Disclaimer: They run when I stalk them, but I got these two cornered. Chris Carter is going to have to work overtime to get the smiles off their faces. Hopefully he won't sue me. I honestly only did it for love.

Thank you to: Paula for typing. Frankie for beta-ing fast and deep and hard. Also, Tirinar for bribery and squealing at Jeff Spender.

Rated: NC17 for M/M sex. Wobbly bits all over the place. I mean, everywhere you look!

Plot: 2 Fathers required a helping hand. This is it. Alex saves the world and
fucks the FBI, one agent at a time! Many moons ago, I promised Drovar, and Chris Owens that I would write something that was kinder to spender than the Booze Brothers. This is it. I don't think I can be any kinder than this.

Archive: Please tell me where.

Guilt Edged 2 #8 "Stop For a Minute" by Dr. Ruthless
*********************************************************************** Alex spent the next few days getting reports together for the CSM. The Consortium was gathering in Washington, and Alex found little or no time to brood. He had called Dana a couple of times but she had been cool towards him,
and he had a sneaking suspicion that she had come to her senses. That was fine
by Alex. He had started his affair with her because he had wanted to goad Mulder and now he had no real desire to do that any more. She was in some ways
an innocent bystander who had been drawn into the middle. He wished her well.
He had no desire to hurt her.

He found it difficult to concentrate on anything. It was as if he had opened a
door that, until now he hadn't known existed, and now he was lost in a new place. Visions of Fox Mulder plagued him. He could think of nothing but the feel of Mulder's lips on him. Mulder, eyes closed, and head thrown back in the
throes of his orgasm was before him constantly. He had a perpetual hard on, and
even though he continued to jerk off repeatedly, nothing seemed to help him.

He had it bad for Fox Mulder.

Several times he had picked up the phone to dial Mulder, but he knew it was a really bad idea. Mulder seemed to be a habit he couldn't break, and it had only taken one night. He needed a fix. Dammit! He had to break the spell somehow. He felt so vulnerable.

He had just delivered his report to a group of executives from the different chapters of the Consortium, and was packing up the visual aids he had used.
He
was at ease amongst the powerful now, and felt comfortable. He had carved out the position he now occupied. The Brit had helped, and Alex felt unexpectedly misty eyed as he recalled his elderly mentor, but he knew that he would not have been able to make a place for himself had he not been intelligent, ruthless and good at the things he did.

As a hand laid itself on his shoulder, he jumped, and turning, saw that it was the Smoker. His heart dropped into his boots.

"Alex, I have a favor to ask." Alex's head came up at that. CSM had barely spoken to him for months, and he thought he had managed to cloak his recent activities. Maybe he was wrong. He knew he could not afford to allow the Smoker to find out what he had been doing lately. The more he could keep this man at arms length the better he would feel.

He was wary, looking into the face of the evil old bastard who had manipulated him for all the years he had known him. Hell, this man had manipulated everybody. He made them all dance like puppets, he and Fox, Skinner, Dana Scully, all of them capering and bowing while he, the Cancerman, pulled the strings.

//One day_just one day I will kill him. The Brit told me that I was going to need him, but I can't imagine why.//

"What kind of a favor are you looking for?"

The Smoker shook a cigarette free from the pack in his hands, raising it to his
lips and absently flicking his lighter. Alex waited. Puffing out a cloud of smoke that made Alex grit his teeth, the Smoker appeared to search for words.

"There's somebody I need your help with. He needs_" There was a pause, "supervision. He's new, and he's young. He shows great promise, but he has yet to be tried. I think he's ready for testing, but I need you to watch over him for me and make sure that he comes to no harm. I would consider it a significant favor." The look on the Smoker's face was strange, and Alex felt that the conversation was bordering on the surreal. He could sense that something lay hidden. He waited.

"We need this man. He's our new presence within the FBI, and it's important we
not jeopardize that at this time." Alex's eyes gleamed as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. He knew who this was now, and it was wonderful. Oh, God, yes it was! "His name is Jeffrey. That's all you need to know. Will
you help him for me?"

//All I need to know? You arrogant bastard! You will wish that was all I knew. //

Alex smiled at the Smoker, a guileless, wide-eyed smile that spoke of perfect innocence.

"It will be a pleasure." His voice was gentle, and his face sincere. Inside, he was rubbing his hands together in glee at the thought of baby sitting the Smoker's precious offspring. It would indeed be a pleasure. The Smoker nodded
and smiled at Alex then, and began to outline his plans for blooding Jeffrey Spender.

Later, Alex sat behind the wheel of the car that awaited Jeff Spender. Fierce thoughts were chasing madly through his skull. He knew that Spender was now in
control of the X-Files, and that Fox was being systematically squeezed out of the FBI. The Smoker had positively gloated over that, and Alex was now determined to hurt the old bastard before he killed him. He was happily reflecting on the fact that tonight would be the start of a beautiful payback, when the car door opened, and a man got in.

He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but this was definitely not it. He had read file after file on Jeff Spender, and the picture he had built up for himself was that of an angry, humorless young clone of his nemesis. This slender, obviously petrified young man definitely didn't match the vivid picture he had painted for himself. He sat, rigid in the back seat. He had a gimlet in his hands and he was waving it around haphazardly.

This was definitely Jeff Spender, Alex had seen the photographs on the file, and the resemblance to his father was plain in the line of his jaw and the set of his head on his shoulders, but there was none of the aggression he had expected, no competent arrogance here. This man was an innocent adrift in a sea of predators. Alex wondered what the Smoker had said to him that had given
him that stunned, despairing look, meanwhile, it looked as if he was going to be baby sitting with a vengeance.


He turned to the man cowering in the back seat and told him to be careful where
he pointed the gimlet. Spender jumped, and laid it down very carefully, it was
obvious that the man had no idea what it was for, or how to use it.

He pulled up to the front of the house that was their destination. Spender got
out, and Alex watched as he approached it and was admitted. As Jeff entered the house, Alex slid from the car himself, checked that his own gimlet was at the ready, and prowled around the house, searching for a means of entering.
He
found French windows ajar at the back of the house and ghosted in, passing silently through unoccupied rooms until he heard the sounds of low speech emanating from behind a curtain.

//He'll never do it. He's just incapable of this.// and as he arrived in sight
of the innocent and his would-be target, he could see that a struggle was going on, one that Jeff would lose in only a few minutes more.

He moved in and ended the skirmish. The gimlet slid home, and the creature fell. Alex turned to Jeff, and watched the other man as shock and panic set in. He decided all over again that this wasn't fair, adding yet another crime to the list for which the Smoker would eventually pay.

//This is his own son, goddammit. How could he send his own son to his death like this? He's had no training, no warning. How could he do it? //

By this time, Jeff had sunk into the chair to which Alex had steered him, and watched, apparently unseeing, as the alien melted before him, turning into a green slime that gave off noxious fumes as it decayed and vanished. He looked pale, shocked, beyond terrified.

Alex shrugged to himself, and began the self appointed task of re-building Jeffrey Spender to his liking.

"You've never seen one before, have you?" The question hung in the still air as Spender sat, huddled in his seat, and the rebel alien degenerated into little more than a puddle of slime. Spender offered no response, and it seemed
as though he hadn't heard.

Alex began the task of soothing the younger man, and eventually he began to respond, to take note again, although the horror had not yet left his eyes.
As
Spender became able to take note, Alex began to weave his web. He slowly unfolded the story of how the Smoker had used his mother. As he did so, he almost felt guilty.

Almost, but not quite, and as Jeff mumbled "I'll be my own great man," and stalked away, Alex smiled, somewhat savagely, before following him out. Spender's indignation had only taken him as far as the car, and now he stood, lost and shrunken, a child in a man's body with nowhere to go. Alex strode to him rapidly, anxious that the possible watchers would see no more than he intended.

"You don't have to be like him, Jeff." Alex placed a hand gently on Spender's shoulder "You owe him nothing, nothing at all." And the dam burst. Spender crumpled before Alex, shoulders hunched and shaking as gut wrenching sobs were pulled from him. Alex ran his hand around to stroke the wiry hair at the back of the other man's neck, and Spender turned blindly then, flinging himself against Alex as he sobbed. There was nothing Alex could do but hold him carefully as his distress wore itself down, his hand caressing the slim neck as he comforted the disillusioned man.

"Do you know what it's like to be different? To grow up without a father? To have a mother that makes crazy claims and involves you in causes that make all the other kids ostracize you?" The voice was muffled, and Alex laid his cheek against the springy hair, murmuring small words of comfort as he rubbed the still heaving shoulders.

"Come on, Jeff, get in the car. We shouldn't stay here." Alex spoke softly, and it took Spender a moment or two before he finally pulled away from Alex and climbed into the front of the car. Alex watched in approval, nodded, and then returned to the driver's seat, put the car in gear and pulled away.

As Alex steered the car towards his home, Spender sat in an apparent trance, not even asking where they were headed. He was dull-eyed and made no attempts at conversation. Finally, Alex drew an audible breath.

"I grew up without parents, yeah, so I sympathize. Nobody needs to go through the kind of childhood you had." He left the words hanging and returned to his driving, noting out of the corner of his eye that Spender looked more than ever like a beaten dog.

As they entered Alex's garage and parked, Spender stirred apathetically. He turned dark, hollow eyes on Alex, and his lugubrious face spoke of ghosts he had yet to deal with.

"Where are we?"

Alex, in the process of unbuckling his seatbelt, turned to Spender "It's where I live. Come on."

As biddable as a child, Jeffrey Spender emerged from the vehicle and followed blindly behind the reassuring shape of Alex's back. Entering the kitchen, Alex moved to a cupboard from which he withdrew a bottle of brandy. He poured them both a generous shot, passing Jeffrey his with a gesture of encouragement.

"Drink that. It will help." Alex demonstrated, raising his glass to his lips and sipping at the spirit within. Jeffrey looked at him uncertainly, and Alex wondered what the man might have been told about him to put that expression on his face. He seemed to think that Alex was trying to poison him.

"I don't even know your name." When he spoke, Alex almost missed it, he was so quiet. Inwardly he was raging against the cynical bastard who was this man's father. The boy he was with was damaged. He recognized the signs, and sure, he, Alex, was damaged too, but he had grown stronger, his determination expanding as his body and soul had become scratched and tarnished.

"My name is Alex_" He got no further. Spender's eyes widened at that. Alex was a little taken aback at the response he got to his name.


"Krycek? You're Alex Krycek?"

Alex affected an ironic bow, and came close to laughing out loud as the other man's eyes widened.

"I'm not a goblin. I don't know what you've heard about me but it's probably gross exaggeration." Alex was busily hunting for the cookie jar, and once he found it, offered the contents to Spender. He sighed with pleasure and bit into a cookie that appeared to be liberally studded with Smarties.

Spender, who had been watching him the way one would watch an angry scorpion, suddenly appeared to cast his misgivings to the wind, and helped himself to the offered treats.

"I want to thank you for what you did back there." Spender's voice was bleak, and his expression was that of a man who believed himself to be defeated. Alex moved closer to him, once again placing a hand on the narrow shoulder as he met Spender's gaze with his own terrifying sincerity.

"Think nothing of it, Jeff. We all need someone to understand once in a while."

Spender's eyes rose to meet interested green orbs, and he swayed a little.

"What I want is to belong. I want to have a place somewhere. You don't know what it's like to have nobody. You couldn't." The voice was a monotone and Alex was silent, fixing him with the shining, measured intensity of his stare.

"Why don't you shake free of him, Jeff? Find yourself a new place and a nice little woman to keep you warm when things get rough?" His hand slid to the angle of neck and shoulder, and his thumb began absently caressing the other man's jaw line as he watched the thoughts drift over the planes of his face as though they were seeking a safe mooring.

"We all need someone to hold us once in a while, Jeff." And the face crumpled before him, mouth fraying and stoic expression melting like wax as he broke down. Wordlessly, Alex suited actions to words, and held Jeffrey Spender while he cried.

Spender had no spare flesh on his body, and Alex, soothing and stroking as the other man's distress subsided, never quite realized exactly when it became a certainty that they would make love. The transition from comfort to passion was so gradual that it was only when Jeff lifted his head and Alex found himself suddenly mouth to mouth with him, the full lips melting against his own, that he realized they were going to become lovers. For a split second his mind dwelt on the inadvisability of this, and he pulled back from the heat of the other man's mouth.

,Don't be thinking I'm the love of your life, Jeff. Don't do this if you expect a long- term relationship. I have a love in my life already. All I can offer you is comfort for now." He examined the face in front of him. The habitual scowl had gone, and Spender suddenly looked much younger, boyish and sweet.

Alex knew that he had already killed this man, this boy. His death now was inevitable, and he felt a qualm as he studied the face of his new victim. There was weariness in his eyes, and a small trace of something that might be called hope. Alex watched him, the lips spread into a frayed smile, and for just a second he was transformed from his nonentity, made beautiful by his smile.


"Ships that pass in the night, Alex? Well, at least that's honest." Alex quailed as Spender accused him of honesty, and flinched unnoticed as Spender moved to lay his lips over Alex's once again, surprising Alex with his urgency as he pressed close in, forcing Alex's lips to part and admit his avidly seeking tongue.

Alex shuddered as his body was pulled close into a bruising embrace. He had somehow imagined the son of the smoker to be a diffident, somewhat repressed man. The sheer greed of the young man's caresses rocked him back on his heels as the quiet, reserved looking Spender devoured him, mouth sucking greedily as his hands pressed and pulled, squeezed and stroked.

There was no need to feign arousal for him. The sheer urgency with which Spender attacked him was enough to excite him, and the other man's lack of skill was more than made up for by the clumsy intensity of his lovemaking.

Alex responded, partly in spite of himself. He didn't want to build any kind of relationship with this_ this victim. Ha wanted no part of the coming rebellion of son against father. All he wanted was to stand a safe distance away, and watch the inevitable storm.

Yet, here he was, with Jeff Spender's tongue half way down his throat, and Jeff Spender's definitely hard cock nudging firmly against his belly while the man himself sucked the very breath out of his lungs. Spender's hands were everywhere, now pulling Alex's butt tight against him, next cupping the back of his head as the kiss went on and on.

Jeff had been tugging at the edges of the work shirt Alex wore, and when it came free from the waistband of his jeans, his hand slid beneath it, roaming the length of his back as Spender's mouth continued its onslaught.

He felt a strange tenderness for this young man he suddenly found himself cradling in his arms. As Spender began to take command of him, stroking his body and pulling him in tight, Alex suddenly thought 'why not'? and when the other man unfastened his shirt, pushing it off his shoulders, he allowed it to happen, allowed the mounting feelings to take him over.

Spender had him pressed up against the kitchen counter, and now he had dropped his head down to suck at Alex's nipple while his hands roamed up and down the length of Alex's torso. Alex stroked a hand through the short curls, reflecting that it was a very long time since anyone had actually topped him. It was obvious that Spender was going to want to. Alex smiled.

The boy deserved it.

He was definitely making Alex feel good. The little moans and grunts of need he gave out as he licked and sucked on Alex's torso were travelling straight from his ears down to his cock, and Alex felt adored. He felt worshipped.

He liked it.

A sudden decision made, Alex stroked gentle fingers under Jeff Spender's chin, cupping it, and gently forcing his head up until he was facing Alex. His eyes were dazed, his face flushed and chest heaving. It took a second or two before the other man focused. Alex called his name gently, his thumb moving over the corner of the generous mouth.

"Come on, Jeff. It's more comfortable upstairs." Spender whimpered a little, and then nodded. The two of them moved through the house to Alex's bedroom, and Alex turned to face Jeff, his body tingling in anticipation at the other man's obvious excitement. Jeff was trying hard with shaky hands to take off his shirt, and when Alex moved in to assist, he lost it, and stood, shuddering and helpless as Alex carefully undid the buttons, laying bare the creamy skin and wiry musculature beneath.

Dark hair curled over knotted muscle, and Alex could see the rise and fall of his unsteady breathing as he pinched a nipple absently. He pulled Jeff to him, and kissed him deep and hard.

Once more, Jeff claimed the kiss, bending Alex back and devouring him as he sucked on his mouth. Alex moaned, and fumbled for the waistband of Jeff's pants, fingers exploring the tight skin, tracing the ridges of the slim hips as he pushed down slacks and underwear. As Spender's cock sprang free, Alex ran his curious hand over the length of it, making its owner cry out into his mouth.

He pulled away then, grinning at Jeff, who stared back, unfocused at first, until a small answering smile found its way to the surface of his being. He looked down at himself, chuckled ruefully, and then began to divest himself of the remainder of his clothing. A blush stole across his features, and Alex sat down, squirming out of jeans and underwear as fast as he could.

He had barely succeeded in shedding his garments when Jeff pounced, bearing him back onto the bed as his mouth sought him, suckling at lips, then throat, then nipples, as he worked his way south. As Jeff closed an eager mouth over his cock, Alex spread his legs wide and arched backwards content for the moment to feel the heated suction of Jeff's urgent caresses. He felt overwhelmed by the need of this man he was with. For the first time he could remember since Mulder had raped him, he relinquished control, permitting Jeff to lead, to do as he wished. Giving up the reins, he allowed himself to sink into the sweet sensations being generated by Jeff's tugging mouth and lashing tongue. As he felt the bubbling rise of his climax, he put his hand down to stop the young man's onslaught.


"Slow down, Slugger. It will all be over in a second if you don't." Again, the wide- eyed, unfocused stare that Jeff bent on him had him wondering if the other man had heard him. Then he grinned wickedly and squirmed up to lie alongside Alex, delicately avoiding Alex's dick as he bent to apply his mouth to the crook of his elbow, and then the hollow at the base of his throat.

Alex was in heaven, he really was. His body felt good, felt the rush. He was going to let go, really let go and get fucked until he couldn't stand. He gestured to the nightstand.

"There's lube there. Do it to me, Jeff. I'm ready." The sound of his voice, rough with need, made him laugh again. It had been a long time since he had been able to give himself up this way. It was wonderful. He snaked his hand around to cup the back of Jeff's head, pulling him down to meet his mouth, delving deep with his probing tongue as he writhed in an ecstasy of need.

Jeff pulled away, looking for the lube Alex had mentioned, and once he had found it, looked suddenly lost, holding the small bottle in his hands. Alex looked up at him through thick lashes.

"Come on, Jeff. Do it to me." He said again, and Jeff flushed, frowning uncertainly.

"Have you ever done this before?" Alex raised a careful finger to stroke down the stubble-stained skin of the young man who half sat beside him, seemingly poised for flight as he trembled in confusion. "It's okay, baby." Alex kissed him again, long and hard, and then began to coach his inexpert lover, wondering why he was doing this, but knowing, knowing somehow that he needed to.

"Just coat your fingers with it, Jeff. That's good." As Spender matched the deed to the words Alex took the slick hand and drew it gently down his own body until it lay against the underside of his balls. He held it there, moving it to stroke against his perineum.

"I'm gonna be tight. I haven't done this much, Jeff. You're going to have to get me ready or it will hurt me." He continued to press Spender's fingers against him, and Spender suddenly got the idea. Alex felt a warm, slick finger push into him, and arched up, gasping out his pleasure. "Oh, baby, yes, do that! Just like that!"

Spender laughed shortly and began to stroke in and out of him, bending his head to kiss him, gently at first, and then more urgently until by the time they were done he thought his lips might be bruised. The younger man attacked him as though he were starving.

Jeff had certainly got the idea now, and a second finger joined the first, working in concert to press in on the gland at the base of his cock. He began to moan in earnest at that point, and pushed his hips up against Jeff's hand.

"Oh, God, Jeff. That feels so good, so fucking good. Hurry up, please."

Spender drew himself up with an air of controlled dignity that had been lacking just moments before. He knelt between Alex's thighs, and Alex could see that Jeff's cock was dripping. He reached for the lube and began to slather it over the hard, smooth, satiny surface. Spender watched the other man's hand moving against his twitching cock, as his own continued to drive Alex wild.


When Jeff began to moan and shiver, Alex finally resorted to begging, and at last the young man took away his hand, placing the rounded head of his slippery cock up against Alex, uncertainty once again in his face as he looked down at the man lying beneath him.

"Are you sure? It looks so big." Alex laughed, a little wildly, and lunged, applying pressure that caused the glistening helmet to pop inside him. They both moaned, and Jeff gasped "Oh, my God, you're so hot!"

They were still for a moment, growing accustomed to the feel of the invasion, and then Alex wriggled again.

"More, Jeff, Come on! Give me more." And Jeff gave a strange cry, bucked his hips, and slid in tighter against Alex until he was encased in the rippling velvet heat as far as he could go.

Alex wrapped his legs around Jeff's waist and pulled him down to kiss him thoroughly before breathing into his ear in a voice made ragged by desire.

"Come on, Jeff. One fall, one submission, or a knockout to decide the winner. Do your worst."

Jeff turned, grinning, to kiss his ear, before replying.

"You already won in that case. You're a knockout."

Then, he began to fuck Alex. He moved slowly at first as he grew accustomed to the sensation of Alex's ass clinging, sucking, and radiating heat. He pulled out and slid home deliberately, straining with every ounce of energy he possessed. Alex, his back resting against Jeff's knees, felt slivers of aching, tingling pleasure invade him with each new thrust of the stiff cock inside him, and he writhed a counterpoint to each of Jeff's solid, piston punches.

The speed gathered, and so did the delight. Alex was on fire. There was a gathering tide of something wonderful gathering at the base of his spine and tendrils of ecstasy flashed down to yank on his balls each time Jeff slid home. When Jeffrey Spender finally began to lose control, hips jerking gracelessly and head forced back until the tendons of his neck stood out like ropes, Alex was already there, passing the point of no return. He felt as though he was being split apart by the pleasure that knifed through him. His hand fell to his cock, and he squeezed, jerked on it hard and fast, his body rigid as his dick spurted seed, milky white and glistening, shooting up his belly and onto his chest as he cried out.

Jeff was gone, totally gone, back arched and hips slamming in short, punching strokes. His eyes were closed and his head was back as he grabbed Alex, pulling him closer, harder, fingers digging in as he fucked him. When he came, Alex felt him to the core as he flooded Alex with his juice. It made Alex feel inexplicably tender towards Jeff. He was ready and waiting when the young man collapsed onto his chest, flushed and panting.

Too drained to do anything more, Alex nuzzled into the warmth of Jeffrey's neck and slept.

*******

He awoke in the night to the sound of muffled sobbing, and not knowing what else to do he rolled to cover Jeff, his mouth seeking the voluptuous warmth of the other man's lips.

Slowly, gently, mouths locked against each other, the two men strained body to body and Alex felt himself stiffening all over again as Jeff clutched him tightly.

"It's okay, Jeff. You're not alone." Alex moved to nip and nibble his way down over the other man's throat, across his chest and down past the hard, flat belly with its dimpled navel. Reaching the swelling prick, he sucked it deep into his throat as Jeff ran his fingers through his lover's short hair, finally fixing his palms flat to Alex's head.


Alex liked the taste of Jeff, musk and salt fluid with an underlying taint of bitterness. He pulled away for a second before beginning to lick and suck first the sturdy penis, and then lower, to tongue and mouth his balls.
Jeff spread his legs wide, his fingers tracing tight circles on Alex's scalp.

As Alex licked and tugged the loose skin covering Jeff's balls, he felt them tighten up and redoubled his attentions, lapping over the other man's perineum before parting his ass cheeks to lick at the crinkled skin of his anus. A whimper from Jeff told him that he was getting somewhere, and he darted his tongue into the tight opening, plunging it in and out as his hand reached to grasp hold of the leaking, twitching cock.

Jeff thrashed his head from side to side, one hand releasing Alex's hair to travel to his own mouth as Alex lazily pumped his dick, while his tongue slid in and out of the clinging depths of his ass.

Alex could feel Jeff's tension build. He relinquished his hold on the now throbbing cock, searching for the tube that lay in the tangle of bedclothes. As soon as he found it, he spread glistening oil over his dick and then rolled to lie on his left side, pulling Jeffrey up against him so that his cock pressed up along the crease of Jeff's ass. He slid forward into Jeff's warmth, and held tightly to him, mouth buried in the hollow of the other man's neck and shoulder as he inched into him.

Jeff was tight, wet satin inside, and cool, smooth silk under his stroking hand. As he began to move, he could feel the inner ring of muscle clasping the base of his cock and he thrust in, pulled back and thrust again, losing himself in the tingling build up of delectable fire along his prick. He heard Jeff cry out and he took the other manís cock in his hand and began to jerk him off, urging him on with growled obscenities.

Jeff came fast then, his body spasming as he shot his load and Alex followed him, losing himself in warmth and throbbing sweetness to power himself out into the silken depths of his temporary lover.

They fell back then, Alexís hand absently drawing small circles on the spare flesh of Jeffís stomach as he felt himself slip from the other manís body.

A soft sigh was all that Jeff could manage then before he drifted off, the soft, regular sound of his deepening breathing telling Alex that his insomnia treatment had worked. Reaching for the Kleenex, Alex performed a rough and ready clean-up as the young man slept.

He awoke the next morning to find Jeff still comatose, sprawled out on his back with his arms flung wide. Climbing out of the bed he surveyed this needy young man he had felt such a rush of tenderness for.

His features were softened by sleep, and he looked absurdly boyish. He was slim and pale, and one long leg had escaped the duvet, lying in an innocently provocative fashion. Alex contemplated waking him, but then decided to shower, leaving him to enjoy a little more sleep.

Half an hour later, freshly showered and dressed in sweats he had pulled on hastily, Alex returned bearing a tray with coffee and toast. Putting it down carefully, he bent to kiss the slumbering man on his lips. Sleepy brown eyes opened part way, and Jeff smiled a bemused smile and slipped strong arms around his neck, pulling Alex into him until he overbalanced and collapsed onto the laughing man.


ì Hang on a minute.î Alex chuckled out loud as he scrambled to get his balance. ì I brought you sustenance, but I donít think you need it. You seem to have more than enough energy."

The young man pulled him in for a lazy kiss once more as he finished speaking, and when they finally broke apart, Jeff took Alexís face between his two hands, holding him captive as he searched his face.

ì Thanks, Alex. Thanks for being with me, and not making me face this alone. It means more to me than you could know.î The brown eyes were unguarded, and Alex felt a lump rise in his throat.

ìJeff, listen to me. Stay here for as long as you need. No one will bother you. Stay here ëtil you find somewhere to go thatís away from here, then run. Get away from Washington, get away from the X-files, and most of all, get away from that fucking father of yours, or youíre a dead man.î Even as he spoke, he could tell that Jeff wasnít going to do it, wasnít going to take his offer and save himself, and he felt the back of his eyes sting.

ìAlex, I canít. Iíve got to get my mother out of his hands. Sheís all I have, I canít just leave her to his tender mercies.î Alex had known he would say something like this. He had known all along that Jeffrey Spender was as good as dead. He bowed his head.

ì We all do what we have to do. Take care of yourself, Jeff.î There was nothing more to say after that.

**********************************

Sue aka Dr. Ruthless

<sashworth@home.com> ICQ#14783367 <Alyosha303 on IM> <Xtrovert1@aol.com>

That's underwear, ladies and gentlemen~Nick Lea (Access Hollywood)


http://members.tripod.com/~ter_ma/