From: Lauren Newby Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1998 16:41:17 -0400 Subject: New-Foolish Games (1/6) FOOLISH GAMES (1/6) By Lauren Newby & Melissa Persia Feedback- PLEASE!!! To trustno1@home.com & I'll foreward it to Mel, too. Catagory-SRA Rating- PG Summary-After Gesemine, Scully deals with Mulder's death, Mrs. Scully deals with resentment, the Black Cancer is tested and Mulder ponders his life's choices... Spoilers- Everything up to and including Gesemine Keywords- Mulder Scully Romance Gesemine Black Cancer Archive- Please ask my permission first before sending to speciality archives. PLEASE FOREWARD TO GOSSAMER & ATXC Any archivest who would like to story as a whole or in larger parts can contact me at my above E-Mail addy. Disclaimers - We, the authors of X-File Fan fic, in order to preserve the fine balance, establish romance, ensure more UST, provide for the common thoughts, promote general GTM, and secure the blessings of "the Look" for Mulder and Scully. To have an ordained minister Establish this constitution of love. With this, we, hereby, do not want to intrude on any copyrights of material used herein. It all belongs to CC, 1013, & FBN. Everything else is ours. See also the End Disclaimers. Dedication - To Ralph, the monkey transvestite & Cheese, to whom without, this never would have been possible. And to Cracker, without whom we never would have met. This is a follow up to "Gesemine" which made us all cry. :( P.S. -(In tiny duck voice) Not his story, my story. Based on his story. Romance, beware. Elelator goes down the hole . . . ______________________________ Scully's Apartment 11:21 P.M. Outside the thunder rumbled in a late spring thunderstorm, inside, Dana Scully's mind was filled with the turmoil of an emotional storm. Hours ago she had reported to the FBI internal affairs council that "Agent Mulder died late last night from an apparent self- inflicted gun shot wound to the head." Now she sat in her apartment, his old afghan blanket wrapped around her shivering body. She wasn't cold, she even had the fire place in her apartment going, but she couldn't remove the deep chill from her bones. And no one, no one could have removed the pall that sat on the FBI that next day. The looks, the whispers, the sideways glances. Only one person could make her stop hurting, and he was never coming back. Ever. Now, as the tears rolled down her face in a never-ending stream, she wondered if she should have, could have had the courage to tell him how she felt. If she had known, would she have said something? But she had known, in some flippant way. She was dying, rapidly. The cancer was spreading, and she had always thought she would be the first to die. But at least she would be with him soon. Now, with no real friends, and a family that resented her, all except her mother, what did she have to live for? Why should she seek treatment if there was no reason to go on living? At least, maybe, he was happy. Maybe he had some of the answers that he had searched for all his life, and maybe, just maybe, he was waiting for her on the other side. Maybe now he knew how much she loved him. She snuggled deeper into the blanket that he kept at her house for some unknown reason, along with his pair of sweats that she was wearing now. In some way it was a comfort to feel his clothes against her skin, to smell his faint musky smell on the blanket, his own manly smell on his Oxford sweats. In some way it made her feel as though she owned a part of him, like if she just held onto these things that he was never as far away as he really was. He never wore these sweats, and she knew why. He never wore any of his Oxford stuff if anybody but her was going to see him. He once told her that it brought back bad memories, but then why wear it at all? She thought that he thought it was a way of saying "I'm better than you, I'm smarter than you" without really meaning it, so he only wore them around her because she knew how smart he really was. She probably knew he was smarter than he would admit to himself. Mulder never gave himself enough credit. No one ever gave him a reason to. Throughout her time working with him, Scully had met his family and . . . other . . . acquaintances. And none of them had ever displayed an inkling of approval of Mulder. They all made him part of their agenda, their games, their twisted lives. No one had ever given him a smidgen of approval, she didn't think anyone had even ever said "I love you" to Mulder. For a psychologist, he had a lot of unresolved issues. But she would have said it and meant it, she would have shown Mulder how to look at the world with new eyes. She would have shown him how to let his feelings break down the walls around his heart, how not to let his Father's tormenting words and scorning remarks belittle him. She would have shown Mulder that love doesn't have to hurt like it did with the bitch from Britain, that she would love him right back and he never would have had to worry about rejection. But now she couldn't do that. She could never have the chance to do that. All she could do was be the only one to mourn the loss. No, her mother would mourn Mulder's passing. Her mom had loved him like a son, and now she . . . now there was no one left. Her life had become a tragedy, a living horror story. What more could she give? Her life? Her service? The FBI had already taken those things. Her body? The cancer had ruined it beyond repair. Her mind? She could leave it to science, but then who would want it? The only thing left to give had been taken five years ago by that dapper agent who sat in the basement. She had given him her heart, her soul, and all she was to become. In many ways, that first day had begun her life. Now that she looked back, everything before that day seemed pointless. Every experience seemed like a waste. Mulder made her life vibrant. There was a new surprise around every turn, and, even though she never let him know, she liked to listen to his theories. She liked to listen to his uniqueness, the unorthodox ideas that belonged only to him. And she loved the fact that she was the sole recipient of these ideas, he ran them past her before anyone else, and he would, in turn listen to her more scientific answers, giving her equal time, and respecting her opinion. And now he would never do that again. All because of her. All day she had thought of what had happened, why he had killed himself, and she could find only one answer. She had driven him to it. She had known how much he wanted to believe, how he wanted this to be his answer, how his search for the truth should not have been in vain. And she shot it all down. Dana Scully, trusted college, was the one to tell him that his answers were wrong, that it was all fake, that she never believed. But she did. Dana believed like she had never believed before. While she was sitting in their office after her meeting with Skinner, she had the amazing urge to do the one thing he never let her do before - read her own file. He never let her read it, and now she knew why. It was traumatic to see. The results of the hospital's tests, the unofficial tests of the Lone Gunman, the eye witness accounts of Mulder's actions when she was in the hospital, all of it. No wonder he didn't want her to see it. Then, behind it she found the papers to a follow up report. It described the fertility clinics and the cloned boys, he even wrote, with a lot of pain by the way it sounded, of her stolen ovum. And, at the very end there were a few stapled pages of personal thoughts; a unique touch that made Mulder's reports his own. It was, apparently, an open letter that attributed to the necessity of keeping her in the X-Files, how the solved rate went up, and how she's kept him in line. The second page was an open letter of a more personal nature, describing how she had helped his sanity, kept him from delving into the far reaches of a killer's mind more than once, and forced him to look at the cold, hard facts. It almost sounded as if he saw her as a savior. And she had no problem with it, she just wished she had known sooner. The tears began to flow again with an intensity she had never experienced before, even for the death of her father. But, she still felt that nagging part of her saying that maybe he could be alive, maybe there was a chance, but she dismissed it. There was no chance. Mulder was dead. And she would never see him wear one of his bad ties again, or see him sitting there in the office wearing a shit-eating grin and cracking sunflower seeds between his teeth, she would never again hear him crack a bad joke, or perhaps the thing she would miss most, he would never again put his hand on the small of her back and lead her anywhere. It was all so unfair. He never had a chance to live, to do the things he wanted, to find Samantha, to see her tatoo. She felt a stiff breeze fly through the room, and its force blew out her fire, but at the same time seemed to wrap its invisible arms around her. She tried to imagine it was Mulder, after all, he did suffer from pyrophobia. It made the tears stop coming for a second when she thought of him as a spirit, living with her. Maybe it could be that way, she thought, just until my time runs out and I'm ready to join him. Dana didn't sleep that night. ______________________________ Location Unknown 12:45 A.M. The darkness enveloped him. The week form sat in his small cell, consumed by his own morbid thoughts. Would there be anyone to mourn him? Who would comfort Scully? It was a chance, a huge risk that he had to take. After all, what was his life worth without her? THEY had promised him the cure for Scully's cancer in turn for his life and his service. He had not hesitated for a second in his decision. He only hated the way he had to say goodbye... ______________________________ Offices of the Lone Gunman 10:54 AM "We're so sorry Scully." The whole group wore black, from Byers in his deep charcoal suit to Langley in black jeans and a plain black t-shirt. "Is there anything we can do?" Frohike asked as genuinely concerned as the last time they thought they lost their friend for good. "No Frohike," Dana said through the tears. "I'm coping." Last time she couldn't will herself to cry, now she couldn't stop. "Wha- What did you want to see me about?" "Two days ago, Mulder came to see us." Langley began softly. "It began like any other visit, but before he left, he asked us to do him a favor." "He asked us to give this to you." Byers held out an envelope with her name printed on it in Mulder's tell tale scrawl. "He told us to give this to you if anything happened to him." "We thought he just had a close call and was taking care of a few things," Frohike swallowed the growing lump in his throat. "We never thought..." "No one did, Frohike," Dana said as the tears poured out, undaunted. "No one could have known. Thanks you guys. You were real friends to him. Please, come to the funeral. It would make me feel better to see all his friends there." "We'll be there, Scully. Just let us know if you need anything." Frohike escorted Dana out of the building. Dana thought as she left to drive back to her apartment. _______________________________ Dana Scully's Apartment 11:10 AM When she got home she let her tears return full force as she looked at his last words that were meant only for her. She retreated to her captain's chair and wrapped Mulder's afghan around her as she turned the letter in her hand. Finally, with a rush of tears, she opened it. Dana, When you get this I will be gone. I have gone to a place where you cannot and must not follow. Please. You must realize and you will see that I am doing this for your own good. I had no choice. What ever happens, you must remember that I have and always will love you. This isn't the way I ever dreamed of telling you, but I'm just chicken shit at heart. Maybe I was afraid of your rejection, you know my track record. I know that you would never intentionally hurt me, but I just don't think I would have been able to bear hearing you say that you just wanted to be friends. I love you so much, and you have to believe, that if I can, I will come back to you, as soon as it's possible I'll return. I feel that we were meant to be together. Oh, and if your thinking, "But Mulder, I thought that slut Melissa was your soul mate?" You're wrong. I was listening to the tapes. Presuming a soul can't reside in two bodies at the same time, Melissa couldn't have been Sydney and a polish man at the same time. I think I just wanted to believe so badly, but don't ask me why. Maybe the Government put more LSD in my water or something. But, anyway, isn't reincarnation just a way of coming back to find happiness, and once you do, isn't your soul free? I wish it could have been any other way for us, but I saw no alternative. Maybe, someday, you'll be able to hear the truth about all this, but now you have to be brave, I don't mean that you should hide away your emotions and give the office gossips another reason to call you the Ice Queen, hell no. You are the most caring woman I know, you've been more compassionate to me than my own mother. Your mother had adopted me as another son during those missing months, and I love you all for that. But, please believe that I love you with all my heart, and I will come back to you. Please, give my best to your mother and tell her I love her. Break it gently to my mother, she's very fragile. LOVE YOU ALWAYS Fox The tears wouldn't stop. He loved her. He really said it. And now he was gone. end 1/6 Foolish Games 2/6 By Lauren Newby & Melissa Persia trustno1@home.com I'll foreward all your messages to Mel, too. Here's part 2... _______________________________ Mrs. Mulder's House Martha's Vineyard 2:00 PM Dana had forced her tears to subside long enough to tell Mulder's Mother. She had to, there was no one else who cared enough. She walked up the drive way and rang the doorbell. Through the etched glass she saw the fair, silver haired woman come to the door. "Oh, Ms. Scully, right? How are you? Please, come in." Mrs. Mulder showed Scully into the dainty living room. "I know it seems a bit forward, but, why are you here? Is something wrong?" She didn't know how wrong things were. "Mrs. Mulder," The lump in her throat grew by the second, her tears threatened to spill out. "I don't know how else to say this. Fox is dead." She could barely croak out the words, it hurt so badly. "He committed suicide two nights ago." The tears would not be dammed as she began to speak. She watched the older woman's resolve crumble. Surprised by her own actions, Dana reached over and hugged the older woman. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I miss him so much!" It seemed wrong to be comforting this woman who had only caused pain in Mulder's life, but she couldn't help it. Besides, Mulder would have wanted someone to be here for her. No matter how wrong it seemed. _______________________________ Margaret Scully's House 8:00 PM Her eyes were red and puffy, even though the tears had stopped hours ago. Dana had parked her car down the street, she felt like walking. After hours talking to Mrs. Mulder she knew why Mulder held a finely drawn contempt for his mother. She was arrogant, but well meaning. Almost like a child. Like no one had ever told her how to act, what was right or wrong. But then, maybe coming from a rich family you didn't need manners. Who knew? All Scully knew was that she didn't like the woman much, but since it was Mulder's Mother, she felt obligated. Dana walked up to her mother's house and pulled out her keys, and then the memory hit her. Dana remembered last Thanksgiving. Mulder had shared the holiday with her family because his mother was with relatives, and Dana hadn't wanted him to spend it alone. Even back then they had been growing closer by the day, sharing more personal anecdotes in weeks than they had in three years. Her Mother had welcomed Mulder with a warm smile, but Dana had felt there was something missing. In the past it was as if he were just one of the family. Now, there was resentment in her mother's eyes. But what Dana remembered most was how her nieces and nephews seemed to gravitate towards him, and how he preferred their company to that of the adults. He was great with children. He played their games and let them win, acted like a child himself, but drew lines when the games got too rough. Dana watched them for hours, she could have watched him forever. That night she had dreamt of a life with Mulder. Him playing with their children, pampering their babies, singing them to sleep at night. She dreamt of a life without Cancer Man, UFO's, or all of the other crazy things that had dominated their lives. But now that could never happen, because Mulder was dead. "Mom?" Dana walked into her mother's house. "Dana? Dear, what's wrong?" Margaret's face was worried as she came out of the back room. "Oh, Mom! He's gone!" Her tears erupted quicker than she ever thought they would. "Who honey?" "M-M-Mulder shot himself! It's all my fault! I told him those things weren't real when he wanted to believe so badly! I loved him mom, and he loved me. He-he-he left me a note and he told me he loved me!" Dana broke down crying on her mother's shoulder, but surprisingly found no comfort. "I'm sorry Dana." Maggie pushed her daughter to arms' length. "Um, how's your cancer?" "Mom, did you hear what I said? He's gone. For real this time, I saw him." "Dana, oh, how can I say this? Your better off without him. He's only caused this family hurt." "No! I love him!" "Missy is dead because of him and his damn files!" "Mom!" "Dana, forget him! God! Why did you ever have to go into the FBI anyway? It killed Missy, gave you your cancer, it hurt your father and me more than I can say, and it's ruined your life! Look at you! Dana, Forget him." "No, he was a part of MY life, my choices, just like the FBI. You and Missy and Daddy were a part of my life, too! I never wanted to hurt any of you. But if you can't accept my life and my choices, then you can't accept me!" "Dana, don't make me loose another daughter. . ." "Then I guess you've made your choice." Dana ran from her mother's house to her car and sat crying for hours before driving to the sanctuary of her lonely apartment. _______________________________ Location Unknown 2:15 AM Her hair was a corona of fire, her eyes the deepest sapphire jewels, her smile was atomic, and she was in his arms, laughing. Then he saw tears dripping down her porcelain face. She was crying, and the tears flowed like a river. He couldn't stop them. All of a sudden he was far away from her, separated by thousands of miles, and she was hurt and afraid. "NO!" Mulder sat up screaming in his cramped cell. Something was very wrong with Dana, he could feel it deep in his soul. And now he couldn't help her. God, how he missed her. ________________________________ Dana Scully's Apartment 3:15 A.M. She wrapped herself in his afghan and let the streams of tears soak her shirt as she sat there. Now she had no one. Dana Scully, The Ice Queen, Dr. Freeze, Mrs. Spooky, was left all alone. What she wouldn't give to be Mrs. Spooky for just a few more moments in time. Then, she would tell him all she wanted to, kiss him just once, to feel his full lips against hers and to hear him whisper her name, and she to whisper his. Their first names, heavy in the air, not hiding anything from each other. Just another moment... Now, here she was, dying, without a friend in the world. How could she live? Dana closed her eyes and wished that death would wrap its bleak arms around her soon. _______________________________ Location Unknown 5:15 AM Mulder lay on the cot in his small cell, letting the tears roll down his face freely, thinking of Dana. He had the same feeling in the pit of his stomach as when she had been abducted. He had abandoned her to face the Bureau, her family, his family, all to save her. Did she know, could she understand how much he loves her? He never hesitated a second when he was faced with this decision, he had known about it ever since the end of the case with Harold in the bowling alley. After his conversation with Scully in the hall he had been approached by the Well Manicured Man. He said that everything would be taken care of, just to be at his apartment that fateful night. Now, he had time to think. Time to look back and ask himself all of the questions that he never let himself think. And Mulder scared himself. He realized that, instead of sitting here, hoping that the Consortium would do something, he should be out there, with Dana, treasuring their time together. Instead of being able to be with her and fight for her life, he was left to sit here and guess. Mulder would never trust the consortium, only when he heard it strait from Dana's mouth that her cancer was gone would he believe it. And yet, he had relinquished his life and service to the men he despised the most. He hated himself. Mulder heard the clip-clop of the mens' shoes coming down the hall. They were coming to take him for tests again. Horrible tests that they later erased from his memory. But deep in his dreams Mulder relived the pain. He never remembered the exact tests, but he could feel the pain, and when he awoke, he silently cried, thinking of Dana, who would relive her own abduction every day of her life. His faith in aliens now was shaken, but his belief in government conspiracies was proved. Sometimes Mulder thought of Samantha. With him in here there was no one left to look for her. Sometimes he imagined the men doing the tests on her, on his tiny, fragile eight year old sister who would forever be eight in his troubled mind. Most of the time, though, he thought about Dana. She dominated his dreams and his nightmares. Sometimes he would dream that he never left her and they were out pursuing another case, but sometimes he would find himself in the middle of his worst night mare, watching the men do their tests on her. Those nights he woke up screaming. _______________________________ Maggie Scully's House 5:15 AM Dear Diary, I can't sleep. And when I do, it's fit ful and full of nightmares. I feel horrible about how I spoke to Dana, but I can't help the way I feel. I loved Fox as a son, but now, oh, it's so hard not to resent him and his job. I try not to, but when I see my baby girl in so much pain, I want it to stop hurting. She's seen so much death and destruction, things she should never be subjected to. And yet that is the life she chose. If Dana had gone into a nice, normal profession, everything would be fine. Missy wouldn't be dead, Dana wouldn't be sick, it would all be so much easier. I wish Dana had never met Fox Mulder, I wish she had never joined the FBI. But, there's nothing I can do. Even as I think this, I know that poor Fox is not to blame, it's those men, that group Dana speaks of. I find it hard to believe that there is a group of men running the country behind closed doors, but Dana has never been quick to believe either. All I want is for my baby to be happy, and I don't know how to do that. I don't know how to make her happy. I don't want to loose her, I can't loose her. Oh, Bill, you would have known what to do, she loved you so much. Please, help her now. God knows I can't, she won't listen to me after what I've said. Poor Dana, she loved Fox, even if she never knew it herself. I just wish she could be happy. Maggie closed the small Diary and put it back into the drawer by the bed and dove into a sleep of fit ful nightmares. _______________________________ Location Unknown 9:15 AM The conference room was filled with smoke, the air thick with tar and tension. From the far reaches of the oval table the six men sat at, the most infamous shattered the silence with his thick words. "Gentlemen, I must keep my promise to him. She is of no consequence to you now. I will oversee the operation myself." He puffed in his Morley and reclined in his chair. "Why should we do this for you?" The older man looked at his manicure and leaned against the polished table, playing with his cuticles. "What will it get us in return?" The overweight man huffed and then shifted in the too-small chair. "It will alleviate the pressure from the bureau. She won't be looking for vengeance, her life won't become a crusade as his did. Besides, it will give us a chance to test the new serum. You said that Mulder already has the anti-verum in his blood from the Black Cancer and he can't be infected, so let us find out if it will actually cure the Cancer Scully has. It's all very simple." "I'm still not impressed." The Well-Manicured man spat out. "Does this have anything to do with the fact that he was your son?" "Don't deny it," The gray haired "surfer" said from the corner of the room. "We have come across some information. Samantha was Bill's child, but Mulder is your son. You were well aware, and so was Bill." An uncomfortable pause hung in the air as the secrets were carried away on the wind. "Maybe it is true, but, I have almost killed him before, I feel no obligation to the boy. I am thinking in the best interest of our group." "Do it," the balding man in the corner said. "But if you screw up, you will pay the consequences." Foolish Games 3/6 By Lauren Newby & Melissa Persia All Replies should be sent to me at trustno1@home.com I'll foreward anything I get to melissa, as well. PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK! ANYTHING! I'd REALLY LOVE to know what you think!!! Here's part three... _______________________________ The Assistant Director's Office 9:45 AM Walter Skinner, weary from a meeting with his superiors about the future of the X- Files, slumped into his chair. On top of his usual pile of memos and letters, there was a note. Agent Scully will not be reporting to work for an unspecified amount of time. Skinner knew the note was from the man he had sold his life to in order to save Scully, to keep Mulder from throwing away his to save her. Now, he only hoped the man would be merciful and kill Scully, let her be in a place where justice and truth did prevail. _______________________________ The offices of the Lone Gunman 10:45 AM The three gunman sat there, grinning while Scully cried her eyes out. She didn't know why they were so happy. But they said they had something to tell her. "Scully, we have some news." Frohike began softly. "We snuck into the FBI morgue to look at the body, like you asked since they wouldn't allow you to do the autopsy, and we found something." Dana stopped crying for a moment, listening to these three wonderful men in front of her. "We took samples of blood and tissue, copied charts and records, and ran them against what we have in our computer. He may have Mulder's face, but not his genes. Whoever you have in your morgue is not Fox Mulder." Langley was grinning from ear to ear, Frohike was practically jumping out of his skin. "What do you mean? How could that be?" Scully was shocked, her breath caught and time seemed to stop. Byers stepped forward and showed her some transparencies of genes and chromosome pairs. "Look at this. Last year, when you were on the case where there was a hidden message in the TV signals, Mulder told us he was red-green color blind. That trait would be on this gene like it is in this blood sample we got from Mulder a few months ago. But on the gene from the body, there is no color blind gene at all." Byers put those down and pulled out two pictures of different DNA Helixes. "This one on the right is Mulder's. This one is from the body. Right here Mulder's DNA has an abnormality that occurred a few months ago when he was infected with what he knew as the Black Cancer. It looks like an immunity to some disease, so it was probably never mentioned in any blood work ups, but it's actually a very complex anti-verum gene that has been only theorized until now. The body in the FBI Morgue, doesn't have that abnormality." Byers picked up another piece of paper and handed it to Scully. "The body in the morgue also had an ulcer and a different dental work up." "And a serious overgrowth of body hair." Frohike said. Langley and Byers shot him a look. "What? It's true." "Scully, somebody altered Mulder's FBI and Medical records so this man would appear to be him, but it's not. Mulder's still alive." Langley looked her in the eyes and spoke softly. "We think the Cancer man may have taken him." "But he's alive." Scully's face lit up, her eyes filled with tears of joy. "He's alive!" Scully hugged each of the Lone Gunmen and even kissed Frohike on the cheek. "Thank you so much! My God he's alive! If you hear anything, call me right away!" Scully rushed out of the room leaving three stunned Lone Gunmen standing in her wake. She bounded down the stairs to her car and began to rummage through her purse for her keys. "He's alive. He's alive." she kept whispering to herself, as she began to dig into the bottom of her purse to find her keys. Then she felt the needle prick in her thigh and it all went black. _______________________________ Location Unknown 1:07 PM Mulder felt the thin needle slide through his skin and into the vein in his arm. He was strapped to the table in the white room. There was a light shining in his eyes, and he could feel the instruments poking and prodding. "Do you think they're compatible?" "Why not?" "It would be interesting to study the effects of the anti-verum and the Cancer in their offspring." Mulder thought he was going delirious. "Definitely, but that's not why she's here. We have to test the new form of the anti-verum." "But it would be a whole new field! Just think. They won't remember any of it, you could play god all you want. Think of the..." "You know what would happen!" The doctor said through clenched teeth. "It would all be over! Do you remember what he told us? No more of that. I will not..." "He doesn't have to know. We never did a thing, that's how we found her, that's what will be in our report." "Alright. But you will pay if he finds out. Where's the red head?" Mulder's mind was reeling. They were going to do something, something that involved offspring... He never signed on to be poked and prodded, but if it would save Scully's life, he would do anything. Now, his fears turned from introspective to the world around him. Who were they talking about? What anti-verum? Cancer? Whose? "Miss Scully is just down the hall, Doctor." Mulder tried to scream, he tried to break his restraints, but he couldn't break free. He was sedated, his vocal cords wouldn't work. All he could do was pray they wouldn't do what it sounded like they were going to do, and pray that they wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. _______________________________ Dana Scully's Apartment 5:43 PM Dana swam through the groggy mistiness as she regained conscienceless. She was in her apartment, on her couch. How did she get here? Why was it so late? She vaguely remembered driving home and falling on her couch, but that was not what her body felt like. Dana felt as if she had run for miles. Her joints and muscles ached. Her head throbbed. Her stomach felt as if there were snakes squirming inside it to get out. She shrugged out of her coat and shoes, leaving her in running shorts and a sweat shirt. She reached up and grabbed Mulder's afghan, snuggling deep inside it. She reached for the remote and turned on the television. Dana recalled something about the Lone Gunman telling her Mulder was alive, but she couldn't be sure. It seemed more like a dream. Mulder was dead. And she was dying. Dana turned her attention to the screen. "Hey, this is A.J. Hammer and you are watching the top one hundred theme songs from Hollywood. This next theme was at the top of the charts, and the performer, Madonna, is no stranger to hits. In her video for this song she give us a peak into how videos and soundtracks are made. Oh, and I recommend the movie, too. Here at number twenty, is `I'll Remember.'" Dana leaned back and closed her eyes, content to let the music swirl around her and lull her back to sleep. But the lyrics only brought Mulder to mind, and the times they shared. Say goodbye Not knowing when The truth in my whole life began Dana didn't know when the lies ended and the truth began anymore. She was so confused about it all. Now, with him gone, what could she do? Say goodbye Not knowing how To cry, you taught me that Dana remembered the Donnie Pfaster Case. She was so afraid, even before she was confronted with that human monster. Then, when she was almost killed, and Mulder came in like her knight in shining armor and saved her, she could have cried, she would have, but it was so hard for women in the FBI. She couldn't cry in front of all those agents. But Mulder broke down her walls and looked into her soul. And at that moment, knowing that he wouldn't ridicule her for her weaknesses, only comfort her, it felt so right. To be in his arms at that moment felt right. And so she had cried in his arms, in public, in front of many fellow agents, and it felt good. And I'll Remember The strength that you gave me Now that I'm standin' on my own I'll Remember The way that you saved me I'll Remember Inside I was a child That could not mend a broken wing Outside I look for a way To teach my heart to sing Mulder had a way of making her show him how she was really feeling. No matter how much she wanted to hide, he could always see the truth in her eyes, and she could see the truth in his. And I'll Remember The love that you gave me Now that I'm standing' on my own I'll Remember The way that you changed me I'll Remember Before she worked with him, Dana called UFO's, government conspiracies, and abductiees crazy. But after all he had showed her, all he confronted her with, Dana was a changed woman. She may not believe whole heartedly, but she was open to new ideas and theories. Especially his ideas and theories. I Learned To let go Of the illusion that we can possess Dana learned never to take anything at face value. She had seen so much, her illusion of a normal life now was turned on it's head. She could only live her life with Mulder. No one could understand her better. I Learned To let go And travel in stillness And I'll Remember Happiness I'll Remember Dana learned to roll with the punches, to take things as they came, but usually those things were not as life altering as the death of someone who meant so much to her. Now, all she could do was remember. And I'll Remember The love that you gave me Now that I'm standing' on my own I'll Remember The way that you changed me I'll Remember Everyday of her life Dana would remember Fox. It was her responsibility now that there was no one left. She would remember all that he had given her; his trust, his love, his respect, his friendship, all of the things that he treasured in the world, because they were what he was fighting for. He had given her everything that was important to him. Though I've never been afraid to cry Never thought I'd have a reason why I'll Remember Though I've never been afraid to cry Never thought I'd have a reason why I'll Remember Though I've never been afraid to cry Never thought I'd have a reason why I'll Remember Now, she had a reason to cry, he was gone, and she had no one left. Did it ever stop hurting? Losing your family? Losing your love and your trust? How could anyone but Mulder ever hope to understand how she feels? She turned off the TV and cried herself into an oblivion. end 3/6 Foolish Games 4/6 By Lauren Newby & Melissa Persia PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK! :) All Feedback can be sent to trustno1@home.com I really want to know what you think!!! Part 4 coming at you.... _______________________________ Location Unknown 5:15 PM Mulder slowly emerged into consciousness in his bleak, stone walled cell. Mulder felt like he was back in Russia with Krychek when he looked at it. It was about nine feet square and had a heavy steel door and no windows. There was a vent in the ceiling along with a bare lightbulb. His bed was a lumpy mattress on the cold concrete floor. The "facilities" consisted of an open toilet and sink in the corner. He had complained, but it did no good. They would do what they wanted with him. That was what scared him. These men had no remorse or sense of right and wrong. It made him sick to think of what he had become now that he relinquished his power and sense of self. Mulder stood and began to pace. He could only wait for his chance to escape. Maybe he could black mail these men, or just break his way out. The men here had no morals, though. They would kill him without a second thought. He began to think of ways he could kill himself. _______________________________ Location Unknown Same Time The same conference room from the week past that had held the most powerful men in the world now held court with two doctors and their smoking superior. His face held a look of disapproval chiseled in pale marble. "What did you do?" He calmly spit out, betraying his facade. "We administered the serum, as per your instructions." The young doctor whom before was so eager to have his hand at genetics and playing god with offspring now cowered behind his superior. "Then why have I gotten a report that your access code, Doctor Martin, was used in the introduction of a new fetus into our laboratory?" His anger began to show through his calm tones. Doctor Martin glanced nervously at his companion and then back at his superior. "My code?" He said between clenched teeth while throwing daggers at his companion. "Yes, your code!" He stood up and slammed his fist on the table. "I told you not to screw around with this one! What did you do!?" He took a long drag on his Morley before turning for the answer. "We, uh, we created a human offspring between subjects 4-1-14-1-19 and 6-15-24-23-13. It was suggested that studying the effects of the anti-verum and the cancer in an offspring might be valuable." Doctor Martin stared at the floor. "Suggested by whom?" "That would be me, sir." The young doctor explained. "Your name?" "Brian Pretts." The cigarette man pressed a small intercom on the wall and almost immediately four military guards came in. "Kill them both and dispose of the bodies as necessary." As the two bewildered men were dragged off, he pulled a cellular phone from his pocket and dialed a number that picked up immediately. "Yes?" "We have a problem." _______________________________ Dana Scully's Apartment 10:36 A.M. Dana groggily awoke from a deep sleep. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep, or how, but it was the most rest she had gotten since IT happened. She wiped her eyes and looked over at the TV that was still on. It was some new band. Their word described the last few days of her life. For the life of me I cannot remember What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise For the life of me I cannot believe we'd ever die for these sins we were merely freshmen Dana closed her eyes and fought the tears. She had to gain control, control of her life without him. Dana wrapped her arms around her and snuggled deeper into Mulder's blanket with her eyes closed, willing blissful sleep. In her dreams he was alive and waiting for her. The shrill ring of the phone brought her back to her harsh reality. She listened to it ring twice, three times, before the answering machine picked up. "Hello, you've reached Dana Scully. You know the drill." Years of working with Mulder was showing, even in her answering machine messages. "Dana? It's Mom. I know I said some horrible things, but, I want to take them back." Margaret paused, hoping her daughter would pick up. "Dana? Dear, please. I know your hurting, he was a nice man. I want to be there for you. Dana," Margaret was exasperated after a sleepless night. "Please, just call me. Bye." Dana listened to her mothers words. Were they sincere? Or were they just the dutiful word of a mother who pledged to love her daughter? Was it because she was dying? Is that why she was so ready to apologize? The thinking made Dana's head hurt. She turned her attention back to the TV. "I'm Robin Dorian. We're back with the new video by Jewel. Here's "Foolish Games." You took your coat off and stood in the rain You were always crazy like that Dana remembered their first case in Oregon when they stood out in a grave yard looking for a bunch of dead bodies. They just stood there, arguing. That was the first of many crazy things they would do. I watched from my window Always felt I was outside looking in on you Sometimes, during their cases, Dana would just sit back and watch Mulder with that incredible mind of his. She would just listen to him make fantastic, but plausible, jumps in logic. Once every few cases she felt like she was just along for the ride. You were the mysterious one With dark eyes and careless hair You were fashionably sensitive, but too cool to care Mulder had rugged good looks. In the dictionary next to tall, dark, and handsome was Mulder's picture. Every once in a while he would wear a tie that was completely crazy, and still he was a work of art. Mulder was too cool to care. As they would walk by their co-workers, a stray comment about Spooky Mulder would occasionally pop out, and he just kept walking. They hurt him, but he never let it show. Then you stood in my doorway, with nothing to say Besides some comment on the weather Well incase you failed to notice In case you failed to see This is my heart bleeding before you This is me down on my knees Dana had risked everything for Mulder. And now, with her cancer, every day was like a death sentence. Countless times she had walked in that office with her heart on her sleeve, ready to talk, needing to talk, but he was all business. Maybe it was his way of trying to forget, but it hurt her deeply. These foolish games are tearing me apart Your thoughtless words are breaking my heart You're breaking my heart Mulder's games had hurt her. Especially this last case. He had run off without her again. Then, when he asked for her opinion, he was so intent on believing that he didn't want to listen to her. Then, when she was trying to tell him about her cancer, he would ignore her. She was alone before he killed himself. You were always brilliant in the morning Smoking your cigarettes, talking over coffee Your philosophies on art Baroque moved you You loved Mozart and you'd speak of your loved ones As I clumsily strummed my guitar You'd teach me of honest things Things that were daring, things that were clean Things that knew what an honest dollar did mean So I hid my soiled hands behind my back Mulder had thought her so much. He had taught her never to take things at face value, and to sometimes take a step back and look at things with a different perspective. He was so honest and talented and sometimes she felt like she wanted to hide her inexperience in the cases that they pursed. Sometimes she felt like a child talking to her teacher. Somewhere along the line I must've gone off track with you Excuse me, think I've mistaken you for somebody else Somebody who gave a damn Somebody more like myself Recently, Dana felt like Mulder was a stranger, like she didn't know him anymore. It happened just after she told him of her cancer. Wether it was denial or it just wasn't important to him, his actions hurt her, and so did his words. She missed the old Mulder. These foolish games are tearing me apart Your thoughtless words are breaking my heart You're breaking my heart You took your coat off and stood in the rain You were always like that. Dana threw the remote at the TV. end 4/6 Foolish Games 5/6 By Lauren Newby & Melissa Persia PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK...don't make me beg... trustno1@home.com (As said in part one... post ALL parts to atxc and gossamer, please. I don't know if I should have been mentioning that all along but... If there are any problems with this please contact me at the above addy!) Part five for your pleasure... _______________________________ Location Unknown 11:07 AM "What are we to do?" The Well-Manicured man demanded. "Gentlemen, if she finds out, we will have a larger problem than we had before! I thought that you said you had it under control!" "I couldn't account for my...problematic...doctors." Cancer Man sat strait, facing his colleague. "But I do have an idea." "Please, Explain!" The Well-Manicured man was losing patients. "I believe we should kill her, using our newest asset." "Are you insane? One look at her and he would turn around and kill us!" "You know he is capable of no such thing!" "We should abort the project right where it is. Forget it. We can observe Scully and see if she's cured. If not we must move on to a completely new set of people. These bothersome agents are too wise to our tactics!" "Gentlemen, I believe that you are greatly mistaken in your course of action..." "You have no beliefs! You are no longer involved in this project!" The Well- Manicured Man pressed a call button and two Military guards walked in the room. "Escort my friend to his office." The Cancer man gathered his composure and walked out of the room, escorted by the two guards. "Now, what shall we do with Mr. Mulder?" _______________________________ Lab 26 12:37 PM Deep in the bowels of the building in the secluded areas of "Location Unknown" there was the infamous Lab 26. Lab 26 spawned the first hybrids in the Consortium's dangerous project. It spawned the first of the Adams and Eves before they were transferred to Lichfield, it hatched the first colony of Small Pox Bees, and it grew the first Samantha and the first Kurt. The latter went on to head their own branch of the project, cloning themselves and then producing more with the stolen ovum. They were the young workers in the fields of Canada, and they were the ones who had led Mulder and Scully astray, but ultimately in the right direction. Now, only one Kurt and one Samantha headed Lab 26. They made their daily rounds of the tanks that held fetuses in different stages of development. Samantha stopped at the tank marked 4-1-14-1-19 / 6-15-24-23-13. "When was this fetus introduced?" Samantha looked at the tank. "Two days ago. Why?" Kurt stopped his work. "It wasn't tested with the serum?" "It's supposed to go through normal developmental stages. The project's been outlined. Here." He handed her a small booklet. "Who are the parents?" "Um," he looked at the numbers, taking a second to decode it from memory. "Dana S., Fox W.M. Why?" Samantha dashed to the phone. _______________________________ Location Unknown 2:24 PM "Agent Mulder," The Well Manicured man, along with two guards, walked into his cell. "There is no longer any use for you. We are releasing you." "What? That wasn't part of the deal. What's going on? What's happened with Dana?" Mulder was throughly perplexed, his mind running a hundred different, horrible, scenarios. "She's been treated and released. There was an unforeseen...glitch that has deemed Agent Scully and yourself...useless to us at this time. Therefore we are releasing you." "Woah, what kind of glitch?" Mulder's memory pulled up a conversation with "offspring" as the prominent topic. "A doctor who felt he could play god. Now if you'll please.." "What do you mean play god? What did you do to us?" Mulder was screaming at the top of his lungs. They did something to him and Scully, something horrible and unforgivable. "Nothing that hasn't already been fixed. You have nothing to worry about." "The hell I don't! What did they do?" Mulder walked right up to him, yelling in his face. "Gentlemen..." The Well-Manicured man stepped back as his two escorts grabbed Mulder and sedated him. "I knew this would be hard." They followed the Well Manicured man down the hall, dragging Mulder behind them. _______________________________ Dana Scully's Apartment 2:15 AM "You get all of this- The MagiCan, 50 feet if tough Polyurethane bags, 100 of our patented Tight Ties, and, the lifetime money-back guarantee, for just five easy payments of $29.98!" Dana thought while lying on her couch, unmoving from the previous days. "Isn't that great folks?" "NO! MORE!" came the enthusiastic answer from the too fake audience. Dana found herself pitiful that she couldn't even laugh at these horrible commercials anymore. "More? Well, how about the Travel Mini MagiCan for your car? Plus 100 more Tight Ties and 25 feet of our specially sized bagging?" "NO! MORE!" Dana was mesmerize by the horrible acting...and the horrible products. "More? How about our new, never released car freshener? A $50 value by itself for free! And since I love our Terrific Gadgets audience- I'll take fifty dollars off the entire package! Only five easy payments of $19.98!" "Fraud!" Dana yelled at the television while she changed the channel. A western, no, infomercial, no, sitcom, no, music videos, no! Dana finally stopped on a re-run of Silk Stalkings. It was the final episode for the two actors on the series before the new team of actors came in. Rita was sitting by the mortally wounded Chris' bedside praying for his return. It was the end of a story arch that had finally resolved the tension between the two leads, finally having them sleep with each other. Of course they were in love, deeply. Could it be any other way on TV? But then Rita got pregnant, and of course Chris was ecstatic, but then Rita was abducted, by humans, and he got wounded rescuing her. Then, he died in the hospital. The most flawed ending you could ask for. But that was television. But, could it also be real life? What if that had happened to her? What if Dana had gotten involved with Fox? It became so startlingly frightening to her, that Fox would indeed lay down his life for her in such a situation, and that they could have had a relationship prior to this... Dana cried in wracking sobs, and it had nothing to do with the dire events playing out on the screen before her. _______________________________ Dana Scully's Apartment 7:15 AM Dana stirred, sitting up, her limbs stiff. On the television a children's cartoon was annoyingly loud. She shut the television off and went into the bathroom. Outside the building two men dragged a body up the stairs. Dana pulled her hair up into a messy French twist while her tub filled with water. Today was his funeral. She threw a few drops of scented bath oils into her claw-footed tub while she listened to the coffee maker percolate. The elevator doors opened to reveal two men with their unconsciene third party, and their preoccupied leader. Dana sat back in her tub, letting the bubbles and wisps of steam surround her. This was exactly what she needed right now. A nice, warm, relaxing bath. {You never draw my bath.} The memory hit her like a brick wall. Mulder, sitting in her hotel room, reading a file, then saying that and wearing the most innocent and hurt look he could muster. Now it was all but a memory. The four men converged on apartment 35. Dana closed her eyes and rested her head against the side of the tub. She needed closure, she had to put him to rest. Although she may never know all of the answers to why, she would at least be able to say some sort of goodbye. She had been asked to do the elegy at the funeral, and she hadn't written down one word. She knew that when the time came, she would be able to speak from her heart. It was in some way reassuring that she knew him so well that she could say anything and it would be the right thing. Out side of number 35 the two men laid down the body of Fox Mulder and then headed toward the stairwell. As they left from the rear of the building, the three paranoid Lone Gunmen buzzed Scully's apartment. BUZZ!! The Buzzer for her apartment rang, forcing her out of her sanctuary. Dana pulled on her thick, pale blue terrycloth robe before going into the livingroom to answer the intercom. "Yes?" "Scully, it's us." Byers said "We think we might know more about Mulder," Langley said, not noticing the unmarked van driving away in the distance. "But, Mulder's dead." Could they have forgotten already? "Scully, remember? You came to our office, we saw the body in the morgue, it wasn't him." Frohike became thoroughly worried. "Oh my God! I thought that was a dream! Hurry, come on up!" Dana closed the bathroom door and threw on Mulder's Oxford shirt and jean shorts, leaving her hair up. She waited impatiently for her three friends, yes friends, to arrive. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she opened the door to look out. A body fell at her feet. It groaned. Dana jumped back in surprise. No, it couldn't be! "Fox?" "Ugghh." He moaned again, still unconscious. She kneeled and took his head into her lap, it was Fox, still looking exactly like he did the last time she saw him, same clothes even, although they looked like they had been washed sometime during that two week period. She brushed the hair away from his face and cradled it in her lap. His body was too large for her to carry by herself, so she decided to wait for the Gunmen to help her. The elevator binged and the doors opened. When the Gunmen saw the scene they rushed out to help her. "Mulder!" Frohike exclaimed, excited to see his friend had thwarted death yet again. "Help me get him inside," Dana began to shift into doctor mode, not knowing anything about his condition. Byers grabbed his ankles and Frohike lifted him from under his arms, both men almost dragging him to the couch. "No, my bed." Dana pointed to a room just off to the right. They took him in there and practically threw him on the bed. Dana rushed into her bathroom, now filled with steam, and emerged with her medical kit. "Byers, get me my cell phone. It's in the living room - somewhere. Langley, call the cemetery, call off the funeral, tell them not to bury the corpse but to ship it to the FBI labs for me, care of Walter Skinner." "What can I do?" Frohike said as the other gunmen left to complete their respective tasks. "Prey they didn't do to him what they did to me." She pealed the beige sweater off of his body, then his boots and socks, leaving him in jeans and a black mock turtle neck. She felt his forehead for a temperature, then began checking his pulse. "Got it." Byers walked in with her cell phone. "Great." She took it and checked her watch. After doing some quick math she figured Mulder's pulse was just about normal. She turned on her cell phone and hit her third speed dial. "Assistant Directors Office." "Kimberley, I need to speak to Skinner." "Agent Scully, I'm sorry he's in a meeting." "This is very important," Dana was exasperated, her energy leaving her almost hyperventilating while checking Mulder's other vital signs. "I'm sorry-" "PUT ME THROUGH!" Dana demanded. Through the phone she could hear them talking on the intercom. "Sir, Agent Scully is on the line." "I asked that you please hold my calls." "She's being very insistent, I believe you may want to take this." "Thank you, Gentlemen, please excuse me." He picked up the phone. "Agent Scully, I'm in a meeting with the director-" "Mulder's alive." "What?" "He's alive. Somebody literally left him on my doorstep. I just found him a few minutes ago." "I'll be there along with a team in a few minutes." "Thank you." Dana hung up and returned her attention to Mulder. He wasn't running a temperature, he was breathing, no injuries appeared outwardly, he looked like he was sleeping. "Mulder! Mulder, can you hear me?" He could hear her, the voice of an angel, calling him to her. Dana's voice. Mulder wanted to move, he really did. He wanted to take her in his arms and never let go, he wanted to tell her of what he heard, what he did, but he couldn't. He couldn't even open his eyes. He was afraid for what they might have done to them, what they might do, he was ashamed of himself for his actions, and he knew that he would carry the guilt for causing Dana's cancer and then making her anguish over his "death" for the rest of his life. But now, as he lay in her bed, her soft hands checking his body for injury and caressing his face occasionally, trying to coax a word or grunt from him, he knew that he was safe. And no matter what they would face, as long as they were together they would survive and thrive. Love concurs all. He gathered all of his meager strength and bent his elbow, raising his hand. Dana clasped her own delicate hand to his immediately, weaving their fingers together. With his eyes still closed he could imagine what she looked like right now, climbing on the bed to get closer to him, seeing the concern cross the features of his face. "Fox?" As she slid closer her other hand went to his forehead, brushing back his unruly locks. Slowly he built up his strength again, letting Dana support his raised hand. He spoke, letting the words come out in horse whispers before he surrendered to the blackness. "Love you." end 5/6 (part six tomorrow) Foolish Games 6/6 By Lauren Newby & Melissa Persia Feedback to trustno1@home.com please. THANK YOU to all of you that responded to the past parts... luv that feedback... Lastly, part six.... _______________________________ Office of Dr. Jon Elliot Two weeks later 2:20 PM As Dana saw it a lot had happened to get her to this point, too much in fact. But, as she had said once before, she would do it all over again had she known any of this was going to happen, well except for the fluke man thing, they both could have lived without that just fine. After Mulder's heartfelt admission he had passed out, and just as he did, Skinner and a forensic team showed up; so the Gunmen bid Mulder a fond farewell and then shimmed out the fire escape. The investigators disturbed everyone, waking up almost every person in the building to see if they saw or heard anything. They stopped the elevators to dust for prints, dusted the stair well, and Dana's entire apartment. Hundreds of prints were found, but none could even be remotely connected with Mulder's disappearance. Skinner called an ambulance as the team began to pick apart her apartment, and she wasn't even allowed to go with Mulder to the hospital because she was being interrogated. When she was released, Dana rushed to the hospital where Mulder was taken, screaming like a mad woman when they refused to let her see him or his chart. They were on the verge of restraining her when he woke up and asked for her. For the three days he was in the hospital she stayed by his side, sitting in the chair outside his room when his mother visited to give them privacy, and when Dana left he was always with someone and she was never gone long. The second day they had a conversation, well, half a conversation. He had been heavily sedated and was still recovering from some unknown ailment. "Dana, we need to talk." "Not now, when we get home." "Home?" "I'm not letting you out of my site. You are staying at my place. At least until I can't keep you there anymore." She flashed one of her million dollar smiles at him. He closed his eyes for a second in response. "Dana?" "Humm?" "Why are you here? After all I've done to you?" "I love you, Fox. I can't help it. And you didn't do any of this to me-" "But your cancer, you have to blame me for that-" "No, I don't. I blame the cigarette man for that, and the people who stop us from doing our jobs. Not you. How could I blame the best thing in my life?" "Ok. Then why are you here all the time? You can go home..." "If it were me, would you?" "No, but it's-" "Yes, it is the same, so don't talk." He closed his eyes and fell asleep, content he had an idea of how she felt. Dana watched him sleep, then rested her head on his chest and did the same. Mulder came home with Dana after only three short days in the hospital. Thankfully there was no sign of branched DNA in his system, and he appeared healthy. He slept a lot for the first two days he was at her apartment, she took the couch and let him have the bed. Dana took care of him like a doctor, like a friend , and like a lover, switching between the three depending on his mood. The antibiotics he had been given gave Mulder horrible mood swings, and all Dana could do was adjust to each mood and roll with the punches. As if Mulder didn't whine enough when he was incapacitated, now he was depressed, hyper, angry and upset all at the same time. She thanked God it was only a two day prescription. Once Mulder was back to himself he explained the whole thing to Dana. The whole horrible plot. Except for what he heard in the testing room about offspring. He wanted to talk to the Gunmen before he told Dana anything. Sometimes she cried silently, sometimes she just stared, but she never talked, she let him tell all of it. "Then they shoved a needle in me, and then I was here." Mulder stared at Dana, bearing his soul. She just sat there, with her hands in his. "Dana?" She collapsed, sobbing hysterically, into his arms. "Shhh, it's alright. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He held her tight, stroking her back to calm her. "No, don't say your sorry. That is the sweetest and nicest and most sincere thing that anyone has ever done for me." "But I made you believe I was dead, I hurt you. You said so yourself." "Mulder, you were ready to become the thing that you despise the most and that you have fought against all your life, on a half promise. Don't you see how brave and caring and selfless that is?" She wiped away the tears and looked in his eyes, searching for...something. "I would do anything for you. I trust you more than anyone, I care for you, love you more than anything I ever have before. I would have done that for you, hell, I would become Cancer man for you if you asked. You have done more for me than anyone ever has or ever could. Dana, I would die for you. I don't know how to explain what I'm feeling. It's something I have never felt before. The mere thought of you can make me happy, change my day. And you are what kept me sane when I sat in that small cell; knowing that I was doing this for you, it made it all okay." He looked deep into her eyes, searching her soul. "I would have been dead long ago if it weren't for you. Without you I am incomplete, and without you life is not worth living. It's like forever I've been walking around without a piece of me, but I never knew it was missing until I found you. Nothing could ever be more important to me. Not the X-Files, not Samantha, you are why I'm here, why I live, why I breathe. And when you leave this life I will surely follow you, because then I will have nothing left. I've loved you all my life, even before I met you. Can you even begin to understand how I feel?" Fox's hand cupped her cheek, his thumb lightly rubbing. "I can," She brought her hands to hold his face, brushing away his unruly hair. "Because I feel the same way. I never had the strength to face it before, that's all. But now I know that, had you been dead, had I attended your funeral, I would have come back here and killed myself. I know I wouldn't be able to live without you." Dana's eyes flew over his face, memorizing his every feature. "It would be like half of me was missing." She looked into his eyes and leaned up, lightly brushing her lips against his. It was like electricity coursed through their veins. She pressed her lips harder against his again, hungry for the human contact. That night they made mind-blowing love all night for the first time, and it was also their first kiss. So that's how they got up to this point. She had just had an MRI and a regular examination by her oncologist, Dr. Elliot. Now, she sat in his office, with Mulder, waiting for the results. After what he had told her, and her memory of a meeting with the Lone Gunmen that never seemed to happen, she had hope. Maybe there was a cure, and maybe she had it. She held Mulder's hand as the doctor walked into the room. "Dana, Mulder." He said as he sat at his desk, acknowledging both the agents, but making Dana's stomach flutter at that particular combination of names. "You both know how dire Dana's condition was, now," Mulder and Scully looked at each other. "Was?" They said in unison. "Yes, was. Your cancer had matastacised and gone into your blood stream, but now, there is no trace in the blood tests, and the MRI shows it's shrunk." He handed her an X-ray of her head, showing the mass considerably smaller. "Your cancer has gone into remission, and I can't explain it." Dana and Fox looked at each other. The Cancer man had kept his word. _______________________________ Dana's apartment 3:54 PM Dr. Elliot had kept them there to explain the details of his findings, and to explain that a cancer that has gone into remission can come back, but Dana had a feeling it wouldn't. She just knew. When they had left the building Dana had to lean on Fox to keep her balance, she felt like she was going to faint. After all she had been through, it was gone, her cancer was gone. With trembling hands, Dana opened the door to her apartment, leading into the greyish blackness of the rooms. She looked into the black rooms, and felt something lift off of her shoulders. Then she looked at the rooms again, instead of being black, they were hues of yellow and beige and pink. And Dana knew she had lost the bleakness from her life. Now, everyday wasn't a death sentence where she could be looking at her life for the last time, now she had hope and a long life to look forward to. Fox came up behind her and encircled her waist with his arms. She laid her arms on his and leaned into his chest, resting her head just below his chin. He tilted his head and ran his cheek along the crown of her head, resting it there. "I can't tell you why Dana." Mulder's voice was a whisper, if he had raised he would have cried. "Because I don't know. But I do know that we've been given a second chance, and we can't take it for granted. I won't let us." Dana could feel the lump in her throat grow as she pushed the whispered words past it. "No matter what we do, or where we go, nothing can hurt us if we're together. I never want to leave your arms. Could we stay like this forever?" "I intend to. I intend to." And their lives started. _______________________________ Lab 26 7:41 PM "Samantha, Kurt." The Smoking Man acknowledged his workers as he entered the infamous lab. "Sir." They said together without emotion. "Do you need help?" Samantha asked. "I would like a talk with you both, if you have the time." They both stopped their work at the tanks filled with bodies floating in a fluid and went over to the small square table in the corner. "What can we do for you?" Kurt asked. "I told my superiors that one of the fetuses down here was destroyed. Number 4-1- 14-1-19 / 6-15-24-23-13 to be exact. I don't want you to act any different. I will take all responsibility should certain people find out about it. Read this," he handed her a few typewritten pages. "Then destroy it. That's what I want to be done with the fetus. Protect it, and keep it safe until I have told them. "What if they should find out sooner?" Samantha became agitated, her previous actions bothering her. "See to it that that doesn't happen. We can't afford mistakes now." He put his cigarette out on the table then left the lab, shutting the door with a force that rang through the quiet room. Samantha cradled her head in her hands. "Damn." X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X End Disclaimer- If you've gotten this far... I luv you for reading this! Please, let us know what you think! Mel and i love the wonderful comments we've been getting! Again, for any archivest who would like to post this in larger parts or as a whole, please mail me and I will send it to you in the form you would like. The reference to "Captain's Chair" is from a Paula Graves series and is used, lovingly, without permission. A.J. Hammer & Robin Dorian belong to themselves and are real VJ's for VH1. VH1 belongs to whoever owns it and no infringement is intended. To my knowledge there has never been a "Top 100 Theme Songs from Hollywood." I made it up along with the video's #20 placement. Madonna belongs to herself, thankfully, and I believe the song "I'll Remember" is hers, too. It's from the movie With Honors. I winged it on the words so please excuse any errors. The song "The Freshmen" belongs to the group The Verve Pipe. They belong to themselves. This story's namesake song "Foolish Games" is off of Jewel's CD PIECES OF YOU. The version in the story is off of the album and not the video. (They have slightly different acoustics.) Jewel belongs to herself. I made up the MagiCan, but I believe there is a real product with a similar name. No infringements of any copyrights held on that product are intended. Silk Stalkings is a real TV show that actually changed its lead characters in the way I described. It airs on the USA network. As in all of the above, no infringement is intended on any of the products, songs, people, shows, or anything else in my story. All is used lovingly and returned in mint condition. All Done, Bye Now! end 6/6