From: JEhrat Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 14:57:34 EST Subject: Doppleganger part 1 of 3 Title: Doppleganger Parts: 1/3 Name: JEhrat Address: JEhrat2@aol.com Category: SR Rating: R Summary: Unknowingly, Mulder and Scully get up-close and personal. Spoiler: Before the episode Never Again. Keywords: Mulder/Scully Romance Disclaimer: This story is based on the characters created by Chris Carter and 10-13 Productions. The characters were used without permission, although no copyright infringement is intended, and no money is being made from this story. Archive: Yes, please make sure my name is attached, and please e-mail me where it is going. Notes: This is my first time posting a story. Please be gentle with your comments!I would also like to say this was written way before Never Again aired. I would really like to hear your opinions. And thanks frogdoggie for your help! DOPPELGANGER Fox Mulder slipped the hotel key card back into his pocket after opening the door and walked into his room. He knocked at the connecting door. As Scully pulled her door open, Mulder greeted her with a bottle of wine in his hand. It was compliments of their boss, FBI Assistant Director Skinner. It was one of the bribes he had offered Mulder to accompany him to New York to attend the banquet that had just concluded. "How about a nightcap?" he asked. She smiled. "Sure." Mulder turned back to the room service cart that held the ice bucket and two wine glasses. He set the bottle down, took off his tuxedo jacket, and pulled at his tie before opening the wine. He undid the top button of his shirt with one hand as he carefully poured the wine into both glasses with his other hand. He turned back to give Dana hers. The room was empty. He crossed to the connecting door and looked into her room. "Scully?" The room was empty. He glanced toward her bathroom, the light was off. He turned back to face his suite. She wasn't there. "Scully?" he repeated. The only room left to look in was his bedroom. Still carrying a glass in each hand, he crossed to his doorway and looked in. Scully was on his bed, lying on her side with her head propped up in her hand. Her shoes were off and the slit in her emerald green evening gown had fallen open revealing the very top of her thigh. She had an enigmatic smile on her face. Mulder stood at the door's threshold, unsure. "What are you doing in here?" Gracefully, Scully shifted into a kneeling position on the bed. "Come closer and I'll tell you." Mulder hesitated only a moment, then moved toward her. He stopped short of the bed by about a foot and looked down at her. He repeated, "What's going on?" Scully's smiled deepened. She sat back on her heels. "Come down here," was all she said and pointed to the thick pillow she had placed on the floor. Mulder raised his eyebrows in bewilderment, but knelt down carefully so as not to spill the wine. They were almost face to face now, a rarity since he was almost a foot taller than she. She brought her hand up to his mouth and traced his lips with her fingertip. "What are you doing?" he asked again. He knew she was going to kiss him. Scully put her hands on either side of his face before answering him and looked deep into his hazel eyes with her cool, ice-blue ones. "I'm giving you an invitation," was all she said before her mouth closed on his. Her generous lips were warm and soft like a rose petal. He could smell her exotic perfume and it filled his head. Mulder felt a small fire kindle inside. He had hungered for a moment like this for three years. But as much as he wanted it, he also dreaded and feared it. Their working relationship would never be the same again; something he actually enjoyed the way it was. He closed his eyes, and breathing deeply of her scent, started to respond to her kiss, when she pulled away. Mulder opened his eyes and stared hard at Scully. He truly was at a loss. She had never sent any kind of a signal to him before, and he had always tried to hide his from her. As Mulder's mind raced to comprehend what was happening, Scully, a sly smile tugging at her lips now, took one of the drinks that he was still holding and sipped it very slowly, until the glass was drained. All the while, she stared into Mulder's soul, never wavering, never blinking. Fox seemed hypnotized by the moment. He stared at her bare shoulders in the enticing strapless gown and thought back on how she had seemed to be teasing him all night long. He remembered when she first entered the ballroom downstairs at the party. He had been sipping a drink, with his back to the ballroom's french doors when he overheard two men near him conversing, "Oh, my God...!" "Wouldn't you like to slip between the sheets with that!" the other replied. Mulder had casually turned around to see whom they were speaking of and nearly dropped his drink. If his mouth hadn't been full, it probably would have dropped open too. Standing at the top step leading into the sunken ballroom, obviously looking for someone she knew, stood Dana Scully in a gown that seemed to be glued on. It had no straps, a very low back, and a slit that went from the floor to halfway up her thigh. It revealed more of her than he had ever seen. The gown was a deep emerald green, with sequins that caught and reflected the light with every little movement she made. To compliment her evening look, she had put her copper-colored hair up in a french twist, revealing a lovely, graceful neck. Several small tendrils had been allowed to escape the twist and seductively kissed her neck. "Down, boys," he had replied to the two gaping men when he had regained control of himself, "and watch your mouths. That's my partner," he said with some pride. The men stared after him enviously as he made his way over to meet Dana. Mulder was actually very surprised to see her there. He hadn't really expected her to arrive. She had been on vacation in Aruba for the last four days. He had left a message on her machine almost begging her to come home one day early to attend this dinner in New York with Skinner and himself before the official conference began. Fox hated to be alone at these kinds of functions. He hadn't heard back from her, so had pretty much assumed she wasn't coming early, and he didn't blame her. These kind of functions could be extremely boring. He knew she would be here sometime tomorrow, when the actual conference would begin. She had obviously been relaxing on the beach for her fair skin had a warm and healthy glow to it. Before he reached the top step he held out his hand to her as she began descending. "My, my, Cinderella did make the ball on time after all," he quipped. "Be careful not to lose your slipper." He looked down and saw her green, 3" high-heel spiked shoes. "Hey, we may actually be able to talk face to face now!" The evening had gone pleasantly enough. They had enjoyed their dinner and Scully had recounted the relaxing state of her vacation. They made small talk throughout the meal. The awards ceremony and speeches had been thankfully short. When the live music began, Scully was hardly in her seat. The men flocked from all corners of the room to ask for a dance. Some even cut in on others on the dance floor. Skinner and Mulder watched most of the proceedings from their table. Occasionally Mulder spotted an interesting looking woman and asked her to dance when Dana was being swept around the dance floor by another eager male. Skinner and Mulder had each given Dana a few twirls themselves, often being interrupted in the middle of the dance by impatient men waiting to get Dana into their arms, and hopefully come away with her phone number. The last dance of the evening was announced. Scully had sat the last two dances out. She was certainly not used to the spiked heels, they were a long way from the pumps she usually wore for work, and she was beginning to complain about how only men could design yet another product that improved women's appearance, but was actually just another way to torture them. She turned to Mulder. "You game?" she asked and inclined her head towards the dance floor. "Last chance." She raised her eyebrows enquiringly. "Sure, if you are." Mulder replied. They stepped on to the dance floor. It was a slow, dreamy number, designed to end the evening on a romantic note for couples. Dana and Fox began with a reasonable distance between them. But as they slowly moved about the floor, they naturally moved closer. Fox could smell her perfume. He had been aware of it all night. He resisted the urge to nuzzle her ear and kiss the curve of her neck as the scent filled his head. He stepped back a little to clear his head and get a breath of air. "What are you wearing? I don't think I've ever smelled this perfume before." "It's something I picked up in Aruba this week. The sales person told me no man could resist me while I was wearing it." Dana laughed. "Isn't that what all the ads say?" "Mind if I cut in?" a male voice asked smoothly. Mulder scowled, "Yes, I do mind." He kept on dancing and the man was left standing alone on the floor amongst the swirling couples. "I hope you don't mind," Fox said to Scully. She smiled, "No, I don't mind. I'm kind of tired of being pawed by all these guys tonight. After the first fifty, it's not fun any more." she replied sarcastically. "Well, what did you expect? You wear a dress that is hardly there, that clings to every curve, and you don't expect the guys to fall all over you?" "Oh, I don't know," she countered. "Have you been falling all over yourself to get to me?" she asked. It was a very loaded question. Fox wasn't sure how to answer. Their relationship up until now had been strictly platonic. But for some reason, tonight was different. Maybe it was that they were relaxing, and not working. Maybe it was the dancing close together, or the drinks, or....Fox ran out of excuses. "Actually, I have been studying you," he replied finally. "Oh?" "Yes." Mulder slipped one hand down from the small of her back to the slit in her gown and pretended to try to look down the front of her dress at the same time. "I'm still trying to figure out where you are carrying your gun. I know you never leave home without it, but for the life of me, I can't figure out where you have it tonight." Mulder put on a quizzical face. Scully laughed out loud. Then she looked up at him coyly, "Perhaps you'll find out where I am keeping it later tonight." The music ended at this moment. They dropped hands and Scully walked back to the table. Mulder was left to let this statement sink in. When Fox joined her at their table, she was saying good night to Skinner. Mulder said his good nights, too, and they both headed for the elevator. When the elevator doors opened they walked into the back of the car. Many people were trying to leave at the same time and they continued to press inward, not wanting to have to wait for the next elevator. Much laughing and jostling was going on. Mulder had gotten in the very back corner and Scully had turned sideways to face him as they continued their conversation. Suddenly, Scully was pushed from behind as the people continued to crowd in. "Oh!" She fell into Fox's arms and was pressed tightly against his bo= dy for a few moments before side-stepping and righting herself. She had stepped on Mulder's toes as she fell forward against him. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Fox found himself wanting to hold her a moment longer than necessary as she regained her balance. A glance passed between them that neither wanted to acknowledge. "No, I'm all right. Are you all right?" "Yes, I'm OK. I'm sorry about your toe. Just be glad it wasn't with the spiked heel!" They both faced the doors of the elevator now, Fox standing behind Scully, and in silence they watched the rest of the floors go by. Fox stared at Dana's neck, suppressing an overwhelming urge to kiss it. Finally they arrived at their floor and gently pushed their way out of the elevator and headed down the hallway to their rooms. "I'm glad you were able to make it up tonight," Mulder said. "I wasn't sure if you got my message or not." Scully smiled. "I really came just so I could wear this dress. Can y= ou imagine me wearing it on a stake out?" "Well, at least it would make the stake out more bearable for me," Fox quipped. They had gone into their connecting rooms, and now they were here in Mulder's room about to change their lives forever. Fox was brought back to reality as Scully placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned over to place her empty wine glass on the nightstand. Her breast was inches from Mulder's face, teasing him, enticing him. He was suddenly aware that he was still holding his glass of wine. He downed it in one gulp and set the stemware beside hers. It burned all the way down. As he turned back to face Scully, she was sitting back on her heels, slowly licking her lips. "No RSVP, Fox?" Before he could answer, she leaned over and slowly licked his partially opened lips with the tip of her tongue, divesting them of any wine that might have lingered. A small moan of pleasure escaped from her. Fox felt the small campfire in his belly become a burning bush. His breathing became ragged in anticipation. He looked at Scully's face, searching for any clue that he should stop. He found none. He knew the next step would forever change their relationship. This time, he became the aggressor. He took her face in his hands and brought his lips close to hers. "Dana, I have wanted you from the beginning," he whispered. Then his lips were on hers, his tongue probing, as he kissed her deeply. Dana laughed to herself. That was not the way she had felt from the beginning! She had thought Mulder was everything everybody had said about him; fixated on illogical conclusions, and implausibly explaining away the unexplainable. But over time she had been drawn to his single purpose as he displayed loyalty, faithfulness to his ideals and beliefs, and had always treated her as an intelligent, capable, equal partner. He had won her over by entrusting himself to her. As they broke for air, their eyes locked again. "What are we doing?" Fox asked. He knew his head was not clear. He simply couldn't turn away. Not another word was said as Scully reached over and finished unbuttoning Fox's shirt. Her palms rubbed up and down his chest inside his shirt. Mulder was not a big man, but he constantly worked out to keep fit for his job. His muscles were well defined and rock hard. Dana appreciated this. Both hands slid up and over his shoulders, pushing his shirt off. It hung at his waist, held in by his cummerbund. She slipped a hand up the back of Mulder's neck and gently entwined his short hair in her fingers. She pulled his head back slowly, forcing his body to arch toward her. She began kissing and caressing his neck and chest. The burning bush in Mulder's gut was exploding into an all-out forest fire! Dana covered his throat and neck with kisses and worked her way up to his ear. As Mulder stared at the ceiling drinking in all the attention, his mind began to wander to the dreams he'd had about this moment over the years. He thought of how he had shoved Scully roughly against a wall and pinned her there with his body as he smothered her with kisses, tore off her clothes and caressed her body until she had surrendered, and responded to him willingly. He thought of another dream where they were outside in a field on a picnic on a spring day. They had lovingly fallen into each others arms and he had gently taken her under a giant oak tree. It had been glorious, sensuous, and exciting. But nothing in his dreams had prepared him for this! At that moment Dana released his hair and slid her hands down his back, pushing his body towards her. His head came back down level with hers.= Fox kissed her deeply again, placing one hand behind her neck and sliding the other hand down to her thigh. He slipped his hand under the sequined material and up to her buttocks. He had known she wasn't wearing stockings when he had touched her leg, but discovering that she was not wearing any underwear rather shocked him! While continuing to kiss her, upon discovering this fact, his eyes flew open in surprise. Dana, knowing what he had just discovered, broke off the kiss and laughed. Mischief was alive in her eyes! Mulder looked at her in a new light. He thought he knew everything there was to know about her after three years of close, personal, intense time spent together, both on boring stake-outs and research work, to the life and death situations that had forever bonded them together. She was breaking almost all pre-conceived ideas he had about her staunch conservatism. He was definitely seeing a new Dana tonight. One that had lots of possibilities for future interesting shocks! He grinned at her as he placed his hands on her ribcage, resting the heels of his hands on her breasts and effortlessly lifted her off the bed as he himself stood up. He held her up until she placed her feet on the floor and gained her balance. Without her high heels, she was quite a bit shorter than him now. His hands moved to either side of her neck and he held it gently. They stared into each others eyes conveying so much, yet saying nothing. Dana moved her hands toward Mulder's waist and undid his cummerbund. She let it slip to the floor behind him, followed closely by his unbuttoned shirt. She placed her hands next on the waistband of his pants and looked up at him. Fox was too far gone. He hardly even noticed her movements. He stared at her neck and leaned down once again. Seeing her copper tendrils caress her neck, he couldn't resist himself any more. Her perfume had not faded after all this time and it continued to draw him closer. He nuzzled her for a moment and then looked her in the eyes. Somewhere in the back of his head he remembered reading that man was the only mammal that could make love while looking into the eyes of his lover. He had an overpowering urge to..., to..., to what? He tried to think. Only one word came to him: merge. He wanted Dana and he to melt into one person, to truly become one. He had never felt this strong about making love before. He reached up behind Dana and pulled out the decorative comb that held her hair in place. Her glorious, warm, radiant lock were now free. He ran his fingers through her hair, loosening the copper strands more and more from their tight twist, arranging them carelessly around her face. Her ice-blue eyes shinned all the more intensely framed in this manner. All that stood between them now were their clothes. He kissed her tenderly as he moved his hands down her bare back and found the zipper. As he slid it down he felt the satin material slip from between them and puddle on the floor. Dana reached up and clasped her hands around Fox's neck as he gently picked her up and put her on the bed. end part 1 of three Title: Doppleganger Part: 2 of 3 Name: JEhrat Address: JEhrat2@aol.com The first time Fox looked at the clock it was three in the morning. There was a small amount of light coming from the half closed bathroom door. He was on his left side, facing Dana. She was sleeping. He couldn't see her face in the shadows. He rolled onto his back and thought over the night of love-making. Mulder had made love to his share of women, though not too many in the last three years since he had met Scully, and he had even been in love with some of them at the time. He had found his interest waning in others as their friendship grew, their work intensified, and they came to trust only each other for information, support, and even their very lives. But he had never felt like this before. They seemed instinctively to know what pleased and aroused each other. Their timing was perfect and their love making came in wave after wave. Dana touched him in more ways than just physically. He had enjoyed watching her face as she came. It aroused him all the more to see her pure pleasure and to know that he had been the cause of it. His only regret was that he had only had one condom in his wallet. He laughed to himself. He was not even sure how long it had been in there. Dana had tried to refuse the condom, another surprise from the woman he thought he knew inside and out, but Mulder had insisted. However, there were no such protests from him the second time. She had assured him that she as woman, and certainly as a doctor, knew her own cycle and that it was safe to have sex without protection. Mulder simply hadn't cared. He wanted her so much he almost felt a physical pain from the hunger. All he knew was he wanted to experience everything about her; the taste of her kisses, the sight of her body, the touch of her hands, the smell of her perfume, and the sounds of her ecstasy. None of it had been disappointing. I never did find out where her gun was, Fox thought to himself as he closed his eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep once again, a smile on his face. When Mulder awoke the second time, she was gone. He checked his watch: 6:40am. The conference started at 7:30am. He had to get up and get ready. He assumed that was what Dana had done. Mulder threw off the sheet; the blanket and comforter were already on the floor from their passionate love-making the night before. He found his underwear and slipped it on. His feet made no sound as he moved across the deeply padded carpet and made his way to the connecting door. He wanted to say hello to Scully before getting in the shower, and he wanted to see how she was; how she felt about what had happened last night. The connecting door was pushed shut from her side. He knocked loudly in case she was in the bathroom. "Scully? Scully, are you in there?" For all he knew she was a very early riser and was already downstairs eating breakfast. He heard the lock slide back on her side of the door and waited for it to open. He had a big grin on his face. He was met by a big grin on Scully's face as she looked him up and down from head to toe. She was dressed in a dark two piece suite and looked ready for the conference. "A bit underdressed for the meeting aren't you?" she asked drolly. Her eyebrows raised in disbelief. Nothing really phased her when it came to Mulder, but his attire to greet her was a little unexpected, even for him. Mulder stepped toward her and put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. He gave her a long, wet kiss. Now this she didn't know how to handle. She placed her hands on his chest and leaned back from him as far as she could eyeing him carefully. "I wasn't gone that long on vacation." Mulder detected the difference in her tone. "What's wrong, Scully? After last night, I didn't think you would mind a good morning kiss. I can't think of any parts of you that I haven't already kissed anyway." His voice trailed off. He saw confusion in Dana's face. He released her and she took a few steps back. "What are you talking about?" Scully's brow was deeply furrowed. "I wasn't here last night. I just got in from the airport five minutes ago. I took the red-eye to get here from Aruba in time to go to the conference." Chapter Two It was mid-morning. Fox sat on the couch, dressed now in jeans and a black turtleneck. His hair still hadn't been combed, and he hadn't had breakfast yet. Assistant Director Skinner was pacing behind the couch, while Scully sat writing at the hotel desk. The conference had been completely forgotten by now. "Is that all you remember about last evening?" Scully tried to sound businesslike, but was having a hard time facing Mulder. He had been reciting the details of last night starting with the dinner and ending with t= he good morning kiss of several hours ago. They had been over and over the story a dozen times, each time extracting more details. Mulder was insistent that it was she, Scully, that had invited and enticed him to behave as he did. Scully had been uncomfortable throughout the retelling. She did not admit out loud that she, too, had intimate dreams about Mulder. This scenario he was describing could have been one of them! How could he know her actions and reactions so well, when nothing had ever happened between them? As she was taking notes, she knew she was blushing. Skinner had told him to leave out no details, and Fox had been rather explicit about the events and conversations that were supposed to have happened last night. She kept telling herself it wasn't her he was talking about. It was hard to ignore. His memory seemed to be excellent, and detailed. He wasn't hazy on any detail, and he was not in a state of confusion. Adding to the dilemma was Skinner's own testimony about believing it was Scully with them at dinner last night. She was almost ready to doubt her own story! Mulder couldn't look at Dana either. He had been staring at the floor during his recitations. He was embarrassed explaining the intimate details, his feelings, words and events that had transpired between them last night, leaving out only truly intimate details of their sexual preferences and behaviors. Some things were better never repeated! But Skinner knew the secret to unraveling most puzzles was in the dissection of details, things that don't add up usually lead to solutions. However, Skinner was also embarrassed hearing the intimate details of people he considered himself to be closest to. He couldn't bring himself to look at either one of them. "Yes, that's about how the night went." he answered her. "All in all, are there things you can look back on in hindsight that seem odd now?" she asked in her most professional voice, trying to distance herself as much as possible from this situation. "Anything that might help us identify," she paused, looking for an appropriate word, "'her', should you see her again?" Mulder raised his head slightly to stare out the window. "Actually, there are several things that I would classify as strange as related to my previous knowledge and perception of you. "First, the fact that you came on to me at all at the dinner. You have never openly solicited my attention to you sexually." Skinner breathed a sigh of relief to himself. At least something hadn't been going on under his nose and he had been too stupid to see it. It did happen occasionally with male/female agent pairings. These two had been through so much together in the last three years, that it wouldn't surprise him totally if they had gotten together before now. But they worked well together the way it was now, and he hoped their relationship could sustain this pressure, too. "Secondly, the way you dressed, the perfume you wore, the fact that you didn't have your gun with you, and most importantly," Fox hesitated here. He was thoroughly embarrassed to mention the last point. He knew he had been embarrassing Scully all morning with his recitation of the facts. He had seen her scarlet coloring, knowing full well it was not a sunburn from her vacation. Their individual sexual conquests had never been a topic of discussion, even if they both secretly were interested in knowing. He took a deep breath and continued, "you insisted we not use condoms. You were very adamant about it. Knowing how much your career means to you, and knowing how aware you are of sexually transmitted diseases, it surprised me that you would take the chance you did." Mulder's voice trailed off. Scully looked up sharply at Mulder and replied, "It wasn't me. I wish you wouldn't keep referring to this unknown person as if it were me." Scully returned her attention to her notes. Taking a deep breath, she resumed questioning Mulder as if she were speaking to an unknown victim, "Any identifying birthmarks or scars?" Mulder suddenly realized a fact he had almost overlooked. Eagerness lit up his face. "As a matter of fact, you had a," Scully looked at him defiantly as he paused to correct himself, trying to convince himself for the hundredth time that it was not Scully that had made love to him last night, but a complete stranger. "I mean, 'she' had a tattoo!" Mulder stood up. "Scully, remember last summer when we were hunting down that tattoo artist and you said you thought only ignorant people got tattoos? I should have known!" Scully asked hesitantly, "There was a tattoo? Where? What was it?" "It was a rose, a tiny yellow rose tattooed right next to your, uh, her, belly button!" Mulder was excited now. Here was proof that it indeed had not been Scully last night. As much as he enjoyed and wanted last night to have happened, now there was a possibility that it really hadn't been Scully. Mulder had not been fully convinced until this moment. He began to believe that the secrets he had whispered were not really known to her. Their working relationship might be salvaged. Mulder looked from Dana to Skinner for confirmation of this truth. Scully almost slumped in her chair. "What?" Mulder asked. "What's wrong?" Scully didn't answer. Instead she stood up, loosened her blouse from her waistband and unbuttoned two buttons near her waist. There, next to her belly button, was a tiny, yellow rose. "When did you have that done?" Fox asked incredulously. "You said you thought getting a tattoo was one of the stupidest things any intelligent person could do." Scully straightened her clothes and sat back down. "It was one of the stupidest things I ever did. In college. Before I knew anything about needles and how they could possibly spread infections. It was a sorority hazing thing. Everyone that wanted to pledge to the sorority had to get a tattoo somewhere on their body." Her voice trailed off. Chapter Three It was 6:20pm that night. Skinner, Mulder and Scully were seated in the local FBI office headquarters discussing the day's findings regarding the second Scully. Numerous witnesses certainly remembered Scully and her evening gown. Mulder and Skinner recounted their dinner conversations about past incidents in their personal lives and work related situations that Scully 2, as they had to decided to name "her", had actively participated in, showing she had full knowledge of past events in Scully's life. There were no gaps, no discrepancies in anything she had said and what had actually happened. The wine in Mulder's suite had been analyzed. There were no drugs or hallucinogens mixed in. Mulder had certainly not had a drug induced dream. The front desk clerk remembered Scully 2 checking in approximately 30 minutes before she arrived in the ballroom. However, the morning desk clerk today also remembered a woman of her description checking in just this morning, minutes before Mulder had knocked on the connecting door. Both signature cards at the front desk were confirmed to be Scully's. She was also confirmed by the airlines as having checked in, been seated, and flown from Aruba to New York City and remembered by a stewardess when her picture was shown. There seemed to be no way to explain how Scully could be in two places, Aruba and New York City, at the same time. Mulder had given a blood sample earlier in the day to be tested and it was those results that they were waiting on now. The lab had called and the report was on it's way up to the conference room. Samples of hair found on the sheets would be sent off for DNA findings. That would take weeks to confirm, though. The way things were turning out, it looked to be almost a waste of time. Scully scanned the report for a few minutes after it was delivered before disclosing the contents of the findings. "Well, this is interesting," she murmured. "What?" Mulder looked up from the papers before him. Skinner turned to face her, she had his full attention. Scully looked up from the lab findings to address them both. "It seems that there are small traces of a foreign agent still in your blood stream. The traces are of an airborne agent, Z80 to be exact, that has the basic characteristics of lowering one's will power." "You mean like sodium pentothal?" Fox inquired, suddenly worried that he had given government secrets out in his sleep. "No. Sodium pentothal is used to lower resistance in some situations so that someone is not likely to resist answering questions that perhaps under ordinary circumstances they would not answer, and it is induced by injection. This agent is more likely to be used to lower resistance so that the power of suggestion is more powerfully acted upon, with disregard to personal safety, convictions, or beliefs. And it can only be introduced to a human system by inhaling, where the agent gets into the bloodstream through the oxygen system, that of course, goes eventually to the brain. It becomes concentrated there for a period of time, and then it is slowly dispersed throughout the body and dissipates over time. Given enough time, say, 24 hours, and there is no trace of evidence left behind to find." Mulder was trying to digest this new information. "You mean, if you had an army of men who breathed this stuff, they would follow any command without thought of personal conviction, say kill a fellow officer, or turn over secrets?" "Something like that. But it is very experimental. Z80 is not powerful enough, at least not yet, to be able to induce suicide squads or things of that nature. The vast quantity that is required to be constantly pumped into a person's lungs is so strong an agent, that deterioration of the lungs would happen in a matter of hours of continuous breathing, and your squad of fighters would all be dead. "No, most likely, it would be used by someone on a one to one basis, and then followed by some type of suggestion that the second person would act upon, whether it was in his best interests or not." "So," Skinner interjected, "exactly how could the chemical agent be introduced to Mulder's system last night?" "More importantly," Mulder added, "seems to be something we haven't asked yet. Why would someone want me to inhale this stuff? What was accomplished by Scully 2 last night?" He paused. "She certainly made her presence known, she wanted to be seen, she wasn't hiding or sneaking around." He turned to stare out the window to ponder his own questions. Scully looked back at the report. "The most efficient way to infect you would be to spray it directly on you," she paused, thinking, "or somehow keep you near the source, near enough to breathe it in constantly in small doses." "Her perfume." He said flatly. "It was her perfume. I was aware of it all night. I even asked what it was. I had never smelled that scent before. She told me she got it in Aruba and that it was advertised that no man could resist her while she was wearing it. "All night, I kept having these sexual urges toward her whenever I got near. I finally gave in..." Mulder's voice trailed off. "All the time she was flirting with me, she was giving me a powerful suggestion until I just threw caution to the wind and did as she had been leading me all night." "Well," Skinner said tight-lipped, "that certainly explains why you ended up in bed with Scully 2, but it doesn't explain the motive behind it, or what transpired because of it." Dana closed the lab report and laid it on the table. She stared at Mulder to see what response to Skinner he would offer. He stared back and just shrugged his shoulders. end part 2 of 3 parts Title: Doppleganger Part: 3 of 3 parts Name: JEhrat Address: JEhrat2@aol.com Chapter Four Scully awoke to a dark room. She glanced at the clock: 3:12 am. She sat up and turned on the lamp. There is was again, a soft, but incessant knocking at her door. She threw back the covers and padded softly over to the door of her hotel room and checked the peep hole. After pulling back the chain and unlocking the security lock, she opened the door. "Mulder, what are you doing here at this time of night?" He looked sheepishly at her and gently brushed past her. She shut and relocked the door, then followed him over to the curtained window where he stood. He was pulling back the curtain enough to stare at the lights of the city below. "Mulder," Scully repeated. "It's late, what can't wait until tomorrow?" Scully yawned. She was tired. She had spent too many nights up past midnight in Aruba and then had flown all night, not sleeping at all on the plane, only to spend all of today trying to unravel this puzzle about her second self. She was fuzzy headed and just wanted to go back to bed. Without turning around, Mulder answered, "You know Scully, I could lie to you and say I had something important to discuss about this case that couldn't wait until morning," he paused, turning now to face her. "But that isn't what our relationship is based on, is it?" He was less than a foot from her, staring intently, watching for her reaction. She said nothing, waiting for him to go on, suddenly conscious of the thin tee shirt she was wearing that didn't even come to her knees. He continued, "since last night happened, I haven't had any regrets." Scully started to open her mouth to protest that nothing had happened last night between them, but Mulder continued to talk, not giving her the chance. "I know, it wasn't you. But for all intense purposes, it might as well have been you. I didn't know the difference. It should have been you," he said softly. "I thought I was making love to you, Scully, not a stranger." He continued to watch her face, leaning closer to her as he spoke. "Mulder, it's late," she didn't get to finish telling him now was not the time to discuss this; that they needed to wait until morning, when they were clear headed, and they'd had more time to work through this. "No, Scully, listen to me," Fox replied. "I wanted to make love to you. I have for a long time now. Don't you see," he moved as close as possible to her and encircled her with his arms, "we belong together," he whispered in her ear. "We are more than friends, more than partners. Last night showed me that clearly. Can you really say that you have no feelings for me? That we shouldn't be together?" Trying to mollify him, she returned his hug good-naturedly and rested = her head on his chest. "Oh, Fox, don't you see, we are together. We respect each other, we care for each other, and we take care of each other, always." She was quiet for a moment, letting her words sink in. She closed her eyes, resting, breathing in the wonderful, yet somehow dangerous and exciting scent of him. After a few moments of silence Fox kissed her neck lightly. "Dana," he softly breathed her name, then kissed her neck again. Scully pushed herself back from him slightly. "Don't, Mulder, please." She looked pleadingly into his wonderful hazel eyes. Those eyes that had cried with her for her sister, those eyes that had smiled at her silly puns, those eyes that now were so full of love for her that she couldn't deny Fox really felt what he was saying. Fox didn't reply, didn't plead, didn't urge. He simply leaned down and kissed her full on the lips. A tender, soft, loving kiss. Dana almost melted right then and there. It had been so long since someone had held her, professed love for her, wanted her. As Mulder broke the kiss and began drawing away, Dana stood on tip toe, slipping her hands around his neck and drew him back down to her. There was no use fighting it. This night would happen someday. It had to, they were destined to be together, Dana knew that now. Why not just surrender to the moment, feel the passion, and let the truth be known. Truth. Scully almost laughed out loud. They always professed to be looking for and wanting the truth. Well, here it is, she almost shouted the words out loud. "What are you smiling about," Mulder asked, grinning back. Dana didn't answer him. She took his hand and led him into the bedroom. They stopped at the foot of the bed. They were standing quite close now, almost indistinguishable as separate entities. Mulder crossed his arms in front of him, pulled his turtleneck shirt from his jeans and whipped it over his head in one smooth motion. He discarded it behind him on the floor. His look was serious and intense, focused on his objective: Dana. Scully eyed his smooth, muscular chest. She was nervous. Stalling for time, she reached up and smoothed a lock of hair back into place that had fallen when he took his shirt off. Suddenly she had a fear of not being able to measure up to Mulder's other women, or worse, the experience he had last night with Scully 2. She knew there had been many before her. Scully rarely felt the need to compete with women, but somehow tonight, it seemed important. She wanted to be memorable to Fox. He stooped slightly to grasp the edge of her tee shirt. Dana didn't move. His eyes never left her face, deep desire reflected in them. His hands slid up her body, lifting her shirt. They went slowly up her thighs and past her pink bikini briefs. He paused as his fingers gently caressed her waist and he bent down to kiss her partially opened lips. Dana felt a hunger inside, desire was heightening her sense. His hands slipped around to the small of her back, pushing her towards him. She felt every inch of him as he held her close. His hands were cool, but not cold, yet a shiver of excitement ran through her. It was a sweet kiss, gentle and soft. His kiss calmed her. His hands resumed their removal of her night shirt. Dana lifted her arms over her head and in a moment she was revealed to him. She shook her hair back into place and looked up at him. "You're beautiful," was all he said as he looked her up and down. A smile broke across his face. "I knew you would be. I have fantasized about this moment. It's been well worth waiting for." As he kissed her again, their bodies came together, Dana's delicate, soft flesh touching his muscular, well-defined flesh. Dana's hardened nipples brushed Fox's chest, exciting him more. He kicked off his shoes. Dana undid his jeans and they slid to the floor. She touched him, as if to convince herself that he was really here, and all of this was really about to happen. She couldn't deny that she had a few fantasies of her own over the years. She had imagined Mulder in aggressive situations. Her mind flashed to his basement office at FBI headquarters. She had imagined them arguing about some case, she not backing down from her opinion. In her mind's eye he had his back to her, and ran his hand through his hair before turning back to face her and in frustration and with one fluid movement, swept everything off his desk with one hand, pushed her forcibly backwards onto the desk and then seduced her with kisses and caresses. He was taking command of her. But then she remembered the romantic, give and take dreams. Her favorite fantasy had to do with a snowbound cabin, a fireplace, and much wine to drink. The usual bear skin rug was in the dream. They were huddled together under a blanket for warmth in the beginning. Eventually their hands had begun to roam, tentatively at first, she brushing up against his thigh first, then he against her breast as adjustments had to be made to the blanket. But the dream had branched out into a sensual exploration of each other's bodies, bringing each a pleasure that seemed never to end. Fox began to shift under her touch, bringing her back to reality. She began to caress his chest as the reality of the moment struck her. Fox was hers. He wanted to be hers. He was giving himself to her as she was giving herself to him. She wrapped her arms around him and breathed deeply. He smelled so good; like a combination of fresh soap and clean mountain air. "Ymm, you smell good," she said aloud. Fox held her tight, his face buried in her hair. "I'm glad I pass the sniff test," he quipped with his usual humor. They kissed again, this time a long, deep, passionate kiss. Dana felt Mulder's hands slip to her waist and then to her panties. He began pushing them down, gently sliding them over her slim hips and past her thighs. That was as far as he could comfortably reach while still kissing her. They separated and each took off their underwear. Scully stared at Fox. As a medical doctor, she was used to seeing naked bodies of all shapes, sizes, and in all positions. This was different. This was personal. He was textbook perfect on the outside. Her experienced eye took in his handsome face with his square jaw, the broad shoulders, flat stomach, and slight hips. She glanced down further and was glad to see that he had been circumcised. She giggled nervously. He smiled. "Do I measure up to your standards?" he asked coyly? "Well," and she walked around him, pretending to judge him like horse flesh. She looked at his tight butt and nodded approvingly. "you have one big advantage," she said, "over most of the bodies I see nude; you're alive!" and she laughed again. "But it doesn't look like you've been ridden very hard lately," and with that she slapped him lightly on his butt, making a sharp noise like the snapping of a wet towel. "Ow!" He whirled around to face her. He grabbed her wrists to prevent another slap. "Why don't you show me how well you can ride?" he challenged her. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. They both began to laugh. * * * * * * * * This time Dana awoke to a ringing telephone. Probably her computerized wake up call she had put in for last night at the front desk. She checked the clock by the bed. The digital readout said 6:59am. She picked up the receiver and placed in back in the cradle in one easy movement to silence the call. She turned to check for her bed partner. The other side was empty, covers thrown back. Dana reflected on the events of the last few hours. Mulder had been everything she could have hoped for: a combination of controlled aggression, and complete tenderness and sensitivity to her wants and desires. It had been past 4:30am before she had fallen asleep after their lovemaking. It had been one glorious night. She had attained feelings and heights that she had never felt before. She began to regret the time she had let slip away the last few years, wasted. Scully had been in only two really serious relationships before. But they had never produced the passion of last night. As Fox made love to her the last time and then held her, she had felt a bonding of such a deep nature, that for the first time she understood the phrase, "and they became one". It wasn't the physical union that it meant, but the spiritual union that occurred. As he slept in her arms and she had stroked his hair, she had marveled at how long it had taken them to see what had been right in front of their faces all the time. The phone rang again, interrupting her thoughts. "Hello," she answered, trying to gather her wits and wake up. "Why did you hang up on me?" It was Mulder. She smiled. "Where are you calling from?" she asked. "And why so early?" "I'm calling from the office. After dinner Skinner and I took the last flight out for home. I knew you had missed out on a couple of nights sleep, so I decided to wait and tell you this morning. He also made flight arrangements for you to join us at headquarters later today. I had the ticket delivered to the hotel in your name. But you have to hurry, the flight leaves in two hours." Scully frowned. "Mulder, what are you talking about? When did you leave for FBI headquarters? How could you have gotten there already? I just saw you in person a few hours ago..." Scully didn't finish the sentence. A horrible realization suddenly pushed it's way to the fore front of her brain as she struggled to make sense of what she was hearing and what had happened. "Scully? Scully, are you there?" Fox asked. "Yes, I'm here," she replied slowly. "I didn't see you two hours ago, I got home at about midnight. Is your watch still set to Aruba time?" he laughed. Scully wasn't laughing back. His tone changed. "What's wrong?" he asked in a terse voice. How was she going to explain? Chapter Five The mood was very somber in their offices later in the day. Scully had flown back and met Assistant Director Skinner and Mulder at FBI headquarters. She had already had a blood test and it had just come back confirmed. The same chemical agent, Z80, that had been in Mulder's blood was also in hers. Mulder felt complete empathy for Scully as now it was her turn to describe personal events to them. "I don't know what else to say, sir," she was looking at Skinner. "I thought it was Mulder and I threw caution to the wind. I can't explain it." Skinner continued to be the professional. "Let's look at the facts again. We are missing something." He stared down at his notes. "Were there any scars, marks, or identifying features that you remember?" Scully closed her eyes. "Only the ones listed in Mulder's medical file." She thought back to last night. She remembered noticing where she had shot Mulder last year, near his shoulder. She had touched the scar, apologizing for having to hurt him, and kissed it. She looked at Mulder, daring him to mention this fact, forgetting for a moment that he didn't know, it wasn't him that she had made mad, passionate love to. It wasn't him that she had whispered secrets about her desires too. "He has several." She paused, "No, there was nothing to distinguish him from the real Mulder, other than his manner, attentions, and actions. "The only difference between our stories seems to be the witnesses. There were many people who witnessed Scully 2, but absolutely no one that saw the fake Mulder," she concluded. There was silence in the room as these facts sank in. Finally Skinner spoke what was in all their thoughts. "We still don't know the reason for seducing the two of you. What was to be gained? What do you know separately or collectively that is so important to someone else that they would go to such lengths to make such perfect doubles? How do they know the intimate details and memories of your lives enough to replicate them? How did they accomplish it? How did they know your individual schedules, thereby preventing each of you from bumping into the real Mulder or Scully? The questions go on and on, but there seem to be no answers." He closed the files on his desk and stood up. "Let's call it a day. Be back here tomorrow at 8:00 am to see if the lab has any new information." Mulder and Scully left the room. They paused outside Skinner's office as the door shut behind them. It was awkward. Each thought the other had intimate knowledge of the other. Both were self- conscious. "Look," Scully started in a serious tone, "we have to get past this." She paused. Mulder was nodding his head slightly in agreement. "Nothing," and Scully placed great emphasis on that word, "happened." Mulder continued to nod, looking vaguely down the hallway over her shoulder. His gaze shifted back to her face. They stared at each other for a moment, Scully searching his face for a response. "I suppose," Mulder started. "Yes," Scully interrupted eagerly, hoping he had a solution. Mulder continued, "we could just do the dirty deed, get over our curiosity, and be done with it." He grinned whole-heartedly, knowing in advance what Dana would think of that idea. "Oh, Mulder," Dana scowled. She stormed past him heading for the elevator. He wandered off in the opposite direction, hands in his pockets, quietly whistling a tune as he went. ******* At the same time somewhere else in the city, there was a meeting of several men in an old, distinguished, gentlemen's club drawing room. The men gathered there were solemn and their tones were hushed. "Well, " the Well Manicured Man asked, "was it successful?" "Yes, it was successful on many levels," Cancer Man answered. He inhaled on his cigarette. "We learned a great many things from this experiment." The room they were sitting in was paneled in dark cherry wood, and lined with built in shelves stuffed with volume after volume of tomes. A fire was lit. The carpet was richly and intricately patterned. At thick padding rested underneath completely muffling any footsteps. All other sounds were absorbed by the heavy, dark velvet drapes that shut out the world from the secrets that were routinely spoken here. The man who had spoke first asked, "What exactly was accomplished, if you don't mind being specific. Sometimes talking to you is like screaming into the wind. I never really get an answer back." Cancer Man leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on his knees to get even closer to the soft-spoken, well-dressed man. Cigarette smoke curled around his head as he exhaled. He took another puff before speaking. "We learned that Z80 works. We can use it on a one to one basis without killing the participants. We learned that it indeed can break down anyone's convictions and cause them to do exactly what is suggested to them with no interference or resistance. We learned that our lab can duplicate anyone's DNA to make clones of anyone we wish. Kind of like a human "Jurassic Park" syndrome. We will have to work on keeping the clones alive longer so we can use them for more than one mission. It takes so long to clone and age our specimens and program them with life histories that it isn't worthwhile or cost effective to do just one mission with them, though. Due to the process to speed their development, they age rapidly and die in a few days. "We have also learned a little more about Special Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder." He mused, "I wonder what they would do if they knew video cameras had been secreted in their hotel rooms to record the experiments." Cancer Man put on an oily smile. "Knowing how they think and react to each other is a key factor in breaking the team up and closing down the X-Files Division. It's well documented that co-workers that have affairs tend to cause extra tension in the work place and a lack of focus on their work at hand." Cancer Man put forth a soft laugh, "Do you suppose Assistant Director Skinner's superiors would believe their story that nothing is going on between them off duty if he had the video tapes of their interactions with our clones?" With that, Cancer Man arose and walked past the other men. An aide opened the door for him to leave. The Well Manicured Man stared into the fire, his thoughts imperceptible to the others in the room. THE END Feedback welcomed! JEhrat2@aol.com