Murder In The Capital Part One
By Katie Phillips  
July 2004

Disclaimer Info:  I know, I know they belong to someone 
else.
Rating:  R (to be on the safe side)
Keywords:  Casefile; MSR
Feedback: xfstories@yahoo.com.  Can't wait to hear what 
you thought.
Archive:  Sure, why not?  Just let me know where.
Spoilers:  Set after Fight The Future.  No specific 
spoilers but assumes a basic knowledge of the series and 
its characters.
Summary:  Scully and Mulder have gone their separate ways 
but are brought back together to help solve a case that 
threatens the lives of a Congressman and personal friends 
of the President.

Author's notes:  Many, many thanks to sallie for her 
guidance,coming up with a title and her great beta work. Sallie has 
also volunteered to write the sequel to this story, so keep 
your eyes open for it.

++++

Walter Skinner took a deep breath and closed the folder in 
front of him.  He slowly removed his glasses and rubbed 
his temples, thinking to himself how much he hated this 
particular type of case. Two prominent businessmen had 
been killed within the past month.  That fact alone was 
enough to stir up a small amount of interest.  The fact 
that they were both close associates of the President had 
not gone unnoticed, nor had the fact that both had 
allegedly been killed by their administrative assistants.  
Unfortunately for the FBI, both of the prime suspects had 
died under mysterious circumstances exactly three days 
after the death of their former employers.

If that hadn't been bad enough, just the night before a 
top Congressional aid had been killed, his assistant taken 
into custody.   The murdered aid had been instrumental in 
the President's reelection campaign. Capital Hill was in 
an uproar.  They wanted answers and they expected them 
from AD Skinner.  Now.  

Skinner looked at his watch and groaned to himself.  He 
was not looking forward to the meeting that would be 
taking place in his office in less than twenty minutes.  
He picked up his phone.  "Could you ask Agent Mulder to 
come up to my office now, please?"  Skinner put down the 
phone and leaned back in his chair rubbing his temples 
again.

Several minutes later, a sharp rap on the door drew 
Skinner from his reverie.  Calling "Come in" a bit louder 
than was probably necessary, Skinner frowned as he waited 
for Mulder to enter and take his usual  seat in front of 
the AD's desk.

"Thanks for getting up here so quickly,  Agent Mulder."  
Skinner slid the file folder towards the agent.  "I assume 
you have heard of this case?"

Mulder grabbed the file and quickly glanced through it.  
"Only what I read about it in the papers.  Three men shot 
to death at pretty much point blank range, by people they 
not only knew, but trusted.  The first two suspects died 
before they could provide authorities with much 
information."

Skinner nodded.  "Due to the unusual circumstances of this 
case, I am making you SAC."

"Thank you, Sir."  Skinner nodded at him, wondering if 
Mulder would still be thanking him when he finished what 
he had to say.  "I'm also calling in a forensic 
specialist."

Mulder's head snapped up at this, and his eyes narrowed.  
"Scully?"

"She's the best the Bureau has Mulder.  You and I both 
know that."

Mulder didn't say a word, and Skinner leaned back in his 
chair giving him a moment or two to let the idea sink in. 
Hell, he needed time for it to sink in himself.  He never 
thought he would see Dana Scully in Washington again. 
Three years ago, when he signed Agent Scully's transfer 
papers, he promised he'd not call her back to DC unless 
absolutely necessary.  

Scully and her then-partner Fox Mulder, had been together 
nearly six years at that point.  They approached their 
work from totally different viewpoints, but their results 
were impressive.  Their solve rate was way above the 
Bureau's norm, and even though they had a bad habit of 
turning in their reports late and running over budget, 
Skinner had given them a relatively free reign.

However, someone or something had come between them.  They 
had been caught "running off" to investigate a conspiracy 
in Texas without proper authorization, and as a 
disciplinary action, Scully had been reassigned to Salt 
Lake City.  Skinner had offered to fight her transfer, but 
Scully had refused. She hadn't said much except that she 
thought that Mulder no longer trusted her, and without 
that trust she couldn't stay.  She had made a clean break, 
and as far as Skinner knew, she and her long-time partner 
hadn't spoken since the day Scully told Mulder about the 
transfer.

"When?" Mulder looked nervous.

"She landed at Dulles about an hour ago.  I expect her any 
minute now."

++++

Dana Scully forced a smile as the elevator doors opened 
and a former colleague joined her.  "Welcome back, Agent 
Scully."   

"Thanks."  Scully hoped her voice didn't reveal the case 
of nerves she was working so hard to hide.

"This case has everyone stumped.  I heard Skinner is even 
bringing your old partner on board to try to break it."  
The agent turned his attention to the control panel and 
pushed the button for Skinner's floor, not noticing as 
Scully forced another smile.  Skinner hadn't mentioned 
that Mulder would be on the task force, but she wasn't 
surprised.  Mulder had always been the Bureau's best 
profiler.

By the time they reached the desired floor, they had been 
joined by several other agents, making conversation more 
difficult, a situation for which Scully was profoundly 
grateful.  Many of the agents from the elevator headed 
towards Skinner's office, and Scully found herself 
drifting toward  the rear of the group, hoping to blend in 
as much as possible, so as to delay the instant of her 
recognition by Mulder.

Kimberly greeted them all outside Skinner's office, and 
briskly ushered them in.  Once inside, Skinner made quick 
work of the introductions, noticing at once the unspoken 
communication between Mulder and Scully, as they both went 
out of their way to greet each other casually.  He felt 
for them.  This was their first meeting in close to three 
years, and every eye in the room was on them, waiting to 
see their reaction.  Skinner had hoped to give the former 
partners the opportunity to greet each other in private, 
but there hadn't been enough time.  

Skinner took his place at the end of the conference table, 
indicating that it was time to call the meeting to order.  
"Thank you all for coming here on such short notice.  
Special thanks to you, Agent Scully.  I know you dropped 
everything to fly cross-country to be here this morning."  
Skinner then nodded to Kimberly who passed out folders to 
everyone.
 
"Here's a summary of what we have so far.  Three murders 
in the past four and a half weeks.  All victims assumed to 
have been killed by their assistants.  Two of the suspects 
have since met untimely deaths.  The third is in custody 
under heavy guard." Skinner paused so the assembled agents 
could go through their folders.  "Any thoughts?"

Edgars, the agent who had ridden up on the elevator with 
Scully, spoke first.  "Were these men murdered because of 
their ties to the President?"

"I don't think so."  Mulder didn't look up when he 
responded.  "Too obvious.  There are literally thousands 
of people in Washington with connections to the President.  
There has to be something more to it than that."

"How do we know that these murders aren't just 
coincidental?"  Agent Peters, a person who had never liked 
Mulder, asked from the far end of the table.  "Maybe their 
employees just didn't like them."  His dismissive tone of 
voice confirmed his low opinion of Mulder.

Mulder ignored the jab while responding.  "That's one 
possibility, except for one thing. Penelope Jacobs, the 
assistant of the aide killed last night, is not only in 
her late 60's, but she's the aide's godmother.  She was 
his father's assistant for forty-something years."  Peters 
gave Mulder a blank look, as if he was not convinced.

Skinner spoke up, deflecting any potential tension between 
Peters and his SAC for this case.  "Whatever the exact 
motive behind this case, it has become the number one 
priority of the Director.  Peters and Edgars, I want you 
to go down to Capital Hill and talk to anyone and everyone 
who was near Mr. Leslie's office last night when he was 
shot.  Agent Rogers, please escort Agent Scully to the 
ME's office, and assist her in getting the autopsy records 
for the first two victims and the suspects.  Agent Scully, 
Mr. Leslie's family has agreed to let you do the autopsy.  
His body is waiting for you at Quantico.  Agent Rogers can 
drop you there when you're done with the ME.  Agent 
Mulder, I'm sending everything we've got on these cases 
down to your office for your review."

"Has anyone from the Bureau interviewed Ms. Jacobs, Sir?"  
Scully asked.  

"Not yet.  She's been sedated since being taken into 
custody.  She's under guard at George Washington Memorial.  
You and Agent Mulder should be able to interview her later 
tonight, or first thing in the morning."  

Skinner collected his papers. "Agent Mulder is the SAC on 
this case, so all information goes through him.  We'll 
meet back here tomorrow at nine sharp."  The agents 
gathered their notes and began filing from the room.  
Skinner couldn't help but notice the long look exchanged 
between Mulder and Scully, before Rogers escorted her from 
the room.  Mulder got up to leave, but Skinner stopped 
him.  "A word before you leave, Agent?"

Mulder nodded, and waited until the last agent left and 
the door closed, before turning towards the AD, eyebrows 
raised.  "Can I ask you a personal question, Mulder?"

"Sure."

"How were things left between you and Agent Scully?"

"Sir?"

"When she moved out to Salt Lake City, did you two part on 
good terms?"

Mulder took a minute before answering.  "I don't really 
know how to answer that question, Sir.  There were a lot 
of issues left unaddressed, both with the X-files, and 
between us."

Skinner nodded slowly.  "You know Mulder, you two are no 
longer officially working together."

"I know that, Sir."  Mulder clearly had no idea where 
Skinner was going with this line of questioning.

"This might be a good opportunity for you to answer some 
of those questions."  

++++

A tall, non-descript man in his late twenties, handed a 
piece of lined paper to the clerk behind the counter, 
along with a small stack of twenty dollar bills.

"Let's see, you'd like a half page ad?"  The clerk looked 
over the form briefly before counting the money.

"Yes.  When will that run?"

The clerk glanced at the clock.  "It looks like you'll 
just make the cutoff for tomorrow's paper."

"Excellent."

Murder In The Capital Part Two
By Katie Phillips


Scully hesitated a moment before pushing the button that 
would bring her down to the basement.  She was rather 
nervous about meeting Mulder face to face after so long, 
but she wanted to talk to him in private before having to 
deal with him in front of a room full of people.  She 
gripped her briefcase handle tightly.  It was overflowing 
with medical and autopsy reports she had gathered 
throughout the long day--her entertainment for the 
evening. Scully squared her shoulders, and pushed the 
button.

She tapped gently on the partially open door before 
pushing it open.  The office was empty, and Scully heaved 
a sigh of relief.  At least now she would have a chance to 
look around a bit before having to confront Mulder.

Although Mulder was officially assigned to VCS now, he was 
still allowed to keep his office in the basement.  The 
file cabinets containing all the X-files appeared to still 
be there, but the paraphernalia that had littered the 
walls was gone.  All that remained was the poster 
declaring that Mulder wanted to believe.

Scully walked over to his desk and looked down.  There 
were two framed snapshots sitting on the corner.  One was 
of his sister Samantha, and one was of Mulder and herself 
taken shortly before she had left town.  Scully picked up 
the picture and was staring at it, running a finger 
tenderly along it, when the sound of someone clearing 
their throat startled her.

She looked up to find Mulder leaning against the doorframe 
watching her.

"Hey."  He spoke quietly, as if not to scare her away.

"I was just..."  Scully looked embarrassed and put down 
the picture before walking back around to the front of the 
desk. 

Mulder walked past her and sat down behind his desk, 
leaning back.  Scully could tell he was nervous, although 
he was trying very hard to act nonchalant.  "Weird to be 
back?"  He jerked his chin towards the chair.

Scully smiled weakly and sat.  "Yeah."  She glanced around 
the office.  "What did you do with all our... I mean your 
stuff?"

"I put *our* stuff in storage.  I figured there would come 
a time when you and I would want to go through it together 
and figure out what was worth keeping."  He waved a hand 
vaguely at the room around him.  "I took most of the stuff 
down right after you left."

Scully nodded.  "Guess we have a lot to...."

"Come on Langley, the pizza is going to get cold if you 
take any longer."  Scully's eyebrows rose and she looked 
across the desk at Mulder.  He shrugged, and before he 
could offer an explanation, the office door banged open 
and Frohike barged in, carrying two six packs of beer. He 
was followed closely by Langley, who was holding two pizza 
boxes, and Byers carrying two grocery bags.

"Mulder, you said we might be in for a long night, so we 
brought enough food to feed an army.  I hope pepperoni..."  
Frohike stopped mid-sentence as his jaw hit the floor.  
"Are my eyes deceiving me?"  He plunked the six packs down 
on Mulder's desk and scooped Scully, who had gotten up at 
the sight of the Gunmen, into his arms and hugged her 
ferociously.  Mulder couldn't help but smile at the yelp 
Scully let out.  Frohike spun her around and placed her 
down before beaming at Mulder.  "Don't tell me you finally 
came to your senses and sent for her?"

Mulder glared and him and ignored Scully's look of 
confusion.  "Sorry Scully, I forgot to mention that I 
asked the Gunmen to consult on this case."  

Byers and Langley quickly greeted Scully, but with 
slightly less enthusiasm than Frohike.  A short time 
later, over pizza and beer, the Gunmen explained their 
theory.  

Byers began.  "We looked at all three victims Mulder, and 
at first nothing more than their obvious connections to 
the President came up."  

"But then we delved a little deeper," Langley said between 
bites of pizza, "and discovered that the first two victims 
were connected."

"How so?"  Scully asked.

"Kingsley, the first victim, used to do research and 
development for Corren, the second victim, before going 
into business for himself.   Kingsley was one of the first 
people to recognize the medicinal uses of a certain type 
of gum tree that grows in the rainforest in Brazil."

Byers continued.  "Kingsley shared this information with 
Corren, who began a program to harvest these trees for 
research purposes at first, and then later for production 
purposes.  The drugs they discovered made them both very 
wealthy men."

Mulder nodded.  "Okay, so they're connected.  What about 
the two of them and Leslie?"

Frohike opened up a beer and passed it to Mulder.  "Leslie 
did a internship at Corren's Manhattan office fifteen 
years ago.  It's rumored on the Hill that Corren liked to 
use Leslie's influence when getting drug legislation 
passed."

Scully sipped her diet soda and looked at the Gunmen, who 
were smiling proudly.  "So basically you're telling us 
that the three victims are connected professionally.  I 
don't mean to sound cynical gentlemen, but you could 
probably say that about half the people in Washington.  It 
also doesn't give us any clues as to why their assistants 
would want to kill them."

Frohike gave Scully frown.  "Who invited you to this 
party?"

Scully smirked at him.  "AD Skinner."

Mulder snorted.  "Scully's right.  We've got pieces of the 
puzzle but they aren't fitting together.  Yet.  We'll have 
to keep working on it.  Maybe Ms. Jacobs will be able to 
shed some light on it for us."

"Ms. Jacobs?"  Byers asked, packing up his laptop.

"Leslie's assistant.  Scully and I are meeting with her 
around 7 tomorrow morning."  He turned to Scully.  "Her 
doctor informed me that she should be lucid by then."  

Frohike threw his beer can in the general direction of the 
garbage can, missing horribly.  "Let us know what she 
says.  In the meantime, we'll dig up what we can on these 
three.  Sushi tomorrow?  Unless you two have other plans?"  
He gave Mulder a knowing look.

"We'll call you."  Mulder ushered the Gunmen through the 
door and shut it behind them.  "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it.  Seemed like old times."  Scully 
stood up and brushed the crumbs off her skirt, before 
walking over and picking up Frohike's discarded beer can 
and throwing it out.  She glanced over at her briefcase.  
"I have a ton of autopsy reports to go over, along with 
writing up Leslie's."  Mulder gave her a look of interest.

"Nothing to get excited about yet, Mulder.  William Leslie 
died from a bullet that was fired at him from a distance 
of two to three feet.  That much I can tell you.  How he 
let someone get that close to him with a gun, I can't 
fathom.  Hopefully the tox screens will shed some light."

Mulder, who had been shoving papers into his own 
briefcase, picked it up.  "Let me drop you off at your 
hotel.  It's the least I can do for the last person brave 
enough to be my partner."

"You don't have a partner now?  Aren't you with VCS?"

"Nope and yup."  Mulder smiled at her confusion.  "No one 
has been able to fill the shoes of the Head of Forensic 
Pathology for the Western Region, so Skinner lets me 
freelance more or less."

Scully blushed at the mention of her newly acquired 
position.  As much as she hated to admit it, her career 
had flourished out west.  Bending over to pick up her bag, 
she paused and looked up at Mulder.  "I always assumed 
that Agent Fowley would have joined you on the X-files 
after she recovered from her injuries."

Mulder motioned Scully to proceed him through the office 
door, and closed and locked it behind them. Briefcase in 
hand, he walked down the hall beside her toward the 
elevator.  "Agent Fowley made a full recovery, and 
promptly went back to doing whatever it was she was doing 
before she was dropped into our laps."

"I don't understand.  I thought she was trying to get back 
onto the X-files."

Mulder followed Scully into the elevator and waited for 
the doors to close before answering.  "I think she was 
sent here to do a specific task, and that she succeeded 
quite nicely."

Scully opened her mouth to ask what that task was, and 
quickly shut it.  She knew this wasn't the time or place 
to have this particular conversation.

It took only a few minutes for Mulder to reach Scully's 
hotel.  He paused, not knowing whether or not he should 
walk her to her room.  She solved the dilemma by jumping 
out of the car, and leaning back in through the open door.  
"Thanks for the ride Mulder.  I'll meet you at the 
hospital around seven.  I'll probably get there a bit 
early to go over Ms. Jacobs' medical records."  Scully 
gave him a quick smile and shut the door, turning and 
walking into the hotel without looking back.

Mulder sat in the car and stared at the hotel door for 
several minutes, bemoaning yet another lost opportunity.  
His partner, over whom he has been pining for the past 
three years, finally returns to Washington and he doesn't 
even have the guts to give her a friendly hug in greeting.  
Hell, if Frohike could give her a hug, he should be able 
to do at least that.

Making up his mind, Mulder parked the car before he could 
lose his nerve, and headed for the bank of elevators. He 
was grateful that he had the forethought to ask Scully for 
her hotel room number.  He was surprised to find his palms 
sweating as he walked down the hall toward her room.

Rapping on the door of Scully's room, Mulders overhears 
muffled voices from within. The TV, no doubt.  Scully 
opens the door, looking confused and appearing tiny, 
without her trademark three-inch heels.

"Mulder?"

"Hey. Sorry to barge in like this, but I thought maybe you 
and I could..."

"Uh, it's not really a good time Mulder..."

"Oh..."

"I'm not alone."

Mulder actually felt a blush warming his cheeks, as he 
tried to think of a way to back out of Scully's room 
without making an even bigger fool out of himself.  How 
stupid he was to think that a woman like Scully would be 
alone. He heard rustling behind Scully, and braced himself 
to meet the new man in her life.

"Dana, who's there?"  Mulder frowned at the sound of a 
female voice.  It sounded very familiar.

Scully sighed and looked defeated.  "It's Mulder."

"Fox?"  The voice sounded totally delighted.  "Fox is 
here?"  

Flinging the door open wide, Maggie Scully stepped out 
into the hallway.  Before Mulder knew what hit him, her 
arms were around his neck, and she was hugging him 
fiercely.  Mulder smiled both at the sight of Mrs. Scully, 
and the irony that this was exactly what he wanted to do 
to her daughter.  

Mrs. Scully stepped back and smiled up at him.  "I was 
just telling Dana that she should have invited you in for 
a drink."  Scully looked at Mulder and shrugged. "I know 
you two have a lot of work to do, but I'm leaving town 
tomorrow and I would hate not to have a visit with Fox 
while I have the chance."

Maggie looked first at Scully and then at Mulder, and he 
quickly realized why Scully had looked so defeated.  There 
was no way to avoid spending at least the next hour down 
in the lounge with Maggie Scully.

Hearing no resistance, Mrs. Scully grabbed each one by the 
arm.  "Wonderful.  Dana you get the room key and Fox you 
get the elevator.  I'll get my purse.  This little reunion 
is on me."

++++

Congressman Blake looked over the top of his newspaper and 
frowned at his wife.  "What is that you have there, 
Elizabeth?"

"Something one of the save the rainforest lobbyist sent 
you.  Looks like teas, cookies and the like.  Shall I brew 
you a cup?"

The congressman turned his attention back to his paper.  
"If you wish.  I hope those fools don't think that a 
basket of tea and cookies will get me to change my mind 
about cutting down a bunch of trees."

++++

Scully sipped her white wine, and sat back and watched her 
mother interrogate Mulder.  She was amazed that her mother 
had no qualms whatsoever about asking Mulder all sorts of 
questions about his personal life.  She also knew that her 
mom was doing it on her behalf.  Maggie had always hoped 
that one day Fox Mulder would be her son-in-law, and she 
had been quite vocal in her disappointment when her 
daughter had abruptly moved to Salt Lake City.  

Mulder fielded Mrs. Scully's questions with ease, since he 
had virtually no social life.  He was considered an 
eligible bachelor within the Bureau, and numerous women 
had tried to get Special Agent Mulder to notice them.  A 
few had been asked to dinner, fewer still to his bed. None 
had lasted more than a week or two.

"How do you like San Diego, Mrs. Scully?"  Despite having 
nothing to hide, Mulder preferred to do the questioning.  
It was what he did, and he was comfortable in that 
position.

"I like it very much Fox.  Though I do miss the snow at 
times, and my friends here on the East Coast."

"Is that why you came out with Dana?"

Scully perked up at the use of her given name.  She found 
it interesting that Mulder hardly ever referred to her as 
'Scully' when speaking to her mother.

"Yes, I'm heading up to Connecticut tomorrow, to see my 
friend Molly.  I'll probably stay with her a week or so."  
She turned her attention to her daughter.

"I assume you'll be staying here until everything is 
settled?"  Mrs. Scully asked the question in a way that 
left Scully wondering whether she was referring to the 
case or something else. "Maybe I'll head back to 
California from there.  I wouldn't want to get in the way 
down here."

They chatted a few more minutes before Mrs. Scully made an 
excuse to leave and head back to the room, insisting that 
Fox and Dana stay and finish their drinks. They watched 
her leave the bar in silence.

"Sorry about the third degree Mulder."  

Mulder shrugged it off.  "That's what mothers are for 
Scully.  I only wish my mother took such a keen interest 
in my life."  They finished their drinks in silence and 
headed towards the elevators in the lobby.  Scully looked 
a bit surprised when she realized that Mulder was walking 
her back to her room.

"Mulder, I'm perfectly capable of seeing myself upstairs."  

"I know that and you know that, but I don't need a lecture 
from your mother the next time I see her, about my not 
being a gentleman."  He smirked at her and she chuckled.  
He was right.  Her mother would be disappointed in him if 
he didn't see her safely to the door. 

They said a quick goodnight and Mulder was turning to go, 
when Scully stopped him with a hand on his arm.  "Mulder?"   
 
He stopped and turned to face her.  She dropped her hand, 
looking a bit embarrassed to have touched him.  "You never 
told me why you came back here tonight."

Mulder suddenly felt very foolish.  He shrugged, hoping 
that she would drop the subject. "Mulder?"  Her voice was 
insistent.

"I know this sounds childish, and it *is* childish."  
Mulder looked down at the ground and actually began to dig 
at the floor with his toe.  He looked to Scully like a 
little boy who had been dragged in front of the school 
principal.  "I guess I was a little jealous of Frohike."

Scully squeezed her lips together tightly, trying not to 
laugh.  "You?  You were jealous of Frohike?"  She waited 
until Mulder peered up at her before continuing.  "May I 
ask why?"

Mulder knew his answer would sound foolish, so he just 
blurted it out.  "Because he was brave enough to hug you."

Scully stood silently, trying to absorb the meaning of his 
words.  Mulder finally looked up, expecting to see her 
laughing at him, only to see her gazing at him tenderly.  
She smiled at him and shook her head.  Immediately he 
understood, and opened his arms to her.

She stepped into his embrace, and they wrapped their arms 
around each other tightly.  Mulder placed his chin on the 
top of her head, as Scully rested her cheek against his 
chest.  "God, how I've missed you Scully."  He murmured so 
softly she thought it sounded like he was speaking more to 
himself than to her.

Scully pulled back and looked up at her old friend, and 
saw that he, like she, was awash with emotion.  Mulder 
bent down closer to her, and she suddenly realized that he 
was on the verge of kissing her.  Scully panicked and put 
her hands on his chest, abruptly halting his descent. 
"Good night, Mulder."

Before Mulder knew what had happened, Scully was inside 
her room, leaning heavily against the closed door.  She 
stood there a moment or two breathing deeply, wondering if 
she was relieved or disappointed.

"Did Fox walk you back?"  Maggie called out from the 
bathroom.  Scully smiled.

"Yes."

Maggie walked out of the bathroom drying her hands, her 
face beaming in approval.  "Did he finally kiss you?"

"Mom!"  Scully turned and stared at her mother, shocked by 
the question.  "Of course not!"

Her mother sighed and tossed the towel back onto the 
bathroom sink.  "I swear I don't know what's wrong with 
the two of you."

"What are you talking about?"  Scully asked, sinking down 
onto the bed and taking off her shoes. She had hours of 
work ahead of her, but knew she would get no peace until 
this matter with her mother was settled.  

"You and Fox, that's what I'm talking about."  Mrs. Scully 
snorted at Scully's look of confusion.  "You two have been 
crazy about each other for years, and just when it looks 
like you're finally going to do something about it, you go 
flying off to Salt Lake City, bound and determined to 
forget all about him."  Scully tried to interrupt, but her 
mother silenced her with a raised hand.

"Dana, you tell me that you have no feelings for the man, 
and yet the only picture that graces your apartment, 
outside those featuring your immediate family, is one of 
the two of you taken at my house the Easter before you 
moved."

Scully squirmed under her mother's stare.  "That may be 
Mom, but that doesn't mean Mulder had feelings for me."

At this, her mother burst out laughing.  "Are you blind?  
He lights up whenever you look at him Dana, and when he 
thinks no one is looking, he looks like he wants to eat 
you with a spoon.  I imagine he would be a most satisfying 
lover."

"Mother!"  Scully was truly shocked now.

"Come on Dana.  You're a grown woman, and Fox Mulder is a 
very attractive man.  It's obvious, at least to me, that 
you two still have strong feelings for each other.  You 
aren't partners anymore, so you don't have that excuse to 
hide behind.  Why not give it a try?"


Murder In The Capital Part Three
By Katie Phillips

George Washington Memorial Hospital
5:30 AM the following morning

Angela Langsley began assembling the breakfast trays the 
same way she had for the last sixteen years--quickly and 
efficiently. By 6 AM, the trays were ready to be taken by 
the orderlies to patients all around the hospital.

At the last possible moment, Angela paused in front of a 
tray labeled "NO NUTS/PEANUTS."  She carefully lifted the 
stainless steel lid covering the bowl of oatmeal, and 
drizzled a small amount of oily liquid on it.  After 
giving the mixture a quick stir, she replaced the cover 
and put the dirty spoon in the dishwasher along with the 
rest of the dirty dishes and walked away.

++++

6:45AM

Scully walked to the nurses' station on the sixth floor 
and was a bit surprised to find it deserted.  She glanced 
at her watch, wondering if the doctors were already on 
their rounds.  Finally, a nurse approached and Scully 
flagged her down.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Penelope Jacobs."  Scully 
flashed her badge.  "I'm with the FBI.  I was told I could 
review her medical records before my partner," she paused 
briefly at the use of the word "partner," "and I interview 
her."

The nurse seemed to pale a bit at her words, and muttered 
something about Scully having to speak to the doctor in 
charge.  She scurried off just as Mulder was walking down 
the corridor.  He watched the nurse scamper by before 
turning to Scully.

"What's up?"

"I'm not sure." Scully glanced down the hall where the 
nurse had disappeared.  "She mumbled something about 
having to get the doctor."

Mulder, not being one to wait around, leaned over the 
counter and quickly spotted a chart listing patient room 
numbers.  "Room 613.  Let's go take a peak while we wait 
for the doctor, shall we?"

Scully gestured for him to lead the way and followed him 
down the corridor.  She was surprised to find nothing but 
an empty chair outside of Jacobs' room.  "I thought she 
was supposed to be under guard?"

"She was."  Mulder tapped on the door and pushed it open.  
The room was empty.

"Where is she?"  Scully asked, walking into the room after 
Mulder, and checking the bathroom.

"Mrs. Jacobs is dead."

Mulder and Scully whirled around to see an overtired 
doctor, who appeared to be fresh out of medical school, 
standing in the doorway.  "I'm Doctor Cline."  He shook 
hands with the two agents.  "Mrs. Jacobs went into cardiac 
arrest right after eating her breakfast this morning."  He 
gestured to the breakfast tray which had been shoved 
unceremoniously into the corner of the room.

Scully whipped out a latex glove from her pocket, a 
gesture that provoked a small smirk from Mulder, and 
quickly examined the tray.  It seemed routine enough.  
Orange juice, coffee and oatmeal.  "We'll need to take 
this as evidence."  Scully pulled off her glove and threw 
it into the wastebasket nearby.  "Please seal off this 
room until we can examine it."

"You suspect foul play?"  Dr. Cline looked back and forth 
between Mulder and Scully.

"Ms. Jacobs was a suspect in a murder investigation; we 
have to investigate every possibility."  Scully approached 
the doctor.  "Would it be possible for me to review Mrs. 
Jacobs' medical records and take a look at her body?"  
Scully spotted Mulder's look and continued.  "I'd also 
like to perform the autopsy."

"You're a pathologist?"  The doctor did little to hide his 
surprise.  Mulder did his best to hide his smirk, while he 
hoped that Scully would have mercy on the young intern.  
"Actually I'm the head of forensic medicine for the FBI's 
western region," Scully informed the doctor, giving him a 
look that challenged him to question her credentials 
further.  He wisely did not.

Mulder pulled out his cell phone and ordered a full 
forensic team, while Dr. Cline ran off to get Mrs. Jacobs' 
medical chart.  "You're getting soft in your old age 
Scully," Mulder said, jerking his chin in the general 
direction of Cline as he handed her the charts and quickly 
retreated.  "I'm surprised you let him live."
 
Scully merely raised an eyebrow at him, as she scanned 
over the doctor's notes.  "Nothing too spectacular here 
Mulder.  Mrs. Jacobs was admitted because she had a severe 
reaction to the sedative her doctor administered to her at 
the police station after her arrest."

"Meaning?"  Mulder had followed Scully out into the 
hallway where they could talk without risking 
contamination of any evidence.

"Meaning, she was given a simple sedative that should have 
calmed her down, and it knocked her out cold.  They 
brought her in purely as a precaution."

"Sounds strange, doesn't it?"

"Not really.  A somewhat elderly woman shoots her godson 
point blank in the chest and is arrested and taken away in 
handcuffs.  That's enough to rattle the best of us.  What 
are you getting at?"

"I'm not sure, yet."

++++

9 AM 
Skinner's Office

Agents Peters, Edgars and Rogers were sitting around the 
conference table with Skinner, when Mulder walked into the 
office, shutting the door behind him.

Skinner looked up from his notes and frowned.  "Where's 
Agent Scully?"

"In an autopsy bay with Penelope Jacobs," Mulder replied, 
passing out a folder to each member of the group.

"What?"  Skinner could hardly believe his ears.  "I 
thought she was in a hospital under guard."

"She was, Sir.  She died shortly before Agent Scully and I 
arrived to interview her."

"Any idea what happened, Mulder?"  Agent Edgars looked up 
from his pictures of the crime scene.

"Not yet.  Scully is going over Jacobs' medical records, 
and will do the autopsy as soon as the family gives their 
approval."

The agents read in silence for a few minutes.  "From 
everything it says here, there doesn't seem to be any 
signs of foul play at all Mulder," Peters said with a 
smirk on his face.  "Are you sure you aren't stretching 
things just a bit?"

Before Mulder could reply, Edgars chimed in.  "Come on 
Peters, even you must find it a bit odd that three 
suspects to three murders all end up dying within days of 
committing their crimes?"

"Could be coincidence.  Maybe all of this is just 
coincidence."  Peters threw the folders down in disgust.  
"What we got here is a whole lot of nothing."

Skinner looked up from his paper, curious why Mulder 
wasn't participating in the debate.  Usually he couldn't 
wait to take Peters down a peg or two.  The agent was 
sitting with his elbows on the table, his chin perched on 
his hands, thinking.  "We're missing something."

Peters laughed at this.  "The only thing you're missing 
Mulder, is that red-headed partner of yours to tell you 
that you're heading off in the wrong direction."  His 
comment drew a glare from Skinner, and he abruptly shut 
his mouth.  Mulder ignored his comment completely.

After several minutes of staring at the pile of pictures 
in front of him, Mulder began to nod his head slowly.  
"Edgars, get on the phone and have someone look into what 
Ms. Jacobs had to eat for breakfast this morning, and I 
don't mean what she was supposed to have, I mean exactly 
what was in her bowl."

Edgars looked confused but picked up the phone and started 
dialing.  "Rogers, you and Peters start putting together a 
list of anyone in that hospital who could have accessed 
that tray."

Rogers got up and went to grab his jacket, but Peters 
stood his ground.  "Why?"

Mulder smiled at him.  "I think I found our murder 
weapon."  Mulder slid an evidence picture towards Rogers 
and pointed to what appeared to be a piece of cardboard 
half hidden under the hospital bed.  Written on the 
cardboard sign was "NO NUTS/PEANUTS."

"I don't get it," Peters said, still not budging.

"Add a little peanut oil to her breakfast and..."  Mulder 
began beginning to assemble his papers.

"The next thing you know you've got a dead patient."  
Rogers smiled approvingly at Mulder, while Peters scowled.

"Okay everyone I want you back here at four o'clock sharp, 
and this time let's have more answers than questions." 
Skinner rose, indicating the meeting was at an end.

++++

Elizabeth Blake poured herself another cup of tea, pausing 
to inhale its spicy fragrance before sipping it.  It 
tasted unlike any other tea she had ever had--she must 
find out where the lobbyist had bought it.

The telephone on her desk rang and she put down her cup 
and answered it.  "Yes, this is Mrs. Blake.  Yes, yes, I 
understand.  I will do as you wish."  Mrs. Blake quietly 
hung up and the phone and looked at it quizzically, not 
quite remembering the conversation she had just had.

++++

Autopsy Bay, Quantico 
10:30 AM

Mulder paused for a second before opening the door to the 
examination room where Scully worked on Mrs. Jacobs' body. 
It wasn't that he was squeamish about witnessing an 
autopsy.  His many years of working with Scully had cured 
him of that.  It was more the flood of memories that he 
was afraid would wash over him when he opened the door.

He chided himself.  Today, of all days, he didn't have 
time for such thoughts.  He opened the door and walked in, 
stopping for a moment when he saw Scully dressed in her 
blue scrubs, bent over the older women's body.  Mulder had 
forgotten how tiny she was.

"Hey."  

Scully looked up from her Y-incision. "Hey."

"Anything catch your eye?"

"Not really.  Ms. Jacobs here appeared to be in relatively 
good health for a woman her age."

"Cause of death?"

"As far as I can tell, so far, cardiac arrest brought on 
by lack of oxygen."  Scully pointed to Mrs. Jacobs' 
throat.  "Her throat was practically swollen shut."

"Allergic reaction?"

Scully frowned and looked up at him.  "Maybe. What makes 
you say that?"

Mulder pulled the picture from his pocket and showed it to 
her.  "I think someone put peanut oil into her breakfast 
to cause the reaction."

Scully nodded.  "I haven't gotten to her stomach yet, but 
I can send out whatever I find in there to be checked.  I 
can do that right now if you want to stick around."

The thought of seeing the contents of Mrs. Jacobs' stomach 
was a bit more than Mulder could tolerate.  "Thanks, but I 
think I'll pass.  Skinner wants us back in the office at 
four.  I've got people trying to figure out who could have 
contaminated her food.  Anything more on Leslie?"

"Not yet.  I'm hoping the tox screen will show us 
something.  I've ordered a full series on her too, and put 
a rush on them."

++++ 

Skinner's Office Noon

"You wanted to see me Sir?"

"Peters called in a few minutes ago with the name of the 
person who put together Penelope Jacobs' breakfast tray."  
Mulder ignored that fact that Peters had reported into 
Skinner and not him.  

"And?"

"She's a 16-year veteran of the hospital, with a spotless 
record.  They're trying to track her down right now."

Mulder took a seat in front of Skinner's desk.  Skinner 
was about to ask him more about Mrs. 
Jacobs when the phone rang.  "Skinner."

Skinner shut his eyes and looked grim.  Mulder knew that 
their case had just developed another hitch.  "When?  
Where is she now?  Yeah, send her over."  Skinner hung up 
the phone and looked at Mulder.

"The woman who made Penelope Jacobs' breakfast this 
morning got off work and promptly walked in front of a 
bus.  She died about thirty minutes ago.  They're shipping 
her body to Scully at Quantico."

"Crap.  Whoever we're dealing with is covering his tracks 
much quicker now."

++++

Quantico Autopsy Bay
2:30 PM

Mulder didn't hesitate at all this time.  He pushed 
through the door of the autopsy bay without a thought.  
"Hey Scully," he began, then stopped short when he noticed 
the growing line of bodies waiting for Scully's attention.  
"Aren't you Ms. Popular?"

"What can I tell you?  They're all just dying to get in 
here."  She smiled at Mulder's groan.  "What's up?"

"Not a whole lot on our end besides the fact that our 
killer is starting to move faster.  What about you?"

"I've examined Mrs. Jacobs from head to toe, and have 
quite a stack of stuff for the boys in forensics to go 
through."  She pointed a latex finger at a small stack of 
evidence bags on the back counter. "I don't think you'll 
find much there besides normal residue from being in a 
hospital overnight."

Mulder nodded.  "Did you find anything in her stomach?"

"Not much.  I did manage to scrape a little from inside 
her mouth and throat, both of which were slightly swollen 
as well.  I'm having the tissue samples checked now.  As 
far as our latest victim,"  she glanced over her shoulder 
at the covered body.  "I took a quick peek at her when she 
came in, and drew some blood for a tox screen.  The cause 
of death is obvious. What actually hit her?"

"A bus."

"Ouch."  Scully turned back to Mrs. Jacobs.  "She 
shouldn't take me too long."

"Don't knock yourself out, Scully."  Mulder gave her a 
look full of concern.

"I'm fine."  Scully smiled at his response to this 
statement.  "Really, beside my feet hurting a bit, I am 
fine."

Murder In The Capital Part Four
By Katie Phillips



Skinner's Office
4 PM

Skinner wasted no time calling the meeting to order. 
"Okay, what do we have?"  

"Edgars and I have picked up a stack of tapes from the 
hospital and have begun reviewing all activity around the 
kitchen area and Ms. Jacob's floor, between 4:30 and 6:30 
AM."

Skinner nodded and looked at Peters.  "I interviewed 
Angela Langsley's coworkers.  Dependable, lived alone, 
friendly but didn't associate much with the other hospital 
workers. She was nothing out of the ordinary. 

"Our killer likes ordinary people.  They're less likely to 
draw attention to themselves."  Mulder muttered under his 
breath.  

Peters rolled his eyes at Mulder's comment and continued.  
"I also spoke to several witnesses to her accident.  From 
all accounts, she strolled calmly out of the hospital, and 
walked several blocks down the street. At one of the more 
crowded bus stops, she waited for a bus that wasn't 
scheduled to stop, and walked directly in its path.  

"Any theories?"  Skinner got up and poured himself a cup 
of coffee.  He had gotten little sleep over the past few 
days.

"The connection between the three original victims all 
ties in with their research surrounding the varying uses 
of plants and other organic substances found the in 
Central American rainforest.  It's my theory that our 
killer is using some sort of mind-altering material found 
in one of these plants."

"Are you kidding me?"  Peters cut in.  "You're suggesting 
that some sort of hippie, tree-hugging freak is drugging 
everyone and then telling them to shoot their bosses?  
Come on Mulder, stop trying to make this into an X-file."

Skinner turned his attention to Mulder.  "Do you have any 
proof to back up your theory Mulder?"

"Scully has been running tox screens...."

"Where is your little partner Mulder?  Too high and mighty 
now to join us?"  Peters leered at Mulder, unable to 
resist the chance to taunt him about how Scully's career 
had blossomed since leaving DC.

"His little partner was busy cutting up bodies and 
scraping intestinal walls."  A cool voice spoke from the 
door of Skinner's office.  All eyes turned and looked as 
Scully gave Peters a long, cold look. Even Skinner had to 
fight the urge to smirk, as Peters squirmed under the 
intensity of her stare.  "Perhaps you would like to 
examine the pictures yourself Agent Peters, to make sure I 
didn't miss anything."  Scully walked over slowly, and 
placed a folder in front of Peters.

"I'm sure your examination was most thorough, Agent 
Scully," Peters stammered.  Scully raised an eyebrow at 
him and turned her attention to Skinner.  "Sir, as Agent 
Mulder may have told you, we suspected that a mind-
altering drug may have been administered to the victims.  
I've run tox screens where I could, and have found trace 
amounts of a lysergic acid diethylamide type substance."

"LSD?"  Mulder asked, eyes showing that his mind was 
already working.  "There have been countless experiments 
using LSD as a mind controlling mechanism."

Peters was about to protest again but Skinner silenced him 
with a hand.  "Alright, let's suppose that our killer is 
using this LSD-like substance to plant suggestions in the 
minds of the people pulling the trigger, that still 
doesn't tell us why he picked these particular people as 
his victims."

"I guess it's back to the video tapes," Edgars said, 
packing up his papers and preparing to leave the room.  

"Wait."  Mulder sat upright in his chair.  "Sir, do you 
have a copy of the Washington Post?  Perhaps Mr. Leslie's 
obituary will give us a clue."

Skinner nodded, and walked over to his briefcase and took 
out the newspaper.  He handed it to Mulder, who quickly 
thumbed through it.  "Wait a minute, I may have found 
something." Mulder stopped and stared at the paper before 
folding it back to show Skinner. He folded back the paper 
and showed it to Skinner.

Skinner's eyes grew huge when he read the half page ad.  
"BLAKE IS NEXT."

"Our killer is starting to getting bored.  He wants to 
scare his victims now too."

Within the hour, Congressman Blake and his wife had been 
sent off to an undisclosed location for their protection.  
Edgars and Rogers were reviewing more surveillance videos, 
and Mulder and Scully were headed over to The Washington 
Post to see if they could find out who placed the ad.

"You don't think our guy was stupid enough to leave a 
paper trail, do you?"  Scully asked as they walked towards 
the building.

"Normally I would say no, but I'm not quite sure yet what 
this guy is looking for."  He led the way over to the 
counter, where a young girl smiled, but didn't look overly 
impressed by the flashing of his badge.

"I'm sorry Sir, but I'm not at liberty to disclose that 
particular information."  

Mulder and Scully exchanged looks and Scully tried her 
luck.  "Look, Miss Parsons, I appreciate your position, 
but you have to understand we're on a murder 
investigation.  You really don't want us to have to bring 
you downtown to question you, do you?"

Mulder raised his eyebrows, surprised at Scully's bluff. 
"No, I guess not," the girl sighed.

Scully gave Mulder a smile of great self-satisfaction 
before continuing.  She held up the ad.  "Any way you 
could tell me who placed this particular ad?"

Miss Parsons scribbled down the page and column number and 
disappeared for a few minutes.

"Don't tell me it's going to be this easy," Mulder said as 
he looked around the non-descript room.  "I wonder if they 
have any security cameras in here."

Scully snorted.  "Edgars and Rogers would shoot you if you 
walked in with another armful of tapes.  Wait, here she 
is."

"Here's the form he gave me.  I think he paid in cash."  
She checked the form.  "Yeah, he did. Could you sign this 
receipt please, so my boss doesn't kill me?"

"Sure," Mulder said, scribbling his name on the paper she 
handed him.  He gingerly took hold of the ad request by 
the corner and dropped it into an evidence bag.  "Thanks."

Mulder glanced briefly at the bag, before folding it and 
sticking it in his pocket.  "We can drop this off and see 
if they can pick up any prints from it." 

"I take it the name is no good."

"Percy Fawcett?  No, he was an Amazon explorer."

Mulder couldn't help but notice how tired Scully was when 
they returned to the Bureau to drop off the form, and 
swung by Skinner's office to see if there were any other 
updates.

"Blake and his wife are safe and sound.  Hopefully we've 
been able to buy ourselves some time."  Skinner looked up 
from his desk and frowned at Scully.  "Dana, you look 
horrible.  How much sleep did you get last night?"

"I don't know, three maybe four hours."  Skinner shot 
Mulder a look.  "Take her back to her hotel Mulder and get 
some rest yourself.  I'll see you both back in here at 7 
AM sharp."

"Sir, I still need to summarize the tox screens and the 
autopsy reports."  

"Dana, you may be seem 'high and mighty' to Peters but I 
still out rank you.  Get some sleep."  

Mulder was surprised at the twinge of jealousy he felt 
when Skinner called Scully by her given name, and by the 
intimate tone of his remarks.  He wondered whether Skinner 
had paid a call on Scully since her relocation.

"Yes Sir," Scully said formally, before standing and 
leaving the room.

++++

Mulder pulled up in front of Scully's hotel and put the 
car into park.  The conversation over had been light and 
friendly, but an awkward silence threatened them now.  "My 
mother is 600 miles away Mulder, so don't feel you have to 
walk me to my room," Scully joked as she turned towards 
Mulder.  "You know Mulder, you've been giving me the most 
peculiar look ever since we left Skinner's office.  How 
come?"

"I have?  Sorry.  I guess I can't believe you actually did 
it."

Scully shrugged.  "You know, I've done more within 24 
hours you know.  We had a serial killer once in 
Denver...."  Mulder cut her off by placing a gentle hand 
on her arm.

He shook his head and smiled at her.  "I'm not talking 
autopsies, although three is quite impressive. What I 
still can't believe is that you actually left."

Scully looked puzzled for a second and turned her head to 
the side slightly, as if to study Mulder closer.  She gave 
him a faint smile.  "I can't believe you let me."

"Really?"

Before Scully could answer, she felt Mulder's lips touch 
hers--soft and gentle, yet thorough in their exploration. 
Mulder pulled back and began to speak.  She silenced him 
with a finger against his lips, and gave him a knowing 
smile.  "Good night, Mulder."

Scully had barely taken off her blazer when her cell phone 
began to chirp.  She picked it up, knowing it could only 
be one person.

"Scully."

"If I had said something, I would have wrecked it, right?"

Scully smiled again.  "Good night, Mulder."  

"Good night, Scully."

Scully's head thrashed back and forth against her pillow, 
and despite her best efforts to remain silent, she found 
herself moaning his name.  She grabbed his head and held 
it in place, leaving him no doubt that she was enjoying 
the laving his tongue was giving her.

"Oh my God, Mulder.  A little to the left.  Yeah.  Oh, 
God."  From somewhere outside the fog of passion that 
filled her mind, Scully thought she heard the sound of 
banging.  She stopped moving her head and did her best to 
still her breathing as she listened. There it was again, 
getting louder. 

Damn.  Scully opened her eyes to find herself covered with 
a glistening sheen of sweat, as she tried desperately to 
remember where she was and what she was doing there.  The 
sound of knocking on her door focused her attention, and 
she realized she had been dreaming.  She blushed when she 
realized exactly who her dream was about, and what he had 
been doing to her.

Scully scrambled out and bed and threw on a robe, knowing 
it could only be Mulder at her door.  Although she wasn't 
surprised that he had come back to talk to her--Mulder 
never could leave anything alone--she was disappointed 
that he hadn't waited long enough for her to finish her 
dream.  Her partially aroused state had left her somewhat 
on edge.

She peeked through the peephole.  There stood a very 
anxious Mulder.  "What?" she demanded, knowing she sounded 
angrier than she felt, as she swung the door open.

Mulder opened his mouth to speak but said nothing.  All 
thoughts left his mind when he looked down and saw Scully 
standing in front of him, robe open, chest heaving and 
eyes full of fire.  He almost looked behind her to see if 
he had interrupted her with someone.

"Sorry, Scully."

Scully shook her head at him.  "Don't mind me; I was in 
the middle of a dream."

"Anyone I know?"  Mulder waggled his eyebrows at her, and 
was surprised to see her blush. His face grew serious 
then. "It's Congressman Blake.  Gunshots were heard in the 
area near his lakefront cabin about an hour ago. The 
police found him dead."

"I thought he and his wife left town alone." Scully 
snapped out of her funk immediately.

"They did.  Skinner is in contact with the local 
authorities.  They're to hold Mrs. Blake until we get 
there."

"You think she shot her husband."

"Most likely."

++++

It took Scully less than five minutes to change and join 
Mulder down in his waiting car.  They reached Congressman 
Blake's cabin 45 minutes later.   It was surrounded by 
yellow tape and cars with flashing blue lights.

Showing their badges, they went inside immediately, where 
they were met by Skinner.  He gave them the rundown--
Congressman Blake had been shot at point blank range by 
his wife, who had then sat down in a chair and calmly 
waited for the authorities to arrive.

"Where is Mrs. Blake now?"  Mulder asked, looking around.  

"They're holding her at the local station house. I want 
you and Scully to get right down there and not let her out 
of your sight.  With a little luck, we can keep her alive 
long enough to get some answers." 

++++

Mrs. Blake looked like your typical politician's wife.  
She was impeccable, even under these circumstances, and 
carried herself with a sort of grace that screamed of old 
money.  "I probably shouldn't be speaking to you without 
my lawyers, but I really don't want to wait for them to 
get here."

Mrs. Blake sat primly across from Mulder, her hands folder 
neatly on the table.  She looked liked the poster child 
for style and grace; the only sign of her frazzled nerves 
was the way she nibbled on her lower lip.  She even did 
that delicately.  Mulder questioned her while Scully 
looked on.

"You say that you think whoever is behind all of this is 
doing it to protect the rainforests?"  Mrs. Blake asked, 
looking first at Mulder and then at Scully.  

"That's one theory under consideration."  Mulder 
responded.

"Why, that makes no sense at all.  George was a huge 
supporter of the environment; everyone knows that.  He was 
in the process of writing legislation that would make 
companies who harvest trees and whatnot from the 
rainforest preserve set aside large tracks of virgin land 
every year."

Mrs. Blake looked down at her watch.  Mulder followed her 
gaze and noticed it was 2:30.  "Do you think I could have 
a cup of tea?"

"I don't see why not."  Scully, who was leaning against 
the back wall of the room, straightened. "I'll go get you 
a cup."

"If it isn't too much trouble, could you ask them to make 
it with this?"  Mrs. Blake reached into the pocket of her 
jacket and removed a tea bag.  The contents were an 
interesting shade of red.

"What kind of tea is that?"  Mulder glanced over to see if 
Scully had noticed the odd color.  She had. 

"Something George and I discovered in one of the many 
goodie baskets we receive from various lobbyists."

"Do you remember which one?"  Scully had walked over to 
the table and was examining the teabag more closely.

"Let me think a minute." Mrs. Blake sat back in her chair 
and thought for a moment, never letting go of the teabag. 
"I remember now.  We got a basket of tea and cookies from 
a lobbyist representing one of the rainforest groups.  The 
only reason I remember is because George," her voice 
cracked at the use of her husband's name, "said he would 
drink their tea but he hoped they didn't think he would 
vote their way."

"I thought you said your husband was pro-rainforest."  
Mulder was getting confused.

"He is.  I mean," she sighed, "he was.  This particular 
group was against any kind of development in the 
rainforest, even the worthy causes."

"Do you remember the name of the group?"

"Heavens no, but the basket is probably still sitting in 
my kitchen back in DC."  Mrs. Blake looked up at Scully.  
"Are you implying that this tea may be tainted somehow?"

"I'm afraid so." Mrs. Blake dropped the teabag like a hot 
potato.  "We'd like to run some tests on it, and compare 
the results to the tox screen of the blood I drew when I 
first got here."

Mrs. Blake nodded, the shock of the situation beginning to 
wear off.  "Can I speak to you outside a moment, Agent 
Scully?"  Mulder took Scully's arm.

They went out into the hallway and quietly shut the door.  
Mulder held the teabag safely inside an evidence bag.  "I 
think Mrs. Blake is about to go through some pretty 
serious withdrawal symptoms.  Can you can get her situated 
some place safe, while I run this sample down to the lab?  
I'd also like to drop a bit of this stuff off with the 
Gunmen, to get their take on it."

++++

Outside the police station a lone figure sat behind the 
wheel of a dark Oldsmobile.  He watched with interest as 
Scully escorted Mrs. Blake out of the building.  He could 
tell immediately by the way she was holding herself, that 
the effects of his medicine were beginning to wear off.  
They had won this round but he was confident that he would 
win the next. He would have his moment in the sun; he'd 
make sure of it. 

++++

It had to be close to 5 AM when Mulder turned the key in 
his door and walked into his apartment.  He had spent the 
last few hours dropping off samples, arranging for 
Congressman Blake's apartment and cabin to the thoroughly 
searched, and filling Skinner in on what was happening.  
He was very much looking forward to catching an hour or 
two of sleep before returning to the office for a progress 
meeting at ten.

Mulder shrugged out of his jacket and threw it on the coat 
rack standing by the front door, only then noticing a form 
stretched out along the length of his couch.  He quietly 
drew his weapon and approached silently, flicking on the 
light and pointing his gun in one fluid motion.

He relaxed and chuckled when he recognized the bundled up 
form lying in front of him.  Placing his gun on the coffee 
table, he bent over and brushed a piece of hair off her 
face.  "Scully?"

Scully opened one eye, barely, and looked at him.  "Hey. I 
wanted to know about the tea." Her eye closed before she 
finished speaking.  Mulder snorted and bent to pick her 
up.  Realizing what he was doing, she snapped awake and 
stared at him.  "What are you doing Mulder?"

"I'm taking you to bed, Scully."

She glared at him, or did the best she could, considering 
how tired she was.  He smiled down at her.  "I'm flattered 
to think that you consider me man enough to be able to 
seduce you in my current state of exhaustion.  I just 
thought you'd be more comfortable lying on my bed.  I'll 
stay out here."

Scully appeared to accept his explanation, since she 
closed her eyes and snuggled her face against his chest.  
"No need.  I trust you."  She was asleep before she could 
say anything more.

++++

Mulder's Apartment
8:00 AM

Mulder rolled over and noticed immediately that Scully was 
gone.  He opened his eyes, a frown creasing his forehead, 
until he spotted her splashing water on her face in the 
bathroom.  At least she hadn't snuck out during the middle 
of the night.

"What's the rush Scully, the meeting isn't until ten?"  
Mulder rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he swung his legs 
out of bed.

"I know, but I want to go back to my hotel, take a shower, 
have a cup of coffee and get myself prepared. I'm not too 
keen on showing up with you for a meeting, wearing the 
same clothes I wore yesterday, especially when Peters is 
dying for an excuse to jump all over you."

Mulder pulled an old t-shirt over his head and did what he 
could to keep his hair from standing on end.  "How did you 
get in here, anyway?"

Scully pulled a key from her pocket and waved it at him.  
"You still have the key to my apartment.  Interesting."  
He leered at her and she rolled her eyes back at him.  
"But why did you come?"

"I dropped Mrs. Blake off at a facility not far from here. 
I thought I would stop by and see if you discovered 
anything about the tea.  I hadn't planned on staying too 
long--figured I would wait a half hour and if you hadn't 
shown up, go back to the hotel.  I guess I fell asleep.  
The next thing I remember is waking up in your bed."

Mulder thought about making a joke, but decided against 
it.  "You know Scully, you're more than welcome to leave 
some clothes here.  Just in case."  Realizing how that 
comment sounded, Mulder quickly tried to change the 
subject.  "Skinner sounded pretty concerned about you last 
night."

"Oh, he worries about me too much."  Scully walked into 
the living room and picked up the half- empty glass of 
water she had left on the coffee table.  "I think he 
started to feel somewhat responsible for me, since he knew 
you weren't covering my back any more."

"So you kept in touch with him when you moved out to Salt 
Lake City."  Mulder hoped his tone sounded light.

Scully smiled.  She, as usual, saw right through him to 
her former partner's casual remark.   "We have dinner 
whenever he comes out West."  She walked right over to 
where Mulder was standing and looked him straight in the 
eye.  "As friends."

Scully turned, headed towards the door, and was about to 
turn the knob when she found herself in Mulder's arms in 
the midst of a kiss.  Whereas the kiss the night before 
had been tender, this kiss was filled with the passion 
that Scully knew was always simmering right below the 
surface.  She hesitated but a moment, before answering 
Mulder with a passion of her own. 
  
When they parted, Mulder leaned his forehead against hers.  
"We do have until ten you know, Scully."

She stood up on tiptoe and kissed his nose.  "Work before 
pleasure, Agent Mulder.  I'll see you at ten."

++++ 
Skinner's Office
10 AM

"Nothing.  Nothing at all?"  Skinner was trying hard not 
to let his frustration show.  "I thought you said we got a 
print from the Washington Post form?"

"We did.  It didn't match up with anything we have on our 
databanks," Edgars answered a bit meekly.  He wasn't used 
to being subjected to Skinner's rage.

"What about Peters, has he come up with any prints from 
either of the Blake residences yet?"  Skinner sat down 
trying to regain his composure.

"They were able to pull several prints off the gift basket 
and they're running them now. He's also looking into who 
originally placed the order and who delivered it."

"I don't think we need to find a fingerprint to find this 
guy," Mulder said breaking his silence.  The rest of the 
group around the table looked at him curiously.  "I think 
this guy is looking for revenge of some sort, but not 
necessarily on behalf of the rainforest itself."

"So you're saying you don't think he's some sort of 
'hippy,' as Peters would put it?"  Skinner asked leaning 
back in his chair.  He had no idea where Mulder was going 
with his idea but his theory certainly couldn't be any 
worse than what they had already.

"No I don't.  I think he is a disgruntled employee.  
Either he feels he didn't get the attention he deserved 
somewhere along the way, or he didn't get the proper 
compensation for something he did."

"Okay.  How do we find him?"  Rogers was leaning towards 
Mulder, eager to hear his theory.

"All three of the original victims were involved with 
initial development of certain rainforest materials.  The 
first two both started companies using this information, 
and Leslie, the third victim, interned for one of them.  
Run cross-checks on the employee lists for both companies 
and the lobbyists involved with rainforest development.  I 
think you'll find some answers there."

Rogers looked over at Skinner.  "You heard the man, do 
it."

Rogers got up and headed out the door, holding it open for 
Scully who was entering the office.  "Sorry I'm late, Sir.  
I stopped in to check on Mrs. Blake."

"How's she doing?"  Skinner asked, obviously relieved that 
the woman had survived the night.

"As Agent Mulder suspected, she is currently going through 
some serious withdrawal symptoms, all of which are common 
to withdrawal from LSD or a similar drug."  Scully sat 
down across the table from Mulder.  "I checked her blood 
this morning. The level of the drug in her system is 
greatly reduced."

 "Agent Mulder, is this what you expected based on what 
you found in the tea Mrs. Blake was about to drink last 
night?"  Skinner turned and looked at Mulder.

"Yeah it does, which leads me to believe that we're 
correct in our theory that the people pulling the trigger 
were 'told' to do so by whoever was supplying the drug."  
 
"All we have to do is figure out how it's done," Scully 
said, getting up to pour herself a cup of coffee.  She 
took a sip of it and frowned.  "I can't believe I'm saying 
this, but this coffee actually tastes better than the 
stuff room service brought me this morning. By the way, do 
we know if Mrs. Blake keeps a social calendar?"

Edgars looked up, catching on immediately. "I'll get right 
on it. I'll check her cell phone and regular phone records 
too.  That is, Mulder, if you think our killer can give 
orders over the phone."

"I don't see why not--good thought Edgars."  Edgars beamed 
with pride.  He had always been a big fan of Mulder and 
his work.   

Scully waited until Edgars left the room before turning to 
Mulder.  "There's something else still bothering you, 
isn't there Mulder?"

He smiled at her perception.  "Yeah, there is.  Kingsley 
and Corren were the founding fathers of all this and 
they're dead.  Leslie was their heir apparent and he's 
dead.  Blake was the architect of legislation that would 
have helped companies like theirs in the future and he's 
dead."  He looked up and Scully and then over the Skinner.  
"Has he finished what he set out to do, or is he just 
beginning?"

"I don't understand."  Skinner felt a wave of uneasiness 
spread across him.

"If our man is looking for revenge, he may very well be 
done and disappear back into the woodwork.  If he's 
looking for attention and hasn't been able to get it yet, 
he may seek to get it using more elaborate means. He may 
have only just begun."

Scully and Skinner exchanged glances.  Neither even wanted 
to consider that possibility.

++++ 

He sat on a bench and watched them as they left the 
building.  He assumed they were heading off for lunch for 
it was almost noon.  He smiled when he noticed the man 
slowing his pace so his female companion could keep up 
with him.  Yes, he thought, they would do nicely indeed.  
All he had to do now was to decide which one would pull 
the trigger.

++++

Scully popped her head into Skinner's office, and smiled 
as he looked up from his desk.  "Here are my preliminary 
reports, Sir."  She showed him several file folders.  He 
nodded his acknowledgement as she handed them to him.

"How are you holding up, Scully?"  Concern covered his 
face.

"I'm fine sir, really."  He frowned at her and she sighed 
heavily.  "Okay, I'll admit I'm tired.  I'm going back to 
my hotel now to take a nap before meeting up with Mulder."

"Has it been difficult working together again?  How are 
things between the two of you?"

Scully gave him a long look before answering.  "Different, 
and yet very much the same."

"Are you going to hang around long enough to give your 
'partnership' another shot?"  

Scully gave him another hard look.  "You're beginning to 
sound like my mother."

"And you didn't answer my question."  Skinner said giving 
her look right back to her.

Scully didn't say a word, but one side of her mouth turned 
up a tiny bit, in what looked like it might have been a 
smile.

Murder In The Capital Part Five
By Katie Phillips

Scully's Hotel
5:30 PM

Scully was finishing up the last of her coffee when she 
heard a knock on the door.  She saved the document 
displayed on her computer screen, and walked over to 
answer it.  A quick look through the peep hole revealed a 
very energetic-looking Mulder.  He was obviously excited 
about something.

"We got a name," he blurted out, walking past her into the 
room.  "Herbert Tinker.  Worked for both companies and the 
lobbying firm."

"That's great Mulder, but working for a couple of 
companies doesn't give us enough to bring him in."  Scully 
followed Mulder into the room and stood by her desk, 
watching him pace back and forth.

"I know Scully, but we're close.  I can feel it."  Mulder 
finally stopped moving long enough to look at her.  
"Peters is heading up to New York to interview the folks 
up there, Rogers is flying to LA and Edgars is taking on 
the lobbying firm."

"Where does that leave us?"

Mulder gave her a slow smile and walked over and wrapped 
his arms around her.  Bending down, he gave her a long, 
deep kiss.  "That leaves us with digging through the 
federal data banks on this guy."  He kissed her again.  
"Then I thought we might stop by the Gunmen's place to see 
what they could dig up on him."  He slid his hands down 
until they cupped her bottom. "And then..."

Scully calmly reached around and pulled his hands back up 
to her waist.  "And then, we will head back to your 
apartment to write up what we've found, before I head back 
to my hotel room to sleep.  ALONE."

Mulder groaned.  "I know, I know, work before pleasure."  
Scully chuckled at him.  "I *will* be compensated for all 
this hard work, won't I Scully?"

She gave him a long look that gave him plenty of ideas of 
how he would be compensated.  "Let's go Mulder.  The 
quicker we get started..."

"The quicker I can nibble you all over?  Ouch."  Mulder 
rubbed his arm where Scully punched him.  "Have you been 
lifting weights?"  

++++

Five hours, three pizzas and two six packs of beer later, 
Mulder, Scully and the Lone Gunmen had come up with very 
little on Herbert Tinker. As Mulder liked to put it, he 
was nothing more than an ordinary guy.

Mulder looked up from his notes as Scully got ready to 
head back to her hotel.  "I still think he's trying to 
make a name for himself.  You look beat Scully."

"Thanks, you look great yourself."  Scully walked over and 
kissed Mulder on top of his head.  "Don't get up, and try 
to get some sleep yourself. I'll see you at the office in 
the morning."


++++

The man stood next to a payphone near Mulder's apartment.  
He was very happy they still made payphones; they made his 
job much easier.  He waited for thirty minutes after 
Scully's cab drove off, before picking up the phone and 
dialing.

"You will do as I say, is that understood?  Excellent.  
You will strike tomorrow."

++++

Skinner's Office
2 PM the following day

"Frankly Mulder, nothing about this guy Tinker would give 
you the idea that he had anything to do with anything, let 
alone masterminding a plot like this."  Skinner threw down 
the folder and looked across the conference table at 
Mulder.  He, Mulder and Scully had been trying to put 
together the last pieces of the puzzle while Rogers, 
Edgars and Peters were out in the field trying to track 
Tinker down.

"That plays right into my theory, Sir. This guy Tinker is 
trying very hard not to be so ordinary.  This is his one 
opportunity to stand out and be noticed, and he's making 
the most of it."  Mulder was going to continue, when he 
was interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

Kimberly entered the office holding a small envelope.  
"Excuse me, Sir.  Agent Mulder, someone just dropped this 
off for you."  

Mulder took the envelope she offered him.  "Who was it?"

Kimberly looked a bit embarrassed.  "To be honest with 
you, I couldn't really tell you.  He wasn't one of the 
regular guys from the mailroom."

"Think our friend is sending us a message?"  Mulder ripped 
open the envelope.  The message was short and sweet.  "Two 
of you will die very soon."

Mulder grew pale and showed the note to Skinner, 
immediately worried about  Scully's whereabouts, until he 
recalled she'd gone to the ladies room.  "This means he's 
gotten to someone inside this building."

"But who?  How?" 

Mulder was about to respond, when his gaze fell on 
Scully's coffee cup.  He stared at it, remembering how she 
had been raving about the stuff that she could barely 
stomach three years ago.   "Oh God!"  Mulder whispered.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door to 
Skinner's office door being locked.  "I wished you'd 
figured it out a little sooner, Mulder."  He head snapped 
up to see Scully standing with her back against the door, 
her gun pointing directly at him.  

"Scully?"  Mulder locked his eyes with hers.  The sound of 
Skinner moving caught his attention.  And Scully's.

"Don't move Walter.  I know you keep your gun in your 
drawer while you're in your office, and that Mulder's is 
downstairs."  Scully snorted in self-disgust.  "Tinker 
found the perfect fool to execute his plan."

"What *is* his plan Scully?"  Mulder was trying 
desperately to keep her talking.  His efforts were having 
the desired effect; Scully was starting to sweat. 

"It's very simple, actually.  I shoot the two of you, and 
then inject myself with this."  Mulder and Skinner 
noticed, for the first time, the small device in her hand.  
"At exactly 2:07."

She glanced at the clock on Skinner's wall.  It showed 
that Mulder and Skinner had only seconds left to live.  
Her hands began to shake, and the last thing Mulder heard 
before the gun fired was "I wish it could have been 
different, Mulder."

Mulder heard the shot and braced himself for the impact.  
He was shocked when the bullet flew past his head, missing 
him by only a few inches.  He looked over at Skinner, who 
was looking back at him with the same shocked expression 
as Mulder knew he himself wore.  Scully never missed.

"Scully never did like being told what to do," Mulder 
quipped as he turned his attention back to Scully, just in 
time to see her body crumple to the floor.  

Skinner ran to the door and opened it, ordering Kimberly 
to call for an ambulance and to seal the building, while 
watching Mulder gather Scully into his arms.  "She's still 
alive, but I don't know for how long."  Mulder's voice was 
anguished.

Skinner watched as the ambulance crew took Scully away, 
with Mulder never more than a foot from her side.  He said 
a silent prayer for the both of them, before turning his 
attention back to securing the building and apprehending 
Herbert Tinker.


++++

Within minutes the building was secured and every 
available agent was sent to search the premises from top 
to bottom, looking for Tinker.  Each was armed with a 
photo obtained from the file Mulder had prepared.  
Kimberly had confirmed that Tinker was the man that had 
dropped off the envelope for Agent Mulder.

Four hours later, Skinner arrived at the hospital with the 
unenviable job of informing Mulder that once again Tinker 
had slipped through their fingers.  Mulder took the news 
in stride.

"I'm not surprised.  I think our deaths were supposed to 
be the icing on the cake.  Scully" he looked over at the 
bed where Scully lay "threw a monkey wrench into his 
plans."

"How is she?"  Skinner wasn't encouraged by the look of 
strain on Mulder's face.

Mulder sighed and tried to smile, only to fail miserably.  
"She pumped herself with enough drugs to down a small 
elephant let alone a woman of her size.  They've done all 
they can--the rest is up to her.  If she can make it 
through the next 24 hours..."  Mulder's voice broke and he 
was unable to continue.  He closed his eyes, swallowed and 
continued.  "I was able to get hold of her mother.  She's 
landing at Dulles in an hour."
 
"I'll get her."  Skinner answered the question he knew 
Mulder was going to ask.  "And if she wants Scully's 
brothers flown in, I'll make the arrangements for that 
too."  
	
"Thank you, Sir."  Mulder turned back toward Scully.  "You 
may want to be on the look out for other folks around the 
Bureau going through withdrawal symptoms over the next 
couple of days.  Chances are good that Tinker was 
spreading the wealth around, while gathering information."

"Will do."  Skinner placed his hand on Mulder's shoulder 
and squeezed.  "She's the strongest woman I've ever met 
Mulder. She won't quit now."

++++

Mulder lowered Scully gently onto the bed and proceeded to 
cover her face with kisses.  Suddenly he stopped and 
looked at her  with concern.  "Are you sure you're up to 
this, Scully? I'd hate for you to die on me our first time 
together."  He was trying his best to keep his tone light, 
but Scully wasn't fooled for an instant.

"I'm fine Mulder, I told you that.  My doctors told me 
last week I was ready to pursue any kind of physical 
activity I wanted.  We've only waited this long to ease 
your fears."

"I want it to be perfect Scully, that's all," Mulder said, 
taking her face between his hands and kissing her lightly 
on the lips.  

"It will be, Mulder.  I couldn't ask for a more romantic 
setting."  She turned and looked out the window of their 
hotel room.  She could see the spray of the ocean as it 
drove endlessly against the rocks.  She drew her attention 
back to Mulder. "Or a better partner."

Mulder relaxed and set upon his task in earnest, and 
within moments Scully was softly moaning under him.  "God 
Mulder, why did we wait so long?" She rested her hand on 
his head, hovering somewhere above her navel.  "When I 
think of all that we've missed...Jesus, Mulder!"

Mulder looked up and grinned at her reaction to his 
wayward hand.  "Don't worry Scully, we'll start making up 
for lost time."  Scully didn't answer; she was too busy 
giving in to Mulder's touch.  Mulder smiled again against 
her belly, and was about to go in for the kill when a 
sudden blaring sound filled the room.

"What's that, Mulder?"  Scully gasped between pants.  "It 
sounds like some sort of fire alarm."

Mulder let out a groan of frustration.  "Want me to check 
it out, Scully?"

"No, but I think maybe you should."  

Reluctantly Mulder stood up and stretched.  "Are you sure 
we can't finish this first."  He turned to look at Scully, 
only to find her gone.

++++
George Washington Hospital
9:47 PM

"Agent Mulder, Agent Mulder!"  Mulder felt himself being 
pulled from his dream.  His head pounded with the sound of 
insistent alarms.  He looked up into the face of Nurse 
Edwards, Scully's ICU nurse.

"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully is crashing; I need to ask you 
to wait outside."

Mulder looked blankly at the nurse and let her lead him 
from the room.  The only thought in his mind was that 
Scully couldn't possibly be dying, not with the nurse 
sounding so calm.

Nurse Edwards looked at Mulder and gave him a kind smile 
and squeezed his arm briefly.  "I need to get back in 
there.  You wait here.  I'll let you know what's happening 
as soon as I know."

Mulder nodded, vaguely aware of the confusion in Scully's 
room as the doctors frantically tried to save her life.

++++

Scully's head hurt.  No, more than that, her whole body 
hurt.  She opened one eye and found herself lying alone on 
a table in a large, bright room with white walls.  The 
room looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't remember 
when she had been there before. She heard the sound of 
footsteps and turned her head towards the noise, wincing 
at the pain the movement caused.  She squinted, trying to 
make out the figure walking towards her.  It was a woman, 
with red wavy hair not unlike her own, dressed in a long 
white gown.  She gasped when she realized who it was.

"Missy?"  The word came out in a hoarse whisper.

"Yes, Dana I'm here."  Melissa Scully walked over to where 
her sister lay, and squeezed her hand.  "It's so good to 
see you, Dana."

"I've missed you so much, Missy."  Tears welled in 
Scully's eyes and one rolled down her cheek. 

"I know Dana, I feel your love for me every day."  Melissa 
wiped the tear from her sister's face.  "I've come because 
you have to make a decision."

"A decision?"

"Whether or not to come with me."

Scully frowned for a second until she understood her 
sister's meaning.  "Missy, I'm so tired of it all.  
Sometimes I fell like I just want peace, to rest.  I want 
it all to end."

"I know Dana, but are you sure this is the ending you are 
meant to have?"

"I don't understand."

"There is a reason you haven't already joined me Dana, do 
you realize that?"

Scully frowned again.  "No, what do you mean?"

"He's not letting you go."

"Who?"

Melissa laughed out loud, and Scully smiled at seeing her 
sister so happy.  "Surely you still aren't blind to the 
feelings of your partner Dana.  Fox's love for you is what 
pulled you back from death all those years ago, and it's 
that same love that is trying to pull you back now."

Melissa bent over and stroked her sister's head.  "I can 
feel it Dana, and if you let yourself, you will feel it 
too.  It's something very special.  It means your time 
with him is not over yet."

"Are you saying I should stay with him?"

Melissa smiled and bent over, kissing her sister on the 
forehead.  "That's for you to decide.  I'll be here 
whenever you decide to come back."

++++
George Washington Hospital
10:13 PM

Maggie Scully returned from the cafeteria and looked into 
her daughter's room.  She was filled with sadness watching 
Mulder clinging to her daughter's hand, softly pleading 
with her not to leave him.  She clasped his hand briefly, 
as she handed him his coffee.  If anyone could convince 
her daughter to stay, it would be Fox Mulder.

"Why don't you go rest in the lounge for a bit, Fox?"  
Maggie laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, already 
guessing what his answer would be. Mulder simply shook his 
head.  The doctors had not been overly optimistic about 
Scully's chances for survival, and he couldn't stand the 
thought of not being there at the end, if it should come.  
"I'm okay Mrs. Scully."  He looked up into her eyes, red 
from crying.  "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine."  Mrs. Scully didn't notice him cringe at her 
choice of words, as she placed her own cup of coffee next 
to his.  "Since you're staying, I think I'll go call Mr. 
Skinner and ask him to fetch Charlie and Bill..." She 
stopped mid sentence, causing Mulder to spin around and 
follow her stare back to Scully.

Her face appeared different somehow.  Mulder looked more 
closely and realized what it was.  Scully's eyelids were 
fluttering.  He looked back over his shoulder, and the 
smile on Mrs. Scully's face told him that she had seen it 
too.  "I'll go get the nurse, Fox.  You keep talking to 
her."

Mulder moved from his chair and sat on the edge of 
Scully's bed.  Bending over her, he began to gently stroke 
her face.  "Come on, Scully.  Open those big blue eyes and 
look at me."

To his amazement, one eye did open and then the other, if 
only for a split-second.  Mulder had to keep from jumping 
up and running to find Mrs. Scully.  "Scully, it's me.  
I'm right here.  Open your eyes and look at me."

When she did as he asked, Mulder thought he had never seen 
anything so beautiful in his entire life.  Scully blinked 
once, then twice, as if try to focus, and attempted to 
raise a hand to touch his face.  "Are you real?"  Her 
voice was dry and hoarse.

Mulder picked up her hand and held it against his cheek.  
"As real as they come, Scully.  Welcome back."  Scully 
smiled weakly at him, her eyes barely open, as she brushed 
the tears from his face with her thumb.  "I thought I'd 
lost you for sure this time.  The doctors didn't think you 
were going to make it."

Scully shook her head at this.  "They didn't know what I 
know."

"And what's that?"  

"That you wouldn't let me go."

+++++

Cancun, Mexico

Herbert Tinker took a long sip of his frozen cocktail and 
looked back over at the crashing surf. Next to him lay a 
stack of newspapers, all opened to pages with stories 
about him.  There were twenty-seven in all--some short, 
some quite detailed. He was pleased.  He liked the 
attention very much.

Maybe he would do it again someday.  Maybe not.

End of story