BRACE (Part 2) by Tess

Disclaimer: They don't belong to me; I just like to make them suffer.

Rating: NC-17

Key words: Mulder/Skinner/Other, Slash, Rape, M/Sk/Sc Angst

Spoilers: None

Feedback: tdog@dog.com

Archive: Feel free to archive anywhere – just let me know where. 

Summary/Warning: Brace pays Skinner an unwelcome visit and in a 
bizarre twist forces Mulder to relive his own ordeal. Contains strong 
language, violence and graphic rape scenes. 





BRACE (Part 2) by Tess

As the phone began to ring, its loud pitch accusingly harsh in the 
shadowy silence, Mulder started guiltily up from the sofa. He'd been 
lying there for almost two hours now, staring blankly at the ceiling 
with his hands laced behind his head, silently brooding. He heard 
first the answer machine take the call, then Scully's voice, trying to 
sound calm but obviously failing to mask her impatience.

'Mulder? Are you there? Pick up the phone. Please, Mulder.' There was 
a pause, then she said more gently, 'Look, it doesn't matter about the 
appointment. You can see Dr. Michaels another time, or someone else if 
you like.' Silence again, then, 'Is it okay if I come up Mulder? I 
know you're in there. I'd just like to see you, make sure you're 
okay.'

Mulder flopped back down onto the sofa and groaned as he rolled onto 
his side, deliberately turning his back to the door. He didn't want to 
see her. He didn't want to see anybody, but especially not her. Now 
she would be on her way up and he could just imagine her determined 
footsteps, her shoes clicking on the tiled floor as she hurried out of 
the elevator and down the hallway to his apartment. He shut his eyes 
tightly, covering his ears with his hands and pulling his knees up to 
his chest. He was still like that when Scully first knocked, then 
cautiously entered his apartment. She hovered in the doorway, watching 
him, a worried frown creasing her brow. He had rolled himself into a 
ball on his side, and it was obvious to her that he was trying 
desperately to block everything out.

'Mulder?' she ventured. 'Are you okay?' She watched him anxiously for 
a few moments, relieved to see that his chest was rising and falling 
and he was breathing evenly. During the two months since her partner's 
terrifying rape at the hands of Albert Brace, the one thing Scully had 
been the most afraid of was suicide. Mulder had been deeply 
traumatised by his ordeal but had closed himself off from all offers 
of help. He had refused to see the psychotherapist the Bureau had 
assigned to his case, despite the warning that he wouldn't be allowed 
to return to work until he'd attended the recommended number of 
sessions and had been declared mentally fit. He'd sat dumbly through 
the first session and cried like a baby at the second, and afterwards 
had refused point blank to attend any more. He'd also rejected the 
numerous recommendations of psychiatrists and therapists offered by 
friends and various other people, but what hurt Scully most of all was 
the way he'd rejected her.

Whilst he'd recovered in the hospital he'd wanted her to stay close by 
his side. He'd even insisted on her being present whilst the rape team 
gathered the medical evidence they needed to convict Brace - if they 
ever caught him, that was. Although he'd been sedated and they'd used 
a strong muscle relaxant, he'd still screamed in agony as they'd 
collected blood, tissue and semen samples. He'd held her hand then, 
gripped it fiercely as he was probed and prodded, combed and swabbed. 
She'd stood over him, holding him, whispering comforting words, 
soothing him like a mother would a sick child. She wanted to do that 
now, wanted to sweep him up into her arms and cradle him, rock him and 
soothe him and kiss all the hurt away. Instead she stood awkwardly in 
his apartment where she'd always felt welcome and secure. At the 
hospital, until his internal injuries had healed, he'd been quite 
heavily sedated and on strong painkillers. She'd sat by his bedside 
then, talking to him, or more usually, sitting watching over him as he 
slept. But as he grew physically stronger, he'd turned in on himself, 
not wanting to speak to her or seemingly to anybody. Two months had 
passed since the attack and neither of them had so much as mentioned 
it to the other. 

'Mulder?' she tried again. 'I just wanted to see if you're okay. When 
you didn't turn up for your appointment I worried that something had 
happened. You told Skinner you were going to go this time. Mulder...?' 
Sighing, she bent down to touch him but as her hand brushed against 
his arm he suddenly flinched violently away from her, making her jump. 
He hastily pushed himself upright and slid his way to the far end of 
the couch, as far away from her as he could get. He chewed nervously 
on his thumbnail, his brow furrowed in a sulky frown.

'What do you want?' he asked her resentfully. 'Why do you keep coming 
here? I told you before, I just wanna be on my own.' He didn't make 
eye contact with her, only stared off at a point on the wall 
somewhere, his face purposely averted. Scully carefully sat down, 
smoothing her skirt over her knees, making sure she kept to her end of 
the couch, whilst the expanse of leather between them had suddenly 
taken on the significance of no man's land.

She studied him carefully for a while and what she saw did little to 
reassure her. He was pale and gaunt with dark smudges under his eyes, 
his jaw line was far too sharp and he looked in desperate need of a 
shower and a shave. He clearly wasn't taking good care of himself at 
all. Watching his stubbled jaw working furiously as he continued to 
chew at his nails, she impulsively decided to take a risk. 'You're not 
okay at all, are you?' she said tenderly but firmly. 'You're very far 
from okay.'

Mulder felt hot tears pricking his eyes and he swiped at them angrily 
with the backs of his hands. He couldn't stand it when she started 
being nice to him, kind and understanding. He knew he didn't deserve 
it. But suddenly he felt a barely resistible urge to reach for her, to 
bury his face in the soft stuff of her blouse, to breathe in that 
comforting Scully smell and ... But there was absolutely no point in 
thinking like that - he knew he couldn't. He couldn't touch her, could 
hardly even look at her. And there was no way he could let her touch 
him. 

After a few long, silent minutes he timidly met her gaze and it 
wounded her heart to see his eyes brimming with tears. 'I wish you'd 
let me help you, Mulder,' she coaxed softly. 'If you won't let someone 
else, at least let me.'

'You can't help me,' he blurted out suddenly. 'No one can.' He turned 
away from her, hiding his face behind his arm, his breath coming in 
ragged sobs as he fought to control his fragile emotions. 'Please, go 
away,' he begged, his voice muffled against the sleeve of his shirt. 
'Just leave me alone.'

'But Mulder,' Scully insisted, 'you're making yourself so ill with 
this. Why won't you talk to me? None of this was your fault, you must 
know that. If anything it was mine. I was the one stupid enough to let 
him into my apartment in the first place. Is that why you won't talk 
to me? Because you blame me?'

'No!' he cried out in agony. 'I don't want to talk about it. Please, 
Scully.' He slumped against the arm of the sofa, burying his face in 
the crook of his elbow and she watched him anxiously, torn between the 
guilt of having pushed him too far and the belief that his emotions 
sorely needed an outlet.

After a few minutes she felt the stifling silence in the room beating 
down on her like a fist and she felt compelled to continue, despite 
his obvious distress. 'Mulder, we haven't ever talked about what 
happened,' she said gently. 'Not really talked about it. I really 
think we should.' She paused, trying to gauge his reaction to her 
words from the set of his shoulders. She studied his neck, looking at 
how his too-long dark hair curled over onto the collar of his blue 
shirt, and she resisted the urge to lean towards him and stroke it. 
'We haven't talked about what he made me do,' she added softly. 'I 
think we should talk about it, I really do. I think it's that that's 
come between us.' She saw from the way he suddenly froze that she had 
his attention. Was this why he couldn't talk to her? Couldn't even 
look at her? Because of what had happened between them?

'Mulder, I don't blame you for that. How could I?' She waited, then 
said quietly, 'You know, if anything, that's the one good memory I 
have of that whole experience.'

Mulder suddenly exploded and she jumped in fright as he rounded on her 
aggressively, his eyes red with both tears and blazing anger. 'Good?' 
he yelled incredulously. 'You call that bastard abusing you, good? Do 
you? Because that's the last fucking thing I'd call it.' 

'No!' Scully shouted back at him, angry with him despite her concern. 
'I don't call abuse good. Of course I don't. What he did to us, 
Mulder, what he did to you was a terrible, terrible thing, but what he 
made me do to you, I was glad to do it, Mulder. I gave you pleasure in 
the face of pain, I comforted you. When I think about what happened 
that day, and believe me I think about it every day, I think about the 
terrible things he did to you and I want to cry too, I want to hide 
myself away like you do, but then I think about the pleasure I gave 
you and how good it made me feel to do that for you.' She stopped 
abruptly, her anger on the verge of dissolving into tears. 'And it 
makes me feel better,' she added simply. He eyed her solemnly, shocked 
by her outburst, dismayed to see the tears welling in her blue eyes, 
and desperately wanting to comfort her. But he was totally incapable 
of doing so.

'Have you finished, Scully?' he asked, his chin jutting upwards 
defiantly, his low voice hoarse with unshed tears. She nodded, for the 
moment not trusting herself to speak. 'You want to know what I think 
about?' 

Again she nodded. 'I know, Mulder,' she started to say, but he shook 
his head agitatedly and held up a hand to silence her.

'No, Scully, you don't,' he declared adamantly. 'You don't know. You 
couldn't possibly know.' He took a long shuddering breath. 'I'll tell 
you shall I?' He ploughed straight on, giving her no time to reply. 'I 
lie here and I torture myself day after day, night after night. Not 
thinking about you, not about the pleasure you gave me, but about the 
pleasure he did.'

His voice cracked and she put out a hand to comfort him but he batted 
it away fiercely. 'Do you hear what I'm saying, Scully? I don't think 
about the pain.' He shook his head bitterly, swallowing back tears. 'I 
can cope with pain, God only knows I've had enough practice over the 
years. But what I can't cope with...' His voice trailed off and he hid 
his face behind his hands, ashamed of the way his features contorted 
as he struggled to confess the unthinkable. 'What I can't cope with - 
is the - the uh, the ... the pleasure.' The final word tore guiltily 
and painfully from his throat and he bent forward, clutching his head 
and beginning to sob with deep, anguished, gulping cries that racked 
his chest and clawed pitifully at Scully's heart. Suddenly, with a 
roar of bitter frustration, he balled his hands into fists and began 
to beat himself ferociously about the head and face. 'I can't stand 
it,' he cried in desperation. 'I can't. I can't stand it anymore.' 

Scully leapt up from the sofa, grabbing at his wrists, trying to 
restrain him. 'Stop it, Mulder,' she shouted, deeply disturbed by this 
ugly demonstration of his own self-hatred. He slapped her hands away, 
but then suddenly the rage faded and he slumped forward, sobbing hard, 
his face buried in his hands once more. She waited a moment before 
gingerly sitting down beside him, then tentatively she put out her 
hands to embrace him and was relieved when, instead of pulling away 
from her, he leaned towards her, melting against the soft warmth of 
her body. She pulled him close, her fingers in his hair, smoothing, 
stroking, soothing. She held him tightly and let him cry, and soon she 
was crying too, her tears wetting his hair where he leant against her.

When they at last pulled apart, eyes red-rimmed and faces puffy, she 
tenderly smoothed his hair back from his face and stroked away his 
tears with her delicate fingers.

'Talk to me, Mulder,' she whispered.

He nodded, but then his face crumpled again, his lower lip trembling 
as he fought to contain his emotions. Scully passed him a tissue from 
her purse and he wiped his eyes, then blew his nose loudly.

'I can't stop thinking about it,' he blurted out suddenly, again 
swallowing back tears. 'You saw what happened, Scully, you saw what he 
did, how it affected me. It turned me on, for Christ's sake. How can I 
ever come to terms with that?' He dropped his eyes and again his lower 
lip quivered, but then he went on in a quieter tone, seeming to draw 
strength from her calm features and steady gaze. 'The bastard raped 
me, he hurt me and he humiliated me. And I ... I enjoyed it.' He burst 
into fresh sobs, his shoulders heaving, no longer bothering to hide 
his face or conceal his anguish.

'Shhh,' she soothed, her hand on his back patting him reassuringly. 
'It's okay, everything's going to be okay.' 

As a Catholic she firmly believed that confession was good for the 
soul, and now, with soft words of encouragement and tender caresses, 
she gently coaxed him into confessing, not his sins (she desperately 
didn't want him to see them as sins) but his fears. Fretfully and 
stuttering nervously over his words, he eventually managed to confide 
in her his very worst fear – that because of what had happened, 
because of what she had seen, and now what he'd told her, he was 
absolutely terrified that he was going to lose her. 

'Do you hate me?' he asked her, still tearful and again avoiding her 
gaze for fear that he might witness some terrible truth there.

'Mulder, no, of course not,' she said truthfully and emphatically. He 
shook his head in hopeless disbelief but she leaned towards him, 
taking his face tenderly between her palms. 'Look at me,' she 
commanded gently. Fearfully he lifted his eyes to meet hers and she 
was grieved to see such deep pain swirling within their cloudy depths. 
'Mulder,' she said firmly, 'I don't hate you. It wasn't your fault and 
I don't blame you at all for what happened. You were a victim, Mulder. 
We both were.'

'But - but what if he comes back, Scully?' he faltered, his eyes round 
and scared. 'Wh - why didn't he kill us? Why didn't he kill me?' She 
hesitated, partly because she didn't know the answer, but mainly 
because the Bureau had deliberately kept the news of two recent and 
brutal murders from him. Both victims had been young men in their 
early twenties - one in Martinsville two weeks after Mulder's assault, 
and the other as close by as Richmond only ten days ago. Both men had 
been brutally raped and both murders had had Brace's characteristic 
style stamped all over them. It seemed very possible then, that Brace 
was still in the area but of course there was no way she could let 
Mulder know that. His mental state was fragile enough already. 

'I really don't know the answer to that,' she replied carefully. 'But 
it's something I'll help you to deal with, Mulder. I promise.' He 
looked at her with gratitude then and she thought for a moment she saw 
the ghost of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, but it was 
gone just as quickly as it had appeared and he soon returned to his 
former brooding. She tried to get him to open up some more but he 
again became very tearful and she thought it best not to push him too 
hard. She left him sitting hunched forward on the sofa, shredding the 
damp tissue into tiny pieces whilst she searched his bare 
store-cupboards for something for him to eat. Finding a can of chicken 
soup hiding behind some mouldy bread and ancient breakfast cereal 
boxes, she suggested that he take a shower whilst she heated the soup 
for him on the stove. He reluctantly agreed, but after he'd emerged 
from the bathroom, the sour smell of sweat rinsed away, damp hair 
combed back from his face and bits of towel fluff sticking to the dark 
stubble on his chin, he sat down at the table and she watched him, 
satisfied as he slowly spooned the soup into his mouth and nibbled on 
a piece of bread she'd salvaged from the centre of the mouldy loaf. 
She decided that despite the dark shadows and puffiness around his 
eyes, he really did look a little better.

'Mulder,' she began carefully, 'I have a few errands to run that'll 
probably take me a few hours, but, well ... why don't I drop by later 
this evening and we could maybe get a take-out, watch a movie on TV or 
something? What do you say?' She waited hopefully, watching him, 
hardly daring to breathe, and with her fingers crossed behind her 
back.

He stared down into the half-empty soup bowl, and she thought at first 
he was going to say no, but then he sighed wearily and looked up at 
her. 'Okay,' he mumbled in agreement.

'Okay,' she echoed, pleased, but trying not to show it, almost as if 
she were afraid she might break the spell. 'Leave the washing up, 
Mulder,' she told him as she pulled her jacket on. 'I'll see to it 
later. And try and get some proper rest, okay?' She bent to kiss his 
forehead but he immediately stiffened and turned away slightly. She 
drew back, annoyed with herself for expecting too much too soon. 

'See you later then,' she said quietly. He nodded wearily then stood 
up and shuffled back to the sofa. He was exhausted now, she could see 
that, and again she felt a stab of guilt. She watched, frowning in 
concern as he lay down, again turning away from her. She then picked 
up her purse and left, closing the door tightly behind her. She 
hurried down to her car, climbed into it quickly but then just sat 
there with her hands on the wheel, appreciating the moment's solitude 
and tranquillity after the emotional turmoil of the last couple of 
hours. She carefully considered everything that had just happened. Had 
she done the right thing, she wondered? She sincerely hoped so - she 
couldn't stand to see him torture himself in this way. She sat like 
that for a while, a good twenty minutes at least, mulling every thing 
over inside her head, trying to unravel the complicated web of 
thoughts and feelings that lay tangled there. 

Eventually a sudden movement outside the car caught her eye and she 
looked up, stunned to see Mulder hurrying across the parking lot, his 
black leather jacket flapping bat-like in the wind and contrasting 
starkly with his pallid skin. Watching him through her rear view 
mirror she quickly ascertained that he hadn't seen her and, out of 
concern for him more than anything else she decided to follow him.

She thought that this was probably the first time he'd ventured out of 
his apartment alone since his release from hospital, which possibly 
explained why he drove so cautiously and was therefore so easy to 
tail. Although she maintained her distance she thought at one point 
she'd been spotted, but as Mulder parked his car outside AD Skinner's 
apartment block he showed no signs of acknowledging her presence. Even 
though he looked pale and nervous, she felt relieved when she saw him 
enter the block's main entrance. She knew that Skinner had been to see 
Mulder a couple of days ago as he'd complained to her that he'd found 
the visit very difficult, particularly when he'd offered the name of a 
therapist who'd helped him through his divorce and Mulder had blown up 
at him. He'd refused to quote what Mulder had said to him, but she'd 
gathered from the purse of his lips that it had been most insulting. 
Maybe, she thought hopefully, her heart to heart with Mulder had done 
him some good after all. Perhaps he now felt the need to talk things 
through with another man, someone he trusted who might really 
understand? She drove off almost cheerfully, convinced suddenly that 
all would eventually be well. Unfortunately for both Mulder and 
Skinner, however, that thought couldn't have been further from the 
truth. 

Inside the apartment block, Mulder cautiously made his way along the 
deserted hallway towards Walter Skinner's apartment. As he approached 
the door he could see it was already ajar and he froze, suddenly 
terrified as he remembered the way he'd confidently breezed into 
Scully's apartment on the day he'd found her door open, blissfully 
unaware of the horror that lay in wait for him within. Now that he was 
here at Skinner's door he felt terror's fierce hand squeezing his 
heart. He had an urge to turn right around and make a run for it, but 
deep down he knew that wasn't an option. He'd known that from the 
second he'd sleepily lifted the receiver in his own apartment a short 
while after Scully had left, the shrill ringing having shaken him out 
of his fitful doze. He'd half expected it to be her on the other end 
of line, making sure he wasn't slitting his wrists or something. 
Instead the skin on the back of his neck had crawled as Brace's 
sadistic threats had snaked into his ear. 

With a thudding heart Mulder drew out his gun and automatically 
adopted a marksman's stance as he neared the door. He noted with 
dismay that his hands were shaking and he was ashamed to think that 
his aim could not be trusted. With a rush of adrenalin he charged into 
the apartment, flinging the door back on its hinges, swinging his gun 
in a barely controlled arc from left to right. The door swung back and 
slammed shut behind him, the loud clang making him jump nervously.

'Brace,' he tried to shout, hating the way his voice sounded, so shaky 
and insubstantial. 'I'm armed. Show yourself.' 

He waited. Nothing answered but the steady hum of the air 
conditioning.

'Brace?' he called out again. Again nothing. He carefully edged around 
the sofa and coffee table, and then recoiled, horrified to see an 
elderly woman lying in a twisted heap on the floor against the wall. 
She eyed him coldly and, although there were no visible signs of 
injury, she was clearly dead. 

'Housekeeper, maybe?' his mind questioned, his thoughts seeming 
rational and controlled, although in reality his nerves were 
screaming, every sinew in his body poised for flight.

'Brace, I know you're in here. Show yourself, now!' God, why had he 
come here alone? He couldn't do this, he just couldn't. He advanced 
slowly, almost dreamily towards Skinner's bedroom door. Closing his 
eyes for a fleeting moment he took a deep breath then gingerly pushed 
the door open with the toe of his shoe.

The sight that met his eyes came as no real surprise but nevertheless 
had a devastating effect upon him. It was like reliving a terrible 
nightmare, although one that he had gone to sleep expecting to dream. 
His feet were suddenly frozen to the floor and his heart began to race 
as his eyes first took in the naked form of Skinner, face down and 
lying sideways across the bed, inextricably bound to it by an 
assortment of chains and cuffs of a type that Mulder recognised 
immediately from his own ordeal. The pillowcase beneath Skinner's head 
was stained with blood, fresh by the look of it, the source of which 
he soon realised was a two-inch gash along Skinner's scalp above his 
left ear. He could see signs of struggle – the nightstand had been 
knocked over and the lamp broken, and Skinner's spectacles lay smashed 
on the carpet. He could see the pieces of broken glass twinkling in 
the half-light. 

He formed a question in his mind but at first found himself unable to 
speak. He felt the walls closing in on him and swayed dizzily, his 
heart pounding. 'Sir..?' he at last questioned tentatively, his voice 
sounding tremulous and insubstantial as though disembodied, but he was 
met with only silence. He stood in the open doorway, transfixed, 
dry-mouthed, his heart thudding, reliving his own ordeal in the 
presence of Skinner's and, by the time he started to react to a brief 
movement on the very edge of his vision, it was already too late. He 
turned slowly to the right to see a large pistol pointing straight at 
his head.

'Fox,' purred a familiar, hateful voice, as smooth and as deadly as 
poisoned cream. 'So glad you could make my little party. And you were 
thoughtful enough to bring me a little something too. That's very kind 
of you. Just put it carefully over there, why don't you?' He gestured 
over towards the oak dresser and, after a moment's hesitation, Mulder 
obediently placed his weapon on the shiny, dust-free surface. He 
thought of the housekeeper, perhaps polishing this room minutes before 
her life had ended. It was an absurd thought, he knew, but it was a 
concrete thought and he clung to it desperately.

'Okay, Fox, now turn around and face the wall,' Brace instructed. 'And 
put your hands up and spread your legs.' As Mulder obeyed him, he 
suddenly chortled merrily to himself. 'God I love saying that!' he 
laughed. 'You're one hell of a lucky bastard, Fox. I bet you get to 
say stuff like that all the time in your line of work.'

Mulder now stood with his back to Brace, his palms pressed against the 
wall, his breathing quickening and his stomach churning with fear, 
cursing himself for being so damn stupid. Suddenly he felt a sharp 
pain pierce his thigh. He cried out, twisting round in time to see 
Brace squeezing the plunger on a syringe which was now sticking out of 
his leg. Within seconds his vision had blurred and slewed to the left, 
and everything tilted sickeningly. Feeling as though he were on a 
rolling ship, he clawed at the syringe as he sank to his knees, but it 
was as if he were groping his way through deep murky water. He fell 
onto all fours and bravely attempted to crawl away before collapsing 
heavily to the floor.

***

'Come on Fox, come on boy, come back to me.'

Mulder groaned and tried unsuccessfully to jerk his face away from the 
insistent slapping. He opened his eyes slowly, already sure of what he 
was about to see. Sure enough Brace's face appeared in a haze, 
hovering above him and grinning triumphantly. He found himself naked 
and lying on the floor, his wrists handcuffed together in front of 
him, and he was soon painfully aware that there was some kind of chain 
wound tightly around his neck, attaching him like a dog to the heavy 
oak bedstead in Skinner's bedroom. As he slowly pushed himself up on 
to his knees, his limbs heavy and his head thumping, he groaned 
deeply, both frightened and angry, yet at the same time somewhat 
resigned to finding himself once again naked and at Brace's mercy. 
What the hell had he hoped to gain by coming here alone anyway, he 
asked himself? Did he think he was some kind of superman, able to take 
on the world single-handedly? The world? That was a joke for a start. 
He hadn't even been able to control this situation, never mind save 
the world. From his lowly position on the floor he peered up at 
Skinner's prone body. Mulder was almost glad that Skinner seemed to be 
unconscious and couldn't see him. Couldn't see how he scared he was.

Brace smiled genially at Mulder, his arms folded over the navy 
towelling robe he'd found hanging behind the door in Skinner's 
bathroom. Mulder watched him warily, his eyes repeatedly drawn towards 
the round black hole at the end of the gun barrel.

'Well, Fox, how ya doin' these days?' Brace asked him with mock 
concern. 'You look kinda skinny. Didya lose some weight?' He suddenly 
snorted with laughter, as if he'd just heard the world's funniest 
joke. 'That stuff I injected you with should be wearing off now, Fox. 
Don't look so worried baby, it was only a little nitrous oxide mixed 
with some other stuff. Nothing so terrible. Might give you a little 
bit of a headache but that's about it.' He nodded at Skinner. 'I gave 
him a bit more than you,' he explained. 'Didn't want him shouting out 
and warning you or nothing.'

Mulder again raised fearful eyes to look at Skinner where he lay still 
and silent on the bed. 'What else have you done to him?' he asked in a 
scared whisper.

Brace shrugged his shoulders. 'Oh, this and that,' he replied 
nonchalantly, running his left hand down over Skinner's muscular 
calves, before rounding on Mulder, the pistol gripped tightly in his 
other hand. 'He's got a good body, Fox, but it's not as sweet as yours 
– a little too muscular for my liking. And I usually like 'em younger. 
But you knew that already, dintcha?' Mulder shuddered at Brace's 
cheerful words and cast his eyes down to the floor, bowing his head as 
if in prayer.

'So, didya miss me then?' Brace enquired jovially, ignoring Mulder's 
obvious discomfort. 'I sure missed you, boy. It's been kinda hard to 
keep my distance all this time but I have been watching you. Hey, you 
sure do have a lot of people running about the place taking care of 
ya. I thought that red-headed bitch was never gonna leave today.' He 
paused and jerked his thumb at Skinner. 'And this guy led me back here 
yesterday. You two have a row or something? He looked pretty angry 
when he left. Who is he anyways, your boss or something? I know he's 
FBI like you.' Again he paused, scrutinising Mulder's bent head. 
'Ain't you gonna talk to me, Fox? I thought you'd have been pleased to 
see me.' 

Suddenly there was a deep groan from the bed as Skinner began to 
surface. Brace turned from Mulder and stooped excitedly over the bed, 
and when Skinner eventually opened his eyes, it was to see Brace's 
nose less than two inches away from his own.

'Walter, my man!' Brace shouted with genuine enthusiasm. Suddenly he 
was dancing about like a kid at his own birthday party. 'Guess who's 
here. Go on, guess!'

Skinner, more alert now, tried to pull away, but found he was still 
chained tightly to the bed. 'Let me go,' he demanded hoarsely. 
'Please, you've had your fun. Let me go.'

Brace merely threw back his head and guffawed loudly. 'Let you go? But 
we're having such a great time, Walter!' He swung the flat of his hand 
down in a curving arc and gave Skinner an almighty smack across the 
buttocks. The stinging slap resounded around the room and instantly a 
crimson imprint of Brace's fingers appeared on Skinner's flesh. 
Skinner flinched but remained silent - tense, but utterly silent. 
Mulder remembered his own pain on the day of his assault, the way he'd 
whined and complained and eventually screamed. He flushed suddenly as 
he also remembered the feel of Brace's cock slamming into him and he 
hung his head in shame. He screwed his eyes up tightly, but all he 
could see in his mind was the milky arc that had spurted from his own 
cock only to splatter humiliatingly onto Scully's bed.

'Brace,' he said bravely, attempting to push the ugly images out of 
his tortured mind. 'Please let Skinner go. He has nothing to do with 
this. This is between you and me.' 

'Don't be so hasty, Fox,' Brace reprimanded. 'You see, our friend 
Walter here has already learned a few lessons from me, haven't you 
Walter? We've been having a real fun time whilst we've been waiting 
for you. Oh, don't look so worried, Fox! You haven't missed me fucking 
him or anything. We've been doing ... other things. But he's got a 
little treat to give you later. It's real exciting, isn't it guys?' He 
waited until Mulder dragged his eyes up to meet his own and noted 
Mulder's fearful expression with satisfaction. 'Can you think what 
that treat might be, little boy?' 

Slowly, Mulder shook his head, his huge frightened eyes frozen in the 
path of Brace's icy stare. 

'Oh well, that's something to look forward to then, isn't it? You 
don't mind me calling you Fox, do you? After all, we are on intimate 
terms now. Yours was the best ass I've ever fucked, you know. Well, 
the most satisfying anyway, seeing as I waited all those years for it. 
I can't possibly see how Walter's could better it. Oh, by the way, 
Fox,' he taunted, 'I like your choice in underwear!' He pulled 
Mulder's boxer shorts from the pocket of the robe, waving them proudly 
like a victory flag before reverently pressing the dark blue silk to 
his nostrils. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. 'Mmmmmmm, Fox, you 
smell so good. What do you think Walter?' He screwed the silky 
material into a loose ball and pressed it against Skinner's nose and 
mouth. 'He's delicious, isn't he? Just breathe in that delicious 
Mulder scent.' Again there was no reply from Skinner. Having already 
experienced Brace's violent temper and unpredictable mood swings he 
thought it best to keep quiet. He certainly didn't want to antagonise 
Brace again if he could help it. 

'Please,' Mulder begged. 'You can leave him out of this. You've got me 
now. You've got me..' His voice trailed off in a desperate sob.

'Aww, do you hear him Walter? He wants to save you. He's a sweet, 
brave boy, isn't he? I don't think he wants me to fuck you for some 
reason. I don't know why not though. He so enjoyed it when I fucked 
him, didn't you Fox? You should have seen how hard he came, Walter.'

A look of abject horror passed over Mulder's face and his eyes 
skittered anxiously over to where Skinner lay. He swallowed nervously, 
no longer trusting himself to speak. 

Seeing his discomfort, Brace pounced eagerly. 'What's the matter, 
Fox?' he taunted. 'Your little girlfriend keep your secret, did she?' 
He turned back to Skinner. 'Oh, he enjoyed it all right, Walter, make 
no mistake about that. He enjoyed feeling my cock banging into his 
ass, and he enjoyed my hands sliding up and down his dick as I fucked 
him. There was come all over that bitch's bed, wasn't there, Fox?'

'Look, why don't you just leave him alone?' came Skinner's voice 
angrily. 'Haven't you put him through enough already?' Then to Mulder 
he spoke in a softer tone. 'Don't let him get to you, Mulder,' he 
advised. His voice was comfortingly deep and reassuringly calm, and 
Mulder looked towards him gratefully.

'Aww, that's so nice,' Brace broke in sarcastically. 'You two boys 
seem to have something going all of your own. You don't need me here 
at all.' He turned threateningly towards Mulder. 'C'mon. Admit it to 
him, Fox,' he insisted. 'You loved being fucked in the ass. Oh, I know 
it hurt you at first, it always does the first time, but it wasn't 
long before you were grinding your ass back at me, wanting me to fuck 
you harder. You deny that and you're a goddamn liar.' He spat the 
final words scornfully into Mulder's face. 'Come on now, boy, admit 
it.'

But Mulder just shook his head dumbly, tears welling in his eyes, his 
lower lip trembling. Brace slowly brought the gun up and levelled it 
at Skinner.

'Admit it,' he threatened coldly, 'or I'll blow his fucking brains 
out.' 

Mulder still continued to stare unblinkingly up at Brace. A single 
tear slipped down his cheek and on seeing it, Brace smiled at him 
cruelly. 

'Okay, then,' he said matter-of-factly. 'Have it your own way.' He 
extended the gun towards Skinner and closed one eye, taking aim.

Mulder heard the metallic scrape as the trigger tightened and the 
gun's chamber began to shift. 'Brace,' he screamed. 'For Christ's 
sake...' He saw Skinner cringing away from the gun, turning towards 
him, his expression one of terror. 'Yes, okay,' Mulder yelled. 'Okay, 
I admit it, I enjoyed it Brace, I did, I did! Please, don't do it, 
please!'

Brace turned to lock eyes with Mulder once more, enjoying the crazed 
terror he witnessed there. 'What did you say, boy?' he enquired 
calmly, his finger still tightly gripping the trigger.

'You're right,' Mulder babbled, blindly hoping his words would save 
Skinner. 'I did enjoy it. I did.' He dropped his head, the shame of 
terrible admission bringing on the tears hard and fast for the second 
time that day. 

Brace nodded, satisfied with Mulder's response. 'Good boy,' he said 
approvingly. He turned and laid the gun on the dresser behind him. 
'You've done the right thing.'

Skinner had been watching the whole exchange from the bed, his neck 
twisted painfully around and now, although his vision was blurred 
without his spectacles, he had no trouble recognising Brace's form as 
he approached. 'You touch me again and I'll fucking kill you,' he 
growled and as Brace neared the bed he began pulling frantically at 
the chains cuffed to his wrists. Brace, finding it all highly amusing, 
merely laughed, dismissing the threat immediately. 

'Yeah, right,' he retorted, unfastening the robe and allowing it to 
fall open. 'Like you can stop me when I got you all trussed up like a 
chicken!' Mulder saw that Brace was naked beneath the robe and his 
cock already stood firm and erect. He watched, sick to his stomach, as 
their captor pulled a tube of lubricant from the pocket of the robe 
and skilfully applied the slippery substance to his erection in one 
smooth movement. Shrugging off the robe he revealed his naked torso, 
the muscles hard and knotted, the skin scarred after his many years in 
prison.

Mulder held his breath in fearful anticipation as Brace clambered onto 
the bed behind Skinner, for the shocking scenario was all too 
familiar. 'For God's sake,' he shouted out hoarsely, straining against 
the chain around his neck. 'Leave him alone. Take me, Brace, it's me 
you want.' The last words were spluttered out as he broke down into 
hoarse sobs. He couldn't stand it. Couldn't stand to see another man 
go through the same ordeal he'd suffered. As Brace grabbed hold of 
Skinner's hips, Skinner violently resisted, shouting and thrashing his 
arms and legs against the chains and leather restraints.

'Get off me, you filthy bastard, get off,' Skinner yelled, struggling 
frantically against Brace's grip. But the combination of Brace's 
weight and the fact that Skinner was so tightly bound meant that he 
quickly lost the fight. Brace pounced onto Skinner's back, pressing 
him flat to the mattress and then swung his left arm up and smashed 
his fist hard against the back of Skinner's neck. Almost immediately 
Skinner went limp in Brace's grip, clearly stunned by the ferocious 
blow. He struggled weakly as Brace, with one heavy arm pressed down 
hard against his neck, spread his cheeks with his other hand and began 
pushing between them with his hard, slippery erection. Trapped beneath 
Brace's heavy muscular body, Skinner could only squirm feebly as he 
desperately tried to escape the pressure of Brace's thick cock 
pressing hard against his anus.

There came a small gagging cry from Skinner as Brace began to 
penetrate him. Mulder squeezed his eyes tightly shut, desperately 
wanting to block out the terrible sight. 'Oh Jesus, no,' he whispered, 
as he relived his own agony, trembling as he crouched on the floor at 
the foot of the bed, reeling now from the ugly sounds generated by 
Brace's eager fucking. 'This is how Scully must have felt,' his 
anguished thoughts told him. 'Oh Jesus, did she feel like this? When 
she was watching him rape me and she wasn't able to do a damn thing to 
stop it?' When he reopened his eyes it was to see Brace's hips pumping 
vigorously as he began to fuck Skinner's ass faster and harder. 
Skinner was gasping in pain with each hard inward thrust, pinned to 
the bed by the speed and violence of the pounding and the excruciating 
pain as his rectum was repeatedly rammed full, emptied then rammed 
again. Brace's movements quickly intensified, became even harder, 
faster. With deep, violent thrusts and a guttural cry of 'Oh, yeah, oh 
fuck, yeah,' he delivered his semen deeply into Skinner's rectum. 
Mulder heard Skinner cry out in pain and anguish, and at that moment 
he knew that there was no way his boss had experienced the extra 
humiliation of enjoying his own rape as he himself had done. He 
couldn't help feeling envious of the fact that Skinner would be able 
to hate Brace but he wouldn't have to hate himself.

Mulder watched wretchedly as Brace stood up and staggered away from 
the bed. He was panting heavily, his face ruddy and beaded with sweat, 
although he was sporting a self-satisfied grin.

'Not bad,' he sneered. 'Nice and tight, but not as sweet as your 
pretty boy ass, Foxy.' He slid the robe back on and loosely tied the 
belt around his waist before picking up his pistol from the dresser 
where it lay next to Mulder's.

'Bastard.' Skinner's voice was muffled, his face buried in the pillow, 
but the word he spoke was nevertheless perfectly audible. Brace 
whipped round, suddenly incensed.

'What did you just call me?' he demanded menacingly. 

Skinner lifted his mouth from the pillow and defiantly turned to face 
his assailant. 'I said you're a bastard,' he spat, enunciating the 
final word loudly and clearly. He flinched as Brace snatched up the 
gun and flew at him, repeatedly whacking the pistol down hard across 
his back. He cried out loud, at first in surprise but then he began to 
groan loudly as the agonising pain kicked in. 

'That'll teach you to call me names,' Brace snarled angrily, spittle 
spraying from his mouth in tiny droplets. 'You'll be pissing blood for 
at least a month - if I decide to let you live, that is.' He turned to 
face Mulder, breathing hard. 'Fox?' 

Mulder looked up fearfully, dread making his heart pound as Brace 
stomped towards him.

'Walter's been a naughty boy, hasn't he, Fox?' he panted. When Mulder 
didn't reply he repeated menacingly through gritted teeth, 'HASN'T HE, 
FOX?'

'Yes,' came the eventual answer in a hushed whisper.

'But we're not going to let him spoil that little treat I was talking 
about, are we? You see Fox, now that I've loosened Walter up for you, 
I wanna give him to you as a gift. I want you to fuck him.'

Mulder gasped and stared up at Brace, his face a mask of horror. 'You 
- you want me t-to what?' he stammered incredulously.

Brace nodded, a satisfied grin on his face. 'Yeah, you heard right, 
boy. You're gonna fuck him. Right now.' 

Mulder shook his head fervently. 'No, no, I - I'm not doing it,' he 
cried. 'You can damn well kill me if you want to but I'm not doing 
it.' 

'Oh, I won't kill you, Fox,' Brace laughed maddeningly, amused by 
Mulder's little show of defiance. 'There's so much left for us to do 
together yet. No, I'll just kill him instead.' Brace calmly brought 
the gun out from its hiding place behind his back and yet again 
pointed it directly at the back of Skinner's head, this time with the 
solemn air of an executioner. 'Fuck him or he dies,' he snarled.

'No!' Mulder shouted. 'Please, Brace, I'm begging you, please don't 
make me do this.' He thought of Scully and the ultimatum Brace had 
issued to her. She'd done what Brace had wanted to save her partner. 
Would he now have to do the same for Skinner? He said plaintively, 
'Haven't we suffered enough?'

'Suffered? Ha! That's rich, coming from you, Fox,' Brace shouted 
angrily. 'Suffering's being locked up day after day, night after 
night. No decent food, no decent sex. And all because one curious 
little boy managed to sniff me out with his sharp foxy nose.'

'Please, Brace, for God's sake,' Mulder begged as he grovelled on the 
floor. 'I don't wanna do it, don't make me, please.' He again 
dissolved into tears but Brace continued to aim the gun directly at 
Skinner's head, his steady grip never wavering for a second.

'Get up Mulder,' he ordered sharply. 'Get up or I'll kill the bastard 
and then I'll make you fuck his corpse. Come on man, stop snivelling. 
Gimme a show like you did the last time.'

'What?' Mulder asked, momentarily confused. 'Wh - what do you mean?'

'Come on Foxy, don't play hard to get. You know what. The way that 
little bitch of a partner of yours sucked your cock. She was red hot 
for it, like a bitch in heat. Tell me, what did you like best, Fox, me 
pounding your ass or her sucking you off? You're not gonna wound me by 
choosing her are you? I must admit to feeling jealous when you shot 
your load in her pretty little mouth. Hey! Maybe I'll suck you myself 
later and then I'll go find her and she and I can compare notes!'

'You bastard,' Mulder shouted at him. 'You leave her alone. Don't you 
dare go near her.' He yanked angrily at his chains trying to strike 
out at his tormentor, but Brace easily anticipated his moves and first 
dodged him, then forcefully dealt him a fisted blow across his left 
cheekbone. He was sent sprawling to the floor where he curled himself 
up on the rug, clutching his face, moaning, hating Brace, but hating 
himself even more for being so weak and helpless. 

'C'mon Mulder,' Brace was shouting, his fist still raised. 'You don't 
want me to have to beat you into this, do you? I know you're dying for 
it really. You just won't admit it.'

'I don't care what you do to me,' Mulder suddenly yelled back 
vehemently, a ferocious defiance lending heat to his words. 'I won't 
do it!'

Brace's expression visibly darkened and he marched powerfully over to 
where Mulder crouched. Mulder desperately tried to scramble away from 
him on all fours, but was pulled up short like a frightened animal as 
the chain around his throat tightened, snapping him back, choking him 
and preventing his escape. Brace grabbed a handful of his hair and 
yanked it back, exposing his throat to the pistol. 'You'll fucking 
well do what I tell you to do, you goddamn little punk,' he insisted 
quietly through gritted teeth, forcibly dragging Mulder back to the 
side of the bed by the hair. 'Wanna see what'll happen to your 
boyfriend if you defy me?' he demanded angrily. He released Mulder's 
hair from his grip and pushed him roughly to the floor where he lay 
gasping and wheezing, clawing at his throat, and trying to free 
himself from the chain's tight grip. He managed to loosen it a little 
then rolled over just in time to see a flash of bright steel as Brace 
produced a nine inch carving knife from under the mattress.

'Watch this, Fox,' he grinned and then in one swift stroke he plunged 
the knife down hard into the back of Skinner's left hand. Skinner 
screamed as the blade sliced straight into his flesh, crunching 
through bone and tendon. He twisted in agony as Brace then leant his 
weight over the handle and forcibly pushed the blade down slowly inch 
by inch, until it was buried deep into the mattress.

'Jesus Christ, oh Jesus Christ,' Mulder sobbed, watching as Skinner 
writhed, hearing first his agonised screams, then guttural moans. 
Blood bubbled from the wound, and the white sheets were quickly 
stained a bright crimson. Skinner twisted convulsively, pulling on his 
chains and snorting noisily through his nose as he turned in horror to 
see his hand pinned agonisingly to the bed. 

Brace loomed over Skinner, once more aiming the gun directly at his 
head, the barrel end only an inch away from his temple. 'Want me to 
blow him away, Fox,' he demanded. 'Want to see his brain splatter the 
fucking wall, do you? DO YOU?'

'For Christ sake, do what he tells you Mulder,' Skinner screamed. 
'Please, just do it. Please Mulder.'

'Well Fox? What do you say?' Brace's tone oozed venom yet sounded 
quietly calm in comparison to Skinner's frantic, pain-filled outburst. 
'He's practically begging for it,' he added with a sardonic smile.

'Yes,' Mulder sobbed, 'yes, okay, anything. Just please don't hurt him 
anymore.' He froze suddenly, horrified to hear himself echoing 
Scully's words. Yet again the realisation of just what an ordeal it 
must have been for her hit him like a hammer blow; to have seen him 
suffer, to have felt responsible for that suffering. He raised his 
eyes to see Brace, flint-faced and smiling coldly down at him, eyes 
like blue ice boring into him and chilling him to the core.

Skinner's blood continued to seep into the white sheets and Mulder 
watched, his shocked eyes dark in his pallid face as Brace retrieved 
Skinner's pristinely white work shirt from the floor where it had lain 
discarded in a twisted heap since Skinner had been forced to strip at 
gunpoint at two o'clock that afternoon. It was now after six, and in 
the lengthening shadows Brace leant forward and tugged on the knife, 
twisting it a little as he did so before brandishing its blade in 
Mulder's face. Blood slid slowly along the serrated edge and splashed 
onto the floor right in front of him where he knelt on his hands and 
knees. Skinner cringed in agony as Brace roughly grasped the spoiled 
hand and bound the white material tightly around the wound.

'Don't want you passing out on us or anything, do we Walter?' he 
crooned with mock concern. 'We still want you to enjoy Fox fucking his 
first butt in glorious Technicolor, don't we?' He tied the shirt off 
tightly, then satisfied with his crude attempt at first aid he turned 
suddenly to Mulder. 'I take it is your first time, Fox?' Mulder eyed 
him resentfully and, although inwardly seething with helpless hatred, 
nodded silently in grim resignation.

'Right, well come on then, it's time to get on with the show. You'll 
need this, I think.' Brace reached into his pocket, withdrawing 
something with a flourish which he then threw at Mulder. It hit him on 
the shoulder before bouncing onto the floor and he looked down at the 
object where it lay. He closed his eyes, shuddering when he realised 
what it was - a tube of lubricant. 

'Come on Mulder,' chivvied Brace, suddenly brisk and cheerful. 'We 
haven't got all day!'

Skinner's voice croaked down to him from the bed. 'Please Mulder,' he 
begged. 'Please do what he tells you.' His fingers curled 
spasmodically as he tried in vain to ball his ruined hand into a fist 
and, hearing the desperation mingled with fear and pain in Skinner's 
voice, Mulder, as if in a trance, picked up the tube from the floor, 
the handcuff chain rattling as he turned the small tube over in his 
hands.

'What about these?' he questioned angrily, thrusting his cuffed wrists 
into the air. 

'What about them?' 

Mulder glowered up at Brace. 'Take them off,' he demanded sullenly.

Brace appraised him coolly, and Mulder shuddered as the other man's 
icy glare spiked through him. 'Not a chance, boy. D'you think I'm a 
fool?' He grinned suddenly, although his expression was devoid of 
warmth. 'Anyway, I think they look kinda ... cute.' He smiled, a cold, 
cruel smile, and his eyes hardened. Mulder cringed as Brace bent 
towards him, but then felt deft fingers close to his neck as his 
captor released the chain. 

'Okay, enough already,' Brace snapped. 'Get on with it.'

'This can't be happening,' Mulder muttered quietly under his breath as 
he flipped open the lid of the tube and squeezed out a little of the 
clear, bubbly lubricant onto his palm before carefully placing it back 
down on the rug. After a fearful glance at Brace he tentatively put 
his hand down to his penis and began to smear its length with the cold 
slick stuff. He didn't think he had any chance of getting an erection 
in these circumstances, but even with shaking hands and his heart 
pounding nervously in his chest, he felt his cock begin to harden 
almost immediately at his own touch. As he gradually became accustomed 
to the unfamiliar sensation of the slippery lubricant, his fingers 
slid easily up and down the length of his steadily growing erection. 

Brace backed his way into the chair at the side of the bed, still 
generally aiming the gun in Skinner's direction, although his 
attention was now firmly focused on Mulder. He sat silently for a 
minute or so, keenly watching the shy, self-conscious movements of 
Mulder's hands as they tentatively stroked his penis. 'That's right, 
boy,' he encouraged, his voice deepening with pleasure. 'Smooth it all 
over. Yeah, that's right, concentrate on the head. Mmmm yeah, Foxy, 
that's real good baby. Now pump it a little. Get it nice and hard for 
me.' To Mulder's dismay his cock continued to stiffen and swell as he 
found himself obeying, sliding his hand up and down the length of his 
erection, pulling a little on the end, squeezing and tugging the head 
between thumb and forefinger, the way he liked to do it when he 
masturbated on his own at home. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see 
Brace watching him, and certainly not wanting to look at Skinner.

Brace's heavy-lidded eyes flicked appreciatively from Mulder's smooth 
long-fingered hands as they handled his stiffening cock, to his face 
and back again. He had known all along with a passionate certainty 
that his hatred for Mulder was entirely double-edged; this was the man 
he hated, the man he blamed most of all for his capture and subsequent 
incarceration, but he was also the most physically attractive man 
Brace had ever seen. He was thinking now how achingly beautiful Mulder 
was, and how he almost regretted putting those ugly red marks on such 
a handsome face. His earnest gaze devoured the sorrowful eyebrows, the 
strong nose, and the thick dark hair. His eyes lingered on Mulder's 
long smooth fingers and oh God, that pouting lower lip. Oh, how he 
longed to kiss that exquisite mouth, to push his tongue between those 
full lips and feel Mulder's tongue playing lightly over his own.

Mulder suddenly looked up, disconcerted by Brace's lengthy silence, 
his hazel eyes meeting Brace's startlingly blue ones. He immediately 
recognised the desire in Brace's eyes and he paled visibly. 

'Okay,' Brace murmured appreciatively. 'Now get behind him, Fox. Come 
on, come on man.'

Reluctantly Mulder did as he was told. He slowly hauled himself to his 
feet, then slid onto the bed so that he was kneeling between Skinner's 
parted thighs. He glanced at Skinner's face, slick with a sheen of 
sweat and half-turned in profile towards him, and could see his lips 
moving wordlessly. Was he praying or just delirious with pain? Mulder 
didn't know though he saw that the shirt knotted tightly around the 
damaged hand was now stained with blood, the crimson deepening to a 
dark rose red. 

'Come on Mulder,' urged Brace. 'Fuck him and I'll let him live. It's 
all up to you now. You make it a good one and I'll turn you both 
loose. You have my word.'

Mulder looked down at Skinner's naked body, seeing how the older man's 
muscles were tensed, rigid with pain and fearful anticipation, and his 
erection immediately began to wilt. 'I can't,' he cried. 'I can't do 
it.'

'Yeah you can,' came Skinner's hoarse voice, tight with pain. His 
message was very clear. 'Please Mulder, you have to do this. I swear I 
won't blame you. I swear it on my honour.' 

Faced with the oaths of both men, Mulder knew he had no choice. With a 
low moan of defeat he leant forward and started trying to press the 
tip of his erection up against Skinner's tightly puckered anus. He 
pushed but the angle was wrong and his cock just slithered all the way 
up Skinner's crease. 'I can't do it,' he wailed again. 'I can't. I've 
never done this before. I don't know what to do.'

'You fucking idiot,' Brace yelled through gritted teeth. With a snarl 
of frustration he pushed himself out of his seat, the chair tipping 
over behind him, and flew at Mulder, pointing the gun with one hand, 
his other raised in a tight fist. Mulder cried out in fear, 
instinctively ducking and raising his cuffed hands protectively in 
front of his face. Brace made as if to thump him, but then stopped 
abruptly, pulling back his fist and allowing his bunched fingers to 
fall loosely to his side. With the gun still cocked in his right hand 
he absorbed the sight before him: Mulder cowering pitifully against 
the bed, his shoulders hunched in fear, his limbs trembling, and 
suddenly Brace's anger evaporated. Instead of striking out against 
Mulder he laid a comforting hand on his arm. 'Hey, it's okay,' he said 
gruffly. 'I ain't gonna hurt ya, not unless you do somethin' stupid.' 
He saw confusion in Mulder's expressive eyes and in order to reassert 
his authority he pressed the barrel of the gun roughly into his ribs. 
'Stand up,' he ordered.

Mulder glanced fearfully at Brace, bewildered by his erratic behaviour 
but nevertheless he obeyed, slowly pulling himself up to stand 
rigidly, his heart still galloping and his eyes darting nervously 
about the room from one object to the next as he waited anxiously for 
Brace to make his next move. 

Suddenly, surprisingly, Mulder felt a warm hand gently snaking its way 
around his waist, the smooth fingers sliding seductively down over his 
taut stomach muscles, then teasing a tantalising trail down through 
his pubic hair. At first he shuddered, repulsed by the touch, the 
hairs on the back of his neck bristling with outrage, but then he 
sharply sucked in his breath as he felt Brace's hand glide down under 
his testicles, cradling them, then stroking them tenderly. He found he 
could barely breathe. There was a rushing noise in his ears and his 
heart thudded against his ribs.

'You like that, huh?' Brace hissed throatily in his ear. 'Do ya, 
baby?' Mulder whimpered as he felt the hand gently squeezing his 
testicles and he closed his eyes, a low moan escaping from his lips. 
Brace's thumb pressed firmly against the base of his penis and he held 
his breath, letting out tiny gasps as Brace's practised fingers slid 
delicately upwards and began to massage his erection, stroking it, 
caressing it, and gently teasing it to its full length.

'How's that feel?' Brace whispered, his hand encircling the thick 
girth of Mulder's erection and slowly travelling up its shaft. 'You 
like that baby, huh?' He felt Mulder sag a little in his grip and 
pushed the gun harder against his ribs, forcing him to stand upright. 
The two conflicting sensations fought simultaneously for Mulder's 
attention - the cold metal of the gun as it was shoved painfully into 
his side vying with the hateful pleasure of Brace's warm hands on his 
penis, deftly stroking and pulling, his touch firm and yet at the same 
time surprisingly gentle. He knew he really shouldn't be enjoying the 
contact, but Brace's hand was so skilful, so insistent, he couldn't 
help himself.

Brace tenderly encircled the heat of Mulder's stiff cock with his 
fist, delighting in the way its rigid length strained against his 
hand, then he began to squeeze it, sliding his thumb over the slippery 
lubricant and stroking with supple fingers over the sensitive head. 
Mulder moaned deeply and leaned backwards against Brace, his eyelids 
fluttering as he allowed the delicious sensations between his legs to 
completely override everything else. He desperately tried to remind 
himself that this was Brace touching him, a convicted rapist and 
murderer, his rapist, but his rational thoughts were easily crushed by 
his long suppressed desires. Whimpering under his breath, Mulder 
thrust his hips forward, wanting his rampant cock to slide hard 
against Brace's hand, needing the hand to grip him ever more tightly.

Brace, flattered by Mulder's reactions to his ministrations, pulled 
him closer, and Mulder then felt the iron heat of Brace's own erection 
behind him as Brace's lips brushed delicately against the base of his 
shoulder.

'Oh Fox, you want me, don't you?' Brace moaned softly. He gently 
suckled the soft white skin of Mulder's neck, convinced now that the 
blazing heat of desire he felt for this man was at long last to be 
reciprocated. Mulder swallowed hard, his eyes beginning to glaze over 
and his mouth sagging open a little as he surrendered to his instincts 
and desires. 'You do, Fox,' Brace insisted, pausing to swirl his 
tongue in Mulder's ear, sending shivers down his spine. 'You want to 
feel my dick sliding deep into you, don't you? Fucking you, fucking 
your ass.' Mulder, breathing heavily now, could feel Brace pressing 
his meaty erection against him, sliding it between his cheeks, and he 
instinctively pushed back, moaning under his breath, parting his 
thighs invitingly and shuffling his feet a little further apart.

'Bend over, baby,' Brace instructed and Mulder, suddenly swept away on 
a rising tide of desire, found himself bending forwards obediently, 
almost eagerly, resting his forearms against the bed, his hands 
clasped in an attempt to ease the pressure of the sharp metal cuffs as 
they dug into his wrists. He moaned again as he felt the heat of 
Brace's stiff cock slide between his cheeks then come to rest snugly 
against his anus.

'I know you want me, baby,' Brace whispered urgently, smoothing his 
hands down over Mulder's sharp hipbones and quivering thighs. He then 
slid his palms over Mulder's firm buttocks and used his thumbs to 
prise the muscular cheeks apart. 'You need to feel my cock moving deep 
in your ass, don't you, Fox?' he breathed. He began to push and Mulder 
groaned as he felt his anus stretching. He felt a slight burning 
sensation followed by a brief bite of pain, and then a delicious 
feeling of fullness as Brace shoved carefully forwards, opening his 
ass, slowly filling him with the stiff heat of his throbbing cock.

'Is it good, Fox?' Brace panted. 'Do you want me to fuck you?' Mulder 
gasped as Brace pushed harder, slipping another inch into his rectum. 
'Do you, boy?' 

'Yes,' he admitted, the single word uttered only as a breathless 
whisper.

'Yes what? What is it that you want me to do?' Brace whispered, 
looking down and thrilling to the sight of his cock buried in Mulder's 
tight anus, the head now completely inside the moist, hot darkness. He 
gritted his teeth as he slowly fed Mulder another inch. 'Yes what, 
Fox?'

'I – I want you to fuck me,' Mulder moaned breathlessly, then grunted 
loudly as Brace pushed hard into him, filling his rectum completely.

Brace grinned broadly over Mulder's shoulder but Skinner, straining 
his ears through the fog of his pain, listened in disbelief. 'My God,' 
he thought incredulously, his skin crawling, his stomach churning 
nauseously. 'Brace isn't raping Mulder – he's ... making love to him. 
And Mulder ... he wants him to.' He shut his eyes tightly, hardly 
daring to breathe, utterly repulsed by Mulder's grunts and moans and 
Brace's harsh panting.

'You want me to make you come, Fox?' Brace asked, driving his cock 
home once more and smoothing his hands over the taut muscles of 
Mulder's buttocks and thighs. 'You want me to fuck you hard, baby?'

'Ye – es,' Mulder grunted, the word split by an extra deep thrust.

Brace laughed to himself. 'Ohhhh,' he thought blissfully. 'The sweet 
pleasure of power!' 

He stroked Mulder's back tenderly. 'Sorry, baby, not yet,' he 
whispered huskily, slowly withdrawing his cock from Mulder's ass. 'I'm 
sorry, but Walter gets another turn first. And you're the one who's 
going to give it to him.' Mulder made a mewing sound deep in his 
throat in protest as Brace's thick heat slid out of him, and he felt 
Brace's knees pushing firmly into him from behind, forcing him back 
into a kneeling position on the bed behind Skinner. 

Skinner had been listening throughout, unable to believe what was 
happening. His hand throbbed unbearably and he felt a sharp stabbing 
pain in his back every time he attempted even the tiniest movement. 
Wincing with pain, he guessed miserably that Brace's comment about him 
pissing blood had been no exaggeration. He was suddenly terribly 
afraid. It no longer seemed a shared ordeal, his and Mulder's, and he 
had never felt so alone. 

'Get up on your knees, Walter,' Brace ordered. Mulder watched with 
pity as Skinner struggled to support himself, remembering how he'd 
felt when Brace had issued that order to him, and he was torn between 
hatred for Brace and hated desire for him. Despite his agonising pain, 
Skinner managed to obey, pushing himself up as best he could, resting 
his weight on his elbows as he anxiously tried to protect his injured 
hand. 

Brace's fingers were again playing lightly over Mulder's cock, teasing 
it, stroking it, sliding his hand up and down its length and, under 
his expert touch, it once again grew long and rigid. Once he was 
completely satisfied with the size and feel of Mulder's erection, 
Brace pushed him forward, guiding him in towards Skinner's open ass. 
'That ought to do it, baby,' he whispered into Mulder's ear. 'C'mon, 
let's see you fuck him.' He rubbed Mulder's swollen cock-head gently 
up and down Skinner's crack then positioned it carefully against his 
anus. 'Push now,' he instructed. With his wrists still handcuffed and 
resting on Skinner's back, Mulder obediently pushed his hips forward 
and found himself beginning to penetrate Skinner's tight hole. But 
then he heard Skinner gasp loudly in pain and pulled back in sudden 
panic.

'Don't stop, Fox,' Brace commanded. 'Keep pushing.' 

'Please don't hurt me, Mulder,' groaned Skinner as he felt Mulder's 
erection digging into him once more. Desperately trying to be gentle, 
Mulder nevertheless continued to press his hips forward. He felt 
Skinner's muscles resisting his entry, heard him sharply cry out 
again, this time as though the pain was more severe, and he held 
still, caught between the terror of hurting Skinner and the sudden 
urge he felt to push quickly through the tight rings of muscle and 
into the deep squeezing heat. 

After a few seconds and an impatient snort from Brace, he again began 
to apply more pressure, pushing his hips gently forward. Skinner cried 
out sharply and, at that precise moment, Mulder felt something give 
way within Skinner's tight anus. Suddenly the head of his cock slid 
completely inside and he pushed steadily, surprised now at how easily 
he could slide forward. 

Within another minute, Mulder had buried his cock so deeply in 
Skinner's rectum that he felt his balls squash up against the older 
man's muscular buttocks. And Oh God, it felt so damn good, so 
unbelievably good, so much so that he had to bite down hard on his lip 
to stifle an ecstatic moan. Skinner's rectum was hot and slippery and 
oh, so tight and he could now feel those muscular rings gripping the 
length of his cock like a velvet-covered hand. He withdrew a little, 
then pushed forward gently, still in no way wanting to hurt Skinner, 
yet compelled by an overwhelming urge to thrust hard into the 
delicious hot silkiness of his boss's rectum. He groaned and thrust a 
little harder, hating himself, hating Brace for making him do this, 
but loving the hot squeeze on his cock, the fiery ache in his balls. 
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the pleasure, trying to ignore 
his twisted emotions.

'G - go easy, Mulder,' Skinner begged. 'Not too hard. My – my back, 
you're hurting me.' The hoarse gasping broke Mulder's concentration 
and he opened his eyes, looking down at the man beneath him, suddenly 
shocked back to reality. He stared down between his legs, repulsed and 
yet wholly fascinated to see his cock, stiff and hard and huge, 
sliding effortlessly in and out of Skinner's rectum with each new 
thrust of his hips. More than anything else though, the view excited 
him and he rammed his cock in even harder, making Skinner squeal in 
pain. 

'Way to go, Fox,' Brace laughed as he watched closely, his face lit up 
with joy. 'You fuck that baby good, boy.' He grinned broadly, 
delighted when Mulder let out a long low moan as he buried his cock 
deeply in Skinner's ass once more. 'Feels great, doesn't it, boy? You 
wanna fuck that ass harder and harder, don't you, eh? I know you do. 
Oh yeah, that's a good boy. You're a natural. Keep fucking that ass, 
man, oh yeah. That's cool.' 

Seeing Mulder's body glistening with sweat and his bare ass pumping 
gave Brace an almighty erection, and he grinned from ear to ear. He 
moved closer to the humping buttocks of the two men, and Mulder 
suddenly faltered mid-thrust as he felt the heat of Brace's hand 
sliding between his thighs, slippery lubricated fingers mapping a 
tender trail up towards his balls, the smooth fingers stealing their 
way towards his anus, stroking, circling, probing. 

'Don't stop, boy,' he heard the husky voice mutter behind him. 'Keep 
pumping him. Fuck him hard.' Obediently he slipped back into his 
former rhythm, twisting his wrists within their tight cuffs and 
pressing his palms down into the small of Skinner's back, trying to 
relieve the ache in his arms as well as get a better grip. 

'Mulder!' Skinner cried out as Mulder shifted his weight and the 
handcuffs dug into his bruised flesh, 'Mulder ... Mulder, you're 
hurting me. Mulder!' 

Mulder heard Skinner calling out his name, felt him trying to roll his 
hips to alleviate the pressure of the weight on his back, but he 
wilfully ignored him, now driven by the compulsive need to thrust 
himself harder and harder into Skinner's tight, slick passage. He 
grunted with pleasure as he felt Brace's fingers slide down his crease 
and press into the heat of his own rectum. As he pushed his hips 
forward his cock slid deep into Skinner's rectum and when he pulled 
back he effectively pressed his own ass down hard on to Brace's rigid 
fingers. Backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards he rocked, the 
two conflicting but intensely pleasurable sensations fighting for his 
attention; his cock was plunging over and over again into Skinner's 
hot silky ass, whilst alternately his own asshole clamped down hard on 
to Brace's slippery fingers. He closed his eyes, his face contorted 
with pleasure as he continued to thrust hard and deep into the 
delicious heat of Skinner's rectum.

Skinner didn't think he could take much more. Mulder's thrusts were 
hard and deep; sharp, piercing lunges which threatened to split him in 
two. 'Mulder,' he gasped out, winded as Mulder's weight pounded 
painfully against his back with each driving thrust. 'Mulder, you're – 
you're really hurting me, please Mulder!'

'Shut up,' Mulder snapped at him, suddenly irritated by Skinner's 
whining and whinging. He began to pump his hips faster, swept away on 
a blind tide of greed and angry desire, drilling himself deeper as he 
felt his orgasm approaching, wanting it, driven by it, determined now 
to have it whatever the cost. 

Sensing Mulder was close Brace, in turn, pushed his fingers deeper 
into the younger man's rectum and curved his fingers upwards, seeking 
the small nub of his prostate gland and on finding it, began to 
massage it with firm downward strokes. It didn't take long before he 
was rewarded by Mulder's cries as he thrust his cock into Skinner's 
ass, slamming and slamming as his orgasm tore through him and he 
exploded into Skinner's bowels.

'Oh fuck, ohhhh, oh Jesus,' Mulder cried, still pumping his hips and 
slamming himself into Skinner, ignoring Skinner's agonised cries of 
pain. 

'That's it, boy,' Brace encouraged, his fingers still deeply embedded 
in Mulder's ass. 'Keep fucking that ass, fuck it good now. That's 
right. Give him all you've got. Let him have it all, Fox. Give it up, 
baby!'

At last Mulder's hips slowed to a standstill and with a deep groan, he 
collapsed forward onto the man beneath him. He knelt there as Brace's 
fingers slithered out of him, panting, leaning his head against 
Skinner's back, his limbs trembling after his exertions. After a few 
moments Skinner's knees finally gave way and he crashed down on to the 
bed, Mulder's weight slamming painfully against his injured back as he 
fell. His mind was reeling, unable to fully comprehend what had just 
happened. 

'Mulder,' he groaned, his bruised kidneys crushed by the weight of the 
exhausted man slumped heavily on top of him. 'Get off me, you're 
hurting me.'

With an effort that tortured his own screaming muscles, Mulder pushed 
himself up then withdrew his cock from Skinner's ass and rolled off 
him and over onto his back. He lay there, exhausted, his arms 
stretched out on the mattress above his head with his eyes closed and 
his breath ragged, suddenly shocked at what he had done but 
nevertheless enjoying the warm glow that radiated throughout his body.

'He made me do it,' he told himself as he lay there panting heavily, 
feeling his heart thudding in his chest. 'I didn't want to, he made 
me.' But even as he formed the thoughts in his mind he dismissed them 
as a lie. He watched warily as his captor moved around the bed and 
came to stand where his own feet dangled over the edge of the 
mattress.

'My turn, baby,' came Brace's gravely voice, thick with desire. He 
made a grab for Mulder's ankles with his meaty hands, yanking his long 
legs apart and forcing them backwards and upwards. Mulder experienced 
a sudden rushing terror as the vivid memory flashed into his mind: 
lying on his back, chained to Scully's bed, his knees forced apart and 
Brace lying heavily between his thighs, stabbing agonisingly into his 
rectum.

'No!' he protested, trying to pull his legs back together in panic. 
'No, you'll hurt me.'

But Brace shook his head. 'Daddy won't hurt you, baby,' he soothed, 
firmly pushing Mulder's thighs apart. 'Don't worry, honey. Daddy won't 
hurt his little boy.' 

Brace bent down and began to lap delicately at Mulder's testicles, 
sniggering to himself when Mulder jumped at the contact as though an 
electric spark had passed between them. 'Mmmm, baby,' he murmured, 
still holding Mulder's knees firmly apart. 'You taste so good.' He 
planted gentle kisses all around the base of Mulder's penis, pausing 
to glance up at Mulder's face. 'How soon can you get hard, do you 
think? Hmmm? Want me to see if I can make you hard again, baby?' 
Without waiting for an answer, Brace slowly slid his tongue along the 
length of Mulder's still-limp penis. 'Why, Fox,' he observed, 'you're 
trembling. Poor baby.'

Again he began to suckle Mulder's testicles, teasing them gently. He 
carefully licked his way up Mulder's growing erection, delighting in 
the way the shaft slowly stiffened between his wet lips and spurred on 
by the soft whimpers emanating from Mulder's throat. He slid his mouth 
up to the head of Mulder's cock and flicked his tongue tantalisingly 
over its surface and into the tiny slit, waggling his tongue backwards 
and forwards.

Mulder gasped and involuntarily bucked his hips upwards, pushing his 
cock up hard up into Brace's mouth. A fleeting image flashed into his 
mind – Scully, her lips sealed around his cock, her red hair bobbing 
as she sucked him, but he angrily pushed the picture from his mind; 
she didn't deserve to be a part of this. He moaned aloud suddenly as 
Brace's hot, wet mouth enveloped his now straining cock and began to 
suck him hard. He lifted his hips, not really wanting to but unable to 
help himself, jerking his pulsating cock up into the moist sucking 
heat of Brace's eager mouth.

'Hey, hey, not so fast, boy,' Brace laughed, pulling back and wiping 
the spittle from his lips with the back of his hand. 'Didn't take you 
long to stiffen up,' he grinned, nodding at Mulder's rigid cock. He 
took it into his hand and began to massage it gently between his 
fingers, watching Mulder's eyes as they stared warily into his own. 
Again Brace was suddenly struck by the beauty and total vulnerability 
of his hated enemy and suddenly he was dipping his face down, 
desperate to kiss that full, expressive mouth. Mulder tried to turn 
away as Brace's mouth mashed down on his own and gagged as the wet 
tongue pushed its way forcefully between his lips. He struggled 
against the kiss, his eyes wild, his tongue trying to repel Brace's, 
but then Brace leaned back and his warning hand came slapping down 
hard across Mulder's left cheekbone. He was momentarily stunned and as 
the pain exploded in his face and bright stars danced above him, his 
mouth slackened, allowing Brace to probe him once more, the older 
man's tongue forcefully tangling with his own, exploring his mouth, 
sucking him, then finally biting his lips gently.

Brace pulled back slightly and studied Mulder's face. 'Be a good boy, 
Fox,' he chided resentfully, gently caressing the angry red mark 
already forming on Mulder's cheek. 'I don't wanna have to hurt you, so 
you be good to me now.' He slid his hand downwards, fingernails 
trailing over Mulder's chin and scratching through his dark stubble, 
then delicately sliding down over his exposed throat. Brace's hand 
continued its journey, toying with Mulder's chest hair for a few 
moments before lazily flicking and twisting his nipples. Then, as if 
unable to rein in his desire any longer, he was quickly sliding his 
body between Mulder's open thighs and pressing his weight down hard 
against the taut belly. He placed his mouth on Mulder's throat, 
kissing, licking, and gently nipping, then with his left hand he 
gripped Mulder's cuffed wrists tightly, restraining them against the 
mattress above his head. He spat on the first two fingers of his right 
hand then reached down and coated Mulder's anus with the frothy saliva 
before excitedly guiding his own erection into Mulder's rectum. Mulder 
felt the thick hardness of Brace's cock once more pushing between his 
cheeks and he tensed, holding his breath, closing his eyes tightly in 
fearful anticipation of pain. But he only felt a slight bite in his 
anus as Brace's cock invaded him and slowly forced its way inside him.

'That doesn't hurt, does it?' Brace whispered tenderly, pressing his 
hips forward, slowly stretching Mulder's anus and gently poking his 
way deeper and deeper into his rectum.

'No,' Mulder admitted, opening his eyes and staring up at the face 
hovering above him. He swallowed hard, carefully watching Brace's 
expression, still afraid of the bright-eyed fervour he could see 
glowing there, but oh, God, the pleasure he felt at having the man's 
cock fill his ass once again. His own cock was stiff and straining, 
and it rubbed hard against his belly as Brace rocked on top of him. He 
was vaguely aware of the fact that Skinner was still lying beside 
them, that he would be able to hear every grunt, every groan, would 
feel every movement of Brace thrusting and rocking on top of him. But 
despite that he still thrilled to the slick heat of Brace's cock as it 
repeatedly filled him.

'I want to please you, Fox,' Brace gasped as he thrust himself in and 
out. 'I want to please you like a lover would. I don't care what you 
did to me, I just wanna be with you baby, wanna make love to you.'

Mulder listened to Brace's words with alarm but immediately pushed 
them out of his mind, responding only to the pleasurable physical 
sensations by thrusting his hips up against Brace's. He was too 
immersed in the ecstatic pleasure of having his rectum full of hot 
hard cock to care very much about anything else at that particular 
moment.

'Lift your legs higher,' Brace instructed breathlessly. As Mulder 
obediently lifted his knees Brace grasped them and shucked the younger 
man's calves over his own shoulders. He then drove forward and Mulder 
gasped as the new angle afforded much deeper penetration. He pushed 
his hips upwards to meet Brace's hard thrusts, crying out as his 
prostate was alternately stroked and then pounded. Brace gripped 
Mulder's hips tightly, slamming into him.

'I remember what really turned you on the last time, boy,' he 
murmured, his breath hot in Mulder's ear. 'This, right?' He thrust 
into Mulder's anus hard and fast, then slowly, ever-so-slowly, dragged 
his cock out almost all the way before thrusting in hard again. He 
noted Mulder's expression and pleasurable grunts with great 
satisfaction. 'You like that, don't you baby,' he said, stroking 
Mulder's thighs tenderly. He thrust in hard again and Mulder nearly 
leapt out of his skin as Brace's cock struck his prostate. He 
stretched his head back, thrusting his hips up and groaning as Brace 
continued to thrust into him. He felt Brace's mouth ravaging his 
throat, licking, kissing, sucking, and biting.

'Love fucking you, baby,' he heard Brace's throaty voice whisper in 
his ear. 'Just love it ... my cock deep in your ass, fucking you, 
making you come, baby.' He began to thrust more deeply into Mulder's 
slick hole, groaning as he felt the tight silky grip of Mulder's ass 
stroking his cock ever nearer towards orgasm. His pounding grew 
faster, harder and he pushed a free hand under Mulder's buttocks, 
tightly grasping the ripe flesh and pulling Mulder's hips up to meet 
his own. His thrusting became frenzied, his cock flashing in and out, 
his hips grinding against Mulder's. He heard Mulder gasp then cry out 
in ecstasy, felt the man beneath him thrusting his body hard up 
against him, felt Mulder's legs wrapping themselves tightly around his 
waist, followed by the hot splash of his lover's sperm hitting his 
stomach and then with a low moan his own semen exploded out of him and 
he felt the tight contractions of Mulder's orgasm squeezing his cock, 
the muscular waves massaging the come out of him and pulling it deep 
into Mulder's delicious hot rectum. Eventually his movement slowed and 
he slumped heavily down onto Mulder.

'Oh, Fox,' he groaned. 'Fox, you're ass is the best. I swear I worship 
your fucking ass!' He grinned widely as he turned his head to see 
Skinner's eyes on him, dazed with pain, but clearly shocked by what 
he'd just witnessed. 

'What's the matter, baldy?' he grinned. 'Feeling jealous? Don't worry, 
you'll get some more later.' He turned back to Mulder and nuzzled his 
neck, before raining kisses down over his throat, chest and shoulders. 
'You enjoy that fuck, baby?' he asked, smiling down at Mulder as he 
stood up from the bed. 'Over too soon, though, eh? Never mind, baby, 
we've got all night! I'm just gonna go prepare another of my little 
treats for ya, okay?' With that he picked up the pistol and 
disappeared into Skinner's bathroom.

Trembling a little now, Mulder rolled onto his side and was suddenly 
shocked to meet Skinner's gaze. The A.D. was staring at him accusingly 
with eyes that were misted with pain, but nevertheless contained a 
cold anger.

'I felt sorry you, Mulder,' he hissed. 'God, I was so wrong.' 

Mulder stared at him with hurt eyes but could think of absolutely 
nothing to say in his own defence. He turned his face away from 
Skinner's glare, staring up at the ceiling, biting his lip as his eyes 
slowly filled with tears. 

***

Scully hurried along the hallway towards A.D. Skinner's apartment, her 
heart fluttering anxiously. She'd become worried when she'd returned 
to Mulder's apartment later that evening and found it in darkness, and 
her fear had grown when she'd been unable to reach either Mulder or 
Skinner on their cell phones, especially as Skinner's home phone was 
constantly busy. Heading back to Skinner's apartment block she'd at 
first felt relieved to see Mulder's car in exactly the same spot he'd 
left it in earlier that afternoon, but then she'd suddenly felt 
uneasy. Something wasn't quite right.

She hesitated at Skinner's door, her finger hovering over the 
bell-push. 'Something's wrong,' she thought, suddenly overwhelmed by a 
strong sense of foreboding. She pushed with the palm of her hand 
against Skinner's door and wasn't at all surprised to find it opened 
easily. She entered cautiously, her gun held tightly in a two-handed 
grip. 'I'm either going to see something terrible, or I'm going to 
look a right idiot,' she thought to herself as she advanced silently 
into Skinner's lounge. When she came upon the housekeeper still 
slumped against the wall her heart began to thump wildly and she 
slowly rotated around the room before homing in on a muffled groan 
from Skinner's bedroom. 

She pressed her face to the crack in the door, wrinkling her nose as 
the stink of male sweat assaulted her nostrils, and then she saw 
Skinner lying naked on the bed. She was momentarily confused, but on 
seeing the chains and shackles her fears were confirmed. She raised 
her gun and moved swiftly into the room, swinging full circle in a 
practised arc, and having quickly established that there was no other 
person in the room besides the two of them she crossed quickly towards 
Skinner, wordlessly absorbing the sight of his nakedness, the blood 
stained pillow, the make-shift bandage around his hand and the 
assortment of chains and cuffs securing him to the bed. Glancing 
around the room she recognised Mulder's leather jacket which was lying 
heaped on the floor, and a further cursory examination of the scene 
flagged up what looked like Mulder's service weapon perched on the 
dresser. She approached Skinner and touched him lightly on the 
shoulder. He jumped nervously, twisting his head around in fear, then 
exclaimed, 'Scully!' in a hoarse whisper. His eyes closed briefly in 
relief but then snapped open once more, revealing a wild fear lurking 
beneath the usually calm stony mask of his face.

'Brace,' he croaked. 

'I know,' Scully whispered back. 'Is Mulder here?'. 

Skinner nodded. 'They went in there,' he told her, jerking his head in 
the direction of the bathroom. 'Be careful,' he warned. 'He's crazy.'

'I'll be right back,' she assured him before cautiously making her way 
to the bathroom and, with her gun at the ready, she pushed the door 
open a tiny crack. The small room was filled with swirling steam but 
she could clearly see Mulder facing her, standing in the shower 
cubicle with his wrists cuffed together and tied with rope to a pipe 
that ran the length of the ceiling above him. He was leaning forward, 
his forehead resting on the wet glass, and his eyes were closed 
against the pounding water that sprayed down over him from above. 
Brace was closely pressed up against him from behind, caressing his 
back and he seemed to Scully to be very gently soaping Mulder's wet 
body. Frowning, she continued to watch the two men, and a moment later 
she saw Brace's hand snake around Mulder's waist before dipping down 
and carefully beginning to soap his genitals.

'That good, baby?' she heard him ask, pressing his chin against 
Mulder's shoulder. 'Huh? You like the way I touch you, Fox?'

Scully's eyes searched the room, but she could see no sign of any 
weapon, at least not within Brace's reach. She was about to fling open 
the door and charge in when she suddenly noticed something else that 
was clearly visible, despite the condensation that ran in little 
streams down the shower glass - Mulder's penis was hugely erect. Brace 
had soaped it and was now sliding his hand slowly up and down its 
thick length, and Mulder was groaning, repeatedly thrusting his 
erection hard into Brace's hand. 

'Want me to fuck you again, baby?' Brace questioned. His voice was 
soft enough to suggest intimacy, but loud enough to be easily heard 
above the pounding of the water. Scully held her breath as she 
strained to overhear Mulder's answer and was shocked when he replied 
with one word that groaned deep in his throat. 

'Yes.'

Brace reached down and guided his cock between Mulder's cheeks, and 
she saw Mulder push back, spreading his legs to accommodate Brace's 
width. Brace quickly slid home and, finding Mulder's anus an easy 
conquest this time, began to thrust into him once more. Scully was 
unable to drag her eyes from her partner, who seemed to be more than 
enjoying the frantic coupling. He was pushing back against Brace's 
eager thrusting, emitting a deep grunt each time he was pitched 
forward by the eager lunge of Brace's hips and she could hear his 
obvious pleasure, despite the constant splash of the water as it 
cascaded over the naked bodies of the two men.

Scully watched in shocked fascination as the two male bodies jerked 
and rocked against one another. Brace clung to Mulder's hips and 
seemed to be ramming into him harder than ever, and yet Mulder's 
reaction foretold only pleasure. His head was thrown back, face tipped 
up to the gushing water, and he rocked his hips in time to Brace's 
fierce rutting, moaning as his cock glided in and out of Brace's tight 
fist. 

Scully continued to stare at the strangely erotic sight, listening to 
the moans and cries of ecstasy drifting through the steam, and the 
regular thump thump of flesh hitting glass. Clearly, above the water's 
splashing and gurgling, she could hear deep animalistic grunts and 
groans – the unmistakable sounds of two men having fierce and frantic 
sex and both thoroughly enjoying it. The two men were humping against 
each other wildly now, the water hitting their naked limbs and 
spraying everywhere and she watched open-mouthed as Mulder flailed 
against the walls of the shower cubicle, watched as his cock pumped 
itself within Brace's fisted grip. 

'You love it when I fuck you, don't you, baby?' Brace grunted as he 
thrust hard up into Mulder's rectum, and he steadied the younger man 
as he stumbled under the force, holding his hips tightly and pulling 
him back. 'Oh yes I know, you love this, Fox!' His thrusting grew 
faster, more frantic. 'Oh, your ass is so fucking hot, baby,' he 
cried.

Mulder, his face twisted in ecstasy, suddenly reared up and bucked his 
hips violently, panting and groaning and finally shouting out, 'Yeah, 
oh yeah, oh yeah,' as the come exploded from his cock and splattered 
forcefully all over the shower glass in several spasmodic spurts. 
Brace continued to thrust up into him, but then he too was crying out, 
throwing his head back as he reached his own climax and jerked his hot 
fluid up into Mulder's bowels.

Scully waited impatiently, not wanting to embarrass Mulder but aware 
that she must act soon if she was going to be able to overpower Brace. 
Mulder's weight sagged, his wrists straining against the cuffs, and he 
groaned as Brace's cock slid out of his body, the water still raining 
down hard against his up-tipped face. As his head dropped down, Scully 
chose that moment to enter the room, throwing the door open and 
charging in. 'Federal Agent,' she yelled. 'Move away from Mulder, 
Brace, and get your hands up.'

Scully believed that as long as she lived she would never forget the 
look on Mulder's face when he lifted his head to see her standing 
there. He stared at her in open-mouthed, wild-eyed confusion. His 
expression communicated a tumult of emotions: relief, fear, anguish, 
guilt and heated humiliation, all mingling as one to create a mask she 
barely recognised as his face. Brace's expression was one initially of 
surprise, but then his heavy-lidded eyes hardened and a sneer 
stretched his mouth at the corners.

'Get out of the shower,' she ordered. Move it, NOW!' She stepped 
closer, her gun aimed directly at Brace's chest. 'I'm warning you, one 
wrong move and I'll blow you away.' She glanced at Mulder who now hung 
limply from his cuffed wrists, the water pouring down over him still. 
'Mulder? Are you okay?' He didn't answer her, but only slumped in the 
spray of the shower, his head bowed and his chin touching his chest. 
Steam swirled around him, but despite the damp heat she saw that he 
was shivering.

'Of course he's okay,' Brace spat venomously at her. 'He's been having 
the time of his life, haven't you, Fox? Tell her, tell her Fox, how 
much you've enjoyed me fucking your ass, how I sucked your cock and 
how we both fucked the ass off Walter.' 

Mulder looked helplessly at Scully. 'Don't listen to him,' his eyes 
pleaded. But his cheeks burned with shame.

'Shut up, Brace!' Scully yelled. 'Move out of the shower.'

With a roar, Brace suddenly broke out of the cubicle, lunging for 
Scully and in an instant she fired. The bullet hit him squarely in the 
shoulder and he was thrown back against the shower glass, shattering 
it into a thousand glittering fragments. There was a shocked silence, 
the only sound being the constant patter of the water as it splashed 
down over Mulder's body and swished its way down the drain. 

Brace, blood splattered behind him and oozing from the wound in his 
shoulder, appeared to be unconscious but nevertheless Scully 
approached him with caution. She pulled her own handcuffs from her 
belt and snapped them quickly around Brace's wrists before attempting 
to locate his pulse. It was still beating steadily but he was 
definitely out cold. She then reached up into the shower and flicked 
the water off. Mulder just stood there shamefully, dripping wet, the 
water running in rivulets down over his body. She squeezed into the 
cubicle beside him and reached up, standing on tip-toes to unpick the 
knotted rope above him. Mulder felt her jacket brush against his bare 
skin and he shuddered. 

'Mulder, come on,' she said gently, once she'd freed him from the 
ropes, if not the steel cuffs. 'Watch the glass, I don't want you to 
cut yourself.' She reached for a blue bath towel from a chrome rack 
beside the shower and slid it around his waist. He allowed her to do 
it, but then just continued to stand there, swaying slightly, 
shivering violently now that the hot water no longer flowed over his 
body. 'Mulder, it's okay, come on.' She grasped his wrist and pulled 
him towards her and he stumbled against her, his strength suddenly 
gone.

'Scully, I ... I don't...' 

'Shh, Mulder, it's okay, it's okay.' She carefully guided him out of 
the steamy bathroom towards the bed and he grimaced at the sight of 
Skinner, still lying spread-eagled on his stomach. Scully lifted the 
upturned chair and pushed Mulder gently into it, then she grabbed a 
rumpled blanket from the floor and threw it around his shoulders. With 
a crushing sense of déjà vu she pulled out her cell phone, quickly 
punching in 911 and requesting an ambulance, as well as the local 
police. She then hurried over to Skinner and began freeing him from 
the tight bindings, chains and shackles. 

'Thank you,' he croaked, curling onto his side once she'd released 
him. He clutched his injured hand protectively to his chest, his face 
ashen, his eyes closed and his brow creased in pain. 

'It's okay, Sir,' she soothed, pulling the sheet up over his thighs 
with the intention of hiding his nakedness and restoring a little of 
his dignity. 'An ambulance will be here soon,' she promised, anxiously 
noting the large, pink-tinted urine stain which fanned out over the 
sheets where he'd lain for so long. He nodded gratefully, then closed 
his eyes.

Scully scanned the room for something to use as a lever on Mulder's 
handcuffs but then spied a bunch of tiny keys lying on the dresser. 
She snatched them up triumphantly, then leaned over Mulder, threading 
each of a series of minute silver keys into the chamber one by one. He 
offered his wrists up to her though he kept his head bowed, not 
wanting her to see the flush of shame on his face or the tears that 
burned in his eyes. At last there was a minute click and the lock 
popped open. She saw a large tear drop splash onto his naked thigh and 
she suddenly clasped him to her, pressing his head against her flat 
stomach. 'I'm so sorry, Mulder,' she whispered. He looked up at her 
then, his face white and wet with tears. 'It's over now,' she told him 
quietly, smoothing a stray lock of hair away from his face. 

He stared up at her blankly, at first not seeming to comprehend her 
words, but then he shook his head. 'It'll never be over,' he 
whispered. He stood shakily, then carefully pushed past her. Letting 
the damp towel and blanket fall to the floor, he grabbed his clothes 
which lay in a heap at the side of the bed and began to dress himself 
hurriedly. 

'Mulder, what are you doing?' she asked him gently. 'Please sit down, 
I think you're in shock. You need to slow down, take things easy.'

'I'm okay, Scully,' he lied, tugging his jeans on and shoving his feet 
into his shoes. 'I just gotta get out of here.' He coughed back a sob 
then let out a frustrated cry as he tried in vain to fasten shirt 
buttons too quickly with fingers that shook uncontrollably. 

'Mulder, please,' Scully reasoned, trying to keep her voice calm and 
even. 'You're shaking. Please sit down and wait for the paramedics.'

But he defiantly picked his jacket up and stuffed it under his arm 
then made as if to bolt for the door. She quickly side-stepped in 
front of him, blocking his exit. 'Mulder, where are you going? You 
have to stay here. You need to go to the hospital and the police will 
need to speak with you.'

He shook his head, unable to meet her beseeching eyes. 'I – I've got 
to go, Scully,' he told her. 'Please,' he begged. 'Just let me go.'

'Mulder, please, just sit down.'

'I can't stay here,' he wailed, sobbing hard now. He pressed a hand to 
his eyes, embarrassed by the flood of tears but unable to stop them.

'Mulder...'

'Please, Scully, just leave me alone.' He yanked the door open and 
roughly pushed past her, anxious to be gone before the police arrived 
and started asking their incessant questions. He knew he'd have to 
face them sooner or later, but he couldn't handle it right now. He 
broke into a run, his feet echoing with a dull ring in the empty 
hallway, and Scully stood in the doorway, her fists clenched, 
helplessly watching him go.

'Tell Skinner I'm sorry,' he called over his shoulder, still 
desperately trying to stifle his sobs behind his hands. 

'But Mulder...' she called. But then he was gone, leaving Scully 
standing alone in the deserted hallway.





To be continued...

(Tess, July 2000)