TITLE: Talking About Lexy AUTHOR: Meghan O'Connor EMAIL: gyrfalcon@yahoo.com FEEDBACK: Please! The more I get, the more you get! RATING: PG-13 DISCLAIMER: The LGM, Krycek, and anyone else you recognize are 1013's. However, Rachel Ann MacGregor is all mine. SPOILERS: The X-Files, all up to the last season finale, and the LGM series. CATEGORY: LGM/other, Krycek/Other SYNOPSIS: Rachel tells the guys almost everything about Lexy's visit. Surprise at the end! AUTHOR'S NOTE: Read "Flashes before your eyes" first. I've decided to put Rachel in two alternate timelines. This one, where she knows Krycek, will be called the "Flashes Series". Too obvious? Too Bad! She sat on the couch, a glass of J&B in her hand. It matched the one in Frohike's hand next to her. Scully sat in the armchair as Byers and Langly perched in computer chairs across from them. Mulder sat in the remaining armchair near the couch. "I'm sorry to drag you two away from whatever plans you had tonight." Scully waved her hand in negation. "You said it was important. You need us right now." Rachel looked up, infinitely sad at that remark. Ok, Please don't interrupt me, then. I'm really still processing all this." Frohike patted her shoulder as she took a drink. She took a deep breath. "As you know, I ran into a friend from my college years lately." They all nodded. "Well, he was actually more than a friend. We met in poetry class, the only English elective we could both stand. I majored in Engineering, he in Criminal Justice. We dated, fell in love, and moved in together. I lived with him for three years, and we had plans for the future. Then one day, I came home to an apartment where all his things were gone, and a note lay on the hall table." She blinked, not noticing the Gunmen's knowing looks at each other. Scully looked sympathetic and Mulder just looked confused. "I took off the ring that day and never wore it again. The note said he had been recruited by another, less public agency, and he had to leave immediately. He wished me well, said have a nice life, and he'd never see me again. I completely believed that until last week. I ran into him in the grocery store of all places. I was stunned. He asked to come over to explain what happened, and I agreed, and gave him my address. He came over earlier tonight, sat on my couch, and saw my copy of the Gunmen's paper." Byers looked at the other two, frowning so they wouldn't say anything. "He promptly warned me that they knew dangerous people, people whose friends tended to get hurt." Mulder opened his mouth, But Langly reached across and grabbed his arm. He fell silent. "I told him I trusted them with my life. He'd certainly not given me a reason to trust him, he left me. He apologized and promised to leave me alone unless my life was in danger, then he left." Her eyes closed in pain, then opened slowly. Her lashes were wet with unshed tears. "I realized you knew him, that he'd taken his mother's maiden name." Mulder looked really lost, but Scully's face was tightening in comprehension. "The last name he was born with was Knight. I used to tease him about it, call him my white knight. You knew him as Alex Krycek." Mulder was towering over her in a flash, yelling. Scully rushed to restrain him as Frohike held out an arm in protection. "How could you? He murdered my father and Scully's sister! How could you be in league with that devil?" Rachel stood, fists clenched and eyes flashing. Frohike was trying to interject a defense. "Mulder, man, chill! Weren't you listening? She said she knew him before he joined up." She hissed at him in fury. "Yes, Mulder. Weren't you listening? You've known Krycek was evil for years. I've only had a day to reconcile that the man I intended to spend the rest of my life with is a killer and a traitor." She sat back down. Mulder retreated to his own chair, Scully nearby. "When I knew him, he was one of the good guys. He wanted to join the FBI and make bad guys pay, see that justice was done. He had hopes and dreams and ambition, and I was a part of that. I didn't connect your Krycek with my Lexy until now, I only met his mom once. She'd taken her maiden name back when his dad died." All the tension left her body as she sagged against Frohike. Her eyes seemed to search Mulder's, begging for an answer. "Who are they, Mulder? What kind of men could make a good man sell his soul? When you knew him, did Alex ever seem weak?" Byers answered before Mulder could. He hoped he was answering her real question. "Krycek was never weak, Rae. Everyone has a price. Somehow, they found his. Think about this. If he truly loved you that much, may not have your safety been that price?" She looked up as they all turned to stare at Byers. He plunged ahead with his theory. "Mulder went to the ends of the earth to save Scully. Literally. Maybe Krycek hated himself after helping with her abduction, hated that he hadn't gone to those lengths for you, regretted that he gave in to a threat. Bitterness and loss can change a man for better or for worse." She took another drink. "Thank you, John. That… helps. I think." Mulder started apologizing, but she just held up her hand for silence. "You reacted from the heart, Mulder. It's okay. I just thought you all had the right to know." Frohike stood and held out his hand. When she took it, he pulled her off the couch into a hug. "You don't know what it means to us, Rae. You trust us enough to be honest with us even when you don't have to. That means a lot." Byers and Langly mouthed their agreements as they moved into a group hug. They broke apart after a minute, but Frohike still had an arm around her waist. "C'mon, chickadee. You can crash in the extra room. I think Langly has a clean shirt you can wear, and we'll talk more in the morning. You're in no condition to be alone." She smiled, wiping her eyes and nodding. Mulder was contrite. "Look, Rae, I'm really sorry." "S'ok. Go home, Mulder." She looked at Scully who seemed amazingly understanding. Scully just looked back. "Curse of being a woman. Get some sleep." She led Mulder towards the door. Langly ran to get a shirt as Byers locked the door behind the agents. Frohike led her to the guest room upstairs Langly headed awkwardly back down after apologizing for not having a shirt that wouldn't stand on its own. Frohike went in his room, then came back with the top to his blue cloud pjs that he usually wore under his Kevlar vest. She thanked him, then shut the door. A knock sounded a moment later. "Which one is it?" She heard a low chuckle. "Frohike. I made you some cocoa, it should help you sleep." She slid the door open. She grabbed the mug before he could drop it as he gasped a little. His gaze slid up her shapely legs to the hem of his nightshirt just above her knees, to her pale throat and hint of cleavage where the first button started, to the riot of copper curls massed around her face. She always wore her hair in a French braid, he'd had no idea how curly or long it really was. He finally met her amused eyes twinkling sagely above the mug as she sipped. "Thank you." Suddenly serious, she dropped her gaze. "Ummm… seriously, if you guys decide you don't want me around anymore, I'll understand." She was cut off by the finger he placed against her lips to quiet her. "Rachel, enough. We do have to talk about what this could all mean, but you're not going anywhere. You're smart, beautiful, talented, trustworthy and honest. What's not to want?" She smiled as he dropped his hand. Stepping closer, she whispered. "You don't know how much that means to me. I'm glad it's not too late." Before he could respond, her lips were warmly pressed against his. The kiss was short and sweet, and rocked his world in the space of a second. She stepped back and lifted the mug to him. "Good night Frohike. Thank you." He stood there for a moment, staring at the closed door. He wasn't sure how he got back to the kitchen and only came to when he sat heavily in one of the dining chairs. Was it possible? Was Rachel in love with him?