From: BethLynn Date: 11 Apr 1998 18:16:57 GMT Subject: NEW: Bohdi Walk (1/4) by BethLynn Title: Bohdi Walk (1/4) Author: BethLynn (BethLynn@aol.com) Date: March, 1998 Disclaimer: The X-Files is property of FOX, assorted affiliate agencies, and apparently, SAG. No infringement intended. No profit made. Distribute: Please forward to xff, and archive at Gossamer. Thank-you. Feedback: Yes, please. This is my first attempt at an X- file, although I do have an X-file related vignette archived at Gossamer. Class: An X-File with UST. Or, UST with an X-File. Rating: PG-13 Spoilers: Very minor references to - The Blessing Way, Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, Momento Mori, Small Potatoes, Redux II, Bad Blood. Summary: Mulder and Scully investigate disappearances in California's High Desert. What do Scully's implant and warm thoughts have to do with it? Note: The setting exists as described. Wanna go for a hike? Thanks: - to Debbie for helping me edit parts one and two. And, to Amy for beta-reading parts three and four. Any errors, similarities, inconsistencies, and unanswered questions are the responsibility of the author. Also, thanks to TB, Djord, Aitchey, Tonce, and, The Na'. What sound-track are we living to today? ***************** BOHDI WALK ***************** California's High Desert Region Pacific Crest Trail Late Summer TRIO Muted footsteps traveling hard-packed dirt echoed sullenly throughout the gully. Small creatures lounging around the water-hole stilled into invisibility and waited for the perceived danger to pass. Those that could, scattered when the sounds of voices came to them on waves of hot desert air. "Why are we here?" The question came from one of three people traveling slowly along a short stretch of Pacific Crest Trail. The trail extends along the Sierras from _somewhere_ up in Oregon to _somewhere_ down in Mexico. It is a well-trodden monument to man's continuing efforts to find something, anything, to make his own. The part traveled now is shored up here and there by crumbling rock walls and stone paving built by men during World War II. Jessie paused to look back at her cousin Jeff. "Jeff, you whine." She turned again and continued following the lanky form of Troy, Jeff's twin. Her gaze returned to the path before her, and the dust kicked up by Troy's boots. The three had come from different lives to converge on a once-prized childhood playground. They were miles from civilization, taking their last tired steps home. Troy stopped, inhaled, and looked over the side of the trail. Jessie paused beside him, her head nudging under his shoulder, settling his arm across her back. They stood gazing out over the gully, waiting for Jeff to catch up. They grinned at each other as the sound of his heavy breathing washed across them and down into the small valley below. Gazing down at the watering hole that had been home off and on for many years, Troy was almost overwhelmed by the feeling that today was a day of change - huge change. "You here yet, Jeff?" Troy called over his shoulder. He gave Jessie a quick squeeze and then bounded down over the edge of the trail into the gully below. A small shriek escaped Jessie as she stumbled down the slope behind him. Not to be outdone, Jeff's "hey, wait for me" rang out over the gully as he too joined a tumble of puppy-like behavior toward the pool. Caution caught up with them as they reached the edge of the water. It was a deep pool, ringed with huge boulders that had fought their way up through the desert's sands, and now stood protecting water. It was water that surfaced briefly above ground before returning to its travels below. Troy threw his arm out in front of Jessie, causing her to halt, and Jeff plastered into him from behind. Their breath came in pants as they looked at each other and the scenery around them. "See any?" Jeff's voice whispered from behind. "No," Jessie breathed, blowing sweat-soaked hair out of her eyes. She glanced at Troy's handsome face while he continued to search the area. She had grown up relying not only on what he saw, but also what he did not see. It was what he didn't see that she wanted to hear about now. She nudged him with her knuckles and he came out of his trance. "Snakes?" she queried. In answer Troy bent and began removing his shoes. "They're here - behind that Bohdi-stone across the way." His gaze glanced off a shrub-shrouded rock that had at some time broken away from its parent boulder. "They have heard us, but they don't care. Just don't go there." He tipped his head in the general direction of the far bank as he continued removing his clothing. Jessie and Jeff stripped, stopping at their underclothes. Troy waded toward a large rock turned on its side and out of formation with the rest. Jeff and Jessie grinned at each other and followed him, splashing through the shallows toward their launching-pad at the deep end of the pool. "Wait!" Jessie called. "I want to check and make sure it's deep enough to dive." She gestured to the end of the pool below the diving platform, and began to swim that way. "Jessie, you know that hole is bottomless," Jeff responded. He climbed up onto the platform and frowned down at her as she swam into their way below. "Jeff's right, Jess. There was nothin' there then, and there's nothin' there now," Troy declared as he stood with hands on hips beside his brother. He watched her swim and dive about the pool. *And that scar on your head is from?* He frowned at this thought. It wasn't his. He glanced at Jeff and saw a look of wonderment in his green eyes. "I wasn't sure," he said. He held Jeffs' gaze with his own. "It's this place, isn't it?" *I forgot*, spoke his brother's voice in his mind. They looked down at Jessie who tread water below them. She was staring back at them, green eyes wide with astonishment. Her thought reached them before her whisper did. *I think I'm afraid.* "I think I'm afraid," she said. The abilities they shared in childhood seemed a dream. Many years away from the gully had dulled their gifts. The reemergence of it was fraught with fear and anguish of what had been theirs, and what had been lost to them. "I forgot, Troy." Jessie swam to the edge of the platform and began to climb the side. "Have we been gone so long?" She went to stand next to Troy and gazed with concern into his deep green eyes. Troy stared down at her. She was a miniature of himself and his twin, Jeff. While he and his brother carried a height over six feet, Jess stood just above five feet. They all had the almost black hair and dark green eyes that ran in their family. He reached out a hand and touched her shoulder. A small frisson of energy sparked between them. He grinned. "It's good to be back," he said. His eyes twinkled as he tentatively sent a thought to her. His skills were sluggish and weak, but he watched her eyes widen in comprehension. *I never forgot, Jess.* He tapped her nose and backed up a pace to sit down on the warm surface of the boulder. He nodded at Jeff, then gave a shout of laughter that echoed around the valley. Jeff and Jessie exchanged uneasy glances. Jessie had been good with the gift but found it's absence everywhere but the valley curious. Many years passed and she let the memory of it wash into dreams. Jeff didn't like it. He remembered a close camaraderie, yet this felt like an invasion. He sat down next to his brother folding his arms across his chest. He was perturbed. When they were children, they took their ability to communicate with each other through thought, for granted. It seemed time away from the valley created a sense of unreality regarding their abilities. To be presented with reality after accepting it as dreams and impossibility was - unnerving. Troy winked at him unconcernedly and began humming a song their Grandfather had taught them on the paths of the Crest Trail. Jessie glanced down at him in consternation. The tune was familiar to her and the words sprang to mind as she listened to him. She sat down in front of him. He tilted his head looking at her and she sensed that he was trying to recall the words, or get them out of her head. He reached over and started tapping a beat on Jeff's shoulder and his brother glared at him. Jeff grudgingly began singing the words in tenor harmony. Troy's deep voice joined him and the song became an almost- chant. The force of her cousins voices joined together startled Jessie, and she stared somewhat in awe at the two of them. She grinned as they raucously vocalized the chorus, and decided it was time to join in song herself. Jessie took a deep breath ready to shout the last words of the chorus and gave a cry as a blast of incoherent thought shoved through her mind. Her breath expelled in a shriek of mindless terror and disbelief as the twins disappeared from before her. Darkness descended. PUZZLE Jessie stood on the banks of the pool, wrapped in a denim jacket and old memories. It had been two days since the boys' disappearance and she could not sleep. She dreamed though. The night and the day stretched before her. It revealed little bits of remembrance she felt she should understand. A *puzzle*, she thought, and sighed, wrapping her arms tighter around herself as she stood looking at the platform where she had last seen the boys. She heard the rumble of a voice and turned to look at a tall, lanky man behind her. He was dark-haired, his features uneven, though full lips and deep hazel eyes suggested intriguing character. He dressed in jeans, a gray T-shirt, and hiking boots. He held out a hand. "I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder. Are you Jessie Verdi?" She took his hand, nodding. Fox Mulder shook the hand of the person before him and abruptly lost his train of thought. Only his many years of experience prodded him forward into the familiar path of questive investigation. As he asked for the details of the episode that had brought him here, he also filed away visual images. The woman was obviously in the throes of grief, but her grief seemed to add to her ethereal appearance. She was petite and willowy, approximately 28 to 32 years of age. Her long dark hair framed a face of translucent skin and large green eyes. Her countenance was sad, but also resolved. It was perhaps this resolve that captured his attention. It was hauntingly familiar. He dropped her hand and led her away from the water as he asked questions. Dana Scully watched them from the edge of the platform. She took a moment to shake off the dust from the three and one - half mile hike and review the details of this case. She glanced around the gully noting that it was essentially inaccessible by anything other than pedestrian traffic. There were three other officers from assorted agencies in the area along with Mulder, the woman, and herself. It was before noon, but the sun's heat caused her to want to change from her serviceable blouse, slacks, and hiking boots, into something - less. She noted that Jessie Verdi was wearing a denim jacket and was curious. Scully turned to the platform and looked for a way to ascend. "If you go around back, there are steps." A woman's voice spoke out, and Scully looked over her shoulder to see Jessie heading her way. Mulder was following her with a slightly perplexed look on his face. "Here, I'll show you." Jessie led the way behind the boulder and soon they all stood upon the platform. She pointed out where the men were before they disappeared. "I can only say the word _disappeared_ so many times before I feel. . . . Maybe a thesaurus. . . ," she wryly observed. "Vanished," Scully supplied absentmindedly. "Mrs. Verdi," Scully went on. Jessie interrupted her with a wave. "It's Miss, and it's Jessie, thank-you." She waved again and waited for Scully to continue. "Miss Verdi," Scully enunciated. "You just recently lost your spouse, correct?" The woman nodded. "That, I am sure, was traumatic. Do you suppose that the information you are relating to us, could in any way, be. . . ." Scully gave an enigmatic little shrug. "A figment of my imagination?" Jessie finished for her. "Whatever you're thinking just say it. I know what this sounds like. Two people are gone. I'm the only witness. We've found no bodies yet." Jessie sighed and raked a hand back through her hair, heaving it all over one shoulder. "I couldn't believe my eyes. After I was done with the hysterics, I dove for them beneath the water. I decided what I saw wasn't right. Of course it wasn't right." "I dove for them," she repeated. "It's so deep here. I'm still cold." She once more wrapped her denim around her, crossing her arms. "They're gone," she assured them. "Into thin air. With the cliche of `right-before-my-eyes' echoing in my head." She tapped her temple as she looked at Scully. Scully felt a thread of responding anguish propelling her, if not to believe this human being, then to at least search for answers. Mulder saw his partner's small grimace of acceptance and knew she would do what she could for this individual. He turned and headed down off the platform. "Miss Verdi, we need to know everything concerning the disappearance of those men. Anything, no matter how seemingly insignificant, could be of use." He led them over to edge of the pond and propped himself upon a rock. He gave an ingenuous little smile, wagged his eyebrows at his partner, then turned a serious countenance toward Jessie. OASIS "Scully, how can you not be enjoying this?" Fox Mulder spread his arms wide, turning a half circle while lifting his face to the sky. They remained in the gully. The other officers had left to return to other duties, taking Jessie Verdi with them. "We are miles from civilization - up the Pacific Crest Trail - having found an Oasis within which to reside without contact from the outside world for days. Anticipation. . . ." He grinned at her before removing his cell phone from his pocket and tapping in the office number. Scully glanced at him wryly, rolled her eyes slightly, and groused about the lack of amenities. "Mulder, why are we staying here?" She picked up her pack and wandered over to where he was staring disconsolately at his phone. "My phone isn't working," he responded, as he too shouldered his pack. "I wanted to check in at the office." He turned toward what might be a good camping spot. Scully smirked at his lack of response to her question. She knew that sometimes with Mulder there were no answers other than the answers of Mulder's whim. "Mulder, we are in California's High Desert between two mountain ranges. We're surrounded by boulders almost the size of the J. Edgar Hoover Federal Building. Of course your phone doesn't work." Scully threw her pack down on a flat sandy area next to the pool. It was a thick bed of coarse sand far enough away from the pool to be dry, and large enough for her and Mulder to spread out on for a couple of days. "When did Jessie Verdi say she was returning?" "Scully, when you met Jessie did you think - now here is a person who is out-of-this-world?" Mulder looked at her with raised brows and tiny smile as he bent over his tent-pack. Scully glanced at him incredulously. "Mulder," she said straightening and setting her hands on her hips. Mulder stood too, grinning sheepishly and holding his hands up in front of him. "No I, um, I'm serious Scully." He sat in the sand. "What was your impression of her?" He waited expectantly. She stood glaring at him before adjusting her slacks and sitting down across from him in the sand. "Mulder," she began with a deep audible breath, "this woman has led a fairly dramatic, if not traumatic existence. She was orphaned young and spent her formative years with her grandfather traveling the world, whom she then buried. She was separated from her only other living family, and spent several years in foster homes, still managing to continue her education, get a degree, and establish a career - during which time she was married and widowed." "And," she supplied with emphasis, "she lost her remaining family within the last two days." "This woman is traumatized. I think she believes she saw her cousins vanish. But as to what really happened, I have no theories yet." Scully took another deep breath and looked to see if Mulder was still listening. "Mulder, I don't think this woman is an _alien_ - insert spooky music here. She is just a tragic figure who may or may not have had something to do with the disappearance of Troy and Jeff Verdi." She paused again to note that Mulders' gaze was resting on the boulder platform where the Verdis' had allegedly vanished. "Do we even have proof that those men are not elsewhere - like home?" That caught Mulders' attention and his gaze returned to Scully. "I checked before we came up here," he responded. "They were staying at a hotel in Joshua. That's the town nearest here. The manager identified them. He had quite a conversation with Jeff Verdi." Mulder popped a sunflower seed in his mouth and continued. "Mr. Jeff Verdi was irritated with the whole trip. Apparently, he was only here out of a sense of duty. The manager said that Jeff was pretty open with him regarding information concerning the death of Jessie's spouse. The loss of her husband triggered a need in Jessie to visit this place. I guess they, Jessie and the twins, spent many a summer here." He reached into his jeans' pocket for another seed and flipped it into his mouth to suck on. "Troy Verdi was said to have relished the idea of returning home." Mulder emphasized the word home. He looked for someplace to throw his shells, noticed Scully eyeballing him, and stuffed them back into his pocket. "A hiker identified them also. He recalled seeing them leaving their truck below and starting up the trail," Mulder grimaced as he reached for another sunflower seed and came up with empty shells. "At this time, I think I need to pursue this disappearance from Jess Verdi's point of view." He leaned back on his hands and looked at the water. "Hey Scully." He caught her eye. "Feel like going for a swim?" Mulder didn't wait for a reply, but grabbed his pack and began rummaging around inside. Scully stared at him askance as he stood and began to undress. Mulder noticed her watching and paused, raising his eyebrows. "Scul-ly," he whined. She turned away. BACKSTROKE "This is heaven," Mulder declared as he backstroked toward the platform. The day was drifting away. The sun no longer hit the valley, but cast its final weak light onto the tops of the boulders turning them an amazing watermelon color. Scully had her tent set up and was standing at the edge of the water shaking her head slightly as she watched Mulder skim over its dark surface. "Mulder!" She waited until she had his attention. *I never would have taken you for a speedo man,* she thought before going on. "What are you looking for?" Mulder reached the edge of the platform and started up. He stood tall at the top and looked out over the water. Scrub Oak and other small plants arranged themselves about the perimeter of the pool. Sandy beds dotted an area to the south of the water-hole. Water ran in from the north end of the pool next to the platform. The sheer faces of the boulders framed the sides of the valley, except to the southeast of the platform where a slope of dirt stretched between the trail and the pool. Mulder ran his hand down his face and looked at Scully. "Scully, have you noticed the amazing symmetry of the rocks in this area?" he questioned. "It reminds me of Stonehenge or Mount Rushmore. It almost seems as if someone created this oasis." His eyes narrowed and one eyebrow shot up as he continued his perusal. "Created. . . ." He reached up and swept the water from his shoulders. "The only rock out of place is this one I'm standing on." He prodded the rock with one naked foot. "Mulder, nature has the most wondrous ability to create. . . ." Scully paused and shook herself back to her topic of interest. "You obviously have some theory regarding the events that have occurred here. Why don't you share when you're done with your swim." Scully turned from the pool and headed to her tent. "I'm going to make something to eat." "Ew, reconstituted cuisine," Mulder noted appropriately. "I want the stew!" he called after her, and dove into the water. End (1/4) Title: Bohdi Walk (2/4) Author: BethLynn (BethLynn@aol.com) Disclaimer: See (1/4) DARK It was night. The moon cast its reflected light upon the gully creating degrees of shadows. The air was warm. Mulder and Scully chose not to have fire. They sat next to their tents, a small lantern glowing between them. It was time to turn in. Conversation had lulled into occasional innocuous comments between them. They waited for the morrow and the return of Jessie Verdi. Mulder moved as if to enter his tent, when Scully called him back. "You believe that they - the twins - went through a `portal'?" Her gaze held a weary skepticism, her voice a wealth of incredulity. She was lounging against a rock. Her legs stretched before her. Her arms crossed over her chest. They had reviewed the episodic information Jessie shared with them and the information Mulder secured before making the trip here. Although skeptical, Scully was relaxed and indulgent of Mulder and his theories. Mulder returned to his reclining position. His hands supported his head. His legs were crossed at the ankle. His gaze fixed on the Milky Way above. "Scully, that is what I _want_ to believe." Mulder pursed his lips in thought and shifted onto his side to look at her. "I think that her grandfather had a reason to want to keep bringing them here. By all accounts the man could and did take them everywhere, but they kept returning here the same time of year - every year," he paused. He ran his fingers through the sand beneath him, feeling the grains glide over his skin. "When Jessie's husband died, this place seemed to call her. She said she felt the need to return often, but because of circumstances she was prevented from doing so." Mulder sat up leaning his arms along his knees. He looked again to the diving platform. "As I was talking with her, I got the distinct impression that herein lies a puzzle. If I can find all the pieces the Verdi's whereabouts will be revealed." He glanced at her with one brow raised. "All right, Mulder. So, what do we have?" Scully, too, sat up leaning her arms on her knees. Her red hair shimmered in the moonlight. "Their grandfather purportedly led a workforce here in - what, 1946? He kept returning here, eventually bringing his grandchildren on a yearly basis. Now they - the grandchildren - have returned here with the result being the disappearance of two of them." Her brow creased in thought. Scully sought to bring some order to the small amount of seemingly inconsequential information. "Where were they when they vanished? When was it they vanished? What were they doing right before they vanished?" She stared at Mulder for answers. "Scully, did I forget to mention that they could apparently read each others minds?" Mulder cringed. He waited for a wave of hot Scully disbelief. His wait was blessedly brief, and questionably mild. "Mulder, that's just crazy!" Scully declared. "How much more are you holding onto? Do I get insight into everything that you're thinking regarding this, or are you just going to let me tag along behind you trying to scrap together the partial bits of supposition you throw out?" Scully stood and glared down at him. He craned his neck to look up at her, and wondered briefly if he could bring her down with a quick tug at the ankles. Scully caught the gleam in his eye and gave a small huff of acknowledgment. "Mulder, we need to talk about the occasional withholding of information, and escalating ditch scenes you seem to be perpetrating on my behalf." There. She said it. She waited as an awkwardness fell between them. Mulder was looking up at her and she noted a hint of bewilderment _and_ repentance on his moonlit face. "At the office?" he queried. "At the office," she sighed. "Let's go check out that platform again," he rasped as he stood and brushed the sand from his jeans. The moon's glow illuminated the granite face of the boulder in high relief. They stood on top looking closely at the surface. VIBRATO Scully watched the dawn come. The night had been vibrant. The light of the moon, the myriads of stars, the night sounds of the desert - all conspired to hold her attention. It was difficult to sleep and she found herself listening to the water. The water rippled. It babbled. It whispered. It sang to her, urging her to `come on in'. She finally gave in, emerging from her tent and slowly wading into the caressing depths of the pool. If she kept her eyes open it was a sensory overload of stars in the sky reflected upon the surface of the water. So she closed her eyes as she lapped the pool. She tried to be quiet, hoping the sounds of the evening would cover her movements. She prayed Mulder wouldn't make an appearance. Mulder equated work anyway you looked at it. She tried hard not to look at it, and that was work too. Peace of mind meant Scully here, Mulder there. She was a scientist and she knew what happened with the combination of combustible materials. So Scully watched the dawn come. She sat at the edge of the pool and patiently waited as the night faded by degrees into light. The stars winked out. The moon vanished on the run. The sky faded to gray. A brilliant coppery hue heralded the arrival of the sun's golden rays. The sun would come into the valley soon, but for the moment it danced across the tops of the boulders. "The earth breathes," Mulder invoked solemnly behind her. She turned from her perusal of the sky to see Mulder standing up the bank behind her, his head lost in his T - shirt as he pulled it on. She gave a silent sigh, shivered, and headed to her tent to change from her bathing-suit into jeans and a pullover. Jessie showed up after breakfast carrying a large pack on her back. She dressed much the same as the day before. Her air of resolve had evolved into a quiet urgency that thrummed throughout her body. Mulder watched as she quickly and efficiently displayed her treasure. "I brought everything with me when we came," she explained. "I mean, I didn't tell the boys, but when Dan died, it was in my mind that I needed to go home. I planned to buy a house down the hill in town." She went on breathlessly. "I dreamed of them last night. I keep seeing them. I relive times in our lives that were fun and they seem important." She paused to look at them. "Anyway, I brought my grandfather's journals." She glanced at Scully standing beside her. Scully returned her stare quizzically. "I don't know, I felt there might be something here," she said as she plopped herself down in the dirt. She threw her jacket over a shrub, and began thumbing through small books. She began humming under her breath, and selected one. Scully glanced at Mulder. He shrugged easily and sat down across from Jessie. He made a long-armed grab for a journal. Scully turned away in slight exasperation. She was wondering where to focus her concrete policy of investigation by scientific evaluation, when the tune that Jessie was humming caught her attention. She turned back to stare at Jessie. Sub-vocally, she began a breathy harmony to Jessie's melody. "What is that?" she asked. Jessie and Mulder looked up at her. Scully stared hard at Jessie. Mulder glanced from Scully to Jessie and back to Scully again wondering what his partner was referring to. "That song. That song that you're humming. What is that?" Scully squatted down in front of Jessie, her blue gaze boring into her. Jessie frowned at her in confusion. She felt Scully's intensity, but didn't understand it. "It's a song my Grandfather taught me," she explained. "He taught me, I mean us, many songs. He called them teaching songs." "Sing it," commanded Scully. Mulder passed a hand over Scullys' arm as if to restrain her from something and Scully glared at him briefly before returning her attention to Jessie. Jessie gave a Gaelic little shrug and complied, her sweet soprano voice quietly sifting through phrases her grandfather had drilled into her. She kept her eyes locked with Scully's, but soon her attention shifted to the words she was singing and she became aware that she had never really listened to them before. She also became aware that Scully was singing with her - just as softly, if a little off key. "I know this song Mulder!" Scully exclaimed, standing and planting her feet in the sand. Her elegant hand grasped his shoulder. Mulder stood slowly. He frowned as he watched his partner. She was obviously upset. Hazel eyes stared down at her through dark lashes, waiting for her to go on. "I know this song Mulder. I heard it last night," his gaze intensified, and he nodded slightly in encouragement, ". . . in my dreams!" HUNCH Dana Scully winced as her partners long fingers tightened around her arms. The pain brought back some measure of control, and she was able to regain the solid composure that comprised so much of her personality. The phrase `solution by science' remained a subconscious litany by which she was able to remain lucid in the world she continually followed Mulder through. She followed him willingly, for his belief in the truth was as strong as hers. With integrity, they stood face-to-face, one the mirror image of the other. One stood in reality, staring at the other who represented reality. The end result the identical representation of belief in the truth. Fox Mulder watched his partner recapture control. Her eyes focused on him with clarity. She stood infinitesimally taller. He gave her a little shake and stood away from her. "No singing," he declared. He stared at her and then at Jessie who sat curled defensively over a journal. He marched through the sand, over to the pile of journals and grabbed one. He turned and tossed it at Scully, who caught it reflexively. Fox Mulder was electrified. He had a hunch, and wanted to act on it. He needed more information. He wanted more information, fast. IMAGES Mulder's back hurt. He flipped the last page of journal number umpteen, and fell back onto the sand groaning. If anything of import was contained in the journals he read, it was written in code. "Of course it's written in code, Mulder." Scully looked up from the journal and eyed her partner as if he suddenly grown stupid. "It's apparent. The songs Jessie's grandfather wrote in here are symbolic of. . . . What? What!?" Scully watched her partner sit up slowly. His gaze fastened on her with an intensity that made her skin crawl. Goose bumps chased themselves along her arms as she watched Mulder turn over and crawl across the sand toward her. "Mulder, you're stalking me." Scully looked at him in confusion and felt the distinct urge to run. "Why are you stalking me?" She tilted her chin up in challenge, resisting the desire to flee as he approached. *Scully* Mulder thought. He spoke in his mind as if he were speaking aloud to her. "What?" Scully frowned at him trying to figure out why he was looking at her so strangely. "What Mulder?" *Since when. . . . ,* he started. Each word he spoke equated a pace on hands and knees through the sand. *Can you read. . . . .* He watched as the realization of what she was doing spread across her face. It was an amazingly expressive face, and he bucked the impulse to tilt her mouth closed with a finger.". . . my mind?" he finished, cocking an eyebrow in question. "Mulllderrrr!" Scully felt her breath hitch. Her heartbeat escalated, feeding her system adrenaline. "What are you doing!?" she exclaimed. Her view of the world began to tilt precariously. Scully started to rise, suddenly certain if she got away from Mulder she would be able to concentrate. This liquid confusion had happened before when she let her guard down. All she had to do was get away from him and the heavy breathing would dissipate. *Unh-unh. Don't run,* he thought. Mulder reached her and grabbed an ankle. He watched her look around for a possible avenue of escape. She turned her head one way and another, and he mimicked her movements trying to persuade her to meet his eyes. "Scully, there is a logical explanation for this," he stated reassuringly. Scully looked at her partner, focusing on his hazel eyes. She latched onto the words "logical" and "explanation" and breathed them in and out as she stared at him. He was watching her with raised brows and a wicked little smile on his full lips. "Mulder, this isn't funny," she scolded. She gave him a little shove and stood up. "Let me think." She frowned in concentration and turned away from him. "Yeah, Scully. Think at me," Mulder drawled. He sat with one long leg tucked beneath him and an arm propped on an upraised knee. His gaze followed her as she paced. Scully stopped and glared at him. She folded her arms across her chest and inclined her head toward him. Her look was searing. "What, Scully? I can't hear you." Mulder grinned as his partner pursed her lips and quite obviously _thought_ at him again. "Nope. Nothing. Maybe there's some type of parental control. Try thinking something PG," he suggested. "Mulder, you're insane," she huffed. Scully brushed her hair off her forehead. "Get serious." She glanced at Jessie. Jessie sat watching them somberly. She nodded at Scully and held up a journal. Scully grabbed it from her. *I know what it is,* thought Jessie. *I know how I do this.* She met Scully's gaze with resolution. Scully frowned at her and looked down at the open journal in her hands. "Speak out loud, Jessie," she ordered. She did not look up from her perusal of the journal. Mulder's eyes widened and he stood, crossing to Scully. "You heard what Jessie was thinking?" he asked, absentmindedly brushing sand from his hands. Scully glanced up at him and noted a look of consternation on his face. "Yes," she said. "Didn't you hear her?" Mulder gave a negative shake of his head. He eyed Jessie, and Scully winced as his thought ricocheted through her mind. *Jess, can you hear Scully?* he asked. Jessie nodded, eyes wide. "And Scully, you can hear Jess?* He glanced at Scully and saw her slight affirmative. *You can both hear me?* he questioned. They both nodded at him. "Talk to me," he requested out loud. Scully started to speak and he gave a negative shake of his head. *In your head,* he admonished. He crossed his arms and tilted his head forward in concentration. Scully frowned and uneasily _thought_ at him. Jessie stared, fleeting expressions passing across her face as she transmitted. Mulder frowned. He tried to receive. He sweated to receive. He worked to convince himself he was receiving. He heard _nothing_. He swore and rolled his eyes toward the sky as he turned from them. He strode away, leaving behind a jumble of harsh thoughts in their minds. Scully let him go. Her gaze returned to the pages in her hands. She read the words and the action was calming. She read the words again and her focus shifted to the meaning of the words she read. It made sense. She looked at Jessie and nodded. Scully handed the journal back to her and went after Mulder. RESONANCE Mulder propped himself atop a rock wrapping his arms around his jeans-clad knees. He knew he was being immature, but he was resentful of Scully. He cared for his partner more than he could handle at times. She kept him whole. Her beliefs were the polar opposite of his, yet she never belittled him. She teased him occasionally in her dead-pan Scully way, but she never made fun of him - well, not much. He wanted to believe, and she let him. While she questioned everything, he was allowed to accept everything. She had become a buffer between himself and those idiots who called him "Spooky". It bothered him that she was presented with so many opportunities to believe, and she pushed so hard to make the extraordinary fit into her rigidly outlined existence. He would gladly, triumphantly, accept telepathic ability. She couldn't enjoy it unless there was some plausible scientific explanation for it. He rapped his knuckles on the rock and blew a mental raspberry at her. *I want to read minds,* he thought sulkily. *I wanted to see Van Blundhts' tail too.* He thrust out his bottom lip and hunched his shoulders in dejection. "Jesus, Mulder. Grow the hell up," Scully scolded from behind him. She walked around the side of the rock. Mulder sat up straight and rolled his eyes. He stared at her with reproach. "Scully, give me a moment please," he muttered. He scooted away from her. Scully gaped at him in disbelief. "Mulder, focus," she requested, reaching to pass a hand over his arm. She stood staring up at him, her other hand brushing slightly at her thighs. Her red hair was a coppery blaze against the muted colors of the desert. Her eyes were beseeching him for resolution regarding this disconcerting turn of events. *She sure is luscious,* he thought and watched Scully eyes widen in astonishment. *And mulish,* he hurriedly concluded, grinning cheekily. Scully pursed her lips, merriment dancing briefly in her blue eyes. "Mulder, it isn't what you think," she stated. She pushed her hair back habitually and sighed, searching for a way to continue. "How do you know what I think Scully?" he asked drolly. She frowned at him. She was thankful he was not one to repine, although the ease with which his disposition shifted could be disconcerting. "Its resonance, Mulder," she stated bluntly. Scully paused to see if he was paying attention to what she was saying. He nodded for her to continue. "Jessie has a piece of metal embedded in her shoulder. A micro-chip," she emphasized. She raised her eyebrows silently questioning. A wealth of comprehension passed between them. Mulder ruthlessly crushed the latent anxiety which threatened to sweep through his heart at the mention of micro-chips and female shoulders - one peaches and cream female shoulder in particular. Scully's abduction, the removal of an apparent micro-chip, and her subsequent cancer, had all led to a micro-chip being reinstalled subcutaneously at the back of her neck. They weren't sure what had caused her cancer to go into remission. They _were_ certain that the chip would stay beneath her skin until they learned what its purpose and capabilities were. Mulder nodded again in all seriousness. He realized they actually carried on a good portion of non-verbal communication between themselves. He felt his focus return in force. Events here in the valley seemed to be more involved than he anticipated. Scully crawled up on the rock beside him. She glanced quickly about the valley. "The chip evidently resonates transmitted thoughts through the skeletal structure of your body. Once it hits your head, you hear the transmission much the same way you hear your own voice when you hold your hand to your lower jaw." She demonstrated, holding one hand to her face and the other to Mulders. She watched Mulders eyes widen as he leaned slightly into her touch. His hair was silky against her fingertips. She dropped her hand quickly and turned her gaze out over the valley. "There has to be a transmitter somewhere, Mulder," she explained. Mulder blinked, a look of comprehension alighting his countenance. He too, scanned the area around the pool. End (2/4) Title: Bohdi Walk (3/4) Author: BethLynn (BethLynn@aol.com) Disclaimer: See (1/4) BOHDI The end of the day was approaching and the gully was swathed in shade. Mulder and Scully roamed the area with purpose. Jessie tagged along. She knew what they were looking for, but she was overwhelmed by circumstance and events. Her input and assistance was limited to observations about this rock or that bush. She felt hopeless and out-of-pace with the agents. "Don't go there," she exclaimed. She hurriedly put herself between Mulder and the Bohdi-stone he was approaching. She stopped his forward stride, holding a hand out between them. Mulder looked down at her and halted. It wasn't her words, or her hand that stopped him. He again had the overwhelming impression that he knew this woman. She was familiar. This feeling tickled the back of his mind. He had not taken the time to wonder where he knew her from, but his subconscious was becoming insistent that he listen. He frowned down at her, trying to gain some clarity regarding her familiarity. He looked at her graceful hand held out between them. His gaze moved up her arm to her shoulder and over her face, stopping at her eyes. A fleeting sense of recognition caught at him, but she was speaking and he felt his focus shift to her words. The answer he sought escaped him. "There are snakes around the Bohdi-stone." Jessie was repeating herself. Agent Mulder seemed to be listening to her, but he wasn't reacting to her words. "They probably have a pit, somewhere around or beneath it," she continued. She let her arm fall from between them and gestured behind, to the stone. Agent Mulder nodded and looked over her shoulder toward the rock. She was glad to have his gaze off her. She was starting to feel like a bug under a magnifying- glass. "What did you call that stone?" Mulder asked. He shifted around her and approached the rock. It was about the size of a Blazer and scrub-oak surrounded most of it. He stopped several feet away from it and stared. "It's called a Bohdi-stone," Jessie explained. "That's what my grandfather called it anyway. He called the boulders Bohdi's. This rock has broken away from that one." She gestured to a huge boulder behind the rock. "It's just a Bohdi's stone. Bohdi-stone." Jessie tilted her head and smiled. "My grandfather was an amazing man. He had all these words for things here." For a moment it appeared she would go on, but her gaze turned inward, and she lost herself to memories. "Hey Scully!" Mulder turned and gestured for Scully to join him. She waved at him from across the pool and started around the perimeter. He turned back to the stone, scanning it and the area around it. Scully reached Mulder's side slightly out of breath and with one wet shoe. She glanced at Jessie and mentally labeled her temporarily out of commission. Her gaze centered on Mulder who seemed to be vibrating with excitement. *Uh-oh,* she thought. He is on to something. "Mulder?" She looked at him in question. *Bohdi,* he whispered in her mind. Scully stared at him in perplexity. "Bohdi, Scully." Mulder gestured to the rock. "Jessie's grandfather called the boulders Bohdi," he continued. In deference to the aforementioned snakes he led Scully away from the rock. Jessie followed them absentmindedly. They stopped some paces away. Mulder leaned down slightly, capturing Scully's gaze with his own. "Bohdi is a tree," he began. "It's a ficus or a fig tree. I don't remember which. I do remember that the man who would become Buddha, was sitting under the Bohdi when he received a revelation regarding life perfected. He called this perfection of life - the middle path. The middle path being neither completely spiritual, nor materialistic alone, - but somewhere in between. He called this middle path `Bohdi' for the tree that provided him comfort during his revelation." Mulder paused, trying to order his thoughts. He felt a revelation of his own coming to fore, but could not quite tag the edges of it. "Mulder, I don't understand what that has to do with the transmitter." Scully looked at him in question and waited. "Neither do I, Scully," he responded. "Not yet." Mulder felt uneasy. They were obtaining information, but it was varied enough that he was having a difficult time drawing any conclusions. His mind shifted over the information he acquired seeing no connection between the Verdi's disappearance, Scully's sudden telepathic abilities, odd names for rocks, and teaching songs. "Agent Mulder, don't forget about the snakes," Jessie reminded. She approached them timidly. "I'm going back to the hotel," she continued. "I can't be here anymore today." She nodded at them and turned away. Scully started after her in concern. Her petite-self taking up ground as she followed Jessie to the edge of the path. *It's going to be dark soon,* she thought. She found that it was easier to show concern for another if she didn't have to voice it aloud. With this awareness she became awkward in her concern. Her awkwardness transmuted into inadequacy and this was foreign to her. It stopped her at the bottom of the path, her thoughts following Jessie out of the valley. Jessie turned around at the top of the slope and stared down at Scully in understanding. She reached to push her hair behind her back and grinned down at her. *I'll be fine. I know this trail,* she assured. *Um, I just need some space. I know the twins thoughts, what they feel like. You and Agent Mulder are different, and it's hard. . . ,* she let the thought trail away. Scully nodded in understanding. Difference is change, and change is different. "I'll be back tomorrow," Jessie explained. She turned and followed the shadows down the trail. DESIDERATA Desert twilight brings with it a breeze that has traveled far gaining substance of scent. As the desert settles into night the breeze inundates the denizens with air and smells that are foreign and tantalizing. It awakens the inhabitants that sleep during the heat of the day, and taunts them with aroma bordering flavor. After the breeze has stirred all creatures into the night, it departs, leaving behind feelings of want that need to be fulfilled. Hunger is to be appeased. Scully watched Mulder waving his flashlight back and forth in the night. The man was on a mission and there was no stopping him from viewing the world as seen by the light of half a watt. She sat on the sand next to her tent, shaking her head slightly, thankful for the brightness of the moon. She wanted to tell him he would see better if he just turned off the flashlight and relied on the white light of earth's natural satellite. She was tired though and didn't want to chase his long-legged stride through the sand. She grabbed her bag of trail mix and popped an occasional handful into her mouth as she waited for the explorer to return. She sifted through the mix, unconsciously leaving behind the sunflower seeds and making sure she palmed the majority of the raisins. Mulder decided it was time to quit for the night after stepping in the water for the fourth time. He shucked his boots at the edge of the sand-pad he and Scully were camping on, and collapsed beside her. He eyed her bag of trail mix. "Oh my god, Mulder!" Scully exclaimed. "I can almost hear you salivating." She thrust the bag at him. "Here." He propped himself on an elbow, snagging the bag from her. He groaned as the mixture of sunflower-seeds, coconut, and assorted nuts hit his palette. He licked his fingers lavishly after a few mouthfuls. Scully watched him, her breath catching on a chuckle as he once more popped a finger into his mouth. Mulder heard her aborted chortle and glanced up to see what she found humorous. He caught her staring at him and stilled. *So, Scully. Can you only hear the thoughts I phrase as if speaking aloud?* Mulder slowly drew his finger from his mouth making sure to get all the salt off. He watched Scully's eyes widen, and smiled inwardly as a breath stuttered in past her full lips. "It appears so, Mulder," she rasped on a sigh. She watched him bring another handful of food to his mouth. She appreciated beautiful hands, and Mulder's hands were eloquent. Yes, she thought, eloquent. He could make grasping the back of a chair look erotic, and what he was doing now was indecent. He lapped at his fingers again, his eyes never leaving her face. She could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks. Mulder was having fun. It wasn't often he could unnerve his partner, but she clearly found something fascinating about him tonight. There were paths he and Scully did not travel together. It would be too easy to trip each other going over the rough patches, but he was tempted. Five years of living over one- third of every day with her created an affinity between them. His heart wanted more from her, but his mind kept telling him no. Never-mind what another very insistent part of his anatomy had to say occasionally. *Want some?* he asked. He tried to convince himself he was referring to the trail-mix and not his fingers. "Mulder, what was that business about `snakes'?" she queried. Score one point for Scully. She was proud of herself for once again avoiding temptation. It would be game- point for her if she could get over the urge to lick his fingers too. Mulder wiped his hands on his pants and sat up. He reprimanded himself for playing silly `UST' games when there was nowhere for either of them to run. "Jessie believes there is a pit of snakes somewhere around the Bohdi-stone," he explained. "I was sidetracked by the use of the term `Bohdi' to describe boulders, and haven't taken the opportunity to ask her to elaborate." Mulder pushed his hands back through his hair and arched the back of his neck. "Scully, we need to know what Jessie's Grandfather was referring to in his journals," Mulder began. "We've decided that many portions are written in some sort of symbolic code. The teaching songs could be ascribed symbolically also." He paused to reflect. He eyed Scully sitting in the moonlight beside him. She was curled up with her head on her arms, staring sideways at him. Her hair was copper luminescence atop a petite figure swathed in shadows. "Scully, that song that you sang with Jessie this morning. . . ." Mulder felt an idea begin to form. "That was apparently transmitted to you by way of your, um, your chip." He gestured to the back of his neck in reference. "I want you to sing it," he said. He watched as Scully gave a negative shake of her head. He brought a hand to her shoulder. "First, I want you to sing it," he ordered insistently. "Then I want you to see if you can hear it." "Mulder, this is ridiculous. . . ," Scully began. Mulder interrupted her. "Scully," he rasped. *Scully,* he continued in his mind. *Somehow your ability to hear thoughts is connected with the disappearance of two men. I feel this. I need you to listen to me. I need you to help me. I need you to sing to me.* He shifted onto one hip, leaning toward her. "Sing to me," he entreated softly. Scully grimaced. Singing was not her forte. "You know, Mulder," she uttered. She scowled at him, and huffed. "Skip it." She took a deep breath and paused. "Sing it," Mulder growled. "Erunh. . . ," Scully threw back her head defiantly and sang to the sky. "I came to see the stars from your sky, I stayed and watched the seasons flow by. I wept with love for someone like you. And left with truth, no longer pursued. . . ." Mulder tried to hold back a grin as she sang. He tried. He watched her warble, her face turned toward the sky, her eyes closed in concentration. She was tucked into a little ball on the sand, her knees to her chest, and her hands cupping the balls of her feet. He tried not to laugh at the picture she presented. ". . . middle-path, and I. . . ." Scully faltered, turning to glare at Mulder. ". . . do not look like a bird!" She watched as Mulder fell back in the sand guffawing. He rolled to his side trying to breathe and rousingly burst into laughter again. Scully eyed him grimly. She waited until he was somewhat calm. "You know, Mulder. Although this song is replete with symbolism, it isn't the one that we want." She watched him sit up and wipe tears from his eyes. He glanced at her engagingly, nodding like a puppy-dog. "This song appears to be a love song," she observed. "It does mention a `middle-path' but not in conjunction with anything that might remotely explain the disappearance of Troy and Jeff Verdi. If you believe they traversed some type of portal, perhaps we should be searching for any references regarding transportation." Scully ended her observation on a questioning note looking to Mulder for confirmation. He nodded somberly. "I want some concrete answers," Mulder began quietly, his voice husky from laughter. "We need to find that transmitter." SKIN Scully was certain she would not sleep. The water was talking to her again, her sleeping bag was full of sand, and Mulder was too close. But the night swept away. She sat up swiftly scraping the top of her head on the slope of her tent. She cursed silently and fumbled for her boots. She was frustrated in more ways than one. It was difficult to remain focused on discovering the whereabouts of the Verdi brothers. Of course, the advent of telepathy was distracting. Scully smirked at the inadequacy of that thought. There was a logical explanation for her new ability, but that did not help with the reality of being able to read anothers' thoughts. She felt her emotional control slipping away as she spent time here in the valley. That was frightening. Mulder seemed inordinately exuberant and that was beyond frightening. *Hey Scully!* Mulder's voice bounced through her head. "The man needs a volume control," she muttered as she finished tying her shoes. Mulder was sitting outside her door observing the dawn. He grinned at her and moved over. She parked herself next to him on the sand, facing the rising sun. Scully took a deep breath and shivered slightly from the morning chill. The days were hot. The nights were warm. The dawn was chill, and moisture settled briefly upon the surface of the desert. The desert biome waters its lawn at dawn. Mulder scuttled close to her and draped an arm about her, drawing her into the slope of his shoulder. It felt good and she resisted the urge to snuggle. *Cold?* he thought on a whisper in her mind. She nodded against the flannel of his shirt. He pulled her tighter, dropping his other arm across the front of her and rubbing her arm briskly. *Where's your pull- over?* She mumbled into the front of his chest, her warm breath seeping through the material of his shirt and heating his skin. Mulder was torn between asking her another inane question, and telling her not to breath again until he could escape the heat of her. Maybe he could take his shirt off, ask her another question, and she could mumble a reply against his skin. He grinned. *Fool,* he chided himself. Scully lifted her head to glare at Mulder. She gave him a slight shove and scooted away from him. "I am not a fool, Mulder," she exclaimed. "I can't help it if my feet were cold. Excuse me. I'll get my sweatshirt from the bottom of the sleeping-bag." She gave him another dirty look and crawled back into her tent. Mulder stared after her incredulously. *Well, that was swift,* he thought despairingly with regards to himself. "Mulder, shut-up!" Scully yelled from inside her tent. Mulder stared forlornly at her tent, heaved a ragged sigh, and turned to go hunt for transmitters. TRANSMIT "Day Number three, Mulder," Scully stated briskly. "What do we have? Let's see. . . . I have telepathy," she established. "What do you have? -- Any realizations, theories, intuitive leaps of logic, Agent Mulder?" she questioned snidely. Mulder stared at his partner with reproach. She was apparently still miffed at him. Thankfully, Scully was rarely snide, for it was not an attractive emotion on anyone. "Actually, Scully," Mulder began with equanimity. "I do have a theory." Scully stared at him dubiously. Mulder had an inherent ability to take a small amount of information and create a foundation from which to pursue plausible and probable outcomes regarding the intriguing cases they were assigned to solve. Scully checked her attitude. Her irritation with her partner's earlier remarks regarding her `foolishness' was inappropriate in this investigation. It was time for her to listen. "We've established the possibility of a transmitter in the area. True, we haven't located it yet." He paused, shuffling his thoughts. "It's existence would explain the resonance- chips, which we have proof of." He gestured to Scully. "What if the transmitter not only transfers sound, but also matter?" Mulder headed toward the platform as he spoke. He did not look to see if Scully was following. "I assume that the Verdi's - en masse - have resonance-chips embedded under their skin." "Jesse stated that she and the twins share a telepathic link." He stopped at the base of the platform and turned to give Scully a hand up. "She seems connected to this situation through her implant. I suspect her grandfather and his teaching songs are part of the equation. The grandfather, the Verdi's, the portal, the transmitter, and the telepathy are all associated." Mulder stood next to Scully on the platform. He gaze ranged out over the gully, searching for the most conceivable place to put a transmitter. They had searched the obvious areas. They found nothing. "Mulder." Scully grabbed his sleeve and gave a slight tug. "I hear music." She turned toward the center of the platform and tipped her head, pushing her hair behind her ears. She could hear a faint voice chanting. She moved hesitantly about the top of the platform trying to hear better. "Mulder, it's getting louder." Scully instinctively backed away from the sound, attempting to pull Mulder with her. JUMP Jessie heard the sound as she stepped down off the trail. It was far away. It was familiar. It was coming closer. Jessie ran. She hurried toward the agents. Scully saw Jessie's swift approach. Their eyes met briefly and understanding passed between them. Scully was not sure what was happening. The voice - the sound, was getting louder. Instinct told her to run. Experience told her it was too late to run. She contrived to back away from the center of the platform, pulling at Mulder. She glanced over her shoulder, eyes widening. Mulder was striving to brush his partners hands from his arms when she grabbed hold of him painfully and gave a huge yank. He lost his balance and fell. The sound grew hideously loud in her head. Scully grabbed Mulder hoping to move them to safety. She gave her partner a firm swift tug and launched herself backward. They sailed out over the edge of the platform and into the water below. Jessie held her hands to her head. The sound was excruciating. She stood below the platform watching Scully and her partner fall toward the water. They hit the surface, sinking quickly beneath the waves created by their impact. The sound ceased. "Damn, Scully. What are you. . . Why did you. . . . I've got water in my ears!" Fox Mulder spit and swam for shore. "Yeah, well. Don't say I ain't never did nothin' for ye," she drawled quietly. Scully tread water, flipping her hair out of her eyes. End (3/4) Title: Bohdi Walk (4/4) Author: BethLynn (BethLynn@aol.com) Disclaimer: See (1/4) RHYTHM Jessie sat with a journal on her lap. This was her third time through them and she was catching the rhythm of the words. Events were becoming clear. Mulder rubbed his hand along his jaw wishing for a shave. *Breakfast would be nice too,* he thought, running a hand down his washboard stomach. He heard a whistle from behind him and turned in time to catch an apple Scully lobbed at him. "I want some real food, Scully." He looked at the apple with slight distaste. It looked nothing like the bacon and eggs he was envisioning. Scully approached him brushing her hair. She reached out and snagged the apple back, taking a bite. "It was your idea to camp, Mulder," she justified around a mouthful of fruit. Mulder frowned at her as she licked juice from her lips. A soft growl pushed past his lips and he went to sit down next to Jessie. *Time for a huddle.* He picked up a journal and waited for Scully to join them on the sand. Scully looked after her partner curiously and followed him. She wiped at her mouth with petite fingers and sat down. "Any ideas what that sound could have been, Jess?" Mulder was frustrated. They seemed to be accomplishing little toward solving this case. He had ideas, but no evidence to support them. It was also becoming difficult to work with Scully and keep his thoughts to himself. "I heard chanting when I first entered the valley, Agent Mulder. It was familiar. It wasn't the song that we were singing on the platform though." Jessie shook her head and started to speak again, but stuttered to a stop. Agent Mulder was staring at her again. "Jess, you didn't tell us you were singing on the platform. Were you singing when the twins disappeared?" Mulder flipped absentmindedly through a journal, his gaze never leaving Jessie. His tone was precise. Inarguably professional. Jessie squirmed. It did not occur to her that the actuality of singing had anything to do with the twins disappearance. She was hopeful the teaching songs would provide some insight into events. She had not realized they might be an active part of occurrences. "Yeah, we were singing. It was the `Path' song." She closed her eyes, preparing to review events before Troy and Jeff's disappearance. Mulder reached to touch her arm. He needed more. If they were working with transmitters and frequencies, then the song could be a catalyst. "The path song, Jessie?" Scully's soft voice prodded her, questioning. Jessie felt for the words. "Grandfather taught us chants as we hiked the Crest Trail. He drilled us. There were many. They're written in the journals." She sighed and shifted on the sand. "I learned them, but they never really had any meaning. Troy was the one who listened. He said they were important, but he didn't say why." She frowned in thought. "When grandfather was murdered. . . ." Mulder raised his brows at the use of the word `murdered' and glanced sideways at Scully. She gave a wide-eyed little shrug and turned back to Jessie. ". . . we were separated. We lost touch of each other for awhile." She played with the ends of her hair, tying it in knots. "I remember humming the `Path' song - that's the name of it actually. It was learned on the trail, but it is also called the `Path' song. Anyway, I was humming it, but didn't remember the words right away. Troy and Jeff were singing it and I was just ready to join in when they vanished." A tear fell and she swiped at it with the ends of her hair. "Jess." Scully leaned forward to pat her arm. She waited until Jessie looked at her. "I'm sorry. I know this is painful. But remember - we don't know that your cousins are dead. They may be alive. Hold onto that." Mulder nodded and bit the inside of his cheek. Confirmation of the existence of the transmitter was tantamount. "Jess, we need the words to that song. I believe the tune is significant, also." "Mulder what about the sound at the platform?" Scully asked. She watched Mulder purse his lips in concentration, and prayed they would have answers soon. She wanted to pull that pouty lower-lip between hers and . . . . She rolled her eyes in self-reproach. "I have a theory Scully." He watched her roll her eyes. "Excuse us, Jessie. I need to speak to my partner for a moment." He grabbed Scully by the arm and led her away. Scully let Mulder drag her from the camp-site, across the sand to the Bohdi-stone. She was confused by his rough handling. Her gaze met his in concern. "Scully, I have apologized for this morning. Don't you think it's time for you to get over it?" Mulder spoke in a low urgent voice. He depended on the cooperation of his partner, as far as providing a united insoluble presence as government officers. It was unprofessional for her to ridicule him in front of others. "Mulder, what are you talking about?" Scully was taken- aback. He was using his mouth-full-of-marbles voice. It was a low insistent tone he adopted when she inadvertently annoyed him. "This," he said. He deliberately and elaborately rolled his eyes, complementing it with a slight shoulder roll. Scully scowled. "Mulder, what in the hell are you talking about?" She was fast losing patience. "You need to elaborate. I don't understand this." She rolled her eyes and shoulders back at him. Mulder felt his control slipping. She was deliberately misunderstanding him. He took a deep breath, and froze. Scully watched Mulder take a deep breath and felt the distinct urge to knock it out of him. Her hands fisted unconsciously. *Scully, don't move.* Mulder's voice reverberated through her mind with just the right amount of urgency. She froze. *Rattler.* Mulder followed the snakes movement with his eyes. It slithered past behind Scully and moved sleekly on toward the water. *Scully, that snake just went swimming,* he thought in awe. He watched the snake glide across the surface of the water and alight on the opposite shore. "Mulder," Scully whispered. "Can I move now?" She waited. "What?" He turned back to his partner. "Oh, yeah. Um, yeah. It's gone. It went. . . ." He pointed over his shoulder. "Where were we?" "I was about to knock you flat, because your irritating me, and, . . . snakes." Scully gave him a little push and yelled `come-on' over her shoulder. She paced rapidly around the Bohdi-stone peering at the face of the rock. She paused here and there bending to look beneath it. Mulder followed behind her appreciating the view occasionally, but generally at a loss for what they were doing. *Scully, what are you doing?* "Snakes, Mulder. Snakes!" She pushed aside some scrub-oak, peering behind it. "You're looking for snakes?" The moment he said the word `looking' in conjunction with `snakes' he understood what she was hunting for. The Bohdi-stone was the only place they had not searched. They avoided the area because of the snakes. `Transmitter', he mouthed. ANSWERS They found it. Mulder boosted Scully on top of the stone and pulled himself up. It was embedded in the rock and apparently impervious to the weather. Small and barely noticeable, it seemed incapable of the performing the duties they theorized. But, there it was. Proof. "No. We'll destroy it if we try to move it. We don't have any tools." Mulder slid down the side of the Bohdi-stone and wiped his hands on the rear of his jeans. Scully watched him bend forward at the waist stretching, and winced as his back cracked. She was leaning against the side of the rock, arms crossed, head reclining against its rough surface. Jessie was still at the camp-site, immersed in journals. "Mulder, you were going to share your theory regarding the sound on the platform." She moved to stand behind him when he plopped to the ground. "No, sit up," she urged. She brought her hands to the sides of his head and pressed on the muscles of his neck. He groaned. "Um, yea," he moaned. Scully was kneading the muscles at the back of his neck and lower jaw. Incoherent bliss was approaching. *I was stalled on a highway one morning. It was fairly deserted and I had to wait for assistance. I was leaning on the back of the car watching a vehicle approach. It was far in the distance, but I could see it because the highway sloped over flat land for a span. I could hear it come closer. The sound of it vibrated. It - the sound - did this two steps forward, one step back, advance. It was gaining volume, consistent in its inconsistency. As the car passed me, the sound seemed to explode into the air as if breaking through a barrier. It then faded rhythmically away." Mulder panted as Scully worked a knot from the back of his neck. "From the description you and Jess gave of the sound, I would have to say someone, or thing, was passing through." Scully was digging into his shoulders now, her breath wafting in his ear. He groaned again. Incoherence arrived. PATH "Here it is!" Jessie loped toward them with a journal in her hands. "The words to the song the guys and I were singing." Scully stepped away from Mulder, hands raised. Jessie dropped the journal in Scully's arms and extended a hand to help Mulder up. Mulder grabbed her hand automatically, and felt himself pulled up by a surprisingly strong grip. He was reluctant to let go of her hand, because once again, a feeling of recognition set in. Scully scrutinized the pages before her, nodding her head to an imaginary beat. The song talked about the middle-path. She was sure she had read through this before without noticing the significance of the phrases. "This is it, Mulder." Scully noticed Mulder's gaze transfixed on Jessie and wondered what was so absorbing. Jessie was obviously feeling ill-at-ease. Scully gave him a little nudge and glared at him. "The song?" she reminded him. "This is it." She thrust the pages into his hands and pulled Jessie away toward the platform. *How does the tune go, Jess?* Mulder followed them up onto the boulder. Jessie felt fear seeping into her heart. This is where she was five days ago, with two people and a song. She hesitated before apprehensively humming the tune. Scully felt a chill race up her spine and she clenched her jaw against the urge to join in. Mulder was staring at the pages of the journal, mouthing the words as Jessie hummed. She reached over and clapped a hand over his mouth, shaking her head no. He stared at his partner in surprise. He tried to talk to her, but she shook her head again and clamped her hand tighter over his mouth. *Scully, I can't breathe with your hand over my mouth.* He tried to get away from her. His hands were full of journal and he could not pull her hand away. "Mulder, don't sing," she scolded. She followed him as he backed away from her hand. *Scully, I don't breathe through my nose. You're suffocating me.* He briefly remembered Clyde Bruckman's prediction that he would die of auto-erotic asphyxiation and wondered if this could be it. He grinned idiotically beneath Scully's hand and snuffled air through his nose in aborted laughter. Scully glared at him and gingerly removed her hand from his mouth. He was grinning, the fool. She wanted to remind him about the correlation between singing the `path' song and vanishing. She was sidetracked by the music in her mind. Mulder felt the smile drop from his face as he watched his partner's eyes widen in obvious fear. Jessie and Scully looked at each other and started backing away from the center of the platform. Scully grabbed Mulder's arm as she passed. The sound grew and Scully once more pulled Mulder over the edge of the boulder and into the water below. TROY Mulder surfaced blowing the breath from his lungs. This is getting old, he thought. He swam for shore. Scully stroked swiftly toward the platform calling Jessie. Warm thoughts enveloped her mind. Troy was back. Jessie launched herself at her cousin. He caught her in a bear-hug and sank to the floor of the boulder. A sob rose from his stomach and escaped in the sound of Jessie's name. Mulder stared at the man. He was haggard in appearance. The clothing he wore was filthy and there appeared to be a bullet hole through one shoulder. His right hand was bandaged and there was a bruise over one eye. He rocked gently, whispering to Jessie. "Troy?" he queried. The man stared at him with tired eyes and nodded. Scully grabbed ahold of Mulder's wet shirt-tail and hauled herself the rest of the way up the side of the boulder. She paused when she saw the man holding Jessie in his arms. The family resemblance was unmistakable. Training took over and she moved closer to him in order to look at his wounds. He flinched away, and Jessie grabbed him. *Troy, it's okay.* She petted his forearms and he relaxed. *This is Agent Scully. The man is Agent Mulder. They're with the F.B.I. They've been trying to help me find you.* Fleeting expressions passed over Jessie's face and Mulder knew she was talking with her cousin. Scully crouched next to Troy and he let her take a perfunctory look at his wounds. "We're leaving Jess," Troy announced gravely. He stood and glanced dismissively at the agents. "Yeah, Troy. Let's get you down the mountain. You need to see a doctor." Jessie tried to move him toward the steps at the back of the boulder. He would not budge. "Jess, we're going back the way I just came," he stated resolutely. "Agents thanks for helping Jessie, but we're through here." He inclined his head toward Mulder. "You should leave also. Company is coming." *What do you mean?* Scully glared at him, torn between concern and irritation. They just spent three days looking for him and his brother, not knowing if they were alive or dead, and he thought he was just going to leave without any explanation. Troy's gaze focused on Scully as her thoughts reached him. He glanced at Jessie and cocked an eyebrow briefly in question. *Well-well, Agent Scully. How long have you had an implant?* He stared at her calmly. His interest was heartfelt. Scully decided to continue the conversation out-loud. She stepped closer to Mulder and grabbed for his hand. "I've had an implant for almost four years. Why?" She was uncomfortable with the topic of conversation and gripped Mulder's hand tightly. Events seemed to have slipped hugely beyond their experience. Mulder squeezed Scully's hand, and looked down at her. He leaned into her and nudged her with his elbow. Blue eyes met his and he stared at her calmly. Unspoken webs of reassurance passed between them, binding them together in belief. Troy felt time slow as he watched the agents bolster each other with some form of alliance he could only guess at. The end was nearing. There must be something he could give them. "Ah, a recent abductee. You don't have the `Rip-tide' implant then." He shook his head slightly. "Too bad." "What are you talking about. What is a `Rip-tide' implant?" A sense of urgency was beginning to creep up on Mulder. If he was not mistaken, he heard the sound of chopper blades - barely. He needed as much information from portal-man as he could get. "A `Rip-tide' implant. A push-me-pull-me. It pushes you and pulls you through the middle-path. The place between here and there." Troy rubbed the heals of his hands over his eyes. "Agents I've been awake for several days. I've been around the world and back through these pathways. I've learned more than I ever wanted to know about our government and their operations." He winced as Jessie poked at the bullet wound on his shoulder. He caught her hand and gave a negative shake of his head. "I can even guess that you are more involved than you appear, or want to be. The fact that Agent Scully has an implant tells me that your involvement is involuntary, or motivated by a search for the truth." He felt a wave of incoherent affirmation from Agent Scully. "Sorry I can't stay and talk dope with you, but I don't intend to die. I came to get Jess. We're outta here." Troy pulled Jessie close wrapping both arms about her. "Where are you going?" Scully asked. She was not ready for this big man to leave. She was certain he had some answers she and her partner were searching for. "Someplace safe. I've made some friends in high places." He inclined his head toward the sky. Jessie tugged at his chin. "Troy, where's Jeff?" Jessie blinked as tears welled in her cousins eyes. Hysteria bubbled in her throat. "He didn't make it Jess. They killed him." Troy choked back a sob and passed a hand over his eyes. He could hear the helicopters now. It was past time to go. "Agents, time for you to `live'." *Run!* His shout reverberated through Scully's head and she reflexively turned toward the trail. Troy began to chant, his tone of voice encouraging Jessie to join him. He paused and lunged for Scully before she could leave the platform. He caught her hand and gave it a squeeze. *I'll be seeing you.* He gave her a weary grin, and resumed his chant. The sound of helicopter blades vibrated through the valley. Mulder ran. He snagged Scully's hand in passing, dragging her behind him down the Crest Trail. They ran until a massive shock-wave knocked them to the floor of the trail. Mulder rolled onto his back and looked behind. Black smoke billowed into the sky. OFFICE J Edgar Hoover Federal Building Washington D.C. Morning Mulder closed the file in front of him. He kicked himself back from the edge of his desk and propped his feet on top. He watched Scully enter their office. She was wearing a slim black suit. Her red hair cupped her face. Big blue eyes twinkled at him. Moist full lips parted in greeting. He grinned. *I want you,* he thought. Scully felt it was too early in the day for Mulder to be looking so mischievous. She crossed the room and sat down. The desk stood between them. She assumed he spent the night at the office. His clothing was wrinkled and askew. He ran his hands through his hair, apparently trying to bring some order to the hedge-hog style he was wearing at the moment. "Hey, Scully. Did Jessie Verdi remind you of anyone?" Mulder frowned slightly. "She seemed familiar to me." Scully stared at his long-lanky body, the dark hair, and the hazel eyes that, at the moment, appeared green. She pursed her lips and shook her head. "She was easy to know, Mulder." She reached into her pocket and handed Mulder a vial. Mulder looked at the object she handed him. It was small, cylindrical, and very familiar. It resembled the container that carried Scully's implant. "What is this?" he queried. He sat forward unscrewing the cap. "Troy palmed that to me as we parted." Scully leaned forward and turned the vial in Mulder's hand. "Read it." She gestured toward a small label on the side. Mulder slipped his glasses on and peered at the side of the container. He paused. He glanced up and met Scully's blue gaze, yearning suffusing his features. "Jeff's Rip-tide." END End (4/4) Please e-mail feedback to BethLynn at bethlynn@aol.com. Thank-you. *****Thank-you for the encouragement Meg!