From: TLFreise@aol.com
Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 15:33:39 EDT
Subject: NEW:  Equations for the Future I (1/5)
Source: xff


TITLE:  Equations for the Future I (1/5)
AUTHOR:  Tamara Freise
EMAIL ADDRESS:  TLFreise@aol.com
ARCHIVE:  Gossamer, Ephemeral, & Spooky's go ahead.  All others, please just 
let me know where!  Oh, and keep all headers in place!  :-)  
RATING:  PG 
CATEGORY:  T 
DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, these characters don't 
belong to me.  Although, it would be nice if they 
did, cause then I would be a very rich woman, instead 
of having to write all these stories for free!  They 
belong to Chris Carter and 1013 Production.
KEYWORDS (CONTENT WARNING):  Eventually 
Mulder/Scully, Krycek/Other
SPOILER WARNING:  Entire Mytharc and Samantha 
Storyline up through Millenium
SUMMARY:  A mysterious woman appears in Fox Mulder's 
life and he investigates to find out who she is.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  This was a story that I started 
writing as a minor crossover with a book that I had 
read called, "In the Country of the Blind".  It 
turned out that I just used the concept of the book 
to create this story and never actually used any of 
the characters at all.  I also had no idea that this 
story would take on a life of its own and become so 
long.  As it stands now, I have Chapter I that has 8 
sections to it and Chapter II is in the works.  It 
will eventually wind up being a MSR and a 
Krycek/Other story, but the first chapter doesn't 
touch on this much at all-but, at the same time, if 
you don't want to get into the story only to find out 
that later it will wind up a MSR, I would say stop 
now!  :-)

FEEDBACK:  TLFreise@aol.com  (PLEASE!!  This is my 
VERY first attempt at fan fiction.  So please be 
gentle!  Any constructive criticism or any other 
pointers you can give would be GREATLY appreciated!  
I really hope you like it!)

<<For Diadem for all the hard work she put into helping me get this thing 
out!   I appreciate it!>>

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

The trees stood swaying in the cool, brisk wind of 
autumn, as the reds and golds battled for prominence 
on the canvas beyond the picture window she stared 
through.  The cold winds of winter were just 
beginning to settle around the Boston neighborhood.  
Sam stared out at the park beyond wishing she were 
almost anywhere but in this tedious meeting, 
rehashing yet again an ages old argument.  Those 
around her raised their voices to be heard above the 
melee.  It was almost painful to her ears.

Finally, everyone quieted as Markus Krakhoff stood, 
his 6' 4" frame demanding attention.  "The fact 
remains, he is a threat to our Key and endangers his 
life on an almost daily basis.  We can not continue 
to keep him alive if there are constant attempts made 
like this last one.  The equation demands..."

Before he was able to continue, Sam turned quietly 
around and looked him deeply in the eyes, remembering 
a time, not so long ago when those eyes had looked on 
her in love and not in the hard, cold way they did 
now.  She hid the pain away deep in her heart as she 
crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.  She stated 
in a soft voice full of meaning, "And then what, 
Markus?  Allow Mulder to move completely unchecked?  
We can't just throw this information into his lap.  
He will know something is wrong and it might expose 
us as well."

"You don't know that.  It might just allow him to 
finally find the way to change..." he argued.

Sam interrupted him sharply, "You don't know this man 
like I do, Krakhoff.  He has an unpredictability 
pattern unlike any encountered before.  No one has 
been able to find a way to introduce this into the 
equations.  If you terminate his enemy without giving 
him the knowledge of what happened to his sister it 
will shove him over the edge!  This man does 
everything he does so he can find the truth...without 
that he will run unchecked and we may lose all power 
in our predictions!"  

She had raised her voice slightly, but managed to 
remain in control as she saw Markus' mouth tighten 
over words unsaid.  This was the first time she had 
attempted to pit her will against his since that 
fateful night months before that had disentangled 
their futures forever.  Their path had moved in the 
same direction for so long, it was hard to find 
herself on the opposite side of an issue with the one 
man she had thought herself able to trust completely.

The dark eyes narrowed as they contemplated her.  
Condescension clear in his tone as he said, "I don't 
believe you are completely impartial with regard to 
this issue, my dear.  We all know what your wishes 
are, and it has been determined that now is not the 
time for movement in that area."

"This is *not* about whether or not the truth is 
exposed.  This is about what we are to do with our 
mutual enemy.  I refuse to bring this conversation to 
a personal level," the young woman replied sharply, 
her gaze raking over those assembled.  They certainly 
had the quorum required for a vote on this issue, but 
without her presence they would not.  Her options 
flew through her mind and she knew she had enough 
support in this room that if someone *was* found to 
replace her in the voting process, the three-quarters 
majority needed to make the decision would not be 
there.

"As far as I am concerned, this is a dead issue.  The 
man, for now, remains alive and we continue our 
protection of Fox Mulder as we have in the past.  I 
will not accept anything less at this point."  She 
finished her pronouncement and quickly turned on her 
heal, moving through the door and swiftly picking up 
her pace until she reached the locked door.  Knocking 
the signal, the door was opened and the woman allowed 
to exit the brownstone onto the sidewalk.  She pulled 
her tan trenchcoat around her as the wind whipped by, 
picking up leaves as it blew.

The park lay before her in all its colorful splendor, 
the ocean out beyond the retaining wall directly 
across from her on the other side of the park. 
This was where she headed, the sound of the whoosh of 
the waves coming in and hitting the wall growing 
louder as she moved closer to her destination.  

When she got to the wall, she moved over to a bench 
facing the water and sat down, silently wondering 
what she was going to do.  She knew she had the 
support necessary to keep the hotheads like Krakhoff 
in check, but if his power base continued to grow, 
she wasn't sure how things would turn out.  Ever 
since his son had given his life in protecting their 
Key, he had not been thinking rationally about the 
future and their goals.  He had closed himself off to 
the world and seemed to want nothing more then 
revenge for what he felt was an unjustified attack on 
their resources.

Sam had tried her hardest to work through it with 
him, but even she had been slowly pushed out of his 
world and Markus had turned into a man she no longer 
knew.  At times the pain was almost unbearable, but 
she knew at this point there was no going back.  Too 
many words had fallen between the two for reparations 
to be effective now.  He looked upon her now with 
anger and contempt.  

Whenever the subject of the enemy and the protection 
of Mulder was brought up, it always ended in the same 
way.  He had once been her strongest supporter, now 
he was her worst antagonist, working against what had 
been determined decades ago was for the best of the 
human race.  He never seemed to take into 
consideration all she had had ripped from her so long 
ago, or the sacrifices she had chosen as an adult so 
that they could ensure the life of the human race 
beyond the next 20 years.

Her mind turned toward Martha's Vineyard and the 
woman who lived there, effectively isolated in a life 
not her making.  Sam's heart yearned to give her the 
truth, to ease the pain she saw in the older woman's 
eyes whenever she spoke of her daughter.  Sam saw 
that the woman's son gave her such joy and made her 
proud, yet there seemed to be a sadness whenever she 
spoke of him.  Almost like she was trying to keep him 
at a distance to remove some sort of silent pain.  

It was obvious the woman still longed for the 
daughter that had been ripped from her over a quarter 
century before and that she felt a very deep guilt 
that kept her from showing her son how much she 
cared.  A tear silently rolled down her face as Sam 
became determined to visit her friend...her 
mother...before traveling down to Washington to take 
care of her business there.  Slowly, Samantha Mulder 
stood as darkness began to fall and moved toward her 
car.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

The house sat back from the road in the older area of 
Martha's Vineyard.  It was one of the smaller houses 
on the block, but held plenty of room for the family 
that had lived there so long ago.  Sam stood on the 
sidewalk next to her car and stared at the trees as 
they overshadowed the yard.  The colors here on the 
island were perhaps even more brilliant for not 
having been dulled by the pollution found in the 
city.

She took a deep breath and moved toward the door, 
intent on seeing her mother and speaking with her 
even if it were under the guise of someone else.  The 
woman reached the door and reached out, touching the 
bell. Glancing behind her yet again to make sure she 
wasn't followed, Sam's arms wrapped instinctively 
around her body as she realized that yet again she 
was doing this without the Order's knowledge.

The door opened in front of her to reveal an older 
woman, in her late 50's who was well dressed.  The 
older woman's face brightened upon seeing her  
"friend" and she stepped back, motioning her in as 
she asked, "Suzanna, it is so good to see you!  When 
did you get into town?"

"Suzanna" stepped inside the house and was instantly 
engulfed in a hug.  Sam and the other woman were 
obviously close.

"Hello, Teena.  I got home yesterday and thought I'd 
drop in and say hi.  How are you feeling?" Sam 
answered.

"I'm feeling just fine.  The Doctor's switched my 
medication like you suggested and all the headaches 
are gone now," Teena Mulder answered and led her 
friend into the kitchen.  "Have a seat, I already 
have some coffee made."  

As the older woman busied herself with the mundane 
actions of serving coffee, Sam sat down at the table 
in the small breakfast nook off of the kitchen.  She 
glanced outside at the trees and past to the ocean 
beyond and smiled slightly.  In her mind, she could 
see a young boy and girl running in the backyard 
playing "aliens".  It took all her control to pull 
herself out of the memory and back to the present as 
Teena Mulder walked in with two cups on a tray with 
cream and sugar.

"So, tell me where you have been.  How have you been?  
It has been too long since you last visited, 
Suzanna," Teena scolded as she poured coffee for both 
of them.

Suzanna smiled and began, "I just got back from 
England, and before that Kansas City and Seattle.  It 
was quite an experience."

"It's a shame that your new job has you traveling so 
much.  I miss our morning coffee time.  I don't get 
many visitors," the older woman said with sadness.

"Surely your son comes by when he can, doesn't he?" 
Sam asked quietly, knowing the relations between 
those two were not the best due to Teena's deep-
seated guilt and anger over her daughter's 
disappearance.  

Sighing, Teena answered, "When he can.  But, not as 
often as I would like.  His work in the FBI keeps him 
away so much.  I would like for you to meet him, 
though.  You have helped me so much this past year, 
he says he wants to meet you."

Sam's gaze moved out the window once more, her heart 
wanted nothing more then to agree to meet him.  To 
see the brother she had longed to know would be a 
dream come true.  It would not be a good idea, 
though, to be caught speaking with him.  Nor did she 
want to meet him and give his intuition anything to 
grab on to either.  The last thing she needed was Fox 
Mulder investigating her.

Smiling at Teena, she said, "Perhaps one day that 
will happen.  But it seems that he and I are never in 
town at the same time."

"Oh, but he is right now.  In fact, he was upstairs.  
Please stay for a few minutes so that you can meet 
him?" Mrs. Mulder asked.

Cursing silently to herself for not checking into his 
whereabouts before dropping by, Sam answered with a 
forced smile that went totally unnoticed by the older 
woman, "He's here?  Now?  When did he get into town?"

"Yesterday.  He came to check on me and make sure I 
was doing all right.  I have told him about you, and 
he would like to meet you.  To thank you for helping 
me this past year."

Just then, Special Agent Fox Mulder entered the 
kitchen area and she stood face to face with her 
brother for the first time in over 25 years.  This 
was going to be a touchy meeting, for if he suspected 
anything, Sam knew that the Order would come down on 
her harder then ever before and her mission could be 
compromised.

"Fox, I want you to meet Suzanna Miller.  She is the 
one I was telling you about who helped me through so 
much this past year after my stroke," Teena 
introduced.

"Ms. Miller," Mulder said as he held out his hand, 
watching her closely.  The fact that this woman had 
just "appeared" in his mother's life was something he 
wasn't quite sure he trusted.  Sam felt as if she was 
under a microscope as he studied her ever move.

"It's a pleasure to finally get to meet you. 
And to thank you for helping my Mother through all of 
this," Mulder said politely.

Taking a deep breath to brace herself, Sam stood, 
reached out and grasped his hand firmly, and then 
replied, "It was nothing, really.  She is a wonderful 
person."

His eyes shadowed for a second before he asked, "How 
did you meet her again?"

"I was working at the hospital when she was brought 
in after her stroke.  She and I became good friends 
during her time there," Sam replied with a smile for 
Teena, "When she was released we just continued to 
see each other.  Now that I have my new job with 
Catron Pharmaceuticals, it isn't as easy for us to 
get together, but whenever I am in town, I make sure 
to drop by and check on her."

"Pharmaceuticals, eh?  What do you do there?" Fox 
asked, his internal insight battling against the 
instant feeling of trust that he suddenly wanted so 
desperately to give to this woman in front of him.  
There was something about her that called to him, and 
that raised his suspicions further.

"I'm in outside sales, so I travel quite a bit around 
the country and sometimes the world.  It is quite 
lucrative and keeps food on the table, so I suppose I 
can't complain too badly," she stated with a slight 
shrug.  **What am I doing?** she thought silently to 
herself, feeling the instant connection with her 
brother, but also sensing he wasn't quite believing 
her cover story.  It had to be that damnable 
unpredictability factor again, and it was quite a 
sight to see it in action up close.

He nodded at that, his eyes narrowing slightly.  His 
last contact with a pharmaceutical company had been 
when Scully had been dealing with the Emily situation 
and the fact that this woman worked for a 
pharmaceutical company just didn't sit right with 
him.  

Teena interrupted the questioning with a tolerant 
smile at her son, "Fox, she isn't a suspect in one of 
your investigations."

"I'm sorry, Mom," he replied quickly, forcing his 
attention away from the mysterious woman in front of 
him.  "I suppose the FBI has just caused me to be 
naturally cautious."

Glancing around quickly, Sam finally smiled at her 
Mother and said, "Teena, I really need to be going 
anyway.  There is a meeting at the office this 
morning and then I am off to D.C. for a few days.  I 
will contact you and perhaps we can go get some lunch 
when I get back."

"That would be wonderful, Suzanna.  I will look 
forward to it," Teena responded quickly.

"You're going to be in DC?" Fox asked in a softer 
tone, stealing a quick glance at his Mother.

"I go to DC quite often, actually.  It is in my 
normal realm of operation," Sam answered.

"Perhaps we could meet for lunch while you are 
there," he suggested, wanting to learn more about 
this woman in front of him.  

With a slight smile, Sam returned, "Perhaps we can, 
Mr. Mulder."  At that, she leaned over and gave Teena 
a quick kiss on the cheek and moved toward the door.  
"I will see you later, Teena." 

"And you, Dear," Teena said as she escorted her 
friend to the door.  

Fox followed silently, watching after the woman 
thoughtfully, realizing after she was gone that she 
had agreed to meet him, but had not offered a number 
he could reach her at.  He knew he would have to 
check into this young woman and find out exactly what 
her story was.  The FBI agent refused to allow his 
mother to put into danger or monitored by anyone.  
She had been through too much at the hands of those 
men.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

"I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI," Mulder 
stated as he flashed his badge to the Personnel 
Director at the hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.  
"I'm investigating a former employee of yours who 
used to work as a Patient Liaison here at this 
hospital and wondered if you could give me some 
information."

"What sort of information, Agent Mulder?" the small, 
older, graying woman asked guardedly.

"Just basically the dates she was employed here at 
the hospital," he said with his most charming smile.

The older woman smiled in return, warming quickly to 
him, and nodded, "I am sure I can help you there.  
What is her name, and do you have any idea when she 
left the hospital?"

"Well, as far as I know she left recently, probably 
within the past 6 months or so.  Her name is Suzanna 
Miller," he said while watching the woman turn toward 
her computer.

She gave him a look of confusion and asked, "Suzanna 
Miller?  I don't remember that name, but let me check 
to see what we have in our system."  She opened up a 
program and typed a few things into the system before 
shaking her head and glancing back up at Mulder.

"I'm sorry, but in the past 10 years, we haven't had 
an employee named Suzanna Miller.  I knew I didn't 
recognize the name the instant you said it.  Are you 
sure that is her name?  We had a Susan Moran at one 
point, but that isn't even close, is it?"

"No, I don't suppose it is.  No one within the last 
10 years, you say?  Is it possible she could have 
worked here and changed her name?  Anyone with the 
first name Suzanna?" he was not liking the turn of 
this conversation.  It was almost as if his 
suspicions were coming true, yet he didn't want to 
believe Suzanna Miller wasn't who she said she was.

The other woman clicked a few more times on the 
computer and then shook her head.  "No, no Suzanna, 
Suzzana, or Susanna-or any other variation of the 
name.  I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Agent Mulder."

"No problem at all, Ms. Martin.  It could be I was 
just given the wrong information.  Thank you for your 
time," he said with a smile and turned, leaving the 
hospital with his thoughts in a jumble.  Why was it 
he wanted to believe in this woman so desperately?  
And, if he wanted to believe her story so badly, why 
were the nagging doubts continuing to surface?  Well, 
she hadn't passed the first test, perhaps it was time 
to check with the Pharmaceutical Company to see if 
she really existed there as well.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

"Are you sure there is no one there working under 
that name?" he asked one last time verifying what the 
woman on the other end of the phone was telling him.

"Yes, sir.  There is no Suzanna Miller working for 
our company."

"Thank you for your time," Mulder stated and then 
hung up his cell phone.
  
**Maybe I should have lifted her prints from the 
coffee cup,** he couldn't help but think to himself 
as he sat in his rented Ford Taurus.  

Whoever Suzanna Miller was, she wasn't the person she 
claimed to be.  His anger rose as he realized the 
woman had been dishonest with his Mother, especially 
when the immediate thought that came to mind was she 
was working for the Consortium gathering information 
or spying for Cigarette Smoking Man.  

She had stated she was going to be going to 
Washington; perhaps he could find her there.  If 
anyone would be able to find her, he knew he could 
count on the Lone Gunmen.  And, to do that, he had to 
get back home.  He didn't really want to cut his 
visit with his mother short.  Lord only knew they got 
to see each other seldom enough as it was, but he 
wanted to get to the truth about this mysterious 
woman who had entered his life through his mother.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Samantha Mulder sat in her hotel room at the Ritz 
Carlton Hotel in downtown Washington.  She could see 
the White House outside her window where she sat 
waiting for her dinner to be delivered by room 
service.  It had been a long couple of days and the 
work she had to do in the city wasn't even half-
complete.  There was still work at the Pentagon and 
with a few Congressmen that needed doing.   

As she sat staring out the window at the White House, 
there came a knock on the door, a very insistent 
knock that demanded attention.  She stood quickly, 
moving over to the door as she pulled out her Glock 
9mm.  

Sam took up a spot right next to the door and asked, 
"Who is it?"

"Fox Mulder.  Ms. Miller, I would like to ask you a 
few questions," she heard through the door.  With a 
sigh, she placed her weapon back in its holster at 
the small of her back and opened the door to reveal 
her brother standing there, looking impatient and a 
little upset.

"Please, come in, Mr. Mulder," she offered as she 
motioned inside with her arm.

He stepped through the door and into the sitting room 
of the one-bedroom suite she was staying in.  "Have a 
seat, please, Mr. Mulder," she said, a bit worried 
about the sudden visit.

"Just Mulder, please?" he asked as he sat on the 
couch near the fireplace.  When she had been seated 
across from him in the chair facing him, he 
started, "I wanted to ask a few questions about your 
association with my 
mother."

"I thought we covered all that the other day, 
Mi...Mulder," she replied with a slight, 
uncomfortable smile.

"We did...to a certain degree.  But, I had a lot of 
unanswered questions.  So, I did some checking, Ms. 
Miller.  It appears that neither the hospital 
you claim to have worked for, nor the pharmaceutical 
company seems to have heard anything about you.  In 
fact, you don't seem to exist in any way under the 
name of Suzanna Miller.  So, that leaves me with the 
question:  Who the hell are you? And, why have you 
chosen my Mother of all people to develop a 
friendship with?" he said while he watched her 
closely.

She stood and stared out the window once again for a 
moment before she turned to look at him.  Her gaze 
never wavering, she answered, "I am a friend of your 
mother's because she is a wonderful woman who 
deserves to have some people around her who care.  I 
was at the hospital visiting a friend when your 
mother was in the hospital and I met her and became 
friends with her."

"Who are you really?  What is your name?" he fired 
the questions at her quickly.

"My name doesn't matter..." she tried to explain.

"Who do you work for?!?" he inquired, his voice 
raised slightly as he stood up and moved over to her, 
his 6-foot frame towering over her shorter 5'7" body.

"I can't tell you that!" the exasperation in her 
voice quite evident.

"What do you want with my mother!?!" he fired out at 
her sharply, the tone in his voice hard.

"To be her friend!  Dammit, can't you just accept 
that and let me live in peace.  I don't mean you or 
your mother any harm and I won't let anything happen 
to her!"  Sam forced out quickly more then she 
intended to say.

"So, they do intend her harm?  Who is going to hurt 
her?" Mulder said, latching on to her last words.

"No, no one intends her any harm.  Please, I am not 
going to hurt her...or you.  I just want..."

"Want what?  To spy on me?  On my mother?  You work 
for the Consortium, don't you?" he asked in his usual 
paranoid tone.

Sam glanced at him askance, appearing to be very 
confused, "The Consortium?  I don't know of any 
*Consortium* so I suppose I can't exactly work for 
them, can I?"  It took an enormous effort, but 
Samantha forced her breathing to slow down and calmed 
her mind and emotions enough to appear cool on the 
exterior.

Mulder exhaled sharply in frustration, glancing over 
her shoulder as if at nothing and then back at her, 
the barely controlled anger concealed beneath.  
"Fine, if that is the way you want to play this.  
But, I am telling you right now, Ms. *Miller*, stay 
away from my Mother.  If I so much as hear a breath 
that you have been to see her I can't be held 
responsible for any problems you may have."

"Is that a threat, Mr. Mulder?" she asked, shaking 
with the effort to keep herself under control.

"No, Ms. Miller, not a threat," he answered as he 
moved toward the door.  "More like a promise."

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

"Mulder, where have you been?  Skinner has been 
looking for us so that we can give our report on the 
Shane case," Scully said as he entered the office.  
She had obviously been worried and been checking on 
where he might have been.

"I had something I needed to check on downtown," he 
said with a slight shrug as he moved to sit behind 
his desk, glancing up at Scully with a slight smile.  
His thoughts were running so fast, it was hard to 
keep up with everything he was trying to consider.  
This woman, Suzanna had him totally consumed.  She 
seemed to be sincere in her promise nothing would 
happen to his mother, but then again, how many times 
had he heard similar promises?

"Well, you could have called and let someone know 
what was going on...we were worried.  I take it your 
visit with your Mother didn't go well?" Scully 
continued.

"Huh?" he asked distracted an then came back to the 
present and his partner standing in front of him.  
**I can't keep anything from her, can I?** he thought 
to himself with a slight smile.  Not that he would 
want to even if he could.  "Oh, no...the visit itself 
was fine.   Quite relaxing."

"You're lying, Mulder.  Something happened, I can see 
it in your face.  What's wrong?" Scully asked softly 
as she sat in the seat across from him.

Mulder glanced across at his partner and contemplated 
just how much to tell her.  Then again, she would 
probably wind up knowing everything by the time it 
was all done, because he had a feeling his meeting 
today with Ms. Miller was only the beginning.  And, 
the way they went, nothing remained secret between 
them for long.  

He sighed and began, "There was a woman visiting my 
mother.  Said she had met my Mom while she was in the 
hospital.  Something just didn't seem right about her 
story, so I checked into it.  It seems that under the 
name she gave to me, she doesn't exist.  Never worked 
at the hospital, doesn't work for thecompany my 
mother believes she does.  Nothing checked out."

"Mulder, are you in the habit of checking up on all 
of your mother's friends?" Scully asked with a bit of 
exasperated humor in her voice.

Glaring up at her slightly he answered with his dry 
humor, "And yours too, Scully, so don't go out on any 
dates any time soon."

Becoming serious, Scully looked at her partner and 
asked, "Do you think she is trying to hurt your 
mother?  Keep an eye on her?  What is your theory on 
her sudden appearance in your Mother's life?"

"That's just it, Scully, I don't know.  I went to see 
her today.  The meeting didn't go well, but I think I 
got the point across to her."

"And that being?" Dana asked softly, wondering if 
Mulder really knew.

"That I don't want her hurting my Mother or spying on 
her...or whatever else it is she is doing," he 
answered with a fierce protectiveness for his
mother that hadn't been there before.

"Well then, perhaps we should look deeper into 
this...*After* we go give our report to Skinner on 
the Shane case."

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Samantha lay on the bed in her room at the Grand 
Hyatt.  As soon as her brother had left her hotel 
room at the Ritz Carlton, she hadquickly moved 
locations and changed her name.  All evidence of 
Suzanna Miller was gone, her new name showing up in 
the hotel register as Sarah Moran.

She still shook with emotion as she ran over her 
latest meeting with her brother in her head.  Sam 
wanted so desperately to tell her brother the truth.  
The real truth about why she had made friends with 
their mother.  To protect her from the evils that 
damned cigarette smoking bastard seemed to relish 
doling out to anyone within his range.  She knew 
first hand the evils that man could perpetuate and 
only wished that the Order wasn't so adamant about 
her continued silence.

How could she continue on, knowing she had met her 
own brother?  The secrets that had been kept for so 
many years seemed to weigh heavily upon her 
shoulders.  She had chosen her path when she had been 
old enough to make the decision for herself.  No one 
had persuaded her otherwise.  But, at the time...at 
the idealistic age of 18, she had been told that one 
day soon she would be reunited with her family.  It 
was just that her brother had some very important 
work he had to do...very important people he had to 
battle against and she was the key to that battle 
just as he was the key to saving the world.

Now, at the age of 35, life just didn't seem that 
simple any longer.  Her pain and sorrow seemed to 
engulf her and pull her down into a pit of
darkness.  A silent tear slid slowly down the side of 
her face as she rolled onto her side and pulled her 
knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.  

Family...her family...both within her reach yet not 
allowed into her life.  It was a long time before she 
was able to fall asleep, and even then the dreams of 
her family haunted her mind.

*****

...End Part 1...

TITLE:  Equations for the Future I (2/5)
AUTHOR:  Tamara Freise

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

It had been an easy matter to pick the lock into her 
Brother's apartment, and while part of her was 
feeling guilty for doing so, another part of 
her...the part that yearned to know him...felt this 
was the only way for now.  

She had heard that his apartment was more like New 
York Grand Central with locks that wouldn't keep even 
the most inept of thief's out.  Evidently they were 
right.

She glanced to her right into his kitchen.  It was 
bare and had very few dishes stacked in there.  On 
the other hand, many pizza boxes and other delivery 
boxes were all over the place.  It wasn't exactly messy, but it wasn't clean 
either.  Definitely a typical bachelor pad.  

Moving further into his apartment, she gazed through 
the doorway into his bedroom.  Boxes and papers were 
everywhere, his bed covered completely.  They had an 
extensive file on his behavior patterns and 
everything she saw caused her to believe them all.  
He obviously didn't sleep in his room, preferring the 
couch and TV to lull him into some semblance of 
slumber each night.  If he slept at all, that was,  
All because of her...and the nightmares caused from 
her abduction.  She closed her eyes for a second to 
gather her emotions, refusing to fall into the pit 
she had been in the night before.  The decisions had 
been made, and for better or worse, she had to live 
with them.

As she moved around his living area toward the desk 
under the window, her flashlight lit on a picture 
that suddenly caused her to gasp.  It was of a much 
younger Fox Mulder with a young girl.  He appeared to 
be about 11 or 12 years old; whereas, the girl was 
about 4 years younger.  She gazed up at him with 
adoration apparent in her eyes that can only be 
reserved for an 
idolized older sibling.  A love that transcended all 
pain and separation.  

There were more pictures laid next to a computer and 
her hand shook as she reached out and touched one 
softly.  She remembered when that picture was taken.  
They had just come back from the beach, he had shown 
her the joys of searching for shells under the sand 
and had explained each one to her as they had found 
them.  He had always taken time to be with her, no 
matter how often his friends would hound him about 
taking his little sister with him everywhere.  It
just never occurred to the older boy not to have her 
along.  Especially when that man would come over and 
fight with their parents.  It had been a very 
tumultuous time in their house and he did whatever he 
could to protect her from the inevitable fear that 
came with the constant arguments.

She picked up the picture, her hand still shaking 
with emotion as she looked down at it.  A soft 
clicking of cylinders in a lock ticking into place 
sounded behind her and she quickly whirled, her gun 
pulled out of it's holster instantly.  It wasn't her 
brother, she had made sure he wasn't going to be back 
at his apartment for at least another few hours.  
Clicking her flashlight off, she stood there in the 
darkness, her gun pointed toward the door.  Stepping 
back into the shadows, she waited for whoever was 
intruding into Fox's home.  

A tall shape moved into the apartment, obviously not 
expecting anyone to be there.  A switch was clicked, 
bathing the apartment in light.  Sam closed one eye 
so her eyes would adjust to the sudden light quicker, 
and kept the other eye clearly focused on the man in 
front of her as she said softly, "I would stop right 
there if I were you."

As he reached for his gun, surprise flashed over his 
face before quickly being replaced with a mask of 
indifference.  

"I wouldn't.  Keep your hands where I can see them!" 
she ordered.  Sam recognized him from the many files 
of information they had on those in the Project.  He 
placed his hands about a foot from his sides so that 
she could keep a close eye on them.  The tall, dark-
haired man fixed his piercing, green-eyed gaze upon 
hers.  

"Who are you?" he asked as if he were the one in 
charge of the situation.  It wasn't many people who 
could actually get the jump on him and he was
marginally impressed with this woman standing in 
front of him.

"Who I am doesn't matter.  The question is, who are 
you?" she returned sharply, her anger at getting 
caught rising with each moment the man in front of
her acted totally unconcerned about the gun she was 
holding on him.

He smiled slightly as his eyes narrowed, "I'm a 
friend of Mulder's here to feed his fish."  His hand 
motioned slightly over to the small fish bowl that 
held a  couple of dead goldfish.  

Sam chuckled darkly and shook her head.  "Nice try.  
Why don't you tell me who you really are and what you 
are doing here.  Or, I can't be held responsible for 
what my trigger happy finger might do."

"I'm the Easter Bunny..." he retorted.   Upon the 
sudden flash he saw in her eyes, he changed his tone 
and replied, "My name is Alex Krycek and I am here to 
give Agent Mulder some information.  Now why don't 
you tell me who you are and then we will be even."  
He watched as her face showed no surprise at knowing 
who 
he was, only confirmation.

The woman nodded and replied, "No, Mr. Krycek, I 
don't think I will tell you who I am.  It  really 
doesn't matter at this point.  I'm just here 
gathering a bit 
of information myself before I leave this apartment 
in peace."

His eyes narrowed again as he glanced down at the 
picture in her hand.  It was most definitely not the 
typical item a would-be burglar would rip off from an 
apartment.  The brown-haired woman reminded him of 
someone, but it just didn't click in his mind as she 
moved slowly toward him.  It was in the eyes...the 
same hazel-green he had seen in someone else's gaze.

Alex watched her every move, judging how easy it 
would be to take her down even with the gun in her 
hand, and realized she definitely had the training of 
a professional as she moved closer to him.  If he 
were going to make a move, he would have to draw her 
close to him and catch her off guard.  Just a couple 
more 
feet, he thought to himself.

When she got within 5 feet of the tall man in front 
of her, she stopped and glanced up into his sharp-
eyed gaze.  Watching his gaze, knowing what he was 
planning.  His eyes were the sort that it wouldn't 
take much to allow oneself to get lost in.  She had a 
feeling that Mr. Alex Krycek could be quite charming 
when he wanted to be.  Now was evidently not one of 
those times.  She chuckled softly as the thought 
occurred to her that she wouldn't be at her best with 
a gun pointed at her either.

"What is so funny?" he asked staring into her eyes, 
judging her next move.  She was quite striking with 
her high cheekbones and long, brown hair.  Her eyes 
had a sharpness to them that took every thing in, but 
let very little back out.  He wanted to find out who 
this mystery woman was and warn Mulder that he wasn't 
the only person breaking into the Agent's apartment.    
If only the man would put better locks on his door, 
Krycek mused to himself in amusement.

"Oh, nothing.  Nothing at all," she answered his 
question.  She motioned toward the couch with her 
gun, "Move over that way."

Alex did as he was ordered, but kept himself facing 
her as he followed her directions.  The woman had 
stopped far enough away from him to give him plenty 
of room to maneuver without getting too close to her.  
**Damn, she's good,** he thought to himself.  

As he neared the couch she commanded, "Turn around."

He sighed, glancing over at her gauging whether she 
would shoot him in the back when he did so.  Nodding, 
he turned slowly and faced the window where she had 
been standing just a few minutes before.  Before he 
could open his mouth to say anything more he felt a 
hard hit on the side of his head and felt himself 
falling onto Mulder's couch before darkness overtook 
him.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Fox pulled his car into the parking lot near his 
apartment.  He stepped out of the driver's side and 
reached behind the seat to pull out the duffel bag
that held the clothes he had taken to New Jersey.  He 
and Scully had just returned from a quick trip to 
gather information for one of their latest cases. 
As he walked to the front door to his building, he 
glanced up and stopped in his tracks.  The light was 
on in his apartment, and he knew he had turned it
off when he.

He walked quickly to the entrance and opened the 
door, taking the stairs to the second floor two at a 
time before slowing down a few feet from his 
apartment door.  Almost in one movement he pulled his 
gun, dropped the bag on the floor and stepped back, 
using his leg to kick the door in.  He rushed into 
his 
apartment, quickly moving to the side of the door.  
As he glanced around, his gaze fell upon a limp form 
lying on his couch face down.

With his gun held out in front of him, he quickly 
moved over to the familiar form, glancing around to 
make sure it wasn't a trap.  When he realized there 
was no one else in the apartment, Fox grabbed his 
handcuffs and yanked Krycek's arms behind him and 
slapped the cuffs on the man.  Then he picked him up
by the collar and dropped him into the chair next to 
the couch before he checked to make sure Krycek was 
still breathing.  

Once he realized the man was still breathing and 
merely unconscious, he quickly grabbed the bag out of
the hallway and hurried into his apartment, shutting 
the door behind him.  He shook his head realizing his 
neighbors must be getting desensitized to all the 
disruptions because no one even came into the hallway 
to see what the commotion was all about.  He shook 
his head and couldn't help but chuckle and 
contemplate 
moving so that perhaps he wouldn't have to worry 
about changing his locks on an almost monthly basis.

Mulder walked into his kitchen and grabbed a glass, 
filling it with water and re-entered his living room, 
moving to stand in front of the man sitting 
unconscious in his chair.  Reaching out, Mulder 
quickly divested the man of his gun and layed it down 
on the coffee table away from Alex.  

**What the hell had Krycek wanted this time?  And, 
how did he wind up unconscious on my couch?** Mulder 
wondered to himself.

"All right, Krycek, time to wake up," Mulder murmured 
as he took the water and splashed some of it onto the 
other man's face.  Krycek spluttered and came to 
suddenly, trying to reach for his gun and then 
realized he couldn't move his arms.

"What the hell..." he managed to get out before he 
noticed Mulder standing over him with a glass held 
above his head.

Mulder smiled slightly down at the man and asked, 
"Good morning, Krycek.  Have a good nap?"

"Mulder...is she still here?" Krycek asked as he 
glanced around quickly as if looking for someone.

"Is who still here, Krycek?  The only one here when I 
got here a few minutes ago was you, out cold on my 
couch.  Did you get jumped in my apartment, Krycek?" 
the FBI agent couldn't keep the amusement from his 
voice.  Krycek had broken in for Lord only knows what 
reason and had gotten jumped in the process, this
was a situation Mulder couldn't help but to relish.

"You are enjoying this situation way too much, 
Mulder," Krycek mumbled.  Alex knew that with the 
prosthetic, he could probably manage to get out of 
the cuffs, but if he was going to get Mulder to 
listen to him, it would be best for him to put up 
with the other man's abuse yet again.  

**Why do you put yourself in these situations?** Alex 
asked himself.

He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts, 
"Yeah, there was someone in here when I got here.  I 
had planned on waiting for you so that I could give 
you some information.  She was here already, though, 
rifling through your pictures and slammed me in the 
back of the head before leaving," the handcuffed
man paused and then asked, "Speaking of, do you have 
any aspirin or anything?  My head is killing me."

"All in good time, Krycek.  I want to know more about 
this woman who was here...and then I want to know why 
you keep feeling it necessary to break into my 
apartment," Mulder said, sitting on the couch across 
from the handcuffed man.

Krycek rolled his eyes, settling into the chair so 
that his right arm wasn't hurting from being sat on.  
"All right, Mulder, what do you want to know?"

"Who was she?" the FBI agent began.

"I don't know, I have never seen her before," Krycek 
answered honestly.

**Figures,** Mulder thought to himself, **Not that I 
can trust him to tell me even if he did.**  

"Okay, what was she doing?"

"As far as I can tell she was going through that desk 
right there.  She had a picture in her hand.  One of 
you as a young boy...with your sister," again Krycek 
shrugged and said, "But, then again, I could be 
wrong."

Mulder couldn't keep the sarcasm out of his voice, 
"Of course you could, Krycek."  He paused, a 
suspicion niggling at the back of his mind.  "What 
did she look like?"

"About 5'7", Brown Hair pulled back at the nape of 
her neck, hazel eyes..." Krycek looked sharply at 
Mulder in the light.  "Almost the same color as 
yours, Mulder.  Sure you aren't related?"

"Very funny, Krycek.  Just finish the answer," Mulder 
snapped.

Krycek grinned evilly at Mulder, having always loved 
playing games with the other mans head.  "Okay, 
okay...let's see...High cheek bones, distinctive 
voice.  She had on dark clothes and gloves.  She was 
trained...a real professional, Mulder.  Man, you have 
just way too many enemies, Mulder."

"Dammit, I knew she wouldn't keep away," Mulder said 
almost to himself.

"You know her, Mulder?" 

"Yeah, I think I do," he mumbled.  Suddenly, he 
pulled himself back and glared over at Krycek.  
"Okay, that doesn't explain why you continually find 
it necessary to break in here.  What the hell do you 
want this time, Krycek?"

"Oh, Mulder, I'm hurt...you mean you don't like it 
when I visit?  Just when I thought we were moving 
beyond the beat up on Krycek every time we see him 
bit," Krycek answered sarcastically. 

"Only if you quit showing up," Mulder quipped dryly 
back at him.

"I am here to give you some information, Mulder.  
It's on a disk in the inner pocket of my jacket," 
Krycek explained.

Fox stood up and moved over to Krycek, pulled back 
the man's leather jacket and reached in grabbing the 
disk.  Once he had the disk in his hand, he sat back 
down, staring at it like it were going to bite him.  

"What's on it?"

"Information on an organization that seems to be 
working against the Consortium.  Some sort of "Black 
Government" organization that you seem to draw to
you like a moth to light," Krycek answered 
truthfully.  "My people are a little concerned...have 
lost several people in the last few months.  And, it 
seems to 
all center around you, Mulder."

"Me?" Mulder answered, his brow furrowing in 
confusion.

Krycek snorted and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, you, 
Mulder.  Like I said, you seem to attract these 
people.  What is it with you?"

Glaring at him, Mulder answered, "Whatever, Krycek.  
Who the hell are these people?  Or, is that what you 
want me to find out for you?"

"I will find out more about them on my own, Mulder.  
I just figured you should be made aware of these 
people before they started trying to kill you too," 
Krycek shrugged again.  "Besides, they seem to be 
protecting you somehow.  This is something that is 
new to us as well.  We just became aware of them a 
few months ago ourselves.  Not sure what their agenda 
is, but they are big...and their operations span just 
about as far as ours do."

Mulder blew out a breath in frustration, shaking his 
head.  *Great, just what I needed.* he thought to 
himself.

"Mulder, I think you need to consider the possibility 
that this woman who was here tonight is part of them.  
I know she isn't one of ours," Krycek offered.

He glanced up at the handcuffed man and nodded 
slowly.  It looked like he had to find *Ms. Miller* 
again and find out what she was all about.  Damn, why 
couldn't 
his life ever be normal?

The FBI agent stood, moving quickly over to Krycek 
and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up and 
shoving him over towards the door.  As he approached 
the door, he pulled on Krycek's shirt to stop his 
forward momentum.  Mulder reached around and opened 
the door and then pulled out his key, releasing the 
handcuffs that were around Alex's wrists.  

With a push out the door, Mulder said, "Get outta 
here, Krycek."

Alex turned around and glared at Mulder.  "Hey, what 
about my gun?"

"It's mine now, Krycek.  I'm sure you can get a new 
one.  Now get going before I change my mind and 
arrest you for breaking and entering," Mulder said, 
motioning 
towards the exit.  With that, Mulder shut the door on 
Krycek's face and walked over to his couch, sitting 
down with a heavy sigh, the disk still in his hand.

He held the disk up in front of his face and stared 
at it as if looking at it alone would give him the 
answers to the questions running through his mind.  
He 
stared at it for a few moments before reaching over 
to pick up his phone, dialing the familiar number.

"Hello?" he heard on the other end of the line.

"Frohike, turn off the recorder," Mulder said by way 
of greeting.

"Gotcha," he heard.  After a pause and some 
undistinguishable noise in the background, Frohike 
returned to the phone, both knowing the recorder had
not been turned off.  "Done, Mulder, what can I do 
you out of?"

"I just got a visit from our friendly neighborhood 
Consortium thug with some information.  A disk.  I 
need help analyzing the information on it and 
determining what it means," Mulder explained.

"Bring it in, Mulder, we will do what we can," 
Frohike offered.  "Oh, and we've still had no luck 
finding information on your mysterious friend." 

"Thanks. Scully and I will be there in the morning.  
I will talk to you then."  With that, Mulder hung up 
the phone and stared at the disk, wondering what 
unknown information it contained.

*****     *****     *****     *****

Samantha sighed as she entered her hotel room.  She 
had gotten away, but only barely.  Krycek would have 
been found by now and told Mulder she had been there, 
she was sure.  It looked like it was a good thing she 
had disappeared into the woodwork.  It wasn't a 
victory by any means, more of a definite loss.  It 
seemed like her brother was able to anticipate her 
every move, and who knows what would happen now.  She 
shook her head and sat on the edge of her bed, 
wondering if the Order had caught wind of her recent 
escapades.

The picture...she reached into the pocket of the 
black leather jacket she had on and pulled it out.  
She smiled softly at the picture of the two of them 
as they were before her abduction.  **Why is it life 
always seems to take turns we never want?** she 
thought to herself as tears came unbidden to her eyes 
again.

Forcing the tears back, she set the picture upright 
against the lamp on the nightstand next to her bed.  
She walked over to the windows, shutting the curtains 
and then stepped into the bathroom, removing her 
clothes and preparing for a hot bath.  After the last 
few days, she felt she needed something to force her 
muscles to relax.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

"These files indicate that these are the same people 
we have been looking for for some time," Byers said 
as he stared at the computer screen in front of the 5 
people.  We have actually noticed the activity of 
this group as far back as 100 plus years ago, but 
have never been able to piece together the different 
actions into a cohesive unit.  Every several years 
something occurs that can be directly linked to some 
sort of underground government organization.  It's 
been rumored they even had something to do with the 
assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy.  This is the 
first actual proof we have that there might be 
another
conspiracy at work out there other then the obvious 
group that we have been dealing with the past several 
years."

Frohike added, "They seemed to have upped their 
activities these past couple of years.  These people 
don't have names, they don't even have social 
security
numbers just like most within the Consortium we have 
dealt with.  The difference is, they seem to be 
working *against* the group we have been trying to
expose.  We have even mistaken several of their 
actions for those of our associates.  It's unknown 
how deep this group goes, but it is believed to have 
as much power, if not more then those hiding the 
alien conspiracy.  Almost as if they have *allowed* 
the consortium to form and work with the aliens."

"Any idea if this Suzanna Miller is involved with 
them?" Mulder asked quietly, his mind whirling 
through a thousand different theories and emotions 
all at once.

Langley shrugged and replied, "Unknown.  She has 
disappeared yet again.  The hotel you found her at 
shows she checked out right after your visit.  We 
checked out the name and found 3 others with the same 
name.  All checked out.  One was 85 and in a nursing 
home.  One was a 5-year-old girl, and the last died 3 
days ago in a car accident.  Other than that, we've 
been unable to find anyone else within the DC area 
registered under that name.  Like your friend Krycek 
said, she appears to know what she is doing."

"Is there any proof that she is working against 
Mulder or trying to hurt his Mother?"  Scully added.

Shaking his head, Frohike stated, "None.  We don't 
have enough on her to even *know* what she may be 
plotting."

Mulder and Scully looked at each other, unspoken 
words heavy in the glance.  "So, basically we have 
nothing.  Even after all this information, is that 
what I am hearing, guys?" Mulder asked the trio known 
as the Lone Gunmen.

Byers nodded and glanced over at the two FBI agents.  
"Exactly."

Stepping away from the group, Mulder cursed softly 
under his breath, "Damn him!  Why did he give me this 
information only to send me into a dead end?"

"Mulder, perhaps Krycek knows more about this then 
these files suggest.  Maybe he thinks that this 
information is enough to give us what we need to
know in order to find out about this group," Scully 
offered a bit skeptically.

"Oh, come on, Scully, you don't mean you trust the 
information this rat bastard has given us, do you?"  
Mulder asked incredulously as he stopped in front of 
his partner and looked deep into her eyes.

"Not really, Mulder, but it warrants some 
investigation, don't you think?  Especially in light 
of the recent events with your Mother and this 
unknown 
woman," the woman returned in her usual tone.

He sighed and nodded, reluctantly agreeing with what 
she had said.  "Yeah, I suppose you are right.  I 
can't let this woman wreck havoc on my Mother's 
life."  
Mulder paused, his deep, intense gaze never leaving 
Scully's just as hers had not left his.  As his gaze 
remained on Scully, he addressed the three men, "All 
right, boys, what do we need to do here?"

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Her badge identified her as Susan McCullough.  She 
walked with an authority that allowed no questioning 
by those she passed in the hall.  Samantha had passed 
through the first three layers of security within the 
Pentagon and moved quickly towards her final 
destination.  Once this was complete, she would 
return to Boston and get out of this God-forsaken 
town for a while.

Her badge quickly allowed her access into the area 
and she quickly moved to the Officer in Charge.  He 
glanced up at her and recognition appeared in his 
eyes.  "Ms. McCullough, it is nice to see you again. 
My office is right over here, we can talk there."  He 
stood and motioned toward a door leading into a 
private office.

Once they entered, Sam shut the door behind her and 
turned to look at the man in front of her.  "Secure?" 
she inquired.

"Yes ma'am.  The office was swept just this morning 
and nothing was found," he replied quickly, sitting 
down in the chair behind his desk.  "Please have a 
seat."

"Thank you, Mr. Truscott," she replied as she took a 
seat on her side of the desk.

"Has the information been isolated?" she asked 
directly, skipping the pleasantries.

Truscott nodded and pulled out the file she had been 
speaking of.  "The split in the Consortium is now 
almost complete.  Battles between the two are 
inevitable at this point and we aren't sure how long 
they will keep each other in check.  We will keep the 
situation under close surveillance and control until
the eradication of those loyal to the original cause 
has occurred.  Our timetable is looking like another 
five to seven years.  All the equations have 
corroborated this."

She took the file offered and glanced through the 
information and nodded.  "This appears to be going 
along as predicted.  Has anyone given this 
information over to the Key?"

"Uhm, Ma'am, I don't know of anyone who is prepared 
to go that far," the man answered her quietly.

"It was agreed that he would be given this 
information.  Why has that not been accomplished 
yet?" Sam asked with a dark overtone in her voice.

"The last few who turned into informants against the 
Consortium didn't seem to last that long," he said 
uncomfortably.

"Obviously they didn't cover their asses well enough, 
Truscott.  I am not asking this as a favor.  I am 
telling you as an order.  You will give this 
iformation and any subsequent information over to 
Agent Fox Mulder.  And, if something happens to you 
in the process, I don't think that is too much to ask
considering the whole world is at stake right now, do 
you?" Samantha asked softly with a slight smile, her 
inflection indicating a deathly calm.

He glanced up at her, his eyes wide as he 
contemplated her words and nodded.  "You are right.  
I will arrange for this information to get to Mulder 
as soon as possible."

"Good, I am glad we understand each other," she 
stated and stood up. "Until next time, Mr. Truscott."

She turned and exitted his office, using her badge to 
open the secure door so she could leave the area.  
Once outside the room, she glanced up and down the 
empty hallway.  When she was satisfied that no one 
had seen her, she turned and walked quickly down the 
hall in the direction of the exit.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

The hallway was semi-deserted as Krycek turned the 
corner intent on leaving now that his work was 
complete.  His mind had not been completely on the
job at hand.  Since his encounter with that nameless 
woman a few days before, all he could think about was 
how she had gotten a jump on him and actually knocked 
him out.  He must be slipping

What bothered him even further was those eyes.  Her 
eyes...the ones that reminded him so much of...he 
still wasn't sure.  The eyes that seemed to draw 
him in and look directly into his soul.  There was 
something about her that made him want to know more 
about her.

Krycek shook his head to clear his thoughts as he 
turned quickly around the corner and the object of 
his sudden obsession stood entering her badge and 
code 
to enter the room up ahead.  Quickly, he moved back 
around the corner so that she couldn't catch him 
watching her.

**What the hell is she doing here?  And, how did she 
get in?** Alex thought to himself.  **Then again, 
some people would say the same thing about you...**

He leaned up against the wall, determined to wait 
until she came out again and then he would follow her 
until he was able to confront her.  What was she 
doing going into that office of all places..and did 
the others know about her there.  So many questions 
twisted through his mind as he glanced back 
around the corner, trying to watch for when she 
exitted the room.

As others passed by giving him quizzical stares while 
he leaned there against the wall waiting for her, he 
would glower at them and they quickly moved on.  No 
one wanted to get into a confrontation with the dark 
haired man who seemed to be waiting for something.  
He knew this would be his only chance to get close 
enough to her again to get some of the questions he 
needed answers to.  If he didn't take advantage of 
that now, they would never know who she was.

Finally, after approximately 10 minutes, he glanced 
around the corner at the sound of a door and saw her 
step outside of the room.  He pulled back and waited 
a few seconds before peeking around the corner again 
to see her hurrying past the next junction.  Taking a 
quick glance around to make sure he himself wasn't 
being watched, he moved into the hallway and followed 
her path.

*****

...End Part 2...

TITLE:  Equations for the Future I (3/5)
AUTHOR:  Tamara Freise

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Samantha hurried through the halls, finally exiting 
at the last turnstile.  As she stepped outside into 
the cool, autumn air, once again she glanced around 
to make sure no one was following her.  She thought she saw a flash behind 
her but upon further inspection it appeared to be nothing more then a Major 
turning the corner.  Shaking her head and chastising herself for her own 
paranoia, she turned and moved to the shuttle bus that was waiting to take 
those who had to park in the outer parking lots.

As he turned the corner, Krycek noticed the woman up 
ahead of him turn and glance behind her as if 
watching for something or someone.  He quickly ducked 
back and stood there for a second until he was sure 
she had moved on.  Again, he peeked around the corner and saw her stepping up 
into the shuttle bus.  Alex cursed silently to himself as he hurried to get 
through the final turnstyle and follow her to the parking lot.

Sitting on the bus, Samantha's mind turned back to 
the past few days.  Her nerves were definitely on 
edge as she rushed to complete her taskings and get 
back to her home in Boston.  But, she couldn't keep 
her mind off of her encounter with Alex Krycek.  How 
could she have been so stupid as to let him even see 
her in her brother's apartment.  She knew she hadn't 
had time to hide, but perhaps she shouldn't have let 
him stay there only to inform her brother she had 
been there.  She had little doubt Fox would know 
exactly who the woman had been.

Then again, she thought to herself, perhaps she 
unconsciously had wanted Krycek to let her brother 
know she had been there.  If only to keep her 
brother's quest for the truth about her going.  
possibly it had just been the look in Alex Krycek's 
gaze that had gotten to her.  He seemed so much like
herself...hiding behind a mask.  Those eyes...

She shook her head, forcing her mind back to the task 
at hand.  Glancing around she noticed no one watching 
her, but her emotions felt so raw that it felt like 
everyone around her could see right through her.

Alex ran through the parked cars, knowing the shuttle 
had to make a few stops to pick up a few more people 
before letting those off at the far parking lot.  He 
just hoped he was assuming correctly where she was 
headed.  He had only one chance at getting this 
right.  He made it to his car just as the shuttle was 
pulling up.  Quickly, he opened the door and got in, 
his breathing slightly labored from the effort of 
running almost a mile.

He watched out the back window as those who had riden 
the shuttle alighted the bus and moved in their 
different directions toward their various cars.  The 
last to leave the bus was the one he was looking for.  
She stepped off the bottom step and glanced quickly 
around casually as if glancing around for her car.  
He 
could see much more in the glance, though, as he was 
used to making them himself.  

Alex couldn't help but shake his head as he realized 
she was more like him in many ways then he would have 
liked to admit earlier.  She was very street wise 
and had training that belied the innocence he saw in 
her eyes.  She was a contradiction in many ways.  

Her car was about five spaces down from the shuttle 
stop and Sam moved quickly to her car, opening the 
lock with the remote that was on the key chain for 
her rented Ford Taurus.  She glanced around one last time before getting into 
her car.  Turning the key, she turned the car on and quickly moved it into 
the 
traffic that was leaving the Pentagon.  All she 
wanted was to get packed and catch a flight back 
home, this city was wearing on her nerves.

As the mystery woman pulled out of the parking lot, 
Krycek pulled his own car out of the space and cut in 
front of another drive so that he wouldn't be more 
then about 5 car lengths behind her.  It took 10 
minutes of turns and stops before she pulled into the 
valet parking area of the Grand Hyatt Hotel.  That 
made Alex chuckle to himself, she obviously liked to 
live on the high side of life.  This might be easier 
then he first believed.

Samantha stepped out of her car and handed the keys 
to the valet who greeted her and glanced around one 
more time.  She hadn't been able to detect anyone 
following so far, so she was beginning to feel a bit 
safer.  Now if her luck would just hold out until she 
could get out of the city.  

Alex watched her enter the hotel and quickly pulled 
his car into the valet area as well.  He stepped out 
of his own rented Dodge and hurried into the main 
lobby so he didn't lose his prey.  Taking a quick 
perusal of the lobby showed she was waiting in the 
line to speak with the front desk personnel.  He 
moved in two people behind her, keeping his back to 
her as much as he could, acting like he was people 
watching.  Which in reality he basically was so that 
he could watch his back.  

The last person moved out of her way and Sam quickly 
moved up to speak with the lady working the front 
desk.  Once there she asked, "Do I have any 
messages?"

"No, Ms. Moran, no one has called or dropped by to 
see you today," the desk clerk answered once she had 
checked.

"Thank you," Sam answered and moved off in the 
direction of the elevators.

Alex moved quickly to the front desk, as he put a 
name to the face that had been on his mind for 
several days.  He watched her closely to make sure 
she didn't get too far away.  Once at the front counter, Alex smiled a 
conspiratorial smile at the desk clerk and put a twinkle into his brilliant 
green eyes.  

"Hi, you see that lady right over there?" he said in 
a hushed tone, pointing to *Ms. Moran*.

"You mean Sarah Moran?" the clerk confirmed, smiling 
brightly back at him, falling for the charming 
gentleman she saw in front of her.

"Yes, Sarah.  She's my wife, and we had to go 
separate ways for business trips this past week.  
Well, today is our anniversary, and she isn't 
expecting me to show up.  I wanted to surprise 
her...the only problem is, she switched hotels mid-
trip and I am not sure of what room she is in here at 
the Grand Hyatt.  Do you think you could help me out 
with that?  So I can get her flowers and surprise up 
to her?" he gave her his most gracious, innocent 
smile and hoped that the woman was a romantic at 
heart.

"Oh, how romantic!  Of course I can help you," the 
woman answered instantly.  "She is in room 1402.  Is 
there anything I can do to help with your surprise?"

Alex chuckled at the young woman behind the counter 
and replied, "No, I think I can handle this one all 
on my own, but thank you for the help, you have been 
great!"  With that, he passed her a twenty-dollar 
bill and moved quickly toward the elevator he had 
just seen Ms. Moran use.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Samantha entered her hotel room intent on packing her 
bags and going to the airport.  As she pulled out her 
suitcase and set it on her bed, the phone rang.  
Shaking her head, frustrated at the interruption, she 
answered the phone.

"Yes?" she said by way of greeting.

"Samantha, there is an emergency meeting being called 
and you are required there ASAP," Markus voice said 
on the other end of the line.

"Well, hello to you too, Markus," she said 
sarcastically.  "What is the meeting about?" Sam 
asked, the smug tone of his voice worrying her.

"It seems that you have had some contact with a 
certain Mulder family and there are some who are 
concerned that the Agenda is in jeopardy.  Perhaps 
you could explain?" Markus stated and she could just 
see his self-satisfied smile on the other end of the 
line.

"No, I am afraid I can't.  Not over the phone at 
least.  When do I need to be there?" she asked, her 
heart in her throat.

"The meeting convenes tomorrow morning...8am.  I 
suggest you be there, because I am not sure I can 
cover for you if you don't show up," he said with a
hint of warning in his tone.

"I'll be there," she stated firmly.  "My business 
here is complete and I was just about to catch a 
plane to Boston anyway.  I will see you in the 
morning, Markus."  As she finished that, she hung up 
the phone afraid her temper might get the best of 
her.

Just as the phone hit the switch hook, her door burst 
open and slammed shut with a loud bang.  She tried to 
grab for her gun and turn at the same time, instantly 
alert to the danger and heard a voice say quietly 
behind her, "I wouldn't do that if I were you.  Put 
your hands where I can see them."

The voice was a familiar one.  A voice she had heard 
in her dreams the past few days along with her own 
brother's.

"Turn around," he said firmly, "But keep your hands 
where I can see them."

Samantha took a deep breath and slowly turned around, 
holding her hands away from her body so Krycek 
wouldn't get any notions about shooting her, though 
she couldn't be assured he wouldn't do that anyway.  

"What do you want, Mr. Krycek?" she inquired in a 
voice that was in total control.

"Shut up," he almost snarled as he moved closer to 
her but stopped a few feet away from her.  "Take your 
gun out and lay it on the bed.  And, I wouldn't 
suggest even twitching because right now I am not 
sure my trigger finger wouldn't twitch in response."

With a sigh, she reached around behind her and slowly 
removed her gun with her index finger, making sure 
that when she brought it around, in was held upside 
down and he could see she couldn't fire it.  At that, 
she laid it down on the bed.  Then she stood back up 
again with her hands going out from her body once 
again.

Alex stepped back a few steps and motioned to the 
chair near the table.  "Sit down," he ordered.  
Slowly, with her hands held where he could see them,
she moved slowly over and sat down in the chair 
indicated.  Sam concentrated on keeping her breathing 
even, not wanting him to even think that he was
getting to her.  She acted totally unconcerned that 
she had a gun pointed in her general direction by a 
man who was quite ready to blow her head off if he so
much as felt like it was necessary.

"So, Mr. Krycek, you didn't answer my question.  What 
is it I can do for you?" she asked as her bottom settled into the seat.

He glared at her for a moment or two before 
answering, "I'm looking for some answers, Ms. 
*Moran*.  And, *you* are going to give them to me." 
As he finished his statement, he began circling the chair slowly, making sure 
his 9mm stayed trained on her at all times.  

Sam kept a mental track of his movements around her 
and kept quiet for a moment before she asked, "To 
what questions, Mr. Krycek?"

"What are you doing here in Washington?" he asked 
finally.

"I had some business I needed to conduct.  It is 
done, and I was going to be leaving for home this 
evening.  That is once you leave me to pack," she 
said with a confidence she didn't feel.

"Where's home?"

"Up North, New England area."

He stopped in front of her with a glare, his eyebrow 
raised at her vague answer.  "More specific?"

"Can't get more specific then that," she said with a 
small shake of her head.

"Now, why is it I figured you would say that?" he 
asked as he suddenly, without warning grabbed the 
back of her neck and held her face close to his, his 
eyes penetrating deep into hers.  "I'm not playing games here, Ms. Moran.  I 
want some answers, and I intend to get them," he hissed out through clenched 
teeth.

"And, I will tell you what I can," Sam answered, 
staring back into his eyes, seeing the anger rage 
behind the green veil of his eyes.  "But, frankly,
Mr. Krycek, anything you can do to threaten me is 
nothing compared to what my employer can do if they 
were to find out I talked to you, so I am not afraid 
of you...or what you will do to me."

He looked into eyes that were so much like looking 
deep into a mirror.  He shook his head and stepped 
back, realizing she was in the same position he
himself had been in not so long ago.  Perhaps still 
was in many ways.  Alex nodded slowly in recognition 
of what she had said acknowledging that he at least
understood her reasons for being circumspect in 
answering his questions.

"Who are you working for?" he asked as he slowly 
continued moving around her yet again.

"An organization much like yours, Mr. Krycek.  One 
with similar goals and tactics but who goes about 
business a little differently than does yours," she
answered honestly.

"What do you do for them?"

"Whatever needs to be done to preserve humanity," she 
stated.

He stopped in front of her at that and stared down at 
her appraisingly.  "To preserve humanity, eh?  You 
aware of the aliens?"

Sam couldn't help but smile slightly at that and 
nodded as she answered, "Yes."

"Fighting against them?"

She cocked her head to the side slightly, 
"Possibly...in a round about way, yes."

His eyes narrowed as he continued to watch her 
reactions.  She didn't flinch once during their whole 
encounter, and he almost was sorry for having grabbed 
her the way he had.  Her reactions were like images 
of his own...how he would react to a situation.  Her 
eyes taking all in yet giving nothing back in return.  
If only he could get through to her...He could tell, 
though, that this was wearing on her.  She was quite 
good at putting up defenses, quite good at dealing 
with what others could dole out, yet there was a 
softness about her...an innocence he wanted to grab 
onto like a lifeline.

**Stop being a fool, Alex, she is the enemy.  Who 
knows what she is capable of!** he thought to 
himself, and stopped, knowing full well what she 
could truly do if she put her mind to it.  Of that, he had no doubt.

"What were you doing at the Pentagon today?" he fired 
at her, watching her eyes, not releasing her gaze 
from his.

"Work," she replied simply with a enigmatic smile.

"You are almost as hard to deal with as I am, Ms. 
Moran, I am impressed," he said, tipping his head in 
tribute to her stubbornness.

She chuckled and her smile turned fairly genuine as 
she replied, "I believe I will take that as a 
compliment."

"You should..."

Samantha glanced down, the intimacy of the gaze 
shared between them almost too intense for her to 
handle.  **What the hell are you doing, Samantha?** 
she asked herself.  **He is the enemy...let's leave it at that.**

Alex began walking around her again, his gun never 
wavering, "What do you want with Mulder?"

"To protect him."

"From who?"

She took a deep breath before answering, "From 
you...your organization," she paused before stating 
softly, "From himself."

Chuckling, Alex responded, "I think that last is 
Scully's job.  And, I can protect him from my group.  
And, I don't think he needs to worry about me...so, 
that leaves someone protecting him from...you.  I 
think that is going to be my job."  He stopped 
walking right behind her and the muscles in her neck 
involuntarily stiffened.

"You haven't heard the last from me," he said as he 
lifted the hand that was holding the gun, "But, 
unfortunately I owe you one."  With that, his hand 
came down and slammed into the side of her head in 
almost the same spot she had knocked him out the 
other night.

"Goodnight, Ms. Moran.  Thanks for the information 
I'm sure I can use it to my advantage," he murmured 
softly as he came around the chair and brushed her 
cheek with his hand.  He almost regretted being 
forced to do that...almost.

As she lay there unconscious, Alex moved around the 
room pulling out drawers and opening the closet 
looking for anything else he could find out about
her.  As he was going through her purse, he found her 
Pentagon ID Badge and pulled it out.  

**Susan McCullough, eh?**  He filed the name away for 
future reference.  Once he had gotten all that he 
felt he was going to in this encounter, he quickly 
moved to the door and took one last glance back at the woman sitting in the 
chair before leaving the room and locking the door behind him.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Samantha stood outside of the brownstone, glancing up at the windows on the 
upstairs floor where those of the ruling council sat convened ready to judge 
her 
actions in the overall scheme of things.  She was sure many had already run 
the equations through the computer and were ready to pass sentence on her 
actions.  Now if she could only convince them that what she had done wouldn't 
ruin the overall plans...if they would just let her have some latitude in how 
she handled things from here.

She reached up and touched the back of her head where she had a nice lump 
from where Alex had hit her the night before.  Sam had expected him to do 
something 
of the sort, and hoped that he considered them even now, because she had a 
feeling things were going to get quite interesting within the next few days, 
and 
he played a major role in that.

Entering the building, she walked up to the guard at the door and nodded.  As 
she waited for the door to be opened, she asked, "Who is here?"

"Everyone, Ma'am.  That is now that you are here," he replied promptly and 
then opened the door so she could enter the main complex.

The size on the outside belied the actual size of the building inside.  This 
wasn't simply one brownstone, but a whole block that had been linked together 
to form a large complex capable of holding all the research and computers and 
whatever else was necessary for the Orders work.  The cover story was that it 
was used as a huge think tank full of scientists and researchers doing 
classified government work and after all these years, that cover story had 
held.

She walked through the halls and quickly climbed the steps to the second 
floor.  The room she needed was up ahead when she finally slowed and gathered 
her emotions and thoughts, knowing that this meeting would be a turning point 
in several people's lives.  Sam took a deep breath and then opened the door, 
entering the room.   All conversation stopped as those inside watched her 
closely, studying her as if under a microscope.  Several inside her friends, 
several borderline, and several outright hostile.  This was going to be an 
interesting meeting.

Samantha glanced around the room and tried to judge the looks on their faces. 
 Markus she expected to be outright hostile, his tone on the phone the day 
before proving what his feelings were on the subject. 

As her gaze passed each one, important men and women within the government 
and industry she knew things would be touchy and that they might be here all 
night.  Her eyes fell upon one who hadn't attended a meeting in many 
years...someone she knew was a friend.  He smiled slightly to her in support 
and nodded a greeting.  Senator Matheson...he would watch out for the 
interests of her and her brother beyond all else at this point.

"So good of you to join us, Ms. Mulder," Markus stated with a sarcastic tone 
in his voice.

"I got here as quickly as I could.  I was up almost all night waiting for a 
flight out from Dulles," she explained.  Of course, if she hadn't been 
knocked out for who know how long, she would have made an earlier flight, but 
she didn't vocalize that to the group, afraid of the repercussions.

Matheson motioned to a seat near the door, "Have a seat, Ms. Mulder.  We have 
much we have to go over."

She nodded and took the seat indicated.  This was more then a Quorum, she 
could tell, this was a full tribunal and she was going to have to defend 
herself to all of those in the room.  Defend her actions and try to make 
those in the room understand why she had done what she had.

"Samantha, it has come to our attention that you have had contact with the 
Mulder family despite the decision made by a quorum of this group.  There has 
been a confrontation in your hotel room that involves
you speaking with Agent Mulder.  He did a search in the area of the hospital 
that Mrs. Mulder was in over a year ago for a certain Suzanna Miller.  One of 
your aliases, I believe?" Sirus Cartier asked by way of getting the meeting 
opened.

He was one of the elders who had taken a step back in recent years to let the 
younger members of the council rule before he faded out completely.  He had 
always been a friend of her and her father and she knew he would support her 
as far as he could.  Sirus was the oldest living member of the council left.

"Yes, it is one of mine.  And, I am not quite sure what has led Agent Mulder 
on a quest to find out who I am.  It could be anything.  But, I believe that 
this increases our need to inform him of the truth," Sam answered.

"You are turning this into a personal issue, Samantha.  We can't afford that 
sort of personal vendetta to cloud our agenda," Markus stated. 

"I was promised years ago when I agreed to this path that I would be able to 
reveal who I was soon.  In my opinion that time has come and gone and still I 
have to live under this veil of lies and obfuscation.  I am not letting the 
agenda or order down, it is my opinion this group and this council is letting 
me down.  I am as dedicated to our agenda as I was when I first joined this 
organization seventeen years ago but sometimes I wonder what happened to our 
original vision," she answered totally truthfully.  

This was the first time in several years that the whole council was meeting 
en toto and she intended on taking advantage of that and trying to get a few 
matters settled.  Matters that had not been discussed for several years 
because not enough people were convened.  Her brother was only one of those.  
As
she glanced over at Markus, she saw the worry in his eyes and knew he was 
reading her intentions.  The corner of her mouth quirk up in mild amusement 
as he
took a deep intake of breath.

"The man who promised you that you would be reunited with your family is 
dead, his personal issues with him.  The council has determined that it would 
not fit into the equations if he were to be informed," Jonathan Arcon leaned 
forward and stated darkly watching her closely.

Samantha shook her head the pain evident in her eyes.  The man who had raised 
her and trained her to take his place on the council was indeed dead and the 
pain would never ease until it was determined how he had died.  "And, I 
agreed with those recommendations at the time, but it is now eight years 
later and those reasons are no longer valid," she stated, the pain kept from 
her voice.

"You can't transform the Order into your own personal army to get what you 
want.  The equations demand certain actions..."

"The equations can be wrong!  We have proof of that.  Dammit, why do we keep 
letting this denigrate into a verbal sparring match?  We all want the same 
things, right?" she said loudly, watching all those around her.  "We are 
fighting for the survival of the human race.  I have run the equations myself 
and the revelation that his sister is alive will not make a difference.  If 
anything, if we play it right, we can strengthen his resolve."

"You said it yourself that the unpredictability patterns..."

"Do not apply here!  This is something that has nothing to do with his battle 
against the enemy," Sam took a deep, steadying breath, realizing as she 
paused and saw the satisfied look in Markus' eyes that she was allowing him 
to pull her into an altercation that would get them no where.

Quietly, she spoke into the silence and passed out a sheet of paper to each 
of those assembled, "We have a critical juncture coming upon us.  As it 
appears the 
future can move in two separate directions from that point.  It is my 
contention that if Mulder has not made peace with this sister by this point, 
then it won't go in our favor.  This is a time when the two must work 
together to stop the forward momentum towards the end of the world and 
colonization.  
That doesn't mean that the colonization won't happen, just that it will slow 
the date of arrival and give them the time needed to stop it."

The silence changed to one of total shock as the equations showed themselves 
to the group.  

"Why weren't these revealed before?" Matheson asked into the quiet.

Sam glanced over at Markus, the one in charge of notifying the council of any 
change in the equations.  His face was a mask of impassivity as she answered, 
"I don't know.  I believe they were hidden among more overt problems that had 
to be dealt with immediately and that these were not caught by the readers."

"What is this with the Krycek man?  It says here that he will be a part of it 
as well.  We know we cant trust his equations," Syrus asked her directly.

"I don't know, but that is what the equations indicate.  He always seems to 
be a part of any major movement towards our goal.  Even as unpredictable as
he is.  He is an enigma, a man who is pivotal to these goals, yet totally out 
of our realm," she answered, standing and walking over to the window to 
stare out at the park beyond.  "The equations are there.  They don't lie."

What she didn't say quite yet was what else the precious equations had 
revealed to her.  It was almost too much for her to accept and it wasn't time 
for them to know of the possible breach in their midst.  She turned and 
watched Markus once again, her heart breaking at the prospect that he would 
betray all he had worked towards his whole life.

He was watching her closely a look in his eyes that she wasn't able to 
decipher.  No, he wasn't the same man she had known so long ago.  He opened 
his mouth and spoke, "Equations can be manipulated.  They can take on a 
totally different meaning if given to the wrong people."

Syrus looked at him sharply, "Markus are you saying that Samantha would be 
anything but forthright in her dealings with this council?"

"I'm just remarking on the obvious, not trying to disparage Samantha's 
obvious emotional plea."

Samantha closed her eyes for a second, afraid that many in the council agreed 
with her former lover.  When she opened her eyes, she stared at Matheson
and he nodded slightly with a small smile on his face as he said, "I believe 
we must make a vote on this situation.  I move that that vote take place now."

"Agreed," Syrus said in his deep, gravely tone.

Sam stood watching as the group determined the fate of her and her family.  
Yet again turning over control of her life to those she stood with to
protect the fate of the world and mankind.  She had given up her rights to 
determine her own fate when she had made the decision to stay with this group 
when she was eighteen.  But that had been made under the promise that she 
would soon be able to reveal all.  Now, she just might get that chance.

The elder man stood quickly as the votes showed in favor of her exposure.  
With a small smile he looked over at her, "I think we all know what you have
given up and sacrificed for our cause.  And, I believe we all know you did 
not have to give what you have.  I am happy to tell you that we have decided 
you can reveal yourself to your brother.  There is only one thing that we 
ask."

"Yes?" was the only word she could manage to force out.

"Our Order is not to be revealed to this man.  I believe it is quite well 
known exactly what he feels of paragovernment organizations that work outside
of normal laws."

She smiled slightly and nodded, "I have already thought of that eventuality 
and have determined it in the best interest of the group that I not reveal
our purpose."

Matheson looked at her in sympathy and nodded as he stated, "I believe that 
is all for now?"

Markus looked as if he had just swallowed a lemon.  But as he answered, his 
voice was steady, "Yes, we are done here."  Then he stood and walked out 
quickly.

Sam turned and stared out the window as the others exited the room.  It felt 
like she had traded one load for another.  Now she had to actually tell her 
brother who she was, and try to get him to understand and believe.  Sometimes 
that was harder to do with Fox Mulder than anything, his paranoia was set so 
deeply.

Matheson was the last to leave, but as he walked toward the door, he stated, 
"You know where I am.  If you need anything, contact me."

The young brown-haired woman nodded and followed after him after a few 
moments, wanting nothing more then to get back to DC and speak with her 
brother. She stepped out of the brownstone and paused before walking down to 
her car, neglecting to notice that from the shadows of the deepening night in 
the
park across the street she was being watched.

Krycek narrowed his eyes.  He had watched as all those inside had left the 
building.  A veritable Who's Who of the many power bases around the country.  
Quite an interesting group Ms. Moran seemed to spend time with, he thought to 
himself.  He waited until she had gotten into her car before turning and 
leaving the park for his hotel room.

*****

...End Part 3...


TITLE:  Equations for the Future I (4/5)
AUTHOR:  Tamara Freise

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

"Mulder, do we even know what we are doing here?" Scully couldn't help but 
ask her partner.

"Huh?  Oh, yeah, we do, Scully.  There was a murder, remember?" Mulder 
answered her distractedly as he got out of the car.

"I know that much, Mulder," she said as she gave him a glance out of the 
corner of her eyes and followed him out of the car.  "I meant, why this one?  
We 
weren't sent here for any reason, and as far as I know, the local authorities 
haven't requested our help."

Mulder held up as his badge as they approached the crime scene tape and 
Scully followed his lead.  The officer pulled up the tape and let them pass 
into the 
house.  Halfway to the house Mulder stopped and looked down at his partner.  
"Because, Scully, the name of the victim is Susan Martin."

"Susan Martin?  Mulder what does that have to do with anything?"

He glanced up and over her shoulder, his eyes going blank for a second before 
looking back down at her.  "Because those are the same initials used by the 
woman at my mother's house.  *And* the same initials of my sister.  I think 
there is a connection there someplace.  We haven't heard anything on the 
woman's 
whereabouts for four days and the fact that this just suddenly turned up is 
too coincidental for my taste."

Dana Scully placed her hand on her hip and glanced down for a second as she 
had often done when dealing with her frustrating partner.  "Mulder, many 
women have those same initials.  It doesn't mean that this is the same woman 
who was at your mother's house."

"I know that, Scully, but what if it is?  I have to know.  If it isn't, then 
we will just move on.  But, I have to *know*."

"Why, Mulder?  Why has this one woman so totally consumed your interest?"

"Because she was at my Mother's house.  I want to know what her story is," he 
said as he turned to enter the house.

Scully grabbed his arm and stopped him short as she replied, "Mulder, there 
is more to this than that, isn't there?"

Exhaling sharply, Mulder looked deep into his partner's eyes, realizing that 
he was never very good at keeping things from her.  "There is just something 
about her, Scully.  I can't explain it.  But I have to know."

At that, she released his arm and nodded, prepared to back up her partner 
despite what she may think of his motives.  She motioned into the house 
indicating she would follow him into the crime scene.  He smiled
slightly and squeezed her arm in appreciation of her support and then entered 
the house.

Mulder walked up to the detective in charge and asked as he showed his badge, 
"What happened here?"

"Looks like someone broke down the door and gunned down those inside.  Three 
victims total.  Who called the FBI in?" Detective Lyons asked.

"I happened to hear the name of one of the victims.  I believe she may be 
involved in one of the cases I have been working on," he answered.

"It's just another gangland shooting, I am not sure how one of the victims 
could be involved in any case involving the FBI, but we would welcome any 
help you 
could offer," the officer stated.

Scully had moved over to the bodies that lay under plastic covers and lifted 
each up in turn checking out the bodies underneath.  

"Mulder..." she called over to him.

Her partner held up a hand to the Detective asking him to hold on as he 
walked over to where Scully sat squatted holding up the cover.  "Two males, 
one
female, Mulder.  All appear to have died from multiple gunshot wounds," she 
paused to allow her words to sink in and then motioned to the woman under 
the tarp, "Is this her, Mulder?"

He squatted down next to her and looked sharply at the body underneath.  With 
a sigh, he shook his head and stood.  "No, that isn't her," he said and 
turned and walked out in half relief and half disappointment.

The detective watched him leave and Scully stood walking after her partner, 
saying to the detective as she moved past him, "I'm sorry, but she isn't the 
one 
we were looking for.  Thank you."

As she approached the car she saw Mulder leaning against the door on the 
driver's side, disturbed by all that was going on.  She moved around the car 
and 
looked up into his eyes.  "Mulder, are you okay?" she asked softly, laying 
her hand on his arm worried for her partner.

"What's going on here, Scully?  Is she working with Krycek or with this other 
mystery organization?  And, who is she, Scully?  Who is she?" He asked 
looking 
at his partner.

"I don't know, Mulder.  But, we will find out.  One way or the other, we will 
find out," she promised.

As he nodded, she squeezed his arm in reassurance and said, "Come on, Mulder, 
let's get something to eat."  

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Samantha approached the man sitting on the bench staring at the Washington 
Monument beyond the lake.  He seemed so lost sitting there alone staring out 
at 
nothing.   She approached him from the side, so that it wouldn't appear as if 
she was sneaking up on him.  As she neared him, he glanced up at her, almost 
expecting to see Scully instead of the mystery woman he had been 
investigating these past couple of weeks.

He glanced up at her and his gaze hardened as he opened his mouth and spoke, 
"What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you, Fox," she said softly as she motioned to the seat 
next to him.  "Is this seat taken?"

He glowered at her use of his first name, but he let it slide for now as he 
motioned her to sit next to him, his curiosity piqued.  He wondered what it 
was 
she was here for.  She seemed more then a bit apprehensive and tense.  She 
sat down slowly, the muscles in her back and shoulders stiff as she sat down 
and looked over at her brother.

"You have been wondering why I have been spending time with you mother and 
getting to know her.  In fact, I know you have been doing your best to 
investigate who I am and what I do," she began.  **This is harder than I 
expected** she thought to herself.

Mulder snorted a bit at that and answered, "You could say that.  But, that 
isn't anything you didn't already know.  And, I am sure you also know that I
haven't found anything out."

She nodded at that.  "Yes, I do."  Sam bit at her lower lip and continued, 
"This is harder then I realized it would be."

"Why don't you just get to the point?  I don't have all night...you are on my 
time right now," he said, irritated.

"Fine," she said as she watched him and decided the best approach would be to 
just confront the situation directly.  "Fox, as hard as this may be to 
believe, 
I am your sister, Samantha."

"Oh, come on, you can't possibly expect me to believe that!" he said standing 
up and walking a step away from her before turning to look at her sharply.  
"You 
don't even look like the others.  If they think they can pull this on me 
again, they are sadly mistaken!"

Samantha looked at him confused.  She had expected outright denial, but what 
was it with others? 

"Others, what *others*?  I know of no others...just
me."

He looked at her and her genuine confusion struck a chord deep inside of him, 
yet he pushed it down, not wanting to accept it.  "The clones...you can't be 
my 
sister.  You don't even look like they do.  What kind of game are you 
playing?"  he asked sharply as he grabbed her arm and pulled her up to stand 
in front of him.

"Look, I don't know of any clones or anything else!  I just know who I am."

"Then where the hell have you been all this time?" he hissed out at her, his 
pain turning into anger.

Her heart broke at the pain she saw veiled behind the anger in his eyes.  If 
she could have found any other way to do this, she would have, but there 
really was 
no other way.  "I just found out about a year and a half ago myself.  I was 
half afraid of the reception I would get!" she answered with a slight lie.  
At that, she looked down pointedly at his hands grasping her arms tightly as 
she answered.

Then she looked back up at him, tears forming in her eyes, wanting nothing 
more then to run and avoid this confrontation.  "I'm not asking for blind 
belief 
here.  Do whatever tests you feel you have to.  A PCR...whatever.  Ask me any 
questions you need to.  I'm willing to do anything you deem necessary to find 
out the truth and believe it!"

He stared down at her and then pushed her away as he stepped back and turned 
away from her.  Mulder's thoughts were whirling around inside his head.  Part 
of him was refusing outright to believe her story.  This had all been tried 
on him before.  What could they possibly want from him now?  Yet, part of him
wanted desperately to believe.  Had known there was some sort of connection 
with this woman from the instant her had met her.  His shoulders shook with 
the effort to control his emotions, to keep the pain at bay and try not to 
allow it to cloud his thinking.

**I don't have to believe what she says until I check into it...** Mulder 
thought to himself.  **And chances are it will all prove to be a lie, so what 
would I be out?  Then again, what if she really is Samantha?  What would they 
want with her?**

Mulder turned back to her, his eyes veiled behind a mask of impassivity.  
"There is only one person I trust to run the test.  Let's go." He said as he
grabbed her arm and steered her toward the street where his car was parked.  
She went with him willingly, knowing that if she were ever going to get him 
to believe her, she would have to play this the way he wanted.  He wouldn't 
accept it any other way.

Once they were in his car and on their way, he picked up his cell phone and 
dialed a number.  "Scully, I need you to meet me at work...I know what time 
it 
is, but I need you to run a test for me.  I'll explain it all when we get 
there...Yes..." At that, he hung up the phone and looked over at Sam.  "We're 
going to FBI Headquarters and my partner will run the PCR."

She sighed and nodded, fully prepared for a very grueling couple of days.

For a few moments they sat in silence, each in their own thoughts when 
suddenly Mulder spoke, breaking the uncomfortable stillness, "You were 
there...at my 
apartment, weren't you?"

Samantha just stared out the window silently and nodded.  Finally she 
answered quietly, "Yes."

"Why?" he asked, wanting answers.

"Stupid whimsy, I suppose," she said with a shrug.  "I wanted to find a way 
to feel closer to you...hell, I am not even sure."  Her frustration was 
evident and 
he believed she wasn't completely sure what she had wanted to accomplish.

"You took a picture," he stated more then questioned.

Her eyes glazed over in memory and she continued to stare out the window, 
sudden tears coming to her eyes.  She nodded slightly as she answered, 
"Yes...I 
remembered when it was taken.  In Rhode Island...the summer home.  We had 
been down to the beach all day looking for shells...you had shown me all the 
different kinds.  Despite the fact that earlier that day, some of your 
friends had come to try to get you to go play baseball with them...you chose 
to spend 
the day with me...because that...man...was visiting again.  The one who 
smoked all the time.  They had all been arguing again."  She shook her head, 
pulling 
herself out of the memory.  "The picture gave me a little of you...even if I 
couldn't tell you who I was.  I hadn't planned on the way things have gone 
these past few days."

She glanced over at him and saw that her words had a deep affect on him.  Her 
brother seemed to be fighting back tears of his own, fighting an inner
battle of belief and suspicion.  "How did you know about that?" he hissed out 
at her, glancing over at her, his own eyes a cloud of pain.

"Because I was there, Fox.  I lived through it with you," she answered 
steadily, watching him closely.

"I don't believe that," he answered firmly, getting hold of his emotions once 
more and staring straight ahead at the road, preparing to turn into the 
parking 
garage of FBI Headquarters.

"I didn't expect that you would...at least not yet.  Once the tests are back, 
perhaps that will change," she stated softly.

"We'll see," was all he could say as he pulled into a parking place and 
quickly turned the car off, exiting quickly and walking over to grab her arm 
again as 
she exited the car herself.  He held on to her arm as he guided her through 
the guard's station, signing her in hastily and then escorting her to the 
labs used so often by his own partner.

They entered the lab, his hand still holding firmly to her arm, his distrust 
obvious in that contact.  As they entered the room, he instantly glanced 
around 
for his partner and saw her over at a desk by the windows, studying a file 
from their latest case.  Scully instantly glanced up upon hearing the door
open.  Her eyes narrowed as Mulder lead in the tall woman.

Scully stood quickly and moved over to her friend and asked, "What is going 
on here, Mulder?  Your phone call was so cryptic."

Finally, Mulder let go of Samantha's arm and motioned her to a seat, which 
she took quietly, waiting for him to explain the situation to his partner.  
"She," 
he started, his hand instantly indicating the woman sitting down, "is the one 
who was at my Mother's house that day.  And...is claiming to be my sister."

The female agent's arms crossed over her chest as she glanced over at the 
woman and then back at Mulder.  "Hasn't this been tried before, Mulder?" she 
asked.

He nodded curtly and answered, "Yeah, it has.  I'm frankly surprised that 
they would try it again."

"Look, I said I don't know anything about anyone *else* who may have claimed 
to be your sister," Samantha couldn't help but argue, exhaling sharply.  "I 
know who I am...and am here to prove that to you."

The two partners ignored her, concentrating on each other with a 
single-minded determination that seemed to enter into many of their 
conversations.  The pair 
seemed to think in tandem with one another as if there were a link that no 
one else could see.  Sam sat back in her chair and listened silently and 
observed their interaction.

"Do you think she is with *them*?" Scully asked, returning to their 
contemplation from a few days before.

"I don't know," Mulder answered honestly.  He didn't know what this woman's 
agenda was, but he wanted to find out.  

"You want to run a PCR?" asked Scully, her voice taking on a clinical tone.

Mulder nodded to his partner, his eyes showing the inner anguish and turmoil 
he was doing his best to not show on the outside.  "I want to know if what 
she says is true.  And, if it is, then who were those other women?  Were they 
really clones?  Or, perhaps she is."

"Let's take one step at a time, Mulder.  Once we have the PCR, we can 
determine our next course of action," Scully suggested.  Once he nodded in 
reluctant agreement, she stated, "I need to get a blood sample from both of 
you."

With that, Scully moved quickly over to one of the lab tables and began 
grabbing the necessary items to get the blood samples.  Mulder glared down at 
Samantha, anger again taking the forefront of his mind.  It was definitely an 
easier emotion to deal with than the uncertainty that niggled at the back of
his mind.  She couldn't be who she said she was, he argued with himself.  
But, if that were true, why did he feel such a connection with the woman 
sitting in 
front of him.  So, he retreated behind his anger, refusing to accept any 
answer until they had the results from the tests.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Mulder used his key to unlock his apartment door.  He had Samantha enter 
ahead of him, but he still glanced around quickly upon entering to make sure 
everything was as he had left it.  Dropping his keys on the table to his 
left, he guided the woman into his living room.  Scully had stated she could 
have the 
PCR results done by the next day, and Mulder didn't intend on letting this 
mystery woman out of his sight until he had the answers he so desperately 
sought.

"You can sleep in there, and I will stay on the couch," Mulder stated as he 
motioned into his bedroom.

Sam glanced into the room indicated and raised her eyebrow upon seeing the 
bed piled high with papers and boxes.  "All right," was all she answered out
loud, moving to take a seat on the couch.

He took a seat in the chair and watched her every move, as if she would just 
disappear on him at any moment.  The direct attention he was giving to her, 
and the suspicion in his eyes caused her to be self-conscious and more than a 
little irritated at the way things were turning out.  She had hoped, though 
foolishly, she knew, that he would be receptive to the idea of his sister 
being alive.  She wanted to know more about these *others* that she had heard 
him 
refer to a couple of times.  If there had been others claiming to be his 
sister, why was she not aware of the situation?

Her brother reached over for the phone and stated, "I'll order pizza." He had 
studiously kept their conversations away from anything dealing with her
claim up to this point, but wasn't sure he could keep his own curiosity down 
for much longer.

After he had hung up the phone, she asked him quietly, "Who are these others 
you keep referring to?"

He watched her reaction and knew that regardless of her story, she seemed 
totally confused about the existence of others.  "Clones...supposedly.  One 
showed up and claimed to be my sister.  The clones were all killed several 
years ago.  Or so we thought.  Then again, earlier this year, that cigarette 
smoking 
man that you were speaking of earlier tonight brought another woman to me.  
She said she was my sister and he had raised her.  Told that her family was 
dead.  You look nothing like any of the others.  So, obviously someone is 
lying here."

Mulder watched her closely as he told her the story and explained why he had 
such a hard time believing what she had to say.  Not that he wasn't a 
naturally 
suspicious person to begin with, it was just a matter of circumstances that 
she had not been aware of impeding her acceptance as his sister.

Samantha nodded in understanding.  If it weren't for the fact that she had 
full memories of her whole life and knew the choices that had been made to 
bring her 
to where she was, she would almost question the situation herself.  "I can 
understand your hesitancy to accept what I have purported then," she answered 
quietly.

"But," he continued, "if what you are claiming is true, who are those others?"

She looked at him thoughtfully and answered, "Natural evolutionary shift as 
the genes are mutated and developed into a new entity, perhaps?  Or, possibly 
they altered the clones genetic makeup for some unknown reason...to further 
whoever's cause it is that did it.  And, as a result her physical appearance 
could have changed slightly at well.  Or, perhaps she isn't related to you in 
any way at all.  How can we truly know?"

"How do you know all of that?" he asked, watching her sharply, wondering just 
how much she did know of the Consortium and their agenda.

"I have a degree in Biology and Chemistry from Oxford...with a minor in 
Mathematics," she answered honestly.

"Oxford?" he asked in surprise.

She nodded and bit at her lower lip.  "Yes, Oxford.  I would have been there 
as a freshman when you were in your senior year, I believe.  I wish I had 
known then who you were."

"How do you know that?" he asked sharply.  

"Your mother told me.  She is quite proud of you, you know?" she answered 
truthfully.

As he stood up to pace, a knock sounded on this door.  He grabbed his gun out 
of it's holster and moved quickly to the door, glancing through the peep 
hole.  
When he was certain it was the pizza deliveryman, he placed his gun into it's 
holster under he jacket and opened the door, handing the man a 20-dollar bill 
and telling him to keep the change.

He brought the pizza into the living room and placed it on the table between 
them.  They sat silently for about five minutes as they ate their pizza, both 
in contemplation about the past few hours.

Finally, Mulder glanced over at her and asked, "Where is it that you work?"

She looked up at him and answered, "DOD."

"Department of Defense?" he asked.  When she nodded, he continued, "Civilian?"

She nodded again.

"What do you do for them?" he watched her closely, weighing how much of what 
she is saying was true.

"I work in intelligence," she said with a sigh.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Mulder mumbled.  He looked at her sharply 
and asked the question he had truly been wanting to ask, "How long have you 
known?"

She looked at him and stood, walking over to the window to stare out at the 
street below.  Samantha took a deep breath before answering quietly, "About a 
year-and-a-half.  I was on a case.  In  Texas.  Out in the middle of nowhere 
checking on a lead."

"You make it almost sound like you are working for the FBI," he remarked 
dryly.

"No, far from it," she answered before continuing. "It was late at night and 
all of a sudden there were these lights overhead and my car stalled out...the 
next thing I know, I look at my watch and it was some time after when it 
should have been and the lights were gone."

"Lost time..." he offered, listening.  

She turned and looked at him and shrugged, "I don't know.  Probably.  At 
least that is what my therapist seems to think."

"Therapist?" Mulder asked.

"Regression therapy, actually.  That incident prompted me to start having 
dreams...which lead to flashbacks.  Memories trying to surface that I had 
repressed so far down inside of me that I am surprised they have come back at 
all."

Mulder glanced up at her with that guarded distrust on his face again and 
responded, "The regression, that is how you found out."  

**Do they really think I am going to fall for this story twice,** Mulder 
thought to himself as he left her in the living area and entered the kitchen 
to place the box in the fridge so that he could have cold pizza for breakfast 
in the morning.

Samantha nodded and replied, "It opened the door, yes.  I still have so much 
to sort through in my mind.  All the memories are there now, just a
jumble at times."  She looked at him closely, seeing the closed look on his 
face again and sighed.

"You don't believe me," she commented to him as he returned.

"It's just too easy," he answered.  "There are too many questions that remain 
with that story for me to believe.  Not only that...it has become a very 
familiar story.  Too familiar."

"The other Samantha...the one claiming to be me...she gave a similar story, 
didn't she?"

He looked at her cynically but answered in a dry tone, "How did you guess?"

Samantha sighed and shook her head, returning to the couch to think as Mulder 
walked into the bedroom to prepare the bed so she could sleep in it.  After a 
few moments, she stood and walked over to the door, leaning on the jamb.

"I don't know about those others, Fox.  But I know who I am...I know what I 
saw.  I hope that one day you can accept that," she said to him, her eyes 
watching him closely for any sign of softening.

He ignored her as he continued moving things from the bed onto the floor in 
the corner and answered, "We'll know more tomorrow.  Until then, this subject 
is closed."

*****

...End Part 4...


TITLE:  Equations for the Future I (5/5)
AUTHOR:  Tamara Freise

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Samantha woke to the sound of her brother answering the phone, "Mulder." She 
glanced over at the small clock on the nightstand next to the bed as she 
strained her ears to listen to what was being said on this end of the phone 
call.  It was 8am.  Later then she was used to sleeping.  Then again, they 
hadn't gotten into bed until after midnight the night before.

As she tried to hear what was being said, a sudden knock was heard at the 
door.  He had already hung up the phone and was trying to wake her up.  She 
pulled herself out from under the warmth of the covers and
stood, moving over to open the door to reveal her brother's anxious face. 

"I'm awake.  What was that?" she asked, biting at her lower lip.

"The results are in.  Scully wants us to come in for the results," he 
answered curtly, looking for all the world as if he hadn't slept at all the 
night before.

Samantha nodded and asked, "She worked on it all night?"

"Scully wants to know the truth about this just as much as I do," he answered 
as he moved through the door on his way to the bathroom.

Glancing down, the woman pulled her hand through her hair realizing that the 
relationship between the two hadn't been exaggerated in the reports.  It was 
wondered upon by those in the Order when Scully and
Mulder would finally admit their feelings for each other and move their 
friendship to the next level.  Sam had no doubt now that was true.

The TV had been left on all night.  She had woken up vaguely a couple of 
times and heard the channels being changed and surfed.  Obviously nothing 
good was on at 2am...or 3am...or 4am for that matter.  Samantha glanced at 
the pictures on the desk and smiled slightly at those of her and her brother. 
 She felt almost guilty for his insomnia...it had been
her abduction that had triggered it when he was 12.

She heard the door close behind her and knew her brother was changing clothes 
in preparation for going into FBI headquarters.  Sam walked over to the bag 
she had packed and took out her brush, pulling it through her long, brown 
hair and wrapped it loosely into a bun on the top of her head, letting a few 
tendrils escape around her face.  She hadn't planned
on spending the night at her brothers apartment or she would have brought a 
change of clothes as well.

Sam walked into the hall and glanced at herself in the mirror there.  Her 
clothes were slightly wrinkled, but she knew that the would straighten 
themselves out as she wore them and the wrinkles would fall out, so she 
wasn't too concerned.  She pulled out some makeup out of her purse and 
touched up her face and by then her brother had come out and
was looking closely at her as if under a magnifying glass.

"Yes?" she turned and asked him.

He shook his head.  "Nothing.  Let's go."

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

They went through the same routine of checking her in and getting her an 
escort badge and then her brother ushered up to the third floor where Scully 
was waiting for them.  Appearing as if she hadn't slept much the night before 
either.  They both wanted to know the truth of this mysterious woman and it 
appeared they were willing to lose sleep to find
it out.

Scully glanced up at they came in, her glasses only accentuating her face.  
She smiled slightly at her partner and motioned them over to her.  Mulder 
guided Samantha over to the table Scully was sitting at.  

"Well?" he asked without preamble, anxious to find out that this woman was an 
imposter just like all the others.

Pulling out the results, Scully glanced in sympathy at her partner, knowing 
he was wanted so desperately to know.

"These are your PCR results, Mulder," she began pulling out the first 
transparency-type plastic sheet.  "And, these are hers," she finished, 
pulling out the other sheet and overlaying the two together.  There were 
circles at different spots on the sheet where the two results seemed to 
coincide perfectly.

"According to these results, there is a 95% chance that she is your sister," 
Scully answered, watching Mulder for her reaction.  When he didn't answer 
right away, just stared at the results in front of her,
she continued, "I think you will also find the results of the X-Rays that I 
took interesting."

Scully led the pair over to the lighted boxes on the wall and pulled out a 
set of X-Rays.  She placed all four on the wall at once, pointing to the 
first one that was apparently of a collarbone with a hairlike line across it. 
 "Mulder, this indicates a break in the collarbone that healed some time ago. 
 See the calcium deposits?  It is basically a scar left where once there was 
a break," Scully explains.

Staring at the X-Ray, Samantha moved in almost in a trancelike state, lost in 
her memories.  Her right hand drifted up to the spot on the X-Ray.  "I was 6 
and had climbed up a tree...Mother had just called us
in to dinner and you were trying to get me down.  I slipped and 
fell...landing wrong I guess...you did your best to help me, but they had to 
rush me into the Emergency Room anyway," Mulder's sister said in
a quiet voice as she glanced up at his profile.

Mulder winced and closed his eyes, the reality of the situation descending 
upon his like a weight.  He had always thought this would be the happiest 
moment of his life...why couldn't he just revel in the fact
that he had his sister back?

"Mulder, there is something else," Scully said urgently.  She moved slightly 
so that they could all see the other three films.  "This is of the back of 
her neck...and these two of her sinus cavities."  She
motioned to the small, dark splotches that appeared to be tiny cylinder type 
implants imbedded into the areas indicated.

"Tell me those aren't..." Mulder started.

"They are, Mulder," she said as she laid a hand on his arm in sympathy.

"My doctor told me not to have them removed or it could have serious 
repercussions on my health," Samantha explained to the two.

Mulder and Scully glanced at each other with that unspoken communication they 
had perfected over the past 6 years and Mulder glanced at his sister and 
asked, "How did he know that?  And, did he tell you what would happen?"

Samantha just shrugged as she replied, "I don't know how he knew...and as for 
what would happen...no, he didn't tell me.  I just trusted that what he said 
was true."  Sam bit her lower lip and glanced up at Fox,
her eyes a bit troubled, as she asked quietly, "Is this something that *they* 
did to me, Fox?"

He looked at her sharply and answered by not answering, "I want you to go 
through regression again.  To the night you disappeared.  But, 
with me there...and with someone I trust doing the treatment.  Will you do 
that?"

Sam glanced away uncomfortably, worried about what else he could delve into 
while she was under, but knowing that there was no other choice.  Slowly, she 
nodded in acquiescence.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Mulder stood off to the side watching the woman who was, as far as all 
evidence stated, was his sister.  He still wondered at his reaction.  As far 
as he was concerned, he should be jumping up and down with 
joy...yet there remained so many unanswered questions.  Like where she had 
been all this time?  Who had raised her?  Why she hadn't contacted them 
when she first had found out who she really was?  It all didn't add up.  And 
then there were Krycek's files and warnings to consider.

**What the hell are you doing, Mulder?  Trusting Krycek over your own 
sister?** he asked irritably of himself.  He realized that was exactly what 
he was doing.  Her story just didn't sit right with him...and that hurt him 
more then anything.

Samantha lay in a trance in the reclining seat at the end of Doctor Werber's 
couch.  He had skillfully taken her deep into a hypnotic state and was just 
beginning his questions.  The pair had come to him 
and explained the situation and now he was trying to get to the truth of that 
night so long ago.

"Samantha...I want you to let your mind drift back...you are eight years old 
and sitting in the living room of the house in Rhode Island.  You and your 
brother are there...what are you doing?" he began.

Her voice took on that far-away quality Mulder knew to be that of someone 
under hypnosis.  "We are playing a game.  Fox is teasing me," she answered 
with a smile and continued, "About my trying to get 
him to play the game with *my* rules.  He won't let me.  Says we have to play 
it like the rules in the box say it should be played."  Her face took on
a pouting look that rivaled Fox's own pout that he affected sometimes.  
Mulder couldn't help but smile, remembering that part clearly now.

"What happened then, Samantha?" the doctor led.

"A light...so bright.  It surrounded the house.  I suddenly couldn't move.  I 
called out to...Oh, God...I am being lifted!  'Fox!!!!  Help me!!!!!'  He has 
always been there in the past to help.  He can't 
move either...he is calling out to me.  He wants to get to me, but can't.  
I'm screaming...and he is screaming...and all the while I am floating toward 
the window.  'Oh God...what is happening to me?!?"  
Samantha had tears falling down her face, her head was shaking back and forth 
in denial of what she saw happening in her mind.  She reached out with her 
right hand, trying to reach out to her brother in her mind.  "Fox, help me!!!"

Mulder gasped out as her memories coincided with his own of that night.  
Tears were streaming down his face and he quickly moved to take her 
outstretched hand.  "I won't leave you, Samantha.  I will never leave you 
again.  You're safe now," he choked out softly through his tear-laden voice.

That seemed to quiet the woman as she was lost in her memories.  Her head 
quit thrashing back and forth and her breathing stilled slightly.  Fox knew 
now, that regardless of what had kept her from him and his
family all those years, this was his sister, and he would never leave her 
again.  Whatever she was involved in could be worked around one way or the 
other...but he was never letting her go again.

"What happened after that...who took you?" Fox spoke, wanting to know the 
truth he had sought for so long.  

"Samantha," Doctor Werber started, "What happened after that?  Where did you 
go?"

"Up...into the light.  They carried me there.  And then I was on a 
table...and they were all around me," Samantha answered, getting agitated 
again.  Mulder squeezed her hand slightly to let her know 
he was still there.  He glanced over at Scully, who was standing over by the 
door, pale.  Fox tried to catch her eye, but she was totally focused on what 
Samantha was saying.

"Who are *they*?" 

"I am not sure who...or what...they are.  They appear to be gray...with large 
eyes.  I don't know what they are.  They are all around me...and then 
suddenly they are gone and I am left alone in the room.  There are 
all sorts of needles and other instruments...I didn't know what was going on, 
but I kept calling for Fox, knowing he would save me if he could.  'Who are 
these people?  Why are they doing this?'" she said aggedly.

"How long were you there, Samantha?" the doctor asked.

"I don't know...but...he saved me.  The man who came and visited our parents 
so often.  The one who smoked all the time.  He told me my family was 
dead...that he was going to see to it that I was always taken
care of," Samantha expounded.

Fox's hand reflexively tightened and his eyes hardened as he realized the 
implications of her words.  The bastard had taken his sister and then kept 
her from them all this time!

"Did he keep you away from us all those years?" Mulder asked, knowing she 
wouldn't respond to his voice, he glanced over at the Doctor, asking with his 
eyes to ask the question.

"Is he the one who raised you all those years, Samantha?" Werber asked 
encouragingly.

"No, he placed me with a family...at least until the others came," she 
answered, her breathing suddenly becoming labored once more.

"Samantha, what others would that be?"

"The ones who came with guns...they fought...Oh God!!  They killed them...the 
ones who took me.  They killed the people who had taken care of me.  They 
shot...she's lying in front of me.  Bleeding...then they took me...oh..." 
Samantha's head was thrashing back and forth again, her memories haunting her 
mind.  Her hand squeezed her brother's hand tightly and he grasped back, 
giving her the support she needed so
desperately.  Suddenly, without warning, she gasped and her eyes opened, the 
images assaulting her mind too much for her.  She had seen many worse things 
in her life, yet looking at things through the innocent
eyes of a 10 year old again caused the horror to seem so many times harder to 
deal with.

Samantha looked at her brother, his hand holding hers while tears silently 
streamed down his face at the horror she must have experienced as a child.  
Matching tears were falling from her eyes onto her 
chest as she looked deeply into her brother's eyes and for the first time 
since telling him two days before seeing the love she had longed for for so
many years.

Mulder's hand reached up and touched Samantha's cheek softly and suddenly she 
was pulled into his embrace tightly.  She grabbed onto him just as 
forcefully, the comfort from his arms allowing her to compose
her mind and emotions slowly.

"You will never be alone again, Samantha.  I promise you that," he whispered 
softly into her hair as they embraced, he on his knees in front of her on the 
couch.

>From the door, Scully watched quietly, a small smile on her face as she 
watched the two reunite for the first time in over 25 years.  This was what 
Mulder had wanted for so long...she hoped it would be enough 
for him.  To find oneself bereft with your goal suddenly attained and not 
another one in sight had been known to devastate even the strongest of
lives.  She hoped Mulder was able to overcome that.  A silent tear streamed 
down her face as she watched her partner happily, hoping that Samantha 
wouldn't cause more problems in his life then she solved.

"I never thought you would accept me.  I was so scared that it had been too 
long.  That you would have moved on and wouldn't trust that I was who I knew 
I was," Sam said as she sniffled a bit on Fox's shoulder.

"Hey, we have all the proof we need, Samantha.  You are my sister and I know 
that," he answered, pulling away from her to frame her face in his hands.  
"We are a family and nothing can ever take that away from 
us again. Nothing!"

When she nodded in agreement, he continued, "We need to go tell Mom."

He stood and turned to his partner, "Scully, can you cover for me with 
Skinner?  Tell him I am taking a 2 week vacation or something.  But, I have 
to get Sam up to our Mother's house so we can give her the truth."

"Two weeks, Mulder?  Don't you think you should come and request that 
yourself?" Scully asked skeptically.  She always wound up doing the paperwork 
anyway, or it wouldn't get done, so she figured she would do it for this as 
well.  Then again, Dana couldn't think of a more important reason for her 
partner to leave on vacation then the return of his sister.

"Harder for him to deny it if I am already gone, Scully," Mulder answered 
with a grin.  "Besides, if I asked for it before I left, he might think I was 
up to something.  I never ask *before* I go."

"And heaven forbid you break a stellar record?" Scully asked in bemusement.

Mulder stood, pulling his sister with him and answered his partner as he 
turned to the Doctor, "Exactly, Scully." 

He held out his hand and shook the doctor's hand as he said, "Thank you, 
Doctor Werber.  You have no idea how much this meant to me."

"I'm glad you finally found what you have been searching for, Fox," the 
doctor answered genuinely.

Fox put his arm around Samantha's shoulders and steered toward Scully.  The 
trio left the therapists office and entered the elevator to descend to the 
lower floor.  "Let's go get something to eat, you two.  I'm starved," Mulder 
suggested, his heart feeling lighter then it had in years, his concerns 
over his sister's activities temporarily pushed to
the back of his mind.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

"Sam, relax.  It isn't like this is the first time you have met her.  She is 
going to be just as happy as I am," Fox told his sister as they got out of 
the rental car he had gotten at the airport.

"But this is the first time I will be telling her who I really am," Sam 
answered uncertainly.

"Which should make things easier, you don't have to lie any longer," Fox 
stated and laid his hand on the small of her back as the pair walked up to 
the front door.

"Relax," he reiterated to her as the pair walked into the house.  "Mom..." he 
called out once they had shut the door behind them.  He grabbed Sam's hand 
tightly, seeing the look in her eyes.

Suddenly, out of the kitchen, Teena Mulder walked out into the foyer where 
Fox and Sam stood waiting.  "Fox, what are you doing here?  Suzanna?"  When 
she saw her son holding on to her friends hand, her brow
raised slightly, misunderstanding the hand holding as she continued, "I take 
it you two connected in Washington?"

Mulder glanced over at Samantha and then at his mother.  "Mom, we need to 
talk to you.  Why don't we go into the living room?"

Her brow furrowed at that, and she moved into the kitchen as Fox let go of 
Sam's hand and laid his hand on the small of her back leading her into the 
living room as well.  "Have a seat, Mom," he said, taking
control of the situation.  Then looked at Sam and ordered,  "You too."

The two women sat down next to each other on the couch under the window and 
Mulder took the chair across from them.  He leaned forward, his elbows on his 
knees as he glanced down at the coffee table 
between them for a second before looking up into his Mom's quizzical gaze.

"Fox, what is going on here?" she asked firmly.

He took a deep breath and started, "'Suzanna' came to me a few days ago with 
a wild story that I at first didn't want to believe.  But...I checked it out. 
 And, I ran the tests...and I believe what she told
me."  Fox glanced over at Sam and nodded for her to continue.  They had 
discussed it and determined it would be best coming directly from her instead 
of him.

When Sam paused, Teena looked at her sharply and asked, "Suzanna?"

Samantha took a deep breath and looked up into her mother's eyes.  "Teena..." 
she glanced over at her brother who nodded in encouragement.  "I needed to 
tell you...that I am...What I mean to say is...about a year and a half ago I 
began having these...dreams.  They led me to believe that there were some 
things about myself that I didn't know about.  I had some regression therapy 
and found out a few things about who I was."  

She paused, the lie weighing heavily on her, wishing she could tell these two 
the full truth.  It had been a relief that Fox had allowed her story to stand 
for now.  But, she feared that wouldn't last forever.

Finally, she glanced at Fox again and then she continued, "I found out that 
my real name is Samantha Mulder.  I came around a year ago because I wanted 
to get to know the woman who is my mother...but I was afraid to tell anyone 
because I was worried that no one would believe me."  She finished the last 
part of her story in a rush, hoping it all made sense as it came out all at 
once.

Blinking, Teena stared at her for a moment and then looked over at her son.  
"Fox?"

He nodded, the tears forming once again at the sheer joy of having his sister 
back.  "She's telling the truth, Mom.  We did the DNA tests and a few other 
tests as well.  I am certain it is Sam."

"But...the others?  How?" Teena asked, confused.  She had thought her 
daughter alive before, but had been wrong.

"I don't know, Mom.  And, I can't go into much more detail then that anyway.  
But, she *is* Samantha.  I am sure of it," he answered firmly, glancing at 
his sister reassuringly again.

Sam watched the full range of emotions as they flashed over her mother's 
face.  Denial...fear...confusion...denial again...and finally some semblance 
of acceptance.  She looked at her daughter questioningly.  

"Sam?" was all she could manage to force out, tears forming quickly in her 
eyes.

The younger woman nodded, the tears already in her eyes as they had been so 
many times in the past few days.  "Yes...it's me...Mother..." she said 
hesitantly.

Teena reached up and lightly caressed her daughter's face, looking into her 
eyes deeply, trying to discern the truth from this young woman.  "That's why 
your eyes drew me instantly.  They are your brother's eyes
as well.  I should have figured this out long ago."

Samantha Mulder was crying in earnest now as she shook her head, "You 
couldn't have known.  I wasn't even sure I wanted you to know.  I was so 
confused.  But, seeing Fox a few weeks ago just brought it all back...I knew 
I had to tell you.  I wanted my family back again!"

She found herself instantly enfolded in her mother's arms as Teena stated 
firmly, "You should never have feared how we would react!  I have wanted this 
day for so long...and I finally have you back."  She pulled back and put her 
hands on Sam's shoulders, "Where have you been?  Who raised you?  There are 
so many questions I want to ask..."

Fox sat forward and offered, "Mom, I arranged to have the next two weeks off 
so we could all spend some time together getting to know each other again.  
Why don't we save the hard questions for later?"

Their mother glanced at Fox and saw something unreadable in his expression 
and relented, just happy to know that this woman was her daughter.  She 
hugged Sam close again and the pair cried on each other's
shoulders in sheer joy at being able to hold each other close once again.

END

Author's Note:  Well, what do you all think?  This was my first endeavor into 
the world of Fan Fiction.  I hope you all like it!  Is it worth a Sequel?  
Please send all Feedback to TLFreise@aol.com  and let me know!