From: McKab <mckab@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2002 21:42:44 -0500
Subject: Camp Hero by McKab
Source: direct

Part 8

	Susan slowly sat down on the bed and cradled her head 
in her hands, the heels of her palms pushing into her eyes, 
her fingers tangled in her hair.
	She sighed.  "Jesus Christ I'm an asshole," she 
whispered.
She didn't look up when there was a knock on the adjoining 
door or when Scully opened it and walked over to her.
	"You know he was frantic while you were gone," Scully 
said softly.
	Susan slowly raised her head to look at her.  Her eyes 
were red, but no tears fell.
	Scully gave her an embarrassed smile and shrugged.  "I 
couldn't help but overhear."
	Susan returned the smile.  "I'm sure the whole motel 
couldn't help but overhear."
	Scully nodded and walked over the to the window.  She 
pushed some blinds apart to peer out into the rainy 
darkness.  "It's really pouring out there. Do you think 
he'll be all right?"
	Susan breathed in slowly.  "He'd better be."
	Scully nodded absently.  "He's only acting the way I 
wish I could." She spoke so softly, Susan almost didn't 
hear her.
	"Then why aren't' you?"
	Scully turned to look at her.  "Because that's all I'd 
be doing," she stated.
	Susan looked down at her hands.
She cleared her throat.  "What did he have to say 
about Mulder?" Scully asked.  "Jeremiah Smith," she 
clarified.
	Susan ran a hand over her eyes and sighed.  "He said 
that he doesn't know where he is and is apparently being 
held somewhere his group can't penetrate."
	"His group?"
	Susan nodded.
	"Do you believe him?"
	Before Susan could answer, Scully's cell phone rang in 
her room.  She frowned at Susan then went to answer it.  
Susan trailed slowly behind her and leaned on the door jamb 
listening to the one sided conversation.
	Susan sensed a feeling of alarm rise in Scully and 
stood up straight when she hung up the phone.
	"That was Skinner," Scully said.  "He got a call from 
a friend about a man supposedly being knocked down a flight 
of stairs at Watergate."
	Susan shrugged.  "So, what does that have to do with 
us?"
	"He said that friend was Krycek."
	"Alex Krycek?"
	Scully nodded.  "Mulder told you about him?"
	"Mmm, and what he didn't tell me I read from him,"  
Susan said as she walked back into her room.
	Scully followed her.  "I wish I could do that to him 
sometimes."
	Susan turned around to face her.  "Mulder can be very 
dark, I'm not sure you would like some of the things you 
would see."
	"All of us can be dark sometimes."
	Susan looked at her, feeling the seriousness of that 
statement.  "So," she said, turning around to gather her 
things for a shower.  "Who's the poor schmuck who got 
knocked down the stairs?"
	Scully watched her rummage through her suitcase and 
toss a pair of black Calvin Klein boxer-briefs onto the 
bed, then triumphantly pull out a cream colored satin bra.  
Susan would have to remember to let Michael pack next time.
"Skinner said the man was C.G.B. Spender."
	"Is he dead?"  Susan asked as she faced Scully.
	Scully shrugged and walked over to the window again.  
"I don't know."
	"Well, can you make the reservations to get us back to 
DC?  You can use my credit card, it's in my wallet in my 
jacket."
	Scully nodded, not really listening to her.
	"I'm going to go take a quick shower.  Michael should 
be back by the time I'm done."
	Scully nodded again.
	Susan stood looking at her. She obviously wasn't 
listening and didn't get the hint that Susan wanted to 
undress, so she shrugged and started to unbutton her jeans.
	Scully sighed loudly and started to turn around when a 
pair of jeans flew past her and landed on the chair next to 
the window.  They slid off the chair and fell on the floor 
making a loud thumping noise.  A silver cylindrical object 
rolled out of the back pocket.
	Scully gasped and crouched down to pick it up.  Rising 
slowly, she slid her finger down until it hit the small 
button and an icepick-like object ejected from the top.  
She looked up at Susan. 
	"Where did you get this?"
	Susan was in the process of pulling her shirt over her 
head and didn't answer her.
	"Were you going to tell me about this?"
	She finally succeed in getting the shirt off, leaving 
her hair in a mess around her face.
	"I forgot about it," she said as she threw the shirt 
on the bed and turned to face her, wearing only a white 
tank top and white binkis.
	"You forgot about it?" Scully asked.  She approached 
her quickly to stand in front of her. "How could you forget 
about this?  Do you know what this is?"
	Susan reached out to take the stiletto from Scully, 
who gave it to her reluctantly. Susan pushed the button, 
forcing the pick back down.  She looked at Scully, locking 
eyes with her.
	"You push this button."  The pick shot out and she 
turned her back to her, then lifted up her hair to show the 
back of her neck.  "And you jab this into the base of the 
skull."  She demonstrated the move then turned around 
again.  "He told me how to use it."
	"Why did he give it to you?"
	"Because I'm on a hit list."
	"What?!" she exclaimed.
	"Smith told me that the same. thing that took Mulder 
is going to try to kill me."
	"Why?"
	Susan gave her a slow smile.  "Apparently, I'm a 
threat," she said as she put the stiletto into a small 
compartment in her carry on.
	Scully shook her head.  "Did you tell Michael this?"
	Susan ran her fingers through her hair.
	"Susan."
	She looked at her.  "No, I didn't tell him."
	"Why not?"
	"Because," she paused, closing her eyes.  She opened 
her mouth to continue when the door opened.
	Michael stepped in and closed the door behind him.  He 
stopped and looked from Scully to Susan, then scanned his 
eyes down to Susan's bare legs, taking in the fact that she 
was wearing only a tank top and panties.  He couldn't 
resist.
	"Am I interrupting something?"
	Susan gave him a pinched smile.  "I'm going in the 
shower."  She turned to Scully.  "Dana, can you please fill 
him in as to what's going on?"  She looked at her for a 
moment longer than necessary.
	Scully nodded, understanding the unspoken plea.  She 
wouldn't betray Susan's trust.
	"Thank you," she said then turned and walked into the 
bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
	Michael glanced at Scully. He wasn't lost on the 
exchange and Susan wasn't making an attempt to block him, 
but he didn't get angry, he was just too damn tired.  All 
he wanted to do then was climb into bed and fall into 
unconsciousness.
	Scully pointed to the open suitcase on the bed.  
"Better get packing, we're going back to DC, there's been a 
development."
	Michael tried not to look put out, but he couldn't 
stop a sigh.  There went his plans.  "News about Mulder?" 
he asked.
	Scully shook her head.  "Not exactly."
***

The Watergate
June 20th
10:13 AM

	The flight back to DC was uneventful as was the car 
ride to The Watergate.  However, it was relatively silent, 
at least between Michael and Susan. They spoke to Scully, 
but barely to each other.  They were civilized, but even an 
outside observer could see the tension.  
Since they made the reservations so late, they all had 
to sit apart.  Scully was relieved at this, she hadn't 
slept well the night before and didn't feel up to being 
stuck in the middle of their problems.  At least the flight 
provided something more than dry chicken and rocks the 
airline called brownies, they got some much needed time 
apart from each other.  None of them got any real sleep and 
spent most of the flight either mindlessly watching the in-
flight movie or staring out into space.  Still, it provided 
them with some time to reflect on the events of the day.
They were stopped outside apartment 313 by a uniformed 
police officer. 
"I'm sorry, but no one is allowed in here," the man 
said in a surprisingly low voice.
Scully flashed her badge.  "I'm Special Agent Dana 
Scully, these are Agents Halloway and O'Sullivan," she said 
in a no nonsense tone.
The man frowned.  "Who the hell called the FBI?" he 
asked.
"The president," Michael deadpanned as he pushed his 
way past him into the apartment.
"Yeah," Susan stated.  "We're looking for a blue 
dress."
He opened his mouth to protest as Susan moved past 
him, but anything that he was going to say was forgotten 
when she slid her hand against his chest.
Scully watched in fascination as a curious look 
crossed his face.  He shook his head as if to clear it then 
looked around him like he had forgotten what he was doing.  
She heard him mutter something to himself then retake his 
position at the door.  She smiled and followed Michael and 
Susan.  Her gift sure came in handy sometimes.
The living room was filled with men and women dressed 
in dark suits wandering around and occasionally gesturing 
to a chalk outline on the floor.  Scully noticed that Susan 
and Michael were talking animatedly to a small man on the 
far side of the room, their laughter out of place in a room 
where it was obvious someone had died.
"Dana," Michael said as he drew her near them.  "This 
is Philip Rodgriguez of the DCPD."
Scully smiled at him.
Philip reached out to shake her hand.  "I arrested 
Mike's brother once," he blurted out, grinning at her.  He 
had a barely noticeable Spanish accent.
Scully's eye brows shot up.
Michael laughed.  "Susie and I were out here about two 
years ago with Ryan's family," Michael explained.  "One 
night Ryan and I went out to a pub and when I was in the 
restroom, apparently Ryan wondered outside bombed out of 
his mind." 
"I found him urinating on some guy's BMW," Philip 
added.
Susan shook her head, amused.
"Philip was in the process of trying to get handcuffs 
on `im when I was told by the waitress what was going on," 
Michael said as he patted him on the back.  "Notice I said 
`trying'."
Susan laughed.  "The thing is," she said to Scully.  
"Ryan is about two inches shorter than Mike, but still 
towered over Philip easily."
Michael smiled.  "Yeah, and he weighs about 30 pounds 
more than me."
Scully looked over to the Philip.  He had to have been 
about the same height as her.  She could just imagine how 
difficult it would be to handcuff Michael's brother sober, 
let alone drunk.
"It must have been some sight," she said dryly.
Michael smiled at her.  "It was.  But after I told him 
about Ryan's marital problems and who I was, he released 
`im into my custody."
"After he promised to repay the favor," Philip said.
Michael glanced at him, the smile still present on his 
lips.  "Which I think you called in not soon after," he 
said.
Philip rolled his eyes.  "Jesus," he swore.  "I don't 
even want to remember that day."
Michael's grin widened and he looked at Susan.  She 
was also smiling, not at Philip, but at him.  Their eyes 
locked for a moment then Michael gestured to the next room.  
"Well, I think it's time I called in that favor *you* owe 
*me*," he said.
They walked into the kitchen and Philip asked the men 
in the room for some privacy.  They grumbled in annoyance, 
but left anyway.
"What do you need Mike?" Philip asked, all business 
now.
Michael looked at Scully.  "We need some information."
"What do you need to know?"
It was Scully who spoke next.  "We need to know 
exactly what happened here."
Philip frowned.  "Why?"
"It has something to do with a case we're working on," 
Susan said.  "That's all we can tell you."
He sighed.  "All right," he said then began to explain 
the events of the previous evening.
A call had gotten through to the 911 dispatcher from a 
neighbor, that a man in a wheelchair had been pushed down a 
flight of stairs.  When the neighbor went to see what 
happened, he found the man's caretaker dead in the living 
room, strangled to death.  The man was lying motionless in 
a crumpled heap at the bottom of the stairs, his wheelchair 
nothing more than twisted metal around him.  That was when 
the neighbor rushed into his apartment and called the 
police.   When they arrived, they found the neighbor 
sitting on the couch staring at the wall with a blank look 
on his face.  When the paramedics arrived, he was just 
starting to come around and could only say that a large man 
had come in and taken the man from the bottom of the 
stairs.
"What did this man look like?" Scully asked, but she 
all ready knew the answer.
"He couldn't say, he was pretty out of it," Philip 
said.
Scully's lips formed a thin line and she nodded.  
"Thanks," she said.
He nodded in reply.
"Yeah, thanks Philip,"  Michael said.  "You've been a 
lot of help."
He smiled.  "I guess we're even now, huh?"
Michael returned the smile.  "I guess we are."
***
	They were walking down the hall when Susan motioned 
them to stop.  "I didn't want to say this in there, but I 
got the same feeling I got in Oregon."
	Michael crossed his arms over his chest.
	"What else did you get?" Scully asked.
	Susan breathed in deeply.  "Well, for starters, C.G.B 
Spender was dead when he was taken out of the room."
	"Anything more?"
	Susan made a face.  "Nothing I can decipher without 
more time, but I don't think it would be helpful."
	Scully nodded.  
	When they reached the lobby, Susan stopped them again.  
She leaned in to them and spoke softly.  "For some reason, 
I don't think it's a good idea for us to back to your 
apartment tonight," she said to Scully.
	Scully frowned.  "Why?"
	Susan shook her head.  "I don't know, but something is 
telling me not to go to your apartment."  She looked at 
Michael.
	"What exactly are you feeling?" He asked with an 
annoyed tone.  He didn't really expect her to explain.
	She gave him a hard long look.  She knew what he was 
doing and she'd be damned if she allowed him to start 
another argument over this.  So, instead, she clasped his 
hand.
	To say he was surprised by her gesture would be an 
understatement, but if he had made the effort to read her 
since they left for the airport in Oregon, he wouldn't have 
been.  She truly regretted what she had said.  He looked 
down at their joined hands and furrowed his brow when he 
felt the sensation of apprehension and something else pass 
from her to him.  He looked into her eyes and felt a twinge 
of fear run through him.  She was right, they shouldn't 
leave.
	Scully silently watched the two of them, feeling not 
for the first time, jealousy of their connection.  She 
always felt like such an outsider at times like this.  She 
patiently waited for them to address her.
	Michael lowered their joined hands and looked at 
Scully.  "I think she's right."
	Scully sighed.  "Fine," she said crossing her arms 
over her chest.  "Where do you want to go then?"
	Susan glanced at Michael.  "Do you think you could get 
us a room?" she asked.
	Michael took a deep breath and released it slowly.  
"Yeah," he said letting go of her hand.  "Stay here, I'll 
be right back."
	Susan smiled.  "I'll stay right here," she said 
pointing to the carpet.
	He narrowed his eyes at her.  
	Susan's smile widened.  "Cross my heart," she said 
innocently then made a cross on her chest.
Michael smiled and shook his head as he walked towards 
the concierge's desk.
	When he returned, Scully discovered that the room 
wasn't really a room, but a two bedroom suite.  Part of her 
could get used to their seemingly unlimited expense 
account.
	The suite overlooked the Potomac river and the living 
room had floor to ceiling windows.  It had a small kitchen 
and a small refrigerator fully stocked with bottled water 
and various other items.
The first thing Susan did when she entered the room 
was kick off her shoes and remove her suit jacket, leaving 
it draped over a chair in the living room.  She headed 
straight for the phone and ordered them all a large 
breakfast.  When Scully heard what Susan was ordering, she 
could practically feel her arteries clogging.  It was a 
miracle Susan wasn't as big as a house.  Scully asked her 
once about her eating habits and Susan explained that she 
seems to burn calories very fast and even faster when she 
uses her gift a lot and she's been using it almost 
constantly since this whole thing started.
	Scully sighed.  She'd just have pick out what she 
didn't want to eat.
	"Don't worry Dana," Susan said as she placed the phone 
back in its cradle.  "I made sure to order something 
healthy for the two of you."  She pointed to her stomach 
and smiled.  "I know how important it is for you to eat 
correctly right now."
***
	After breakfast, they all agreed that it would be a 
good idea for all of them to get a little sleep and retire 
to their rooms.
	Michael stepped out of the bathroom, steam trailing 
after him.  He stopped and looked over to the woman 
sleeping on the bed.
	Susan was facing away from him, her right arm curled 
under her pillow, supporting her head. Her left hand 
clenched the sheets in her fist.  All the lights were out, 
but light streamed in from the cracks in the curtains 
allowing him to see her chest rise and fall.  He ran a hand 
over his freshly shaved face and tossed the towel he was 
holding in the other hand onto the bathroom floor.  It 
almost killed him not to pick it up and hang it over the 
shower doors, but he didn't feel like making the effort.  
He padded noiselessly over to the bed and drew back the 
covers.  Susan shifted and he felt her waken.  She didn't 
turn to face him, though, she was waiting to see what he 
would do.  He knew she didn't want to fight anymore and was 
trying let him decide as to what was going to happen next.  
He slowly slid in between the sheets and extended his hand 
out to rest on her waist.  She still didn't turn over.  He 
tugged her gently towards him as he shaped himself around 
her, his knees resting against the back of her thighs.  He 
tightened his grip around her waist and nestled his face in 
her hair.  She smiled when she heard him take a deep breath 
and kiss the back of her neck.  She slowly relaxed and 
drifted off.
***
	Scully turned off the shower and slid the shower door 
open. She reached for a small towel and dried her hair.  
Steam rapidly swirled around the room toward the ceiling 
fan.  As she wrapped a towel around her body, she caught a 
glimpse of herself in the fogged full length mirror on the 
bathroom door.  She slowly lowered the towel and stepped 
closer to her reflection.  Wiping the steam from the 
mirror, her eyes moved from her slightly larger breasts to 
her lower abdomen.  She grimaced at the sight of the scar 
from the bullet she took during her time under Kersh, but  
it didn't linger on her features.  A lazy smile formed on 
her lips as she caressed her belly.  It was still 
relatively flat, but soon she wouldn't be able to hide it.  
She still couldn't believe there was a baby growing in 
there.  Suddenly, she wanted to call her mother and tell 
her the news, but she quickly remembered that her mother 
was in Pennsylvania with Bill visiting her aunt.  She 
frowned.  Bill.  Now, there was a problem.  She was 
pregnant by the man he despises.  The frown turned into a 
grin.  She would have to make sure she tells him in person, 
there was no way she would give up the chance to see his 
face.  Even in her thirties, she had the urges of a little 
sister.  No wonder he used to call her a brat.  She 
chuckled out loud, Mulder would be so proud of her right 
now.

Part 9
7:02 PM
June 20

	Susan's eye's blinked open.  For a moment, she 
couldn't figure out were she was.  Then she remembered that 
she was at The Watergate.  She smiled to herself.  It was 
an occupational hazard she couldn't seem to get used to.
	She could feel Michael curled up around her, his arm 
draped over her waist, his warmth burning her through her 
back.  She was surprised he was still asleep.  Usually, he 
was the one to wake up first which caused her to awaken.  
She turned over carefully to face him.  The faint 
light from the windows fell across his features.  He looked 
so young and relaxed in his sleep.  It was rare that she 
had the opportunity to study him like this.  There was no 
doubt in her mind about how attractive he was.  His dark 
eyelashes were the envy of women all over and they gently 
caressed his cheeks as his eyes moved beneath the lids.  If 
she wanted, she could see what he was dreaming, but she 
didn't want to risk the chance that she might wake him. He 
pursed his lips and her eyes were drawn to his slightly 
full bottom lip.  Mmm, she loved his mouth, it was one of 
the things she loved most about him.  
He shifted, causing a lock of hair to fall over his 
forehead. It was black and silky in the dimness and curled 
a little, making him look like Superman.  She chuckled 
silently, he definitely had his body.  During one of their 
first nights together, she asked him why he worked out as 
much as he did.  Did he like the way it made him feel?  He 
gave her an embarrassed smile and shrugged.  He said no, 
actually he didn't like it, but he liked the way it looked.  
So he was a little vain, who knew?  She grinned at him as 
she ran her hand over his chest, circling his pecks.  She 
nodded. `Oh God yes, it looked good,' she said before she 
kissed him, then murmured against his lips `and it felt 
good, too.'  He laughed out loud and flipped her on her 
back then slid his hand up and down her leg.  Cupping her 
buttocks, he asked her the same question about running.  
She had answered honestly, yes it did feel good.  Her mind 
is always so active, but when she ran, all she had to do 
was think about pumping her arms and legs and regulating 
her breathing.  She also had to admit that she kind of 
liked the way it looked, too.  He smiled at her and told 
her he agreed, then showed her how much he liked it.  
Funny, her mind wasn't very active soon after their 
conversation.  All thinking was lost in a haze of ecstasy.
	Susan smiled at the memory.  How could she even doubt 
her feelings for this man?  She sighed.  Sometimes, she 
could be such an ass.
	Michael shifted again and she felt him rise to 
consciousness.  She looked over at the clock.  7:07.  She 
could feel Scully moving around in her room across from 
them, then startled slightly when she heard her stomach 
growl.  Jesus, it's as if she was hungry all the time, now.
	"Hungry again?" Michael murmured, sleepily.
	Susan smiled.  "Mmmm, can't seem to eat enough 
lately."
	He opened his eyes.  "Soon, you'll be rivaling me."
	She laughed.  "That'll be the day."
	He smiled at her and drew his hands out from under the 
covers to cup her face.  He grew serious as he studied her.
	She leaned towards him to kiss him briefly.
	"Are we OK now?" he asked nervously.
	She gave him a sad look.  "We were never not OK."
	He nodded.
	Susan placed both hands on his chest, pushing him to 
lay on his back.  She threw the covers back and straddled 
his waist.  Slowly, she slid her hands up from his stomach 
to his neck then to cover his ears.  She leaned down to 
touch her forehead to his and closed her eyes.  She 
breathed in deeply.  Allowing her mind to go blank, she 
concentrated on three words.
	Michael heard her voice in his mind as she said *I 
love you*.
	She released the breath she was holding and moved back 
to look at him.
	He was smiling up at her. It was the smile that made 
her feel all gooey inside.
	Faintly, in the background, they heard a phone ring, 
but ignored it.  They were too caught up in their feelings 
of each other.
Michael drew her down to him and kissed her hungrily, 
thrusting his tongue into her mouth.  She moaned.  Susan 
shifted her pelvis down a little and they both groaned at 
the contact.  He slowly moved his hands down to her hips, 
then up to push her shirt to her shoulders, still 
maintaining the link between their mouths.  Her hair fell 
around him as she tilted her head to get a better angle for 
their mouths.
	Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and it opened.
	"Hey guys, time to wake up," Scully said as she pushed 
the door open.
Susan shot up and violently tugged her shirt down then 
quickly rolled to lay next to Michael, almost falling off 
the bed in her haste.  They both blinked at her with wide 
eyes, slightly out of breath.  They looked like two 
teenagers who just got caught making out on the sofa by the 
girl's father.
	Scully gasped and turned away from them.  "Oh, God, 
I'm sorry.  I didn't hear anything, I thought you were 
still sleeping!" she exclaimed.  "I'm sorry," she said, 
then slammed the door behind her.
	Susan's head fell back to the pillow.  Michael felt 
her shaking, then shudder as laughter escaped her.  "Well, 
I guess we're even now," she said in between her guffaws.

***
7:35 PM
June 20

	Susan walked into the main room dressed in a large 
white cotton robe. Her wet hair was slicked back on her 
head and was dripping.
	Scully didn't look up from her meal as Susan sat down 
opposite her and picked up a fork.  While Susan was in the 
shower, Scully ordered dinner, making sure to get something 
healthy.
	Susan looked down at the plate in front of her then to 
Scully, a grimace on her face.  "What is this?" she asked.
	Scully still didn't look up.  "Veggie burger, steamed 
broccoli and carrots and a baked potato," she stated.
Susan tried not to appear nauseous.  "Gee, thanks," 
she said sarcastically.
	Scully didn't reply.
	Susan sighed then looked around the room, noticing 
that Mike wasn't around.  "Where's Mike?" she asked.
	Scully swallowed.  "He ahh, said he needed to get some 
fresh air."
	Susan smiled, finding Scully's discomfort amusing.  
"Is that what they call it now?"
	Suddenly Scully looked up at her.  "Susan I'm really 
sorry about. about walking in on you guys, I really 
should've knocked, I had no right," she said in a rush.
	Susan's smile widened and she let out a chuckle.  
"Don't worry about it, Dana."
	She shook her head.  "It's just that I didn't hear 
anything and I thought you were still asleep."
	Susan nodded.  "It's OK, really."
	Scully shook her head again.
	Susan put up a hand.  "Don't worry," she said.  
"Consider it payback for the kitchen incident."
	Scully stilled at the memory of Susan walking in on 
her and Mulder making out in Susan's kitchen.  Then she 
smiled and looked down, nodding.  "All right," she said, 
the smile reflected in her voice.  "We're even."
	Susan nodded curtly.  "Good," she said, picking up her 
fork.  "Now, is this payback," she pointed to her plate, 
"for the stuff I've been making you eat?"
	Scully grinned.  "Damn straight."

***
8:46 PM
June 20
Headquarters for `The Magic Bullet'
Residence of The Lone Gunmen

	Frohike pointed to a blob on a radar print out.  "See, 
it's here, too," he said.
Susan looked over his shoulder, practically pressed up 
against his back, wedged between him and Michael. "Mmmm," 
was her only comment.
	Apparently, the phone call she and Michael chose to 
ignore while they were otherwise occupied, was from the 
Gunmen.  They had been tracking an `object' that appeared 
the night Mulder was `kidnapped'.  It was slowly moving 
eastward from Oregon to the salt flats in Nevada, to the 
plains in Oklahoma and then disappeared.
	Scully, who was sitting next to Frohike, sighed, 
rubbing the back of her neck.  "Where did it go?"
	Byers appeared on her left.  "That's what we're trying 
to determine, Agent Scully."
"We're trying to get ahold of one of our contacts in 
MUFON, but we're not having much luck," Langly said from 
across them.
	Susan gave him a long, hard look.  "Something tells me 
your luck isn't going to change," she said seriously.
	No one responded.
	Michael grumbled something under his breath and backed 
away from Susan to sit on the ratty sofa against the wall 
behind them.
	"See if any of your other contacts can come up with 
anything," Scully said, standing up.  As she did, her 
jacket ringed.
	Scully picked up after the third ring.  "Scully."
	"Please hold for Deputy Director Kersh," a woman said 
on the other side.
	Scully put her hand over the mouth piece.  "It's 
Kersh," she whispered to Susan.
	Susan groaned.
	"Agent Scully," Kersh said.
	"Yes, Sir."
	"I trust you are feeling well?"
	Scully frowned.  "Ah, fine, thank you, sir."
	She could almost hear him nod.  "Good, then it won't 
be too much trouble for you to come down tomorrow to answer 
a few questions," he said.
	Scully's frown deepened.  "Sir?"
	"About your missing partner.  I assembled a task force 
whose main goal is to find the men responsible for 
kidnapping Agent Mulder."
	Scully licked her lips.  "Have you spoken to Assistant 
Director Skinner, sir?"
	He sighed.  "Yes, Agent I have." He paused.  "And I 
hate for this to ruin his career; his ramblings about 
aliens and such."
	Scully didn't respond.
	"Do I make myself clear Agent Scully?"
	Scully clenched her jaw.  "Yes, Sir."
	"Good.  Then I'll let Agent Doggett know you'll be 
meeting with him tomorrow morning at nine."
	"Ahh, Agent Doggett, sir?"
	"Yes, he's my Agent in Charge of the investigation."
	"Of course, sir," she said.
	"Oh, Agent," he added.
	"Yes?"
	"I understand Agents O'Sullivan and Halloway are 
staying with you."
	Scully's eyes met Susan's "Yes, sir.  They're friends 
of mine and Agent Mulder."
	Susan frowned.
	"Please inform them that they are to accompany you 
tomorrow.  The team has a few questions for them as well."
	"Yes, sir," she responded, but he had already 
disconnected.
	Scully put her phone away and sat down heavily next to 
Michael on the couch.  All eyes were on her, waiting for 
her to let them know what Kersh wanted.
	Susan sat down next to her.  "Well?"
	Scully sighed and ran a hand over her eyes.  "That was 
Kersh."
	Susan nodded.  "I got that, but what did he want?"
	Scully looked up from her hands.  "He wants to us to 
meet with his Agent in Charge of Mulder's kidnapping."
	"Kidnapping?" Michael asked.
	"Mmm," Scully nodded.  "He hinted that anyone calling 
it an abduction would jeopardized their careers."
	"Jesus, he is such a prick," Susan said to no one in 
particular.
	Everyone turned to look at her.
	"What?"
	Frohike snorted and Byers elbowed him.
	"Ow! What the hell was that for?"
	Byers ignored him.
	"So, who is this Agent Doggett?" Michael asked.
	"Kersh's SAC."
	"Anyone know him?" Byers asked.
	The agents shook their heads.
	"I can hack into the FBI mainframe," Frohike 
suggested.  "Get some privy info on `im."
	Susan shook her head.  "No, I have a better idea.  I 
should check in anyway," she said as she pulled her phone 
from her back pocket, noticing for the first time that it 
was off.  "Damn."
	"What?" Michael asked coming up beside her.
	"I just forgot to turn it on, I probably have a 
million voice mail messages."
	Michael smirked.
	"Who are you calling?" Scully asked.
	"My ASAC," she said dialing.
	"Jim," Susan said into the phone, walking away from 
the rest of them.  "No, we wound up not going." Pause. She 
looked back over her shoulder at Michael.  "DC.  Yeah, 
helping out some friends.  Any news? Great, have you gotten 
a confession?  Good, keep me updated."  She turned to 
Michael and put her hand over the phone.  "Jim thinks they 
got the guy who's been killing those postal workers."
	Michael smiled and nodded.  "Good job," he said 
approvingly.
	"Look, I need you to get me some information," she 
said into the phone.
	Frohike nudged Byers.  "Someone went postal on some 
postal workers."
	Byers frowned at him and Langly threw a balled up 
piece of paper at him.
	"Hey, watch it punk ass!"
	"Thanks," Susan said into the phone.  "Could you fax 
it to." she looked at Byers.
	He really didn't want the FBI to get their fax number, 
but gave it to her anyway.  They'll just change it 
tomorrow.
	Susan shoved her phone back into her jeans and sat 
down next to Mike, leaning back, her arm behind him on the 
couch.  "He's going to send the info over to us right 
away."
	About ten minutes later, the fax came through.
	"Agent Doggett has a Masters and Ph.D. in Public 
Administration from Syracuse University, was a Sergeant in 
the Marines, was an NYPD Dick in the Fugitive Divisions' 
Warrant Section, then joined the bureau five years ago."  
Susan looked up.  "And he has commendations up the ying-
yang."
	Scully sighed.
	"Sounds like tomorrow's going to be a lot of fun," 
Susan said sarcastically.
	"Look," Scully said, rising from the sofa.  "There are 
some things I want to get from my apartment, may I borrow 
your car for a little while?"
Susan stood, looking anxious.
	Michael glanced at her, then back to Scully, then 
stood as well.  "Sure," he said.  "But why don't I drive?"
	Scully's shoulder's sagged, she didn't need a baby-
sitter and she wanted some time alone.
	Michael glanced again at Susan who nodded.  "I ahh, 
I'm very good at not being in the way.  And it might be a 
good idea to pick up your car."  He licked his lips 
nervously.  "Besides, under the circumstances."
	Scully closed her eyes and ran a hand over her brow.  
"Fine," she said, looking up at him.  "But I'm driving."

***
Enroute
10:13 PM
	
"So," Michael said, trying to alleviate some of the 
silence in the car.
	Scully looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
	"Have you considered any names yet?"
	Her tongue darted out to touch her top lip.  "Not, not 
really," she said.  "I haven't really had time to think 
about it.  Besides."  She stopped talking.
	"You want to wait until Mulder's back," he finished 
for her.
	She gave him a shy smile.  "Yeah, something like 
that."
	He nodded.  "I can understand that."  He looked out at 
the darkness speeding past them.  "Do you know if you want 
a boy or a girl?"
	She put on her signal and merged off the highway.  "I 
don't really care as long as it's healthy."
	Michael didn't respond.
	"So," Scully said.  "Are you and Susan thinking about 
trying again?"
	He shrugged, but she didn't see it.  "We've been 
talking about it, but haven't come to any decisions, she's 
still on the pill."
	"Wasn't she on it last time?"  Scully asked as she 
turned down her street.
	He nodded.  "Yeah, but her doctor put her on something 
stronger this time."
Scully parallel parked about half a block from her 
building and they both stepped out into the Washington 
heat.
	"Christ it's hot out here," Michael said.
	Scully agreed and took off her jacket, flinging it 
over her shoulder.
	As they walked towards her apartment, Scully looked 
through her mail.  Just as they reached her door, a 
postcard slipped out from in between two bills and 
fluttered to the ground, landing face up.  She frowned at 
the picture of the Washington Monument. `Hello from our 
Nation's Capital' was printed in yellow script across it.  
She leaned down to pick it up and flipped it over to see 
who it was from.
	She gasped when she recognized Mulder's handwriting.
	"Hey Scully, I thought it would be romantic of me to 
send you a quick note before I left, even though I'll 
probably be back before you get this.  But I saw this 
postcard and thought of you.  Every time I pass the 
monument I remember you saying it was one of the world's 
largest phallic symbols.  So, you see, I just had to send 
it to you.  Oops, I've got to go, the Skinman's giving me 
the eye.  Don't worry about anything.  I'll be home soon 
and I'm sure everything will turn out all right, it's 
probably all that bee pollen you've been eating lately.  
Love you, M."
	Scully looked bleary eyed at Michael.
	He gave her a sad smile.  "Come on, let's go inside."
	She sniffed and nodded.  It wouldn't do either of them 
any good if she broke down in the middle of the hallway.  
She pulled herself together and unlocked her door.  When 
she pushed it open, this time they both gasped.  Her 
apartment had been thoroughly ransacked.
	Michael pulled out his phone and dialed without even 
looking it.  "Susan, I think you'd better get over here," 
he said.
	"I'm on my way."

--------------CCAFD23A135D939A396254F4
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii;
 name="2.txt"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline;
 filename="2.txt"

Part 10
	Susan stuffed her cell phone into her back pocket and 
pulled out her keys.  She started towards the door then 
stopped.  "Shit!" she cursed, realizing she was stranded 
there.  She was going to pull out her cell phone again when 
Byers picked up his key ring from across his desk and 
tossed them to her.
	"Here," he said.  "Take my car.  It's the black Escort 
parked out front."
Susan grabbed the keys out of the air and gave him a 
curious look.  "I thought you guys had a VW Bus."
	"That's mine," Frohike said.  "Byers had to have his 
own car," he said sarcastically.
	"I hope you can drive stick," Byers said.
	Susan gave him a slow smile.  "Yeah, I can drive 
stick."
	"Be careful," Frohike said to her back.
	Susan turned as she opened the door.  "I will.  Thanks 
guys," she said and closed the door behind her.
***
Georgetown, Washington, DC
Residence of Dana Scully
10:43 PM

Michael and Scully carefully righted her desk, causing 
the remaining items that weren't strewn about on the floor 
to tumble out of the drawers.
	Scully took a step forward, then stopped when there 
was a crunch under her foot.  She slowly lifted her boot 
revealing a broken framed picture of her sister Melissa.  
Sighing, she crouched down to pick it up.  Suddenly it was 
too much.  She stood quickly and chucked it across the 
room, hitting a potted plant that was teetering on the edge 
of her dining room table causing it to go crashing down to 
the floor.
	"Dana," Michael started, reaching for her.
	"Oh, my goodness," a voice said from the front door.
	In their haste to figure out what was taken, they had 
forgotten to close the door.  They turned in unison to see 
an elderly woman standing just outside Scully's apartment.
	"Mrs. Silberstein," Scully said, making her way over 
to her, stepping over and dodging her tossed furniture and 
knickknacks.	Mrs. Silberstein was the nosy woman who 
lived across the hall from Scully.
	"Oh, deary, are you all right?" Mrs. Silberstein 
asked.
	Scully nodded.  "I wasn't home at the time," she said, 
glancing at Michael.  "You didn't happen to see anyone 
around here did you?"
Mrs. Silberstein looked around Scully's destroyed 
apartment.  "No, I don't think so."
	Scully's shoulders slumped.
	"Wait," she said.  "Now that I think about it, I saw a 
man."
	Scully perked up.
	"What did the man look like, Ma'am?" Michael asked.
	Mrs. Silberstein eyed him suspiciously.  "I've seen 
him around her before.  Dark hair, very handsome," she 
said.
	Scully sucked in a breath.  "You've seen him here 
before?  With me?" she asked hopefully.
	Mrs. Silberstein shook her head.  "No, I don't think 
I've ever seen you two together, but he's come here a lot."
	Scully frowned.  "Can you tell us anything else about 
him?"
	Mrs. Silberstein looked as if she was trying to 
visualize the man in her mind.  "Yes, he held one of his 
arms kind of stiff."
	"Krycek," Scully snarled, turning her back, running a 
hand through her hair.
Michael stepped toward the old woman.  "Thank you very 
much, Mrs. Silberstein, you've been very helpful," he said, 
leading her out and closing the door behind her, not giving 
her a chance to respond.
	"Dana," Michael said.  
	Scully whirled around.  "THAT SON OF BITCH!" she 
shouted.  "HE'S THE REASON MULDER'S GONE IN THE FIRST 
PLACE!"
	"OK," Michael said calmly.  "But what was he looking 
for?  Why was he here?" 
	Scully stared at him, her chest raising and falling 
rapidly.  Her eyes widened and she darted across the room 
back to her desk.  She knelt down, rapidly sorting through 
the papers on the floor.
	"Dana, what are you looking for?" Michael asked, 
kneeling down next to her.
	She didn't answer him.  Her panic was rising and she 
was starting to toss papers frantically about.
	"Dana!" Michael shouted, grabbing her shoulders.  
"Tell me what you're looking for.  Let me help you!"
	Scully looked at him, tears in her eyes.  "He took the 
rubbings," she said, her voice quivering.
	"Rubbings.  What rubbings?" he asked.
	Scully shook her head.  "He knows where Mulder is, 
they're going to use them on him," she said pleadingly.
	Michael didn't understand.  "Rubbings of what?"
	"The ship," she said.  "The ship I found in Africa."
	"Oh, God," Michael said, understanding the 
implications now.  If they're going to use the rubbings on 
Mulder, it could mean that they're trying to recreate the 
brain activity that could potentially kill him.
	"We have to.," Scully said stopping in mid sentence.  
Her eyes had fallen upon an object next to her upended 
coffee table.
	Michael followed her eyes to see a brass tube like 
object.
	"Oh, no," Scully cried, crawling over to it, ignoring 
the broken items that were biting into her hands and knees.  
She picked it up, cradling it in her hands.
Michael came up next to her, realizing that the item 
Scully so reverently held was a antique spy glass, like the 
ancient sailors would use.
	Still holding the glass carefully, she showed it to 
Michael.  He could hear the broken glass moving around 
inside.
  "Mulder gave this to me for Christmas a few years ago," 
she said in a husky voice.  A sad smile crossed her face.  
"We promised we weren't going to give each other presents 
that year."
	"It's beautiful," Michael said.
	Scully nodded.  "I loved it.  Now it's ruined."
	Michael took the glass from her.  "No, I'm sure we can 
get it repaired."
	Scully looked up at him.  "You think so?"
	Michael smiled at her.  "Yeah, sure."
	Scully nodded, but didn't answer.
	Michael carefully placed the spy glass down on the 
ground so he could reach for her.
	Scully didn't respond at first, but eventually let him 
to envelop her in his arms.  She clutched the back of his 
shirt as she buried her face in his neck, allowing herself 
the relief of crying.
	Michael held her tightly. His own fatigue and 
frustration finally hit the limit and he cried along with 
her.
***
	Taking the stairs two at a time, Susan made her way to 
Scully's apartment.  She stopped just outside, picking up 
on the strong feelings coming from the other side of the 
door.  She placed her hand on the wood and closed her eyes.  
	After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and pulled 
her hand away from the door.  She didn't think it would be 
right to interrupt them right now.  Scully needed the time, 
and maybe Michael did, too.  She licked her lips and 
glanced down the hallway.  She decided to wait over by the 
elevator.  Before she left, though, she placed her hand 
back on the door to send Michael a mental note, letting him 
know she was there.
***
	Michael drew back, a hand cradling her face.  "Dana," 
Michael said softly, wiping away a tear with his thumb.  
"Why don't you go get the things you wanted to get so we 
can get out of here.  There's nothing we can do now."
	She nodded, pulling away from him.  "I'm sorry," she 
said, standing.
	Michael stood, too.  "For what?" he asked.  "For 
getting upset?"
	"I don't usually do this," she said.
	Michael waved his hand in the air.  "Me neither," he 
said, scrubbing his face.  "But I think we both needed it."
	Scully's mouth twitched.  "It's been a rough couple of 
days, hasn't it," she said.
	Michael nodded.  "And I have an idea that tomorrow's 
not going to be much better," he said sarcastically.
	"Mmm," she said, turning toward the back of her 
apartment.  "I'll just be a few minutes."
	Michael wiped his hands on his pants.  "I'm just going 
to see if Susie's here yet," he said walking to the door.  
"I'll be right back."
	He opened the door to find Susan standing by the 
elevator, looking out a small window down at the street 
below.  He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around 
her, settling his chin on her shoulder.
	"You got here kinda fast,"  Michael commented.
	Susan smiled ruefully.  "You wouldn't believe how well 
an Escort handles."
Michael kissed the side of her neck.  "Sure."
	"She OK?" Susan asked.
	"Yeah."
	"You OK?"
	"Yeah."
	Susan turned in his arms.  She brought her hand up to 
touch his face.  "Really?"
	He held her hand against his lips.  "Really."
	She gave him a small smile.  "OK," she said before she 
reached up to give him a sweet kiss on the lips.
They joined Scully in her apartment to see if Susan 
could sense anything, but seeing that she never met Krycek 
or touched anything he touched, she couldn't tell 
definitely that it was he who was in the apartment.  She 
did note however, that she didn't sense anyone who hadn't 
been there before.  
	Scully wasn't sure if that made her feel better.
	On their way out, Scully made sure to grab the 
postcard Mulder sent.  As she closed the door, Susan heard 
her mumble to herself.
	"I don't even know why I lock this anymore."
***
June 21
The J. Edgar Hoover Building, Washington, DC
9:06 AM
	"Please state your name for the record."
	Susan eyed the green agent in front of her in his 
crisp white shirt, his red tie, black suit and perfectly 
combed hair.  He had to have been just out of the academy.  
She desperately tried not to roll her eyes.
	"Susan Elizabeth Halloway."
	"And what is your current position?"
	"Special Agent in Charge of the Melville Field Office 
in New York," she said without emotion.
	"That's on Long Island, correct?"
	She nodded.
	"Please answer verbally for the recording."
	She sighed.  "Yes."
	"Thank you," he said.  "Now why don't we go over your 
record."
	"Why not," she said, leaning back in her chair, legs 
crossed, hands neatly folded in her lap.  She was wearing a 
black pants suit; the one Michael called her `Fuck Me' suit 
because every time he looked at her when she was wearing 
it, he swore she was just begging to be bent over a desk 
and as he put it, fucked within an inch of her life.
	Special Agent Fred Garwin opened a file folder and 
began to read.  "You entered the FBI in 1988 with a 
bachelor's degree in Psychology and a JD/PsyD from Widener 
University." He looked up at her.
	She nodded.  "That is correct.  I am currently 
licensed to practice Psychology in New York State and am a 
member of the New York State Bar Association.
	"Do you?"
	Susan raised an eyebrow.
	"Practice Law or Psychology?" he asked.
	"No."
	He nodded.  "When I was reading your file this morning 
I saw that you graduated first in your class at Quantico."
	"Yes," she answered simply.
	"But ranked second in all graduating classes."
	"Yes," she answered again.
	"To, uh."  He flipped some pages.
	Susan knew he already knew the answer but was trying 
to play the part of the Interrogating Agent.
	He found the page he wanted.  "To one Fox Mulder," he 
looked up at her again.
"Yes."
	"By one tenth of a point," he pointed out.
	"Yes."
	He closed the file.  "Does that bother you?"
	Susan almost laughed.  "No."
	Agent Garwin looked a little defeated.  What did he 
want her to say?  Yes, she was pissed off that she missed 
being number one of all graduating agents to Mulder and 
decided to wait 12 years before bumping him off?  
	"I understand you and Agent Mulder were once involved 
in a romantic relationship," he said.
	"Yes."
	"Are you and Agent Mulder currently involved?"
	"No."  She knew she was annoying him by giving one 
word answers, but refused to be helpful.
	"Are you currently involved in a romantic relationship 
with another agent?"
	"Yes."
	"And who is this agent?"
	Susan leaned forward, placing her clasped hands on the 
table.  The move caused her white blouse to gap slightly, 
revealing a cream colored, lacy bra.
	Agent Garwin unconsciously licked his lips.
	Susan inwardly smiled.  "Now, why is this relevant to 
your investigation into Agent Mulder's abduction?" she 
asked smoothly.
	At her last word, Garwin's eyes darted from her 
cleavage to her eyes.  "You mean kidnapping."
	Susan let herself smile.  "Yes, of course.  That's 
what I meant," she said, leaning back again.
	"I'm just trying to explore all avenues of 
investigation," he said defensively.
	She nodded.  "Well, I suggest you explore other 
avenues.  My personal life is none of your business nor is 
it the business of the Bureau."
	Garwin studied her for a few moments before he nodded 
and opened another file folder.  "Fine then," he said.  "I 
have a few other questions for you."
***
	Susan walked into the room just in time to see Scully 
toss a cup of water into another agent's face.
	"Nice to meet you Agent Doggett," she said and stormed 
out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
	"Here," Susan said handing him a handkerchief.  "You 
look like you need it."
	John Doggett took the proffered handkerchief and 
stood.  "Thank you," he said, patting his face dry.  "And 
you are?" he asked.
	Susan extended her hand.  "SAC Susan Halloway," she 
said.
	Doggett took her hand, forgetting momentarily what he 
was going to say.  "Uh,  John Doggett, nice to meet you 
Agent Halloway.  I've heard a lot about you."
	Susan released his hand.  "And I you," she said 
sweetly.
	He nodded.  "I read the paper you wrote on Jacob 
Matthews, the guy who killed all those women in Canarsie.  
Very well done," he complimented.
	She smiled.  "Thank you."
	"I still can't figure out how you linked the murder 
weapon to the suspect.  It was a work of genius."
	"Just a lucky guess," she said, still smiling.
	"Some lucky guess."
	"Thanks.  I'm sorry I can't stay and chat, Agent 
Doggett, but I really must be going."
	He nodded.  "A pleasure to meet you, Agent."
	She gave him a tight-lipped smiled.  "You, too."
***
	Susan found Scully down in Mulder's office, staring at 
his `I want to believe' poster.
	"Hey," she said softly.
	Scully didn't turn around.  "Hey."
	Susan moved to stand next to Scully, pointing her chin 
towards the poster.  "I was with `im when he bought the 
first one."
	Scully looked at her, her face void of expression.  
"Really?"
	Susan nodded.  "Yeah, we found it at some head shop.  
There was some really funky stuff in there.  They had this 
HUGE selection of sex toys.  Mulder bought me this," she 
turned to Scully smiling, but sobered quickly at the look 
on her face.  "Uh, forget it."
	Scully continued to look at her.
	"Look, Dana, I'm sorry," Susan said.  "I shouldn't 
have."
	Scully shook her head then turned back to the poster.  
"Don't worry about it."
	They stood there quietly for a few moments before 
Scully spoke again.  "Mulder confided in you," Scully said.
	Susan nodded.
	"Often?"
	"Um," Susan said hesitantly.  "Not as much as he used 
to.  Before you and I met back in April, we hadn't spoken 
in over a year.  We were just too busy."
	"But you two talked a lot before then?"
	Susan wasn't sure where this conversation was going 
but she refused to lie to her.  "About once a week."
	"Once a week?" Scully asked incredulously.
	"Well maybe not that often, but it was a few times a 
month," she clarified.
	Scully shook her head.  "Why didn't he ever tell me 
about you?"
	Susan shrugged.  "I'm not the right person to be 
answering these questions."
	"Well, the person I want to ask isn't here right now," 
she said sounding a little annoyed.
	"OK," Susan said holding her hand out in front of her.  
She didn't want to upset her further.  "I think it was 
because he was afraid you would get the wrong idea about 
our relationship."
	Scully frowned.  "What do you mean?"
	"Dana,"  Susan said.  "Mulder has loved you for a very 
long time."
	Scully's eyebrows shot up.
	"And how would it sound if he had a female friend he 
spoke to on a regular basis?  How would you have reacted?" 
Susan pressed on.
	Scully shrugged.  "It wouldn't have bothered me."
	Susan snorted.  "Sure it wouldn't.  The same way it 
didn't bother you when you found out he was talking to that 
woman on-line about that dog thing."
	Scully couldn't respond to that.  "Were there others?" 
she asked.
	"Others what?" Susan asked confused.
	"Other women."
	"Other women what?"
	Scully gave her an exasperated look.  "Did he confide 
in other women?"
	"Other than me?"
	Scully looked like she wanted to smack her.
	"Dana, what is this about?"
	"Please just answer the question."
	Susan shook her head.  "No," she answered.  "You know 
that Mulder doesn't give his trust to just anyone.  Jesus! 
Before you, the last time he had sex was over six years 
ago."
	"With you?"
	Susan shook her head again.  "No and it was pretty 
stupid. I almost killed him when he told me about it, the 
schmuck," she said under her breath, but Scully caught it.
	"When was this?" Scully asked.
	Susan swallowed audibly.  "I think that's something 
you should ask Mulder."
	Scully nodded.
	"Look, Dana.  What brought this on?"
	Scully sighed.  "It was just something Agent Doggett 
said."
	"What?" Susan asked concerned.
	Scully closed her eyes.  "Nothing, it was nothing.  He 
was just trying to gauge my reaction."
	"Is that when you threw the water in his face?" Susan 
asked with a smile.
	Scully grinned and looked down at the floor.  "Yeah."  
She looked up at her.  "Did you see the look on his face?"
	Susan chuckled.  "Yeah,  I think you shocked the hell 
out of `im."
	"I don't know what possessed me to do that."
	"Ah, the ass deserved it.  I probably would have done 
the same thing."
	Scully smiled.
	Susan reached out to touch her arm.  "You OK?"
	Scully nodded.  "Yeah, I think so."
	"You know I'm here, right?"
	She nodded again.  "I know.  Thanks."
	Susan returned the nod.  "Any time."
	They both turned when there was a knock at the door.  
It was Michael.  
"Am I interrupting?" he asked.
	Susan smiled, remembering the last time he asked that, 
but this time instead of being a smart ass, he was being 
sweet.  "No."
	Michael returned the smile.  He knew what she was 
thinking.  He cocked his head toward the elevator.  "Come 
on," he said.  "Let me buy you beautiful ladies some 
breakfast."
	Scully and Susan glanced at each other.  Scully raised 
an eyebrow, Susan rolled her eyes.
	"Let's go, stud," Susan said linking her arm around 
his.
	Scully laughed and linked her arm with his other, 
letting him lead them out.

Part 11

Office of the Lone Gunmen
June 22
2:56 AM

	With the air conditioning running at full blast, 
Michael stared mindlessly at the muted television set.  
They had been at it all day and all night with only a short 
break for dinner, and his body was slowly falling asleep.  
He laid sprawled out on the Gunmen's leather sofa, remote 
control in his left hand.  He was still dressed in the suit 
he had worn to the office, but his tie had been removed 
some time after six.  
	Susan was sitting across the room surrounded by the 
guys. He lost the ability to keep up with them around 
midnight.  They were talking in some unknown computer 
language that he didn't understand.  He had no idea where 
Susan learned half the things she was talking about.  She 
probably read it from them and then assimilated it into her 
own knowledge base.  It came in handy when forensic agents 
were trying to explain something to them.  All she had to 
do was touch the tech. then give herself a moment to run 
through the new information.  It usually only took a few 
minutes and lasted for a good number of hours.  Michael 
assumed that if she kept processing the information she 
would come to remember it indefinitely.
	Michael's bleary eyes scanned the room, settling on 
Scully.  He smiled to himself.  She kept up with Susan for 
a while but dropped out of the race some where around nine 
claiming that she thought it would be a good idea to go 
over some of the reports they got from the Gunmen's MUFON 
contact.  Currently, she was sitting at a desk in the 
corner with her head resting on her right fist, asleep.  
The whole right side of her face was scrunched up and he 
swore that if he squinted, he could see some drool running 
down her arm.  Of course, he would never mention it to her.  
If Susan taught him anything it was when to keep his mouth 
shut.
	"I think I'm going blind," Langly said as he pushed 
his chair back and stood to stretch.
	"Your mother warned you someday that might happen," 
Frohike said, smiling at Susan.
	She chuckled.
	"You're one to talk, you've got the hairiest palms 
I've ever seen," Langly shot back.
	Frohike started to stand, but Byers put his hand on 
his shoulder.  "I think we all need to call it a night," he 
said logically.  "We're all starting to fall asleep."
	"Mmmm, sounds like a good idea.  But I don't think any 
of us are up to driving," Susan said, standing, stretching 
her arms over her head, revealing a small patch of her bare 
belly.
	Frohike looked away, his eyes falling on Michael who 
was watching him.  He had seen Frohike's eyes wander and 
made sure the small man knew he caught him.  He knew he was 
being ridiculous, but he was tired and his feelings for 
Susan were always stronger when he was at his weakest.  
Jesus, you should see him when he's had a little too much 
to drink.
	Susan glanced at Michael out of the corner of her eye, 
but didn't say anything.
	"Well," Frohike said.  "You two can take my room and 
I'll sack out on the couch; just put on clean sheets this 
morning."
	Susan shook her head.  "I don't think Michael's going 
to be able to get up.  We'll take the couch."
	Frohike opened his mouth to protest, but Susan held up 
her hand.
	"Don't worry about it.  Besides, I think it's Dana who 
needs the bed."  She turned to Scully who hadn't moved in 
over an hour.  "If we don't get her out of that position, 
her neck it going to be killing her tomorrow."
	"Good, since it's all settled, Frohike can take the 
top bunk in Langly's room and Agent Scully can take his 
room."
	Langly and Frohike looked like they would rather eat 
fire ants before they would bunk together, but didn't say 
anything.
	Susan smiled and patted the two men on their 
shoulders.  "Thanks guys," she said sweetly.  "That's 
really nice of you to make the offer."
	Langly grumbled under his breath and left the room.
	"Come on Byers let's go wake Agent Scully," Frohike 
said as he made his way over to her.
	Susan watched the man fondly as he crouched down in 
front of Scully.  "Scully," he said softly.
	She barely stirred.
	Frohike gently touched her shoulder.  "Scully," he 
said a little stronger, giving her a slight shake.  "Come 
on, it's time to go to bed."
	Scully opened her eyes slowly.  "Huh?" she mumbled.
	Frohike spoke soothingly to her and helped her up.  
She didn't put up much of a fight, but made sure he knew 
that she didn't want to put him out.
	When they left the room, Susan turned to Michael who 
was looking at her, barely able to keep his eyes open.  
Susan felt as tired as he did, if not more.  Studying the 
data the guys hacked into was mind numbing.  Not to mention 
the fact that she had to constantly read one of them to 
understand what it said.  It was a wonder that she didn't 
fall asleep where she stood.
	Michael clicked off the television and dropped the 
remote on the back of the couch.  It wasn't a large couch, 
but the two of them fell asleep on their own couch all the 
time and it was a lot smaller than this one.  At least he 
could stretch is whole body out.
	Susan steeped out of her pumps and kicked them aside.  
She slowly walked over to him in a way that always did a 
number on his hormones. If he wasn't so tired he would have 
instantly jumped to attention.  In the state he was in, be 
was barely capable of a twitch.
	Susan gave him a feral smile, she knew what she was 
doing.
	She stopped at the end of the couch by his feet and 
moved to kneel on the leather.  His eyes widened as he 
watched her crawl over his body on her hands and knees.
	She continued to smile at him.
	Michael swallowed audibly when she reached out to 
unbutton his shirt.
	"Susan," he said weakly.
	She put her finger on his lips to silence him then 
finished opening his shirt.  She spread her fingers out on 
his bare chest, pushing his shirt out towards his sides.  
She was unbelievably happy that he decided to forgo a T-
shirt that morning.
	Michael was flabbergasted.  He knew she wouldn't try 
anything considering they were basically out in the open 
and that anyone could walk in on them.  Not to mention the 
fact that he just wasn't up to anything that night; 
literally and figuratively.  But, he couldn't tell what she 
was thinking, she was blocking him.
	Susan gripped his shoulders to move him so that his 
back rested completely on the couch.  She looked down at 
him, still smiling.  She loved to make him off balance.  
She leaned down to kiss him briefly, pulling away after a 
few moments with a nip on his bottom lip.  She trailed her 
lips across his jaw to his ear where she whispered softly.  
"I love you."
	Michael hands had settled on her hips  and he squeezed 
them slightly.  "I love you, too," he murmured.
	She smiled down at him, not a full smile, just a 
slight upturn of the corners of her mouth.	"I know."
	Susan slid her body down so that the top of her head 
fit perfectly under his chin and pulled the blanket that 
was on the back of the couch over them.  She didn't really 
care when she heard the remote slide down behind the couch 
and fall to the floor.  She'd get it tomorrow.
She drew her legs together and snuggled into him.  
Michael suddenly realized what she was doing.  She made it 
so that her entire body was draped over him and wasn't 
touching any part of the couch.  Her hands gripped his 
sides then moved back and under his bunched shirt, down to 
his waist to slide under the elastic of his trousers and 
boxers coming to a rest just above the swell of his behind.
	He felt her dig her nails into his skin then relax.
	Susan nuzzled his shoulder before she placed a soft 
kiss on his clavicle.  She took a deep breath and 
contentedly let it out.  She loved doing this; being 
completely surrounded by him.  His whole body was like a 
drug to her and she was hopelessly addicted.
	Michael wrapped his arms around her back and squeezed 
her tightly.
	Susan let out a soft sigh and let go of her block on 
him.  
	Michael's heart swelled at the feelings she was 
emitting.  She was totally and unequivocally in love with 
him.  It was almost too much for him to bare.  He breathed 
out a shaky sigh.
	Susan slowly drifted off to sleep.
	Michael closed his eyes when he felt her drift off.  
He could feel her external radar diminish and gradually 
weaken to almost nothing.  She had completely fallen into 
unconsciousness and her sense of her surroundings 
diminished like a candle burning down.  It wasn't often 
that she allowed that to happen.  It was usually due to 
exhaustion and she only let it happen when she was in 
Michael's arms.  She told him once that when she slept like 
this, surrounded by him, she felt safe and protected, and 
felt that she could allow herself to completely relax and 
let down her defenses.  Michael couldn't explain how that 
made him feel.
	Frohike had watched the two of them from the darkness 
of the hallway.  "Lucky bastard," he mumbled before he 
flipped the light switch plunging them into darkness.

***
	Oh, God, no.  Not again.  They were coming for him.  
He skidded across the cold concrete floor. The roughness of 
the ground ripped open his knees and palms again.  He had 
already lost a fingernail on his right hand trying 
desperately to fight the ones that dragged him out of his 
cell.
	Cell.  That's what he called it.  It wasn't a room.  
It did have a toilet and bed, but the toilet was black and 
foul smelling and the bed was nothing more than a metal 
bench against the wall with a pad on it.  He usually hid 
under it.  As for the toilet, they weren't feeding him and 
he had lost the need for it a few days after he woke.  At 
least he thought it was days.  He had no sense of time 
there.
	He could hear their footsteps coming for him.  He 
couldn't tell if they were men or something else.  His cell 
was in constant darkness and when they came for him, they 
shined bright lights into his eyes, blinding him.
	Suddenly the door was wrenched open and he was bathed 
in light.  He scrambled towards the far side of the room, 
his back slamming into the wall.
	"NO!" he screamed.
	They ignored him, grabbing his arms and legs.  He 
kicked one of them, he was sure of it, but the grip on is 
legs didn't loosen.
His body flailed about trying to escape their hold but 
it was too no avail.  He was extremely weak and they were 
so strong.
	He saw a flash of metal in the light then a painful 
burning in his right shoulder.
	He screamed as he lost consciousness.
***
	He woke some time later laying naked on a metal table, 
his arms and legs spread out and tied down.  He pulled at 
his restraints and groaned when he felt them rip into his 
skin.  He could feel the blood running down his wrists.
	Suddenly the light turned on above him and he closed 
his eyes but he could still see it through his eyelids.
He heard a mechanical sound somewhere behind him, and 
then saw an instrument coming down from the ceiling.  If he 
could think properly, he would say it looked like a drill.
	He pulled at his restraints, ignoring the pain as the 
drill descended further.
	He screamed as it burrowed into his left temple.
	Another instrument came to life next to him. His 
screams came louder and harsher as it worked its way under 
the skin on is forearm.
Between his spread legs a cylindrical object emerged 
from the table.  It moved slightly to the left revealing a 
spinning saw.
	He lost consciousness, screaming as it cut into his 
chest, moving down.
	"SCULLY!!!"
***
June 22
4:46 AM
	Michael woke suddenly.  He wasn't sure what woke him 
when Susan moved in his arms and let out a soft groan.
	He could feel her heart pounding against his chest, 
her breath coming in short pants.
	"Susan," he said softly.
	She shifted and he felt her tense up.
	He ran his hand down her back and she violently moved 
away from him.
	"Susan," he said stronger.  "Come on, you're having a 
nightmare."  He grabbed her wrist, but she fought him.  She 
pulled her arm away and started pushing away from him.  He 
grabbed her again, but she shoved him, then punched him in 
the jaw.
	"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed.
	He could feel her terror.  She was fighting some 
invisible enemy in her sleep and it scared the shit out of 
her.
	Michael pushed her up so he could get a good look at 
her face.  Her eyes were open, but vacant.  Tears were 
streaming down her cheeks.  
	Suddenly she doubled over in pain and let out a 
terrifying wail, clutching her chest.
	Scully ran into the room, her hair disheveled and her 
clothes rumpled, she held her gun in her hand. "What!" she 
shouted.  "What's going on?"
	Langly, Byers and Frohike appeared behind her, looking 
pretty much the same as Scully.
	Michael was still struggling with Susan trying to hold 
her so that she wouldn't fall off the couch.  "I don't 
know, I think she's having some kind of nightmare."
Again she tried to punch him, but he grabbed her 
wrist.  That was when he noticed her arm was covered in 
blood.
	"What the hell?!" he breathed.
	Scully came up next to him to grab her other arm which 
was also covered in blood.
	"Watch out," Michael shouted.
	Scully dodged just in time to miss an elbow to the 
chest.
	"SUSAN!"  Scully shouted.  "SUSAN WAKE UP!!"
	Susan continued to fight them.  "NO!  PLEASE NO MORE!!  
PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!" she begged.
	Then, her whole body went rigid and she let out a 
heart wrenching sob.  "SCULLY!"
	Michael and Scully looked at each other then down to 
Susan.  Scully slowly backed away.
	Susan was calming down, but she still held her body 
stiffly, her chest heaving, trying to gulp in air.
	"Susie," Michael murmured.  "It's OK."
	Susan's eyes blinked and he saw them clear.  
"Michael?"
	He smiled.  "Yeah, love, it's me."
	She stared at him, then screwed her eyes shut.  "Oh, 
God," she groaned and pushed away from him.  She just made 
it to the bathroom when she lost the contents of her 
stomach.
	Susan felt Michael come up behind her, then felt her 
hair being pulled away from her face.  She would have 
thanked him, but another bout of heaving started.
	After what felt like eternity, she reached out a 
trembling hand to flush the toilet.  Michael helped her 
stand.
	"Are you all right?" he asked.
	She nodded.  "Yeah, just give me a minute."
	He looked at her pleadingly, he didn't want to leave 
her alone.  "You sure?"
	She nodded again.  "Yeah, I just need a minute alone."
	He nodded hesitantly.  "OK, but I'll be right 
outside."
	She tried to smile at him, but just didn't have the 
strength.  "Thank you," she said, closing the door.
	Once she was alone, her hands went immediately for the 
buttons on her shirt.  With some effort, she was able to 
open it.
	She gasped when she caught sight of herself in the 
mirror.  There was an angry red mark on her chest that ran 
from the hollow of her throat, behind her bra and down into 
her pants.  Her eyes widened as she watched it slowly 
disappear.
	She raised her shaking hands to move her hair out of 
her face and turned her head slightly.  She could see a 
fading red mark on her temple.
	That was when she noticed that she was missing the 
nail on her right forefinger.  It throbbed painfully and 
then right before her eyes, the nail reappeared.  There was 
blood on the cuffs of her shirt, but no signs of cuts 
anywhere.
	"What the hell is going on?" she spoke softly.
	Then all of a sudden it came flooding back to her.  In 
her mind's eye she could see the drill coming out of the 
ceiling, the tool burrowing under her forearm and the saw 
cutting into her chest.  But it wasn't her chest, it was 
Mulder's.  
	"Oh, my God," she whispered before her stomach rolled 
again.  This time she didn't make it to the toilet and 
vomited in the sink.

***
June 22
The Watergate Hotel
5:34 AM
	
	Michael escorted Susan into the room with a hand on 
her back between her shoulder blades.  They had been 
touching constantly since they left the Gunmen's, whether 
it was his hand clenched in Susan's or his arm around her 
waist.  She seemed to need the contact.
	Scully closed the door behind them and watched as 
Michael led Susan over to the couch.  He knelt down in 
front of her to remove her shoes.  As he stood, he murmured 
something to her.  She desperately searched for his hand, 
shaking her head. Her face contorted into a grimace of 
fear, then relaxed.  She reluctantly let go of his hand, 
looking down at the floor.
	Michael turned to Scully.  "I'm gonna go run a bath 
for her.  I'll be right back."
	Scully nodded and sat down on the coffee table 
opposite Susan.
	"So, you going to tell me what happened?"
	Susan sighed.  "I had a nightmare."
	Scully gave her a look of disbelief.  "Uh, huh," she 
said.
	Susan looked up at her.  "Dana."
	"No, Susan, you're going to tell me what happened."
	Susan sighed and closed her eyes.
	"Back there, back at the Lone Gunmen's, you called me 
Scully.  You've never done that."
	Michael came back in the room and sat down next to 
Susan.  "The tub will take a few moments to fill up."
	"Susan," Scully promoted.  "What happened?"
Michael reached out to take a hold of Susan's hand.  
"Christ, Susie, something scared the shit out of you.  
You've never had a nightmare like that."
	Susan looked at Michael then back to Scully.  There 
was no way that she was going to tell Scully everything she 
saw; everything she felt.  She could never do something 
like that.  She could just imagine how she would react if 
it was Michael who was being tortured and frightened out of 
his mind.  She'd be a basket case.
	"I think," Susan started.  "I think I saw Mulder." 
	Scully gasped.  
	"I didn't see where he was, but for some reason, I 
felt what he was feeling."
	"How is that possible?"  Scully asked.
	Susan shook her head.  "I don't know."
	"What, what was he feeling?" Scully asked hesitantly.
	"He was terrified." Susan wasn't going to say anymore.
	"Was he in pain?"
	Susan licked her lips.  "Some."
	"What about this?" Scully fingered Susan's bloody 
cuff.
	"This I can't explain."
	Scully examined Susan's wrists but saw no cuts.  
"Where did this blood come from?"
	"I don't think it's mine."
	"What do you mean you don't think it's yours?" Scully 
asked harshly.
	"In my. my dream, Mulder was being held down and his 
wrists were bleeding from the restraints.  I think it's 
his."
	Scully sat down heavily on the coffee table.  "He was 
being restrained?" she asked weakly.
	"Four point restraints."
	"Oh, God," she moaned, putting a hand over her eyes.  
	"What is it?" Michael asked, sitting next to her.  He 
looked up a Susan.
	Susan's shoulder's sagged.  "Ever since his stay in 
the hospital last year for his weird brain activity, Mulder 
has been terrified of being tied down."
	"What were they doing to him?" Scully asked, her hand 
still over her eyes.
	Susan gave a fearful look to Michael.  He shook his 
head.
	"I, I couldn't see that clearly.  Mostly I was getting 
his feelings."  God, she hated lying, especially to Scully.
	"Are you sure?"  She wasn't really sure what she was 
asking.  Was Susan sure it was Mulder, was she sure she 
didn't see any more?
	Susan nodded.  "Yeah, I'm sure it was him.  It felt 
like him."
	"You called me Scully."
	"He was calling for you."
	Suddenly, Scully stood and headed towards the door.
	"Where are you going?" Susan asked, going after her.
	Scully picked up her keys.  "Back to the Lone 
Gunmen's."  She reached for the doorknob.
	"For what?  You're exhausted."
	"I need to look over the rest of the reports."
	"Dana," Susan said.  "The guys are in bed.  We told 
them we'd be back later."
	Scully shook her head, she was starting to panic.  "I 
need to work."
	"Later," Susan said touching her shoulder.  "You won't 
be any good in this condition.  We all need to get some 
sleep."
	Scully shook her head again.  "No, I need to find 
him."
	"Dana."
	"NO!" Scully shouted.  "I have to find him!  He's 
calling for me!"
	"I know. He knows you'll find him."
	"We're wasting time!"
	"We'll waste more time if you collapse from 
exhaustion."'
	"He's so afraid," Scully whispered.  "No," she shook 
her head.  "I have to go."  She turned to open the door.
	Susan's grip on her shoulder tightened.  "Dammit Dana, 
NO!"
	Scully's eyes widened as she turned back to her.
	"Mulder would not want you to put your health at risk 
to save him, least of all his child's!"
	Scully's body sagged.
	"You haven't eaten anything substantial in the last 24 
hours."
	Scully opened her mouth to respond.
	"A bagel at breakfast and a slice of pizza at dinner 
yesterday does not count and you know that," Susan 
interjected.
	Scully sagged back against the hotel door.  "He's so 
afraid," her voice husky with unshed tears.
	Susan wrapped her arms around her, trying to give as 
much comfort as possible.  For herself or for Scully she 
wasn't sure.  "I know," she breathed, her voice betraying 
her grief.  "We'll find him.  I promise."

Part 12

The Watergate Hotel
June 22, 2001
9:45 AM


	A needle plunged into the crook of her elbow then 
slowly withdrew blood.
	"Jesus, Dana," Susan groaned.  "How the hell big is 
that needle?  I feel like you're driving a nail into my 
arm."  She tried not to pull away and cause more pain.
	Scully didn't respond, just finished taking the blood 
sample and pulled the syringe out.  Placing a piece of 
cotton on the area, she signaled for Susan to fold her arm.  
"It wasn't that bad," Scully admonished as she walked over 
to the other side of the breakfast nook where she had laid 
out her supplies to label the vial and put it into a 
plastic baggy.
	Susan snorted.  "Yeah, right," she grumbled.
	Scully shook her head, looking down at the floor as 
she leaned against the counter.  "I can do the typing at 
gunmen's, but I'm going to have to send it to the bureau 
for a DNA analysis.  We'll compare it to a sample of 
Mulder's and with the blood on your shirt.  It won't leave 
any doubt as to whose blood it is on that shirt," she said 
looking up at her.
	Susan nodded.  "OK."
	"I just don't know how I'm going to do the analysis 
without anyone questioning why I'm there, it's not as if 
I'm on a case."
	Susan hopped down from the stool she was sitting on to 
pick up the phone on the desk across the room.  "I have an 
idea who we can call."
	"Call for what?" Michael asked as he walked barefoot 
into the room toweling his hair dry.  He was fresh from the 
shower and was wearing dark slacks with his belt undone and 
an unbuttoned dress shirt.  Susan loved the fact that he 
wasn't wearing a T-shirt underneath.  In her mind, it was 
the equivalent of her not wearing a bra under her suit, not 
that she ever did that, at least at work, but if he stood 
in a certain light, she could see his nipples under the 
white cotton.  
	It made her mouth go dry.
	Michael smiled at her reaction and asked his question 
again.
	"To have the blood analyzed," Susan stated, picking up 
the phone.
	"Oh, no," Michael groaned.
	Susan smiled deviantly and continued to dial.
	Scully frowned.  "What's the matter?"
	Michael walked into the kitchenette and opened the 
small refrigerator.  Standing next to her, he opened a 
bottle of iced tea.  "She's going to call him," he said 
gruffly.
	"Him who?" she asked, watching him chug half the 
bottle.
	"Special Agent Anthony Minelli please," Susan said 
into the phone.
	"Who's he?" Scully asked.
	Michael gestured towards Susan with the bottle.  
"You'll see."
	A large smile spread across Susan's face.  "Yo Tony, 
it's Susan," Susan said sounding very much like the New 
Yorker she was.  She was silent for a moment then let out a 
full belly laugh.  She looked at Michael out of the corner 
of her eye, a full smile on her face.  "Yeah, I'm still 
with 'im," she said.  "Nah, he is not."  She chuckled.  
"Yeah, that's gotta be it."  She snickered.  "Mmm, hmm.  
Yeah, it's business, but I don't mind mixing in a bit a 
pleasure with it."  She was quiet again, that smile still 
present on her lips.
	Michael tossed the empty bottle into the trash.  "I'm 
gonna go finish getting dressed," he said as he walked past 
her.  He made a point of talking loud enough so that the 
man on the other line could hear him.  "I should leave 
before I get sick."
	Scully watched the two of them with amusement.  Who 
was that guy on the phone that was obviously friendly with 
Susan and rubbed Michael the wrong way?
	Susan laughed at something the other man said.  "Look, 
Tony, I need ya to do me a favor.  I'm sending over some 
blood, can ya do a DNA analysis of it?  Please?"
	Scully walked over to stand in front of Susan.
	"Ya get to see me, that's what ya get out of it," 
Susan answered.  "Thanks, man.  Can ya give me a call on my 
cell when you're done?  Thanks, yeah, let me give ya the 
number."
	Scully found that interesting.  He knew her well 
enough to be a little more than friendly with her, but he 
didn't know her cell phone number.
	Susan gave him the number and ended the call.  "He's 
such a nice guy," she said to Scully.
	"Who is this man?" she asked.
	"Agent Tony Minelli used to work out of Manhattan.  I 
met him when I got transferred.  He was just a rookie 
forensic agent then, but he helped me out a lot on some 
cases.  Especially when I already knew who the bad guy was 
but couldn't prove it.  He helped on many occasions link my 
feelings to any forensic evidence they found at the scene."  
She smiled at her.  "Kinda like what you do for Mulder."
	Scully smiled.
	"He was promoted a few years ago and was transferred 
to Washington.  I'm surprised you never met 'im."
	Scully watched her walk into the kitchenette.  "Maybe 
I have and just don't know his name."
	Susan turned around from her inspection of the 
refrigerator.  "I don't think so, you'd know if you've met 
Tony."
***
June 25
3:03 PM
Washington, DC
The Mall

	Susan pushed her Ray Bans up the bridge of her nose as 
she and Michael walked casually hand in hand around The 
Mall.  They were enjoying the sun and reasonably 
comfortable temperature during their much needed time 
alone.  They had spent the last three days holed up at the 
gunmen's lair and were starting to get stir crazy.  
Everyone agreed that some time apart was a good idea.  
Scully decided to go back to the hotel for a nice relaxing 
bath and small lunch, while Michael and Susan agreed upon a 
leisurely lunch out and a stroll around the monuments.
	Scully had performed the blood typing right away, 
concluding that the blood on Susan's shirt could not be 
hers.  Susan was O negative and the blood was O positive, 
which is the same blood type as Mulder's, but was also the 
same as Michael's.  They had a courier take the blood to 
the J. Edgar Hoover Building on the 22nd, leaving them with 
nothing to do but wait and scan through any new 
information, which was starting to die down.  Frohike was 
still trying to see if he could track down one of his 
contacts, but alas, was not receiving an answer.
	As Michael and Susan rounded a corner, they passed a 
couple dressed in military garb.  Susan recognized the 
insignia on the man who was dressed in his summer whites.  
He was a commander in the US Navy and was in the JAG Corp.  
The woman was a colonel in the Marine Corp. and also a 
member of JAG.
	Susan allowed a slow appreciative glance at the man 
who smiled and did the same to her.  Even though both were 
wearing sunglasses, they maintained eye contact as they 
passed each other, going as far as turning their heads as 
they walked by.  
	Susan saw the woman nudge the man.  "Be careful, she's 
engaged," she said, not sounding amused.
	"So are you, Mack, and that didn't stop you from 
checking him out."
	She just smiled enigmatically and turned away.
	The man gave Susan a shrug and turned to follow her.
	Michael pulled on Susan's hand and leaned into her.  
"You can have the sailor if you let me have the Marine."
	Susan smiled at him.  "Don't even tempt me, did you 
see the ass on that man?"
	Michael laughed.  "I was too busy looking at her 
boobs."
	"Ah, nothing like a uniform..."
	In the distance, they saw Scully sitting on one of the 
benches near the reflecting pool.  Susan glanced down at 
her watch.  They were about ten minutes late for their 
three o'clock meeting.  They were supposed to meet at the 
bench, then head on over to the FBI to read over the 
results Tony promised would be done by then.
	Scully smiled as they approached.  "Hi," she said 
simply.
	"Hey," Susan said.
	"Ready to go?" Michael asked.
	Scully took a deep breath and stood.  "As I'll ever 
be."
	Together, they made their way to the labs, and the man 
Michael despised.

***
2:27 PM
June 25
The J. Edgar Hoover Building

	Scully watched as the man known as Anthony Minelli 
aggressively pulled Susan into a tight bear hug.
	"Man, Susan, it's been too long," he said as he pulled 
away.  "You look more beautiful than I remembah."
	Scully swore she could hear Michael grinding his 
teeth.
	Susan smiled at the dark haired man.  "Missed ya too, 
Tony," she said.
	Michael and Tony shared a gruff hello and handshake.  
Scully could see each man's arm straining to outdo the grip 
of the other.  Tony was about an inch or two shorter than 
Michael, but was built similarly.  He had dark hair and 
dark eyes and was already sprouting a five o'clock shadow.  
He was extremely good looking with chiseled features and 
dark skin.  He looked completely the opposite of Michael.  
She was surprised that she had never seen him before.  She 
surely would have remembered him.
	"So," Tony said turning to Scully.  "You are the 
famous Dana Scully I presume," he said charmingly as he 
extended his hand to her.
	Scully nodded and took his hand.  "Yes, and I have to 
admit that I'm surprised we've never met."
	He smiled, showing off his straight white teeth.  
"Upon meeting you, it is a regret that I feel whole 
heartedly."
	Scully glanced at Susan out of the corner of her eye.  
'Is he for real?' the look said.
	Susan just grinned.  Michael rolled his eyes.
"Agent Scully," Tony said, his voice soft and filled with 
emotion.  "I would like to give my deepest regrets 
concernin' Agent Mulder.  If I can offer any thing, please 
do not hesitate to ask.  He is a great man."

Scully was not lost on the fact that he said 'is' and 
not 'was'.  "Thank you, Agent Minelli."
	"Tony," he interjected.
	Scully nodded.
	"Yeah, Tony," Michael growled.  "You can help out by 
telling us what you found."  One could not be mistaken by 
the tone of his voice; it was obvious that he didn't like 
the man.
	Tony grinned at Michael.  "Look man, I don' know what 
ya problem is, but I'm not afta ya girl, so ya don haf ta 
worry.  No need to be a prick."
	Michael spread his palm out on Susan's back before he 
took a step forward, practically nose to nose with him.  
"Oh, I don't worry about that," he said, his voice deep and 
menacing.  "I just don't like you."
	"Well, the feelin's mutual," Tony said, giving Michael 
a slight bump in the chest with his.
	Susan took that as her cue to step in.  It wasn't the 
first time she had to get in between these two.  She knew 
that if she waited just a few seconds longer, she's be 
picking Tony up with a sponge.
	"OK, boys," Susan said squeezing between them.  She 
placed a hand on each man's chest.  "That's enough of the 
pissing contest."  She looked Michael in the eye, her blue 
eyes sparkling.  She would never verbally admit it, but she 
loved it when Michael got all Neanderthal.  "We did come 
here for a reason."
	Michael allowed a small smile and stepped back.
	"Fine," Tony growled, turning to walk to the other 
side of the room.  He mumbled something under his breath 
before he spoke again.  "I finished up about an hour ago, 
here's the results."
	"Can I see them?" Scully asked.
	Tony handed a plastic sheet to Scully.  It had a grid 
of blue ink blots on it.  Scully held it up to the light, 
her eyes squinting.
	"Without somthin' to compare it to, it's not very 
helpful," Tony said.
	Scully nodded before she placed the sheet on one of 
the counters.  "That's why I brought this," she said, 
reaching into the leather satchel she brought with her.  
She pulled out a folder containing another blue dotted 
plastic sheet.  "This was run a few months ago," she said.  
"Mulder and I each had one done."  She glanced at Susan.  
"Just in case."
	Susan nodded.  "Good idea."
	Scully licked her lips nervously and picked up the 
sheet Tony completed.  She put one behind the other and 
again held them up to the light.  The two sheets were 
exactly the same.  The blood from Susan's shirt contained 
the same DNA as Mulder.  It was undeniable, it was Mulder's 
blood.	
***
11:58 PM
June 25
The Watergate Hotel

Susan slid between the crisp white sheets just as she 
heard Michael flush the toilet.  She smiled remembering the 
events of this afternoon.  She understood why Michael 
didn't like Tony, it wasn't completely due to jealousy, 
although that was a leading factor. Michael just didn't 
like the type of man who used his good looks to get what he 
wanted.  He also didn't like how charming Tony thought he 
was.  What it really came down to was that Michael didn't 
like the fact that Tony reminded him a lot of the way he 
used to be.  His sister Katie told Susan all about 
Michael's accurate reputation as a lady's man.  He never 
stayed in a relationship longer than two months.  As soon 
as it hinted at getting serious, he bolted.  It wasn't 
something he was proud of.  Katie admitted that their 
family never thought Michael would ever settle down.  When 
she showed up at their parent's house wearing Grandma's 
ring with Michael looking shy and acting like a love struck 
teenager, their first thought was that it wasn't him, it 
was just someone who looked a lot like him.  Their second 
thought was to wonder who the hell this woman was and what 
did she to their son.  It wasn't a mystery why his parents 
accepted Susan with open arms.
	When they left the Bureau, they had a tense dinner, 
not really discussing the impact of the DNA results, then 
rejoined the guys.  They quietly read over some new MUFON 
reports, each lost in their thoughts.  Around eleven, they 
called it a night and headed back to The Watergate.
	Michael exited the bathroom looking newly shaven.  
Susan tried not to smile.  The fact that he shaved before 
he went to bed meant that he was hoping to get lucky that 
night.  And oh boy was he ever lucky.
	He lifted up the sheets intending to slide in next to 
Susan, but she sat up and stopped him with a raised hand.
	"Ah, uh," she said waving a finger at him.
	He frowned.  
	"Lose the boxers."
	He smiled and quickly tugged off the silk garment 
before tossing it across the room.  Susan lifted the sheets 
revealing her own nakedness, welcoming him into the bed.
	Michael practically leaped in beside her, but just as 
he reached for her, she slid away from and out of the bed, 
falling on her knees on the floor.
	He looked at her quizzically.
	She just smiled.  
	He watched as she opened the drawer of the night 
stand, removing something hidden in her palm, then moved 
her hand below the mattress out of his line of sight.
	She looked up at him, then over to the clock on top of 
the night stand.  12:03 Am, it read.  "Oh, look," she said.  
"It's tomorrow."  She looked back up at him.  "June 26th."
	Michael didn't respond.
	"Gee, isn't that somebody's birthday?" she asked, 
smiling.
	Michael returned her smile.
	"Oh, that's right, it's yours."
	"OK, cut it out, whatcha get me?"
	"A little impatient, aren't' we?" she said with 
amusement.
	He just grunted at her.
	Suddenly Susan's expression turned serious.  She 
looked down at the object in her hand and took a deep 
breath.  Looking up at him,  with their eyes locked, she 
said, "Michael Seamus Joseph O'Sullivan."  She paused, 
extending her hand, palm up, revealing a small dark velvet 
jeweler's box.  "Will you marry me?" she finished in a 
small whisper.
	Michael stared at her for a moment, lost for words 
before he reached for the small box.  Inside, it contained 
a large silver claddah ring.  "I thought I already asked 
you that question," he said, still looking at the ring.
	Susan tilted his chin up so that he was looking at 
her.  "You did, and I accepted.  But I thought you would 
like your own ring," she said sounding unsure of herself.
	Michael motioned for her to join him in the bed.  As 
soon as she was settled on her side facing him, he spoke.  
"I do, and I love it." He voice was husky.  "I was just 
surprised."
	Susan grinned.  "Good, because that's what I wanted."
	Michael removed the ring from the box and slid it on 
the fourth finger of his left hand with the heart pointing 
in.  It fit perfectly.  "You understand the significance of 
the claddah ring, don't you?"
	Susan smiled.  "Of course I do," she said as she 
reached for his hand to place a soft kiss on the ring.  
"And," she said entwining their fingers together.  "I have 
a proposition for you."
	Michael released her hand so that he could wrap his 
arms around her waist and pull her securely against his 
body.  "Mmm, a proposition, I like the sound of that," he 
said as he started kissing her neck.
	Susan pushed him away before he could distract her 
fully.  "How about after all this is over..., you and I..., 
go to Vegas."
	"Vegas?" he asked incredulously.
	Susan sighed.  She knew he was going to react like 
that.  "Look, Michael.  I know we've been through this 
before.  I know how much your family is pressuring you for 
the traditional wedding, but that's just not me."
	Michael ran a hand through his hair and laid back 
staring at the ceiling.
	Susan sat up on one elbow and moved so that she was 
looking down at him.  "Besides," she said cupping his 
cheek.  
	His eyes settled on her.  "Besides," she said softly.  
"I don't have anyone to invite.  I have no family.  My 
father won't be there to give me away.  My mother won't be 
there gushing over me, helping me fix my hair and dress.  
One side of the church will be packed with your family 
while I have like three people on the other.  It won't be a 
happy day for me."
	"What about your Aunt Cathy?"
	Susan snorted.  "You know that she was more than happy 
that I left her house at sixteen.  She always made sure I 
knew that it wasn't my home and that she wasn't going to 
play the role of my mother.  And yes, I speak to my cousin 
occasionally, but we're really not that close.  So, who 
will I have there?  Mulder, Dana, and Tony," she finished 
with a smile.
	Michael groaned and slung his arm over his eyes.  "Why 
didn't you ever tell me this?"
	Susan shrugged, looking down at his chest.
	Michael held her face in both of his hands.  "Yes, 
Susie, I'll marry you."
	Susan smiled.
	"And if you want to get married by Elvis, just tell me 
the time and I'll be there."
	She leaned down to kiss him.  "I love you," she 
murmured, pulling away.
	"I love you, too."  He brought her face down again as 
they got lost in each other.
***

8:23 AM
June 26
The Watergate Hotel

	Susan woke up alone in bed to a knocking on her door.  
"Yeah," she called out, her voice husky from sleep.  She 
made sure to pull the sheet up to cover her breasts.  
	Scully poked her head in, fully dressed in black 
slacks and a dark, untucked, blue blouse.  As soon as she 
opened the door, the pleasant smell of bacon drifted in.
	"Good, you're awake."
	"Barely," Susan mumbled.
	Scully chuckled.  "Late night, huh?" she asked 
knowingly as she stood next to the bed.
	Susan smiled mischievously.  "Mmmm, nice night."
	Scully frowned.  "That's one thing I really miss."
	Susan sat up, the sheets clutched against her chest.  
"Sex?"
	Scully smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed.  
"Well, there's that," she said.  "It's not like we had much 
time, but I really miss waking up with him beside me."
	Susan didn't respond.  She didn't want to interrupt 
her if she wanted to continue.  It wasn't often that Scully 
opened up.
	"Usually, he was awake before me and I would wake up 
to feeling him running a hand along my back," she said 
looking down at her hand as she fiddled with a lose thread 
from the bed spread.  "I could hear his heart beating under 
my cheek, the fine hairs on his chest..."  She looked up at 
Susan, a wide happy smile on her face.  "Come on, get up.  
We have a lead."  A with that, she left Susan to stare at 
her retreating back.
***
June 26th
9:54 PM
The Lone Gunmen

	"His name is Daniel Boon," Frohike said.
	"God I hope that's his screen name," Susan said 
leaning a hip against the desk next to him with her arms 
crossed over her chest.
	Frohike smiled up at her.  "I would hope so," he said.
	"Well, what kind of information does he have?" Scully 
asked impatiently from his other side.
	Frohike turned to her.  "He said that he was contacted 
by someone who knows where Mulder is being held."
	"Where?" Scully asked breathlessly.
	The little man shrugged.  "He wouldn't say, but his 
contact wants to meet with you."
	"When and where?" Michael asked this time.
	"At a club in Manhattan."
	"How will we know this... contact?" Scully asked.
	"He said he would know you."
	Susan nodded.  "What club in Manhattan?"
	Frohike looked down at his hands then back up to her.  
"He, ahh, said it was a... a uh..."
	"A what?" asked Michael.
	"It was a sex club."
	"A WHAT?" Scully responded.
	"A sex club," Frohike said again.  "You know, one of 
those clubs were you pick someone up then have sex in the 
back rooms."
	"These places still exist?"
	Frohike nodded.  "They do in Manhattan."
	"What's the name of this club," Susan asked.
	Frohike picked up a yellow memo pad where he had 
scribbled down the information.  "He wants to meet July 
first at midnight at a club called The Shotgun, it's on the 
corner of 20th Street and Second Avenue."
	Suddenly Susan laughed.
	They all turned to look at her.
	"What's so funny?" Michael asked.
	Susan shook her head.  "That's right down the block 
from the New York City Police Academy."
Part 13	
July 29
2:32 PM
Islip, New York
MacArthur Airport


	Michael carried their suitcases while Susan shouldered 
their carry-ons.  He had offered to carry Scully's as well, 
but she just laughed, asking him if he had three arms and 
added that it wasn't too heavy and that she could manage.
	"God, I missed home," Susan groaned.  "And I miss my 
car."
	Scully smiled as they all started towards the exit.  
"I miss your car, too."
	Susan chuckled.  "We'll just have to make sure we go 
out for a ride."
As they walked through the airport to the main 
terminal, Susan glanced around, her brow furrowed.
"What is it?" Scully asked
	Susan's frown deepened and she stopped.	
The rest of them fell in beside her.  
	"I don't see Reggie," she stated.	
Michael followed her eyes.  "Neither do I."  He looked 
at Susan.  "Are you sure you told him we were coming in 
today?"
Susan nodded.  "Yeah, I called him before we left 
Washington, he told me he'd be here."
	"Who's Reggie?" Scully asked.
	"Our driver," Susan answered.
	"You have a driver?" Scully sounded surprised.
	Susan smiled.  "Mike and I do a lot of traveling and 
instead of having to leave a car in long term parking, we 
use a limo company to take us to the airport.  We have a 
regular guy; Reggie."	
"It's also nice when we go into the city," Michael 
added.
	Susan smirked.  "Beats the hell out of the Long Island 
Railroad."
	Scully shook her head, wondering what it must be like 
to have money like that.  As her eyes roamed the room, a 
sign caught her attention.  It was being held by a man in a 
black suit.  `O'Sullivan', it read.  She patted Susan on 
the shoulder and pointed the man out.
	"That's not Reggie," she said slowly.  A feeling of 
apprehension passed through her, causing the hair on the 
back of her neck to rise.
	Michael felt Susan's reaction and turned to Scully.  
"Something's wrong," he warned.
	"What's the matter," she asked.  She could sense Susan 
and Michael's growing concern.
Susan's eyes darted around the terminal, as she tried 
to narrow her natural perception of her surroundings on the 
man holding the sign.  Her body calmed; her awareness of 
him rose.  She mentally scanned him as much as she could 
from that distance, her mind slightly touching his.  She 
picked up that he was trying to use a relaxation technique 
to blank out his thoughts and mind as a way to deflect her 
from scanning him.  Susan found this interesting, even 
though it didn't work, that he knew he would be vulnerable 
to her.  The question was, how did he know about her gift?
She glanced sideways at Michael.  "He hasn't seen us 
yet, and we need to get the hell out of here."  Her voice 
was low, but sharp, betraying her alarm.
	"What did you get?" Scully asked.
	"He's going to give us a story claiming that Reggie is 
sick and he's here as his replacement,"  Susan informed 
them.  "And then he's going to try to."  She didn't want to 
finish the sentence.
	Scully swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling very 
exposed in the crowded airport.
	"Is he alone?"  Michael asked, guiding them behind a 
row of pay phones where he could still see him, but he 
could not see them.
	Susan took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  She 
quickly ran an inventory of the people around them.  
Normally, she sensed everyone around her and just ignored 
them, unless they caught her attention.  Usually it was 
nothing and she just passed over it, but now, she ran a 
mental check list of the entire airport, and it's 
surrounding areas.
	*A man was late for his appointment and he was annoyed 
his ride wasn't on time.  A woman worried about leaving her 
children with her mother while she and her husband took a 
much needed vacation.  Another was feeling decadent as she 
and her lover were escaping for a few days in the Bahamas, 
her husband thinking she was going on a business trip.  
Another man was fed up with the woman at the ticket counter 
who was about ready to punch him if he didn't stop berating 
her.*
	"What's she doing?" Scully whispered to Michael as she 
looked around the room nervously.
He leaned down to her in an attempt not to distract 
Susan.  "She's trying to gauge the intentions of everyone 
around us."  His voice, too, was a whisper.
	"She can do that?"
	Michael nodded.  "Yeah, but she doesn't like to do it 
that often, it can be a little overwhelming.  I've only 
seen her do it a few times."
	"Wow," Scully breathed out in awe.
	Michael nodded again.  "That's what I thought the 
first time she did it front of me."  He smiled.  "Can't you 
feel her doing it?"
	Scully frowned.  "What do you mean?"
	"That." He lifted her arm, it was covered in goose 
bumps.  "It's like how the air is before an electrical 
storm."
	Scully's eyes widened.  "Yeah, I do feel that."  Her 
voice was breathy.  It was an amazing feeling.
	"She's got about a mile radius,"  Michael added.
	"She can sense everyone within a mile?" Scully's voice 
rose incredulously.
	"Yeah, and the more people there are within that mile, 
the longer it takes," Michael explained.  "It helped us 
catch a guy who was hiding on us while we were chasing him 
through the Pine Barrens in Manorville.  Found him trying 
to bury himself under some leaves."
	"Oh, my God," Scully whispered.
Michael grinned, feeling a touch of pride. "Pretty 
cool, huh?"
	Susan's eyes snapped open, releasing a breath she was 
holding.  "Come on, let's use the side exit and grab a 
cab."  She tugged on Michael arm as she spoke.  She was 
feeling a little lightheaded.  
	"Is he alone?"  Scully asked trying to keep up with 
them.
	"He is in here, but he's got two thugs waiting in the 
limo."  Susan shook her head.  "What do they think I am - 
stupid?  I picked up those guys easily."
	They were just about at the sliding glass doors when 
the man with the sign noticed them.  "Hey wait!" he 
shouted, running towards them.  "Mr. O'Sullivan!"
	The agents made a mad dash for the doors towards a cab 
waiting at the curb.  Michael motioned for the cab driver 
to pop the trunk, ignoring the indignant cries of the woman 
who was already waiting for the cab.  He quickly loaded the 
small suitcases they were carrying, slammed the trunk down 
and walked toward the open door.  
"Sorry ma'am," he said to the woman as he patted 
Scully on the shoulder, the closet to him of his two 
companions.  "My wife is pregnant and isn't feeling very 
well."
	Scully hoped she didn't hesitate too long before she 
groaned with a hand covering her stomach as she got into 
the car, followed by a smiling Susan.
The woman relaxed visibly.  "That's all right," she 
said, feeling the effects of a Michael megawatt smile.  "I 
know how it feels.  I'll just get the next one."
	Michael grinned again.  "Thanks," he said getting into 
the car next to Susan and slammed the door behind him.
	The man chasing them was joined by two large men as he 
ran in their direction.  Scully saw a glint of metal in one 
of the men's hands as she watched them approach from the 
back window.  
The driver, completely oblivious to their urgency, 
slowly turned to them.  "Weah to?" he drawled out, his New 
York accent was thick.
	"Mattituck," Susan said sharply, looking over her 
shoulder.  The men were getting closer.
	The man's face showed his surprise.  "Dat's kinda fah, 
it'll caust ya."
	Susan waved her hand in the air.  "Yeah, yeah, 
whatever, just get moving."
	The man turned around and slowly maneuvered the car 
into the airport traffic.  "Whateva ya want lady," he 
muttered.
	Scully watched as the men knocked over a man trying to 
load his luggage into the back of a Honda civic as they 
tried to catch up with the cab, but they grew smaller as 
car made it's way out of the airport.  She saw the man who 
had the sign push one of the other men in frustration and 
go back in the other direction.
	Michael breathed out.  "Man, that was close."
	Susan didn't respond.
	"Are you sure we should go to your house?" Scully 
asked.
	Susan nodded.  "Yeah, we'll be safe there."  She 
glanced at Michael.  "Besides, I just really want to go 
home."
	Michael reached out to clasp her hand tightly in his.
***
Mattituck, Long Island
Residence of Michael O'Sullivan and Susan Halloway
4:40 PM

The ride home was an excruciating two hours, made in 
relative silence, each lost in their own disturbing 
thoughts.	
As they made their way up the driveway toward the 
house, it was as if Scully was seeing it for the first 
time.  The size and beauty of it was almost overwhelming.  
Having last seen it during the spring, she was unprepared 
for the sight of it in full blown summer.  Dogwood Trees, 
apple trees, lilacs, cherry trees, a gigantic crab apple 
tree in the center of the front yard and the most beautiful 
rose bushes Scully had ever seen, dotted the areas 
surrounding the house.  Next to the house, a trellis was 
covered in rose vines with a wrought iron table and chair 
set under it.  When she finally closed her mouth and got 
out of the car, again, she was overwhelmed; she had never 
smelled anything more glorious in her life.  It was the 
perfect mixture of flowers and saltwater she had ever had 
the pleasure of experiencing.  Another thing she noticed 
was the sounds: birds chirping and the waves of the Long 
Island Sound lapping against the sand in the distance.  
There were none of the sounds she learned to live with in 
DC; no sounds of civilization.
Scully was utterly in love.
"Home sweet home," Susan said as she walked to stand 
beside Scully.
Scully sighed deeply.  "Mmmm."  She smiled at Susan.  
"I can understand why you didn't sell it when you had the 
chance," she said referring to how Susan learned about the 
existence of the house and property.  Susan had no idea her 
parents had left her the house until a woman from a realty 
knocked on her door with an offer of an obnoxious sum of 
money for the house and surrounding acres.  Susan claimed 
she fell in love with it the moment she saw it.  Scully 
completely understood how she felt.
***
7:25 PM

	"But one thing I can't figure out is how this guy 
knows where Mulder is being held," Scully said before she 
shoveled the rest of her filet mignon into her mouth.  It 
was almost a crime for food to taste this good.
	Michael was one hell of a cook.
	Susan sighed.  "I was thinking the same thing."  She 
leaned back in her chair, setting her fork down next to her 
plate and taking a large swallow of her amber colored 
drink.
	Scully grimaced visibly.  It was Susan's third glass 
of Jack Daniel's.	
	"Maybe it's a trap," Michael suggested taking a sip of 
his beer.
	Susan pursed her lips and shook her head.  "No, I 
don't think so, I don't get that feeling."
	Scully nodded.  "I have to agree," she said, her glass 
of water half way to her lips.  "I don't get that feeling 
either."
	Michael sighed.  "Maybe he just wants to help out."   
	Scully watched him finish his fourth beer.
	"Maybe," Susan said softly.  "But the important thing 
we need to think about is that we need a reason to be in 
the city; a cover."
	"Mmm," Scully grunted.  "I was thinking that, too."
	"I mean, were supposed to be taking a break, we made 
sure Skinner knew that when we left Washington.  But anyone 
who knows us, knows we don't go to the city without a 
reason."
	Michael perked up.  "Hey, I could call Katie.  I think 
she mentioned that she's doing a new show." Michael got up 
from the table to head toward the kitchen.
	"A show?"  Scully asked, following Susan follow 
Michael.
	"Mmm, hmm.  Mike's sister is the stage manager for 
Studio 64.  She gets us tickets any time there's a new show 
there."
	Scully's face showed her surprise.  Michael's family 
sure is well off; a brother who is an architect, a sister 
who is a stage manager for a Broadway theater and he's an 
FBI agent.  His parents must be really proud.
	Michael held the phone against his ear.  "Hey Katie," 
he said into the phone.  "No, I'm sorry, we've been away."   
He glanced as Susan.  "No, we didn't get to go, but no big 
deal.  Hey, how's that boyfriend of yours, what's his name?  
Carmen?"  He smiled at Scully.  "Oh, right, Carlos."  
Suddenly he let out a large bark of laughter.  "I told you 
he was gay, but you wouldn't listen, what happened, one 
night with you turned him off women forever?"  He was 
silent of a moment.  "Yeah, she's here, hold on."  He gave 
the phone to Susan.
	"Hi Katie, how ya doin'?"  She smiled at Michael.  
"Great, we're doing great.  Yeah, hold on."  She dropped 
the hand holding the phone and quickly smacked Michael up 
side the head with the other.
	"Owwwww!!  What the hell was that for?"  Michael 
exclaimed.
	Susan brought the phone back up to her ear.  "You're 
welcome, here's Mikey."
	Michael carefully took the phone back from Susan.  
"Very funny, brat," he said.  He listened for a few minutes 
then had to interrupt her.  "Hey, can you do me a favor?  
What show are you working on?  Yeah?  It any good?  Can you 
get us some tickets?  Three.  Yes, three.  I do too have 
friends.  I do too!"
Scully smiled, the bickering between brother and 
sister sounded very familiar.  She wondered not for the 
first time how it must have been for Susan to grow up an 
only child.
	Michael hung up.  "She got us three front row seats to 
`The Tiger Queen'.
	"Never heard of it," Susan said.
	Michael shrugged.  "She said it was made from some 
Warner Brother's movie."
***

1:42 AM
June 20
	Scully rolled over again in the large bed.  She sighed 
and threw herself on her back, flinging off the covers.  
Her stomach grumbled.  There was no way she could be hungry 
this soon.  She was feeling stuffed not two hours ago.
	Her stomach grumbled even louder in the darkness.
Sighing she hauled herself out of bed and threw on the 
robe she laid over the foot of the bed.  Susan told her to 
make herself at home and decided that meant free range over 
their food, too.
Scully tiptoed down the stairs, but her rumbling 
stomach destroyed any hopes of being quiet.  It didn't seem 
to matter, though.  As soon as she touched the bottom of 
the stairs, she heard the clicking of keys on a key board 
and the quiet hum of the television in the living room.  
She rounded the corner to find Susan sitting cross 
legged behind the coffee table, papers strewn about 
everywhere and Kolcek the Night Stalker on the TV.  She 
didn't fail to notice the half empty bottle of Jack 
Daniel's and the glass next to the computer.  It had to be 
a new bottle seeing that she finished the last bottle just 
after dinner.
	"What's the matter?  Couldn't sleep?"  Susan asked, 
not turning around.
	Scully jumped slightly.  "Ah, no," she said coming to 
stand behind the couch.
	Susan turned to face her, smiling.  "Hungry?" she 
asked.
	Scully looked down at her hands resting on the back of 
the couch, her face red.  "A little," she admitted.
	Susan laughed, pushing herself up.  "Come on," she 
said motioning Scully toward the kitchen.  "I'm sure we've 
got something to feed ya."
	Scully watched as Susan steadily made her way into the 
other room, no signs of inebriation anywhere.  She frowned, 
Susan should be half pickled by now.
	Susan pulled a tub of Rocky Road ice cream from the 
freezer, then opened the refrigerator taking out a clear 
container of chocolate pudding, a bowl of strawberries, a 
can of Reddi Whip, and a box containing a cheesecake.  She 
handed Scully as much as she could carry and grabbed two 
spoons and headed back to the living room.
	Scully silently followed her.
	Susan saved what she was working on, closed down her 
laptop and moved everything to the floor to allow Scully to 
put down their supplies.
	"Susan, I can't eat all of this," Scully said sitting 
down on the floor across from Susan.
	She smiled.  "You're not, I'm going to help you."
	Scully started to protest, but Susan stopped her.
	"Come on, Dana, it's not very often that you get the 
chance to do this, live a little."
	Scully gave in, not very reluctantly, Susan noticed 
and quickly dug in.  Before they knew it, the Grandfather 
clock in the corner of the room chimed four times.
	Susan licked the spoon she was holding then finished 
off the bottle of Jacks.
	"You're going to be feeling that tomorrow."  Scully 
pointed to the bottle with her spoon, sounding a little 
sleepy.
	Susan frowned.  "What, from this?"  She picked up the 
bottle then shook her head.  "Not a chance."
	"What do you mean?"
	Susan smiled.  "Haven't you noticed that I can eat 
anything I please and not have to worry about my weight?"
	Scully shrugged.  "So."
	"I have an extremely fast metabolism.  I break down 
alcohol almost the minute it hits my system.  You should 
have seen me in collage."
	"Oh, yeah?"  Scully raised an eyebrow.
	Susan grinned.  "Can't tell you how many bets I won."  
Her smile vanished.  "Actually got me in trouble once."
	Scully leaned back on the sofa, a hand on her stomach.  
She couldn't remember eating so much in her life.  "How 
so?"
	Susan placed her elbows on the coffee table and leaned 
forward.  "I was at Widener, my third year, at a Frat 
party.  My ability to out drink any man or woman was well 
known."  Susan ate the last of the cheese cake.  "Well, 
there was this guy who was a football player at Penn State 
at the party and he decided that he had to prove his 
manhood by betting me that he could down more shots of 
Zambuca than me in five minutes without ralphing."
	"Uh, oh."
	Susan nodded.  "We did eight shots before he fell 
over.  I knew right away something was wrong.  I ran over 
to him, but was pushed away by his friends.  He died on the 
way to the hospital."
	"Alcohol poisoning," Scully stated grimly.
	Susan nodded.  "I guess it didn't help that he was 
already toasted before we started.  The next day I was 
visited by a few of his teammates.  Boy were they pissed."
	"I can imagine.  Grief can manifest itself in many 
ways."
	"Yeah,"  Susan agreed.  "They accused me of spiking 
his drink and one guy was going to, I quote, teach me a 
lesson.  That was when he started to unzip his jeans while 
another guy grabbed me."
	Scully gasped and sat up.  "He didn't."
	Susan shook her head.  "No, thank God.  You can't 
image how scared I was.  I could sense everyone's 
intentions and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop it."
	"What happened?"
	"Peter happened."
	"Peter?" Scully asked, confused.
	Susan smiled.  "My first love," she said.
	"Ahh."
	"The second the guy started towards me was when Peter 
and his best friend Bobby came waltzing in.  I should 
mention that Bobby was on the weight lifting team and Peter 
was the title holder in the heavyweight division for the 
wrestling team. Not an ounce of fat on `im."  She looked 
away for a minute.  "Come to think of it, he was built a 
lot like Michael," she said as if she just realized it.
	"Uh, oh," Scully grinned.
	Susan returned the grin.  "You guessed it.  They beat 
the living shit out of everyone in the room."
	Scully shook her head.
	"Ahh, Peter," Susan said wistfully.
	"So, he was your first?" Scully asked, her full 
stomach and the late hour making her bold.
	"Yeah," she said, shyly.  "I was twenty-two, so was 
he."  She leaned forward.  "What about you?" she asked.
	Scully bit her lip, she should have expected this. 
After all, she started it.
	"Come on, Dana, name and place."
	Scully sighed.  "You first."
	Susan smiled.  "Fine, Peter, Peter Griner, as you 
already know, in his bed.  It was very romantic.  He 
planned the entire evening; candle lit dinner and 
everything."  She leaned back.  "Now you."
	Scully closed her eyes.  "I was sixteen."  She opened 
her eyes to gauge Susan's reaction.  Nothing.  "I was at my 
Aunt Katherine's for the summer, fell madly in love with 
the life guard at the local pool."
	"How old was he?" Susan interrupted.
	"Twenty."
	"You slut," Susan teased.
	"Do you want me to finish this?"
	Susan smiled.  "Sorry."
	"He asked me out after about three weeks of me mooning 
over him.  We went on two dates before I gave him my 
virginity in the back of his truck on the beach."
	"Boy, you were a slut!" Susan said laughing.
	Scully grinned.  "Nah, I just really wanted him."
	"Wow, Dana, you surprised me." She shook her head.  
"Sixteen with an older man."
	"For some reason I expected you to be a bit younger 
than twenty-two."
	Susan made a face.  "When would I have had the chance? 
Besides, who would have had me?  You forget I graduated 
high school at 16, graduated Valedictorian from U Maryland 
at 19, then moved on to Widener."
Scully's eyebrows shot up a the mention of 
Valedictorian.
"In High School, yeah, I had guys after me, but I was 
a nerd, and sensed the only reason they wanted to date me.  
In college, I was so busy studying that I didn't really 
date much.  Only when I went to Widener did I allow myself 
to relax and enjoy life a bit."
	"You were Valedictorian?"  Scully asked.
	Susan nodded.  "Went to U Maryland and Widener on 
scholarship."
	"Wow," Scully breathed out.
	Susan shrugged and stood to clean up the mess of empty 
containers on the table.
	"Susan?" Scully asked, stopping Susan's nervous 
movements.
	"Mmmm?"
	"Why are you working for the FBI?" she asked.
	Susan frowned and sat down again.  "What do you mean?"
	"Well, I know you told me that you worked at that 
psychiatric center and couldn't stand being around the 
mentally ill all the time because of your gift, but with 
your intelligence, you could be doing something so much 
better."
	Susan sighed.
	"And with your money, you don't even have to work."
	Susan looked up.  "I could never not work. You, of all 
people, should know that," she said a bit sharper than she 
intended.
	Scully didn't respond.
	She ran a hand over her face.  "I.," she paused, 
letting her hand drop to the table.  She looked up at 
Scully who was now sitting forward on the sofa.  "I was 
given this gift for a reason," she said.  "And I truly feel 
that it's so I can help people; stop the monsters in out 
there."
	Scully nodded.  "Mulder's the same way."
	"Yeah, I know.  We worked on some horrific cases way 
back when."
	"What was it like?"  Scully asked.  "What was he 
like?"
	Susan sighed.  "It was very tiring and draining."
	"But what was *he* like?"
"He was brilliant, intense, fascinating, genius."
	Scully smiled.  "A lot like he is now."
	Susan returned the smile.  "Yeah, but with more 
energy."
	Scully cocked her head to the side.  "How so?"
	"Well," she said.  "Mulder and I weren't partners, but 
we were all part of a team.  Everyone knew we were sleeping 
together, but they didn't really care as long as it didn't 
affect our work."
	"I can understand that."
	"It actually seemed to help the work."
	"How so?"
	"We would spend hours working on profiles, 
interviewing people, going over crime scenes, looking at 
bodies, you know."
	Scully nodded.
	"It could get pretty horrific at times and I think 
that if we didn't have each other for comfort and support, 
we wouldn't have made it."  She smiled a sad smile.  "I 
said he was energetic because we would spend all day at 
work then all night making love."
	Scully looked down at her hands.  She hated to admit 
it, but she was more than a little jealous that Mulder took 
comfort in another woman's arms, even though she didn't 
know him at the time.
	Susan knew what Scully was feeling, but didn't comment 
on it.  It wasn't her place to, especially since she was 
the woman who caused Scully's jealousy.  
	"But I can tell you something," Susan said softly.  
"It's nothing like what you two have."
	Scully didn't say anything.
	"Dana, I'm not saying that just to make you feel 
better."
	Scully looked up.
Susan stood and walked around the coffee table to 
kneel in front of Scully.  "You and Mulder have a 
connection he and I never had.  You have been through so 
much together and have such a history that I could never 
compete even if I wanted to.  He loves you with his entire 
soul and you should never doubt that. Never."
	Scully didn't realize she was crying until a tear 
landed on her tightly clasped hands.
	"Dana," Susan said softly.
	"I, I just miss him so much," she sobbed.  "I never 
knew it could hurt this much."
	Susan looked at her with empathy.  "I know," she 
whispered.  "I know you do."
	"God, what am I going to do if he's not all right?"
	"Oh, Dana."
"Susan," Scully's voice hitched in her throat.  "What 
if we find him and he's."
	"NO!" Susan shouted fiercely.  "Don't even think that!  
We're going to find him and he's going to be just fine!"
	"But," Scully started.
	"NO!  No," she said grabbing Scully into a tight hug.  
"We're going to find him and he's going to be fine.  OK?  
Believe me." Her voice broke as her eyes filled up.  She 
wasn't sure who she was trying to convince; the memory of 
her dream at The Lone Gunmen's flashed in her mind.  God, 
he had to be all right.  "You just have to believe," she 
murmured
	Scully returned the embrace, her tears falling freely 
now.  "I want to believe."

Part 14
June 30
9:13 AM

	Susan felt a wetness on the side of her face, then 
again on her neck.  She waved her hand at the annoyance.  
"Neve me nown, Mike," she slurred, half asleep.  The 
wetness came again, along with a loud sniffing sound right 
in her ear.  "Miiiiiikkkkeee," she whined, flinging her 
hand out again, finally making contact.
	She frowned.  She didn't remember Michael having a 
beard.  She moved her hand around, still coming in contact 
with hair.  Then, her hand was wet.  
	What the hell?
	She opened her eyes but quickly closed them, the 
bright light from the windows blinding her.  Where the hell 
was she? 
	The sniffing sound came again, as did the wetness.  
She slowly opened her eyes to a very happy, very excited 
dog.
	"Ruffus," Susan groaned.
	At the sound of his name, the malamute grew more 
excited and proceeded to slobber all over her.  She 
effectively held the dog at arms length, but when she tried 
to move her head, white lights of pain flashed at the base 
of her skull.  She looked straight ahead and saw the 
ceiling.  It was then that she realized she had fallen 
asleep sitting on the floor resting against the couch, her 
head leaning back on the cushions.
	She carefully moved her head to the side, the pain not 
as bad as it was before, revealing a sleeping Scully.  She 
was stretched out comfortably on the sofa, hand clasped 
gently over her slightly swollen tummy.  Her head was 
turned toward the back of the sofa and she was making very 
soft snoring noises.
	"Have fun last night?" Michael asked, pulling Ruffus 
away.
	The dog sat down patiently at Michael's feet, waiting 
for his opportunity to pounce of Susan again.
	Susan slowly sat up, wincing at the stiffness in her 
neck.  She rubbed the area, ineffectually.  "Yeah," she 
mumbled.
	Michael smiled, but it vanished when he took in the 
sight of all the food they had eaten.  The previous new 
container of Rocky Road ice cream now contained just a 
small puddle of soupy nuts and marshmallows.  The can of 
Reddi Whip was completely empty, as was the container of 
chocolate pudding and bowl of strawberries.  Michael 
pouted.  He had plans for those strawberries.
	He nudged the box that held the cheesecake. It was 
empty, too.  "Christ Susan, you ate the whole cheesecake?"
	Susan looked up at him sheepishly then shrugged.  "Now 
you can make one?" she offered helpfully.
	Michael just shook his head and moved the items out of 
the way so he could sit on the coffee table.  "Turn 
around," he said, making a twirling movement with his right 
index finger.
	Susan looked at him suspiciously, but did as she was 
told.  She let out a low groan when Michael's warm hands 
made contact with the sore muscles in her neck.
	"Mmmmm," Susan moaned.  "You are so good at this."  
Her voice was husky.
	"Should I leave or just pretend to be sleeping?" 
Scully mumbled from the couch.
	Susan opened her eyes, not even realizing she had 
closed them and smiled.  
Michael's hands stilled.  "Nah, I'm done anyway," 
Michael said patting Susan on the shoulder than stood.
Susan turned around to look up at Michael seeing for 
the first time what he was wearing.  Her eyes widened and 
she stood quickly, the movement causing her to sway 
slightly.  Her body blocked Scully's view of him.
"Were are you going?" she asked, shrilly.
"The gym," Michael answered simply.  "To play a game 
of racket ball with John."
"You can't wear that," Susan said, her hand pointing 
to his shorts.
Michael looked down, his eyebrows furrowed.  "Why 
not?"
"Because, because," she stumbled, her eyes fixed on 
the spandex bicycle shorts Michael was wearing.  She looked 
up at him.  "Because I can tell you've been circumcised."
Scully would never admit it, but she was trying to 
tilt her head to see past Susan to see what had her so 
riled up.  But when she said what she just said, Scully 
blushed and looked away.
Michael grinned.  "But Susie, you already know I've 
been circumcised."
"Yeah, and now so will the rest of the world."
Michael's grin remained.  "Fine, I'll put these on."  
He reached into the gym bag laying at his feet and pulled 
out a pair of cut off sweat pants.  "Will that make you 
happy, dear?"
"Yes," she said, watching him struggle with the shorts 
as he tried to put them on over his sneakers.  "When are 
you leaving?"
Michael straightened up.  "An hour or so.  Thought I'd 
make some breakfast for you two beautiful ladies."
Susan rolled her eyes.
Scully snorted.
"Fine," Susan said.  "I'm going to go grab a quick run 
out on the beach.  You'll still be here when I get back?" 
she asked hopefully.
Michael nodded and leaned down to kiss her cheek.  
"Breakfast will be on the table."
She smiled.  "OK."  She turned to Scully who was 
slowly raising and stretching her arms over her head.
"God I'm too old to do an all nighter," Scully 
groaned, her muscles protesting.
Susan smiled.  "Yeah, but you have to admit it was 
fun."
Scully grinned.  "Yeah, it was."  She looked at Mike.  
"What's for breakfast?"
Susan chuckled then snapped her fingers.  "Come on 
Ruffus, let's get ready."
The dog happily trailed behind her up the stairs.
She quickly changed into a pair of running shorts and 
a black sports bra.  Sitting on the bed, she was lacing up 
her sneakers when she remembered something.  She leaned 
over the bed to open the night stand drawer.  She pulled 
out what looked like a pink compact.  She opened it quickly 
and popped out the last blue pill.  She frowned when she 
saw the row of green pills.  She told herself not to forget 
to go to the pharmacy and refill the prescription this 
week.
"Damn," she mumbled.  That meant she was going to get 
her period in two days.  She looked up into  the mirror 
across from her, a grimace on her face.  "Who ever said it 
was great being a woman, had to have been the same person 
who invented the bra and high heels."
***
	Susan pumped her arms and legs, her breathing quick, 
but steady.  Ruffus easily kept up with her, his tongue 
hanging out the side of his mouth.  She raced around a 
slight curve, just reaching her three mile marker when she 
slammed into something, pain radiated through her entire 
body.  The impact was hard enough to knock her down, her 
hands falling behind her in the sand absorbing some of the 
impact.
She looked up to see a very large man with broad shoulders, 
almost no neck and a sneer on his dark features.  He was 
dressed in a gray suit, looking very out of place on the 
beach.
	Susan's heart fluttered in her chest as a familiar 
feeling raced through her.  She knew this man and 
remembered the warning she was given about him.
	***"What the hell was that?" she yelled at him, out of 
breath.
     "That is what you will feel when he touches you."
     "Who?" she demanded.
     "The one who has been sent to eliminate you.  The one 
who took Agent Mulder.  You need to know or you will not be 
able to stop him!"
     "What, what do I need to know?!"
     "That he can be anyone and anything.  He has already 
gotten too close to you in the past and you need to be 
aware of how he feels."***
	Susan scrambled away on her hands and feet like a 
crab.  She vaguely heard Ruffus barking in the distance.  
The man started towards her, then bent down to grab her 
foot, yanking with inhuman strength to pull her to him.  He 
grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet.
	She let out a horse cry of pain at his touch.  It was 
so extreme and so intense, she felt paralyzed.
	"Where is he?" the man boomed.
	Susan had a hard time understanding him.
	"Where is he?" He emphasized his words with a tight 
grip on her throat.
	"Who?" Her voice was garbled by the hand around her 
larynx.
	"Agent Mulder."  He shook her.
	"Aggh," she gagged out, losing oxygen quickly.  "I 
don't know."  She couldn't struggle, all her muscles were 
in a state of spasm.
	"I do not believe you," he said as his other arm 
cupped the back of her head.  "I will just have to find the 
answers myself."
	White hot pain flashed in her eyes as he tried to 
invade her mind.  It felt like worms were working their way 
through her brain.  She could feel him inside her, and her 
body convulsed, darkness creeping in on her.  She could 
feel her mind turning to putty.  
	`Oh, God, no'
	Scrapping up whatever strength she had, she fought 
him; fought him with her very fiber.  She'd be damned if 
she let this *thing* beat her.
	The man she knew only as the bounty hunter grimaced 
when he felt her first wave of resistance.  He pushed 
harder, she pushed back.
	The hand around her throat tightened and her mental 
struggles weakened.
	Suddenly the man let out a cry of pain and his grip 
loosened, allowing Susan to wiggle from his hold.  She fell 
bonlessly to the sand, landing awkwardly on her wrist.  
Then, a stinging in her eyes almost overwhelmed her.  She 
looked up to see Ruffus with his jaw clamped on the man's 
leg then quickly let go with a yelp.
	A green substance was bubbling over the man's shredded 
trousers and along Ruffus' muzzle.
	Ruffus frantically tried to rub at his eyes with his 
paws, but to little effect.
	Susan's eyes burned, but she'd be stupid to stick 
around.  She struggled to her feet just as the man made a 
motion towards her, but she was too quick.
	"RUFFUS!!" She shouted.  "COME ON!!" Without looking 
back, knowing the dog would follow her faithfully, she took 
off towards home.
	Ruffus blindly took off after her.
	She chanced a glance behind her, but only saw miles of 
beach.  The man was gone.
	She staggered up the steps from the beach to the back 
yard.  Her lungs were burning and she could barely see.  
"MICHAEL!!" she yelled.  
	He was already on his way towards her, having sensed 
her distress.  Scully trailed behind him.
	"Susan!" he shouted.  He felt a sense of deja vue.  
Hadn't he done this before, not so long ago?
	Susan fell to her knees.  "The man," she huffed out.  
"He warned me. his blood, green..  Oh, God, it burns," she 
groaned, rubbing at her eyes.
	Michael couldn't make sense of what she was saying, 
but Scully could.
	Scully grabbed her hands.  "Susan, stop, you'll only 
make it worse."
	Susan pushed her away.  "No, help him, help Ruffus."
	The dog was frantically pawing at his eyes and mouth 
to stop the burning, stinging sensation.
	"Susan," Scully and Michael said trying to get a hold 
of her again.  
	"NO!  Help him!  He doesn't know what's going on, he 
saved my life!"
	Michael hesitated for a moment then moved toward the 
dog, giving Scully a hard look.  `Help her, I'll help him,' 
it said.  He knew that Susan would continue to protest 
until he did what she wanted.  Sometimes she could be as 
tenacious as a pit bull and it really pissed him off.
	He picked Ruffus up and carried him back to the house.  
Scully helped Susan to her feet and guided her through the 
back yard.
	Michael stopped on the patio and carefully laid the 
dog down.  He was whimpering quietly.
	He reached for the hose and turned on the faucet to 
wash out Ruffus' mouth and eyes.
	Susan was doubled over, her hands on her thighs 
watching Michael tend to her beloved canine through bleary 
bloodshot eyes.
	Scully couldn't understand how Susan was still 
standing.  Everyone she had seen who had been exposed to 
the bounty hunter's `blood' had fallen into 
unconsciousness, even if they were exposed to a small 
amount.  And here she was, watching Susan breath heavily as 
Michael tried to help Ruffus as much as he could.
	To Susan, it felt as is she was hit with tear gas and 
mace at the same time.  Yeah, she was wheezing a little, 
but other than that excruciating discomfort, she knew she 
wasn't going to die and should be OK in awhile.  
	*You'll feel better once it stops hurting* her 
father's voice whispered in her head.  She could still see 
his smiling face as he said it.  It was one of his 
trademark remarks she remembered from so long ago.
	"Come on, Susan, sit down.  Let me take a look at 
you," Scully said, a hand on her shoulder guided her into a 
sitting position.
	Susan acquiesced, falling to a heap onto a lounge 
chair.  Scully tilted her chin up so she could get a better 
look a her eyes.  Tears were streaming down Susan's face 
and her nose was running.  Scully could also hear her 
labored breathing.
	"How do you feel?"  Scully asked, her eyes raking over 
her face in a detached manner.
	Susan sucked in a breath.  "I, I," she wiped at her 
nose with her arm.  "My eyes are burning, and I'm seeing 
double."
	Scully frowned.  "Did you hit your head?"
	Susan shook her head, no.  "I don't think so."  She 
paused.  "No, no I didn't."  She was still having trouble 
breathing.
	"How are your lungs?"
	Susan wheezed in a breath.  "I feel a tightness in my 
chest, here."  She laid her hand in the middle of her 
chest, between her breasts.  "And they're burning, like 
I've been running in freezing cold temperatures."
	Scully nodded.  "Anything else?  Are you feeling warm, 
cold?"
	Susan shook her head.  "Nothing more than I usually 
feel after running."
	Scully frowned.  She didn't know what to make of this.  
She ran her hand over Susan's forehead seeing if she was 
running a temperature, but other than being sweaty, her 
skin felt normal.
	Susan breathed deeply in an attempt to calm her 
breathing. Already, she could feel the pain in her chest 
receding and the wheezing subside.  However, the burning 
sensation in her lungs remained.  She scrubbed her palms 
over eyes, ignoring Scully's reprimands.  She could tell 
they were red and swollen, but now she felt as if she just 
finished one hell of a crying jag.
	Michael turned off the water and tossed the hose 
aside.  Ruffus was thoroughly drenched, but his whimpering 
had stopped; he appeared to be unconscious.  Scully didn't 
know how a dog would react and hoped that he would pull 
through.
	He turned to Susan.  "Are you all right?  What 
happened?"  He towered over her, his hands on his hips.
	Susan leaned back in the chair, turning her red eyes 
on Michael.  "I was running and then POW!"  She punched her 
right first into her left palm.  "There he was.  I fell 
like a sack of potatoes."
	Michael looked confused.  "Who?"
	Susan licked her lips and glanced at Scully.
	Michael caught the look in her eyes and turned to 
Scully.  "You know about this?"
	Scully sputtered.
	"Mike," Susan said weakly.  "It's not her fault.  I 
didn't want to upset you."
	"Upset me?!" his voice was starting to rise.  "What 
the hell is going on?"
	Susan sat up and started to stand, but was bombarded 
with a shot of dizziness.
	Michael made to grab her, but she waved him off.  "I'm 
all right, I just want to check on Ruffus."
	"SUSAN!"  Michael shouted impatiently.
	She ignored him and crouched down next to the dog.  
She laid a hand on his chest and closed her eyes briefly.  
She had no way of telling if he'd pull through.  Her 
faithful companion unknowingly may have sacrificed his life 
to save hers.  She didn't know what she'd do if he died.
	"GOD DAMMIT SUSAN, TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING 
ON!!!
	Susan slowly rose to face him. "When I was in the 
woods."  She waited to see his reaction, his frown 
deepened.  "I was warned that someone." She glanced at 
Scully.  "Something," she corrected, "was going to try to, 
try to. kill me."
	"WWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?!!!"  He 
shouted, his face turning red with anger.
	"Mi.," she started.
	"YOU KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN AND YOU DIDN'T TELL 
ME?"
	"Michael," Susan pleaded.
	"She told you?" Michael asked Scully.
	She nodded, hesitantly.
	"JESUS CHRIST!"  He threw his hands in the air and 
turned away from them.
	"Michael listen to me, I didn't tell you because I 
didn't really believe him," Susan said quickly.
	He turned back to face her.  "But damn it Susan, you 
should have told me anyway.  How the hell do you think that 
makes me feel?"
	Susan didn't respond.
	"It makes me wonder what else you haven't told me."
	Susan's head shot up, a wounded look on her face.  
"Mike, I have never kept anything from you before, you 
should know that."
	Michael gave her a hard look, trying to figure out if 
he should believe her.  Finally, he relented.  "You're 
right, I do know that," he said softly.
	Susan visibly relaxed.
	"Now, what the hell happened out there?" Michael said 
in a tone that left Susan knowing that this wasn't over and 
would be addressed later.
	Susan carefully explained what happened, starting with 
the impact.  
	"I slammed into him and it felt like I hit a brick 
wall.  Shooting pain raced through me and I lost all motor 
functions.  Then he grabbed my leg, pulled me to him then 
hauled me to my feet.  That was when he asked me where 
Mulder was."
	Scully interrupted her.  "Wait, I thought you said 
Jeremiah Smith told you that he was the one who took him."  
The confusion was evident on her face.
	Susan nodded.  "He did.  I guess he got his facts 
wrong because when I didn't tell him, he tried to take the 
information from me."
	"What do you mean, `take the information'?" Michael 
asked.
	Scully dropped down in a nearby chair and Susan sat 
next to her.  Michael remained standing.
	"He didn't believe me when I told him I didn't know 
where Mulder was, so he grabbed my head and tried to read 
it from me."
	"He can do that?"
	Susan leaned forward, her elbows on her bare knees.  
"Not as well as I can. I could fight him." She grimaced.
	"What?" Scully asked.
	Susan turned her head to look at her.  "It was the 
strangest, most." she shook herself.  "It wasn't really a 
pleasant sensation.  It felt like I had bugs crawling 
around my brain."
	Scully made a face.
	"Did he get anything, like our little meeting at the 
club?"  Michael asked, crouching down in front of her, his 
left hand on her knee, steadying himself.
	Susan shook her head.  "I don't think so.  Just when I 
started to weaken, he let me go."
	"Why?" Scully asked.
	Susan cocked her head toward the still unmoving 
Ruffus.  She was glad to see that his chest still rose and 
fell rhythmically.  "Ruffus clamped down on his leg, 
causing `im to lose his grip.  When I felt the burning, I 
took off, knowing Ruffus would follow."  And he did, thank 
God, she said to herself.
	"How are you feeling now?" Scully asked, breaking into 
her thoughts.
	Susan was quiet for a moment, doing a mental check 
list of herself.  "OK," she breathed out.  "Aside from 
feeling a bit tired, I feel fine."
	Scully shook her head, amazed.
	"What?" Michael asked.
	"She should be unconscious right now, fighting for her 
life."
	Michael looked at Susan.  She looked fine to him.
	Susan shrugged. "Maybe I'm naturally immune to this," 
she theorized.
	"Maybe," Michael and Scully said quietly.
***
July 1
11:12
Manhattan, New York
Just outside `The Shotgun'

	"God, this place looks even more seedy than I thought 
it would," Michael mumbled from his place on line.  He felt 
very uncomfortable in the tight leather pants Susan 
insisted he wear.  His     skin-tight white shirt hugged 
his chest so much so that it was nearly transparent making 
it possible to see the definition of his pectoral and 
stomach muscles.  The shirt was slightly bunched at his 
waist in an effort to conceal the belly holster that held 
his off duty 9mm Colt automatic.  He liked where Susan's 
gun was better.  In fact, he wished he WAS that gun. He 
smiled and glanced at Susan who was standing at his right.
	She was dressed in a painted on black spandex dress.  
He couldn't help but grin at his reaction at seeing her in 
their  suite at The Continental Hotel.  She walked out of 
their bedroom, actually it was more like sauntered out and 
Michael's jaw hit the rug.
	She smiled shyly at his reaction.  "You like?"
	"Parts of me are applauding."
	She laughed and slowly turned in a circle to give him 
the whole effect.
	"Now, you're getting a standing ovation."
	She laughed again.
	He stalked closer to her and placed his hands on her 
hips, making smile circles with his thumbs.  "Is this what 
you and Dana bought when you went out yesterday?"
	She smiled.  "I had to practically force Dana to buy 
what she's wearing tonight."
	His eyes settled on her chest.  "Are you wearing 
underwear?" he asked gruffly.
	She gave him a coy smile.  "I'm not wearing a bra, but 
I am wearing a thong and thigh highs.  Didn't want to have 
a strong panty line."
	Michael gulped.  "I'm afraid to ask where you're 
hiding your gun." He raised his eyes quickly.  "You are 
bringing your gun, right?"  His face showed his alarm.
	Her smiled widened.  Nodding, she stepped away from 
him.  "Mmm, hummm," she said in her throat.
	Michael watched, rooted in place as Susan slowly 
hitched up her dress relieving the lace tops of her thigh 
highs then a small holster attached to a garter high up on 
the inside of her right thigh.  In it, was a two shot, 38 
double action Derringer.
	"Oh, God," Michael groaned.  He had never seen 
anything more sexy than that in his life.  If he was still 
mad at her for not telling him about the alien bounty 
hunter, he wasn't now.  This site was a cop's wet dream.  
He'd have to remember to ask her to wear this outfit again 
when he knew they weren't going out.
	"Hopefully I won't have to get more than two shots off 
if I need to use it," Susan said, her eyes smiling.
	"Mmm," Michael hummed, not really capable of a 
response.
	Before things could get out of hand, Scully entered 
the room.  Susan quickly righted the hem line of her dress, 
which wasn't that much lower than it was, ending just low 
enough to cover the tops of the thigh highs.  If she bent 
over, the person behind her would surely get a view.
	Michael let out a whistle at the sight before him.  
"Damn, Mulder's going to be sorry he missed this."
	Scully was dressed in pretty much the same manner as 
Susan, but her dress was a little longer, ending just above 
her knees.  The slight roundness of her lower belly was 
actually very sexy in Michael's opinion.  She felt 
uncomfortable under his scrutiny, wishing that she could 
just go in her room and hide under her bed, but they agreed 
that tonight, they were going as a threesome.  Michael 
suggested it as their cover.  Scully smiled when Susan 
smacked him and called him a pig, but they all agreed that 
it would be safer to stick together.
	"Ready to go?" Michael asked as Susan and Scully 
stepped into their heels.  Susan was now almost as tall a 
Michael in her five inch stilettos which left Scully still 
feeling like she stepped into a hole.  She came up to his 
neck, her eyes level with his chest.
	Michael took each woman on an arm and they made their 
way toward the club on foot; making several turns and U-
turns in hopes of losing anyone that was following them 
even though Susan assured them no one was.
	"These two with you?" roughly asked the bouncer, a 
large black man who reminded Susan a lot of John Coffey 
from The Green Mile.
	Michael tightened his arms around Susan and Scully's 
waist and gave him what only could be described as a dirty 
old man's smile.  "I'm one lucky bastard," he said proudly.
	The bouncer let his eyes rake up and down Susan and 
Scully's bodies, one a time.  "I would say you are."
	Susan rubbed a palm over Michael's chest.  "Why don't 
you come on in later and join us?" Susan asked, her voice 
low and sultry, but high enough to sound like a bimbo.
	Scully mirrored Susan, running a hand over Michael's 
stomach.  "Never had a man as large as you," she said.
	Susan was surprised at Scully's response, but didn't 
show it.
	Michael lost his smile and pulled the women closer to 
him.  "I'm sure he's busy," he said with a warning to the 
large man.
	The bouncer only nodded and opened the door allowing 
the three of them to enter, blasting them with loud music 
with base so heavy they could feel it vibrating inside 
them.
	As soon as Susan took one step inside the club, she 
staggered, nearly falling down if it wasn't for Michael's 
arm anchored around her waist.
	"What's the matter?" he asked in a low voice, leading 
them out of the open door.
	Susan shook her head, sure that she could feel 
something rattle when she did.  She took two deep breaths 
before she could answer.  "This place is so loaded with 
sexual energy, I nearly had an orgasm!" she shouted into 
his ear so that he could hear her over the loud music.
	His eyes widened and Scully wished she could have 
heard what Susan had said, relying on the expression on his 
face to tell her that whatever Susan had said shocked him.
	"I don't sense anything other than sex.  I wouldn't 
mind living above this place, I would never want to go 
out!"
	Michael glanced at Scully, wondering if he should tell 
her what Susan was sensing from this place.
	She gave him a quizzical look. 
	He shook his head and leaned into her.  "It's 
nothing!" he shouted.  "She doesn't sense that anyone wants 
to harm us!"
	Scully pulled away and nodded, knowing he wasn't 
telling her everything.
	After walking the perimeter of the club, making mental 
checklists of the exits and the location of the back 
hallway that led to `Private Rooms', they decided to act 
the part of a threesome and dance.
	They, actually Michael and Susan, agreed to put Scully 
in between them seeing that she was the smaller of the two 
women and also to give Susan unrestricted access to anyone 
who would approach them and there were many, mostly men.  
Michael just glared at them until they got the hint and 
went away.
	They danced with Scully facing Michael, his hands on 
her hips, her hands on his chest.  She tried to act the 
part of a sexy woman who was dancing with her lovers, but 
every time she looked up, she was shot back to reality when 
it was Michael's face that looked down, not Mulder's.
	Susan was dancing behind Scully, her arms draped over 
her shoulders so she could put her hands on Michael's 
shoulders.  She sensed Scully's distress, but could do 
nothing to alleviate it.
	The music boomed a loud steady beat and the three of 
them danced and swayed to the music in perfect sync.  Susan 
sensuously moved her hips in time with the music, her eyes 
locked on Michael's.
	After awhile of this, Michael watched as a man who 
couldn't be older than twenty five came up behind Susan, 
place his hands on her hips and started to dance with them, 
his pelvis grinding into Susan's backside.
	Susan's eyes stayed locked with Michael's for a second 
before she leaned in and whispered something in Scully's 
ear.
	Scully nodded.
	Susan gave Michael a wink then turned to dance with 
the man.
	Scully swore she could hear Michael's molars breaking 
when he turned them so that both of them could see Susan 
dancing with this man.
	If Scully was pressed to describe the sight before 
her, should would have to call it fully clothed vertical 
sex.
	Scully couldn't really see then man's features in the 
pulsating light of the club, but she could clearly see his 
hand move down her side, cup her ass briefly then move 
lower to the back of her thigh to hike her leg up over his 
hip, dancing in such a way that was so much more than 
moving to the beat of the music.
	Michael's finger's dug into Scully's side painfully, 
but both of them were too stunned to react.
	Susan said something into the man's ear and he nodded 
then said something.  Susan ran a hand through his hair 
then turned her head to Michael and Scully.
	She gave both of them a slow long look then dropped 
her leg and allowed the man to lead her off the dance floor 
toward the hallway that lead to the private rooms.
	Michael and Scully quickly counted to thirty before he 
clasped her hand in his large sweaty one and went to follow 
Susan.