The Lure of the Fox Part I By Caroline O'Callaghan Rating: NC-17 I suppose, but its nothing too bad Classification: Mulder/Scully Romance. Mulder and Scully pursue a serial killer who calls himself 'The Fox'. Spoilers: Small Potatoes/Never Again Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully don't belong to me - I hereby promise to return them when I've finished playing with them. Part 1 Dana Scully's apartment Washington D.C. June 26th, 1997 Bells, ringing. Dana Scully turned over in her sleep and struck out at the offending noise. Her alarm clock crashed to the floor, but she carried on dozing. But the bells kept ringing. She woke then and grabbed for the phone, putting it to her ear, she heard the caller speak before she could get her mouth into motion. "Morning Scully." "wha time s'it." "5.30. New case Scully. We're booked on an 8 a.m. flight so I thought I'd wake you up, give you time to pack, have breakfast." "How considerate of you." She sat up and turned the light on. "Where are we going?" She groaned inwardly when he told her. "I hate the forest Mulder." He ignored her. "Pack your hiking boots Scully. You might need them." "Oh God, no, we're heading for somewhere that civilisation hasn't reached yet, aern't we?" "Think of yourself as the Christopher Columbus of the FBI." "What's the case?" "I'll tell you on the plane. Hit the shower Scully." She was about to do as he said, and went to hang up the receiver when a thought occurred to her. "Mulder, its Saturday." "Yeah, so.......you haven't got plans for the weekend have you?" Scully sighed. "Well...I was going to redecorate." "Exciting life you lead, Scully." Suddenly, she was royally pissed off at him. It was okay for her to mock her lack of a social life, but when Mulder did it, it made her feel like a pathetic, nerd. She remembered a conversation they'd had recently. 'If you could be someone else who would you be, Scully?'. 'Eleanor Roosevelt' she'd replied. 'That's boring' Mulder had decreed. To her it had felt like he'd said 'you're boring Scully'. Mulder continued. "You can break out the paint and brushes next weekend Scully. I need your help on this one." Scully silently cursed herself. Mulder could manipulate her so easily, he knew exactly what strings to pull. And despite the fact that he'd gotten around her in the same way time and time again, she still couldn't resist the call of 'I need you Scully'. When he said it, she came running, it was her natural instinct now. "Okay, I'll see you at the airport." Airport Washington D.C. June 26th, 1997 7.50 a.m. Mulder stopped pacing when he saw his partner approach him with her graceful, but no-nonsense stride. "Cutting it a little fine aern't we Scully?" Mulder wanted to take the words back and bury them when she shot him a glare that was all fire and ice at the same time. How did she do that? "I couldn't find my boots, I was out of coffee and I had to take a cold shower." "Why, were you dreaming about me?" He got another glare for that, this one screamed 'can it Mulder, I'm not in the mood'. "My water heater chose this morning to lay down and die." He flinched at her choice of words. Scully turned to the check-in clerk to get her ticket and boarding pass. Lay down and die. That's what Scully would be doing shortly if he couldn't find a way to save her in time. His mind screamed at him 'can't let it happen', 'won't let it happen'. She turned back to him, paperwork in hand, he nodded his head in the direction of their departure gate, and they began walking towards it. The plane was only half-full and they had no problem sitting together. As soon, as they'd taken off, Mulder caught the attention of the stewardess with a winning smile, she gave him a winning smile back, but it seemed to fade a little, when she saw Scully beside him. "Can we get a cup of coffee?" Scully smiled to herself. Mulder had ordered the coffee for her. Sometimes, when she thought he'd paid no attention to what she'd said, he surprised her. He'd noted her comment about not having any coffee at home. Her inward smile turned to an inward frown however when she saw Mulder admiring the retreating stewardesses figure. She should have been used to it by now. Mulder leered at women all the time. Nurses, waitresses, motel cleaners. It shouldn't bother her, but at times she felt like she was traversing America with a hormonal sixteen-year-old. "What's the case Mulder?" He dug around in his bag and handed her a manila folder. "Its been handled by local law enforcement up till now but when they found the third victim they realised they had a serial killer on their hands, and sent it over to the Bureau." Scully opened the folder. Saw an image of a dead young girl lying amongst leaves and dirt, and quickly shut the folder again. She'd deal with the pictures later, after her coffee. Mulder continued. "Three girls, all aged eight, taken from their homes in the middle of the night, raped and murdered. Their bodies turn up a few days after the initial kidnapping." Scully sucked in a breath and held it. This was going to be rough, for her, but especially for Mulder. "Is there an X File in this?" "No." He looked at her. "But I requested we be assigned it anyway." Scully looked into his eyes, which were filled with sadness and nodded. She knew why he'd requested it, he didn't have to tell her. "You haven't heard the best bit yet Scully. This guy leaves notes behind in the kids bedrooms. He's given himself a nickname." Scully cocked her head to one side, curious. "He calls himself the Fox." Scully saw Mulder's jaw stiffen and stifled her own surprise. Mulder's first name, his hated first name. Someone was using Mulder's first name on their calling cards, when they kidnapped girls who were the same age as Mulder's sister was when she'd been taken. Scully cleared her throat. "Its probably a coincidence Mulder." The words seemed trite, but Mulder must have appreciated them because he put a hand over hers on the armrest and smiled softly at her. "I hope it is." Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 26th, 1997 1.35p.m. "You sure you're reading that map right Scully." His partner had practically disappeared under the enormous road map she had folded out in front of her. "Mulder, reading the map is my job, don't interfere. Turn right. The Sheriff's station should be around a hundred yards up the road." She lowered the map and looked out of the window. "Or should I say, track." Mulder glanced up at the huge redwoods and pine trees. "Pretty rugged huh?" It had been twenty minutes since they'd last seen a house or store. Scully sighed. "Give me the city any day." Mulder suddenly felt guilty for dragging her out into the wilds. Scully and nature didn't seem to agree with each other. Not that she couldn't cope with rough conditions, inclement weather and ten mile hikes. She coped with it all in the same consummately professional way she did everything, but these kinds of trips always seemed to end badly for her. Quarantine seemed to be a frequent conclusion, and once there'd been a dead pet. Mulder saw a small, wood-built building and pulled the car to a halt. "Is this it?" Scully looked at the map again. "Unless I'm holding the map upside down." He shot her a grin. "Wouldn't be the first time." She gave him a 'you're not funny Mulder' look, and reached behind her to get her coat from the back seat. Mulder got out and walked around the car to open her door for her. She felt herself flush a little, and cursed her fair complexion. Mulder's little gestures sometimes had the strangest effect on her. He was the only man she'd ever met who could treat her like a lady without making her feel like she was being patronised. Not that she met a lot of men these days. Mulder stared at the building in amazement as they approached it. "Our basement is bigger than this." "Our basement?" Mulder looked down at her confused. "What?" She shook her head at him "Never mind." When she'd answered her phone to Mulder that morning she'd felt nothing but resentment for him. For waking her up, for presuming that she had nothing to do on a Saturday, and being right. But he had managed to soften her mood considerably on the trip out. And his last comment had brought back a resurgence of warmth for him. She'd always felt like a visitor to the basement, and had gone as far recently to tell him so, complaining of her lack of a desk. That Mulder now considered the basement 'ours' instead of 'his' was pleasing to her. Her new good mood didn't last long however. It disappeared when they entered the Sheriff's office, and the Sheriff introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Emily Watson." Scully was too busy looking at Mulder's reaction to the tall, blonde, attractive, Sheriff to respond. Mulder's face bore a Christmas-come-early-grin, as he shook Emily Watson's hand. "I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, this is Scully." Scully bristled. 'This is Scully'. What kind of an introduction was that? Why did he get a full title and a first name? He'd made her sound like his dog. Why didn't he just pat her head and give her a bowl of water? Sheriff Watson turned to Scully and shook her hand briefly, but her attention went straight back to Mulder. "I've booked you into a motel. I hope you don't mind me planning for you, but there's only one within thirty miles of here, so its not like you would have had a choice." Mulder was still grinning. "No, we appreciate it." Although he said 'we', Scully noticed he never looked at her, or even gestured towards her. All his attention was focused on the skin-tight-kahki clad Sheriff, who was handing him a folder. "I've drawn you some directions. Things are really spread out around here and it can be difficult finding your way about. I guessed you'd want to talk to the parents of the children, so I've included the addresses. I also thought Agent Scully might want to talk to our pathologist. He's about an hour's drive away." Scully had to admit to being impressed. The Sheriff was obviously efficient, thorough and helpful, and she'd looked into her and Mulder's backgrounds enough to know that Scully dealt with the medical details. "I have that right don't I Agent Scully? You're a medical doctor?" Scully nodded. "Yes and I would like to talk to Doctor Reynolds." Scully had read the pathologists name in the case file she'd perused on the flight, and dropped it in on purpose, just to let the Sheriff know she wasn't the only one who'd done her homework. Mulder turned to her. "It would save time if we split up. Maybe you should go and do your thing, and I'll see the parents?" Scully hesitated. "We only have the one car." She didn't say it but she was also worried about Mulder interviewing grieving parents by himself on a case that was bound to affect him deeply. Sheriff Watson interrupted. "I could drive Agent Mulder around." Mulder seemed so delighted by the idea that she wanted to smack the smile off his face. 'Stop it Dana' she admonished herself. 'Don't be so territorial. Mulder doesn't belong to you'. Mulder accepted the offer smoothly. "Thank you Sheriff, that would be great, if you're not too busy." "This isn't exactly the crime capital of the world. I'm never that busy. Oh, and call me Emily, in this neck of the words we only use first names." Scully saw Mulder's uncomfortable look. She wanted to be there when Emily tried to use Mulder's first name. It would definitely be interesting. He recovered quickly and rummaged through the folder he'd been given and shoved the directions to the pathologists at her. "There you go....Dana." She gave him a half smile as she took the rough-drawn map, appreciating his in-joke. She suddenly didn't have a reason to hang around and forced herself to leave, heading out the door. "I'll see you later Mulder." "Keep that map up the right way." Lone Pine Motel Breakspeare Forest June 26th, 1997 6.50 p.m. Scully was overcome with weariness by the time she found their hotel. She collected her key, found her room and collapsed onto the bed. She tiered more easily now. Her body was slowly letting her down, giving in to the cancer, even though her mind fought against it. She banished the maudlin thoughts when the phone beside the bed rang. She snatched up the receiver. "Have I got a treat for you? The biggest burgers you've ever seen, Scully, pickles, melted cheese, dripping in grease, and big, fat, juicy fries." Scully wrinkled her nose at the phone. "Sounds disgusting." "We'll there's only one place to eat here, and that's what they serve. You'll have to have the side salad." "Where are you?" "The other side of the paper thin wall, I heard you come in. Okay togo to dinner in a few minutes?" "Can't you bring me back take-out Mulder? All the travelling we've done today has kind of knocked me out." She heard him hesitate, and wondered what was going through his mind. "I could if you feel that bad Scully, but I said we'd meet Sheriff Watson there." "Okay, knock for me." "You sure. If you're not feeling too good..." She interrupted him, and cursed herself for making him worry about her. It was nice that he cared, but he must have enough on his mind already. "I'm okay Mulder." "Alright I'll see you in five." Christie's Diner Lone Pine Motel Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 26th, 1997 7.35 p.m. "Mulder, have you no regard for your arteries?" He shovelled a few fries in his mouth and spoke around them. "Scully, my arteries and I am flattered by your concern. But my taste buds are telling you to mind your own business. This is fine cuisine." He pointed his fork at her sandwich and salad. "You ought to have eaten more. Might be the last good meal you have for a while." She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by that?" Sheriff Watson entered the diner and Mulder jumped out of his chair to greet her. Scully sighed at the sight. 'Emily' was wearing a similar outfit to the one Scully herself had thrown on before Mulder had dragged her out to eat. Jeans and a sweater. On the long-legged Sheriff it looked cute and sexy. 'So why does the same outfit make me look like a harassed Mom just back from a school run?' "Hello Agent Scully." The Sheriff scooted in the same side of the booth that Mulder occupied. Scully replied as sweetly as she could "Dana's fine, Emily." She kept telling herself to be nice to the other woman. After all it wasn't her fault that she'd managed to attract Mulder's eye. She'd not only managed to attract Mulder's eye though. She seemed to have claimed his whole attention. "Would you like to order anything Emily?" "No thanks Fox I already ate." Scully nearly choked on the bite of sandwich she'd just taken, and Mulder looked over at her quickly, to make sure she was okay, but then his eyes were back on the Sheriff. "I was just telling Scully about our trip." "Trip?" Mulder managed to tear his gaze away from Emily long enough to explain. "I spoke to one of the parents today. The night his daughter was taken, he heard a noise. He rushed into his daughter's room, but she was already gone. He looked out of the window and saw a man running away. He says he looked like one of the forest people." Scully raised an eyebrow. "Forest people?" Emily continued. "There's a number of people who live in the forest. Nobody knows exactly how many, but there's hermits, hillbillies. They don't come into town often and they seem to live off the land. They move a lot around up there to avoid the authorities, so they don't have to pay taxes. Every few months or so they just move to a different part of the forest and build a new shelter." "And we're going to question these people?" The Sheriff nodded. "Although, I have to say that I've lived in this area all my life Dana, and nobody from the forest has ever caused any more trouble than stealing washing from lines. Jessica's father may just be wanting it to have been someone from up there, because of the in-built prejudice the townspeople have about them." "Why are they prejudiced against them?" "Who knows? Because they smell a little, because they don't buy anything from the stores, because they don't send their kids to school. Pick your reason. They get blamed for a lot, but I'm the Sheriff in this town, and I can tell you that they actually do very little wrong." Scully nodded. "Maybe somebody new joined the community up there. I mean the murders are very recent. Maybe he's using the protection of the forest to hide, and blending in with the other more established inhabitants so he won't be suspected." Mulder nodded. "That's what I was thinking Scully. That's why were going up there." "Are we driving?" Emily nodded. "Yes." Scullly breathed a sigh of relief. "But then we have to hike. The road only goes so far, and these people live deep in the forest." Scully hid her groan. "I've got us some tents and supplies. We'll leave tomorrow at six a.m." Scully looked at Mulder who had the nerve to be excited about this. He was looking at Sheriff Watson rapturously, obviously expecting her to lead him on a great adventure. 'Why does he never look at me like that?' she wondered. 'Because you've never led him anywhere, Dana, you spend all your time trying to hold him back.' Mulder must have felt her staring at him, because he turned back to her. "Find out anything new from Doctor Reynolds, Scully?" "Not much, only that the girls were all well cared for right up until they were raped and then killed, which is strange." Emily looked at her questioningly. "Why is it strange?" Mulder answered the question before Scully had a chance too. "Serial killers who wait before killing their victims usually do so because they enjoy torturing them. They're usually starved and beaten." Sheriff Watson blanched a little and looked at both them. "Well you guys obviously have a lot more experience in this kind of thing than I do. I hope you catch him." "Oh don't worry, we will." Scully looked quickly into Mulder's eyes and saw the fire and determination there. Although he was enjoying the Sheriff's company, his soul was obviously in some torture. More than his behaviour betrayed. She was a little nervous about the next few days. If Mulder suddenly swan-dived off the edge during this case, she wasn't sure if she'd be up to her usual job of breaking his fall. "Mulder, maybe this guy is on the run. My instinct, after reading the autopsy reports, tells me that he's not a first-time killer." "Your 'instinct' Scully?" Mulder was laughing at her, rather than with her, for the second time that day, and she almost told him to forget it, but it was a theory she told herself she couldn't ignore. "Okay, my 'medical training' suggests to me that its not the first time he's killed. I think we ought to get the bureau to run a check on all escape convicts. This Forest sounds like the perfect place to hide if you've just broken out of jail." "Or maybe he's just been released." Scully frowned. "You think prisons release people like this Mulder? They either lock them up and throw away the key, or they gas them into hell." "He might have progressed from paedophilia, to rape and murder Scully, maybe the years in jail just made his condition worse." "You sound like your defending him, and I just told you this isn't his first murder." Mulder glared at her incredulously. "Defending him? I was just laying out a possible profile, and you don't know for sure that he's killed before." Scully felt her temper flaring, and tried to control it, but it wasn't easy, nobody could get under her skin quite the way Mulder could. "Why is it Mulder, that when I suggest a possible theory, you shoot it to pieces, but when you come up with something, I'm supposed to treat it like gospel, and follow you to the ends of the earth to prove it." Mulder was mad as hell at her. She could almost see smoke coming out of the top of his head. He looked at her in an incredulous rage. "Don't act the victim here Scully. You've shot down every theory I've ever come up with, and you know it." "I've only ever offered constructive criticism and scientific evaluation Mulder. I've never dismissed your theories out of hand the way you do mine." "And what theories would these be Scully? In the four years I've known you you've probably only come up with about three, and I'm being generous here." Scully decided it was time to leave before she either slapped him, poured his iced tea over his head, or burst into tears of rage. She collected her coat with as much dignity as she could muster and stood to leave. Mulder went back to his meal and refused to look at her. She nodded to Emily. "I'll see you tomorrow." Emily nodded back and Scully left the diner. "Are you two always like that?" Mulder sighed and stopped eating, turning to Emily. "No, well sometimes. We've been working together a long time, and now and again we rub each other up the wrong way...well actually its more like, now and again I feel the need to be a complete arsehole, but Scully understands that. She'll forgive me." He grinned. "Eventually." "For a while there I was worried that you were going to draw your weapons." "Actually she did shoot me once...but that's another story." Emily laughed thinking he was joking. "Listen Fox, I've got to run and see a friend quickly, but there's a bar on the other side of the motel. I could meet you there in half an hour and we could grab a beer." "Shouldn't I be getting an early night before you put me through my hiking paces tomorrow?" "The beer will help you sleep. I always have one or two the night before a trip." Mulder shrugged. "Sure, why not?" Emily stood to leave. "Why don't you go see if your partner has forgiven you and ask her to come along?" "Okay I will." He looked up at her. "But if you walk past our rooms and hear screaming, come rescue me. That will be Scully trying to strangle me." Emily laughed again and left. Mulder finished his meal and paid his bill. He walked out of the diner that adjoined the hotel and took a deep breath when he got to Scully's door. He knocked on it lightly. "Who is it?" "Han Solo, come to beg forgiveness from Princess Lea." "I'm not in the mood Mulder." "Women are always saying that to me. Open the door Scully." He heard her move towards the door and breathed a sigh of relief. He thanked God for giving him Scully, whose compassionate nature included an incredible ability to forgive those who never seemed to do anything but hurt her. She opened the door, gave him a look that told him he wasn't completely off the hook, and went back into the room where she'd set up her lap top. He followed her in and peered over her shoulder at the flickering screen. "You on-line with the Bureau?" She didn't turn around, but she nodded. "I'm requesting a list of escaped prisoners, and especially for you Mulder, a list of all paedophiles and rapists on parole." "Probably be a big list." "We can narrow it down tomorrow. Its likely that he might come from around here originally, if he knows the forest well." "Why don't you leave it downloading and come for a beer?" She turned and looked at him, her face betraying her surprise. "A beer?" In all the years they'd been travelling around the country, he'd never suggested they go get a beer together. Sometimes when in Washington, they'd grab a bite together after work, but he'd never asked her to go to a bar with him while on a case, and she was both a little wary and pleased. Maybe it was his way of apologising for that crack about her theories. "Yeah, a beer Scully. It'll relax you, help you get a good nights sleep." He was smiling gently at her, and she found herself smiling back. "Okay." Their recent argument was melting away, along with the anger it had brought. She put a self-conscious hand up to her sweater. "I should change, I look a mess." Mulder looked her up and down his smile still in place. "You look fine Scully. Its just you and me." Scully was grinning at him like a schoolgirl now and she had no idea why. "...And Sheriff Watson." Her grin disappeared. "What?" "It was her idea, she felt like a beer and asked us to join her." Scully turned back to the computer screen. "I think you ought to go on your own Mulder, I don't think she'd appreciate me playing gooseberry." "What are you talking about? She told me to ask you." "She was just being polite." "I don't think so Scully." "Mulder just go and have a drink with her, leave me out of it. I've no desire to be a third wheel." "You make it sound like I'm going on a date with this woman. I'm just having a drink with her." "That's what you do on dates Mulder. Or has it been so long you've forgotten?" "Actually Scully it has". She fixed a passive expression on her face and turned back to him. "Listen Mulder, you don't have to worry about me. I'm exhausted, I'm going to go to bed in a minute. Sheriff Watson seems to have taken a liking to you...and don't tell me you're not attracted to her?" "She's Claudia Schiffer in a uniform, who wouldn't be attracted?" "So go, have fun." "Scully, it would be unprofessional of me to get involved with this woman while we're on a case, and why are you presuming that I would want to?" "Your tongue has been hanging out of your mouth ever since you met her." "So, what? Are you giving me your permission to get laid?" Scully swallowed hard. "I'm just saying that if you want to socialise with her, that's fine". Mulder look intently at his partner and friend. He had no idea what she was trying to say to him. Her face was an expressionless mask. He was treading on eggshells with her and he wasn't sure whether the subject needed to be delved into, or left well alone. He was bemused and baffled. He huffed a little and headed for the door. Then stopped and turned back to her. "No hang on, I don't understand what this is about." "No, you don't, but that's my problem." Mulder threw his hands in the air. "What is it with you lately? You used to speak English, now its all cryptic crap." "Stop, yelling at me Mulder, and go away, I don't want to fight with you again." "I wasn't yelling." "Yes you were." "I WAS NOT." His voice reverberated around the room, and Scully winced at his decibel level. There was a bang on the door and Mulder opened it to a short, fat, balding man, in his underwear. "Will you two please keep it down. I've been on the road all day and I'm trying to get to sleep." Mulder tried to look apologetic. "Sorry, my fault." The man looked at Scully, and then back at Mulder. "I don't know why some people bother getting married if all they're gonna do is fight. And I'll tell you pal, if she was my wife.." he gestured at Scully with a stubby finger. "...I wouldn't waste time yelling at her". He winked at Mulder. "If you know what I mean." "What are you a marriage counsellor?" "No, I just..." "Get lost then." Mulder slammed the door in his face and turned back to Scully who seemed to be hiding a rare smile behind a hand. He smiled too and walked over to her. Placing a hand on her sleeve. "D'you want a divorce Scully?" When she replied her voice was softer than he'd heard it in ages. "Until death do us part Mulder." He took her in his arms then, and hugged her tightly. "Good." When he let go of her Scully stifled a moan. It was too soon. She'd wanted to stay snuggled up against a chest his little longer. "Listen Scully...earlier.....I didn't mean that, its just been a strange day, and you're the easiest person for me to hit out at ....you know your work on the X Files has been invaluable to me don't you?" She nodded. Not trusting herself to speak, moved by his words. He continued. "There's no one else I'd trust." "I know Mulder, me too." He touched a hand to her cheek, and then headed for the door. "If you change your mind about the beer, we'll probably be there for a while." Scully watched him go and then put a hand to the cheek he'd touched, still feeling his warmth there. Ignoring the beeping of the computer she flopped down on the bed and starred up at the ceiling, trying to control and make sense of her racing emotions. What the hell had that been about? Her happiness at Mulder's invitation, her disappointment when she'd realised it wasn't a drink invitation from Mulder at all, and their shared confusion when discussing Mulder's romantic intentions towards Emily Watson, if he had any, and then the humorous moment with the cranky next-door-neighbour, and finally Mulder's tenderness and caring words. She felt like she'd just been on a roller-coaster ride, but not a pleasant one. Life was always so complicated with Mulder. God, she'd practically told him to go screw the long-legged, blonde Sheriff. Why the hell had she done that? 'Because you didn't want to seem territorial Scully. You wanted him to think you didn't care, but you do, don't you?' "God, I need a drink." She thought about Mulder's last comment. He'd meant that sincerely. 'If you change your mind, we'll be there for a while.' Scully made a quick decision, and headed for the bathroom to freshen up." Lone Pine Tavern Lone Pine Motel Breaspeare Forest Virginia June 26th, 1997 8.15 p.m. Mulder entered the bar and looked for Emily Watson, she was sitting in a booth and waved him over. "Hi, no Dana? Don't tell me you had another fight?" Mulder smiled and shrugged out of his coat. "I'm not sure if it was a fight or not to be honest. We just had our strangest conversation ever, which for us, is saying something. But anyway, she's a little tired, so she didn't come along. She needs a good nights sleep." "You've been working together four years now?" Mulder nodded, caught the eye of the waitress and ordered a beer. "You must know each other pretty well." "Sometimes I think I know everything there is to know about Scully, and then she'll do something that will completely shock me." His mind was running over a few examples, Ed Jerse, her tete-a-tete on the couch with Eddie van Blundht - the pretend Mulder. The waitress brought his beer, smiled at both of them and left. "I was going to ask you something, but maybe its a little personal." Mulder looked up at Emily in curiosity. "Shorts." "What?" "My underwear. Was that the personal question?" Emily laughed and shook her head. "God, no. How does Dana put up with you?" "Its a dirty job, but someone has to do it. Sorry I interrupted, what were you going to ask?" "You don't mind?" "I'll let you know when I hear the question." "Well back there in the diner, when you were arguing with her, I felt for a moment like I was intruding on a lovers tiff, and I was wondering..." Mulder laughed and took a sip of his beer. "We're not lovers, never have been." Emily nodded. "Sorry. I just...I was dying of curiosity. Can I ask why not, I mean, you're a great-looking guy..." Mulder grinned. "Thank you Sheriff." "...and Dana's very attractive." "Its against Bureau regulations, and besides not every man-woman relationship has to end up in the bedroom, does it?" "No. I guess not." "We have a great friendship, I wouldn't want to jeopardise it." Emily was examining his words closely and staring into his eyes. Mulder found himself a little hypnotised, but there was something strange about Emily's questions? At first when she'd asked about his and Scully's relationship, he'd thought she was testing the waters before coming onto him, but she wasn't giving him come hither looks now. Her face was tight in concentration, like she was trying to figure out a problem. "Some people say that best friends make the best lovers." "Some people say Elvis is dead...Scully, well...she's just not my type." He saw Emily look up and Mulder's gaze followed hers. "Dana, hi." Emily smiled and scooted over in the booth so Scully could sit down. Scully was standing right over the table, looking down at Mulder. >From the uncomfortable expression she was wearing, Mulder could tell that she'd heard his last remark. 'Shit, oh Christ'. 'Well done Mulder, you've just upset her for about the thousandth time today'. Scully sat down. Her face was expressionless, as it often was, but he thought he could see a strange sadness in her eyes. He jumped out his seat, mumbled "I'll get you a drink", and headed for the bar. "Glad to see you changed your mind." Scully tried to smile at Emily. "I couldn't sleep, too wired. I thought a nightcap might help." "Good idea." 'No it wasn't a good idea' thought Scully. 'It was definitely a bad idea. I should have stayed on my own in the room, and then I wouldn't have heard Mulder telling a near-enough stranger, that he thinks I'm an unattractive, short, ginger-haired, freckled-faced, sexless, bore'. Okay, he hadn't used those terms, but to her mind, he might as well have. 'You shouldn't care if your not his type Dana'. 'But I do'. Emily touched her hand and she jumped. "You're miles away." "I'm sorry. I was just thinking. Did you say something?" Emily smiled at her. "Nothing important." Mulder came back with her drink. When he took his seat opposite their eyes met. It was a brief and painful glance. Mulder turned to Emily. "So, I hope my tent has no holes, if it rains like this tomorrow." He gestured with his hand to the window. Scully stared out of the window, where the rain had begun to fall heavily. She tuned out of Emily and Mulder's conversation, only speaking when spoken to, slowly sipping the beer, lost in her own thoughts. Mulder's room Lone Pine Motel Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 27th, 1997 5.40 a.m. Mulder stood under the shower. His back against the glass, the water running over him, his eyes shut. His cupped hand sliding up and down his rigid penis in a well-practised fashion. The sound of Scully's shower had woken him fifteen minutes ago, and while he'd lain in bed his mind had created an image of Scully, standing naked under steaming hot water and the image had turned into a fantasy. He imagined her body before him now. Small, round breasts, tiny waist, gently curved belly, the thatch of red hair above the joining of her legs. In his mind his hand became her hand and she was jerking him off good now. He could almost hear her breathing, feel her eyes upon his body, looking at him with desire. He imagined her kneeling slowly before him, preparing to take him into her mouth, and his body went rigid, then exploded. A mocking voice spoke in his head. 'She's not your type huh, Mulder?'. His body recovered from its exertions, and he reached for the soap and washed himself down. 'If Scully knew what you'd just done with her in mind, she'd probably shoot you again, only this time she'd aim a little lower'. He turned the shower off and stepped out to dry himself off. Scully had been quiet at the bar the previous night after hearing his 'not my type' remark. They'd all had another beer and then he and Scully had wandered back to their rooms together. At her door she'd said no more than goodnight and she'd tried to keep it airy and light, but Mulder could tell he'd offended her. At the risk of opening his mouth and doing further damage, he'd just smiled and told her to sleep well. Scully's room Lone Pine Motel Breakspeare Forest, Virginia June 27th, 1997 5.59 a.m. Scully finished packing for their 'trip' and shouldered her knapsack, before turning to the mirror to give herself one last inspection. She spoke to her reflection. "Thirty-three-year-old girl Scout, Scully. Not exactly a good look on you." Why did Mulder never take her anywhere she could dress up a little? She'd been up since 5 a.m., going over the data she'd received from the Bureau. She'd also used the time to give herself a little pep talk. Last night, after overhearing Mulder's conversation with the Sheriff, she'd felt herself sinking into a depression. She'd crawled into bed and had starred up at the ceiling for a least two hours. 'Scully's not my type'. The words rolled around in her head. It was something she'd known for a long time, but the confirmation from Mulder's mouth stabbed her to the core. She was his pal, his friend, his partner. He accepted her womanhood but it didn't affect him. She didn't affect him the way the Bambi Berenbaum's and Sheriff Watson's of the world did. But he affected her in that way, he had for a long time, although she couldn't quite pinpoint the moment after she'd been assigned to him, that she'd stopped thinking of him as a complete fruit-loop and had started to think of him in a completely different way instead. She hadn't wanted it to happen. From the first she'd noted his good looks, his well-proportioned physique, but had buried the stirrings of attraction. She'd already had one inter-Bureau relationship that had ended badly, and she didn't want to begin another one, but Mulder had often caused a flutter in her heart, the puckering of her nipples, and an ache at her apex. She'd often woke up drenched in sweat from an erotic dream about him. This morning she'd sat quietly, watched the sun come up through the window and told herself that it didn't matter if Mulder had never had the same stirrings for her. Mulder would put himself on the line for her, move Heaven and Earth to help her, he'd probably even lay down his life for her. How many women could boast of a man who'd go to such lengths for them? She was fortunate, despite the tragedies that had struck her life because of her involvement with him, to have Mulder in her life. The end of her life was fast approaching, she didn't want to waste any more time regretting what they hadn't shared, she wanted to revel in what they did have. A true and honest friendship that surpassed all their many differences, and a devotion that would last until she drew her last breath and was forced to leave him. She turned away from the mirror, picking up her medical kit and the list of suspects she intended to give to Mulder, and left the room. Outside the Lone Pine Motel Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 27th, 1997 6.00 a.m. Mulder was ready and leaning against a telegraph pole. He smiled at her. "Morning sunshine." She offered him a half smile back as she approached him. She saw his gaze drift down and rest on the lower half of her body. His grin widened. "Scully, I never knew you had legs!" She self-consciously looked down at the mid-thigh khaki shorts she'd elected to wear, and the somewhat pale, short, sturdy legs, they revealed. "I thought I'd try to get a little sun on them." She looked up at the sky. "Seeing as its such a nice day." Mulder nodded and was about to say something else when Sheriff Watson pulled up next to them in her truck. "Morning people. Ready to hit the woods?" Scully sighed. "As I'll ever be." Mulder threw her a sympathetic look. Sheriff Watson was grinning at them both in eagerness and excitement. "Throw your stuff in the back and lets get going." They stored their knapsacks and Scully took the back seat, before Mulder had a chance to offer her the front. As Sheriff Watson pulled onto the road, Mulder reflected. A serial killer, a deep dense forest, nomadic people, and Scully in a pair of shorts...The next few days were likely to be very interesting indeed. CONTINUED IN PART 2 ******** The Lure of the Fox Part II By Caroline O'Callaghan Disclaimers n' stuff in Part I Oh, and I know nothing about U.S. Geography - so I apologise if there's no forest in Virginia - but it sounds like the sort of place that there might be one. (Breakspeare is entirely made up) Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 27th 7.35 a.m. Mulder's gaze was focused on the road ahead of him, but he wasn't seeing it. His mind was occupied elsewhere. He was thinking about a serial killer who, for some reason, took little girls, and then looked after them carefully for three days before raping and killing them. Why did he do it? Why care for them so well, only to brutalise and discard them later? He felt a tap on his shoulder and jumped. He looked round at Scully. "Sorry Mulder, didn't mean to scare you." "I was just thinking about our friend the 'Fox'." >From the back seat of the truck Scully passed him a file. "Then you might want to take a look at this." He took the file, noted the thickness of it, and looked back at Scully. "How about you summarise for me?" "Well, I've been going through these suspect profiles, and this one sticks out. His name is Forrest....." "...Gump?" He heard Emily Watson's laugh, but he was watching Scully's almost smile. Trying to make Scully smile was one of life's more enjoyable challenges for him. He'd nearly had her that time. "Forrest Mendhlesson. 38-years-old, Caucasian. He was born in a small town seventy miles from here. In 1972 he was committed to a mental institution." "For what?" Scully took a breath and held it, wary of Mulder's reaction to what she was about to say. "He killed his eight-year-old sister." She watched the pain flicker across his face briefly, and then noted how he stifled it. He tapped the folder. "This is our guy Scully." He dived into the folder and began to read eagerly. Sheriff Watson took her eyes off the road for a second to look round at Scully. "Dana, I thought you said this guy was in a mental institution?" "He escaped two years ago." Mulder stopped reading and looked back at her again. "Two years? But the abductions only started recently." Scully shrugged. "Exactly, so let's not get carried away Mulder, okay?" She leaned forward and laid a small hand on his forearm. He was wearing a short sleeved shirt, and he almost jumped at the bolt of electricity her touch sent through him. "Everybody's a suspect till we get some proof, okay?" She leaned back and broke the contact, and he was relieved, because it enabled him to think clearly again. He dove back into the file and found a composite. He stared at their suspect. A nondescript looking, middle-aged man. Brown hair, medium build. He looked average enough at first glance, but Mulder thought he saw something evil in his eyes. "No, this is him Scully, this is him...and we're gonna nail the bastard." Scully tried to keep her sigh of exasperation to herself. Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 27th, 1997 10.15.a.m. They'd been walking for two hours and Scully was finally ready to admit to herself that she was near exhaustion. She cursed her body, and the demon of a disease that was praying on it. Her breath was coming in gasps and she felt a thin line of sweat trickling down between her breasts, but the two people walking in front of her didn't seem bothered by the hike, they looked like they were out for a leisurely stroll in the park. The only thing that had kept her going in the past half hour, was the great view of Mulder's behind she had. While they walked uphill, his denim-clad tush was at her eye-level and it was working as a great incentive for her to keep putting one foot in front of the other. They were working their way up a narrow path, through some pretty spectacular dense forest, and in the back of her mind Scully knew she should be taking notice of her wonderful surroundings, but she preferred the wonderful site in front of her instead. The only thing that marred it was that she could see that Mulder's gaze, just like hers, was fixed on a wonderful piece of ass, Sheriff Watson's. Mulder broke the silence that had pervaded for a while. "Hey Emily, is that a clearing up ahead?" Emily looked around. "Yep, why?" "I thought we might stop for a bit. I need a drink and a rest." Emily stopped, turned and looked at him. "Already Fox?, we've hardly started." "What can I say? I'm a city boy. The furthest I walk these days is from my office to the men's bathroom." Scully didn't know whether to be relieved or annoyed at him. He hadn't asked to stop because he needed to. Mulder regularly ran several miles a day and she could tell he wasn't tired at all. He'd obviously heard her gasping and wheezing behind him and taken pity on her. Her mind was protesting against his coddling, but her body was incredibly grateful. She staggered into the clearing after her fellow walkers and half collapsed, half sat, on a fallen tree trunk. Mulder sat beside her and passed her a bottle of water. Sheriff Watson stood at the edge of the clearing, examining a huge map. "Isn't this great Scully, fresh air, exercise? It's almost like a vacation." She took a gulp of water. "I'll take two weeks lying static on a Hawaiian beach over this any day." Mulder grinned at her. "What? With your skin Scully? You'd frazzle." He touched her pale knee and she was so shocked at the contact that she moved it quickly away. Her eyes met Mulder's and for a second she thought he looked a little annoyed at her, but then his smile returned. "So how you doing Scully?" His voice had a forced lightness in it as he tried to keep the question casual. "I'm okay Mulder, I wouldn't have come on this trip if I didn't think I could handle it." He put up his hands palms outwards in a gesture of peace. "I'm just asking Scully." Scully could feel him watching her closely as she took another sip of water. She ignored his gaze, reminding herself that he was only concerned for her. "Do you have an appointment with your Doctor on Wednesday?" She nodded. "We'd better hurry and catch this guy then, so you can get back to D.C." "Mulder....." She cut off the acerbic reply she was going to give his last statement, and he looked at her in frustration. "What? Why are we not allowed to talk about the fact that there's something wrong with you Scully?" She shot him a warning look. "There's a lot of things we can't talk about Mulder." His expression was a mixture of curiosity and helplessness. Sheriff Watson interrupted the conversation by striding over in their direction, before he had a chance to voice his annoyance. "There's a good place to camp a few miles from here. Its close to where some of the settlers are. Once we're set up for the night you two can start questioning them." Mulder jumped to his feet. "Let's get going then." He pulled his rucksack on and headed off in the direction Sheriff Watson had indicated. Scully sighed and got to her feet more slowly, looking after Mulder who was now disappearing quickly into the forest. He was playing games with her. He'd tried to be nice, tried to take her illness into consideration, but she'd rebuffed him, denied her weakened state, so now he was going to drive her so hard that she'd have to force herself to admit it. 'Well done Scully', she chided herself, 'you just dug your own grave'. "Well, he's in a hurry for someone who was complaining about the pace five minutes ago." Scully winced as she pulled her rucksack back on. "Yeah." "How are you doing Dana?" Scully let out a small, wry smile. That was all anybody ever seemed to ask her lately. She was glad Sheriff Watson's question was innocent, and not emotionally charged like most queries into her health were these days. "To be honest Emily, I'm a little beat already. I haven't done anything like this for a while." Emily smiled at her and touched her arm. "Don't worry, I'll take it easy for you." "Thanks." Scully took a deep breath. "What's say we go and see if we can catch Mulder the mad marcher then?" Emily laughed and they headed off after Mulder. Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 17th, 1997 12.30 p.m. Emily Watson seemed to know the forest like the back of her own hand and she found their camping spot with ease. She then directed them in setting up the tents and other supplies. Mulder hammered in the last tent pole and looked over at Scully who was standing on the edge of the clearing, checking out the spectacular view of the forest that the site afforded them. She was nibbling on a sandwich and throwing out the bits of it she didn't like. He smiled when a piece of limp lettuce got thrown into the foliage. She looked better than she had earlier. Emily had slowed the hike down, despite his efforts to speed it up. He'd been trying to hurt Scully. He knew that and hated himself for it. He'd wanted to punish her. 'For what Mulder?'. 'For shutting me out, for not letting me get close, for not letting me care about her', 'for pulling away from my touch'. He sat down, found his own lunch and began to eat. His gaze returned to his partner, who in turn, was staring at the miles of forest beneath her. Her eyes were fixed on it, but he knew she was thinking of something else. The slight tilt of her head to the left gave her away. Her knew her body language and knew she was trying to solve a problem in her mind. While crunching on an apple, he let his gaze drift over her. Her hair was tied up, but a few strands had escaped and were curling against her neck. Her white tank top was clinging to her breasts. Her tiny waist and round backside were accentuated by the cut of her shorts. Her legs were starting to go a little pink. His eyes rested on them. They were short and curvy, and strong. He wondered idly if she worked out. 'Yeah right Mulder, like she ever gets the time with the workload you heap upon her'. She was probably just born like that. Strong Irish legs. He looked over at Emily Watson who was setting up a radio transmitter. 'Now there's a pair of legs'. But somehow, he preferred Scully's curves to Emily Watson's lean form. However, when the tall Sheriff stretched over to pick something up, he couldn't help but admire the view. When he looked back over to Scully, he saw her baby blues glaring back at him. 'Busted again Mulder'. Why the hell had she chosen that moment to turn and look at him, only to catch him checking out the Sheriff? She had such exquisite timing. He got to his feet and strolled over to her. "Scully I've been thinking..." "Save it Mulder, I think I can tell what's on your mind." "I've been thinking about the case." She nodded her head, both in apology for her comment, and to indicate she was listening. "I think maybe Forrest Mendhlesson is reliving the circumstances behind his sister's case. Did he care for her for a while before he killed her?" "He was left alone to look after her while their parents went out." She looked up at Mulder, a man who had also been left alone to take of his only sister on one fateful night. She could see the effort his apparent non-reaction took. "He says that his sister begged him to take her for a walk in the woods. They went out, got lost and separated from each other, and he showed up three days later with blood on his shirt, claiming he had no memory of what had happened. They found his sister's body a day later, after a large-scale search of the area." "Are they sure he did it?" "As sure as they could be. The blood on his shirt was hers. He later suggested she might have been savaged by a bear, but the marks on her body suggested she was stabbed to death, after an attempt at strangulation. He was never actually convicted though. After experiencing fits he was diagnosed and committed as a schizophrenic." Mulder looked out at the view. "So why does Forrest Mendhlesson call himself 'the Fox' Scully?" She didn't reply. She knew it was a hypothetical question. He didn't expect her to know the answer. "Mulder, even though it looks like this is our guy, lets try and think of everyone as a suspect until we know for sure." Mulder looked at her in frustration. "Scully........" She held up a hand. "I know you think I'm too cautious sometimes Mulder, but hear me out. Forrest Mendlhsson didn't rape his sister before killing her. 'The Fox' does rape his victims. And these woods aren't the same ones that Forrest and his sister wandered into that night. If he was reliving his sister's death in some way don't you think he'd take his victims back to the place where it all happened?" Mulder shrugged. "Maybe this is close enough. Maybe any forest would do." Scully nodded. "Maybe." Mulder let out a sad little chuckle. "Hunting for Forrest in a forest." Scully's eyes met his. "Fox chasing 'The Fox." He looked down at his partner, and despite the pain the story of Forrest and his sister had dredged up, he smiled at her. It was only the second time he'd heard his first name fall from her lips. Her low tones made it sound soft and dangerous at the same time. Those who dared use it, usually spoke it quickly, their embarrassment at the strange name making it sound harsh. "Fox?" Emily Watson was calling and Mulder turned to see her approaching them. He noted the concerned expression she wore. "What's wrong?" "After I set up the radio, I got a message from the Sheriff's station. We've had another child disappear. Molly Turner. Her parents woke up this morning to find her bed empty. There were signs that the window in her bedroom had been forced open." Mulder studied Sheriff Watson's face. "You know this kid don't you?" Enily nodded. "Her Mother, Maria, is a friend of mine. That's who I went to see last night when I left you in the diner. I went to warn her, to tell her about this case, and I told her keep a sharp eye on Molly. I guess she didn't take me seriously enough." "Is she eight, like the other children?" "Actually no, she's only six, but she's big for her age, I guess she could pass for eight." Mulder looked out at the forest. "Then I think we can assume our guy has her. We'd better get going and question some of these people Scully. We're on a deadline now. He kills them within three days, remember?" Sheriff Watson let out a slight moan as Mulder walked away to get his things together. "I should have told Maria to make sure Molly wasn't out of her sight for a moment." Scully tossed the remains of her sandwich into the trees, and patted Emily's arm. "You did all you could. Don't blame yourself. Put all your energies into catching this guy." "Do you think we'll get him in time?" Scully nodded in Mulder's direction. "He's the best. Mulder is renowned throughout the Bureau. He's a bit like the Mounties, 'he always gets his man'. If anybody can help Molly now, its him." She put a hand on Emily's arm. "Let's go, we have a lot of work to do this afternoon." Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 27th, 1997 6.15 p.m. After questioning the first dweller they came across, they decided to split up. When they quizzed him en masse he began to get nervous and defensive. They also quickly established that the people up here lived far apart from one another, and they'd never manage to talk to them all if they stuck together. Mulder took off in one direction and suggested Emily Watson go with Scully. Scully gave him an 'I hope you're not suggesting I shouldn't go on my own because I can't handle it' look. Mulder shrugged in an 'of course I'm not' way, and they separated. She and Emily Watson had spoken to eight forest people. Well actually they'd spoken to seven. The eighth had aimed his rifle at them as soon as he'd seen them and told them he was going to blow their heads off if they came any closer. Scully had taken a good look at him to make sure he looked nothing like Forrest Mendlhlsson before deciding not to force the issue. She didn't think she would be able to talk him into lowering his weapon and she didn't want to risk her own, or Sheriff Watson's life on someone who probably had nothing to do with their case. They were walking back to their camp site now, and Scully was day-dreaming of a hot bubble bath, and wondering if Mulder was okay. "What about that last guy, I mean, he was pretty ready to blow us away? If he's that defensive, maybe he has something to hide." Scully shook her head. "In my job I've learned to distinguish between people who are crazy murderers, and people who are just crazy. He was one of the later." Emily shrugged. "If you say so. I guess that means we've had a wasted afternoon." "Mulder might have turned something up." Emily sighed heavily. "I hope so." Scully sympathised with her walking companion. She was actually warming to the Sheriff and was building a respect for her. Despite Emily's now personal connection with the case she hadn't got hysterical and had continued to think on her feet. The only thing that annoyed Scully about her was that she insisted on calling Mulder 'Fox'. Well, that and the fact that, even after a day trudging through miles of forest in humid conditions, she still looked like she'd stepped off a vogue fashion shoot, modelling this season's hiking casuals. They walked into the clearing to find Mulder waiting for them. Scully was used to the little flip that her stomach always took when she saw him again after they'd been separated for a while. She recognised it, but took no notice of it. Mulder stood and greeted them with a nod of his head. "Anything?" Sheriff Watson answered for them. "No, except a brush with sudden death." His gaze whipped across to Scully's face and their eyes met. She shrugged. "Just a crazy wanting some target practice. We made a tactical retreat." Mulder nodded. "I showed the composite of Mendhlesson to a woman who said she'd seen a man travelling through with his daughter. She I.D.'d him." Scully suddenly noticed that Mulder had his weapon drawn. He saw her looking at it. "I got back just before you did and I found this." He pulled a note from his shirt pocket and gave it to Scully to read. She read it out loud. "Dear Fox, there's only one Fox. All the chickens are mine. Get off my hunting ground." "He was right here this afternoon Scully." Scully reached for her own gun. "He might still be around." "We'll do a quick search. Thirty minutes exactly. Don't be any longer. I'll take North and work round to the East. You start West and go South." Sheriff Watson was looking at them both with a face etched in fear. "What should I do?" Mulder looked evenly at her, trying to calm her. "Stay here. Keep your gun ready. If you hear any shots, come running like the cavalry." She nodded. Mulder and Scully looked once at each other for no more than a second. 'Don't do anything stupid' and 'take care of yourself' were exchanged in their glance without a word being spoken, and then they turned and ran in different directions. Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 27th, 1997 6.45 p.m. Scully felt sick from the tension in her stomach as she made her way carefully through the trees. Trying to move as quietly as possible, her eyes constantly scanning her surroundings, hoping, and not hoping to spot her prey. 'My prey?' 'So why does it feel like I'm the one who's being hunted?' she asked herself. She heard a crunch of leaves to her right and gripped her sig saucer with both hands, whipping it around to where the sound had come from. In the fading light she saw someone approaching. She clicked the safety off, and ignored the furious thudding of her heart as she yelled out. "Hold it right there..... FBI.... I'm armed." "So am I." She sighed in relief. "Mulder. Do you have any idea how close I came to shooting you?" He came out of the shadows, a grim smile on his face. "..and if you say 'it wouldn't be the first time' I will shoot you." He held up his hands. "You really are armed and dangerous Scully. What are you doing in this part of the forest? I told you to head South." She looked around her in confusion. "I did, at least I thought I did." He shook his head. "You have the worst sense of direction. I'm taking you off map reading duty for good." "Find anything?" "Nope. I think he's long gone. We'd better get back to the camp. We told Sheriff Watson we'd be thirty minutes." He looked at his watch. "Its past that now." She started walking, but then stopped and turned back when she realised he wasn't following her. He grinned and pointed over his shoulder. "Its this way Scully." She went past him with a defiant toss of her head. "I knew that. I was just making sure you did." Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 27th, 1997 8.35 p.m. Mulder had wanted to pack up the tents and supplies and go right on hiking after their suspect as soon as they'd returned from their search. It had taken great effort on Sheriff Watson's part to get him to realise that it was almost impossible to give chase in the dark. She explained how they wouldn't be able to find their way without being able to see any landmarks. He had paced around like a caged animal for a while, before accepting that he had no choice but to wait till morning. Scully, for her part, while worried about the child that had been taken, was in need of the rest. She had elected to stay out of Mulder's way until he had worked out some of his frustration. Sheriff Watson prepared a meal that was eaten in almost total silence, around a fire that she had also prepared. After he cleared his plate Mulder jumped up and wandered away, muttering something about wanting to go over the case file again. Emily Watson looked at Scully. "Is he pissed at me for not going on?" Scully shook her head. "Don't worry about it. He knows it would be pointless continuing in the dark. He just hates sitting still while on a case. He's always impatient." She wondered for a moment if she should warn the Sheriff about why Mulder was particularly impatient in this case, and then decided not to. His sister's abduction, or kidnapping, was a personal matter, and the decision to tell people about it was his. "I don't think I could do your job, this is too much for me. How do you handle being on cases like this all the time?" Scully shrugged. "I suppose that the personal gratification I get when we make an arrest, or save somebody's life, makes up for all the trauma." Sheriff Watson shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Dana, I don't want to have to go back to Molly's mother and tell her we found her body. I want to hand her little girl back to her alive, and in one piece." Scully stood and rubbed a hand briefly along the Sheriff's shoulders to comfort her. "We'll do our best Emily." She sighed. "I'm just going to go...and...well...answer the call of nature." Emily smiled up at her and nodded. She watched Scully go and sat in contemplation until Mulder stumbled back thirty minutes later. "Where's Scully?" Emily broke out of her reverie and looked around her. "She went to...for a walk..but that was about a half-hour ago." Mulder shot her a worried look and pulled a flashlight from the waistband of his jeans. "Which way?" "I'm sure she's fine." "Probably, but I want to check. Which direction did she go in?" Emily nodded her head to the south and Mulder took off. He walked for about five minutes before he heard a rustle of leaves and shone his light towards it. "Will you get that light out of my eyes?" He lowered the flash. "Emily said you'd been gone for a while, I wanted to check on you." "I'm fine. Can't I even have a pee in peace?" He shone the light back on her, half expecting to catch her with her shorts around her ankles, but she was fully clothed and sitting calmly on a rock. "You've been gone for a while Scully, were you looking for a public convenience out here?" He stood over her and she moved a little to one side on her perch, indicating that he was welcome to sit beside her. He sat down and studied her face carefully, it had a strange composure to it. An eerie serenity. "Just sitting and thinking, Scully?" She shook her head. "No, well, sort of." She sighed and fidgeted, looking a little embarrassed. "I was praying." Mulder looked away. "Oh". Their silences were usually companionable. The one that fell between them now was slightly uneasy. Mulder broke it. "Do you do that a lot Scully?" She nodded and offered him a little smile, aware of how uncomfortable he was talking about religion. "Most nights." "What do you pray for?" She didn't answer immediately and he suddenly regretted the question, thinking maybe it was too personal. "Sorry...." "No its okay." She pulled her legs up onto the rock and hugged her knees to keep warm. "Tonight, I prayed for Molly Turner, and her parents." Mulder nodded and she continued. "And I prayed for my Mother, I asked God to give her strength to face..... whatever may come." Mulder felt his stomach churn. Scully was praying for God to help her Mother cope with her coming illness and death. His mind went into its now familiar chant. 'can't let it happen', 'won't let it happen'. "And I prayed for you Mulder. I asked that you be helped on your search. That God keep you safe and well. That you'll find your answers, and your sister, if its God's will that you should do so." Scully had been looking down at her own hands while she spoke. When she looked back up at him, she saw tears brimming in his eyes, and she was moved by his response to her words. He reached for her hand in the dark. When he found it, he squeezed it briefly and then quickly let it go. "Thank you Scully. I don't deserve your prayers." "Yes you do Mulder, and you're always in them." "Sometimes, I wish I had faith like you do Scully." "You have faith Mulder. You have faith in many things. In your sisters memory, in truth, and in justice." She nodded her head at the black night sky and her grave tone lightened. "And in the little grey people." He chuckled, but it wasn't a happy sound. "Your faith seems to give you peace Scully. I can't find any peace. I just have fear." Her heart twisted for him, she felt his anguish. "What are you afraid of Mulder?" "That this quest we're on, this journey. That's it's all for nothing. That I'm constantly being deceived, that Samantha....that...she." He ran a hand through his already mussed hair. "That I've involved you, destroyed your life, your career, when all along there was never any hope of me finding what I was looking for." "There's hope Mulder, that's what faith is." She nudged his side with her elbow forcing him to look directly at her. "I once told you that I wouldn't change a day of our partnership, and I meant that. Don't blame yourself for anything that has happened to me. You live with enough guilt and grief. I want the truth too, that's what drives me, gives me strength. Our quest has enriched my life, knowing you has enriched my life." When he'd found Scully sitting on her own in the dark, he'd sat down with the thought of offering her some company and comfort, and instead she'd given those things to him. She was such a selfless soul. He always took from her, and he found it so difficult to give. He fought the urge to crush her to his chest and instead stood up, offering a hand to Scully, which she took. He hoisted her to her feet. "Come on, lets get some sleep." The began to trudge back through the trees together. "So whose tent do you want to share tonight Scully? I know you planned to bunk down with Sheriff Watson, but there's plenty of room in mine." He caught the arch of her eyebrow, even in the dense darkness of the forest. "Such a kind offer Mulder." "Think about it Scully, the Sheriff might snore." "Mulder, you snore." He looked at her in amazement. "I do?" She nodded. "Loudly." She quickened her pace and went ahead of him. "Hey, hang on a second. How do you know I snore?" She threw him what he thought was an incredibly sensual look over her shoulder, and before he could recover from it enough to respond, they were back at the camp site. Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 28th, 1997 6.30 p.m. Mulder kicked off his sleeping bag and reached for the jeans he had discarded the night before. He pulled them on and gathered up his gun and I.D., before crawling out of his tent. He was eager to get going on their chase. Today Fox was going to catch 'The Fox'. Although he was on the hunt for a serial killer, he felt a sense of calmness. His conversation with Scully the night before had given him that. She'd given him a share of the peace she was able to make for herself. He smiled. They hadn't talked on such a personal level for a long while, and he hoped it marked a return to the closeness they had once shared, before pain and grief had caused them to put barriers between them. He didn't always understand his relationship with Scully. What it was meant to be, what it had been, and what it could be in the future, but he knew that when their friendship was in crisis, he was a lesser person. He functioned better when there was harmony in their connection. The bright morning hit him full in the face and he winced up at the sun, before stumbling over to Sheriff Watson who was cooking over a small camping stove. She grinned at him and piled some of the food from the pan onto a plate, and held it out to him. He took it gratefully and sat down to eat. "I could do with this kind of treatment at home." "No lady in your life Fox?" He smiled. "Yeah, I have a lady in my life. She covers my ass, patches up my wounds and occasionally does my paperwork, but she draws the line at fixing my breakfast." Emily Watson grinned. "She's still asleep. Should I wake her?" Mulder looked at his watch. "Give her a while longer. Scully's not really a morning person." "Should I save her some breakfast?" "She's not really a bacon and eggs person either. She prefers a few bits of dried fruit, mashed together with oats and milk." "Muselli?" Mulder gave a mock shiver and cringed. "No, please, don't say the 'M' word." "You two are pretty different aren't you? In your eating habits, your attitudes...even your appearance. You're kind of like each other's opposite." "I guess, but perhaps that's why it works. If we were similar we'd have probably bored each other senseless years ago." "So, does Dana have....you know...someone in her life? Apart from you?" "I have no idea." Mulder looked at the Sheriff curiously. She was shifting her food around her plate, deep in contemplation of something. Her questions at the bar, and now these enquiries, were definitely leading somewhere, he just wasn't sure what it was the Sheriff wanted to know. But he had his suspicions. He took a few more bites of his food, before renewing the conversation with a different topic. "So which way should we head?" Emily snapped out of her reverie and reached for a map beside her and passed it to him. "Last night I marked out the locations where the girls bodies were found, and the places from which they were taken. Its not a strong, conclusive direction, but it does seem as if they were all taken through where we are now, and onwards, maybe up to Ferrier's point." "Where's that?" Emily leaned across and pointed it out on the map. "Here. It's a flat part of the forest at the top of a seven mile climb. Its popular with hikers because it has a great view, and its flatness means its a good place to camp. There's also some settlers up there." Mulder examined the map and the small red crosses Emily had placed on it. "None of the bodies were found up that high." Emily shrugged. "No, but he may have killed them up there and then brought them back down a little, so that they wouldn't be found near where he's settled. I spoke to Dana about this last night, before we went to sleep, and she said she concurred with our coroner that the bodies were moved after death. That the girls weren't killed where they were found." Mulder nodded. "Wasn't the first child taken while on a camping trip with her parents?" "Yes, and they were camping on the point. An investigation was done at the time. They spoke to settlers around there, but turned up nothing." She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions." She looked around her. "This Forest is so big and dense. He could be anywhere. Maybe we should do a more general search of the area?" "No, that will take too long. I've got a feeling you're right about this place. I want you to take us there, by the shortest route possible." "That involves some pretty steep climbs." Mulder thought about Scully for a moment, and then dismissed his worries about her health. They could stop regularly, and he could help her if need be. He'd watch her closely to make sure she wasn't pushing herself too hard. "So we'll do the climbing. Whatever it takes to get Molly safely back to her parents, we'll do it." Scully climbed out of her tent, and rubbed a hand over her eyes. She couldn't seem to get them to open fully, and her limbs were stiff from sleeping without the aid of a soft mattress. She put her hands over her head to stretch her back and let out a groan. Mulder heard it, turned briefly to look at his partner, and then shook his head at Sheriff Watson. "What did I tell you? Definitely NOT a morning person." Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 28th, 1997 10.35 p.m. They'd been walking steadily for two hours, in near silence, when Mulder saw Emily come to a stop in front of him. He caught up with her and was about to ask her why they'd come to a halt when he saw that her gaze was directed up a sheer rock face, to their right. He heard Scully come up behind him and stop, but his eyes remained focused upon the spot that Emily was studying. "When you said 'steep climbs' Sheriff, I thought you meant we'd have to attack some pretty mean hills. Not thirty-foot slabs of rock." "Sorry Fox, but going around this instead of straight up it would mean an extra three hours." He looked around at Scully. Who sensed his gaze and immediately wiped the trepidation of her face. He'd always been aware of how diminutive his partner was, but she suddenly looked even smaller standing under the cliff she was expected to climb. "Ready for this Scully?" "I guess so." Sheriff Watson was pulling climbing equipment from her backpack. "I'll go first and secure a rope. I've done this climb a million times. Dana, you should go next." Mulder looked at the Sheriff. "Why am I last?" Scully reached up and tapped his temple with a finger. "So that if I fall, I'll have something soft to land on." Mulder and Scully sat back and watched as Sheriff Watson climbed up the rock face with apparent ease. Her movements fluid and confident. Mulder leaned down to whisper in Scully's ear. "Spiderman's sister?" She ignored him, and he smiled. Sheriff Watson reached the top and hauled herself over the edge. Scully jumped a little when she heard the Sheriff let out a frightened yell. Mulder was instantly alert, and went to the rope to climb. "What's wrong?" Scully was right behind Mulder and stopped him from beginning to climb with a hand on his shoulder. "Emily, what's wrong? Is everything okay up there?" The Sheriff leaned over the edge to look down at them. "No, not really. I found something." She extended her arm out and showed them a pink piece of clothing. "I found this. Its a sweater. It has Molly's name sewn into it." Mulder and Scully exchanged glances of concern. Mulder called up to Emily. "Anything else?" "No. Nothing and no-one." "Okay. I'm sending Scully up straight away. We're on his trail now, and we don't want to lose any more time." He turned to Scully, who had taken the rope from him, and had a foot raised against the rock to begin climbing. Their eyes met. "You okay to do this, Scully?" She looked annoyed at him for a second but it didn't last long. "I'm not the one you should be worried about now Mulder. We have to find that child." He nodded, and made a cradle with his hands. She stepped into it and he gave her a boost to get her started on the climb. She took a few uncertain steps up, and for a few moments, her ass was right in front of his face. He smiled grimly. If they hadn't been there on such deathly business he might have enjoyed the sight more. He resisted the urge to give her a further boost up, by putting his hand on her backside and giving it a shove. He thought he might feel an 'accidental' climbing boot on his head if he tried it. He watched Scully's slow but steady progress on the climb, and only realised he'd been holding his breath when he saw her reach the top safely. Emily hauled her over the edge. He yelled up. "Okay Scully?" She leaned over to look down at him. "Piece of cake Mulder." Despite her bravado statement, she looked pretty pleased and relieved that it was over. She pulled back from the edge and disappeared from his view. He gripped the rope and was about to start climbing, when he heard a mass of noise suddenly erupt above him. There was a series of non-distinguishable shouts, and then he distinctly heard Scully ordering someone to 'get down'. When he heard a scream and a shot being fired he had to restrain his rising panic. "SCULLY." His voice echoed around the canyon. "SCULLY, ANSWER ME." His mind was spinning and he fought off the rise of bile that entered his throat and threatened to spill from his mouth. 'No, not Scully, please let it not be Scully, not Scully'. He screamed her name so loud it brought a pain to his chest. "SCULLY FOR CHRIST SAKES, ANSWER ME." To be continued....in Part III *************************************************************** The Lure of the Fox Part III By Caroline O'Callaghan Rating: NC-17 Classification: Mulder/Scully Romance. Mulder and Scully pursue a serial killer who calls himself 'The Fox'. Spoilers: Never Again/Small Potatoes Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully don't belong to me - I hereby promise to return them when I've finished playing with them. Oh, and I know nothing about U.S. Geography - so I apologise if there's no forest in Virginia - but it sounds like the sort of place that there might be one. (Breakspeare is entirely made up) Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 28th, 1997 10.45 a.m. "ANSWER ME. WHAT'S GOING ON UP THERE. SCULLY?" Mulder knew he was screaming now, desparation in his voice as he imagined Scully lying on the ground, bleeding from a gunshot wound. He grabbed hold of the rope again and was about to start climbing, when he saw Emily Watson peering over the edge of the cliff at him. "Fox." "Where's Scully? Is she okay?" Emily looked a little dazed and confused. "She took off after him?" "Who?" He did start to climb then, concern pushing him hastily upwards. "The guy who shot at us. She told me to get down, and she fell herself, but then she jumped up and ran after him." He cursed violently. What the hell was Scully thinking of? Taking off like that without any backup. He knew he'd done exactly the same thing himself on a few occasions but he was still going to tear her apart for being hot-headed. When he caught up with her. He reached the top of the cliff ledge and clambered over it. Emily Watson was holding her head in her hands. He bent down and touched her shoulder. "You okay?" "Yeah, I just knocked my head when I dived for cover. I'll be fine in a minute." "Which way did they go?" Emily pointed and Mulder was about to make tracks in that direction when he saw Scully appear from out of the trees. He was too impatient to wait for her to get to him. He strode up to her. He tried to make his admonishment a hiss rather than a shout, to keep it from the ears of Sheriff Watson. "What the hell were you playing at?" "I was trying to catch our suspect. He lost me. He obviously knows these woods well." "You know better than to take off on your own Scully." Anger flared up in her. "So do you Mulder, but it doesn't stop you from doing exactly that whenever the hell you feel like it." "Yeah, well. You should have at least let me know you were okay before you went off playing Rambo. I was at the bottom of this cliff imaginging you dead, Scully." "I'm sorry." His tone grated on her nerves. He spoke to her like she was an errant schoolgirl, but she couldn't defend herself for some reason. Perhaps because she knew how painful it was when your partner threw themselves into the line of fire and danger, and all you could do was sit back and wait, and pray that they would be fine. She'd worried over Mulder to point of being violently ill on more than one occasion. "Yeah, well. You'd better check on Sheriff Watson. She took a bang to the head and I think she was out for a couple of minutes." Scully gave him a stern look and walked over to the Sheriff, kneeling and taking Emily's face in her hands to look into her eyes. "Emily, d'you know who I am?" "Dana Scully." The Sheriff was returning Scully's gaze and, for a moment Mulder felt embarassed, and had to turn away. "The date, the year?" "June 28th, 1997." Scully looked up at Mulder. "She'll be fine, but her pupils are a little dilated, she took a nasty bang. We'd better stop for a while." Mulder threw his hands up in the air. "We can't afford to stop Scully, he was just here, a few minutes ago. If we move quickly...." Scully cut him off. "Emily needs to stop for a while Mulder, and we can't go on without her. She knows this place, we don't. He lost me within minutes in those trees." "He's getting away Scully." "He's got away. He's gone, and I don't think there'd be any point in us charging after him anyway. I know I did just now, but I reacted without thinking. What we need to do now is sit back and consider how we're going to approach him. There's a little girl's life at stake. What if we we're forced to shoot him in self-defence? He obviously has that child hidden somewhere, and we need to keep him alive, at least long enough for him to tell us where she is." Mulder huffed a little and walked away from her. Scully watched him go. He was kicking at the ground like a pre-schooler. She knew he'd listened to her and accepted that her reasoning made sense, but she could also see the desparation in him. The need he had to stop another small girl being taken from her family forever. She riffled around in her rucksack for her first-aid kit. She found a couple of asprin and shook them into the palm that Emily wordlessly held out. "You're going to have a killer headache pretty soon." Emily smiled. "I think its already started." She found a bottle of water and drank from it to swallow the pills. She then got shakily to her feet. "There's a small stream a couple of hundred yards away, I'm going to go splash some water on my face and take a little stroll, make sure my legs still work." "Okay. Don't go too far though. You never know, our friendly neighbourhood snipper might still be hanging around." Scully got to her feet and watched Emily wander off. She then went over to Mulder, who stood with his back to her, looking into the trees they'd have to make their way through to find Mendhlesson. She saw the muscles in his back tense at her approach, and she tried not to admire the way his shoulder blades moved, but couldn't help it. There was a sense of restrained power in them that caught her eye. "Mulder. We'll get him. Twenty minutes rest and we'll be back on his trail." He didn't look round at her. "Are you sure it was him?" "I didn't really get that good a look, but I think so." "Then he's playing with us Scully. That note yesterday, taking a pot-shot at you today. You and Emily were sitting ducks on that cliff ledge. He could have killed you if he'd wanted to." "Maybe he's just a really bad shot." "No. He's toying with us, or to be more precise, me. He's enjoying the chase." "I don't know Mulder. His note yesterday sounded more like he wanted to warn us off, than engage us in a game. Shooting at us today might be a sign of panic." "I think he knows about me, and Samatha. He knows my name" "Maybe he has a transmitter and he heard Emily in contact with the Sheriff's Station. Perhaps that's how he found out were up here, and what your name is." "You still think its all a bizzare co-incidence Scully? His sister, mine? Him choosing 'The Fox' as a nickname?" She sighed. "You know me Mulder, I try not to think anything until I know all the details, until I have proof." He turned to look at her and gave her a small smile, putting on his best Dragnet voice. "Just the facts Ma'am." She nodded and turned to go back to her rucksack in search of some water. "Scully." She heard concern in his voice and halted immediately, afraid he might have spotted Mendhlesson about to open fire on them again. "Scully, you're bleeding." "Huh?" She turned to look at him and saw him approaching her. She instinctively put a hand to her upper lip. Mulder took her by the shoulders and spun her around. "No, your back." She tried not to jump at the feel of his hand running along her spinal column, inspecting the blood stain that had appeared on her thin, cotton, sleeveless shirt. "Looks like a bad gash. Doesn't it hurt?" "No. Well now you mention it, it stings a little. I think I caught it on a branch while I was giving chase." "Take your shirt off." He walked over to her rucksack to find her first-aid kit. "What?" He looked over at her and tried to hide his smile at the incredulous look she was giving him. "We need to clean that up. Out here it could easily become infected.Take your shirt off Scully." Mulder took a moment to marvel at the fact that he was actually saying those words to her, no matter that they were said in a perfectly innocent context. He dug around in her kit and pulled out some cotton wool and ethanol. As he approached her he saw the uncomfortable and embarassed look in her eyes. She hadn't made a move to undo a single button yet. "You know, its okay Mulder. Its fine. I'll take a look it at myself later." "As talented as you are Scully, even you can't reach your own back." Her tongue darted out of her mouth, and ran along her upper lip. Mulder's breath caught at the sight. That little habit of hers always affected him. He leaned in close to her. She starred back at him for a second before looking away, a flush creeping up from her neck. Mulder felt a wash of sympathy for her. She just wasn't one of those women who bared their skin easily. Scully was delightfully old- fashioned at times. "What's the matter, not wearing anything underneath?" She looked down at her chest, and the redness of her skin deepend as she realised Mulder's gaze was directed at the same spot. She tried to sound outraged. "Of course I am." He looked back up at her and grinned. "Its no big deal Scully. Turn around, lower your shirt. I'll do it as quickly as possible, I won't take a single peek. Scout's honour." "You were never a Boy Scout, Mulder." He sighed and was about to suggest that she let Sheriff Watson do it, and then decided that maybe that wasn't such a great idea. "Scully, give me a break here. If it was me, you'd be pulling the old 'I'm the Doctor' routine on me. You know this needs doing." She sighed and turned around. He watched as her hands went up to start undoing the buttons of her shirt. She threw an unreadable look at him over her shoulder. He busied himself with the cotton wool, dabbing ethanol on it. Trying not to think about the flesh that was about to be revealed to him. When he looked up at her now bared back he gasped. He suddenly realised why she hadn't wanted to take her shirt off. It wasn't because she was shy at all. "Scully...." Words failed him as his eyes took in the slew of bruises that covered her back. The gash she'd gotten in the trees was nothing compared to the ugly yellow, blue and red marks that coloured her skin. "Its the treatment." He nodded even though he knew she wasn't looking at him to see it. "Does it hurt Scully?" She looked over her shoulder at him again. He sounded so hurt, so traumatised by the sight, that she wanted to reassure him. "No, it doesn't hurt. Well sometimes, while they're administering it, but it doesn't hurt now." His arms came around her so suddenly that her next breath came out of her lungs in a hiss. He pulled her back against him and buried his face in her hair. One hand was resting on her bare stomach and the other on her upper arm. She felt a pleasurable heat swim through her body and she relished the contact, the feel of his hand against the sensitive flesh of her stomach, until she realised where they were and how she must look, standing half-naked in a forest. Her underwear paraded for any passing hiker to see. "Mulder..." "Mmm." He didn't show any signs of letting her go. She considered not voicing a protest and just enjoying the moment, the musky smell of him, the feel of his chest against her back, but then she thought about Emily Watson, who'd be returning from her stroll any moment. "Mulder. I'm fine. Its okay. Just clean the cut up." He snapped to suddenly and let her go, almost with a push. "Sorry. I... just..." He cleaned the cut quickly. Dabbing at it lightly. Trying to take no notice of either the bruises, or the simple, white lace bra she wore. For some reason the words of a Big Bopper song went around in his mind. 'You know what I like'. She gave a small breathy sound at the sting of the disinfectant. "No pain, no gain, Scully." She looked around at him, and he smiled, only realising after the words had left his mouth that he probably meant it in regards to her cancer treatment as well as the clean-up job he was doing on her gash. He saw that Scully had also caught the double meaning behind the statement. "Yeah, Mulder. That's what they say." "I think its stopped bleeding "Thanks." She pulled her shirt back up, but didn't refasten the buttons. She turned and took the cotton wool and small bottle of ethanol from him.Giving him a soft, grateful, look she went to put the things away. He turned his back when he saw her pull another shirt from amongst her small bundle of clothing and realised she was about to change. When he turned back she was fastening up a light-blue-short-sleeved shirt. Emily Watson came walking slowly back, and Scully hastened her buttoning up, flushing a little. "Not interrupting anything am I?" Scully gave Emily an embarassed smile. "Believe me, this is not what it looks like. I had a cut on my back. I had to change shirts." She held up the bloodied white cloth for Emily to see. The sight made Mulder want to smile. She looked like a courtroom lawyer presenting evidence to the jury. Emily ran a hand through her blonde hair. "None of my business." She brushed past Scully and picked up her backpack. "Let's get going shall we?" "Are you feeling okay?" "Yeah, I think the pills are starting to kick in already." Emily walked off, leaving Mulder and Scully struggling to gather their things and follow. Scully looked at the bloodied shirt and sighed as she tossed it into her pack. "My clothes really take a battering on these trips with you Mulder. Another perfectly good shirt ruined." Mulder was ready and started to walk. He leaned down as he passed her to follow Emily, and spoke low, so that only she would hear. "Never mind Scully, I prefer the one you have on now. It matches your eyes." She watched his retreating back, unable to move for a moment, reeling from his compliment. 'Yes, that's what it was Scully, definitely. Mulder just paid you a compliment'. "First time for everything" she muttered to herself as she half-walked, half-ran, to catch up with him. Ferrier's Point Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 28th, 6.30 p.m. After reaching Ferrier's Point mid-afternoon, Mulder and Scully left Emily to set up camp, while they began to question campers and settler's. Although they were there on gruesome business, Scully noted how good it felt to be walking alongside Mulder, discussing the case, and their thoughts on the settlers they came across. Their arms brushing from time to time as they made their way along forest tracks. They went their separate ways in investigations far too often for her liking. Apart, they were weaker, less effective, together they seemed invincible. They were making their way back to the camp site now. Scully was flipping through her notebook, hoping to garner something from their afternoon's work. Campers seemed to have discovered that the FBI were on the trail of a murderer in the area and had started to flee the area in numbers. Around them were hikers packing up their supplies and their children and preparing to make the descent down into town. "I can't believe nobody's seen this guy Mulder, we must have talked to twenty people who are up here, day and night, and they've not seen even a glimpse of him." "Or, they have, and they just don't want to tell the Fibbies about it. Its a pretty close knit community, Scully, they're obviously wary of outsiders. If they've accepted him up here, maybe they're willing to defend him, cover his tracks." "You're saying they're willing to cover up for a murderer?" "They might not know he's a murderer." "Or they do and they don't care as long as he isn't murdering them. You realise Mulder that probably about three-quarters of those settlers have criminal records. You saw the way some of them looked at our badges, they looked almost ready to surrender themselves, before they realised that we were just there to question them." Mulder gave her a wry smile. "So what do you want to do G-woman? Round 'em all up? It would boost our arrest records." "Might close hundreds of cases in States all across the country Mulder. But I don't think the tax payer would thank us. Think what it would cost to lock all these people up. Why bother, when they're in a prison of they're own making." She gestured at the forest. "Not such a bad prison Scully. Fresh air, freedom to move about." She shrugged. "They're still trapped here, as non-identities, non-citizens. They can never go back into society for fear of their crimes catching up with them. They've given themselves a life sentence." Mulder studied Scully's thoughtful face as they walked. For someone who constantly saw the horrific after-affects of crimes of all shapes and sizes, she was incredibly compassionate. She still had a belief in human nature.He wondered if he still did. He believed in her, but few other people. She continued. "Anyway, we have an ongoing crime to solve. Let's let the sleeping ones lie." "Another wasted afternoon Scully, we're running out of time." "We still have another day Mulder. Three days, remember?" "I just feel so useless. We're the FBI and all we're actually doing is the equivalent of door-to-door enquiries. A rookie cop could take my place on this case." Scully stopped and put a hand on his arm. She was breathing a little heavily. "Slow down Mulder." He pulled up and looked at her reddened face. "Sorry." He usually altered his pace naturally to fit in with her shorter strides. He knew he'd been walking too fast because he was frustrated at their lack of progression the case. She puffed a little. "So do what your good at Mulder?" He leaned against a tree, Scully didn't seem in any hurry to move on yet. "What?" "You're saying you're doing what a rookie cop could do, but you can do more that that. You're a criminal profiler. Use your skills and get inside this man's head. Tell me why he's doing what he does, and where he would go to do it." "Scully, if I knew that, we wouldn't be wandering around aimlessly, looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack." She started to walk again and he followed. "You can do better than that Mulder. I know you, I've seen you pull theories out of thin air." He was warmed by her faith in him, and was afraid of letting her down. "I don't know Scully, this guy, it's almost like I don't want to know what he does, or why he does it. I'm afraid of what I might find out." She looked up at him. "Afraid?" "I can't explain it. I just....I just want to get this child back to her parents." Scully nodded, and they walked on a little further in silence, before Muler spoke again. "To be honest Scully, I haven't been very focussed on this case. My mind has been on....on other issues." She glanced briefly at him, before looking back at the trail in front of them. "What other issues?" "I've been wondering if there's something wrong with me." She stopped and looked up at him, suddenly concerned, and was about to ask him if he felt ill, when the quiet of the forest was shattered by a piercing scream. Their eyes met, and they both drew their weapons. "That sound like a child's scream to you Scully?" He whispered low. They heard the scream again, louder this time. Scully nodded at him and they took off in the direction it had come from. They ran for a couple of minutes before they heard it again, they were closer to it now, and Scully wanted to call out to Mulder, to tell him to slow down, not to go charging in, but she didn't have the breath for it. Her lungs were too busy gasping for air as she tried to keep up with him. The screams were continuous now, and Scully sensed they were close to the cause of them. In front of her she saw Mulder burst through a mass of branches into a clearing and stop. Feet apart, gun obviously aimed at someone's head. She slowed her stride and walked more carefully into the clearing, her gun held steadily out in front of her. She was surprised at the sight that greeted her, and looked up at Mulder, whose shoulders had slumped, his gun hanging limply by his side. He ran his hand through his hair and gave her a wry smile. There were three persons in the clearing, a man, a woman and a tiny girl, of no more than three, who was still screaming. The man held his hands up, palms towards them in surrender. "Please, don't shoot." Mulder nodded at him. "Its okay, we're sorry sir, we're with the FBI." Scully put her weapon back in its holster and reached for her badge when she saw Mulder do the same. "We're investigating a crime in the area, when we heard the screaming, we thought maybe someone was in trouble. We didn't mean to alarm you." The man examined both their badges and nodded, lowering his arms. Still looking a little shocked, he gestured to his daughter. "We heard there's some kind of killer on the loose, and we're packing to go home. Casey here doesn't want to go, she was throwing a little fit." The little girl had stopped her fretting and now rested peacefully in her Mother's arms. She stared at Mulder and Scully in curiosity. Scully caught her looking and smiled at her. Her heart was warmed by the shy, toothy grin she got in return. "We'll get out of your way." The man nodded. "Thanks." They began to wander away when they heard the man call out to them. "I hope you catch the guy." Mulder answered with a grim smile. "So do we." They found the trail that would lead them back to where they'd left Emily setting up camp. Scully looked up at her partner. "Cute kid." "Cute? I suppose so. Got a great pair of lungs on her." "Do you like children Mulder?" "Sure, particularly with some fava beans and a nice chianti." Scully chuckled and the rare sound startled him a little. "Seriously." "I suppose so Scully. I don't really know any children well enough to decide whether or not I like them." "Do you want children?" He looked down at her and made a quick study of her face, but it was giving nothing away. "You say that like they're something I can go and pick up at the store. Why d'you ask Scully?" She shrugged, her voice was light and musical, but there was a tinge of sadness in it. "Its just that sometimes I think how my life might have been different, if I hadn't chosen this path, and I was wondering if you have those kind of thoughts too." She swiped at a strand of copper hair that had fallen out of the band she'd used to tie her back, and continued. "I mean if you hadn't lost your sister, if you hadn't gotten involved in the X Files. Do you think you'd be a family man?" "You mean two-point-five kids and a station wagon? I don't know. Sometimes I dream about that kind of life, but I think I'm dreaming about something I wouldn't want if I had it. This is me Scully, this is what I was meant to do." She nodded. He wanted to say something to her. Ask her how she felt about not being able to bear children, but it seemed too intimate, too personal, too painful. "It must be comforting though Mulder, to be a parent and to know that you're leaving a part of yourself to the world. That there's someone who will always remember that you once existed, because they carry your genes, your blood." "Scully." They were near their camping site now and he put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "You're not going to die." She shrugged his hand off. "Everybody dies Mulder, sooner or later. I was talking in general terms, not about myself." She went ahead of him, saw their camping ground, and Emily, and froze. She felt and heard Mulder come up behind her and stop, taking in the scene. Emily was being held by a dishevelled looking man, his arm around her neck, and her own gun pointed at her temple. His clothes were worn and shabby, dirt was ingrained into his features and there was madness in his eyes. He yelled at Mulder and Scully. "You two make one move on me, and I'll blow her head off I swear." Scully spoke in a soothing tone. "We're not going to do anything. Just let the Sheriff go." "I will. I don't want to hurt her, but I want to talk to you." Mulder took a step towards the man and Emily, and stood in front of Scully. The man clicked the safety off the gun, and Scully took a deep breath. Mulder held his hands up by his head to show they were empty. "I'm not trying anything. What's your name?" "You don't need to know that." "Okay. What did you want to talk to us about?" "I got information for you, but I want something in return." "What?" "Food and a little money." Scully admired Mulder's negotiating skills. Seconds ago Emily's captor had been a bundle of nervous panic, ready to pull on the trigger his finger was still gripping, but now he was almost calm, and willing to enter into a conversation with Mulder. She decided to keep quiet and let her partner handle this particular situation. "We can give you that, what did you want to tell us?" "I know who you're looking for. The child killer. I saw him dragging another little one up these hills two nights ago." Mulder nodded. "Where is he now?" "I don't know exactly." "Then your information isn't much good to us, is it? If you want some food, you'd better think about what else you've seen." The man licked his lips. "I know who he is. He tried to trade some things with me. He had a child's necklace, and some hair pins, and a pair of sneakers once. I told him I had no use for stuff like that, and I asked him where he got it from. He told me they were his sister's. That she lives up here with him." Registering the remark, Mulder looked around at Scully briefly, to see if she had too. "But you don't know where he lives?" "Its near. You're close. He's always around here. He traded some things for digging stuff once. Got them from a friend of mine. You know, shovels and so." The man released his hold on Emily a little, and she seemed to sigh a little in relief. "That's all I know." Mulder nodded. "Okay this is what were going to do. You release Sheriff Watson, and start heading South. When you get two hundreds yards away, you put her gun down. I'll come in ten minutes, take the gun and replace it with food and money. You can collect it when I'm gone." The man looked a Mulder warily for a while. "You won't try anything on me once I give up the gun will you?" "No, you have my word. As much as I dislike like people who attack law enforcement officers and hold them hostage, I won't try and arrest you. Think of it as a return favour for your information." The man seemed to grin a little as he released Sheriff Watson with a gentleness that surprised Scully, and then he took off into the trees. She went straight over to Emily who had collapsed to her knees and put a hand on her bowed head. "Emily, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Scully dropped to her knees beside her. Emily shook her head and threw her arms around Scully. Mulder began looking through their supplies, for some food he could give to their informant. Scully was having a little difficulty breathing. Emily had crushed her to her chest, and her arms held her there with a vice-like grip. Scully ran a hand up and down the Sheriff's back to soothe her. "Its okay Emily. He's gone." "I just feel so stupid. I should have been paying more attention. He came up behind me, while I was setting things up." "Don't worry, you're alive, and unhurt, that's all that matters." Scully saw Mulder walk off into the words. She tried to pull away from Emily a little, but the other woman didn't seem to want to let go. "Its okay Emily, really. You wouldn't believe how many times I've been caught out like that." "You have no idea, how pleased I was to see you come back." "Oh, I think I do." Emily finally released her, and Scully pulled back and looked up at the sky. "We're losing the light. How about we get ready to settle down for the night?" Emily nodded and got up, smiling softly at Scully. "Sorry, if I... I just lost it a little there." Scully smiled back. "No problem." Ferrier's Point Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 28th, 1997 8.30 p.m. Mulder accepted the fact that their investigation had to stop with nightfall much easier than he had the previous night. He tried to relax over the meal they ate. When he'd arrived back from the drop point, he'd handed Sheriff Watson's gun back to her with a sympathetic smile and a pat on the arm. Scully had asked him how much money he'd given away. He'd told her and she'd clucked her tongue at him, telling him he was far too generous, and that probably meant that she'd be buying their lunches for a while when they made it back to D.C. Mulder had smiled and gone off to collect materials for a camp fire. They sat around the fire now. Mulder watched Scully who was sitting opposite him. She was staring deep into the fire, lost in thought, she hadn't spoken in a while. Sheriff Watson was equally quiet. His mind drifted back to that morning, when he'd pulled Scully against him. He'd reacted to a mixture of things. His relief that the shot Mendhlesson had fired had missed her, the bruises that covered her back, her bravery in dealing with a fatal disease. He remembered how soft the skin on her stomach had felt against his hand, how good she had smelled, how right it felt to hold her in his arms. He couldn't control his wanting her anymore, he'd been controlling it for too long, and now that he might be losing her slowly, he was filled with a desparation for her, a need to posses her, totally. To be inside her, to fill her and be surrounded by her. He let out a mild curse at the direction his thoughts were taking and Scully looked up at him. He shook his head to let her know nothing was wrong and she got to her feet. "Its a little chilly, I'm going to get a sweater." Mulder nodded and watched her go, her backside swinging as she walked. He cursed softly again. "You okay Fox?" He looked over at Emily. "Yeah. Just a little....frustrated." He shifted his position on the ground. "Its hard isn't it?" Mulder tried to hide his grin. "Mmm, pretty hard." "Knowing we're so close, yet not being able to look for for him because its too dark." He forced his mind back to the case. "Yeah. At least we have something more to go on tomorrow." "You think he's underground?" "It would explain the digging materials, and how he's able to disappear for periods of time, and hide his victims." The Sheriff nodded. "We'll do a search tomorrow, look for disturbed earth. There's some caves around here too, we should check those out." She paused. "Fox, do you think Molly's okay still, he wouldn't have done anything already would he?" "No, he's taking care of her. He will until tomorrow, that's how long he took care of his sister. If he's playing out his memories of that time, she'll be safe till then." He looked at the Sheriff's pained face and searched his mind for a subject that would relieve her fears for a while. Meanwhile, inside the tent, Scully had to tip everything out of her backpack until she found the sweater she'd packed. She pulled it out and slipped it over her head, looking at the rolled-up cuffs. Why the hell had she packed this? Mulder's sweater. She wore it all the time at home, it was comfortable. She'd had it for years now and couldn't quite remember how she'd gained possession of it. She'd kept meaning to give it back, but had forgotten to return it for so long, that it had become hers. 'Ah hell Scully, you're gonna look like a lovesick grad student mooning about in his clothing'. She almost whipped it back off, and then remembered how cold she'd been without it. 'Since when does Mulder pay any attention to clothes, he won't even remember it was his'. She left it on and crawled out of the tent. She tipped her head to one side when she heard Mulder and Emily's laughter. Her stomach sank a little. He never laughed like that around her. He smirked, made the odd sarcastic remark, waggled his eyebrows, but he never really laughed, and neither did she. They seemed to be surrounded by gloominess when they were together. Even when Mulder was at his funniest she could barely manage more than a chuckle. Hearing chatter and some more laughter, she considered disappeaing back into the tent and leaving them to it. Mulder was obviously getting along well with the Sheriff, why spoil it for him? 'He'll need someone when you're gone'. She banished the thought when it surfaced. 'You're not going to die', 'Mulder promised you, you're not going to die'. Suddenly feeling alone and scared she made her way back to the fire, and Mulder and Emily. They both looked up when she arrived. "I was just telling Emily about that guy who ate the live crickets, remember Scully? You did that slight-of-hand, had me fooled for a second. I really thought you'd eaten it." Scully smiled at the memory. It seemed like a thousand years ago now. A million miles away. . "Yeah. I remember." The moment she sat down, Mulder and Emily's mood seemed to change, the laughter ceased. Scully wondered if she had that effect on people now. If her seriousness depressed others. She looked over at Mulder, a soft smile still played on his lips. Their eyes met. He winked at her. She shut her eyes for a moment and opened them again, looking back over at him. 'Did I imagine that?'. He was looking into the fire now. 'He winked at me? What was that for?'. Emily clapped her hands together, breaking the silence. "Who's for a little dessert?" Mulder looked over at her in surprise. "What? Don't tell me you brought ice-cream up here?" "Better than that. It's a liquid dessert." "An alcoholic, liquid dessert?" "Now you're getting the idea. I have a half-litre of brandy." Mulder imagined the smooth liquid running down his throat, warming his stomach. "I'd love some." He wasn't much of a drinker. But tonight, sitting around a camp fire, his favourite person with him, it seemed like a wonderful idea. Emily went off in search of her bottle, and Mulder looked over at Scully. "Nice sweater Scully. I used to have one like that." She looked down at the navy woollen garment and then back up at her partner, flushing a little. "Really?" He nodded. "Lost it a few years back." "That's too bad." "Yeah. I think I was at your apartment when I lost it." She gave him a sheepish look and he smiled his forgiveness. "Keep it. In return for all the Christmas presents I never bought you, and the birthdays I missed." "Thanks Mulder. It wouldn't fit you now anyway. I think it shrunk it when I washed it last." "Ah, finally, I've discovered something you're bad at." She glanced at him, eyebrow raised. "Laundry. I knew there had to be something, you seem to excel at everything else Scully." She smiled and then suddenly remembered a conversation they'd had earlier. One that had been interupted. "Mulder are you okay?" He looked over at her, confused. "I'm fine, why?" "Earlier, when we were talking, before we heard that child screaming, you said you were worried there was something wrong with you." "Oh that, I didn't mean physically Scully. I was just rambling, don't worry about it." "Mulder. Tell me. There was obviously something bothering you if you said that." He looked over carefully at her. He hadn't had the brandy yet, but he felt a little drunk. Too much fresh air maybe. Now wasn't really the right time, but she had asked. He took a deep breath. "I was thinking that maybe there was something wrong with me, because I'm up here in these wonderful surroundings, with this woman that I think is wonderful, intelligent and beautiful, and I'm not doing anything about it." He glanced at her fearfully, wary of her reaction. She was obviously taken aback, her face was a mixture of surprise and panic. Her eyes looked a little moist. His hopes faded, and then rose. She shrugged and offered a thin smile. His hopes died again. 'Shit. You just blew it Mulder, four years of partnership. Down the drain, why the hell d'you open your mouth, things were near perfect the way they were'. Scully licked her lips. "Mulder, you could do something about it." His eyes bored into hers, his hopes were rising again. "I could?" She nodded. "Yeah I mean, I...don't worry about me, I wouldn't want to get in the way. I could just, you know...go for a walk, or ...something." He started to laugh. Scully glared over at him, he was laughing at her again. Annoyance registered in her voice when she spoke. "What's so funny?" Mulder tried to control it, but couldn't, he laughed harder. Incredulous at Scully's mistake. He'd gotten up the courage, after four years, to tell her how he felt, and she thought he was talking about someone else. It was so tragic, it struck him as funny. Emily came back bearing a bottle and three mugs. She looked at Mulder who was laughing so hard he was close to tears, and then turned to Scully. "What's the matter with him?" "I have no idea. I'm going to bed." She got up and Mulder rose and held out an arm to stop her leaving, but she brushed past it. He managed to control his laughter long enough to call out to her, as she disappeared into the night. "Scully, come back here." He realised she wasn't coming back, and suddenly it wasn't funny. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before sitting back down. He took the mug of brandy that Emily offered him. "So how d'you upset her this time?" "I'm not sure, but I promise you, I was trying to be nice." "You two confuse me, I can't make you out." "We confuse each other." Mulder downed the brandy, and shivered at the unaccustomed taste. "I know you care about her, but you seem to give her a really hard time you know?" "I swear Emily, I was just telling her how wonderful, intelligent and pretty she is." He held out his mug to be refilled and looked at his drinking companion carefully. "She's all those things, don't you think?" Emily nodded as she poured him another drink. "Yes, I do." "I don't normally go for red heads, but there's something about Scully that makes it look wonderful on her, and then she has those cute little freckles across her nose that come out in the sun, and her eyes are amazing. They change colour with her moods, you know?" The Sheriff was staring at him now. "Yeah, I'd noticed that." "And her lips...she has a mouth that was made for kissing. When you look at it, don't you just want to lean in and feel those lips against yours?" "Yes, I....I mean, no...I" Emily flustered. Realising what he'd made her admit, she put a hand over her eyes, and groaned. "Fox, am I that obvious?" He chuckled and reached over to put a comforting hand on her knee. "Don't worry, I think you have great taste." She looked at him seriously as she sipped her drink. "My feelings aern't going to get reciprocated are they?" Mulder shrugged. "As far as I know, there's only ever been men in Scully's life, but I don't know everything about her. Even Scully and I, as close as we are, have secrets from one another. But to be honest Emily, I think the odds are pretty long." "D'you think Dana knows, that I...this is so embarassing." "Don't be embarassed. You can't help the way you feel, and I don't think Scully has a clue. She's one of those people who seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that they're incredibly attractive." Emily nodded. "I think that's what I like about her." "Sounds to me like someone has a mighty big crush." He stood and Emily looked up at him. "Sounds to me like I'm not the only one." He smiled and ruffled her hair. "Thanks for the drink, I'll see you in the morning." He left her sitting by the fire and strolled over to his tent. He looked over at the other tent and saw a light shinning inside it. He went over, pulled up the zip, and crawled half-way in, resting on his elbows, his feet sticking out the opening. He looked at Scully, who was lying on her side, reading a case file. She was in her sleeping bag, still wearing his sweater. He wondered briefly if she still had her shorts on. She acknowledged his presence with a raise of her eyebrow. "Still friends Scully?" Her expression softened and she looked warmly at him. "We'll always be friends Mulder." "Get a good nights sleep. It's all or nothing tomorrow." She nodded. "Yeah." He began crawling backwards out of the tent when a thought struck him and he stopped. "Want to keep me company in my little house across the way, instead of sleeping here?" "Didn't we have this conversation last night Mulder?" "I have chocolate in my tent Scully." "Thanks Mulder, but for some reason I think I'll be safer here." Mulder smirked. "I wouldn't count on it." He was gone before she had a chance to ask him what he meant. ** Continued in Part IV ****** The Lure of the Fox Part IV By Caroline O'Callaghan Disclaimers n' stuff in part III Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 29th, 1997 1.53 a.m. Mulder was tired, but unable to sleep. He had learned to survive on very little rest over the years, so that now, even when a good nights sleep was available to him, when he could rest for as long as he wanted, he found it difficult to do so. He lay awake listening to the sounds of the forest, thinking about the killer they were attempting to hunt down. He thought about what Scully had said. She'd encouraged him to get inside Mendhlesson's head, but he was reluctant to do so. For once, he didn't feel the need to dissect the perpetrator's motives or intentions, as he did on almost all of their cases, but he felt he might have to, if they were to save Molly's life. Perhaps the reason he didn't want to get inside Mendhlesson's head was because his own mind was too fully of Scully at the moment. He didn't want to mix his thoughts of a schizophrenic, child abuser and murderer up with those about someone as good, and as pure as Scully. His mind was replaying their converstion beside the fire. He could remember it all, word for word, every little movement on her exquisite face. What the hell had he almost said to her? What was he hoping would happen after he'd told her how he felt? Scully's misinterpretation of things filled him with both relief and regret. 'Its fate Mulder. It isn't supposed to happen. If it was, Scully would have understood.' He'd taken many risks in his life, but intensifying his relationship with Scully would have been the biggest risk of all. He wanted her, he couldn't stop wanting her, but with Scully it wouldn't just be about sex. It would be about transforming their relationship into something beyond friendship, and in that process, the friendship they now had, the most wonderful, truest, honest friendship he had ever known, might be destroyed. Convincing himself that it was better to keep the friendship, than to try for more and lose everything in the process, he turned over in his sleeping bag, and tried to banish thoughts of Scully from his mind. It wasn't easy. But when the knife came through the canvas of his tent, slitting a hole about a foot in length, Scully was suddenly the last thing on his mind. At first, he was too shocked to react to the flash of blade. He heard a maniacal laugh and a fast retreating step before he managed to propel himself into action. By the time he had clambered out of his sleeping bag, grabbed his gun, fought with the zipper on the entrance flap, and made it out of the tent, there was no-one to be seen. Nothing but blackness all around. He considered giving chase, but really had no idea of what direction to take. He looked down at his t-shirt and underwear. 'wouldn't get far like that anyway G-Man'. He was about to duck back inside the tent, when he saw a note pinned to the side of it. He sighed and ripped it off, squinting to read it in the all encompassing darkness. He read it to himself. "I didn't kill her". He sighed and folded the note. What did that mean and who was he talking about? Molly, or one of his other victims? Perhaps his sister? A loud burst of thunder erupted overhead, and he felt the ground rumble under his bare feet. Lightning lit up the sky, and when he felt the first few drops of rain he looked at the slashed roof of his tent in dismay. "Great, simply wonderful." He walked over to the other tent and yelled at the top of his voice. "SCULLY." He heard some rustling around and a kind of 'hummph' sound that he was sure eminated from his partner, but it was Sheriff Watson who opened the flap and poked her head out. "Something wrong Mulder." "Our chief suspect decided I needed a little ventilation in my sleeping quarters." Emily rubbed a hand over her face. "What?" "He slashed a hole in my tent, and now its raining dogs, cats and mice." "Oh, I guess you need to come in here then?" "Yeah, right after I do my Gene Kelly impression." She smiled. "Go get all your stuff, you don't want it to get wet." He gave her a little salute and ran back to his tent. When Emily pulled back inside, Scully yawned at her and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?" "The middle of the night. We have a new bedfellow." "Yeah I heard. A knife through his tent?" "Mmm. Of course he might have done it himself. Maybe he just wants to sleep with you?" Emily slipped back inside her sleeping bag. "I'm not his type remember?" Emily looked across at her and smiled softly. "Dana, you're anybody's type." "Thank you, that's a nice thing to say, but.." Emily interrupted. "Dana, I..." Mulder came bustling into the tent before Emily had a chance to finish the sentence. He grinned at them, his sleeping bag under one arm and knapsack brimming with his belongings in the other. "Hi girls, sorry to interrupt the slumber party." "What happened Mulder? Are you okay?" Scully's face was full of concern. "Well I got to admit that it shook me up a little, but I'm fine. I just wished I'd managed to react a little faster, I might have caught him." Emily yawned as she shifted her sleeping bag to the side so that Mulder could lay down between them. "Don't worry about it Fox, its pitch black out there. Even if you had reacted faster, you probably wouldn't have caught him. He would have lost you in minutes. Its hard enough to find your way around this forest in the daylight." Scully watched as Mulder laid out his sleeping bag. She took in the elegant movements of his lower torso, clad only in his boxer shorts. She'd seen it before of course, the muscled thighs, the hairless patches of skin on his shins, his oversized feet. As her gaze drifted upwards to his groin she gave herself a mental slap in the face, and lay down, pulling her own sleeping bag up, so that only her hair poked out from the top of it. She heard him lay down beside her, perhaps five inches away. He smelled very manly. Normally Mulder wore an aftershave that she'd never particularly liked, it had a sickly sweetness that didn't suit him, but she supposed that he'd abandoned it on this trip, and now he just smelled of the trees and fresh air, and soap and sweat all combined together. She inhaled and felt a tingle between her thighs. She exhaled slowly and wished the feeling away. Mulder was wiggling around, trying to get comfortable. "Well this is cosy isn't it?" Emily let out a yelp. "Its a two-man tent Fox, and watch where you're kicking." "Sorry." He pulled his legs away from Emily's side, but he supposed he must have nudged Scully in the process, because she pulled her sleeping bag back down at little and looked at him. "Sorry. I'm used to a little more room than this when I sleep." "What on your couch?" He smiled. Scully just closed her eyes and turned over to face the side of the tent. Mulder whispered to her. "You'd better keep your hands to yourself Scully. You lay one finger on me and I'm reporting you to Skinner for harassment." The mental image his words provoked; the thought of laying her hands on him, turned the tingles she was experiencing into an ache, and she had to stifle a groan. "Go to sleep Mulder." She lay for twenty minutes, her eyes shut, listening to the sound of the rain hitting the tent, and the occasional rumble of thunder. When she heard Mulder begin to snore, she let out the groan she'd been holding in. Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 29th, 1997 6.15 a.m. Scully awoke and rolled over onto to her back before opening her eyes. She threw a look over to the spot where Mulder had been sleeping, only to see that he was gone. Emily's sleeping bag was empty too. When she listened she heard the distant sounds of light conversation and breakfast being eaten. She was pleased to note that the rain had stopped. Wrinkling her nose at the thought of greasy bacon and eggs, she eyed Mulder's knapsack in the corner of the tent. Hadn't he said something about having chocolate the night before? Feeling hungry, she made a dive for it. By the time she made it out the tent, clothed and her appetite replenished, Mulder was nowhere in sight, and Emily was packing their supplies away. She greeted Scully. "Morning." "Hi. Where's Mulder?" "He took the plates down to the stream to wash them." Scully nodded. "I might go down there too. Splash my face." Emily smiled and Scully walked through the trees, following the sound of running water, down into the small clearing where the stream of water fanned out into a pool, almost large enough to be called a lake. She stopped just short of the bank and looked at Mulder. The plates were washed and lay on a rock, next to Mulder's boots, glistening in the morning sunshine. He was standing in the pool, legs spread slightly, staring down into the water. He must have sensed her presence because he suddenly looked over at her. "Scully, come here, I want to show you something." She was sceptical, but she bent down to remove her boots anyway, keen to know what he'd been looking at so intently. "What is it Mulder?" He waved her towards him with a hand. He looked so serious that she almost ran into the water, after throwing her boots aside. Her heart thudding with the possibility that he'd found something which would signal another development in the case. She waded through the water, until she reached his side. She noted how he was merely knee deep, while she was submerged to mid-thigh. "Look Scully." He pointed downwards, and her gaze followed the direction he indicated, but all she could see below the surface was Mulder's feet, which looked even bigger underwater. As she looked back at up at him to ask what he was talking about, his hand came out and shoved her shoulder, not hard, but enough to send her falling back into the water. Her back broke the surface with a splash and she caught a gulp of water in her mouth, which was hanging open in surprise. It was deep enough to submerge her fully. Her backside hit the bed of the stream before she reacted, kicking her feet till they found the solid base. She stood and raised herself out of the water, spluttering for air and pushing her sodden hair out of eyes. She looked at Mulder who seemed to be consumed with mirth, laughing so hard he was near tears. "Very funny Mulder." He tried to stop laughing enough to speak. "I'm sorry Scully, I just couldn't resist." "My brother did that to me once Mulder, I think he was twelve at the time." She turned in the water and started to wade slowly back to dry land. Her progress hampered by her saturated shorts and shirt. Mulder watched her retreating back. He could see the anger emanating from her and suddenly regretted dunking her. It had been a stupid prank, but he'd just wanted to do something that was just plain silly for a change, they both normally treated life so seriously. He quickly waded after her and caught her by the sodden tail of her shirt. She whirled around. Fury in her eyes. "Let me go." "Scully, I was just having a little fun." "At my expense. I'm drenched Mulder." "I'm sorry I just thought, well you know, all work and no play makes Scully a dull girl." The word 'dull' triggered something in her mind, and her temper exploded. She put both hands on his chest and pushed as hard as she could. He fell backwards as she'd intended, but he hadn't let go of her shirt and she fell with him, letting out a yelp, as they hit the water with a gigantic splash, in a tangle of arms and legs. The water was shallower here and Mulder just had to sit up to resubmerge himself and take a breath of air. Scully was kneeling between his legs, the outside of her thighs touching the inside of his, her hands on his chest. Their eyes met and they laughed hard, their bodies shaking with it. Mulder watched his partner. She had a wonderful laugh that he'd only heard a few times before. It was open and free, and girlish. Her eyes were an impossible blue, her grin wide. He stopped laughing quite suddenly then, and so did she. Her face turned serious and her gaze fell to the hands on his chest. She withdrew them, but looked back up at him. He wanted to kiss her. She looked like she wanted to be kissed. Her eyes were shinning with something that he swore was desire. Then he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye, and jumped to his feet, sending Scully sprawling back into the water again. She recovered in moments though, and found her footing to stand in the water beside him, following his gaze. "Mulder?" "I saw him. He was watching us." Scully felt herself shiver at the thought of her private moment with Mulder being observed by a voyeur. Mulder was pointing. "He went West. We should search there first." Scully nodded. "Okay, lets get Emily and our things and go." They strode out of the stream, trying to shake the water out of their clothes. They pulled their respective boots on without a word, and Scully followed Mulder back to their campsite. Playtime was over. It was back to business now. Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 19th, 1997 10.15 a.m. They'd been searching for nearly three hours now. Every cave, every piece of disturbed earth that they came across. Scully felt weary and dirty, and it was only mid-morning. She almost wished for another dunking. Emily had looked at them both strangely when they'd returned to their campsite; their clothes and hair drenched. Mulder had just mumbled something about 'an accident' and they'd packed up and started to trawl the area to the West, searching for some sign of Molly or her captor. Scully could tell by the grim set of Mulder's jaw that he was getting frustrated. "This is impossible." He kicked a rock on the trail they were following. "We don't stand a chance." Scully had been walking behind him. She quickened her steps and caught him by the sleeve. "Mulder, don't talk like that." She was conscious of Emily's increasing concern for Molly and didn't want her to hear Mulder sounding so defeatist. Emily, who was walking a few steps behind them called out. "Hey, you know, we have a search team looking around the lower forest, maybe I should radio them and ask them to help us look up here." Mulder turned round and shook his head at her. "No, if he sees a large party he may panic." Emily sighed loudly. "But he's already panicking isn't he? He knows we're here." Scully looked at Mulder, to let him know she saw the validity of Emily's argument. "I have a feeling we'd do better on our own. That Molly stands a better chance if its just us." He looked at Scully for support, she shrugged. He looked hurt. "Scully..." "Mulder, we're running out of time." He kicked another rock. "Fine, put the request in. Tell them where we are and get them up here." He glanced at his partner. "You stay here with Emily and wait till the cavalry arrives, I'm gonna go on." Her eyes blazed in fury. "Mulder, you're not ditching me." "I'll be quicker on my own." He shifted his knapsack on his back, preparing to start walking again. "You set any pace you want Mulder, I'll bet I can match it." "I'm not taking you with me Scully." Her heart was pounding with fury, because she knew it was a pointless argument, Mulder would go, and even if she tried to follow him, he'd do his best to lose her. "Damn you Mulder, I'm your partner." "Scully. Your nose is bleeding." He was moving before he'd finished speaking, with only a quick glance back, he moved steadily onwards and away from her. Scully reached into her pocket and dug out a tissue. She wiped it across her upper lip and looked at the bloodied tissue in dismay. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at Emily. "You okay Dana?" "Yeah, I just...must be the altitude." She smiled and looked in the direction Mulder had gone. He was far ahead now. She glimpsed his shirt in the distance as he wove his way quickly through the trees. She put the tissue back to her nose and tried to wipe it clean. "Go ahead and radio the search party." Breakspeare Forest Viginia June 29th, 1997 10.50. p.m. Emily had put in her request and was told they would have help in a couple of hours. She'd made coffee for her and Scully, and they sipped it now, while they rested on a felled tree and waited for the search party. "Dana, I didn't mean to cause that argument between you and Fox." Scully smiled at her. "You didn't, I did. He's mad at me for agreeing with you that we needed more help." "So he expects you to go along with everything he says and does?" "He doesn't expect me too, but he wants me too." "And if you don't he takes off without you? He's not exactly easy going is he?" Scully chuckled. "No, he certainly isn't." Emily cleared her throat. "Fox was telling me that you don't have anybody in your life." "Um, no." She stared down into her coffee, wondering what Mulder had told Emily about her. "Why is that?" She looked over at the Sheriff, who seemed to be sitting closer than she was before. "I guess I...I don't really have the time to look for anybody...what with my work." Scully scoffed at her answer. 'Even if you had the time who'd have you anyway?' she asked herself. It wasn't like there were hundreds of available men on the lookout for a short, red-haired, gun toting, body-slicing, workaholic, cancer victim whose best friend believed the planet would eventually be taken over by little green, no make that grey, men. She put the reflection aside and tried to concentrate on what Emily was saying. "I know what you mean Dana. I haven't seen anyone in ages, but you know, sometimes you don't have to look for anybody. Sometimes the right person just comes into your life and they're right under your nose." Scully cocked her head to one side. "I suppose." Emily smiled. Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 29th, 1997 10.50 p.m. Mulder looked with excitement at the small, concealed entranceway, he'd literally stumbled across. A branch concealing it had tripped him up. He cleared away the forest debris and shone his torch down into the hole he'd found on the side of a hill. It looked like a tunnel.He looked at the entranceway and down at himself and realised there was no way he was going to be able to squeeze through it. A child could easily climb in, and Forrest Mendlesson wasn't a big man, he could probably make it, and Scully. He smiled and turned back to go the way he'd come. 'Oh she's gonna love you Mulder'. He could imagine himself asking her. 'Scully, I'm sorry I took offence at you siding with Emily, and sorry I ditched you, but could you possibly come and crawl through a hole for me, because you're really short and tiny.' He'd be lucky if she didn't reach for her gun. Breakspeare Forrest Virginia June 29th, 1997 11.10 a.m. Scully was feeling a little uncomfortable in Emily's presence, although she wasn't quite sure why. They'd been chatting happily enough, but she sensed that there was something the other woman wanted to tell her, but that she couldn't quite get up the courage to voice it. "Dana, remember yesterday, when that man was holding my gun to my head?" Scully nodded. "And Fox got him to release me, I was so relieved. I just wanted to hug someone, and well, I hope you didn't mind me holding on to you like that?" Scully shrugged. "No, I didn't mind at all." Emily smiled. "You didn't?" "No. It was fine." "Really?" "Yes really, you shouldn't worry about it. We all need a hug sometimes." "Yes we do." Emily reached over and put one of her hands over Scully's, which were laying in her lap. Scully looked down at the hand that covered hers. A little embarassed by the gesture, unsused to much physical contact, she used her other hand to awkwardly pat Emily's, hoping to reassure her enough so that she would pull it away. Except she didn't, and her next move shocked Scully so much, that she wasn't able to react to it. Emily's other hand came up to caress her cheek, and she moved her head towards her. It happened before Scully recovered from her surprise enough to back away, and Emily's lips touched hers. Her mind was reeling 'this isn't happening, this isn't happening'. The kiss wasn't fleeting, Emily's hand had crept around to the back of Scully's neck and held her in place, making it difficult to break. 'Oh my God. What the hell is happening? Stop this now Dana.' Her mind screamed at her, but her body seemed to have been stunned into immobility. Emily eventually broke away and smiled at her. Scully stared back, her mouth hanging open, unsure of what to do or say. Suddenly, she was aware of somebody else's presence and she turned to see Mulder standing over them, looking down at her incredulously. She jumped off the bench like her ass was on fire. Emily must have been equally surprised, because she jumped up too. Mulder found his voice before they did. "Excuse me for interrupting." Scully could feel her skin heating in a blush. "No, Mulder, I..." She looked round at Emily, and then back at Mulder, not sure who she was more uncomfortable looking at. "I need your help with something Scully. Can you come with me?" She looked up at him pleadingly, willing him not to misunderstand what he had witnessed. "Yes, of course, I'll get my stuff." "Sheriff Watson should stay here and wait for the search party." As she pulled on her knapsack, she noted how Mulder almost spat out Emily's name. He glanced at Scully briefly to make sure she was ready and took off into the trees, sure she would follow behind him. She looked at Emily, her mind still reeling, not sure what to say. Emily's gaze met hers briefly before drifting to the floor. Scully decided that they conversation they obviously had to have could wait till later, and she raced after Mulder's retreating back. She was panting by the time she caught up with him. "Mulder, could you slow down a little?" "You said it yourself Scully, we're running out of time." "Mulder, what you saw back there...." "None of my business." He deliberately changed the subject. "I found what I think might be an entrance to a tunnel. I can't get through it. I thought you might be able to." She nodded. "Okay, but I want to explain..." She was too bothered by other matters to worry about the fact that he only needed her help because she was small. "Save it Scully, I really don't need to know. Mendhlesson wasn't a big guy, was he?" "No, he was a little under average height and weight." "Good, I think I might have found his hiding place then." "That's great." "Yeah." "But Mulder, please let me tell you about Emily." "Scully, later okay? Now's not the time." She sighed, and they went on in silence for a while. Before she was ready to try and explain again, Mulder came to a stop in front of the entrance he'd found. "Can you get through there Scully?" She looked down. "I guess so." She shrugged out of her knapsack and dug through it until she found a torch. She switched it on and shone the light into the hole. "Crawl in and let me know what you see, but don't go too far." She nodded and got down on her hands and knees. She put her arms in first and levered herself through the gap on her belly. It was a tight squeeze, even for her. She used her elbows to propel herself forward into the darkness. Once she was completely inside, the entrance opened up a little. She was able to manoeuvre around enough to shine the torch in front of her. "Talk to me Scully, what do you see?" "A tunnel Mulder. God, it seems to go on for miles. It slopes slightly downwards" Does it look like its been used lately? She shone her light around and saw some wooden support beams holding the walls of earth up, which seemed to suggest maintenance. "Yeah maybe. Do you want me to go further?" Se heard Mulder sigh, unsure of what to do. "Just a little Scully. Don't go out of earshot." "Okay." The further she went, the more it opened up, and she was able to raise herself onto her hands on knees. She saw a bend up ahead and as she went around it, a small slip of daylight lit up the darkness. She yelled at the top of her voice, aware that it would be difficult for Mulder to hear her now. "Mulder?" "Yeah Scully, I hear you." "There's another entrance. Go thirty metres, about twenty-five degrees to your left." There was silence for a while, and Scully lay still. She was about to call out to him again, when the earth above her started to shake. Mulder came crashing into the tunnel just in front of her, with a large amount of mud and forest debris. He coughed a little and sat up, looking at her with an expression that showed he was just as surprised as she was. "Just thought I'd drop in and say hi." "You found it then." "It found me. The earth's a little unstable up there." He groped around for his torch and switched it on, shinning it ahead of him. "Looks a bit like a disused mine shaft." "If it is, it must be an old one. It didn't show up on any of the maps." "If everybody's forgotten its here, it would be a wonderful place to hide." Scully nodded. "So Mulder, shall we go on?" He gave her a serious look and nodded. He turned so that he was on his hands and knees and they set off down the tunnel. They crawled for about ten minutes in silence, afraid who else might also be crawling around to overhear them, not wanting their presence known. Scully's mouth dropped open in horror when Mulder took his second tumble of their excursion and fell through some weak earth, disappearing into the unknown horrors that lay below. She heard him hit whatever lay beneath them with a thump, and grimaced. She carefully edged her way forward and peered down the new hole that his falling body had made. "Mulder are you okay? Is anything hurt?" "Only my pride. I think I'm a little too heavy for this place Scully. I gotta cut out the donuts. She flashed her light around. He seemed to have fallen into a room created by support beams. He was getting up and dusting himself off. She was wondering how she was going to get him out of there when she saw him to go one of the wooden walls and listen carefully. He looked up at her. "Scully, you have to get down here. I think I hear Molly. She's calling out for help." ********** Continued in Part V The Lure of the Fox Part V By Caroline O'Callaghan Rating: PG (although Part I is NC-17) Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 29th, 1997 11.40 a.m. Scully's eyes widened in surprise. "You're sure Mulder?" "I can hear her Scully, this room must have an exit, get down here." She shone her torch down the hole, looking at the fifteen- foot drop. "How?" "Jump. I'll catch you." She looked at him doubtfully. "Wouldn't it be better if I went back for help?" "You ditching me partner?" The look she shot him was as cold as ice, and he almost regretted throwing her earlier words back at her. "Come on Scully, help might take too long." She nodded, not really wanting to go back and face Emily Watson yet anyway. She tucked her torch into the waistband of her shorts, dangled her legs over the side, glanced briefly at Mulder to make sure he was ready to catch her, and then she threw herself off the edge. Her falling body hit Mulder's, and knocked him backwards, but he stayed on his feet and broke her fall by catching her around the waist. She looked up at him with a sense of relief. "You okay?" "Yeah. Good catch." He was somewhat reluctant to remove his hands from her, and she didn't seem to want to move away yet either. Their eyes met in the darkness. "I'd never let you fall Scully. You know that?" She nodded. Mulder swallowed. There were times when Scully looked at him with the most trusting eyes, like the way a small girl might look at her father. It always made his mouth go dry. She licked her upper lip and he suddenly remembered seeing her in Emily Watson's arms. He let go of her abruptly and turned away, walking over to the wall through which he'd heard a child's cry for help. Scully took out her torch again and switched it on, she followed him to the wall and bent close to it to listen. She jumped a little when she heard the scream. She saw panic flit over Mulder's face, and decided to spur him into action before he let his highly tuned emotions get the better of him. "Come on Mulder. Let's look for a way through." He nodded and began to walk around the room, feeling his way along the walls. Scully walked the other way, and eventually they met on the other side of the room, neither had found an exit. Mulder looked at her in disappointment. "The floor?" She nodded, understanding what he meant immediately. They took opposite ends of the room and got down on their hands on knees to search the floor for a way through. "Damn it." Mulder thumped the ground in frustration. "If we can't find anything, you may have to go back and ask your girlfriend to bring the cavalry." Scully's head shot up and she looked at him in amazement. "My what?" He refused to meet her gaze and continued to examine the floor. "Its okay, Scully. I mean, it shocked me a little, because I really had no idea that you...but its allright I have no problem with it." He did look at her then to give her a brief, wry smile. "Whatever flips your goat." She stared back at him, her mouth hanging open. It took her a while to form some words. "Mulder, you don't honestly think...." "Found it." He thumped the floor again, this time in delight and began to clear off dust and dirt from the trapdoor he'd discovered. Scully got to her feet and was by his side in an instant. She held her breath as he pulled the heavy door open. He shone his light down the entrance. "There's a ladder." He swung a leg over the edge and onto the first rung, preparing to descend. Scully put a hand on his arm to get his attention. "Mulder. I.....Emily kissed me and I....." Mulder waived a hand in the air to cut her off. "I really don't want to hear the gory details. Are you coming?" "Of course I am, but..." He spoke dissmissively. "I don't want to discuss it Scully, okay?" Her voice went harsh. "Sure." She huffed a little. "Fine." She watched him descend and prepared to follow him into the darkness. On his way down the ladder, Mulder winced at the tone of voice she'd just used with him. He hadn't meant to be rude to her, but he really couldn't stand the thought of having to listen to Scully tell him about her passion for Emily. When he'd prised the confession out of the Sheriff the night before he'd found the situation amusing. He'd laughed at the thought of Scully realising that a woman had the hots for her. He'd imagined her delicate, but strong, little face screwing up in embarrassment, and the blush of her fair Irish skin. The last thing he'd expected Scully to do upon discovering Emily's attraction to her was to respond in kind by sticking her tongue down her throat. Okay, maybe there hadn't been tongues, but close enough. He reached the end of the ladder and stepped off it into another tunnel, one that was big enough to walk through, rather than crawl. He looked up to watch Scully's descent. Her rear was swinging from side-to-side. He felt stupid. Why had he never noticed that Scully was.... 'what was she?' He was supposed to be observant, a profiler, and he'd never had the slightest suspicion. Four years walking by her side, travelling with her, eating meals and drinking coffee with her and he'd never even had an inkling. He forced his thoughts from where they shouldn't be right now. He had to focus on Molly. On saving a young child's life so that she'd ride her bike again, go to the school dance, get her first kiss - whether it be from a boy or a girl. He cursed himself, his mind was back on Scully again. She jumped off of the last rung of the ladder and looked at him expectantly. He shone the torch at her, not in her eyes so as to blind her, but enough so that he could see her face clearly. Dirt streaked her cheeks and forehead. She was angry with him, her mouth was set in a pout and her eyes blazed blue fire. She was beautiful. She reached out and pushed the torch away. "Which way Mulder?" The tunnel ran east and west. He flashed the torch down one way, seeing nothing but blackness, and then the other way, where darkness also greeted him. It was difficult to know which path would lead them to where Molly was. Her screams had come from a northerly direction. He glanced at Scully, hoping for some help with the decision. "Don't look at me. I have no sense of direction, remember?" He shot her a sarcastic smile and nodded his head west. She took the hint and went ahead of him. He followed and they walked into the dark, their flashlight beams dancing along the walls of the tunnel. Scully trudged forward, looking down at her boots, which were covered in mud, she imagined that the rest of her was equally dirty. She was seething at Mulder; 'pissed-off' didn't even cover it. How dare he jump to the wrong conclusion about her and Emily, and then not even allow her the chance to explain what had happened. But below the anger was pain. She'd thought he knew her so well, but he had no idea, no inkling of the depth of her feelings for him. He was completely unaware that he didn't just have her friendship, but her heart as well. He didn't understand that for her there could never be anyone else, man or woman. Her misery was compounded by the memory of kneeling between his legs in the water that morning. Her hands on his chest, aware of the warm skin beneath his wet tee-shirt. She had held her breath, convinced that Mulder had been about to kiss her. Perhaps she had she just imagined the hungry look in his eyes. Damn her imagination, and damn him. She didn't care what he thought anymore. It suddenly didn't matter to her whether he thought she preferred men, women or little grey aliens. She looked up in surprise when she realised it was becoming brighter in the tunnel the further she walked. They were nearing some kind of light. She looked back at Mulder who nodded at her to tell her he had noticed it too. He put a finger to his lips and she understood that he wanted them to be quiet until they knew what was ahead. She reached behind her and under the loose cotton shirt to check her gun was in place. She released the clip on the holster. Just in case. As they rounded a bend she saw that the light was coming from beneath a solid-looking metal door. Mulder stepped ahead of her, reaching it first and trying to push it open. It wouldn't budge and he kicked it in frustration before noticing the padlock that was in place. He took the heavy lock in his hand and examined it. "We could probably shoot it off Mulder." He nodded. "I'll let you do the honours Scully." Her anger subsided at him a little. At least he trusted her capabilities. She was a better shot than him and he was happy to acknowledge the fact. She drew her weapon and aimed carefully at the lock. It fell open with her first shot. Mulder looked impressed and gave her a quiet little round of applause. She made a mock bow and tried not to smile at him. They became serious again however, when they heard childish sobs coming from behind the door. It fell open easily this time and they both rushed in, guns drawn. The room they had entered was surprisingly bright, and it took both of them a while to adjust their eyes from the dark of the tunnel. Scully scanned the area until she found what she was looking for. In a corner, on a small cot, Molly Turner sat with her face in her hands. Her small body shaking with fear. Scully cleared her throat and spoke soothingly as she approached the cot. "Molly its okay. We're here to help. To take you home." "Don't hurt me." "I'm not going to hurt you honey." She reached the cot and sank to her knees in front of it. "Everything's fine now. We're going to take you back to your mommy, okay?" Molly took her hands from her face and looked at her, with large, innocent brown eyes. "Are you the police?" Scully smiled. "Yes, we're the police." There was little point explaining the difference to a terrified six-year-old. She wasn't prepared for it when Molly suddenly lunged forward and threw both little arms around her neck. It almost knocked her off balance, before she adjusted to the weight and hugged the child in return, running a hand up and down her back to soothe her. Mulder had held back, afraid that his presence might frighten Molly further, but now that Scully had gained her trust he stepped forward, catching his partner's eye. Scully nodded to indicate that she thought Molly was fine, scared but unhurt. Although she thought she'd better ask anyway, just to make sure. "Molly, who brought you here?" Molly pulled away and looked up at Scully, brushing a chubby hand across her eyes to dry them. "A man." "Do you know where he is now?" "No. He left me on my own, I was scared." "I know honey. Did he hurt you at all?" "No, he was nice to me, but I miss my mommy. I want to go home." Scully got to her feet and lifted Molly into her arms again. She turned to Mulder who was exploring the room. It was lit by several gas lamps. There were work surfaces all around the walls, storage closets and in the centre of the room was an examination table, complete with restraining straps. Mulder tugged one of them and looked over at Scully to see what she made of it. "It looks like a disused lab." Mulder agreed. "Forrest Mendhlesson couldn't have put all this together Scully." Scully was about to suggest that it was some kind of medical room left over from the days when the area was mined, but the explanation made no sense, there was no reason why miners would be treated underground, and the equipment, and the materials used to build the place, were far too modern. Mulder looked at Scully, her arms were full of six-year-old, and it brought a sudden lump to his throat. "You sure she's okay?" "Yeah. We just need to get her out of here." Mulder nodded, then spotted a knife on one of the surfaces. It lay next to a length of rope and a gag. He shuddered when he realised that they were meant for the tiny girl who was clinging to his partner. He picked the rope up and showed it to Scully. "Looks like we were just in time." "I wouldn't be too sure about that." The voice came from behind them and they both jumped, before turning to see who had spoken. Forrest Mendhlesson stood in the doorway, his eyes wild, gun held out in front of him, shaking slightly. "What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay away. Its not good for you to be here." Mulder considered raising his gun and trying to force Mendhlesson to back down. He glanced at Scully, her eyes told him that she thought it would be better to try and talk him out of it. He spoke calmly. "Forrest, put the gun down." Mendhlesson looked at Scully and Molly. "You put her down. She's mine, I went and got her, she belongs to me." Molly looked round at him and saw the gun, before letting out a soft cry and burying her face in Scully's neck again. Mulder took a couple of steps forward and Forrest's attention was back on him. "Stay away from me." He clicked the catch of the safety. Mulder held up his hands. "Forrest, Agent Scully and I are going to take Molly back to her parents. Its for the best. She needs to go home. Put the gun down. You have no chance of getting away, its two against one here." Mendhlesson creased his brow in concentration. His face glistened with sweat and his whole body seemed to be shaking. "My sister never got to go home." Mulder nodded. "I know." "They killed her." "Yes. I know Forrest. They brought her here to test her didn't they, but it went wrong." Scully's looked at Mulder in surprise and realised he had solved the case. One look at the room and Mulder had put all the pieces together. Her partner knew exactly what had happened to Forrest and his sister that night over twenty-five years ago. Mendhlesson. "I knew you'd understand, because it happened to you too didn't it?" Mulder licked his lips. "I don't know what happened to my sister Forrest but I think I know what happened to yours. You were out walking, it was late, you weren't supposed to be out on your own." "She wanted to go, I wanted to stay and watch t.v." Scully watched as the man's face crumpled. "I don't know how they took us, but there were lights, and then I woke up." Mulder stepped closer to him. "And you were here in this room. They did some tests on you. What tests did they do?" Mendhlesson seemed to lower the gun a little, his defences down. "I don't know. It didn't hurt me, but Lisa was lying across from me and she was crying. They hurt her bad." "So bad she died?" "They dumped us out in the woods, and everybody blamed me, said it was my fault, but it wasn't. I just took her for a walk." "I know." "I spent years locked away for nothing. For killing my sister, but I never did. It wasn't me." "I believe you Forrest. I've believed you since I saw your note, but the other children Forest, you killed them didn't you?" The face which had been in deep pain, suddenly became angry and Scully felt Molly jump in terror in her arms when Mendhlesson shouted. "I had to. These little girls, they pretend its not their fault, but it is. Its their fault. Twenty-five years I've been locked up. No more little girls." Scully saw his finger squeeze the trigger and threw herself backwards onto the ground. Molly landed on top of her as the shot rang out, and a bullet came flying over their heads. Mendhlesson turned and ran through the door. Mulder rushed over to Scully. "You okay?" She nodded and looked down at Molly to check she was also unscathed. "Go Mulder, go after him." Mulder fled the room. Scully got to her feet and pulled Molly up too. She bent down to look into the child's eyes, surprised that she wasn't crying. Her little mouth was hanging open, and Scully thought she recognised shock. She rubbed her hands up and down the girl's arms. "Molly I know how scared you are, but you're okay, you're not hurt." Scully jumped when she heard a shot being fired and looked towards the door and then back at Molly. "I want you to stay here, don't move an inch." The little girl nodded, and Scully took off into the tunnel, she ran for a couple of minutes before she saw Mulder standing over Mendhlesson's body. Relief washed over when she saw her partner was okay. She knelt beside the body to check for a pulse. Mulder's voice was flat as he spoke. "He's dead?" Scully nodded and looked up at Mulder confused by the shocked expression on his face. "You shot him?" She noticed the bullet wound between the eyes of Forrest Mendhlesson's lifeless body. "No I didn't." "Well then who.....?" Her voice trailed off as she became aware of another presence in the tunnel. She turned and lurking in the shadows she saw a human form. Then she heard a click, a small flame appeared, followed by a puff of smoke. The man stepped forward as Scully got back on her feet. "You..." He cut her off. "Just tying up a few loose-ends Miss Scully. Nice to see you looking so well." He smirked and Mulder lunged towards him. Scully caught his arm, and with a shake of her head, asked him to hold back, and he did. She felt a cool, calm rage descend over her. "Actually, I'm not well at all. I'm very sick." He still smirked. "I hope you're not implying that has anything to do with me. I've always looked out for your health Dana. If it hadn't been for me, you'd have died a long time ago." Mulder lunged again and this time Scully made no attempt to stop him, but before he could reach the man, guards in army fatigues appeared out of the darkness and dragged him backwards. Scully glanced at the five or six guards and put her hands in the air. The gun that she'd drawn whilst running to find Mulder was snatched away and she was grasped at the elbow by young soldier with an expressionless face. She was turned, as was Mulder, and forced to walk back the way they had come. Mulder glanced over his shoulder at the man he had come to know as 'cancer man'. "What went on here? Children were brought here, what happened to them, what tests did you do?" The man puffed on his cigarette. "Nothing particularly harmful Mr Mulder. All the children were returned safely to their parents once we were finished with them." "Except for Lisa Mendhlesson." "An unfortunately accident. A foolish doctor. We were very sorry, but it was the only life we took." Scully threw off the soliders grip and whirled to face their enemy. "You've taken hundreds of lives. You just took another." The man shrugged. "He was a killer Miss Scully." "A killer that you created. If you hadn't have murdered his sister...." He interrupted. "Please, murder is such an ugly word." Scully was seized again and marched back towards the disused laboratory. When they entered Molly ran towards them only to be caught be another guard. Who picked her up. She began to scream. Scully tried to wrangle her way free again, to go to her, but she was held tight. "Put her down. What are you going to do to her?" Cancer man answered. "Nothing, we'll make sure she's returned to her home." He nodded to the guard who took Molly from the room. Mulder and Scully were released and the rest of the guards filed out. Mulder stood with his hands clenched in fists at his side. "Are you leaving us here?" "We'll alert someone, they'll find you eventually." Cancer man finished his cigarette and threw it to the floor. Then he left the room and the door swung shut. Mulder walked up to it and kicked it in rage. He heard another padlock being fastened to the door. "What happened to my sister? You know, you son-of-a bitch, tell me, I have a right to know." Scully walked over to the cot in the corner and sank down it, suddenly feeling weary. They'd been beaten again. Mulder was still raging. "You're going to pay. For everything you've done. For Samantha, for Agent Scully, for the hundreds of innocent people whose lives you ruined." There was silence. Cancer man and his protectors had gone. Mulder gave the door a final kick, and then turned his back on it and slid to floor, his face in his hands. Underground Laboratory Breakspeare Forest June 29th, 1.32 p.m. Mulder paced up and down, his anger had still not dissipated from his system. He looked over at his partner who sat on the cot, her back against the wall. She was staring calmly into vacant space. "What are you thinking Scully?" "I'm thinking that I wish I still had my gun." "Why?" "Because if you don't stop walking up and down soon I'm going to want to kill you." He stopped and leant against the operating table. "Sorry. I just...." His hands became fists at his side. "The next time I see that black-lunged bastard. I'm going to shoot first and ask questions later. I'm going to put a bullet through his skull, just like he did to Mendhlesson." "No you won't Mulder, because he has the answers you need, and because you can't kill the devil." Mulder shot her a sad smile. "You think he's the devil Scully?" "Oh yes, but better the devil you know Mulder." He walked over to sit beside her. They'd already searched the place thoroughly for an exit, or some kind of clue as to what had happened here in years past, but had found nothing. All they could do now was sit and wait for help to arrive to free them. Mulder sighed. "I know he did some awful, shameful, unforgivable things Scully, but...." "But you can't help sympathising in some way with Forrest Mendhlesson?" He nodded. "They screwed him over Scully. Just like they do everyone." Her voice was soft and gentle. "That's why we have to keep fighting Mulder." He hung his head. "How do you think he knew about me?" "I don't know. He could have read about your sister's abduction, its been documented. He had a lot of time on his hands in the institution." "But he knew I was hunting him. He wanted me to be the one to stop him, that's why he called himself 'the Fox', because he knew the case would get my attention." "Mulder, I don't know the answers, and now that he's dead, we'll probably never know. Let it go." "I can't. I need to know, because...." "Because, you think it could have been you. That you could have ended up like that, taking revenge for your sister in that way." He gave her that sad smile again. "I swear you're psychic Scully." "No I just know you too well. You analyse everything to death Mulder, and you see faults in yourself that aren't really there. You would never have ended up like Mendhlesson because you didn't blame your sister for what happened to her, you blamed yourself, and you still do. Even though you were never accountable. "I feel sometimes Scully, that I'm going to go crazy with wanting. I need so badly to have the answers." She reached over and laid a hand on his hair, smoothing it down. "Then its a good job I'm around to keep you sane." Their eyes met, affection flowed between them. The room was too warm suddenly. Mulder coughed a little and pulled his head slightly away so that her hand fell away from him. Scully brought her hand back into her lap and laced her fingers together. It was only possible to get so close to Mulder before he pulled away, physically or emotionally. "How are you Scully?" She sighed. "I'm fine." "Your nosebleed earlier...." "It was over before it started Mulder." Silence fell between them. Scully pondered briefly what she would do if she needed to urinate before help came. Ask Mulder to turn his back? Mulder thought about Emily. She'd known which direction they'd headed in, she probably had the search party nearby now, and they'd probably find the huge hole he'd made when he'd fell in the first tunnel. It wasn't going to be that long a wait. Still, what if he needed to take a piss? His partner got up to stretch her legs. She wandered over to one of the counter tops and leant against it. He watched her as she began to stare into space again. Her breasts heaved slightly with each breath and he became fascinated with their rise and fall beneath the thin, cotton, sleeveless shirt she wore. It seemed acceptable to watch her now. Before he had always been filled with guilt for admiring her as a sexual being, but now that he knew he had about as much chance of experiencing her as a sexual being as the dead man out in the tunnel, he felt happy with his voyuerism. Now that he knew Scully was...was what? Not interested in men? There had been men in Scully's life before though hadn't there? He remembered her telling him about Jack Willis, the academy instructor, that she'd dated. So she was bi-sexual? He couldn't imagine Scully sitting on the fence about anything. Not being able to make a decision about what she preferred. She would choose to land one way or the other, surely? Although he was opened minded sexually and accepted that there were some people who could equally enjoy both men and women, he just couldn't see Scully as one of them. So she was gay? Perhaps Jack Willis had been an attempt at going straight, an experiment. He looked up at her again. She was still deep in thought, her head cocked slightly in her usual way. Perhaps that was why they had never stepped over the line into a relationship. All the time he'd thought it was he who had resisted the urge to take things further than platonic friendship. Perhaps it had been Scully all along who had held back. Did she see women? He had assumed she didn't have a social life. Maybe she had just hidden it from him, afraid of his reaction to her sexuality. He buried his head in hands when another thought came to him. What about Ed Jerse, and Eddie van Blundht who had taken on his guise? Scully had certainly gone on a date with the former, and had been about to kiss the later. His mind was screaming. Did he imagine the tension between them? Did he mistake the look that was sometimes in Scully's eyes? The one that seemed to tell him she wanted something more than he'd previously been unwillingly, or unable to give. He had to know. He had to know the truth. He stood and walked over to her. She looked up at him, her face a mixture of surprise and curiosity. "Scully, you're filthy." He wiped some dirt from her cheek. She flinched a little at his words. They were almost as crushing as 'Scully, you smell bad' had been on another occasion. Then he bent down and all thought flew from her mind. He caught her lips with his. A spark of electricity ran from her brain to her toes. The kiss wasn't the most elegant she had ever received, probably due to the huge difference in height between them, but his lips were soft and gentle and she felt herself leaning into him, her mouth reaching up to stay joined with his, as his lips ran over hers. When she felt his tongue's attempt to snake a path into her mouth, she snapped, breaking the kiss, and shoving him roughly away. She was breathing heavily and so was he. They stared at each other trying to grasp the situation, until Mulder finally broke the eye contact. His gaze dropped to the floor and he stepped backwards. His voice was a mixture of sadness and bitterness. "Well, I guess..... now I know." Continued in part VI ****** The Lure of the Fox Part VI By Caroline O'Callaghan Underground Laboratory Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 29th, 1997 1.50 p.m. The ability to speak had left Scully momentarily. She gazed at him, her mouth hanging open and her mind and body still reeling from his kiss. Mulder gave a soft laugh, but there was no joy in it. He cursed the fact that they were imprisoned because he wanted nothing more than to be able to run away from her. "I'm sorry Scully. Just forget it. That was.....that was way out of line." "You're damn right it was." Her right hand seemed to gain a will of its own and it reached out before she could pull it back. The slap that hit his cheek also stung her palm. He put a hand to his face, rubbing it briefly. Then he stepped away and crossed to the other side of the room. "Mulder, I...." "No, Scully don't apologise." "I wasn't going to." He looked up at her again. Her face was flushed, and at first he couldn't tell whether it was from embarrassment or anger. When she spoke again, he knew it was anger. "What were you trying to do, convert me?" "No, I.." "So, you were feeling sorry for me then? Poor Scully's ill, let's see if she'd like a sympathy fuck before she dies, is that it?" He was taken aback by her crude language. "No, Scully." "Well there has to be some reason Mulder." He approached her again, stepping across the room till he was leaning over her, invading her personal space. He could almost feel the heat of her anger. "Maybe I just wanted to kiss you." She looked up at him incredulously. She would have backed away from him, but she was already against the counter top. "After four years?" Mulder's heart was like a jackhammer in his chest. "Yes, but you obviously find the whole idea repulsive. So why don't we just pretend it didn't happen?" Scully was still fuming, but she considered his words. That would be the easiest solution. To file it away under 'an aberration' or 'a mistake' and for the both of them to continue as they had done before. However, she couldn't tear her gaze from his lips. "I couldn't forget it Mulder." "But its not what you want." He turned away from her again, walked over to the cot and sat down heavily on it. The word 'rejection' kept running through his mind. He felt stranded, alone. The one person he ached for, seemed not to ache for him. Scully looked at him. His head was bowed, his hands clasped loosely together. She was shaking with the possibility that he felt for her in the same way that she felt for him. Her mind conjured up an image of them making love amongst twisted white sheets, lit only by candlelight, her back arched, her heels digging into the mattress, her legs wide apart and raised, and Mulder between them, his backside moving steadily up and down. It was all so vivid, she imagined she could hear the groans of effort from Mulder, the moans of pleasure from her, the soft thumps of their bodies rising and falling against the bed. She swallowed hard, she wanted it. She wanted him. It was the only thing they had never shared. Partnership, friendship, pain, grief, thoughts, feelings, emotions. They had been to hell and back together, but never to heaven and back. She wanted to take a part of him inside of her. She swallowed again and licked her upper lip. He hadn't moved. She considered what she would surrender to passion. She had given her life over to Mulder and his quest for the truth, she'd given up all hope for a normal life, a career, the respect of her colleagues. Happiness, joy and laughter seemed to have been lost to her too, but she knew that whatever she had given to Mulder, she had given willingly, without much reservation, and with no real regret. He dominated her life, filled it, completed it. A part of her feared that if she were to love him, to make love to him, she would be giving herself over completely, that he might swallow her whole, till she was just an attachment of Fox Mulder, and Dana Scully didn't exist. She scoffed silently at her efforts to try and fool herself. She had been lost in him, consumed by him, since she had first known him. There was no turning back now, no way of separating herself. She had tried. She had rebelled and kicked against him, and all she had for her trouble was a tattoo on her back and the memory of being touched by Ed Jerse, and wanting it to be Mulder. She was his, and as she crossed the room and knelt before him, she hoped and prayed to God, that he was hers. She was unused to speaking from her heart, and had always been afraid of sharing her feelings. It was a throwback to a childhood when she had hero-worshipped her Father and wanted so much to be like him. She had deliberately developed his cool detachment, his strength of mind, his control over his emotions. It had led to her being labelled repressed and cold by almost every man in her life; except Mulder. She touched his knee and he looked up. The agony in his face robbed her of her breath for a moment. "I don't know why I did that, Scully, can we just put it behind us?" She shook her head and reached up and took his face between her hands. "You are the stupidest man alive." He gave her a sad smile. "Why thank you Agent Scully." "What have you been thinking about me these past few hours Mulder?" "I've been thinking that I don't really know you at all." "No you don't, but...." She chuckled and he looked at her with mild surprise. "Emily Watson kissed me Mulder, are you listening?" She didn't wait for an answer. "She kissed me. She jumped me like you just did a few minutes ago, I didn't have any choice in the matter. If you'd have shown up a couple of seconds later you would have heard me telling the Sheriff that although I'm very flattered, I'm not that way inclined." Mulder expelled a breath. "Oh." "Yes, oh. Did you really think.....?" "What was I supposed to think Scully?" She nodded. "I guess it must have looked a little strange." "Strange is an understatement." She took a deep breath. It was now or never, soon the moment would pass. She had to say something before they were discovered, before they walked out of this room and made a silent pact with themselves never to mention again what had passed. They were such cowards in some ways. They were so fearful of each other, of losing each other and of finding each other. Her voice was a little shaky when she spoke. "We're you jealous ?" Her hands had dropped to her side, and her gaze fell into her own lap. She caught his nervousness in his words. "I never thought I'd be jealous of another woman, but yes, I was." She was filled with hope, and a tentative hand moved back to his knee. He covered it with one of his and squeezed it softly. "So what now?" Mulder made a decision. He wanted her, he wanted everything she was prepared to give, but he realised that it was not his for the taking. "Nothing Scully, nothing at all. You were right to stop what happened before it went too far." Her head shot up and she stared at him, stunned by his words. "Mulder? You just said....." He cut her off and stood up. "I'm a bad bet." She watched as he crossed the room. She turned, still on her knees to see him walk away from her. Her voice was a choked whisper. "So am I?" He ignored her words, let out a little cough, and then became businesslike. "You know when we get sprung from here, we should check around those tunnels a little, we might find some evidence of....of, I don't know.... something." Scully's heart had shattered. It lay in minuscule fragments somewhere in the pit of her stomach. She felt nauseous, and tears threatened, but she knew she would not cry in front of him. She turned her face away for a second, composed it, and then got to her feet. Her control slipped back into place as she answered him. "I think they've wiped out all trace of everything that happened here. We won't find a thing." They heard shouts and turned towards the door. Mulder gave an answer to the calls of their names, and minutes later they were freed, and were heading back up the tunnels and into the fresh air of the forest. Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 29th, 1997 3.45 p.m. Scully had been offered food by the search party, but didn't feel like eating. Her stomach still churned from the events of the day. She sat on the ground amongst backpacks and supplies whilst she watched them prepare Forrest Mendhlesson's body for the trip back down to town. She wouldn't do the autopsy herself, there was little point. She knew why he had been killed, what with, and by whom, there was nothing new to be revealed. A short while ago, word had come via the radio that Molly Turner had shown up on her parents doorstep. Shaken and scared, but in perfect health. Mulder, who had barely looked at her since their rescue, had disappeared back into the labyrinth of tunnels that lay below the hilltop an hour ago. He'd curtly asked her if she'd wanted to join him, but she'd shaken her head. It was too painful to be near him at the moment. She jumped when a hand touched her shoulder, and looked up, not sure whether to be relived or disturbed by the sight of Emily Watson. "Didn't mean to scare you, looks like you're in deep thought." Scully nodded. She hoped her face wasn't flushing already. "Emily, about earlier..." Emily sat down and looked at Scully in earnest. "Yes." "I think you're very attractive...." Emily leaned forward and Scully became conscious of the men and women bustling around them. "Dana, I'm glad you think so...." "No hang on, I haven't finished....." "You're very beautiful." She looked into Emily's eyes and tried to hold back a gasp of shock at what she saw. She knew the look of somebody in love. She'd seen it on herself in the mirror when she thought about Mulder. "Emily, I'm sorry, but I....." Emily nodded. "You're in love with Fox?" She corrected Emily without thinking. "Mulder." She shrugged. "I...I don't know. That's a hard thing to admit to, what we have is difficult to put into words, but there is something between us." Emily starred off into the distance. "I understand. I just want you to know that I feel a lot for you Dana. I might have only known you for a couple of days, but I've come to realise that you're a wonderful person." "So are you." Scully leaned over and took Emily in her arms, hugging her briefly before pulling away. "Emily, I feel like I might have led you on a little. I didn't mean to, but I had no idea that you felt like that about me." Emily reached out and patted her knee. "You were just being friendly, I took it the wrong way. I knew that there was something up with you and Fox, but I tried to ignore it because I wanted....well, I think you can guess what I wanted." Scully knew she was blushing now as Emily grinned at her. She smiled back and her gaze dropped to her boots. "You're as straight as a board aren't you?" Scully chuckled. "I'm afraid so." Emily sighed and got to her feet. "You don't know what you're missing." **** Continued in part VIb Dana Scully's room Lone Pine Motel Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 29th, 1997 7.25 p.m. Scully stood under the shower and let the water hit her full in the face. It washed the tears away. She and Mulder had barely exchanged a word on the trip back down into town. He had come up from the tunnels with nothing to show for his search, except a face that showed his fury at the lack of evidence. Scully had recognised his mood and had purposely avoided much contact with him. When the tears subsided and she finally felt like she had truly washed away the grime of the last couple of days, she stepped out of the shower, and towelled herself down. Once the steam had cleared from the full-length mirror, she caught sight of herself naked and made a critical examination. It wasn't often that she looked at her own body. Her catholic upbringing tended to make it feel like she was committing a sin. She put a hand on her flat stomach. She had always been shy of exposing too much flesh. She'd avoided trips to the beach as a teenager, and even her first lover had never seen her completely naked, at least not with the lights on. Now she wondered why she had been so fearful and self- conscious. She'd seen hundreds of naked bodies in the course of her work, and in comparison, hers was pretty decent. Nothing had started to slip downwards yet. Her backside was well-rounded, but in a good way. Lately she had lost a lot of weight and she possessed not an ounce of excess fat anywhere. Her treatments had robbed her of her appetite. The bruises it gave her were fortunately confined to her back. She smiled when she saw that her knees had got a little sunburned. The smile faded, however, when she realised that, unless it was for medical reasons, nobody was ever going to see her naked again. No-one would ever look upon her normally hidden flesh with the eyes of a lover. There wouldn't be any more passionate gazes directed towards her breasts; no hands, unless they were her own, would slide between her legs to fulfil a desirous need. Mulder was the only lover she'd take now, but he had made the decision not to take her. When she passed on into another realm, the experience of lovemaking would be a distant memory; an almost forgotten feeling. Her mind chanted. 'You're not going to die. Mulder promised. You're not going to die'. Then her thoughts rebelled. 'But you might'. She gulped back a sob. She had finished crying and wouldn't allow any more tears. She marched out of the bathroom, vigorously towel-drying her hair on the way. She found her pyjamas, slipped them on, turned out the light, threw back the covers on the bed and climbed into it. She knew it was early, that she hadn't eaten, but her mind and body had taken just about all they could bare today. She needed sleep. Fox Mulder's room Lone Pine Tavern Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 29th, 1997 8.45 p.m. Mulder cursed at the knock on his door. He hated himself for silently wishing that it was not Scully. "Who is it?" "Emily Watson." He got up from the chair he had occupied for the past hour and answered the door. Emily gave him a enquiring look. "I'm sorry, we're you asleep?" "No." "Why are all the lights out then?" "Because I never turned them on." He flicked the switch by the door and the room was illuminated. He walked back towards the chair and flung himself into it. Emily entered and shut the door behind her. "I've just been over to the Turner's." Mulder nodded. "Molly okay?" "Yeah, she seems physically fine. Of course she may have a few mental scars. She kept asking where the nice lady with the fire-coloured hair was." Mulder smiled sadly at Emily. "Everybody adores Scully." Emily nodded and sighed, holding out a folder to him, which he took from her and opened. "Its the case files you asked me to get. All children reported missing, between the ages of six and ten, within the last thirty years. There's eighteen names. I'm surprised no-one ever noticed a pattern before, children being taken and returned like that." "Maybe they did and we're told to keep quiet." Emily raised an eyebrow in a way that reminded him of his partner. "Thanks for getting this so fast." "No problem. I sensed it was pretty important to you." "It is." He speed read a file while Emily sat down on the bed. "All the children were given medical exams when they were returned?" "Most of them, a couple of the parents refused, saying their children had already been through enough." Mulder nodded while he tried to make sense of the medical reports. He gave up and shut the file, holding it out to Emily. "Maybe you ought to give this to Scully, she's the expert. She's also pretty good at pulling out details from police reports." Emily didn't take the file. "I'd rather you gave it to her." He gave her a questioning look and she shrugged. "I'm still a little burned if you must know." "I'm sorry. I guess you had a talk with her?" "Yeah. She was great about it, but it....it still hurts." She paused, looking down her feet. Her voice was nearly a whisper. "I was so very nearly in love." Mulder thought he saw tears in the Sheriff's eyes, and he spared some space in his own heartache for her. Emily got up and walked towards the door. She looked back at Mulder once before she left and rolled her eyes. "All the good women are either taken or straight." Mulder tried to smile and then she was gone. He looked at the closed door, considering whether to go next door and give Scully the file. It was still early, she'd be awake. Before Emily's arrival he had been staring into the darkness, as he so often did, contemplating the day's events. Considering what he had forsaken. He'd denied himself Scully. Why? For at least a dozen different reasons, but mostly because she terrified him. Fire, aliens, mutants, hired assassins from shadow governments; they all scarred him, and it was good for a man to have a healthy sense of fear. It kept him alive. However, nothing had ever scared him as shitless as Scully had today; kneeling in front of him, caressing his cheek and asking him to take yet another wild jump into the unknown. It wasn't entirely unmarked territory. They'd taken a peek at it before, with every touch, every flirtatious comment. His mind tortured him with the image of Scully pushing him away; shock and revulsion on her face. Yet moments afterwards she had looked and spoken to him with such affection. What inspired it? Pity perhaps. Scully took on strays, it was her speciality. Dogs; and particularly men with emotional baggage and the capacity to hurt her. Jack Willis, Ed Jerse; he didn't wish to add his name to the list. He wouldn't let Scully make him hers just because she felt some sort of obligation to help him. He cursed under his breath. If only he hadn't kissed her. That act had left him with not only a dented pride, but a severely dented partnership as well. He got to his feet. He'd take the file to Scully. Try and carry on as they had always done. Repair the cracks by pretending they didn't exist. It had started to rain and he shivered under his sweater as he went from his room to the door of hers. He knocked quickly before he had the chance to change his mind. He got nothing but silence in return. He knocked louder, and heard some shuffling of sheets. "Scully its me, I have something I need to show you." "I'm asleep Mulder." "D'you always talk in your sleep?" "Go away. I'll talk to you in the morning." "You okay Scully? its only just gone nine." "I'm tired Mulder. I'm just very tired." He was about to return to his room when the door swung open and she stood in front of him, blinking and rubbing her eyes, her hair sticking out in all directions and her navy silk pyjamas rumpled. He felt himself harden a little. "What do you want Mulder?" He almost said 'you'. It nearly left his mouth before he bit it back. His gaze swept over her again. Nobody had the right to look so messy and sleep ridden, and so appealing at the same time. She looked up at him a little testily. "Mulder?" He shook himself out of his reverie. "I have some files I want to show you, but if you're beat we can go over them in the morning." She sighed. She almost shut the door on him. "Well you woke me up now." "Sorry." She went inside the room and sat down on a chair. "Come in Mulder. You're getting wet." He brushed some of the moisture off his hair and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. He sat on the edge of the bed and tried not to look at her as he spoke. "Eighteen children were taken and returned a few days later to their parents homes, all within the last thirty years. These are the police reports and results from the medical exams." He handed her a file, which she took while brushing a strand of hair back from her face. He hardened a little more. His body seemed to be so attuned to her. Every movement she made, no matter how innocent, provoked a reaction. She put the file on the table next to her, opened it and began to read. Mulder got to his feet and started to pace. It was so difficult to sit still, or stay silent. ""I think we should try and track down some of these kids. A few of them might be local, we could start in the morning." Scully was still reading, she didn't look up at him. "You want to interview them about something that may have happened to them almost thirty years ago? They were children at the time Mulder, they're not going to remember a great deal." "The last case was only twelve years ago, Scully." "Even so, I think they're are more pressing things for us to be getting on with." She shut the folder and leaned back in her chair. He stopped pacing. "Don't you want to find out what happened to Lisa Mendhlesson and all those other children?" "Even if we did Mulder what would be the point?" He gazed at her, his mouth hanging open. She continued undeterred. "None of these children we're harmed by whatever was done to them. All are happy, healthy and still alive aren't they?" "Yes but....." "We saved a child's life today, we probably prevented further death's. Lisa Mendhlesson died almost twenty- six-years ago. The case is closed." "Those other children were still victims Scully. They deserve to know what happened." "Maybe they do, but what are you going to find out? That Cancer man is responsible, that tests were performed on them? We already know that. We won't get any justice for them Mulder, only more questions." "If we don't even try Scully, we're giving up, we're letting him win." "I just feel that there are other cases which would be more worthwhile. Our time would be better spent elsewhere." He threw his hands in the air. "More worthwhile? Why don't you just say what you mean Scully? You want something more solvable. Wouldn't want to let that case resolution rate drop would we?" "It has nothing to do with that. I just don't want to spend time chasing something that isn't there." "But that's what we do. That's our job." "You won't find anything Mulder. They cleaned up after themselves." "You don't know that." "Its a waste of our time. I'm going back to D.C. in the morning. There are other cases waiting." "I decide what cases we pursue." She got up from her chair and glared at him. "Are you pulling rank on me?" Her voice was cold and hard, incredibly controlled. He glared back at her, hoping the thudding in his heart couldn't be heard in the silence that ensued. Eventually he found the courage to speak. "No." He moved towards the door. "You do what you want. I'm staying here and pursuing this case." "There is no case." He turned at the door. "What the hell is wrong with you? You used to be on my side." He opened it and strode out into the rain-soaked night. Fuelled by fury, Scully followed him. He had walked straight past his room and was heading across the car park. "Mulder." She knew she was yelling at him, but she was unable to control her rage. "Mulder, don't you dare accuse me like that and walk away. I've always been on your side." He stopped and turned in the middle of the deserted car park. "You could have fooled me Scully." He watched her approach. The rain came down heavily and she was wearing only pyjamas, her feet were bare. He wondered whether she was aware of the fact that she was standing out in the open, drenched to the bone, clad only in her sleepwear. As she came closer, he saw the pure anger in her eyes and realised that she was aware of nothing but her fury. "You bastard." He thought for a moment she was going to slap him again, but her hands went instead to her hips as she stood in front of him. "I've supported you when they wanted to label you crazy and shut you down. I defended your reputation at the expense of my own. I've lied for you, risked everything for you. I've sat by your bedside when you were dying and willed you back to life, you son of a bitch." "Scully...don't." "Don't what? Don't tell you the truth? That's what you're always wanting isn't it, the truth?" She brushed her rain soaked hair back from her eyes. For some reason his gaze drifted down to her breasts. Her pyjama top was drenched and he could see the outline of her hardened nipples. "Its too much." She must have become aware of the rain then, and of her undress because she looked down at herself and then back up at him, whilst wrapping her arms around her upper body. "What's too much?" He leaned over her. "You." Their eyes met. His were filled with an unmistakable passion, and she trembled. She was both hot and cold. "You're too much Scully. How am I supposed to not want you?" She didn't answer because his mouth covered hers. He pulled her against him somewhat roughly, but his kiss was surprisingly gentle. His lips moved over hers with a grace that made her hungry for more. Her hands gripped his waist, and she stood on the tips of her toes, pressing her mouth more firmly against his. He was filled with a sudden panic, a terror of being rejected, a fear that her full, lush, mouth would be pulled away from him, but then he felt her lips part and her small tongue push its way forward. He accepted it and returned the favour with vigour. Scully let out a little whimper and his erection grew painful at the sound. He ground it into her almost bare stomach, and her whimper became a moan. A hand that been buried in her sodden hair slipped down her back and gripped her behind, holding her steady against him. Their kisses became more desperate, wetter, hungrier. He wanted to lay her down where they stood and push into her, but there was still some doubt in his mind. He pulled away gently and looked down into her eyes, which shone brilliantly up at him. "Scully. You pushed me away before." "I was afraid I was being kissed for the wrong reasons." "Maybe you were then, but not now." "I know. Mulder, let's not talk ourselves out of this again. I want this. I need this." "Me?" He looked amazed and she smiled softly. "Yes you." "For the right reasons?" She nodded and reached up to place another light kiss on his mouth, still stunned that she was allowed to do so. "For all the right reasons." "I still think I'm a lousy bet." "I like a challenge." He grinned as a loud burst of thunder intruded on them, breaking the spell they seemed to be under. "Its raining Scully." She laughed. "I know." "We're gonna catch pneumonia. Come on." He grabbed her hand and ran back towards the motel, pulling her after him. They reached her door, which had banged shut in the storm. He looked down at her expectantly and she shrugged. "I didn't stop to pick the key up." He suddenly remembered that they had been fighting, and what they had been fighting about. The things he had said to her. Scully saw the look of regret that came over his face and squeezed the hand that still held hers. "We'll talk about it tomorrow." He nodded and dug in his jeans for his key. Relieved to find it, he held it up in the air for her to inspect before they moved to his door. Once inside his room, Scully suddenly felt nervous, a little shy. She knew why she was here, and it wasn't because she was locked out of her room. It was because she wanted to make love to him, and he to her. It all seemed so simple now. She stood just inside the door, watching the wet patch her dripping form was making on the carpet. Mulder dropped the key on the table, went to his suitcase and pulled out a crisp, white shirt. "You might want to dry off a little." He walked over and handed it to her. She took it with a small smile, aware that he was as apprehensive as she was, unsure whether to pounce on her and resume the passion that had overtaken them outside, or hold back and give her time and some dry clothing. She walked into the bathroom in search of a towel. She laid the shirt over the edge of the bath and began undoing the buttons on her rain drenched pyjama top. She shrugged it off and, uncharacteristically, dropped it and allowed it to lay where it fell. While she pulled on the dry shirt, she became aware that she was being watched and her heart beat furiously under her breast as she turned and saw Mulder leaning against the door. He had removed his shoes, socks, and sweater. Her gaze fell to the broad expanse of his chest. His hair fell forward and his eyes were dark and hungry. His handsome features were serious in contemplation while he looked at her. She swallowed, as her mind registered the fact that he wanted her. An enormous joy came over her and she began to ache with anticipation "Need any help Scully?" His voice seemed deeper than usual and the ache grew stronger. He picked up a towel and moved towards her. She turned her face up for a kiss and he obliged, kissing her lightly as he put the towel to her hair and rubbed it dry a little. She laid her hands against his chest, and when his mouth left hers she dropped her head and placed a light kiss near his adams apple. He pulled away slightly, aware of how bad his need was becoming, and wanting to take things slowly, he needed her to be sure. "Better clean those little feet." He nudged her gently back against the bath tub and she sat down on the edge. Her eyes followed him as he found a cloth and some soap, and then she took a deep breath and studied her feet, which were covered in mud from their dash through the rain. Mulder knelt down in front of her and proceeded to wash them carefully. First one foot and then the other, making sure he scrubbed between each toe. When he finished he towelled them dry and then took her right foot in his hand, raised it to his mouth, and kissed her big toe. She smiled at him. Pleased at her reaction, he kissed the inside of her ankle. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and made a slight hissing noise. He released her foot and ran a hand up her calf. The shirt she wore hung open and his gaze became focused on the hint of breast he could see between its folds. She noticed his look and took his free hand, placing it under the shirt and on her right breast, wanting his touch as well as his gaze. He made a deep throaty groan as he massaged the soft flesh and taut nipple. Scully claimed his mouth and their tongues met in a fury. He stood, taking her with him, so that neither his mouth or hand left her for a moment. She pushed down the sodden pyjamas bottoms she still wore. They pooled around her ankles and she kicked them away. She grasped his wet denim covered backside, wanting him to remove his jeans, but feeling far too languid, and aroused to the point of dizziness, to do anything about it. His lips trailed down her throat. His hand left her breast and moved downwards, across her stomach, brushing briefly past the hairs at her centre and down onto her thigh. He smiled when he realised she had removed the clothing he'd intended to take from her. Her thigh was still wet and he bent to pick up the towel that lay discarded on the floor. He kissed her again as he dried the tops of her legs, her backside and her stomach. "Don't want you catching a chill." "Oh, don't worry you're doing a great job of warming me up." He threw the towel aside and his fingers slipped between her thighs and up till he found her. She gasped into his shoulder and gave it a small bite. "Still a little wet Scully." She would have laughed, but all she could manage was a moan of pleasure as his fingers played with her. She was filled with the need to touch him as he was touching her, and her hands moved to the button on the front of his jeans. He pulled his hand away from her centre and caught hers with it. She looked up startled. "You know you can stop this anytime you want don't you?" "Why would I want to stop?" He kissed her forehead. "There's a million reasons why we shouldn't do this Scully." She nodded. "And there's a million reasons why we should." She shook his hands away from hers and undid the button and zip on his jeans. When she slipped a hand inside, to grasp him through his boxers, he sucked in a breath. She squeezed a little and watched his face screw up in pleasure. She withdrew her hand. "I don't do anything without considering the consequences Mulder. I've thought about it, and I want this." He kissed her again, hard, almost brutally. He took hold of her shirt, intending to push it off her shoulders, but she stopped him. "No. I want to leave it on." Their eyes met and he saw a flash of pain in hers. He understood instantly. "Scully, I've already seen your back, it doesn't bother me." "It bothers me." He nodded. "Okay." He put a hand under each of her arms and lifted her off the floor. She yelped a little and slid her arms around his neck, and her legs around his waist to stop from falling. He held her against his stomach as he walked out of the bathroom and over to the bed where he laid her down. He stood over her, admiring the sight she presented. The shirt had fallen open and he watched as her breasts moved with each breath she took. His gaze slid down to her legs, which were drawn up, but spread slightly. He became momentarily fascinated with the thatch of curls that lay between them. She spoke softly. "You know Mulder, sometimes I can read your mind?" He gave her a questioning look as he prised himself out of his damp jeans. "Right now, you're thinking. 'Wow Scully's a real red head after all." He grinned as he shed his boxer shorts and bent over her on the bed to kiss her. "You must be psychic." "No, you're just predictable." "Really?" His hand moved quickly, and two fingers were buried inside her in an instant. She gasped in surprise and her hips bucked a little. He lay down beside her, and while his hand worked between her legs, his mouth moved to her breasts. She pushed one hand through his hair, while the other searched for him. She brushed him with her fingertips before he pulled his hips backwards. "No Scully, not yet, I don't want to embarrass myself." She suddenly couldn't speak, she could only feel. When his thumb found the bundle of nerves above her opening, her hips began to thrust involuntarily. Mulder sucked a nipple into her mouth, and when he bit at it he felt her clench around his fingers and smiled to himself. He left her breast to move his mouth next to her ear and he whispered. "Close Scully?" She nodded. "That's good. Its what you want, its what we both want. Let it happen." Her last coherent thought was concerned with trying to decide whether she was coming so quickly because his movements were so skilled, or whether it was because she was aware that it was Mulder stroking her. He watched somewhat in awe as she crashed over the edge with a low moan and a shout of his name. He kissed her forehead and removed his hand. She sighed as she floated back into the present. He insinuated himself between her legs, and their eyes met as he prepared to enter her. He held back however. "Mulder?" It was perhaps of a whine of frustration. He kissed her again. "No protection." She reached down and took a hold of him. "Doesn't matter. I'm clean, I think you are. And I'm not going to get pregnant am I?" She wished she hadn't spoken when she saw the look of anguish that crossed his face. "Its okay Mulder. Please. I want you." Her words filled him with desire again and he pushed into her. It had been so long that she had forgotten what it felt like, so she jumped a little at the shock of the contact, and he slipped out of her. She giggled and Mulder couldn't help but smile at the sound. "You want to try that again?" She kissed him quickly. "Mmm. Yes please." He entered her in a long deep thrust that almost sent him over the edge immediately. She was warm and tight and he decided he might just stay there forever. She wrapped her legs around his waist and tilted her pelvis urging him to start moving. He obliged, gently at first, rocking back and forth, in and out. She matched his movements and let out a low groan. He revelled in being inside her, and in the feel of breasts crushed against his chest; the way her legs held him to her. It was all so glorious. It was Scully. His partner, in everything. "Oh Scully." He kissed her as he began to thrust a little faster. Then she put a hand on his behind. "Stop." Although he heard her he couldn't slow his body down. "What?" "I said stop Mulder. Stop." His eyes, which had been closed, flew open and met hers. His heart filled with panic and his body stilled. "What's wrong?" **** Continued in part VII **** The Lure of the Fox Part VII By Caroline O'Callaghan Disclaimers n' stuff in part V Fox Mulder's room Lone Pine Motel Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 29th, 1997 9.50 p.m. She lay with a hand draped over her closed eyes, her mouth set in a tight line. "Scully?" He didn't want to pull out of her, but considered doing so. His breathing was heavy, and each word was a struggle. His body wanted him to move again. Anger filled him for a moment. Why stop now? "Its a little late to change your mind Scully." The bitterness in his voice shook her to the core and snapped her out of the emotionally induced state she was in. She pulled her hand away from her face and found his hand with it. She thread their fingers together, and her eyelids fluttered open so that she could meet his gaze. He saw tears in her eyes and regretted his harshness. "Did I hurt you?" She shook her head and smiled at him, blinking the tears away. "No, you would never hurt me. I just...I'm sorry, it was all so...I've just wondered about this...imagined it and...you were almost there, but I want it to last so that I can remember it, every part of it, the way you feel." His erection had started to subside, but he grew hard again inside her at her words. He gave a little thrust. However, she shook her head making him still again. "Turn over." His eyes widened. "Flip us over Mulder." He blinked, then grinned and did as she asked, turning them both over so she straddled him. "Scully I imagined this too, and I always knew you'd take charge." "Shut up Mulder, you talk too much." She leaned over and kissed him as she rose herself up and down on him. He gasped. Words were forgotten then. The talking was done and passion took over. He felt wonderful inside her. His length and width stretched her and she could feel every ridge, every part of him as she created a rhythm. She was aware of Mulder watching her as she made love to him, and the appreciative look on his face caused a tightening in her thighs, and an increase in pace, which Mulder met by pushing up into her. His hands slipped inside her shirt, up to her breasts and he cradled them. But her hand caught one of his and moved it downwards. He knew what she wanted and obliged, seeking her out at the joining of their bodies and stroking the bundle of nerves so that she muttered his name in pleasure. With her hands braced on his shoulders, her movements became frantic. His strokes were skilful and she knew nothing but the wish for another release. His voice was a choked, playful whisper. "Greedy Scully." Their eyes met and he thought he saw fear in hers for a moment, but as she tightened deliciously around him, he realised it was just the onslaught of orgasm. Scully was losing her much valued control, and to a certain degree, that terrified her. As their bodies slapped together at a now dangerous pace, he moved the hand that had been at her breast around to her back, to caress her, to give her comfort, to let her know it was okay, and she came, with a small, slight scream. She collapsed against his chest, unable to continue moving. Mulder became desperate then and turned them over so that she was underneath him again. He began to thrust into her ferociously, caught in a frenzy of need triggered by the feel of her orgasm. Scully recovered enough of her senses to watch him. His brow was covered in sweat, and his face contorted as he became lost within his own body, while he pummelled into hers. She drew her legs up and spread them a little wider to give him better access, and he grunted in appreciation. He moved faster and harder. Looking at him, feeling him, and the friction he created, Scully knew she would have come then, if she had not before. He tensed, exploded and collapsed against her. Her body gave a final involuntary thrust when he softened and she felt his seed fill her. She welcomed his hot breath against her ear as she stroked his perspiration covered back. Moments later, recovered slightly, he raised his head to meet her eyes and opened his mouth to speak. She shook her head as she pushed his hair back from his face. "Don't say anything, please." "Scully..." She put a hand over his mouth before he could finish. "Some things can't be described with words Mulder." He nodded and rolled off, and out of her, and onto his back. She felt bereft for a moment, but was comforted when he put an arm around her and tugged her to his side. She laid with her head on his chest and a hand on his thigh, which she caressed lightly, playing with the fine hairs, still amazed that she was free to touch him, and pleased with the way his skin felt beneath her fingertips. Mulder kissed her slightly damp hair and lay back, staring at the ceiling, but not seeing it. His body was still trembling a little and he gloried in the feel of it She shivered, and he reached down for the sheets and blankets, which had been kicked and pushed away in all directions. He covered them up and she planted a small kiss on his chest by way of thank you. He knew she'd asked him not to speak, but he was bursting with the need to tell her how much this physical act had meant to him; how it had shaken him to his very core. How intense it had been, and how wonderful it was to touch her and be touched by her in return. The small hand stilled on his thigh and he sighed a little. "Scully?" "Ummm." He smiled into the darkness. "Scully, I'm the one whose supposed to fall asleep afterwards." "Ummm." Knowing she was tired, that she had been exhausted since their return from the forest, he decided to let her sleep on. There would be plenty of time to talk in the morning. Fox Mulder's room Lone Pine Motel Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 30th, 1997 8.46 a.m. He'd been watching her for an hour now. He sat, fully clothed on the other side of the room, beside a table that was scattered with papers. She slept soundly, with deep even breaths, and she had hardly moved since he'd slipped from her arms upon waking. She'd mumbled incoherently, let him go, and drifted back to sleep. He had to watch her, to keep her in sight, to remind himself that he hadn't dreamt it, or fantasised it. He and Scully had really had sex. He chastised himself. Shouldn't he be thinking of it as 'making love'? The term sounded trite. He had always had a problem with it. To him sex had always been sex, nothing more. He mocked those who thought of it as more then just the fulfilling of a physical need. Though, last night had certainly been more than that. It had been the expression of everything he felt for her. At one point he had been sure that he was pushing into her very soul, and that she had welcomed him so far in that he would never find a way out. He laughed inwardly at the thought. Far too poetical for him. He stood so that he could get a better view of her. She lay on her side with her sunset coloured hair resting against the white pillow. Her fine features looked impossibly delicate in repose. Her mouth fascinated him most though; slightly parted, it looked like it was in search of a kiss. His gaze drifted lower to her covered form. He couldn't see her body now but his mind had captured an image of it from the night before. If he shut his eyes, he could see her astride him, moving ably up and down, her head thrown back to reveal the graceful flow of her neck, her small, round breasts taunting him by peeking out every now and then from the folds of the shirt, the auburn curls that had mingled with his darker ones, the strong thighs. He frowned a little. He also remembered how tiny her waist was, how he could see the outline of her ribs through her luminescent skin. She was too thin. He supposed that business suits and loose shirts had hidden it from him before, or perhaps he just had been too absorbed in his work to notice, but Scully had lost an incredible amount of weight during the last few months. He picked up his key and walked quietly from the room, shutting the door behind him carefully so as not to wake her. Fox Mulder's room Lone Pine Motel Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 30th, 1997 9.15 a.m. Scully stirred when she heard an engine revving outside the window. She shook herself out of her dream state and slowly opened her eyes. She stretched an arm above her head and saw the sleeve of the shirt she wore. The yawn she was embarking on was cut off. She sat up sharply as remembrances of the night before began to infiltrate her mind. She looked at the space beside her on the bed, and then around the room. "Mulder?" She felt nauseous when she received no reply. She ran a hand through her hair and climbed out of bed. She somewhat staggered to the bathroom on wobbly legs, that were clearly so shocked by the physical exertions of the night before, that they had forgotten how to operate properly. In the bathroom she resisted the urge to throw up and looked at herself in the mirror. The first thing she noticed was her hair. Describing it as 'wild' would be the understatement of all time. She tried to flatten it a little, but it seemed to have gained a life of its own. Her eyes widened, however, when she examined her face. There was a definite sated look in her eyes that she hadn't seen for years, and her skin was positively glowing. She closed the toilet seat, sat down on it, gave her hair another pat down, and tried to gather her thoughts. Mulder was gone. She had no thoughts other than that one. She took a deep breath. Okay, so he didn't want to wake up with her, so that meant..what? What did that mean? That he was embarrassed, that he regretted what had happened? You weren't supposed to sleep with your partner, and this was probably the reason why. She spotted her pyjama bottoms on the bathroom floor where they had been discarded and picked them up. She grimaced as she pulled them on. Her body ached all over, and she could almost still feel him inside her. She shuddered and fastened some of the buttons on his shirt. Running through her mind was a comment that she had heard Mulder make just three days before. 'Scully...well, she's not my type.' But he had wanted her hadn't he? Or had he just wanted someone? She was grateful that she hadn't made any gushy remarks afterwards, and that she hadn't allowed him to give her false platitudes either. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. It had been so long since she'd had one of those bad 'morning after' scenes that she couldn't remember the etiquette. Wasn't it usually a half-hearted phone number swap? An 'I'll call you' that you both knew was a downright lie? Well, she already had Mulder's number, on speed dial, and they called each other constantly. Was there an etiquette for a 'I just slept with my best friend and wish I hadn't' moment? She stood in front of the mirror again and tried to straighten herself up, aiming to put some control and dignity into her face. It had been good though, hadn't it? Had she imagined how intense and deep it had been, how wonderful it had felt? She remembered thinking, before they had drifted off to sleep, that they had finally connected. That they had finally found a little of what they had been searching for, and that they had found it in each other. She spoke aloud to her reflection. "Maybe you were just delirious, Scully. That doozy of an orgasm he gave you must have warped your mind." She grimaced. "Of course it did, you're talking to yourself." She heard the door open in the other room and her heart began to hammer in her chest. "Scully?" His voice made her tremble, but she walked out of the bathroom with what she hoped was a degree of composure. She looked at him standing just inside the door in his jeans and sweater and swallowed. She nodded. "Hi." He nodded. "Hi." They were standing either side of the bed. Scully looked down at it and the phrase 'scene of the crime' flashed through her mind. He cleared his throat. "I brought you some coffee and..." he waved the bag jauntily in the air. "....a bagel." She cleared her throat. "Oh, thanks." He walked over to the table and put his purchases down. He looked a little uncomfortable, but not as much as she felt. She wondered if she was blushing. He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a key. "I got this too. Its the spare for your room." Her stomach lurched, this wasn't going well. He wanted her out, now. Breakfast, and then no excuses to go back to your room Scully. It took an effort to walk over to stand next to him while she snatched up the coffee. She refused to look at him, although she thought she could feel his gaze on her. She blew on the hot, black liquid. "What time is it? I don't have my watch." "Just gone nine-thirty." She looked up in surprise at him. "I have a flight at eleven." Mulder shifted from one foot to another. Scully had greeted him with that polite smile and tone she used for those in authority, and mass murderers that she wanted to lull into a false sense of security before she tore them apart with vicious questioning. Now he wasn't quite sure what to say, or do. Should he follow her lead and act like nothing had happened? "So you're going back to D.C....right?" She nodded but kept her eyes focused on the floor. "I have a doctors appointment at four-fifteen." "So you go back for that and I'll stay and finish the police reports." "Mmm." It was all she could manage momentarily, then she managed to regain her voice and put on a neutral tone. "You wanted to look for the other children too?" "Maybe." Mulder could feel the tension in the room, it was oppressive and he felt perspiration on the back of his neck. He took a deep breath. He wished for something witty to say. Comedy was his usual way of covering awkward moments, but his brain had frozen solid. "If you want to get copies of those old files, I'll take a look at them on the flight and write a report. I could fax it to you when I get back to the Bureau." "Thanks, yeah." "Well, I better hit the shower." She took the key from the table, and began to walk away. Mulder watched her go. His shirt was huge on her, almost down to her knees and the cuffs were rolled back at least three times. The sight was adorable. He wanted to reach out, and yet her face screamed 'don't come near me'. She had an invisible ten foot wall around her. She opened the door and he just had to say something before she left. "Scully..." She turned. "Wait..." She gripped the door handle. "What?" "I...I...the reports are in your room." The breath that she'd been holding expelled. "You'd better come and get them then." She went quickly from his room to the door of hers, which she opened quickly and stepped inside, leaving the door open for him to follow. He appeared moments later, looked at her, with a frown creasing his brow and scooped up the reports from the table. "Anything else you need Mulder?" He glanced quickly at her, an unreadable expression crossing his face, and then he shook his head. "No." She wanted him away from her so she could think, so she could compose herself, consider how they'd repair this particular damage to their relationship. "I'd better start getting ready then." She moved to stand by the bathroom door. He didn't move and she saw him struggling with his thoughts, she didn't know whether to be pleased or fearful. "Scully...is that it? Do we just go back to the way things were?" "You tell me Mulder." She knew it was cowardly to throw the question back at him, but she couldn't help herself. Fear of rejection, and also fear of acceptance were strong. "I thought...I thought it was more than just..." He waived his hands in the air. "A one night stand?" He nodded. "So did I." He breathed out heavily. "Okay, so...." "So maybe we should talk some more, when we have more time?" He grinned suddenly at her and walked towards the door, tripping a little over her suitcase on the way. She tried to suppress a smile at his clumsiness and the goofy grin he was wearing. "Call me then?" She nodded, a strange excitement filling her. "Yep. Oh Mulder, the files?" "I'll leave the copies at reception." He almost flew out of the door and slammed it behind him with a burst of energy. Sheriff's Station Breakspeare Forest Virginia June 30th, 1997 11.10 a.m. Mulder scribbled his signature on what seemed like the thousandth form and threw down the pen to take a break from the endless reports that were required to close a case like the one they'd just solved. He looked at his watch. She'd be in the air by now. Her hands just relaxing on the armrests, where they would have been gripped during take-off. She wasn't the world's greatest flier, but that hadn't stopped her from choosing a profession that required she get on and off planes with the frequency that other people usually got in and out of their cars. Scully would never let her fears get in her way. Like he did at times. He had a lot of fears at that moment. Well actually he had a lot of individual apprehensions that could be realised in one large fear. Scully. "Hey, don't dawdle, you have to spend too long using my desk and I'm gonna start charging you rent." He spun around in his chair to see Emily Watson enter. Dressed back in her Sheriff's uniform and swinging a set of keys around her finger. She grinned at him and he was pleased to note she was in better spirits than she had been the night before. "Your deputy let me in, I needed to use the copier and do some paperwork. I'm surprised to see you back at work already Sheriff? Thought you'd take a couple of days off." She shrugged. "Well I was going to and then this report came in that I just had to investigate." He looked at her curiously. "Apparently, there was a man and a woman, hardly dressed, committing almost indecent acts, in the middle of the motel car park last night." Mulder bit back a smile. "That's a crime?" "Only if the town Sheriff is incredibly jealous." "You're kidding right? Nobody reported us did they?" Emily laughed. "No. I saw you on my way home. So, erm, you two..." Emily made a little gesture with her hand as she leaned against the desk. "None of your business Sheriff." "Come on Fox. Spill the beans. I don't want details, I just want to know." He ignored her and shuffled some papers. She nodded. "Okay, I'll take that as a yes. "So where is Dana?" "She had to go back to Washington, she had an appointment." Emily moved over to the coffee pot and switched it on. "Emily." She turned. "You ever want something so bad, but know that you probably shouldn't take it; that it would be wrong to take it?" "I can't say I have. I usually go for things I want. I'm what's politely termed 'headstrong'. I don't tend to stop and think about the consequences. I'm a full-steam-ahead kind of person. Which is why I embarrassed myself up in the forest." He put his hand behind his head and mused. "Consequences." She pulled a spare chair over to the other side of the desk and sat down on it facing him. "What's on your mind?" "Just the reasons why I haven't been involved with anybody for years; why I shouldn't be involved with anybody." "What reasons?" He shook his head. "My work doesn't really lend itself to relationships." "But Dana, she's in the same line of work, she understands, surely?" "Emily, I'm the kind of person who destroys everything he touches. Scully has already suffered so much because of me, and I have things I have to do...I have to. All my life there's only been one thing that's been important to me, and I can't lose sight of that. I've never wanted any...distractions." Emily reached over and put a hand on top of one of his. "I'm sure that Dana is more than just a distraction. I'm not really sure what you're talking about...maybe you should be saying all this to her." He let out a sad chuckle. "Yeah, if I could. You know we're like strangers sometimes. This morning..." He trailed off without finishing. Emily sighed. " I guess it must be weird sleeping with someone you've known for so long as just a friend." "You have no idea." "What does she want?" He shrugged. Emily offered him a sympathetic smile and got up to pour a cup of coffee. 25,000 feet 30 Minutes outside D.C. June 30th, 1997 12.15 p.m. Scully finished reviewing the case files and hit the save key on her lap top. She switched the computer off and leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes. She smiled to herself when she remembered collecting the reports from the motel reception earlier. The owner had handed her the paperwork, and something else that "Mr Mulder asked me to give you". She'd taken the paper bag, confused at first, till she realised it was the bagel that he'd bought for her that morning; that she'd never eaten. Her doctor's appointment wasn't for another four hours, but when she'd made her flight reservations the day before she had wanted to get on the earliest possible flight away from Mulder. Now, she was grateful that she'd separated them, but for different reasons. She needed to achieve some clarity, and she could only do that away from his intense gaze and perturbing voice. Their conversation that morning, the limited words they'd shared had perhaps been more of a turning point in their relationship than sleeping together had been. What had they actually agreed? That they both wanted last night to be more than a one- time event, that they should talk about where they would go from here. It wasn't much, but it was hopeful. It was amazing how possible impending death gave everything an urgency; how it also filled her with a sense of fearlessness and gave her a different perspective. She had no doubt that if all this had happened before her diagnosis, she would have been in an agony of indecision and afraid of what getting involved with Mulder would mean. She would have worried endlessly that it would destroy their partnership, that the Bureau would try to separate them, that she and Mulder were so complete opposites that they'd kill each other within a week. She found herself smiling again. Some of those scenarios still bothered her, but they were merely niggling afterthoughts. The only thing that remained important was that she wanted Mulder. Not just sexually, but in other ways too. She wanted someone to hold her, she wanted someone to wake up next to, to watch television with, to argue with, and even to laugh with. She had always been so independent, but what she was just beginning to realise was that, with independence, came a certain degree of loneliness. She was lonely. There was no denying it. She wanted someone to spend the rest of her life with, now that her life could be measured in quantifiable terms, and that person was Mulder. It had always been Mulder. She wasn't going to throw hypothetical problems in the way of their being together. She considered that Mulder might; that he could still have his doubts and decide against pursuing what they had started. She would see him in a few days, then they would decide. Then she would know. Waiting Room Oncology Department Holy Cross Memorial Hospital Washington D.C. June 30th, 1997 4.25 p.m. Dana Scully yawned and shifted in her chair. Her stomach was turning a little and she put a hand over it to quell the butterflies. She was accustomed to hospitals and this was now her eighth does of treatment, but she was always filled with apprehension at the thought of more injections of drugs that made her nauseous and bruised her back, and the radiation therapy that made her so exhausted. She had offered herself as a 'test subject' for an experimental method of treatment, but she wasn't used to being a patient yet. She was a victim. A victim of cancer, and that role didn't sit easily with her. On her first visit she had wanted to run screaming from the room. She had looked around her at the other patients and wanted to separate herself from them, to convince herself that she wasn't like them. That Dana Scully was strong and couldn't fall prey to disease. Across from her sat a youngish couple who whispered reassurances to one another. Their hands were linked, and Scully felt an overwhelming sense of jealousy. She bit her lip and looked away, but found she couldn't tear her gaze away for long. When she looked back again, the man's eyes met hers and he smiled. She thought she saw pity in his look and it was something she couldn't abide, but she smiled back anyway. "Is this seat taken?" She jumped a little at the voice and looked slowly up. "Mulder." He smiled and shrugged. "Sorry to intrude but I heard this was a good place to pick up women." "I think you might be confused with the bar across the street." He filled the empty chair next to her. "No I already checked there. They uh...they didn't have any red-haired, blue-eyed, FBI agents." She laced together her hands which were shaking a little in her lap as she looked at him. "What are you doing here? I thought..." He interrupted and leaned in close to her. "I was doing some thinking, and I...I thought you'd be in with the doctor by now." "They're running behind. I sent a report for you to the Breakspeare Sheriff's Station. I looked at the files. There's evidence that tissue samples were taken from the children, seems like they were gathering genetic material. Blood and urine samples were probably taken too, and I think they may have been injected with experimental drugs and substances to see how they would react. I think maybe Lisa Mendhlesson had a fatal allergic reaction to whatever she was given. However, it was obviously something that didn't show up in her autopsy." "So you think there's something worth investigating after all?" "Perhaps. What I think you should do Mulder, is to get in touch with the police department up in the Vinyard. Find out if there were any reports of missing children around that time, and around the time of your sisters abduction." He rubbed his forehead. "I've already checked those avenues Scully." "No you looked for cases in which the children disappeared altogether. I'm talking about cases where the children disappeared for a short while, only to be returned." He smiled slowly at her. "Okay I'll...we'll do that." "So you didn't say, why are you here?" He reached out his index finger and skimmed it lightly across the expensive material that covered her knee. It was a quick, not- quite-there, gesture that made her shiver. "I've been doing some thinking Scully. I know we said we'd talk later, about what happened, but I...I didn't want us to leave it so long that we'd talk ourselves out of anything." She moistened her upper lip. "You think this would work?" "As long as you know what you're getting yourself into." "A relationship with a paranoid, workaholic, obsessive, slob." He pretended to look hurt. "I resent the slob part." She looked down at her feet, tried to control her breathing a little and looked back up at him. "Mulder, I know you, every bit of you, and I accept it all." "The truth, finding Samantha, its always come first for me." She nodded. "Its been my priority." "I wouldn't want to change that." He shook his head. "But you have. I'm not sure what I'm trying to tell you here." "That you want this, that I'm important, but that there are always things that may get in the way." He looked a little amazed. "Yes, and that I can't guarantee that somewhere along the way I won't hurt you, or that you won't be hurt because of me and what I do." "Mulder, its always been that way." "Yes I suppose it has." She blinked and looked around the room before meeting his gaze again. "It is me you want isn't it Mulder? You're not just here because its convenient, or because you feel that you owe me something, because you feel some sense of guilt?" "No Scully. Its you." "Well then...thank you for coming." He grinned and leaned in even closer. "No Scully, thank you for coming." She was confused for a moment and then his meaning dawned, and she slapped his shoulder lightly. Mulder watched as an embarrassed smile developed on her face. A nurse came and stood over them. "Miss Scully." Scully didn't react to the voice, she kept looking at Mulder, happiness shining from her eyes. Mulder touched her face. "Scully." "What?" She noticed the nurse's presence and flustered a little. The nurse smiled kindly. "They're ready for you now." "Oh right, okay." She got up from her chair and looked down at him. "It takes an hour-and-a- half Mulder..." He cut her off. "I got plenty to read." He held up an issue of the Lone Gunmen. "I'll be right here." She smiled at him again and he felt the energy from it flow right through his body, all the way down to his toes. Scully gave him one last look and turned to follow the nurse. Her fears had dispelled somewhat, she had a sudden feeling that everything was going to be okay. When she settled onto the examination table, her doctor asked her how she was feeling. "I'm fine" was her reply. The End ****** Okay, well that's all folks - hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and thanks to all those who sent me encouraging e-mail along the way. Comments, flames, chocolate, bottles of dry white wine to: caroline.o@virgin.net