Fic: Time Out in Washington 17/18 [X-Files/Torchwood/The State Within/Dr Who]

[fides.livejournal.com]

Title: Time Out in Washington (17/18)
Author: fides
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Mulder/Krycek (mostly UST), Mark/Nicholas discussed but whether there is any truth behind the suggestion is open to the reader's interpretation
Fandom: X-Files/Torchwood/Dr Who/The State Within
Rating: NC-17 overall (most parts PG/PG-13, only one part is NC-17 and that part can be skipped with minimum confusion if you want to read the plot but are put off by the idea of graphic sex)
Warnings: Spoilers for The State Within. Some violence and fantasy sexual violence
Disclaimer: None of the recognisable characters are mine, Santa has been really falling down on his job recently, but belong to their respective right holders
Sequal to 1. Plus Ça Change, 2. Hobson's Choice
Prequel to Interlunation
Previous Parts: Part 1 - Prologue -:- Part 2 - Sir Mark -:- Part 3 - Jack -:- Part 4 - Azzam -:- Part 5 - Mulder -:- Part 6 - Skinner -:- Part 7 - Scully -:- Part 8 - George -:- Part 9 - Alex and Fox -:- Part 10 - Doctor -:- Part 11 - William -:- Part 12 - Ianto -:- Part 13 - Samantha -:- Part 14 - Yasmine and Chandon -:- Part 15 - Phileas -:- Part 16 - Krycek


Summary: Finding out Jack's secret in the worst possible way (Hobson's Choice), Alex takes a break from Torchwood Three while he comes to terms with events and his anger towards Jack. To give him the time he needs, Jack arranges a secondment for Alex at the British Embassy in Washington working with the secret service to counter threats to the Ambassador's family. But with Mulder around things don't go to plan and Alex discovers that aliens aren't that easy to leave behind.

Notes: I know that the timelines don't quite fit so I decided to fudge things a little because it was too tempting to compare Torchwood and the Consortium. This story is set concurrent with the early part of X-Files season 6, during the second half of Torchwood season 1, during the time of the 12th Doctor (Doctor Who) and about a year after the events in The State Within. In depth (or indeed any) knowledge of the included fandoms isn't required so please don't let them put you off. Thanks to moth2fic for the beta. Any and all remaining mistakes are own.

An illustration accompanying this section can be found here





"Any news?" Alex asked as he walked in the waiting room and back into his life.

Mark shook his head. He had one arm around Azzam who rested quietly against him.

"I found coffee," Alex offered, "the good stuff. And the nearest this country gets to proper tea."

A smile flickered over Mark's face. "Thank you, Alex."

The worry was still there, tightening the lines around Mark's eyes. All of the hot drinks in the world couldn't take that away. Jack had occasionally dropped comments about waiting for the right doctor. Even having met Jack's 'right doctor', Alex hadn't understood before he found himself in a room of people all of whom were waiting for the right doctor to come through the door and give them the news. Alex gave Mark a small nod of understanding and reassurance as he pulled the tea from the selection and handed it over.

Kneeling down, Alex turned the tray around so a different cup faced outwards.

"I got you a chocolate milkshake," he confided to Azzam. "Don't tell my boss."

Azzam's eyes slid up to Mark, who was paying very careful attention to his tea and studiously ignoring what was going on in the vicinity of his breast pocket, and then back to him. Alex winked. Azzam smiled shyly, reaching out for the proffered cup. Alex brushed his hand over Azzam's hair as he stood, ruffling it slightly. Mark's eyes meeting his over Azzam's head were warm.

"You've calmed down," George muttered to him quietly as he passed one of the two remaining coffees over to her. "Do I need to check all the attackers we have in custody are still breathing?"

There was none of the anger that Alex would have expected to accompany a remark like that. He met her eyes deliberately and shook his head the barest amount, denying the accusation.

"It's amazing how relaxing a walk can be," Alex offered.

He dipped his hand into his suit pocket and fished out the various sachets he had secreted there.

"Apparently." She didn't believe him but she didn't push it either, just took a cream and sugar from his hand with a thanks.

He adulterated his own drink, not looking at it until he had done so. It wasn't as good as Ianto made but then if he ever found anywhere that was they would probably be raiding it for alien contraband rather than becoming repeat customers. The caffeine licked around his mouth like a lover welcoming him home.

Waiting in hospitals was time not measured in minutes or hours but in cups of tea and coffee. When everyone had finished he gathered the empties into the dustbin and the room lapsed once more into expectant silence, each withdrawing into their own thoughts as they didn't dare say any of the fears that they couldn't help having. Alex found himself running through the attack in his mind, wondering if there was something he should have done differently, whether he could have intervened sooner or waited so he could have got a better fix on where he would be most needed.

They all looked up as the door opened.

"Mr. Brydon?" the doctor asked, looking from one occupant of the room to the next.

Mark let the incorrect form of address slip, just nodding as he stood up.

"How is he?" It was indicative of how worried Mark was that he cut right past the pleasantries to the question that they all wanted to ask.

A quick check of his notes and the doctor smiled, "Mr. Brocklehurst was very lucky. The bullet hit his upper arm, hitting the bone and breaking it. He lost a fair amount of blood and will need some physical therapy because of the damage. There'll be a scar but otherwise he should be fine." The doctor chuckled. "If he's worried, tell him it'll be a hit with the ladies."

Mark smiled with relief. "Can we see him?"

"He's a little out of it at the moment." The doctor slowly became aware of the intense looks he was getting from around the room. "Normally we'd only allow immediate family..." he trailed off.

Apparently oblivious to the stand-off that was going on over his head, Azzam wandered over to the doctor and tugged on the sleeve of his scrubs, looking up at him with large dark eyes. "Can I see my Uncle Nicholas?" he asked quietly.

Alex caught the proud grin that Mark quickly hid behind his hand. The doctor looked from the solemn kid to the waiting adults and back.

"Your uncle?" he stammered.

Azzam nodded.

"Mr. Brocklehurst was hurt in an attack on Mr. Brydon's son," George explained po-faced, "I'm the FBI agent in charge in the case, Special Agent George Blake. I'll need to talk to you about the physical evidence that was removed from Mr. Brocklehurst. We can do that while Azzam is visiting his uncle, if you have time?"

The doctor looked around the forces massed against him and conceded defeat. "Well, since you're family, I suppose it's okay. Just go through those doors and tell the nurse I sent you through."

"Alex?" Mark looked over at him.

Alex appreciated the offer; he'd keep seeing Nicholas hurt and covered in blood until he saw for himself that the man was fine. But it wasn't his turn. He'd slip in later when visiting hours were over and Mark and Azzam were gone.

"I think the FBI has got the place sealed up tight; you guys should be safe enough," Alex demurred. "I'll be here just in case the Special Agent thinks up some questions for me."

Mark acknowledged Alex's diplomacy with a smile and nod of thanks before turning his attention to his son. Alex and George watched affectionately as Azzam put out his hand and Mark took it. Together they walked from the room.

"It's not evidence," Alex pointed out, aware George was smiling.

"Azzam needs to see someone in his life survive," George agreed. "Mark understands that. He's just doing what is best for Azzam."

The doctor looked at them in confusion. "What're you talking about?"

"Nothing," they said together.

George cleared her throat, becoming professional again. "Shall we, Doctor?" She indicated the door and, by implication, the chain of evidence waiting for her to become the next link.

Before either of them could reach it, the door opened.

"Oh, Deputy Director." Scully looked surprised. "We heard..." She caught sight of Krycek, clearly not in custody, and stalled.

"Agent Scully," George greeted her coolly, "I hadn't realised you had been assigned to this detail."

Scully flushed slightly but she rallied. "When we heard the news we volunteered. We thought we might be able to help."

'We' translated as 'Mulder', Alex wasn't sure he wanted to know what 'help' translated as although he had a fairly good idea. Wherever Scully had lost Mulder, it was too much to hope she had taken a lesson from him and cuffed Mulder to something solid. He was sure his favourite agent was doing his best to expand Alex's reputation.

"Very commendable," George said in a tone that strongly suggested that initiative was not necessarily a trait that was always desired in FBI agents. "I was just about to discuss the case with the doctor. I'm sure your medical expertise would be invaluable." Scully looked like she wanted to object but there was little she could say to a direct request from a superior, especially one whose investigation she was gatecrashing. George could clearly read the signs of mutiny and the way that Scully never quite took her eyes off Krycek. "Before we go, Krycek, a word..."

George inclined her head away from the others and Alex followed, curious. Mindful of the way that Scully and the doctor were following their every move closely, and in the case of the doctor with some impatience, George spoke quickly.

"You would've been a good agent," she said in a low voice, "It's a shame we never really had you, did we?"

Alex blinked. That was not what he had expected especially as he could hear the sincerity in George's tone. The idea of what it might have been like to be an actual FBI agent had never really occurred to him as it had never been a possibility.

"You know I can't answer that," he replied just as quietly.

"And if I asked you who you are working for now?" The pleasant expression never left George's face but there was iron under the velvet of her tone.

He could lie. He could always lie. And for all her strong words George was predisposed to believe that lie. He thought of Jack, offering him a place at Torchwood Three, of Mark trusting him to guard Azzam and Nicholas trusting him to guard Mark... another place, another time, he would have called them fools and used that foolishness against them. But time meant something different to him now.

"I couldn't answer." He had turned down the universe because he wanted to be something more than the knife in the dark. "But I could tell you that Nicholas knows exactly who it is."

George studied him for a long moment before she said, "Good enough for me." She looked past him to where Scully waited, "I don't think Agent Mulder will feel the same though. You know he's going to be all over you the minute I leave this room, don't you?"

"That seems likely," Alex agreed.

"You going to be all right?"

Alex laughed. "The day I can't deal with Mulder is the day..."

"...you die," George finished for him.

Alex looked at her seriously, not wanting to risk any misunderstanding. "I can tell you now, Special Agent Blake, that if that ever happens you won't place the gun in Mulder's hand."

Whatever happened to him, Mulder would probably be the cause but not the culprit. Mulder couldn't pull the trigger on him any more than he could on Mulder; it was just the way they were and no Consortium conditioning had been able to break that. Yet, anyway, and they had tried hard enough.

"If?" George repeated.

Alex gave her his best crooked grin.

"I've seen your record, Krycek," George told him sternly, none of her normal friendliness visible, "and I'm quite capable of reading between the lines." Alex let his face fall into his professional mask in return. "I don't know if you are out now or not, but pull anything that ends up on my radar... they wouldn't be able to place the gun in my hand either. But that wouldn't make either of us very happy, especially when, against my better judgement, I'm starting to like you. With that understood, do try not to bait Agent Mulder too much. He's one of my agents and he doesn't deserve the crap that he has been put through even if he can be an arrogant asshole. Are we clear?"

"As crystal, Special Agent Blake." Alex ground out, playing his part.

George sighed, "I do realise that he will probably make that very difficult for you. Let me give you my pre-emptive apologies for the behaviour of my agent."

"He has cause," Alex admitted softly. "Don't worry. I'll behave, and I'll make sure he doesn't do anything that you'll have to take official notice of."

"Thank you, Alex." George really was very pretty when she let herself relax, not that her strength wasn't an attractive quality regardless. It was a shame she had to spend so much time dealing with bastards like Nicholas and himself. Of course, if she didn't it would be someone much less capable.

"Keep me informed?" Alex asked. He would find out eventually but there was a certain novelty in being openly and officially given the information.

"As long as you promise to let us deal with it."

Alex didn't bother to dissemble, just nodded. It was an easy promise to make. As far as he knew Mark was quite happy to let the American justice system have them and if MI6 wanted to take matters into their own hands then they would send their own operative rather than outsourcing to him.

George raised her voice to a normal level as she turned to address the two people behind him. "Let's see what we have then. Doctor, Agent."

She shepherded them out of the door and Alex began to count. He got as far as twenty-seven.

"Vacationing on the side of light, Krycek," Mulder sneered as he entered.

Alex smiled at him, knowing it would annoy him more than anything else he could do. "Expanding into solvable cases, Mulder?" he asked lightly.

"You mean you aren't planning on stealing the evidence this time?" Mulder sauntered forward as he talked. "I'll make a note on my calendar."

Alex shrugged. "If anything happens to your evidence take it up with MI6; it's their man lying in the hospital."

Now that would be a conversation he would pay to hear. Mulder had gone to Oxford and MI6 recruited from there often enough; Alex amused himself with the idea of Mulder trying to get information from someone who had been at the same college and actually remembered him jumping into the Cherwell to celebrate the first of May or dressing up in drag for rag week rather than just having seen the pictures.

"And how exactly did that happen, Krycek? I thought you were supposed to be guarding their backs."

"Saved your ass on enough occasions, Mulder," Alex snapped back, 'and done a fair number of other things to it as well' he added mentally. "And I did my job this time as well. Ask around." Mulder was going to pay for that insinuation. "Not all my colleagues are scum-sucking Consortium bastards."

Mulder's eyes widened and then narrowed in recognition. He stepped forwards into Alex's personal space. Mulder was so easy and so much fun to wind up.

"I knew it was you, you lying piece of shit," Mulder hissed.

Alex put on his best 'congratulations, you caught me' smile. "And what do you think I lied about Mulder?"

"Don't you think it would save time if we just listed the things you told the truth about?" Mulder retreated behind the bland insouciance that seemed to annoy the crap out of both Skinner and Scully, Alex assumed under the misapprehension that Mulder wasn't taking things seriously.

"You don't want to spend time in my company?" Alex looked at Mulder through his eyelashes. "I'm hurt."

Mulder's hands fisted by his sides, the white ovals of his knuckles blistering his skin. "That can be arranged."

"Try it, Mulder," Alex warned, dropping the act. "See what happens. Or maybe you liked being handcuffed to the radiator?"

"I'm not here to cater to your little bondage fetish, Krycek." Mulder sounded less certain of that than he probably intended to. "Unless you want to hold out your wrists and let me take you down town."

It was tempting, but Mulder would probably try and actually do it.

"And here I thought my day was getting good," Alex leered facetiously.

"Three dead bodies and a shoot-out in a downtown office block is not my idea of a good day, Krycek," Mulder snapped, retreating from the innuendo into reliable and much less disconcerting anger.

"A terrorist attack on a kid is not mine."

They were so close that Alex could practically have stuck out his tongue and licked Mulder. The temptation was there to do just that. Who needed romance when you had heated testosterone and a convenient wall? Come on, Mulder, grab me, hit me, kiss me, fuck me... as long as you touch me it doesn't matter how.

"And you really think I'm going to buy you weren't involved?" Mulder scoffed.

Scully's sister, not that I pulled the trigger.

Your father. I shot him so you didn't have to, but you don't remember it like that, do you, not after they finished messing with your head. Yet you are so sure I was there even though you don't know why.

Your sister. I left her alive but took your memories along with her. I started the lie your life became.

"How could I be?" Alex denied. "You were the one who made sure I was reassigned to the Ambassador rather than his son." Alex smiled, tempting. "Maybe I have a clone?"

"Mulder," Scully interrupted from the doorway before he could give his opinion of that possibility.

Mulder glared at her but allowed himself to be drawn away for a huddled confabulation Alex could see the irritation on Mulder's face as what he knew to be true and the facts were proved to be at odds. From the emphatic way that Scully was gesturing and the way Mulder was glaring at him, Alex guessed she was trying to get through to Mulder that he couldn't storm up to the British Ambassador and accuse him of lying about Alex's whereabouts. Especially not when there was a whole room of people who could corroborate Mark's statement and a Deputy Director on Alex's side. Alex kept his face solemn. If he provoked Mulder then all he could hope for would be a new set of bruises; drag things out and he could potentially use the mystery as a lure to get Mulder to come right to him. Preferably without Scully. While Alex had nothing against her, he didn't think she would be up for a threesome and her presence tended to put a damper on Mulder's ardour where Alex was concerned.

Alex gave Mulder a little wave of his fingers in a taunting goodbye as Scully pulled him away. Watching the pair of them depart, Alex started making plans.



Next Part...

Comments

[lunamazes.livejournal.com]

I feel like I was reading Harry Potter 3 :)

It's great.

[fides.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much. HP3 is my favourite so I take that as a great compliment (although for a second you had me worried about what fandoms I was crossing over ;-)).

I'm really glad you have been enjoying it.