Loup Garou XIII

Title: Loup Garou XIII - Changed
Author: Lycanthrophile (lycanthrophile@imadethis.org)
Fandom: X-Files
Spoilers: Season 5
Disclaimer: I am denying that Chris Carter and the Powers That Be (we know that they are the true Consortium) killed Cancerman by subscribing to my mother's Soap Opera Platitude - "If you don't have a corpse, then he ain't dead, and even if you do, it's debatable." In this universe, he's alive and causing all sorts of situations. Oh, by the way, the X-File regulars aren't mine and I'm not making any money off of them. Everyone else is copyrighted to me.
Rating: NC17 for male/female sex, male/male/female sex
Summary: A bite and an illness cause changes in Skinner's, Krycek's, Jess's and Lindy's lives
Word Count: 31,237
Notes: Feedback is always appreciated, and in fact encouraged.
Okay, this one may seem to be a bit obvious as far as plot line. But you know that I was bound to write it sooner or later.
Archive: Please inform me.

"Whoever is bitten by a werewolf and lives becomes a werewolf himself."
- Curt Siodmak "The Wolf Man" Universal/MCA 1941

It was a wet and wild night. The storm that had been predicted all morning had finally arrived with a vengeance. Rain poured in sheets down from a black sky. And despite it being a night not fit for man nor beast, they were out in the midst of it. Halted at a stoplight, Mulder glared into the back seat of his Ford Taurus. "If that filth doesn't come of my new Armani, consider yourself the owner of one very expensive rag. Not to mention the bill for cleaning the car. Why the hell did you have to shake *after* you got in?"

The dirty black and white werewolf sprawled across the back seat wasn't impressed with Mulder's display of anger. He yawned, exposing ivory fangs, and lazily scratched behind an ear with his taloned right hind paw. Smacking his jaws, he sat up a bit, wincing as he put weight on his left fore leg. He batted at the power window controller with his paw. Once the window was down far enough, he slid his head out and drank in the air rushing by.

Mulder looked back again. "Shouldn't you be hiding?" The lycanthrope snorted in irritation, but did pull his head back inside. The large wolf-like creature settled onto the back seat again, nosing at the blood soaked bandage on his left shoulder, whimpering a little in pain. When Mulder had realized his passenger was wounded, he had pulled over and bandaged the injury. "Yeah, I know it hurts. We'll be there in a few minutes, and then Dana can look you over."

He drove the rest of the way in silence, except for the canine's panting. When he pulled up to the typical middle class home in the middle of McLean, Virginia. Mulder got out of the car and walked around to open the rear passenger door. The curtain inside of the front bay window was swept to one side briefly and then allowed to flutter back into place. The door opened and out stepped Skinner, ignoring the rain. "Where is he hurt?"

"Left shoulder, bullet's still in him," Mulder replied. The werewolf wriggled forward, trying to get out of the car without jarring his shoulder. Skinner grabbed the loose skin on the nape of the canine's neck and lifted, helping him gain his hind legs. The canine tossed his right foreleg over Skinner's shoulder, licked the AD's cheek and let the older man guide him inside.

Mulder followed, wondering how Skinner knew about the injury. When he called ahead, all he had said was that Krycek was hurt. The answer became clear when he saw Jess leaning against a wall, pale and trembling, resting a sleeping Amanda against her hip. Lindy, also pale, stood by Jess and held her hand. Both females rushed to the large creature and Skinner when they saw them. The werewolf lifted his drooping head a bit and licked first Lindy's and then Jess's cheek with a sloppy tongue.

Scully stepped out of the kitchen from where she had been boiling water to sterilize her instruments. "Couch," she ordered. Skinner steered the lupine creature over to the couch and lowered him onto it. After passing Amanda to Mulder, Jess tossed a blanket over strategic parts of his lower half, a nod to human modesty. Scully was trying to part the shaggy fur to find the entry wound and not having much luck between the fur matted with mud and blood.

Jess took Scully's wrists and lifted her hands away. "Give him a moment to Change," she said quietly. And Scully watched fascinated as the fur and muzzle and pointed ears melted away to reveal a human looking male. As many times as she had seen this, from both aliens, werewolves, and a loser human, she still had a hard time believing that this kind of shape shifting was possible. Instead of a large wolfen creature laying on the couch under a blanket, it was Alex Krycek. His normally pale skin had an ashen quality to it under the grime and pain pooled in his emerald eyes. Jess's voice reminded Scully of why she was here. "The bullet has to come out before he can heal properly." The next ten minutes were completely medical, and accompanied by several green looks, bit lips, and sympathetic winces from the adults. Lindy was fascinated and leaned over, eyes watching every detail.

Eventually Scully extracted the bullet, which clanged loudly as it was tossed into the metallic bowl Lindy was holding. Krycek closed his eyes and slowed his breathing as both Jess and Scully wiped away the dried mud and blood and then bandaged the wound. Jess looked intently at him and then turned to everyone else. "Kitchen," she mouthed. Mulder, still holding Amanda, and Scully moved quietly towards the other room, noticing that both Jess and Skinner bent down to kiss Krycek's brow. Lindy brushed her hand against the one of Krycek's that rested on top of the blanket.

Mulder reached out and took a hold of Scully's hand, oddly touched at the tenderness that was being expressed. "And I thought our relationship was complicated," he said with a disbelieving shake of his head.

Scully nodded in agreement. She had seen many traditional families that had far less love in them than this one appeared to. "But somehow they make it work."

Cancerman lit a cigarette and frowned at his typewriter. After neglecting his Jack Colquitt series because those editors butchered the ending to his only published story, he had decided to give it another go. Only this time he was determined to keep tighter control, just like in every other area of his life. But having finally decided to write again, he found himself stymied by writer's block. His hands were poised over the typewriter, awaiting the first glimmer of inspiration. Just as the tips of his fingers brushed the keys, the phone rang.

He picked up the phone, irritated by the interruption, his real life infringing on his dream. There was only one reason he received phone calls. "Yes? When? Are you certain it was Mulder *and* Krycek?" He listened for a few more seconds. "No, I will see that countermeasures are put in place." He hung up the phone. [Damn them!] he thought. Agent Mulder obviously couldn't keep well enough alone and had to keep poking his nose into things that were best left undisclosed. And now it seemed that he had convinced Krycek to assist him. It was difficult to keep persuading certain associates that Agent Mulder's continued existence was essential to the Plan, as equally difficult to keep them convinced that allowing Krycek and Jess to live was equally essential.

And this incident would make it even harder. Krycek, as a wolf, had broken into one of Their fronts used to store records and retrieved several files. And, despite being shot in the shoulder, the black and white werewolf had been seen quickly loping off to a car driven by Mulder. The data itself was worthless, a red herring to throw off track anyone trying to steal information. But the act itself was what had Cancerman worried. Obviously, Krycek was feeling bolder, and Mulder more trusting than Cancerman was comfortable with.

But Cancerman was still annoyed by the distraction from his writing. [Distraction, hmm,] he thought. [Perhaps that is what is needed right now....]

Krycek shifted under the covers, barely awake. At some point, he had been shifted from the couch to their bed. He could smell familiar scents - lovers, children, friends. That told him that he was at home and safe. The pain was gone from his shoulder, a blessed relief. He had panicked when the bullet ripped into his left shoulder, flashing back to the woods in Tunguska. But he still had his arm, and he was at home, safe for the moment.

He heard the door open and then close. "And you accuse me of being a late sleeper," a female voice chided playfully. Jess, carrying Amanda on one hip, sat down on the bed, taking his left hand in hers.

Krycek opened his eyes to look into Jess's. "Where is everybody?"

"The office. Unlike us, they have to work for a living. Thank God for trust funds. Walter said he might be by later tonight." Jess stroked his fingers with hers. "I was so frightened last night, when I felt you get shot. I thought this was it for certain."

"So did I." Krycek sat up. He reached over and cupped Jess's cheek with his hand. "Was it the information what Mulder wanted?"

"No. It wasn't." Amanda burbled and reached towards Krycek. Jess passed her over when Krycek opened his arms. "Amanda was asleep, thank God, when you were shot. I don't think she knows what happened."

"Good that she was asleep, bad that it wasn't the information." Amanda leaned over to grab onto Jess's shirt and tried to stand up. Managing to heft herself upright, she let go and balanced for a split second before falling back down. Krycek smiled. "You're going to be walking soon," he said, tickling his daughter. Amanda giggled.

Jess also smiled. "Heaven help us when that happens. This little heck beast will make a wreck of the house." She leaned against Krycek and ruffled Amanda's hair.

Krycek raised his eyebrows. "Heck beast?"

"She's not old enough to be a full fledged hell beast" Jess said with a smile. "And purgatory beast is just too much of a mouthful."

Krycek laughed. It felt good to be able to laugh, to have a semblance of a normal life. The illusion was becoming harder and harder to maintain, which made them cherish it even more. "And how's Lindy?"

"Fascinated by the whole process of removing a bullet. Now she says she wants to be a doctor and not a marine biologist." Jess smiled, but there was still concern in her eyes. "She's worrying me, Alex. She's been so withdrawn lately."

Krycek made a dismissive gesture. "It's normal teenage angst, Jess. She's balancing the urge to be a member of the pack against the urge to have nothing to do with her parents."

Jess sighed and leaned her head back against the spindled headboard. "I guess you're right. And in about twelve years, we will be doing this again with you," she said, tickling Amanda. But neither of them said out loud the end of that thought. [If we're all still alive.]

Two days after Krycek had been shot was the full moon. It was also the worst rainstorm of the fall. It wasn't quite cold enough to snow, but cold enough to be miserable. Skinner still couldn't believe that Krycek and Jess had conned him into babysitting Amanda while they went out. [Well, conned isn't exactly the best word. They did ask.] Mulder and Scully already had plans for the evening. And although he was ill at ease around the young ones, even Lindy who seemed more adult than Jess did sometimes, he agreed. It would give Jess and Krycek some time to pay attention to Lindy without having to be looking after her younger sister. And they had gone out, despite of the storm. When he questioned the wisdom of going out in the violent weather, they had made it clear to him - transforming with the full moon was not an option, it was a necessity for their sanity, especially after a stressful period. They had been out running in weather a lot worse with no problems, he had been reassured.

Over the crash of thunder, Skinner heard a high pitched yowl come from upstairs. He climbed the stairs and went to Amanda's room, the source of the sound. Instead of the ten month old human baby, he saw a black and white puppy about twice the size of Lindy's cat Patches. Amanda looked at him with bright green eyes and tried to wag her white tipped tail, despite the diaper covering her rump. Skinner unfastened the perfectly dry diaper and lifted Amanda onto his shoulder. Amanda squirmed, turned and licked his left ear. Skinner jerked his head away to avoid the tickling tongue. "Stop that," he said with a slight laugh. Guessing she was awake because she was hungry, he carried the baby werewolf downstairs and into the kitchen. He found the bottle that Jess had left and warmed up the concoction of milk and well chewed meat. When he asked how they got the beef, chicken, and lamb so finely processed, Krycek made a wry comment about how wild wolves got meat ready for their cubs. It was more than enough for Skinner to get the picture.

Amanda nursed avidly, sucking, chewing, and pawing at the rubber nipple. "You'd think they don't feed you," Skinner said, surprised at how fast the puppy drained the bottle. Letting go of the nipple, Amanda sprawled in his lap, still wagging her tail. Skinner stroked the puppy, who emitted a loud burp. "I bet you feel better now," he said. Skinner had an easier time dealing with the youngling as a canine than a human. It was mostly because he had grown up with a father who loved to breed hunting dogs, and affection towards them was the only softness he allowed his son.

He heard a noise outside, the rattle of the locked door knob being turned. [Are they back already?] he thought. [They only went out for an hour?] He gently eased Amanda onto the cushion beside him. Amanda curled up, yawned, and closed her bright green eyes. When he got up and opened the front door, looking out into the wind and rain, Skinner thought he saw the tip of a black furry tail disappearing behind the porch. [They are back,] Skinner thought. "Jess? Alex? Lindy?" he called out.

There was no answer. Above the patter of the falling drops, a rapid panting could be heard. It sounded like an animal that was in pain, or afraid. Skinner's first thought was that Patches had slipped out of the house and had been hurt somehow. Then he saw the paw prints in the mud in the next flash of lightening. They clearly belonged to a very large dog. Ignoring the rain and the low rumble of thunder, he followed the tracks into the back yard. He heard a quiet whine. "Hey, it's me," he said from the fence's gate. "What's wrong?"

The whine grew in volume and desperation. The next flash of lightening revealed a crouching black *male* wolf-like animal. "Who are you?" Skinner demanded of the stranger. When the whimper changed to a snarl of fear, Skinner realized he had committed a grave error. He had cornered a frightened and possibly wounded creature, and it was obvious the canine now felt that the only way to escape was by attacking. Skinner slowly started backing away. But he wasn't moving fast enough for the male's tastes. In the next flash of lightening, he saw the male charge, talons spread and fangs bared. He could feel himself reeling from the impact and a knifing pain sear through his left shoulder as he fell to the muddy ground. There was a dim explosion of light behind his eyes as his head impacted with the ground, his glasses knocked into the darkness. He could feel the weight of the creature's forelegs planted against his chest, claws digging in and saliva dripping onto his exposed neck.

Triple roars of outrage drowned out the next peal of thunder. Jess, Lindy, and Krycek had returned. Trying to keep from blacking out, Skinner felt more than saw the three leap and land around him, leaving only one direction for the stranger to run. The male snapped his jaws at Skinner and fled, leaping into the darkness. Krycek and Jess followed, leaving Lindy with Skinner. She half Changed, so she could speak and stand on two legs. "Arrrrre yoooou aaooooll rrrrright?" Lindy asked as she helped Skinner to his feet.

"Left shoulder hurts like hell," Skinner said with a grimace of pain. He walked to the porch shakily, the young werewolf at his side every step of the way. Lindy let them in the house. She grabbed one of the three robes that had been left just inside the doorway and slipped it on, Changing back to a human as she did so.

She guided Skinner to a chair, noting that Amanda was asleep on the couch. Skinner collapsed into it and promptly passed out. A quick mindprobe revealed to Lindy that the head wound was not serious, his unconsciousness was a reaction to the pain more than from the fall. She went to the bathroom and got a washcloth. After wetting it thoroughly, Lindy returned to Skinner, unbuttoned his shirt and started to wipe away the mud and blood from his left shoulder and chest. The claw marks were mere welts that didn't break the skin, but the shoulder looked worse. After the area was clean, she began a careful visual examination of it. She didn't like what she saw.

Jess and Krycek finally returned and Changed to human. ~He got away,~ Krycek mindspoke, disgust coloring his mindvoice as they slipped into their robes. He picked up a corner of the terry cloth and began wiping Skinner's glasses, which he had found outside, clean.

Jess also mindspoke as she slipped into her robe. ~I don't like the fact that a strange werewolf has been sniffing around here and we didn't notice it.~

~We've got a worse problem, Jess,~ Lindy answered. ~I think Walter was bitten.~

Both Jess's and Krycek's jaws dropped. "Oh God," one of them whispered, too quietly to identify the voice.

Jess and Krycek walked over to Skinner and examined the wound. There was a deep but lightly bleeding semi-circle of puncture wounds of varying sizes on both on his chest and back. Krycek looked at Jess and nodded. ~Bite wound,~ he said.

Jess closed her eyes and bowed her head. They all knew what that meant. "I hope to God we're wrong," she whispered.

The werewolf, now looking completely human, slid into the building silently as befitted a predator. [I am dead. I am so dead,] he thought.

He had failed his Master. He had been given a chance to gain rank and prestige and access to sexual partners, and he had blown it. All he had to do was break into a house and retrieve a baby. It sounded so simple. The parents would be out. There was no security system to speak of. He would be in and out in a matter of minutes.

Or so he had thought. He had been stupid enough to walk right up to the porch and try the door knob. He had almost lost control of his bladder and peed like a frightened pup when he heard a someone get up and walk towards the door. The werewolf had just enough time to duck back behind the porch and over the fence into the back yard. And then he really messed up.

He hadn't meant to leave the human male alive. 'You accidentally bite a human, you kill the human.' That was the first rule They pounded into any werewolf's consciousness. He had intended to kill the hapless human, but then those other werewolves had shown up and he panicked. It had taken all his skill to lose the male and female tracking him. And he had a sneaking suspicion that the only reason he did elude them was ones who were trailing him were more concerned with the welfare of the human than hunting him down.

Instead of going to the communal area where his pack mates would be lounging, or to his quarters, he went to the office where he knew he would be called sooner or later. And when he stood outside the oak double doors, he literally smelled trouble. Not one man, but three awaited him inside. He took a deep breath and raised his fist to the door. Even before the first knock sounded, he could hear his Master's command. "Enter."

The werewolf opened the door and passed through it, his darting eyes betraying his fear. [Oh shit! I am dead.] For the two others in the room were his Master's superiors, the one who was forever smoking Morleys and the one with impeccably groomed nails that took such an interest in the pregnant bitch that was brought in from the Outside.

The Master sat behind his desk, the implements of his authority sitting in plain sight on his desk. The heavy leather bull whip with it's jagged metal tip sat curled in one corner, alongside the revolver. He knew from watching other discipline sessions that the gun was loaded with silver bullets. "You were sent to retrieve an infant, but you have returned empty handed." The Master's voice cracked like the whip on his desk. "Explain."

The werewolf drew a deep breath. "I have failed, Master." He went on to explain to the audience of three the events of the night. They sat there impassively staring, only their breathing betraying the fact that they were not statues.

When the tale was over, the Master wanted to make one point clear. "You bit a human and did not kill him."

The werewolf hung his head. "I bit a human, and did not kill him."

The Master reached for the whip. "You know the penalty," he said dangerously. The werewolf cowered back, knowing what would come next. He prayed to what ever saint that watched over his kind that the punishment would be over quickly.

Cancerman stepped forward, making a gesture to halt the Master. "Describe this human you bit," he said, giving the werewolf his full attention.

The werewolf, still cringing, responded. "He was the same height as you. Almost completely bald, but what was left of his hair was brown. Brown eyes and also wore glasses."

Cancerman considered the information. "Normally, your blunder would be dealt with swiftly and surely. But this error has assisted us. You are dismissed," he said, ignoring the Master's shocked look.

The werewolf could not believe his ears. He had expected to get the thrashing of his life at minimum, and he was not even getting a verbal reaming. The werewolf backed out of the door, uttering his thanks and unworthiness and praising the benevolence of his human overlords.

The doors eventually closed. The Master turned to Cancerman and Well Manicured Man. His position with the werewolves would be greatly undermined if it became common knowledge that he was as afraid of these people as most of the werewolves were of him. "Would you like another attempt made?"

"No," Well Manicured Man said. "Assistant Director Skinner undergoing the Change should be more than enough to keep them distracted."

Cancerman nodded his agreement and lit another cigarette. "What rank was that male?"

"He is two levels above Omega Rank," the Master answered. "And he has no appreciable mind powers."

Well Manicured Man, signaling Cancerman to precede him, prepared to leave. "Allow him access to a sterile female, or male if that's his persuasion, tonight, as an expression of how pleased we are about this unexpected development. And tomorrow have him killed as a reminder to the others that our orders must be carried out explicitly." Half way through the door, he turned back. "And make sure that no one under rank of Delta is ever sent to deal with my niece again," he added as an afterthought.

When Skinner woke up, he was in bed and naked. [How did I end up here?] he thought looking around. After a moment of squinting, he recognized Jess and Krycek's bedroom. Skinner thought that the attack had been a dream, until he tried to sit up and put weight on his left shoulder. The pain made him collapse back onto the bed.

Laying on the bed, Skinner heard the bedroom door open and the sound of bare feet walking towards him. He felt a hand gently take his. "Easy, Walter," Krycek said. He was wearing his robe and looked like he hadn't slept all night. There was a haunted look in his eyes.

Skinner leaned all his weight on his right arm and sat up. "God, my left shoulder hurts." He looked outside, noting the still dark sky. "What happened?"

There was no graceful or easy way to tell him. Krycek gently reached out and touched his wounded shoulder, looking at the scabs. The wound was deep enough to induce the Change, but not serious enough to be life threatening. "You were bitten," he said, deadly serious.

It took a moment for the full meaning of the words to sink in. And the full implication would not sink in until much later. "Are you certain?" Skinner blinked.

"We're sure it's a bite. We're not one hundred percent certain it was a werewolf, but we're pretty damn sure. Jess and Lindy are out trying to track him right now."

Krycek paused for a moment. "You'll show little signs soon, but the night before the full moon is when the Change will really start taking hold." He gripped Skinner's hand tighter. "But we'll be here to help you."

Skinner shut his eyes. He couldn't think of this right now. He was surprised that Krycek wasn't out hunting with Jess. "Why did Lindy go with Jess and not you?"

"We talked about it," Krycek said with a sigh. "As much as we want to protect Lindy, it's time she started learning how serious things are. Jess thought this would be a good chance to help Lindy hone her hunting skills. That and the fact that I'm the best choice to talk to you right now."

"Best choice?" That didn't make any sense to Skinner.

"Lindy doesn't remember much about being human or newly Changed. Jess wasn't aware of what was happening to her at the time. But I knew what being bitten by Alpha Wolf meant. And They kept me under close observation and noted each new sign. One of the scientists made it a point to torture me by giving me daily progress updates on my progress." Krycek paused before continuing. "And then I did go through it twice."

Skinner nodded. He still was amazed at what the young man who sat before him had been willing to go through for love and forgiveness. For some reason, Skinner knew that Krycek would always be ashamed of all he had done out of ambition, and later survival instinct, and would forever be trying to atone. The first time he had become a werewolf, it had been forced on him, but he felt he deserved it as a punishment. The second time it was to try to save a life. And then there had been what he had been willing to endure that had led Skinner to become more intimately involved with Krycek and Jess.

Krycek watched Skinner, wondering at his lover's silence. "Do you have any questions, Walter?"

He looked into Krycek's beautiful grass green eyes and felt a familiar heat flood his system. "Alex, I do have one question at this moment. Does being bitten make you hornier than usual?" Part of Skinner's mind chided himself that he was using sex to avoid what just happened, but he was listening to the louder part that was demanding gratification.

Krycek grinned wickedly. He leaned in close to Skinner's ear. "Extremely, Walter." He ran his fingers lightly over the top sheet covering Skinner's thigh, pulling it away from his body. "And what do you want to do about it?"

Skinner reached forward and pulled Krycek onto his lap. "How about some mind blowing sex?" he asked as he unknotted Krycek's robe, his hands lingering and stroking the younger man's slim hips.

Krycek laughed and shrugged the cloth off his back, revealing his naked body for Skinner's inspection. "I thought you'd want something else blown." He knew the sudden arousal was probably a subconscious reaction to avoid what had just happened. And Krycek really didn't want to face it at this moment either.

Skinner chuckled. His laughter quickly turned to gasps of pleasure as Krycek leaned forward to suck a flat nipple into his mouth. He sank back against the pillows as Krycek teased the nipple to a tight peak using his lips and tongue and occasionally a gentle scrape with his teeth. Skinner moaned and grabbed Krycek's head, fingers brushing against the buzz cut that he seemed to favor lately. As his lover continued his explorations, it was hard for Skinner not to push Krycek's head to the hardness between his legs, or guide the hands stroking his neck to grab his ass. When they made love previously, Krycek had been the more passive partner, unless Jess was involved. And then he only actively seduced her body as Skinner explored his. So he endured this sweet torture, wanting Krycek to feel comfortable enough to be able to play and indulge himself. Maybe it was due to his persona at work, the ice cold, stone-faced, approach-me-not facade that was created in part by his Marine training and a desire to protect people he cared for from the forces he had no choice but to deal with, but Skinner was a deeply feeling man. Few people, lovers included, seemed to realize that sometimes he needed as badly to be made love to as to make love.

Skinner's sounds made Krycek almost unbearably stiff. As Krycek licked his way to above Skinner's navel, he couldn't believe that Skinner was letting him have his way with his body. Cassandra, the woman he almost had married, had always wanted to be on the receiving end, but had specific demands about what acts he could and could not perform. Jess was very give and take, sensitive to moods and needs and willing to try almost anything at least once. His only other male lover, Bill, had always been in charge during their brief relationship, but had always been gentle. And, although he didn't actually count as a lover, there was his experience with Alpha Wolf....

He hadn't realized he had shivered until he felt Skinner's hands stroking his shoulders. Krycek looked up to see Skinner staring at him, concern filling his brown eyes. "Are you okay, Alex?"

Krycek slid back up to look Skinner in the eyes. "I'm fine," he whispered, and kissed his lover's face.

Skinner's hand cupped Krycek's cheek. "Then why are you crying?"

Krycek swallowed as Skinner wiped away his tears, which he hadn't realized were falling. "With everything I've done, I don't feel like I deserve this," he whispered.

Skinner wound his arms around his lover. "What makes you think I do? I did his dirty work too." That was part of why Skinner felt sympathetic towards Krycek and cared for him in a way that even Jess couldn't. They had both ended up playing roles and performing actions that they found distasteful at best.

Skinner kissed Krycek's lips, softly at first and then hungrily as their libidos flamed again. Krycek wiggled out of Skinner's arms, rubbing his cock against the AD's flat stomach. Skinner gave an involuntary groan and arched his groin in offering as the younger man licked his belly, tongue darting in and out and around Skinner's navel.

And Krycek was never one to say no to an offer, especially of a rock hard cock dripping precome. Lazily, he began to draw his tongue up and down Skinner's shaft, relishing the cries his lover was making. He then nibbled his way down to Skinner's balls, pausing to kiss the base of his sex. Nuzzling Skinner's balls, he began to lick every inch of flesh he could reach. As Krycek groomed Skinner's pelvic area, Skinner forced one of his legs between Krycek's. Krycek's response was to groan and lock his legs around Skinner's. He began thrusting against it as he took Skinner's large cock in his mouth, deep throating him. Wanting to drive the AD insane with desire, he hummed in time with his thrusts.

[Oh God!] Skinner couldn't believe what was happening. Here he was with his rock hard cock shoved down the throat of a man who by all rights should be a hated enemy who was his lover and giving him an expertly executed blow job while humping his leg like a dog in heat. But thought became impossible as he felt his balls draw upwards. "Ughhhhhh...."

Krycek's thrusts and swallows became faster as he felt Skinner's tension build. And then the AD was coming in his mouth a little sooner than expected. Krycek gagged slightly, not having been fully prepared for Skinner's explosion. But then he lost himself in sensation as he felt his seed spurt onto Skinner's leg. Once those sensations faded, Krycek let Skinner's cock ease from between his smiling lips and moved down to Skinner's thigh. With the care of a cat grooming a kitten, Krycek licked his come off the older man's leg, eliciting shivers of pleasure.

After Skinner's thigh was completely clean, they both lay there, sated and exhausted. Skinner closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "Jess is going to be pissed that we didn't wait for her," he said, eyes still closed. He sounded more satisfied than worried.

"Mmmm hmmm." Krycek rolled off Skinner and slid back up to his head. "She'll just have to wait her turn," he muttered as he stretched languidly. He threw an arm over Skinner's chest and rested his head so it was covering his neck, but not restricting Skinner's airway. "Probably won't be back until dawn," he yawned. "We might as well catch some sleep until then. Good night, Walter."

Krycek felt a soft kiss on the top of his head. "Night, Alex."

Despite the approaching dawn, two wolves worked there way across the rain slicked city. The larger of the pair, a solid black female, looked forward to her companion. ~I can't find any sign of him.~ she mindspoke. ~Smell anything, Lindy?~

~Nothing!~ the blonde werewolf snorted, still sniffing the ground. ~It's as if he just disappeared.~ Lindy then shook, sending rain droplets flying from her coat.

Jess heaved a canine sigh and sat back on her haunches. ~He probably did one of two things - went into the sewers, or got into a waiting car. Either way, we can't smell where he went.~

Lindy raised her head and looked back at Jess. ~Which means this was planned.~

Jess nodded. ~I wonder what he wanted. It obviously wasn't to stop and chat.~ She pawed vainly at the ground, trying to raise any scent.

Lindy looked to the east and bristled her damp fur. ~Almost dawn. Shouldn't we head back?~

~Yeah, we should.~ Jess turned around, and looked skyward. ~At least the rain is stopping.~

Lindy trotted up to her and nuzzled Jess's face. The older werewolf returned the caress halfheartedly and then started home at a walk. Lindy followed for a few paces, and then sped up so she was shoulder to shoulder with Jess. ~What's wrong, Jess?~

~I've been blind, Lindy.~ Jess stared straight ahead as she strode onwards. ~I should have foreseen this. The Consortium has been too quiet lately. They were bound to make a move.~

~Jess, you can't plan for every contingency~ Lindy protested. ~And maybe it wasn't a werewolf that bit Walter.~

Jess paused, right forepaw in the air, and fixed Lindy with a steely glare. ~Do you really believe that Lindy?~

Lindy returned the stare and then dropped her head and shook it. ~No, Jess,~ she admitted.

Jess nodded an agreement. ~Then it will be just the same as if it were my jaws that sliced into his shoulder.~ She stood up and headed off at a fast lope.

Lindy stopped, watching the female she thought of as her mother, and shook her head. [She feels responsible. But she's not. But she won't see things that way.] The golden wolf then bolted after the ebony one, and followed her home.

Skinner woke up first the next morning. Krycek still sprawled across and next to him in hedonistic unconsciousness, but Jess was no where to be seen. He tried to hold still, not wanting to disturb his lover. But despite himself, one hand crept up to Krycek's scalp to massage the buzz cut hair. Krycek snorted lightly and shifted. "Morning, Walter," he murmured, eyes closed, and nuzzled Skinner's chest.

"Morning, Alex." Skinner kissed the top of Krycek's head, and looked around. "Jess isn't here."

Krycek's eyelids pressed tighter together momentarily. "She and Lindy are downstairs," he eventually said. Krycek yawned and opened his eyes.

Skinner nodded and rolled out of bed. Krycek found himself admiring Skinner's naked backside Last night's experience of sucking Skinner off made him wonder if he would be open to other suggestions and positions. Krycek shook his head. [What am I thinking! This isn't the time.] It would be tricky enough to propose renegotiating the relationship without the newly Changed situation interfering.

Skinner, half dressed, looked back at Krycek. "You going to stay in bed all day, boy?" he asked.

Krycek shot him a dirty look, but also got out of bed. Both men dressed quickly - Krycek in sweats and jeans, Skinner more professionally in the spare suit he had left there for emergencies. "You're not planning to go in today?" Krycek asked, incredulous.

Skinner nodded, pausing in the middle of knotting his tie. "I don't want anyone to think anything is out of the ordinary."

"Too late. It's almost nine." Krycek took one of Skinner's hands. "We have to talk about last night and figure out what we're going to do about it. Stay, please."

The older man squeezed Krycek's hand. "Okay." Internally, Skinner was relieved that Krycek and by extension Jess and Lindy were offering their support. "So what do we do first?"

"The first thing any werewolf does when faced with a crisis - eat." Krycek tugged Skinner downstairs and into the kitchen, where Jess and Lindy were waiting.

Lindy sat at the table, looking tired. Jess was talking into the phone, and looked equally tired. After a few moments, she hung the receiver on the hook and turned to Lindy. "You're called in sick from school."

Lindy nodded. "Morning Walter, Alex," she said, turning her attention to the men who just entered the kitchen.

Jess stiffened and wouldn't turn around to look at Skinner. "This is my fault," she blurted out staring at the floor. "I should have expected something like this and protected you."

Skinner walked over to her and put an arm around her. "I knew the risks when we first got involved, Jess. I don't blame you, Jess, or any of you," he said and took a deep breath. "So you didn't catch him so I can tear out his heart and eat it?"

Jess, despite the situation snorted. "I knew watching 'An American Werewolf in Paris' was going to give you the wrong idea." Jess stepped back and looked up at his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay." Skinner took a deep breath. "How soon can we be sure?"

Jess looked at Krycek with a raised eyebrow. He thought for a moment. "We should be able to tell now," he said slowly.

Jess nodded, regaining her composure now that she had something else to focus on. "Lindy, go get my necklace." Lindy slipped from the table. "I'll be right back," Jess said, following the girl out of the kitchen.

Skinner turned to Krycek. "How are you going to do this?"

"Simple, really," he replied. "A drop or two of blood and some silver are all that's needed."

Lindy and Jess arrived at almost the same time, Lindy carrying the cross on its silver chain, Jess carrying a needle, rubbing alcohol and some cotton balls. "Are your ready for this, Walter?" she asked, sterilizing the needle with the alcohol.

Skinner took a deep breath and nodded. Jess stood up and moved to his left shoulder. "This may sting a little, but not really hurt. There aren't that many nerves in the earlobe." Folding the lobe over, she rubbed a alcohol soaked cotton ball over the skin. Picking up the needle, she pricked the lobe quickly and efficiently, not piercing deeply.

Skinner flinched a little. Milking the wound with her fingers, Jess held another cotton ball to the tiny puncture for a second. Swiftly, not giving the blood a chance to clot, she removed the wad of cotton and stroked it over the silver cross.

Thin wisps of smoke rose from the metal, confirming their suspicions.

Jess dropped down on the chair next to Skinner. Krycek put a hand on his shoulder, and asked the obvious question. "Do we tell Mulder and Scully?"

"Not yet," Skinner said after a moment. He stared at the cross, not certain he believed what he had just seen. "I need time." And the last thing he wanted was Mulder taking watching and dissecting everything that would happen to him.

Jess nodded, stunned by what she had also seen. "Whatever you want, Walter."

Sitting on her bed, the teenager stared out her window at the sky, thinking. Lindy had been relieved that Jess had called her her school saying she was absent due to illness. She was feeling tired. And it wasn't just because she had been out tracking the stranger all night. Lindy had noticed over the last few weeks that her energy level was flagging. Jess had also noticed, assumed that it was linked to Lindy beginning to menstruate, and told her it was normal, and that her energy level would climb back up soon. But Lindy wasn't too sure. The tiredness was always with her, no matter how much sleep she got the night before, or where she was in her cycle. She had meant to bring it up again with Jess, and maybe ask Krycek about it. But now that Skinner had been bitten, Lindy felt that he needed the attention more than she did. After all, a little tiredness couldn't compare to the shock of being Changed. [I'll just make sure I get to sleep earlier.]

Her only other problem was the nosebleeds she had late at night. When they started three months ago, it was only a drop or two of blood. Lindy ignored it and put the sheets in the laundry before Jess noticed. But lately, the bleeding was becoming heavier, more frequent, and harder to conceal. But she did not want to bother Jess, Krycek, or Skinner with it. They had enough to worry about for now.

The knock on her door pulled her out of her thoughts. "Can I come in?" came Jess's voice.

"Sure," Lindy called.

Jess opened the door and walked into the room. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"

Lindy shrugged. "Okay."

Jess tilted her head to one side as she sat on the bed. "I'm worried about you. I want to be sure that you're getting enough attention. I mean, with Alex, Amanda, and now Walter, I just feel like I've been neglecting you."

Lindy scooted closer to her. "I don't feel neglected, Jess." She leaned against Jess's shoulder. "I just want some time to myself." [And I'm too tired to keep up with you.]

Jess looked hard at her. Lindy was almost certain that Jess had seen through this half-truth when Jess put her arm around her. "I can understand that, Lindy," she said with a squeeze. Jess stood up. "But remember that I'm here for you if you need me."

Lindy smiled. "I will." Jess smiled back and went out the door. Lindy then sank back on the bed. [I should have told her. But I can't. Too much is happening too fast.] Lindy also was trying to find a pattern, and she didn't like the one revealing itself. She bled the most a few hours after she Changed.

She felt a warmth trickle onto her lips. She touched them and her fingers came away covered in blood. "Damn," she said, reaching for the Kleenex box. She had been a werewolf for almost as long as she could remember. And she would stay one. Even if it killed her.

Mulder and Scully had finally come to a decision, and decided it was time to let everyone know about it. So they had taken a vacation day from the FBI. After telling their parents, they went to see Jess and Krycek. But, after Jess let them in, both looked surprised to find Skinner in the living room instead of at the office. "Sir?" Mulder asked. "What are you doing here?"

Before Skinner could come up with a plausible excuse, Jess interrupted smoothly. "That's my fault. We asked him to babysit Amanda last night and forgot to set an alarm. So when we woke up at noon today, I exerted my evil influence and convinced him to play hooky."

Mulder gave her a sharp look. The answer came a little too smoothly and sounded a little too pat. Jess returned his stare with an unblinking one of her own. Eventually, Jess looked away first, something she rarely did when confronted. His gaze shifted to Skinner, who wouldn't look at him. Now Mulder knew something was definitely wrong. He made a mental note for later to try to dig out of her what was happening.

Scully also sensed that there was something being left unsaid, but she took Mulder's cue and did not probe. "Well, it's a good thing that you are all here. We can tell you all at once."

"Tell us what?" Krycek came downstairs, carrying Amanda. Lindy followed close on his heels, rubbing her eyes.

Mulder and Scully shared a look before Mulder answered. "We're engaged," he said taking hold of Scully's left hand.

There were an assortment of congratulatory words and squeals. Jess bounced off the couch to give Mulder and Scully a hug. "When?" she asked.

"Settle down, hell beast." Mulder gave Jess a friendly shove. "We haven't set a date yet. In fact, we're going to have a party to announce it to everyone."

"We just felt that you should hear it first Jess, since you helped us to admit how we felt about each other."

From the looks Krycek and Skinner gave Jess, it was obvious that she hadn't told them the story. "I'll explain later," she said to them, turning back to Mulder and Scully. "You haven't told your families yet?" Jess asked with raised eyebrows.

Scully laughed. "Yes we have. My mother's response was, 'Well, it's about time.'"

Krycek laughed at that. "And yours, Mulder?"

Mulder shifted slightly. "She took it as well as could be expected."

Jess nodded knowingly. She had met Mulder's family once, and it hadn't been a great success. Mrs. Mulder had made it clear to her that she felt whatever flesh and blood woman her son was currently dating would never be good enough for him. However past girlfriends, no matter how shabbily they treated Mulder, were the best things that had ever happened to him. Shying away from that subject, Mulder asked a question. "Why haven't you and Alex gotten married?"

"Is that really any of your business?" Skinner snapped.

Mulder and Scully shot him a look, startled by his response. Jess put a hand on his shoulder before replying. "Lots of things. The fact that we're afraid that the moment we fill out any legal paperwork, the police will be knocking down the door to drag Alex away."

Scully responded to that statement. "We ran a police check, out of curiosity. His record has been wiped clean by someone."

Krycek shook his head. "That doesn't really matter. The lower profile we maintain, the better it is for us."

"Listen, this is great news," Skinner said. "But I have to be up early for a conference, so I'm going home." He stood up and walked to the door.

"You sure you want to go home?" There was a concern in Jess's voice that made Scully think she was asking a totally different question.

Skinner nodded and almost slammed the door as he walked through it. "What was that about?" Mulder asked.

None of the werewolves would look him in the eye. "Nothing, Mulder," Krycek said, making Mulder certain that something was going on.

Despite his fears and worries, Skinner returned to the Hoover Building the next day, passing off his absence as due to a 24 hour flu. He hoped to lose himself in the backlog of paperwork that waited him. He also hoped that a certain visitor would make an appearance. But at the same time he was dreading it.

The door to his office opened without a preliminary knock. Skinner eyed Cancerman with outward calmness as the older man stepped into the room. Before it had been difficult to maintain a poker face when dealing with this man. Now, with Skinner's knowledge of what he was becoming and this man's probable role in his transformation, it was almost impossible.

Cancerman began speaking without any formalities. "I warned you that it was possible to pick up rabies from your pets," he said placidly, reminding Skinner of a conversation that had taken place almost two years before.

Skinner frowned, understanding the reference. "They are not responsible for what is happening."

"But in a way they are." Cancerman paused to select a cigarette from his ever present pack of Morleys. "If you had let them be, none of this would be occurring."

"Odd. I recall you being the one who ordered me to sleep with Krycek in the first place, and to gain their trust."

"And you knew what was expected of you, and you failed to deliver the desired results. But we were talking of this situation," Cancerman said, sidestepping the issue. "There is a treatment, of course."

"Of course," Skinner said. Lindy and Krycek had been through it once before. Both had chosen, for their own reasons, to become werewolves again. "But such treatments usually have a high price."

"Of course, Mr. Skinner. And this one is no different." He removed a cigarette from his pack of Morleys. "The only question is if you will be willing to pay the it."

"And exactly what is that price?"

Cancerman made a big show of lighting his cigarette before answering. "You will take an early retirement from the FBI. And you will sever your ties with Agents Mulder and Scully, in addition to Mr. Krycek and his family." The old man turned to leave.

"That seems a bit of a high of a price for something that isn't fatal," Skinner said to the retreating back.

Cancerman turned and looked Skinner in the eyes. "Are you certain that it's not fatal, Assistant Director Skinner?" Before Skinner could respond, the doorway was empty.

Skinner sat there for a moment, and then stood up, grabbing his coat. He wasn't certain where he was going, but he couldn't stay at the office any longer.

Jess snorted in irritation when she heard the pounding on the door. Trying to do laundry, cook a roast, feed Amanda, who was having nothing to do with the strained carrots Jess had picked out, and coax her computer to download the latest graphic editing shareware had Jess reconsidering the whole idea of being domesticated. Krycek was no help since he was out at the library, trying to do some research on the ways to reverse the Change. And now, to add to her distractions, someone was not so patiently knocking on the door. "I'm coming," Jess yelled as she picked up Amanda and walked over to the door, trying to wipe the carrots off of both her and her baby.

Mulder was grinning when she opened the door. "I haven't heard you scream that for a long time. And orange isn't your color."

"Mulder." Jess lifted Amanda a little higher, bouncing the baby against her hip. Amanda leaned towards Mulder, reaching for his garishly bright silk tie. "Shouldn't you be at work?" she asked, holding the door open with her knee.

"I'm taking an extra long lunch." Mulder ruffled Amanda's hair as he walked in. He had his suspicions and wanted some answers. With Jess, he tended to get the best results if he cut to the chase. "What's up with Skinner?"

"What do you mean up?" Jess asked, feigning ignorance.

Mulder sat down on the couch. "I know something's happened with him, Jess. Don't play innocent with me. He was uneasy about something when we visited yesterday, and he's been jumpy at work." He looked at her sharply. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. Sometimes I wish to God that I were, but that doesn't look likely in the near future." Jess put Amanda down in the playpen. "What's going on with Skinner is personal. He's asked us not to talk about it with you yet."

Mulder arched an eyebrow. "So can you tell me what it's not about?"

Jess pursed her lips a little. "It's not about you, it's not about Dana, and it's not about that supposed face on Mars. Aside from that, I'm not saying a word."

"So it's about lycanthropy."

Jess shook her head. "I didn't say that."

"Then it's not about lycanthropy."

Jess remained noncommittal. "I didn't say that either. I said that he didn't want us to discuss it with you."

"And I expect you to honor my wishes, Agent Mulder." Both Jess and Mulder turned to see Skinner standing in the doorway. "This is between Jess, Alex and me."

Mulder voiced his suspicion. "You've been bitten, haven't you sir?" He turned to Jess. "Was it an accident? Which one of you did it?"

Jess blinked and took a step back, stunned by the idea that Mulder thought she or Krycek were capable of intentionally spreading the Change. "Do you really think I could do this to someone?" she had once asked him. The idea of deliberately inflicting lycanthropy on an unwilling human made her nauseous.

Skinner walked over to Jess and put an arm around her. "Agent Mulder, you should go."

The line was delivered with very little heat, more as a matter of fact. But Mulder wasn't certain if that meant he was correct or not. He shot an appealing look to Jess. "I'm only here to help."

She gestured towards the door. "We've got to handle this our own way Mulder. If we need your help, we'll ask for it."

Mulder nodded, realizing he would get no more information at this moment. But that didn't mean that he would stop investigating until he found out what really happened. He stepped through the doorway. "Just be careful, both of you."

Jess and Skinner nodded but otherwise remained silent. Both watched as Mulder walked down the sidewalk to his car and drove away.

Jess shook her head. "He's not going to be happy until he knows," she commented.

Skinner nodded his agreement. "But I'm not ready for him to know."

Skinner stood out on his balcony, staring at the almost full moon. It was one night before the full moon, and he couldn't get it out of his mind, or what was going to happen tomorrow evening. He had come home after barely managing to sit at his desk all day. He had chewed out three agents who didn't deserve it, and Mulder, who did deserve it. He then had informed Kim that he was taking two weeks of his accrued vacation time, effective immediately. Once in his apartment, he thought about making dinner, but wasn't hungry. He tried watching television, but he couldn't settle on one channel. He tried calling Krycek and Jess, but only their answering machine picked up the phone. He thought about going to bed, but it was only 8:30 PM. Restless, he had wandered out to the balcony and was entranced by the sight of the moon.

It had been almost one month since he was bitten. It was easy to forget about the attack and lose himself in his work during the light of day. But his sleep was stalked by the beasts of nightmares. Jess and Krycek had stood by him, being there when he needed to talk but otherwise keeping their distance. Skinner tried to reassure the pair that he didn't blame them for what had befallen him. But as the night came closer, it was becoming harder not to think about the Change and wonder and dread what would happen.

And the dream didn't help either. It was always the same. He was running down a twisting hallway, being stalked by a werewolf from his worst nightmare. No matter how fast he moved, the foaming, snapping jaws were not far behind. Every turn he thought would lead to freedom and safety. But they only lead to entrapment and death. And the werewolf was herding him ever faster towards that final destination.

He was not alone in the maze. He passed Mulder and Scully trapped behind a glass wall. Jess and Krycek were around the next corner, chained and muzzled on the floor, bellies exposed. And by the exit stood Sharon, handcuffed to the wall. Somehow Skinner knew that if he tried to leave this trap, the werewolf would turn its rage onto the other helpless occupants. Not wanting that to happen, he led the creature deeper into the labyrinth.

One final turn left him in a cul-de-sac, the beast blocking his only exit. The creature had him backed into a corner. There was no where for him to run. For a split second, he wondered why the old woman, who had saved him many times and in many was before, was allowing this to happen. He watched in fascinated horror as the muscles contracted beneath the pelt. The werewolf sprang for his throat and....

Then he would wake up in a cold sweat, screaming bloody murder. If he were alone, he would turn on the lights and wait until dawn and then go to work. If he were with Jess or Krycek, they would wake up and try to comfort him with whispered reassurances or sweetly offered gentle sex. Either way, Skinner would not allow himself to fall back asleep and start the cycle of nightmares again.

They did discuss possible cures. Krycek's research did turn up some interesting theories. Skinner had been mildly amused at the mysticism surrounding the ways to reverse lycanthropy. They ranged from as simple as addressing the werewolf by his Christian name three times to as radical as lopping off the werewolf's penis. "I don't think so," Jess commented after reading aloud that particular remedy. It appeared that, aside from going to the Consortium and begging for treatment to reverse the Change, there was nothing to be done.

And it was the waiting that was killing him. He was used to being in a position where he could do something to alter the outcome. This time he was denied of that recourse, and constantly reminded of it. Cancerman stopped by daily to make veiled taunts. Mulder stopped by daily trying to figure out if Skinner had been Changed or not. Scully was curious, but keeping her distance, assuming something personal was troubling him. Jess, Krycek, and Lindy tried to act normally around him, but he had caught them watching him, waiting for signs of his altered state.

Skinner was jerked out of his thoughts when he heard his front door open, keying his edgy instincts further. He cursed himself for the fact that he had left his gun in the bedroom, but then realized that a potential assassin wouldn't be letting himself inside with a set of keys. That, and on the light breeze, he could just detect the smell of perfume, something earthy, exotic, and unmistakably female. He turned to see Jess standing there, wearing a trench coat, one that had been Krycek's while working for the FBI. It was too long for her and the excess fabric draped over her feet, hiding her shoes, reminding Skinner of a young girl playing dress up in her daddy's coat. She was looking at him, gentle concern on her face. "Alex and I thought you shouldn't spend tonight alone." Jess kept her distance, a little uncertain. "Unless you want to be alone."

Skinner reached an arm out to her. Jess walked towards him, the coat trailing behind her. "So why isn't Alex here, too?" he asked at he put an arm around her waist. He pulled Jess so she was between him and the railing of the balcony. Only half conscious of what he was doing, he began molding his body against hers.

"Someone has to stay with the kids," Jess said simply, leaning back against him. "This time, I won the coin toss," she added with an impish smile. "Really, how are you doing?"

Jess's gentle probing rubbed him the wrong way. Skinner stiffened. "I'm fine," he said brusquely.

"Except for the irritability, nightmare induced insomnia, no attention span, and loss of appetite," Jess said with a slight sigh. "You don't have to hide it, Walter. I won't think any less of you. We go through this every time the full moon nears. Think of it as a severe case of PMS."

Skinner shook his head. He was so used to being in control of his emotions, that this edginess and irritation was frightening and alien to him. "How do you deal with this?" he whispered in her ear.

Jess stared up at the moon. "You get used to it," she said slowly. "And the longer you're a werewolf, the less severe it gets." She turned around to face him, a seductive grin on her face. "But it also helps if you exhaust yourself with certain... distractions." The last words were said as she fluttered her eyelashes, ones that were almost as as long, thick, and dark as Krycek's.

Skinner could feel his breath catch in his throat, and the blood begin to pool between his legs. His hormones were as out of control as his emotions. "And what kind of distractions would that be?"

Jess stretched up and teased Skinner with feather light kisses on his jaw and chin. "Take off the coat and find out."

Skinner ran his hands up and down her arms and shoulders. His palms trailed down to the buttons and he undid them slowly, teasing himself as much as her. And his eyes widened as the coat slipped off. Jess's smile grew broader. "You'd be amazed what you can buy off the internet these days."

Skinner eyed the black baby doll, matching lace panties, and high heels appreciatively. "I, obviously, am hitting all the wrong sites." Jess nodded and shivered, goose bumps breaking out over her fair skin. "Cold?" Skinner asked. Jess nodded again. "Well, let's get you warmed up," he said, bowing his head towards hers.

She met him half way with parted lips. Skinner clamped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his body. Jess responded by lifting her legs and wrapping them around Skinner's waist. Skinner turned carried Jess back inside. Jess's lips moved from Skinner's to his ear. "Let me down." Skinner loosened his grip and Jess slid her legs down his, causing Skinner to tremble. He could not remember being so aware of a woman's looks, a woman's scent, a woman touch. The closest he could compare to was when he lost his virginity to his girlfriend at age fifteen.

Jess, sensing that Skinner was too caught up in his reactions to make any conscious decisions, grabbed his hand and guided him upstairs. She could vaguely remember the yearnings that were coursing through her body the night before she first Changed. But at that time, she had rationalized it, mentally convincing herself that her heightened senses were do to the fact that she had just met and wanted to get laid badly by someone who was to become a dear friend, Fox Mulder. But then Krycek and Lindy had told her of going through the same thing when they were Changed. Lindy's memories were hazy and tinged with a undeserved shame. Krycek had also felt the same yearnings but was also thankful that Alpha Wolf had been out on an assignment and was no where near him that night.

When they reached the bedroom, Skinner regained some of his ability to move independently. He took a hold of either side of the neckline and pulled outward, rending the garment in two. With a feral smile Jess responded by unbuttoning his shirt and running her hands down his chest to unzip his fly. She then kicked off her heels and climbed onto the center of the bed, presenting her ass to Skinner. She knew from the moment that she had decided to come over that the sex was going to be rougher than usual. However, she felt confident that she could keep the situation in hand, and it wouldn't turn out like one of her nights with Jake.

Following her onto the bed, Skinner molded himself to her back, growling. He rubbed his open mouth over her neck, tongue and teeth gliding over her skin. Jess tilted her head back and let out a purr that was almost a growl. Skinner ran his hands up her abdomen to her breasts. Barely aware of what he was doing, he closed his mouth, pinching the tender flesh below her jaw between his teeth. Jess let out a hair raising shriek and bucked ferociously, sharply elbowing Skinner in the side at the same time. Skinner found himself tossed to the far end of the bed, surprised that the small body that had been beneath him was so strong. Panting, and a bit dazed by her sudden violence, he watched Jess crouching by the pillows, her eyes narrowed. She raised a hand to the red mark on her neck. "No biting," she hissed.

Skinner's eyes narrowed, calculating whether he could throw her down to the bed and mount her before she could retaliate. Jess also was plotting, trying to figure out how to slow him down if he tried to bite her again. She could handle anything but that, especially if the biting moved to her chest. They stayed there for several long moments, breathing heavily and watching each other. Their stare down was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Both Jess and Skinner looked away at the same time. Skinner backed off the bed while Jess remained crouched by the pillows. Silently, he zipped himself up and and walked down stairs to the front door. [Get rid of whoever's at the door and then get back upstairs,] he mentally growled. He opened the door and was surprised at who stood there. "Come in," he said, pulling the door wider.

His ex-wife entered the apartment with a neutral, almost friendly expression on her face. Sharon appeared on the verge of saying something when she noticed something behind Skinner. He half turned to see what she was gazing at. Jess's coat, puddled on the floor where he had tossed it a few minutes before, and her purse resting on the couch. When he returned his gaze to her, the expression she now wore was anything but friendly. "Well, I see you haven't wasted any time," she said rather tartly.

Skinner squared his shoulders slightly as a defensive look crossed his face. "I didn't realize who I keep company with is any of your concern."

"It's funny you should say that, Walter. Especially with who you kept company with before our divorce."

That stung, but he tried not to let it show. "So why are you here, Sharon?" he asked, trying to remain civil.

"I need this paperwork on turning over the insurance for the house signed. I hear you're renting it now."

"Yes" he said a little sharply. Skinner did not want to discuss the rental agreement with Sharon. "Why did you stop by without calling first?"

"I did. You were probably so wrapped up in your work, you didn't notice, or just forgot, just like when we were married." Sharon handed him the paperwork and a pen. Skinner scribbled his name by the x and handed the paperwork back to Sharon without saying a word. "I won't keep you from your entertainment any longer," she said cattily and let herself out the door.

Skinner leaned his head against the door. [Damn! Why does it still hurt so much?] After They had attempted to kill her, he and Sharon had tried to reconcile. Skinner had made the effort, but Sharon's attempt had been half hearted, making it clear what she wanted. And even though it tore him apart to do so, he signed the divorce papers. He turned toward the stairwell, only to find Jess standing at the top of it, wearing the shirt he had been earlier. "You heard?" he asked as he climbed the stairs.

Jess nodded. "Everything." She paused and took a small step backwards. "Do you want me to leave?" She looked at him with wide brown eyes, seeming small and fragile.

Skinner shook his head and put an arm around her shoulders. "No." The stare down with Jess and the verbal dueling with Sharon had channeled the pressures building within his psyche outward, leaving him feel drained. The last thing he wanted was to be alone with his thoughts and memories. But Skinner also doubted he could get it back up to satisfy Jess.

Jess also put an arm around his waist as they started walking. "We don't have to pick up where we left off," she said, as if sensing his emotional turmoil and tiredness. "In fact, it might be better if we don't."

Skinner brushed his lips against the crown of her head as they crossed the threshold of the bedroom. "You're too good to me, you know that? No other woman I know would put up with this situation."

"You and Sharon, your dueling with Cancerman, or sleeping with me and my life mate?" Jess said lightly, an attempt to lift the dark mood. She lay down on the bed, facing the center.

Skinner shoved off his slacks and flopped down on the bed. "The whole damn thing, Jess." He pushed at her shoulder until she rolled onto her other side. Skinner then spooned into her back and draped an arm over her waist. "By the way," Skinner mumbled into her hair. "I noticed your perfume when you walked in. It's nice."

"Um, thanks," Jess muttered. She closed her eyes and was almost asleep when a thought crossed her mind. [I'm not wearing perfume.] She rarely did since it interfered with her sense of smell. Trying not to disturb him, Jess turned over and looked down at Skinner. He was asleep, the emotional roller coaster having exhausted him. Many of the lines of worry had smoothed out, making him look younger. [His sense of smell has sharpened.] Jess, even after seeing the smoke raise from the cross, had tried to discredit what she had seen. [There is no way to deny it, girl.]

[He's one of us.]

When Skinner woke up at dawn, Jess was still asleep. She had wriggled onto her other side, her head now facing him. For a moment, he was caught up in a panicky sense of deja vu, thinking of when he had been framed for murder. But at that moment, Jess made a noise in her sleep and curled tighter in on herself. Skinner reached out and stroked Jess's arm. [At least I didn't have another nightmare last night.] He gave a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. He could still remember clearly the terror of waking up next to the corpse. But what had really unsettled him was his own self doubt. Skinner had half believed that he did it at the time in the midst of a nightmare, or that the old woman had somehow done it. Either way, he was certain he was guilty.

But since he had signed the divorce papers, he had not seen the old woman, not even when he had started sleeping with both Krycek and Jess. He wasn't sure if that meant she approved of his current relationship or not. Jess and Krycek's attitude towards her possible interference was surprisingly blase, probably due to the fact that they already were used to interference by a guardian spirit, Jess's deceased sister Rachel.

A hand entrapping his fingers brought him back to the present. He opened his eyes to look into Jess's smiling face. Leaning forward, she brushed his lips with a gossamer light kiss. "Feeling better?"

"Some," Skinner answered. He bent low over her to kiss her cheek, but paused when he saw the bright purple bruise behind her left ear, visible in even the half light. "I'm sorry about...," he trailed off, stroking gently around the swollen flesh.

"It's okay," Jess said, giving his fingers a squeeze. "You weren't yourself last night."

"That's no excuse," he whispered in her ear. He reddened in shame as he thought about the night before. "Christ, if we hadn't been interrupted, I was practically going to rape you."

She bolted upright, outraged by what he believed. "Don't you *ever* think that, Walter!" Jess hissed, brow furrowed. She reached out and touched his cheek, her expression softening. "I know what rape is, and if last night had continued the way it had been going, it may have been rougher than usual, but it wouldn't have been rape." She leaned forward and kissed him. "I wouldn't be here if I thought it was."

Skinner sighed as Jess nuzzled his jaw and neck. "So why was I such an asshole last night?"

Jess sat up on one elbow. "Because it was night. That's when the Change's influence is the strongest. It won't be like this every month. Stress levels also affect it. And believe me, we definitely have stress." She tossed one of her legs over his and pulling his body closer to hers. "So why are you awake so early?"

"Habit." Before becoming involved with Jess and Krycek, and way before he was divorced, Skinner had made it his routine to wake up early, get dressed and go to work. Often he had been the first to arrive and the last to leave his department. And even afterward, it wasn't uncommon for Jess or Krycek to wake up and find Skinner long gone.

"Well, try to go back to sleep" Jess counseled. "You're gonna need the rest for tonight. Trust me." She lay back down and shut her eyes, conversation over as far as she was concerned.

Skinner shook her head. Jess was not an early morning person in the least, but he rarely was alone with her. He had a question that he wanted an answer to, and he needed her opinion before broaching this subject with Krycek. Now seemed the perfect time to ask her. "Jess?"

"Yes, Walter?" she muttered, sounding like a half asleep mother indulging her two year old's endless curiosity.

"Do you think Alex would fuck me?"

Jess didn't even bother to open her eyes, certain she had misheard him. "I thought he already was. Don't tell me this whole relationship is just one giant hallucination I've been having."

"No. You and Alex have fucked each other. You and I have fucked each other. I've only fucked him."

"Oh. I get it. You want to know if he'd top you. I think so." Jess opened her eyes. "What brought that out?"

"I don't know." Skinner took a deep breath. "I've been wanting it for a while, but never knew exactly how to ask. And I never really thought about it until you shoved your finger up my ass. None of my lovers had done anything like that before and it felt... good."

Jess nodded. Skinner had such a dominating presence, most people would automatically submit, not considering the fact that he probably needed to be submissive sometimes. [Hell, I'm guilty of it myself.] The only time she had topped him was their first time together. "Talk to him. I'm sure he'd be willing to give it a try. Or do you want me to bring it up with him?" When Skinner nodded, Jess smiled and kissed his lips. "Consider it done." She stroked her hands down his sides. "I really did bruise you," she said when Skinner winced under her gentle touch. "I'm sorry."

Skinner didn't respond except to pull her down to his chest and stroke her hair. Jess reached up to dig her fingers into a set of tight shoulder muscles, trying to relax him. "Walter, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

Jess rose up on one arm to look into his eyes, her expression puzzled. "Why are you so eager to have sex with me when Alex is in bed with us or near by, but not when it's just the two of us? And before you ask, last night doesn't count."

There had been several times when Jess and he had been alone together while Krycek was out assisting Mulder. And although Jess appeared willing, somehow sleeping with her then didn't feel right without Krycek being present. He shifted uneasily. "I feel that you belong to Alex."

"And you belong Alex. And to me. Just as Alex belongs to you, and I do." Jess lay down beside him. "We wanted you to feel you're an equal partner in this relationship, Walter. I'm sorry if it hasn't worked out that way."

Skinner reached out and placed his palm on her arm. "It's more my fault than yours." Jess had done everything she could to make him feel comfortable around her. And he had held back, unconsciously feeling as if he were betraying Sharon again. But, oddly enough, he did not have the same problem when Krycek suggested sex. "And since we're playing twenty questions, it's my turn. Are you going to Agents Mulder and Scully's engagement party?"

"Yes," Jess raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me on a date?"

Skinner raised an eyebrow back at her. "Are you refusing?"

"No," Jess said with a giggle. I"t just seems a little silly, since we're already sleeping together."

"Tradition has it that the Assistant Directors and above are supposed to show up to any function with an escort."

Jess shot him a mischievous smile. "Then ask Alex."

Skinner sounded amused, but exasperated. "Jess...."

"Of course I'll go with you," she said. "But what's the story? I mean, I'm sure that some people are going to recognize me from the Farnsworth case, and they know I was hooked up with Alex."

Skinner thought a moment. "You and I were acquaintances before you met Alex. You're doing this as a platonic favor to me."

"Pitying the newly divorced? Sounds good," Jess smiled. "Are you sure you want to say platonic? That means you have to keep your hands off me all night."

"Believe it or not, I am capable of self-restraint. I just choose not to exercise it most of the time I'm around you and Alex."

Jess looked him up and down, amused by his proclamation. "You seem pretty restrained right now."

Skinner shook his head. "No I'm not." He slowly unbuttoned the shirt and eased the fabric aside, tickling Jess's ribs. Ridding himself of his briefs, he rolled on top of the woman beside him. Skinner sat up so he could look see her. [She's so small.] With the image she projected, Jess always seemed taller than her five foot four inch frame. His eyes rested on her scarred breasts. [And she's so perfect,] he thought. Far from being unarousing, the blemishes reminded him what a sacred gift Jess was giving him, her body and her trust.

A fingertip lazily traced one of the longer scars from navel to nipple. Skinner looked at her face when he felt Jess shudder beneath him. Far from the relaxed arousal of a moment ago, her eyes were tightly shut, lower lip caught between teeth. He felt a wave of self-reproach flood him. [Of course she doesn't like to be reminded of them, you idiot.] Skinner tenderly gathered her stiff but unprotesting body close to his. "I know Farnsworth was rough with you," he whispered in a velvet soft voice. "What did he do to you? Bite, beat, slap you if you tried to pleasure him? Pummel you within an inch of your life and then make you come hard without your consent? Take you to the edge and make you suck him off and leave you begging?"

Now Jess was quaking beneath him, her breath coming in ragged gasps. "Don't make me relive it," she rasped out, moisture leaking from behind closed lids.

Jess jumped when she felt a soft tongue licking away her tears. Skinner's voice was filled with a tenderness she had heard from so few men in her life. "I need to know so I don't ever remind you of him."

Jess opened her eyes to find herself staring into Skinner's. His head hovered over hers, lips centimeters away from brushing hers. She could see the dull ache of need in his eyes, mingled with a stronger desire not to hurt her. "Walter, you could never remind me of him." Moving swiftly, she slid one hand around his waist, one around the back of his head and pulled him to her body, sealing her lips to his.

But he heard the false courage in her voice that thinly masked the pain and fear. "Brave little liar," he whispered, stroking her hair. "You may fool Alex talking like that, but you don't fool me." Skinner moved to kiss her neck, smoothing his hands over her breasts. Moving slowly, he then trailed his tongue along each scar, reverently worshiping her body.

Jess arched up beneath him. "Takes one to know one, Walter," she said regaining some of her composure. She reached down and tweaked his nipples as his hands went to her waist. She started to lift her hips, rubbing her pubic hair against his leaking cock.

"Easy, girl," Skinner gasped when he felt himself surge. Her soft hair gliding over sensitized skin was making him lose control. "Or this'll be over before before we want it to be."

"Are you sure about that?" Jess asked. Her hand wandered down to position the head of his cock just inside her moist entrance. "Are sure you don't need it... hard?" Jess squeezed her muscles, making Skinner groan as his cock slipped further inside when she relaxed. "Fast?" Another contraction had Skinner grasping the sheets on either side of her head. "Furious?"

She gripped his full length with the last contraction. Giving up any pretense of control, Skinner rose up on his knees, jerked her ass closer to his groin and began to pound into her. He could feel his orgasm swelling from the base of his spine quickly, despite his mental attempts to stave it off. Spreading the lips of her sex wide, he thumbed her clitoris, determined to give her as good as he got, even if she got it after he did.

[He's not going to last long enough for me to come,] Jess thought, disappointed. She was close to orgasm, but needed prolonged stimulation. But still, she parried his thrusts, determined to enjoy their closeness, even if she didn't come. Jess began tossing her head back and forth as Skinner felt his orgasm flood himself as he emptied into her. Withdrawing swiftly, he grinned as he heard her breathless curse when he stopped thumbing her and her equally breathless scream when he began tonguing her. Jess arched her hips off the bed, legs stiff, and Skinner licked her into her orgasm.

Still smiling, he kept his hands on her hips as her legs relaxed. Jess tugged his head back up to hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He put his hands on her shoulders, drawing her close and settling her against him. Feeling a wetness seeping through his chest hair, Skinner looked down to find Jess silently crying. "Hey, I thought you were supposed to be comforting me."

"Sorry," Jess said, wiping away a tear. "I wasn't expecting you to be concerned about my pleasure. No, because of Jake, not because of the Change." She reached up and kissed him reverently with closed lips. "Thank you." She then nestled back down on him.

Skinner stroked her bare back. [Dare I tell her how I really feel about them?] He had told them that he was developing strong feelings for them, but in the last month, Skinner had been surprised to find how deep they were, deeper than he had ever felt for Sharon. [Not yet. I don't think any of us can handle it.] He closed his eyes and rested his cheek against Jess's head. From her breathing, Skinner could tell that she had already fallen asleep.

And before he knew it, the alarm was going off two hours later.

After their breakfast, Jess had brought the reluctant AD back home with her, to keep an eye on him. She had never observed a human about to undergo the Change for the first time, and she wanted to see if his experiences paralleled hers. They had spent most of the day under a thin veneer of normalcy. Krycek spent the day in an armchair, working on some project on Jess's laptop. Skinner, sitting on one end of the couch, buried his nose the New York Times and the Washington Post. Jess, back flat against the seat cushions, legs tossed over the armrest, was reading a novel, and keeping an eye on Amanda who was playing on the carpet. And Lindy also sat on the floor, working on her math homework.

Jess swung her legs onto the floor almost at the same moment Krycek looked up from the computer and Lindy's brow furrowed. The trio made a face. Skinner was about to ask what was wrong, when he smelled it. "I think someone needs to be changed, and I don't mean become a werewolf."

Jess stood up and picked up Amanda. As she passed by the chair Krycek was in, he put the computer in sleep mode and followed her upstairs. Lindy picked up her papers and went into the kitchen, leaving Skinner alone.

Jess's voice floated through the air. "Alex, I wonder if we're doing the right thing with Walter."

Skinner looked around, trying to locate the voices as Krycek's answered. "Jess, there's not much we can do if he was bitten, except ease the transformation." The voices were coming from somewhere to his left.

There was the rustling of cloth. Again he heard Jess. "That's not what I'm talking about. Last night, Sharon stopped by."

"His ex-wife?" Krycek asked. At this point, Skinner realized what was happening. The baby monitor in Amanda's room was turned on. Jess had brought the base into the living room and turned it on earlier when Amanda was napping, although the werewolves didn't really need it to hear the child's cry. Skinner privately thought it was just so they be reassured that Amanda was alive and with them by hearing her breathing.

"Yeah, and they had a sniping match. She won." Jess sighed and paused before continuing. "I think he still cares deeply about her, and that we are just a distraction."

"You don't mean he's using us for sex?" There was the sound of tape being ripped off plastic.

"No, he does care for us strongly. But he's got a lot of unresolved emotions towards Sharon. And I get a feeling he's using us to avoid dealing with them."

"I've had the same suspicion for a while, Jess. I was hoping he'd discuss them with us. But I don't think he's that kind of man."

"He's learned not to share, to protect by keeping it all to himself. That's how he survived watching so many of his friends die in Vietnam, and deal with Cancerman. That's what drove him and Sharon apart. And with the added stress of the Change, I'm afraid for him."

Krycek's voice sounded worried. "You think his mind might snap?"

"I don't know."

There was a silence in the room. "Jess, what's this mark on your neck?"

"Oh, that?" Jess hedged. "Um... Walter got a little too excited last night and..."

Krycek's voice raised in outrage. "He *bit* you?"

"He didn't mean to. And check out the bruise on his ribs from where I elbowed him off. And we had a heart to heart about it, and some other things." Another pause. "There is something he would like to know."

"What?"

Jess paused before answering. "He wants to know if you'd top him."

Krycek gave a little laugh. "I was thinking about asking him the same thing. Um, Jess?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love him?" Jess must have nodded or shook her head, because there was no verbal response. "I feel the same way," Krycek said softly.

At that point Skinner turned off the monitor. He was afraid of what their feelings were. At first he had told himself that their relationship was simply sex, and that was that. His feelings were becoming harder to deny. He had fallen for both Krycek and Jess, and fallen hard. But when they came downstairs, Skinner gave no hint of what he had overheard, afraid of the answer, but desperately wanting to know.

The question preyed on his mind all afternoon and into the early evening. Eventually, they moved upstairs and started to prepare. All that really needed to be done was for them to undress. Lindy, understandably, opted to do so separately from the adult males, and Jess went with her.

Krycek gave Skinner a hug from behind. "Jess told me about yesterday."

Skinner sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bite her."

"She talked about that, but she also mentioned something else." Moving to the bathroom, Krycek began putting their clothes in the hamper.

Skinner looked over a shoulder, playing the innocent. "What did she say?"

Krycek turned to face him. "That you were interested in being a bottom."

There. It was out. And the ball had landed squarely in Skinner's court. "Yeah, Alex. I am."

Serve returned. "I've never topped a guy before, Walter. But I'm willing to try. But tonight isn't the right time."

A naked Jess stepped into the room, resting Amanda on one hip. "The moon is about to clear the horizon," she said, looking out the window. "Do you feel anything yet, Walter?" she asked as she put the baby down on the bed.

Skinner shook his head, annoyed by an insistent itch. And then he felt a strange, yet familiar weight on his skull. He reached up, only to feel a mane of hair growing on his scalp. Then he became aware that hair was not only growing on his head, but everywhere, itching and covering every inch of skin. And as he brought his hand down from his head, he noticed the small but quickly growing talons on his fingertips.

Then the pain hit like a sucker punch to the stomach. Skinner would have screamed from the agony, except all the breath had been knocked out of his lungs. He could feel his bones and muscles being twisted into forms that normal humans could never achieve. He dropped to his knees and slid onto his stomach, face contorting in agony. There seemed a lot more face for him to grimace with.

And then the pain was gone, just like someone turned a switch off. He lay panting on the floor, trying to catch his breath. At some point, Lindy had come into the room. He could see her, Jess, and Krycek staring at him, clearly worried. But what was occupying his mind at the moment was that he could *smell* them staring at him clearly worried. Then he also realized, with considerable consternation, that they were Changed.

Jess stepped forward, and delicately licked his cheek. ~Walter, can you hear me?~ she asked as she nuzzled him. The mindvoice was easily recognizable as Jess's. Skinner sat up in shock, and then jumped to his feet when his tail unexpectedly curled reflexively around his legs. Skinner let out a deep woof of surprise, and then startled at the sound.

Krycek and Jess exchanged uneasy glances. Neither of them could read Skinner's expression or body language. The only thing they were certain of was that Skinner was in shock. Krycek stepped forward to lick Skinner's other cheek. ~Are you all right?~

~I want to see,~ came a low rumble, unmistakably from Skinner. Mindspeach seemed to come as naturally as physical speech for him, at least when in the canine form. He stalked towards the mirror, trying to get used to the feeling of having four on the floor.

Jess shouldered her way in front of him. ~I'm not sure that's a good idea, Wa...,~

~I want to see *now*!~ The words struck her like a blow as Skinner pinned his ears back and growled instinctively, baring his teeth.

Jess's ears swept back, and she bared her teeth. She also growled and tensed, making it clear that she wasn't about to take any attitude from Skinner. Skinner may be top dog when at the FBI, but this was her domain. ~Back off, Jess,~ Lindy counseled, not wanting to see them fight. Jess snorted and moved out of the way. However she did not break eye contact with Skinner, and doing so did not cede her dominance. Forced to look away first, Skinner tromped past her and towards the dresser. He leapt on the bed, and started to examine himself carefully. Brown canine, and yet somehow still human, eyes stared thoughtfully back at him. His fur, unlike Jess's and Lindy's solid coloring and Krycek's tuxedo look, was the brown patchy look of a wild wolf coat. He could almost pass for a true wolf, except for the fact that he was twice the size of his wild cousins.

While Skinner was examining himself, Jess turned to Lindy. ~Are you sure you want to stay?~

~Someone needs to watch Amanda. And he needs you more than I do, Jess,~ was Lindy's reply.

~Walter, c'mon. We're wasting moonlight.~ Krycek led Skinner downstairs. Jess followed, pausing at the doorway to look back at Lindy.

The younger female was sitting up on her hind legs and made a shooing motion with one forepaw. ~ Go on.~ The mental voice was unconcerned, but there was an edgy look in her eyes.

Jess nodded and padded downstairs. [Note to myself - pin Lindy down and find out why she's been so distant lately.] When she saw the living room was empty, she went outside to find Krycek sitting on the grass, waiting for her. Skinner was circling around the yard, exploring it with his unfamiliar canine senses. Jess had almost forgotten how alien the altered awareness first was. ~Are you ready to go?~

Skinner nodded. ~As ready as I'll ever be.~ They headed off to a nearby park at an easy lope. Normally, Jess, Krycek, and Lindy would range far, heading to the outskirts of town where wild things still lived, and stalk rabbits or the occasional deer. But tonight, they would have to make do with feral cats or large rats, if they decided to kill. Several times they had to duck out of sight quickly to avoid being seen by humans. Skinner gave a quiet bark, amazed at his lack of murderous instincts. ~After last night, I thought I would become a blood thirsty hell hound when this happened.~

Jess snorted, but didn't miss a stride. ~Depends. I wasn't aware of what was going on when I first Changed, so the animal in me ran rampant. Once I became aware, the urge to kill humans lessened. Lindy had more of a desire to keep people from being hurt the way she was.~

Krycek added his two cents. ~I killed, like Jess said, but I learned to control the beast within. And we don't hunt every time.~ He stopped short to sniff a wet patch of grass. ~You've been under a lot of stress. Last night, all that pressure was trying to erupt into the Change.~

The other werewolves stopped also. ~So what do you do when you're out like this?~ Skinner reached with a hind paw to scratch behind his ear and then froze as he realized how he had moved.

~Generally destress ourselves - run, howl at the moon, play games, that sort of thing,~ Jess said. ~Oh, by the way Walter,~ she leaned over and nipped him on the hip. ~Tag! You're it!~ She bolted to a spot about twenty feet away, wagging her tail enthusiastically.

Krycek, who had been standing beside Skinner, also shied away out of reach. He was also wagging his tail. ~Well, are you going to sit there all night or what?~

Skinner took two steps towards Krycek, and then dove for Jess. She was expecting some sort of diversionary move and jumped out of the way at the last moment. Her tail whisked by his nose, making Skinner sneeze. While he was distracted, Krycek brushed by, nipping Skinner's tail. But he didn't move quite fast enough. Skinner jumped and landed half on Krycek, biting the loose skin on the nape of his neck. ~Gotcha!~ The older male quickly backpedaled to where Jess stood.

Krycek shook his body. He stalked towards the two, his fur bristling in mock rage. ~Wait until I get my paws on you two!~ Jess gave a joyful bark and loped a wide circle around him. Skinner did the same in the opposite direction.

They played games for the rest of the evening, forgetting their worries and just exhausting themselves with lighthearted fun - tag, king of the hill, hide and seek. Beside doing it for the sheer enjoyment, Jess and Krycek were teaching Skinner skills he would need - how to balance, run, leap, twist, turn and tumble.

The full moon sinking into the west was what signaled the end of the evening [If this is what it's like to be a werewolf, it isn't that bad,] Skinner thought, as they wearily headed home.

After making sure that Amanda was down for the night, Lindy retreated to her room. Instead of waiting for the dawn to Change back, she resumed human form after a few hours.

[God! I am so tired.] Normally, she would make a bowl of popcorn, toss an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the VCR, and watch until the others came home. But tonight she felt exhausted. Lindy crawled into bed, feeling cold. As she snuggled under the covers, Lindy tasted blood, and realized that her nose was bleeding again. But she was too tired to reach for the Kleenex box. [I'll talk to Jess about this first thing when she gets back,] she thought hazily. But then the room went dark and she was unconscious.

Although the moon had sunk, there were still several hours of night left when the werewolves found themselves home. ~Normally we stay out later, but let's not push it for your first time. We'll start teaching you how to hunt next full moon,~ Jess mindspoke. She yawned as she clawed at the door knob. ~Amanda will be old enough that we can bring her a mouse or something else small to practice with. It would help you too, Walter.~

The three werewolves walked inside the house. Krycek Changed slightly, so he could balance on his hind legs and close the door. The lights were off, but, since all three had excellent night vision, they avoided the furniture with ease as they went upstairs. ~Check on the kids?~ Skinner asked.

Jess and Krycek got distant looks on their faces, as if they were listening for something just out of range. ~Both asleep,~ Krycek mindspoke. ~No need to disturb them.~

In the bedroom, Jess and Krycek Changed back to human form. Jess turned to Skinner, who was still looked like a wolf. ~Are you okay?~ Jess asked. ~The expression on your face is kind of...,~ she searched for the right word, ~constipated.~

His eyes were wide and his breathing was coming in short pants. ~I can't Change back.~ There was a hint of panic in Skinner's response.

~You won't be able to will it for a few months,~ Krycek soothed. He slipped into the bed without getting dressed. ~Just get into bed. You'll shift sometime during the night.~

Skinner leapt onto the bed and then wormed his way under the covers. Jess got in, sandwiching him in the middle. She laid a hand on his fur. ~Good night, Walter.~

Skinner heard Krycek's echoing 'good night.' ~Good night Jess, Alex.~ And maybe he was imagining things but he thought he heard a dual answering ~love you.~

He was running down a twisting hallway, being stalked by a werewolf from his worst nightmare. No matter how fast he moved, the foaming, snapping jaws were not far behind. Every turn he thought would lead to freedom and safety. But they only lead to entrapment and death. And the werewolf was herding him ever faster towards that final destination.

Skinner recognized his recurring nightmare. But there were a few subtle alterations to the basic pattern. Except for the werewolf, he was alone in the maze this time. And instead of feeling terror, he was angry. He stopped, sick of being hunted. [Why am I running from this werewolf? I am one!] He turned and stood his ground, making the werewolf come to him.

The werewolf did not hesitate but charged towards him, arms spread and jaws drooling. Skinner met the attack with a growl. But, unlike the previous dreams where Skinner woke up in a blind panic, feeling teeth and claws rend him to shreds, the werewolf pulled Skinner into a bear hug, rubbing its muzzle against the AD's head. For the first time, Skinner noticed how soft the werewolf's fur was. The beast touched its tongue to Skinner's forehead, a sign of affection, and then turned him. A mirror had appeared and the beast had draped himself over Skinner's shoulders, underside of the jaw resting on Skinner's head. And then the images began to merge, Skinner's more solid, the werewolf's more ghostly, but clearly there. Looking into the reflection of the shadow's eyes, he recognized the creature. This werewolf that was haunting his dreams was himself.

One of Skinner's eyes cracked open. Krycek had been right; he had Changed back to a human in his sleep. He was sandwiched comfortably between Krycek and Jess. Krycek was stirring a little at his movements. "It's okay. I had a dream. Go back to sleep Alex." Krycek nodded slightly and shut his eyes.

Skinner also shut his eyes, a slight smile on his face. He knew now that he would not be troubled by that particular nightmare ever again.

Morning sunlight streamed through the blinds, creating bars of gold and shadow on the comforter. Jess yawned, squinting against the light. She stretched, trying to chase the last of the post-Change drowsiness from her limbs. Sitting up, she looked around to see if Skinner or Krycek were awake yet. Skinner wasn't, but Krycek was on his side facing her, green eyes open. ~Morning, love,~ Jess mindspoke.

~Morning, love.~ Krycek stretched cuddled into Skinner. ~I bet he's going to be sore today,~ he mindspoke.

Jess made a noise of agreement. ~I'll go start a hot bath for him to soak in. That should help.~ She slid out of the bed, wincing a little at the cold air. Missing her warmth, Skinner moaned in protest and then nestled back against Krycek.

Krycek put an arm around Skinner's waist and idly began stroking the fine hairs covering Skinner's chest. Skinner shifted again, brushing his ass against Krycek's morning erection. Krycek smiled and nuzzled Skinner's head. Lazily, his hands found their way to Skinners shoulders. He kneaded the muscles, noting even in sleep that Skinner was tense. The older man yawned and stretched, making Krycek jerk his head back to avoid Skinner's bashing his nose. "Morning Alex," he rumbled.

Krycek kissed the back of Skinner's neck, not easing up on his massage. "Morning, Walter. How do you feel?"

Skinner shifted his limbs experimentally. "A little stiff," he confessed.

"A little? Yeah, right," Krycek snorted. He switched motions to a hand to hand knead, like a nursing kitten. "It's normal. Your body will adapt eventually." Skinner grunted and rolled onto his stomach. Krycek followed, straddling his waist, keeping his weight on his knees. Skinner sighed and relaxed a bit. Krycek kept on massaging and bent down to kiss the back of his neck again. "So what do you think about last night?"

"Last night?" Skinner mumbled, distracted by the feeling of Krycek's hands kneading his back and sides. "It was, well, different than I thought it would be. I think I can live like this."

Krycek unconsciously sighed, relieved to have an answer to an unspoken question. Few of those who were Changed without their consent chose to stay Changed. They took the only option available to them - suicide. Krycek hadn't wanted to tell this to Jess, but he had wondered if Skinner would choose to live.

Skinner sighed, letting the tension drain out of him. [Mmm, this feels good.] He stretched out against the mattress. "Alex, remember how you said that last night wasn't the right time for you to top me?"

Krycek lifted off Skinner, allowing the older man to roll onto his back. "Yeah," Krycek breathed,

Lycanthrophile's Lair