boy.

Alexei pouted and made sure they could tell that he was pouting, "I just wanted to talk to you. I miss you. And I'm stuck here with Fox and Walter."

"Yes and they love you, but you are acting like a spoiled brat. I do wonder where you got that attitude from since you never learned it with us. Now, you will hang up, lay back down, put the gun and bullets back, and let them take care of you." Murphy sighed.

"What gun?"

"Alexei Krycek, I am not stupid, you have your six shot from behind the headboard. Put it back. I wish that I had instructed at least one of them in how to use a paddle. Enough, when you are well enough, you will be punished. Until then, let them take care of you and go to sleep."

"Yes, father." Alex moved the phone to the cradle when he heard his name called from the receiver. "Yes?"

"We love you, hitling. Behave."

"Ya vas tozhe liubliu, papy." He said and laid down. Pushing the gun and box of bullets under the pillow. As his head hit the pillow, Mulder came back in on his cell phone. <I love you too, papas>

"Ok, Camier, got it." Smiling down at Alexei, he leaned over and pulled up the pillow and took the gun and the bullets. "Right under his pillow. Ok, later Camier." Mulder shut the phone and put the gun and bullets in the nightstand. "Do you want to move back to the center of the bed or do you want to stay here to eat? Oh, your father said ‘A nu teekho, malenkiyubiytsa'. What does it mean?" <behave, killer aka hitling >

"It means they love me." Mulder's hand felt cool on his head.

* * *

Sergei walked in carrying a bed tray. On it was a large red stoneware bowl of chicken soup, next to a half loaf of rye bread. Setting it over Alexei's legs, he leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Slipping onto the other side of Alexei he stared at him.

"Ok, who are you and what have you done to Walter Skinner?" Alexei asked as he stared at the soup and bread, "And what did you do with this food? What poison?"

"Trust us. I know you have no reason to but this time Alexei, trust us. Do you know how long you've been out? Your fever lasted for over a week. They refused to send you to the hospital; something about if you woke up in another one, they left that threat unfinished. We've had..." Sergei counted up the days in his mind. "This is the tenth day that we've had to get used to the fact that you do love us. That we should have listened to you more. They took time to make sure we understood you better. They gave us your journals, on the principle that it would be easier for them to ask your forgiveness than to ask for your permission. So Alexei Sasha Krycek, do you forgive us for reading your journals?" Sergei laid one hand on top of Alexei's knee.

Alexei looked at the hand and closed his eyes. "Yes. They wouldn't have done that unless they thought it was necessary. So they spank you yet?" Alexei smiled and picked up the spoon. A spoonful of soup in his mouth, he tried not to laugh at the stunned expressions on the two's faces.

"Alexei!" Fox snickered and tried to hold his laughter in.

"Alexei, there is one thing I always wondered about you. Why Sascha?"

"Wal- Sergei! It's his nickname. There is no whys for them." Fox leaned over and pinched Sergei on the arm.

"Fox! I know it's his nickname but Sascha is a nickname for Alexei. On his file, the one I read when he started in on the X-files, it says his name is Alex Sascha Krycek. Since it was indicated that he was Russian, most likely it really was Alexei Sascha Krycek. And that's unusual. It's like me being name Walter Wally or you Fox Foxy. It's redundant."

Alexei picked up the bowl and gently sipped it. Fox placed one hand beneath the bowl to make sure it wouldn't slip. Licking his lips, Alexei put it back down and dipped the bread into it and bit off a large chunk. "Well, when I was sold to the Consortium, they gave me over to Murphy and Camier. I first met Murphy and he asked me what my mother called me. I already knew that he wanted an answer and the Consortium already taught me to always give an answer. 'I don't know' is not an answer. But I don't know. My mother died when I was really young, or at least I think she's dead. I don't remember her being around me after age two or three. There was an old woman who took care of me; she died when I was about eight. That was about the time that He sold me to the Consortium. I don't know how long I stayed with them, but when Murphy asked me what my mother called me, I told him what she called me. Sascha. They decided to call me that too. I stayed at home with them for a couple of years, then I went to school. I was twelve and horribly shy. They had to register me for school and when the lady who was asking me questions asked me what my name was I said, 'Sascha Krycek'. She said according to my birth certificate it was Alexei, so I told her that was first name. She put my name down as Alexei Sascha Krycek. So that was it. Now a question for you... where did you get this recipe? It's almost as good as Camier's" Alexei spooned spoonful after spoonful of soup into his mouth. Rapping Fox's knuckle as he tried to steal a piece of chicken.

"It is Camier's. They left a few recipe books. A list of your favorite recipes, each of those recipes had little notes saying how you preferred it. For this one, it said dark meat only. So I bought a bunch of thighs."

Alexei stared at Sergei. Dropping the spoon into the bowl, he twisted slowly to avoid upsetting the food and caressed Sergei's forehead, right above the eyebrow. "Thank you."

"Welcome." Sergei reached over and took Fox's hand before leaning into Alexei's caress and closing his eyes.

* * *

Alexei leaned back against the pillows; his eyes already drifting closed. "Hmmm thank you, Walter."

"Sergei. For some reason Murphy and Camier insisted that I be called Sergei and you be called Sascha. They didn't know what Russian name to give to Fox. Said something about him needing one?"

"Ahhh, so that's what they are going to do with us... ok..." Alexei slipped back into his dreams.