Title: Assisted Suicide
Author: Sara B.
E-mail: sabo727@tampabay.rr.com
URL: http://sabo727.tripod.com/
Rating: Over 15
Category: Alternate Universe, Case file, MSR  
Spoilers: Travelers and Trevor 
Feedback:  You want to do it, I know you do.  
Come on it is so easy!
Summary:  M.E. Dana Scully comes across 
several unexplained deaths that can only be 
suicides.  The problem is that the instruments 
of death are missing from the locked rooms and 
the bodies are placed on the bed.  Enter Fox 
Mulder, FBI profiler.  They meet and work 
together on the case and find out that they 
have an almost mystical bond.  Oh, yes, 
Frohike gets some action too.
Archive: I would be honored, just let me know.
Disclaimer:  The recognized characters are 
used Without Prejudice and are the property of 
C. Carter, Fox and the wonderful actors who 
breathed life into written words, most notably 
G. Anderson and D. Duchovny who were able to 
make us believe in the improbable.  No 
Infringements of these copyrights are 
intended, and are used here without 
permission.  The story and before unknown 
characters belongs to me.  Places and names 
are fictitious.  They tell me DC is real but 
seeing what comes out of there makes me think 
I’ve been lied to. 
Gratitude: To Kim Knight, you are the best, 
thank you – read the author’s notes girl.  To 
my Dennis, enough said.  To CC and Company, 
who created the X-Files.  Lastly, but my no 
means least, to the readers, you make this 
hobby of mine have meaning. 
Author’s Notes: This story is dedicated to 
KimK and is an early birthday present to her.  
Kim is always there for me to give a little 
nudge or a slap at the back of my head when 
needed.  Kim loves Alternate Universes so I 
created one just for her.  

Assisted Suicide
Sara B. 10/05

Part One: Death by No Means

Dana Scully read through the file 
one last time then closed the 
cover.  The woman, Miss Carrie 
Denton of 3357 Sunset Lane, 
Trendal Ohio, was visiting our 
nation’s capital and took it into 
her head to slit her wrists in her 
hotel room.  That in of itself was 
not that strange but no one seemed 
to be bothered by the fact that 
the police had failed to find any 
equipment in the room that she 
could have used and that her body 
was moved.  
There was no doubt that Miss 
Denton killed herself.  Her blood 
was found in the bathtub and her 
wrists had the telltale 
‘hesitation’ cuts that nearly 
always accompanied suicides of 
this type.  She was found when she 
missed breakfast and later lunch 
with her friends.  The hotel 
management attempted to enter the 
room but the burglar bar was 
engaged.  They had to break in the 
door to gain access to the room.  
But it nagged at Scully that the 
blade was not found and the body 
was on the bed, not in the tub.  
But the part that really bothered 
her was that this was the third 
such case in three weeks.  All 
with the same scenario, they were 
all women between the ages of 
twenty-nine and thirty three, all 
were tourists, all happened on 
Friday and they were all found in 
their locked rooms dead from 
suicide yet the instruments they 
used were no where in the room and 
the body moved.  
The admonition from her supervisor 
still clanged in her ears.  “It 
was a suicide, let it go.  You’ve 
kept the case open longer than it 
needed to be.  So they couldn’t 
find the blade, that isn’t our 
concern.  It doesn’t matter that 
there were two similar cases.  
Just close the file, Dana, and 
that is an order.”  She hated to 
admit it but he was right; that 
didn’t mean she liked it.
Her assistant, Grace, came in.  
“He called and he wants that 
file.”  Dana just smiled and 
handed it to her.  “I see you 
signed off on suicide.”
“What else could I do?  I’m not 
happy about it but by all 
indications Carrie Denton slashed 
her wrists.”  Dana sighed deeply.
Grace looked at her boss and 
friend.  She was the best at what 
she did.  They always gave the 
hardest cases to Dana.  She was 
also the one that the other 
pathologists ran to when they were 
stymied.
“Dana, do you remember a trio of 
men that came in here, oh, I don’t 
remember exactly.  It might have 
been two or three months ago.  
Wait a minute; it was while you 
were at that conference in 
Seattle.  These three strange men 
came in.  They’d heard about that 
case where that body that was 
found with human bone in his 
stomach.”
“Oh, I remember that one.  They 
put the body on ice until I got 
back.  The man did have bone 
fragments in his system and he’d 
filed his teeth so they were all 
pointed, like a sharks.  But his 
death was far from remarkable, he 
died of exposure.”  Dana said.  
“What about these men?”
“They tried to get any information 
they could.  We didn’t really have 
anything for them.  I mean, Dr. 
Moody did the prelim but stopped 
once he saw those teeth.  Strange, 
those men were really adamant.  I 
told them that the body wouldn’t 
be autopsied until you returned.  
I expected them to come back or at 
least call.”
“Grace!”  Dana was getting a 
little exasperated.
“Sorry, I got a little side 
tracked.  They left me their card.  
They produce one of those 
underground rags that print 
obscure stories.  They asked that 
if we came across anything odd 
that we give them the heads up if 
possible.  I know you’re not fond 
of that sort of thing but, I don’t 
know, there was something very 
honest about these guys.  I think 
you should give them a call.”
“You what?  You want me to talk to 
some tabloid wanna-bes?  And I 
should tell them what?  There is a 
serial suicider out there?”  Dana 
was exasperated.  “I’m sorry 
Grace, I’m frustrated and angry 
but I have no right taking it out 
on you.  Forgive me?”
Grace smiled in that way that told 
her she wasn’t going to get off 
that easy.  She pulled a slip of 
paper from her pocket.  “Here is 
there address, get your bag and 
your notes and we are going to see 
them.
Dana put up a cursory argument but 
she knew Grace wouldn’t give in 
until they’d gone through this 
farce.  Besides when it was over 
she’d have something to hang over 
her friend.

Part Two:  New Friends

Lone Gunmen’s 
The men checked the monitor to see 
two women approaching the door.  
“Hey, isn’t that the woman we 
talked to at the morgue a couple 
months ago?”  Byers asked.  
“Yeah, I think it is,” Langly 
replied, “I don’t recognize the 
other one.”
A lingering smile crept over 
Frohike’s countenance.  “I do, 
that is Dr. Dana Katherine Scully.  
She’s the pathologist’s 
pathologist.”
“Oh, she’s the one they were 
holding that body for.  How’d you 
know that?”
“You forget that I was the one who 
hacked her computer.  I snuck into 
her office to check the set up.  
There was magazine on her desk 
with an article about her.”  He 
turned to the fourth man, “you 
might be interested in her, 
Mulder.”
Mulder gave a cursory glance.  
“Too short and wrong color hair.”  
“So what have all those long 
legged-brunettes gotten you, 
Mulder?  Divorce and pain that’s 
what.  Maybe it would be good to 
change.  Besides I was only 
talking about making her a source.  
Dr. Scully is too smart to fall 
for your smarmy ways.”
The bell rang and Langly unlocked 
the door and let the women enter.   
The six people just stood there 
for a moment then Grace took the 
initiative.  “I don’t know if you 
remember me but we met when you 
visited the morgue.  I’m Grace 
Moore and this is my boss Dr. Dana 
Scully.”  The men all noticed the 
short redhead’s eyebrow rise at 
being referred to as the ‘boss.’
Frohike took Dana’s hand and 
kissed the back of it.  “I’m 
Melvin Frohike, that is John Byers 
and the hippie is Langly.”  He 
never released her hand.
“What, no first name?”  Dana 
joked, strangely charmed by the 
little man.
“It’s Richard but I sometimes go 
by Ringo, mostly everyone calls me 
Langly.  That is Special Agent Fox 
Mulder, call him Mulder.”
“I can understand.”  Dana smiled 
and gently released herself from 
Frohike’s grip.  She turned toward 
Mulder, “Fox, now there’s a name 
just waiting for schoolyard 
taunts.”
Mulder smiled and finally really 
looked at the woman and found 
himself captured by the bluest 
eyes he’d ever seen.  He recovered 
enough to greet her, “Dr. Scully.”
“Either Dana or, since last names 
seem to be the custom here, 
Scully.”
Grace took over, “Dana has found 
something a little strange, yet, I 
don’t know.  Dana, you tell them 
about the suicides.”
Frohike ushered the ladies into 
the ante’ room and once they were 
all seated Dana told them about 
the three suicides.  She gave her 
notes to Mulder and he started 
reading through them.  “Those are 
copies so you can keep them.”  
Dana finished.
Everyone was quiet for a moment 
then Mulder spoke softly, “serial 
suicider, I like that, nice touch, 
Scully.”  He’d been referring to a 
little note she wrote in the 
margin.  
He read for a few moments more 
then handed the notes to Byers.  
“So, we have three cases where 
there is no question that the 
person killed themselves.  One 
through barbiturate overdose, one 
hanging and the latest slit her 
wrists.  All three victims were 
tourists and all of the incidents 
happened in different hotels.  The 
bodies were all positioned on the 
bed post-mortem and all of the 
rooms were locked from the inside 
in a manner that no one could 
leave the room and the instruments 
of death are missing.”  Mulder was 
more thinking out loud than 
talking to them.
Scully finished the thought.  “In 
the first case, the barbiturate 
overdose, there was no container 
of any sort found.  No pill bottle 
or even one of those medicine 
dispenser cases.  Heck I even had 
them check for a baggie.  The 
hanging was textbook, except there 
was no rope, twine, hosiery or 
anything else she could have 
used.”
“Hosiery?”  Langly asked.
Scully’s eyes looked down.  “It 
was originally thought it may have 
been a case of autoerotic 
asphyxia.  I was able to eliminate 
that when it was discovered her 
neck was broken from the weight of 
her body.  I had the crime scene 
team check and they found rope 
fibers on the cross beam.”  She 
saw the question before Mulder had 
a chance to ask it.  “She wasn’t 
at a hotel but a bed and 
breakfast, the Harrington House. 
It’s an old mansion in the Tudor 
style of architecture.”  Scully 
explained.
“Carrie Denton’s body was found 
just like the others, on the bed.  
Her wrists were slit but nothing 
in the room could have been used.”  
Scully stopped and looked at Grace 
for a moment.  “Look, I know the 
crime scene unit personnel could 
have made some mistakes but I 
don’t buy it.  I know those 
people; they are very thorough; 
very meticulous.  Besides they 
could make a dozen errors but none 
of them would explain how the 
bodies were found.”
Just then Scully’s cell rang. 
“Scully,” she listened.  “Give me 
the hotel and tell them not to 
move anything.  I want to see this 
one first hand.”  She looked at 
Mulder and he nodded, “and I’m 
bringing a F, I mean a consultant 
with me.”  She hung up and turned 
to Mulder, “I didn’t . . .”
“I agree completely, we don’t want 
a jurisdiction pissing contest 
started.  Good thinking.” 

Part Three: A Scene of a Crime – 
Or Was It?

Scully showed her credentials to 
the Police guard and he let them 
in.  The scene before them was 
bloody and the cause of death 
obvious; gunshot wound to the 
temple.  Simple, no nonsense self 
inflicted bullet to the brain.  
Simple except for the fact that 
there was no gun found anywhere in 
the room and the body was on the 
bed but the blood spatter was in 
the bathroom.
Mulder started looking around 
while Scully examined the body.  
The technician was rattling off 
the information on the victim.  
“Melody Ingles, 32, she was on 
vacation from St. Paul Minnesota.” 
In the background Scully heard 
murmurs running through the police 
personnel and looked up.  The 
investigative team was watching 
Mulder and she heard Sergeant 
Calloway say, “that’s him, that’s 
Mulder.  You know, the darling of 
FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit.”  
They obviously all knew of Mulder 
if not the man himself.  The 
Sergeant walked over to her, “So, 
Dr. Scully, how did you get Agent 
Mulder involved in a suicide.”
Mulder looked up at this point and 
saw that she was at a loss of what 
to say.  “Dana and I were together 
when the call came in.  I thought 
I’d tag along, take a look then 
maybe we could get back to what we 
were doing a little sooner.”  He 
looked at her as if to say 
“right?”
She smiled at him.  He had just 
told the entire unvarnished truth 
but everyone in the room had a 
whole different interpretation of 
the reality. 
Scully let the team handle the 
body and told them to mark it for 
her to autopsy in the morning.  
She then walked over to Mulder who 
was seated at the desk.  He was 
going through the victim’s purse.  
Scully turned to look back at the 
bed and leaned against the wall.  
Suddenly she was on her butt in 
the next room and Mulder tumbling 
right on top of her.  They 
scrambled to their feet and 
checked the wall but it was now 
solid.  
“Are you all right Mulder?”  She 
was checking him for broken bones.
“I should be asking you that, I 
landed on something a whole lot 
softer than the floor.”  He 
smirked at her.
She just shook her head and asked, 
“what the hell was that?”  
“I have no idea but somehow we 
just fell through the wall.”  They 
both scrambled to the wall and 
knocked on it.  “A wall that now 
seems to be solid.  Come on, let’s 
check the other side.”  
They exited the room to find the 
investigating personnel in the 
hallway staring at them.  It was 
Scully’s turn to answer them, “we 
have no idea, guys.”  They entered 
the other room and checked the 
wall; solid.  She turned to 
Mulder, neither of them said 
anything.
Leaving the scene an hour later 
they were both more confused than 
ever.  Somehow they’d fallen 
through the wall and somehow that 
same wall ‘healed’ itself.  “I 
guess it explains how the bodies 
were moved and why the 
‘instruments’ were missing.  But 
how do we explain that wall?”  
Scully pondered out loud, 
obviously not expecting an answer.  
She sat up in the passenger seat.  
“I’ll go in and do the autopsy 
tomorrow.  Saturday mornings the 
morgue is relatively quiet and Dr. 
Inglewood, my supervisor, never 
comes in on the weekends.”  She 
looked out the passenger window.  
“Mulder, do you think your friends 
would do a little research for 
me?”
“I guess.  What kind are you 
thinking of?”  Mulder asked.  He 
liked this woman.  She was 
logical, determined and tenacious.  
He had no doubt she’d been told to 
drop the investigation but she 
hadn’t.  The more he knew of this 
woman the more intrigued he was 
with her.
“If we ignore the stranger aspects 
of these cases and look at it 
straight on we have to admit that 
these were all suicides.  We’ve 
found no evidence that any of them 
struggled or that anyone else 
helped them.  So, I think we need 
to know what was going on, or had 
gone on, that would drive them to 
kill themselves.  Why would a 
woman go on vacation in Washington 
DC and then commit suicide?”
“Interesting point.  What would 
make you think of killing 
yourself?”  Scully was startled by 
his question.
She took a moment to think then 
said, “I suppose if I found out I 
was terminally ill I’d consider 
it.  It might make it easier on my 
family.  But that doesn’t fit any 
of the victims.  I might think 
about it if I had a serious loss 
in my life.  Lost my income or all 
my money.  But that doesn’t fit 
either.  What about losing someone 
you loved?”  She seemed like she 
was almost talking to herself.  
Mulder pulled out his phone and 
called the guys.  “It’s Mulder, do 
me a favor and pull up what you 
can about the women.  See if any 
of them had suffered any severe 
loss in the last year.  Don’t 
forget to include romantic losses.  
Oh and add Melody Ingles from St. 
Paul Minnesota.”  He hung up.  He 
was pulling up to the apartment 
building that Scully had given him 
directions to.
“Mulder, it’s after eight and 
neither of us have had dinner.  I 
have a home made lasagna waiting 
to go in the oven and you’re 
welcome to share.  That is unless 
you have other plans.”
“Unless you are referring to take 
out Chinese then I have no other 
plans.”

Part four:  Getting to Know You 

Scully was in the kitchen while 
Mulder walked around her 
apartment.  He liked her place; it 
was about 180 degrees different 
from his ‘cave.’  He was never 
really home for more than a few 
hours sleep and a change of 
clothes but he knew a home when he 
saw one and this, was a home.  He 
checked out the pictures on the 
mantel.  
Scully walked in as he was looking 
at a candid photo of a much 
younger Scully in a less than 
dignified pose, on her butt next 
to a horse.  “End of my equestrian 
career.  Bill, my brother, thought 
it would be funny to spook my 
horse.  It reared up, which 
wouldn’t have been a problem if 
I’d been prepared; I wasn’t and 
that is the result, two broken 
ribs and I was never able to get 
the horse manure stain out of the 
pants.”  They both started to 
laugh.  “It took a long time for 
me to get back on a horse and when 
I did the enjoyment wasn’t there.  
I keep that picture to remind me 
how quickly we can loose what we 
love.”  She took the photo from 
him, shook her head and smiled.  
“I’m going to go change; I’ll be 
out in a minute.”
“Yeah, I have a change of clothes 
in the car, would it be okay. . .”
“Sure, go get them.  Take the key 
off of that hook to let yourself 
back in.”
They both stopped and just looked 
at each other.  They seemed like 
old friends, not two people who 
met only hours earlier.  Neither 
commented, just smiled and went 
back to doing their things.

-x-  

She was making the salad when he 
emerged from the bathroom.  He 
watched her for a moment.  She was 
wearing a pair of old jeans and a 
pale blue over sized button down 
shirt that was tied at the bottom.  
Her movements were fluid, nothing 
wasted.  He was amazed with her 
hands; they were small and 
delicate but strong and efficient.  
She broke into his revelry, “do 
you want to watch the autopsy?”
“Uh, yeah.  I doubt we’ll find 
anything more than we already 
know.”
“I know, but I just have to 
eliminate all the possibilities.”  
She offered him a cucumber slice.  
“Oh, crap!”  
“Sorry?” Mulder yelped.
“What?  Oh, no.  I just remembered 
I left my car with Grace.  I guess 
I better call her.”
“Wait, I’ll pick you up in the 
morning and then we can go to 
Grace’s after you’ve finished.”
“Thanks, I hate to bother Grace in 
the evenings.  She’s a single mom 
and this is her time with her 
boys, twins Teddy and Duncan.”
“Divorced?”  Mulder asked.
“No, do you remember that plane 
that crashed on take off a couple 
years ago?  Ted was on it.  The 
team that recovered the body said 
he was still strapped in his 
seat.”  She paused and shrugged 
her shoulders.  “I did the exam of 
his body.  Neck was broken.  Grace 
was supposed to be on that plane 
too.  Ted had a conference in 
Tampa and they were going to take 
a few extra days and have a mini 
vacation.  Grace’s mom was coming 
in to stay with the boys but she 
missed her flight.  She was booked 
on one later in the day so they 
rebooked Grace to a later flight.  
Ted had to get there for a meeting 
in the afternoon.”
“You and Grace are close.”
“It shows, huh?  I love her and 
I’m Godmother to the boys.  We met 
while I was still in med school.  
She’s a special woman.”
Mulder smiled, “I think her friend 
is pretty special too.”

They sat down to dinner.  They 
kept the conversation light and 
nothing about the case was 
discussed.  Mulder told her how he 
met the Gunmen.
“Let me get this straight.  You 
were found completely naked and 
acting like a raving lunatic?  Now 
that must have been a sight.”  
Scully said between giggles.
“I could re-enact it for you if 
you like,” Mulder laughingly 
replied with a mock leer.  He 
sobered a little.  “Actually the 
guys help keep me sane.  Profiling 
criminals sometimes makes me feel 
like that lunatic, only with a 
better wardrobe.”
Scully put her hand over his arm.  
“I can’t imagine how horrible that 
could be.  To immerse your essence 
in someone else’s sickness.  It 
really must take a toll.”  His 
mood had darkened so she decided 
to give him a little of his own 
back.  “And I doubt that the 
wardrobe is better.”  
Mulder’s head jumped and his mind 
scrambled for a reply when his 
cell chimed.  “Mulder,” he 
listened for a moment and then his 
eyes brightened and smiled at her.  
He hung up.  “You are a genius Dr. 
Scully.  All of the women had 
broken engagements within the last 
year.”
“The women were the ones who broke 
off the engagement, right?”
Mulder’s smile grew.  She got it, 
“Bingo.  I think we are looking at 
some unrequited love thing.”
Scully stood up and walked to her 
desk.  “Or a broken heart.”
“What do you know?”  Mulder could 
tell she was on to something.
“Oh, God, this is so embarrassing.  
But I was engaged and I broke it 
off with him.  Six months after 
the break-up and no dates, so my 
sister set me up with this on-line 
dating thing.”  She started to 
rummage through the bottom drawer 
of her desk then returned to the 
table.  She handed him a pamphlet 
from something called ‘Mended 
Hearts.’
Mulder read through the pamphlet.  
It mostly promised discrete 
introductions via the internet.  
Mulder felt a twinge in his chest.  
“Did it work?”  He asked while 
waving the pamphlet.  
“I never tried it.  I don’t like 
the normal dating scene and this 
just seemed . . .” she broke off 
unable to describe it.  
Mulder noticed the twinge abated.  
“There must be dozens of these 
companies out there.  I’m going to 
call the guys.”

-x-

Mulder hung up from talking to 
Frohike and walked into the 
kitchen.  Scully’s back was to him 
as she washed the dishes.  He once 
again found himself watching her 
and it confused the hell out of 
him.  She was nothing like the 
women he usually found attractive 
but there was definitely something 
about her.  Frohike’s earlier 
comments flitted across his mind.  
Maybe it would be good to change?
She could sense him standing in 
the doorway.  “So, what did they 
say?”
“They’re going to see if they can 
find out if any of the women 
belonged to any of those, whatever 
you call them.”
“Lonely hearts club?”  She 
offered.  She put the last dish in 
the drainer.  “How would you like 
to help a lady out?”
“What do you have in mind?”  
“Take some of this lasagna home, 
please?  I always make too much.”

-x-

Mulder walked into his apartment 
and after putting away the 
leftovers he checked his messaged.  
Most of them were telemarketers 
but there was one from his mom and 
one from his boss, A.D. Skinner.  
It was too late to call his mom 
but he knew he’d better call 
Skinner.
“Skinner.” 
“Sir, it’s Mulder, you called 
earlier.”
“Yes, I got a strange phone call 
earlier from Captain Frank 
Jennings of the DCPD.  One of his 
men told him that you were at the 
scene of a suicide.  Is this some 
case your working?”
“Not officially, I’m just helping 
out a friend, Dr. Dana Scully.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of her.  The 
bureau had enlisted her on a 
couple cases.  I met her when she 
was called in for a lecture.  
She’s smart and very attractive.”  
Mulder suspected it was Skinner 
speak for congratulations.  
“Anything interesting?  I mean 
besides the good doctor.”
Mulder chuckled, “actually yes, 
there are some strange elements.  
Do you mind that I’m sticking my 
nose in?”
“Not at all.  It’s always a good 
thing to make friends with the 
locals.”
“Well, I should tell you that I 
don’t think her supervisor will be 
very supportive.”
“Is that Dr. Inglewood?”  Mulder 
was surprised that Skinner would 
know that.
“Yeah, and he doesn’t sound like 
the type to look into anything 
beyond the book covers.  If you 
know what I mean?”
“I know him; his wife is on 
several of the same charity boards 
as mine.  He’s a good man but they 
are always on him about the 
budget.  If it gets sticky send 
him my way.”
“Thanks, sir.  I appreciate it and 
I’m sure Scully will too.”
“Mulder, word of advice, you’ll 
get further if you call her Dana.”  
Mulder smiled, Skinner was much 
easier than his old boss, 
Patterson.  If Patterson had heard 
about the incident he would have 
hunted him down and insist he stop 
immediately.  If he found out 
about Scully the man would have 
had him on the next plane to No-
wheres-ville just to get him away 
from her.  Patterson had been 
relentless and damned near drove 
Mulder over the edge.  Skinner 
still got the job done but his 
people kept their sanity.  


Part Five: Getting to Know You Better

Mulder watched as Scully performed the 
autopsy.  He seemed to be endlessly fascinated 
by her movements.  She finished and turned to 
him and the look on her face told him there was 
nothing beyond the obvious.  “I’m going to go 
change and then I’ll buy us lunch.”  He opened 
his mouth to protest.  “Don’t say it.  I owe you.  
Here I am stealing your Saturday when I’m sure 
there is some heartbroken woman out there 
cursing me.”
Mulder’s hand moved to her cheek.  “If I wasn’t 
here I’d be either with the Gunmen or at work.  
I’d rather be here.”  Their eyes held for a 
moment, “I’ll tell you what, you buy lunch and 
I’ll buy dinner.”
“Think you can stand me for that much time?”
“I’ll manage.  Now go change.”
Scully started out the door then turned back.  
“Are you as confused as I am?  I mean about,” 
her hand waved between them.
“I don’t have a clue what it is but I’m enjoying 
it.  You?”
“Very much so.”

-x-

After lunch, Mulder dropped her off at Grace’s 
to reclaim her car then headed home.  He was 
going to pick her up at seven and he needed to 
make a reservation.  
Scully went in and talked to Grace for an hour 
then headed home.  Grace had been shocked 
when Dana told her about their date.  Grace had 
been trying to fix up Dana ever since she 
dumped that jerk Jack.  That man gave assholes 
a bad name.  
Grace just stared at her friend with her hands on 
her generous hips.  “Next thing you’re going to 
invite him home for dinner.”  Dana’s eyes 
looked sideways.  “You did not!  You did not 
cook for him last night.”
“It was late and I’d made the lasagna and all it 
had to do was bake and he was helping me.”  
Dana realized she was rambling and shut her 
mouth for a moment.  Then she burst out with, 
“and I sent home leftovers.”
Grace grabbed Dana and hugged her.  “I am so 
happy to finally see my ‘oh so logical’ girl just 
jump off the cliff without triangulating the 
trajectory or whatever the hell it is.”  She 
squeezed a little tighter.  “I talked to his friends 
last night,” she pulled back and looked at her 
friend.  “He’s a good man, Danes.  He’s been 
hurt, bad, same as you.”
“He hasn’t said anything but I kind of figured 
there was something.  He doesn’t know the 
details but I told him I’d broken an 
engagement.”  Dana glanced at the clock.  “I’d 
better get going.  I have no idea what to wear.  I 
haven’t bought anything date worthy in a long 
time.”
“That is why you have me.  You are going to 
wear that black sheath that you wore to the 
banquet last year.  But as for shoes, follow me.”  
Dana followed dutifully and watched with rapt 
attention as Grace sorted through her shoes.  
“Here they are.  They’ve never been worn, hell; 
they are a size too small.  I only bought them 
because the clerk was a bastard.  I’ve been 
meaning to give them to you anyhow.”  Grace 
held up one of the shoes, black sling-back with a 
very high heel and open toe.  They were elegant 
but not over the top.  “Don’t forget to stop for 
stockings on the way home.  And remember, I 
said stockings not pantyhose.  Black with lace at 
the top.  While you’re at it check out the new 
shades of lipsticks.”
“Grace, stop; it may have been a while but I do 
have a vague recollection of what a date is 
supposed to be like.  Now, thanks for the shoes.  
I love you and, before you ask, I will call you, 
tomorrow.”
“Okay, you get out of here because I have to get 
ready for my date too.”  Grace read the question 
in Dana’s eyes.  “Melvin Frohike, and don’t ask 
me why, I just like him.”

-x-

Scully stood in front of the mirror.  Grace had 
been right about everything, the outfit worked 
and the shoes were perfect.  “Well, kid this is 
about as good as it’s gonna get.”
She heard a knock and opened it to reveal a 
large bouquet of flowers with a man behind it.  
“You in there somewhere, Mulder?”
Mulder lowered the flowers and gave a little 
gasp, “you clean up really well, Scully.”  He 
handed her the flowers and followed her to the 
kitchen as she got a vase.
“I have one thing to tell you about the case and 
that will be all the business talk for the night.  
Okay?”  Scully just smiled and nodded as she 
filled the vase with water.   “All of the victims 
belonged to a lonely hearts internet club called 
Heartbreak Hotel.  The guys are trying to find 
out if they met the same guy.”
“I hope they find him and fast.”  She broke off 
one of the blooms and placed it in his lapel.  
She patted the lapel and Mulder snagged her 
wrist gently.  “One thing I really hate about first 
dates is never knowing if I can kiss the girl at the 
end.”  He snaked down and stopped a hairs 
breath from her lips and waited.
“By my calculations, and remember I am a 
scientist, this is our third date so that isn’t an 
issue.”  She said then leaned forward and kissed 
him tenderly.
“I really like the way you think.”  He leaned in 
for another kiss that was not so gentle.  “I think 
we need to get going because if this keeps up . . 
.”
“I think you’re right, Mulder.  Did Frohike tell 
you that he and Grace are going out tonight 
too?”  A surprised look was Mulder’s only 
response.

-x-

Mulder placed his hand at her back as they 
followed the maitre‘d to their table.  Once they 
were seated they just looked at each other for a 
moment.  The silence between them was neither 
awkward nor uncomfortable.  Minutes later 
Mulder broke the silence.  “I have never been 
this comfortable with anyone, let alone this 
fast.”  His eyes looked down.  “I have some trust 
issues.”
“I feel the same way and you are not the only 
one that has problems trusting someone.”  
Scully took a deep breath and looked away for a 
moment.  When her eyes came back to him 
Mulder could tell she’d made a decision.  “I told 
you I had a broken engagement.  God, I can’t 
believe I’m about to tell you this.  Even Grace 
doesn’t know but I feel compelled to tell you.  I 
was engaged to Jack Willis, he is an Agent too.  
I met him when I was guest lecturing at 
Quantico several years ago.  He seemed nice and 
we started dating.  After this and that happened 
we decided to get married.  He was almost living 
with me, just not officially if you know what I 
mean?”  She looked embarrassed and he nodded 
trying to encourage her to continue.  “I ended up 
pregnant.  I was thrilled and I thought he would 
be too; he wasn’t.”
“Did you have an abortion?”
“No, I don’t oppose abortion but it would never 
be an option for me, besides I wanted that child.  
Jack hit me, punched me in the stomach.  I lost 
the baby and, according to my doctor, most 
likely my ability to have children.”
“I guess we’ll adopt.” Mulder said it as a way to 
lighten her mood but he realized that it was 
exactly how he felt.  Like it was a given.  “So, 
what happened to Willis?”
“I wanted to prosecute but my eldest brother 
talked me out of it.”
“You’re kidding, right?  If someone had done 
that to my sister, Samantha, I personally would 
have hauled his ass to jail.”
“Bill thought it would be more stressful on me 
to go through the whole court case.   I’m not 
usually easily led but I was vulnerable.  Looking 
back, I rather suspect Bill thought I deserved to 
be punished, that whole sex before marriage 
being a sin thing.”  Scully smiled ruefully.   
“Though that didn’t seem to stop him from 
visiting a few professional women while in 
various ports before he got married.”
“I don’t think I like your brother much.”
“Not many do.  He’s a hard and rigid man.”
“Well, since you laid it out I suppose it’s my 
turn.”  Scully shook her head.  “No, I know I 
don’t have to but, like you, I have to tell you.  I 
was married.  It lasted three years, it was nice 
for a while but looking back I see that something 
was missing pretty much from the start.  She 
was also an agent.  We worked a couple cases 
together then we started seeing each other out of 
work then marriage seemed like the next logical 
move.  I was working for Bill Patterson at the 
time and he was kind of a slave driver.  I was in 
the field for at least three out of four weeks a 
month.  I was on a case in California and by 
happenstance we caught a break.  They brought 
in some new pathologist and he found 
something the local people didn’t.”
“Mulder, this wasn’t the Bristol case, little boys 
beaten, molested, branded and then their bodies 
were left in open fields?”
“Don’t tell me you were the one they brought 
in?”  She nodded. “I wish I met you back then.  
You broke the case for me.”  He cleared his 
throat.  “Yeah, well because of that 
breakthrough I was able to go home a lot sooner 
than expected.  I knew Diana, that was my wife, 
was fed up with me being gone so much so I 
decided to surprise her.  I went the whole nine 
yards.  Reservations at her favorite restaurant, 
flowers and Champagne, I had it all planned.  I 
got home and quietly moved to our bedroom. . 
.”
“She wasn’t alone was she?”  Mulder shook his 
head.  “Did you know the man?”
“Her best friend, Liz Decker.”
“Oh, Mulder!”  She put her hand over his.  “Are 
we a pair or what?”
The duo noticed that someone had approached 
and was standing next to the table.  “Agent 
Mulder,” it was Skinner and his wife Sharon.
Mulder stood.  “Sir, Mrs. Skinner, let me 
introduce Dana Scully.  Dana this is my boss 
Walter Skinner and his wife Sharon.”
Sharon tapped Dana on the shoulder.  “Dana 
and I have worked on several charity events 
together.”
“Hello, Sharon, Mr. Skinner,” Scully took 
Skinner’s hand to shake.
“Call me Walter.  We were just leaving when we 
saw you so we just stopped to say hello.”
“Sir, would you like to sit.”
“No, thanks but we have to get going.  A friend 
of Sharon’s is having a showing of her 
sculptures.”
Walter and Sharon Skinner made their goodbyes 
and Mulder sat back.  “Alone at last.”
“Hardly alone, Mulder, we are sitting in the 
middle of a crowded restaurant.”
“As far as I can tell it’s just us.”

-x-

They exited the restaurant and, by silent mutual 
agreement, they headed back to Scully’s.   
Mulder watched while Scully made coffee.  
“Don’t just stand there; get the Tiramisu from 
the fridge.” Scully called over her shoulder.
“I wasn’t just standing here, I was watching 
you.  But, since you asked so nicely I’ll do as 
you asked.”  He touched her arm as he passed.  
“And if you could manage that reach again I 
would be a very happy man.  I love lace topped 
stockings.”  Mulder whispered seductively.  
Scully thought she should feel embarrassed or 
even put off, but she felt neither.  Instead she 
was a little intrigued tinged with the giddiness 
that comes with being desired. 
They moved to her couch.  Conversation seemed 
unnecessary, intrusive even.  They were 
enjoying coffee and dessert but it was the 
company they most enjoyed.
Mulder saw the corners of her mouth turn up 
into a small smile.  “What?” Mulder asked 
gently.
“I don’t know.  I just can’t believe that we’ve 
only known each other for a day.  I feel I know 
you and that you know me.  This isn’t what I’m 
like.”  She shook her head but the smile 
remained.  “I think I like it, a lot.”
“I know what you mean.  We’ve been sitting 
here for what?  Nearly an hour, we aren’t 
talking, the stereo and TV are not on but I feel 
really comfortable.”
“The power of silence,” Scully said in a manner 
that reflected that it explained it all.
“The power of silence?”  Mulder repeated back 
her words as a question.
“I said that out loud?”  Mulder answered with a 
nod.  “I’ll explain if you promise not to bolt 
from fear.”  Mulder just laughed.  “It was 
something my dad once said to me.  I was ten or 
eleven, well pre-teen.  I asked him about his 
romance with my mom and how he knew that 
she was the one for him.”  
She stopped and Mulder really thought she 
wasn’t going to go on.  But she started again 
slowly.  There was a far away look in her eye as 
she remembered a long ago talk with her dad.  
“He told me that he new he loved my mom was 
after they’d spent a day together and he realized 
they hadn’t said more than a couple dozen 
things to each other.  He said, ‘Starbuck,’ his 
nickname for me.  ‘Starbuck, anyone can talk.  
People do it all the time just to fill the silences.  
But it’s when you can be with someone and fill 
those silences with meaning and not just noise 
that really count.  It’s the power of silence.’”  
Mulder saw a little trepidation in her eyes.  He 
reached out and touched her cheek and just 
smiled.  “The power of silence, I like that.”  
They leaned over and he whispered, “third date 
right?”  They’re lips collided in a none too 
chaste kiss. 
There was no question about if he would spend 
the night, he wouldn’t.  It was too soon for both 
of them.  Even though their bodies protested 
they both felt the need to deal with their 
emotions and the quickness they were moving. 

-x-

Sunday, Scully turned on her cell phone as she 
was leaving church and it immediately chimed.  
It was Mulder.  Her observer was thrilled at the 
way her face lit up when she found out who 
called.  Mulder made her way across the street 
and walked up behind her.  
He pulled the phone from his ear and stage 
whispered, “hey, pretty lady.”
“Mulder,” she took him into a hug and kissed 
him lightly.
“Got any plans for the rest of the day?”  He 
asked as he was just realizing he’d taken for 
granted that she would want to spend the day 
with him.
“Oh, just spend time with this gorgeous man I 
just met.”  Her smile brightened.
“In that case I guess I’ll get going.”  Mulder 
started to turn around.
Scully followed and tapped his shoulder, “hello, 
gorgeous.”  She waited for him to stop.  “So 
what do you have in mind?”
His face went blank and he looked away in 
complete puzzlement.  “I have no idea.  I just, I 
don’t know.”  He was stumbling over his words.
“I know, I just want to spend time with you too.  
How about we just hang?  Do errands together 
and so on.  I need to grocery shop and pick up 
my dry cleaning and I’m sure you have some 
things we need to do too.

-x-

They were back at Scully’s apartment putting 
away groceries and Mulder was initiating 
himself to the inner workings of her home.  
When they finished she made lunch and he knew 
exactly where to get the flatware and plates.  
They were cleaning up from their meal when 
Scully asked, “so, if we were to go to your place 
what would I find?”
“A hovel.”  She looked at him with disbelief.  
“No, I mean it.  I don’t spend much time there.  
It is just the place I sleep, hang my clothes and 
keep my fish.”  He tucked some hair behind her 
ear.  “Give me a week to clean it up and you can 
visit.  Maybe you can make some decorating 
suggestions to lighten the joint up.  To make it 
into a place you want to spend some time in.”
“Mulder, if it has you in it that is enough 
inducement.”

Part Six: Unrequited Love Steals Life

Mulder, reluctantly, went home around ten.  The 
light on his answering machine was blinking as 
he entered his apartment.  
“Mulder, my man,” Langly answered, “we’ve 
been waiting for your call.”
“You have news?”
“Oh yeah.  Do you think you and the lady 
pathologist can meet us here tomorrow night?”
“I’m sure we can.  What did you find?”
“Tomorrow all will be revealed.”  Langly hung 
up.
Mulder called Scully and made arrangements to 
pick her up after her shift.

-x-

Mulder led Scully into the Gunmen’s lair with 
his hand at her back.  Langly and Byers greeted 
them warmly but Frohike held back.  Mulder 
didn’t seem to notice but Scully did and she was 
sure she knew why.  Mulder and she were not 
the only ones moving a bit fast in their 
relationship.
When the little man wasn’t paying attention she 
made her way to him and said, “you made Grace 
very happy.  Thank you.”  A wave of relief 
came over Frohike’s features and they moved 
toward the others.  “Remember, if you hurt her, 
I’m a pathologist and I know how to make it 
look like an accident.”  Frohike stopped dead in 
his tracks.  
Mulder caught the action and knew he needed to 
ask about it later.
Langly took the lead.  “Our boy is Richard 
Layton, goes by Richard never Dick or Rick or 
Rich, just Richard.  He’s twenty nine years old.  
Richard’s life began the same day that one 
Richard Sexton walked away from Mt. Holyoke 
Asylum in Pennsylvania two years after he was 
placed there for murdering his fiancé when she 
broke off their engagement.”
“They only kept him two years?” Scully asked 
incredulously.
It was Byers who answered.  “When we say 
‘walked away’ that is exactly what we mean.  
Staff members went to get him and he wasn’t in 
his cell.  The door was locked and no one had 
seen anything.  All searches resulted in nothing.  
The only thing they did find was a burglary of a 
nearby men’s clothing store.  They couldn’t find 
any evidence of forced entry.  The thief took 
several men’s outfits and there was cash missing 
from the safe.  The safe was on time lock and it 
hadn’t been tampered with.” 
Mulder and Scully looked at each other.  Scully 
spoke first.  “That wall?”  Mulder nodded.  The 
three men watched as a complete silent 
conversation seemed to be occurring. 
Mulder explained about the occurrence with the 
wall at the hotel.  When he finished he asked if 
they had an address.
“What can you pick him up on?  The deaths are 
all officially suicides.”  Asked Byers
“Suspicion of being an escapee from a mental 
institution.”
Frohike entered the conversation.  “What will 
stop him from escaping again?”
That stopped everyone for a moment.  Scully 
broke the silence, “glass maybe?  The wall was 
solid as, I’m sure, the walls, doors and fencing 
of the asylum.  There is a theory that glass is a 
highly dense liquid.  Its molecular structure 
would be different.” 
Mulder broke away from the others; it was time 
to call Skinner.

-x-

Skinner, Mulder and Scully spoke with Dr. 
Anthony Hatch about Richard Sexton before 
they went in to question him.  Skinner arranged 
for Dana Scully to observe at Mulder’s request.  
She had been the one person who recognized 
that there was something more than random 
suicides.
Dr. Hatch reported that Sexton had been an 
unremarkable patient, completely unrepentant 
about the murder of his ex-fiancé.  He always 
claimed that it was her own fault.  
Near the end, Mulder asked if there had been 
any unusual occurrences before Sexton escaped.  
The doctor told them of a series of small 
incidences had happened.  Missing food, charts 
mixed up, equipment in the wrong place and 
that sort of thing; nothing major.  No one was 
ever held accountable and the incidents stopped 
once Sexton was gone.
Richard Sexton had been testing his ability.

-x-

Richard Sexton was being very cooperative; 
waiving his rights to an attorney and to remain 
silent.  He admitted his involvement with all of 
the suicides and a number of other cases from 
other cities.  “DC was a lovely city to die in, 
don’t you think?” 
He explained how he found his victims, sought 
them out from the lonely hearts chat rooms.  
“They claimed to be lonely and broken hearted 
but they all tossed love away.”
The man started a diatribe on the unfaithfulness 
of women.  How they manipulate men and cause 
pain.
Skinner let the man run on for a while hoping 
that Sexton would tell them how he virtually 
passed through walls.  Nothing of any worth 
came from him so Skinner shut him down but 
not before Mulder asked how he got the women 
to kill themselves.
“I was locked in this place for years and daily 
sessions with the crackpots they call 
psychiatrists.  I can’t tell you how many 
hypnosis sessions I’ve been subjected to.  Do 
you honestly think I didn’t pick up a trick or 
two?”  Sexton didn’t try masking his contempt.
“That brings up another question.  How did you 
manage to get out?”
Sexton sneered, “I walked.”  He was done 
answering questions.

-x-

The small parade marched through the corridors 
of the asylum.  Sexton and his two orderlies lead 
the procession, Skinner and Hatch following and 
Mulder and Scully pulled up the rear.
“I don’t understand why he was so open, 
Mulder.  He admitted to using hypnosis to 
induce those women to commit suicide.”
“He doesn’t think he can be held so he has 
nothing to lose.”  They reached Sexton’s new 
cell.  “Now we get to test your theory, Scully.  
Skinner arranged for the cell to be lined with 
bullet resistant glass.”  He leaned down.  “I hope 
you’re right about this because that stuff is 
expensive and Skinner told me that if it doesn’t 
work it comes out of my salary.”
They heard Sexton say, “home, temporary 
home.”  Sexton entered the room and turned for 
the orderly to remove his straight jacket.  The 
door was closed and a moment later they heard 
Sexton yell.  “NO!  You can’t do this!”
They heard him slam his body into the walls.
Skinner turned to Mulder, “I guess it worked.”

Part Seven: To the Victor Go the Rewards

Dana pressed the buzzer and Mulder buzzed her 
in.  Like hers, the building was old but not as 
well maintained and didn’t have the charm her 
complex had.  The hallway floors were dusty 
and the elevator was slow.  She exited the 
elevator and saw that an apartment door was 
open about mid-way down the hall.  Mulder 
poked his head out and she was lost in his smile.
She handed him the parcels she was carrying.  
Mulder sniffed.  “Smells wonderful.  What’d 
you get?”
“I stopped at China Delight.  I didn’t know what 
you would like so I just got a sampling from the 
left hand side of the menu.”
“Well, you certainly got enough.  We’ll be eating 
this for days.”  Mulder set the bags on his 
kitchen counter then took her in his arms.  “I’ve 
been dying to do this all day.”  They leaned in 
and kissed, then just stood holding each other.
“You promised me a look around, you want to 
play tour guide or should I just venture out on 
my own?”
“You lead, I’ll follow.  If anything scary attacks 
we can huddle together.”  He pulled her into a 
hug, “maybe we can huddle even if nothing 
scary attacks.”
“Count on it,” Scully reached up and kissed him 
lightly.  “Now show me around.”
“Well, I know this is a shock,” Mulder waived 
his hands around, “this is the kitchen.”
“Wow, I have one of these too.”  Scully 
responded sarcastically.  
Mulder turned her around by placing his hands 
on her shoulders and nudged her thru the 
archway.  He chuckled at her response to his 
coat rack.  “Billiard balls, interesting choice.”  
Then she walked into the living room and he had 
to hold himself back as she said in awe, 
“leather.”  She looked around and added, “and a 
leather chair too.  Decadent, I like it.”
The bathroom went by without comment and 
that only left his bedroom.  Mulder opened the 
door and stepped back to let her go in first.  She 
walked around and took in the muted grays of 
the linens and the fine wood furnishings.  She 
turned and looked at him.  “Who decorated this 
room?”
“How do you know it wasn’t me?”
“This room is not my Mulder.”  The possessive 
term was not lost on him, and he liked it.  “My 
Mulder is reflected all over the place out there.  
That shoe stretcher that you use as a 
paperweight, the coat rack, the mismatched 
leather chair and sofa, even the typewriter print, 
those are my Mulder.  This is someone else’s 
vision of who they think you are.”  She turned 
and looked into his eyes.  “My Mulder only 
seems dark on the surface but underneath he is a 
whole rainbow of color.  Gray is not your 
thing.”
“And ‘my Scully’ should be an investigator.”
“It was Diana wasn’t it?”  Her smile faded a 
little.
“Two years ago, we tried again.  Big mistake.  It 
lasted two weeks but it took me six months to 
end it.”  He didn’t look at her while he said it.
She walked over to him and cupped his cheek.  
“That’s my Mulder, the eternal optimist.”  He 
had to chuckle at that.  He’d been called a lot of 
things but never an optimist before.
“You know, Scully, you keep saying ‘my 
Mulder;’ a guy could start getting ideas.”
“Really?  And just what kind of ideas would 
that be?”  Her eyes wide with innocence; Mulder 
was far from fooled.
“Ideas of midnight kisses, early morning 
snuggles and afternoon delights.”
“Hmm,” she pursed her lips and cocked her head 
then sat on his bed and scooted back to the 
headboard.  “I’m glad I’m not giving the wrong 
impression.”  She ventured a look at his alarm 
clock.  “Would those ideas possibly include an 
eight-twenty-seven interlude?”  Her eyebrow 
raised in challenge.
“Interludes at anytime are very much included.  I 
might even throw in some bundling and 
canoodling to boot.”
Mulder crawled up the bed and met her eye to 
eye.  “What about all that food you brought?”
Scully leaned forward and peppered him with 
small kisses.  “Oh, there is something you need 
to know about me, Mulder.  After a good round 
of ‘interluding’ I eat like a horse.”
“In that case, I hope you brought enough.”  

End Story  

Happy Birthday Kim - November 13