From:             shinkai@mlode.com (Susan Shinkai)
Subject:          Completed story: The IM Files 5 - 3 Cases of the Heart
Date sent:        Mon, 24 Nov 1997 21:18:54 -0800

Title :  The IM Files - 3 Cases of the Heart
Author : Shinkai
E-mail Address: shinkai@mlode.com
Rating : NC 17
Classification - SR
Spoilers - Gender Bender, Lazarus, Young at Heart
Keywords - Scully/Mulder romance, alternate reality
Summary -  The 5th installment of a series which follows the "Meeting
the Invisible Man".  Based of the episodes "Gender Bender" and
"Lazarus", Mulder and Scully try to come to terms with being partners
and lovers, and how it affects their job performance. 

Intro:  If you're not familiar with the "IM Files", go to the end to
read the description of the series.  Otherwise hold on to your
handguns for three more stories of angst and romance, mixed with some
familiar aliens, ghosts, and mutants.  The unifying theme here is the
concept of what will they do for their partner vs. what will they do
for their lover.  Watch how Mulder "comes to the rescue" in each
episode  and how Scully reacts each time.  
 WARNING : I took major liberties with "Lazarus" and "Young at Heart"
but once you read them I hope they'll make sense.  "Gender bender"
was basically unchanged except the opening and a few new scenes so
this story is told in less detail.

Thanks and acknowledgment (or blame if you don't like the story) goes
to Connell for encouraging me to write this stuff and feeding the
delusion.

Disclaimer:  The characters and situations depicted in this story are
not the legal property of the author or her agents. This use is not
intended to be an infringement on the rights of the legal owners. 
Use and distribution of  this story is for not-for-profit
entertainment purposes only.
__________________________________________________________
 
CASE 1  - GENDER TENDER

    The personal relationship between Dana Scully and Fox Mulder had
taken a dramatic turn shortly after they first consummated their
love, clandestinely in Mulder's hospital bed.  Knowing that he was
now truly her lover, Mulder became reckless in his lack of discretion
regarding his affair with his partner.  He was no longer content with
a few suggestive remarks and stolen kisses behind their office door. 
He would at least wait until he thought no one could see them but the
moment they were alone he would practically attack her with
passionate kisses and  wandering hands, compromising positions that
couldn't be mistaken for anything else.  In elevators, parking
garages, and even restaurants, Mulder ardently expressed his desires
to Scully.   In his mind it was all foreplay leading to another
fantastic night of love-making.  

     At first, Scully found his boldness exciting. She found that
after a day of intense flirtation, her enthusiasm in bed matched his.
 But after two weeks,  she became concerned that he had lost his
perspective on their relationship.  Before, he had been careful to
continue living out his apartment spending only the late night hours
with her and leaving without a trace in the morning.  Now he often 
accompanied her home immediately after work and he had gone so far as
to keep extra clothes and personal items in her place.   
     When she suggested he "back-off", he went through the familiar
cycle of insecurity and defensiveness followed by paranoia and
aggression then finally  guilty and frustration. As nervous as she
was of exposure, she never refused to acknowledge his desires.  She
continued to share her love and her life with him, refusing to hold
him hostage to his own behavior.  
      For the most part, their work was unaffected by this new
tension.  Perhaps it was just replacing the old tensions and it kept
them on that fine edge between mania and madness.  There were times,
however, that their ability to work and communicate as partners was
threatened by the circumstances of their personal relationship.

    While investigating a series of deaths due to cardiac collapse
during the throes of passion,  Mulder became distracted by the sexual
overtones of the case.  The forensic evidence indicated each victim
had huge amounts of pheromones in their system. Even more disturbing
was the fact that the pheromones were based on human DNA, a substance
unknown in nature.  The compound must have been synthesized
specifically  to attracted a sex partner.  Interestingly, both male
and females were among the victims.
     Mulder told his partner that he suspected someone was causing
these deaths by stimulating an intense sexual response from the
victims.  He described the suspect to Scully as "a walking
aphrodisiac" , then he added mischievously "just like you, Dana." To
emphasis his point, he drew close to her as she stood reading the
case file, then starting kissing and biting the side of her neck. 
She stroked his hair then turned away, assuming he was just teasing
but he pulled her closer and began to press his hips against her. She
felt his full erection pressing into her back as he whispered hotly
into her ear "If  it was any more intense with you, I think it'd kill
me too."  His advances continued as Scully tried to think of an
appropriate way to stop him without hurting his feelings.
   
   Within minutes, he had clearly past beyond teasing and reached
around to with one hand to open her blouse and slowly caress her
breasts.  She stood frozen in place as his sensual presence engulfed
her.  "Mulder, not now..." she mumbled weakly.
    In a ragged voice, raging with desire, he answered "It's OK, I'm
just doing some research on this case." His hand had found it's way
to the top of her slacks.  She protested with soft moans as he slid
his hand under the fabric and felt her warm tender flesh.  Before
losing herself in her own arousal, she grabbed his hand  and pulled
it away from her just as his fingers brushed her sensitive areas..
   "Scully, please.." he cried desperately, grinding harder into her,
his erection aching with anticipation.
   His lack of control struck a nerve in Scully and she became
resolute in ending this encounter.  She forcefully pushed him off and
said harshly "If you need it that bad, I suggest you take one of your
magazines and visit the Men's room."  The instant the words were
uttered, she knew it was an unfair and cruel thing to say.  Her face
and voice soften as she reached over to take his hand. "Sorry, I
didn't mean it.  It's just that..."
    He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.  The
roughness still in his voice, he answered. "I know. You're right. But
thinking about sex so wild that your heart bursts and having you here
drove me over the edge.  Just the thought of such intensity intrigues
me."
    Unconsciously he brought her hand down and began to press it
against still raging erection. As a gesture of compromise, she began
to stroke him through his trousers, her expression never wavering. 
He fought the urge to grab her again and instead leaned back against
the desk and gripped the edge at either side of him.  His restrain
was rewarded by her continued attention.  In a strangled voice he
pleaded again "Make me come, Dana. Right here in the office. Right
now."
     Her calm voice whispered "Try to relax. Get control of yourself.
Deep breaths, Mulder." Her strokes became lighter, as he gulped air
trying to calm down.  She finally stopped, rested her hand on his hip
and waited to for him to respond.  He panted hard for a while then
finally his breathes became deeper and easier. He was flushed and
sweating, eyes dilated and glassy but at least he had control of his
own body.
    "I have a new theory about this case." he remarked as adjusted
his shifting crotch, "They didn't die of intense sexual activity. 
They died of extreme unresolved sexual tension."  His crooked smile
was answered by a small laugh from his partner.  
    "Let's get back to work, Mulder" Scully sighed, hoping normalcy
would return sometime soon.

   Trace evidence of a unique clay found at the last crime scene lead
them to suspect the Kindred, a reclusive , simple-living sect famous
for their pottery and their celibacy.  Scully raised her eyebrow at
the apparent connection to the killings and commented "Maybe they did
die of  extreme sexual tension."
    Mulder mumbled to himself, still aroused from their encounter, "I
hope not. If that's possible, I won't reach home alive."
   
   Mulder and Scully went to the Kindred farm house to ask questions
about the possible connection between the deaths and one of their
members.  The Kindred refused to cooperate with the investigation
claiming the problems of the out world did not concern them. When one
of the brothers showed signs of respiratory distress and they refused
Scully's help, the  two agents were asked to leave. Mulder and Scully
were convinced they were hiding something and returned to the Kindred
farm house in secret.  They observed a gathering in the barn and
Mulder moved in for a closer look as they disappeared into a cellar. 
Scully waited outside, when suddenly a Kindred young man approached
her, offering her information about the deaths.

   Mulder hid as he watched the strange, incomprehensible ritual
involving with man who was ill. In the maze of tunnels, they
slathered the body with clay then place him in a large recess in the
wall.  To avoid detection, Mulder was forced to hid in the same
alcove. He noticed the man was still alive but his body seemed to
under go a strange transformation. He overheard two of the Kindred
say that the 'outsiders' had returned, and that the woman was in
Brother Andrew's room.   As soon as the cost was clear, Mulder rushed
to the house find Scully.
    As he burst into the room, Mulder watched in horror as Brother
Andrew moved in to ravage Scully.  Mulder threw the man back shouting
"Get the hell off of her!" At first he thought she was unconscious
then he realized that she awake but stunned and not resisting her own
rape.  He felt a hot flush of anger directed at an image of her
betraying his love.    As he pulled her blouse closed and walked out
the front door, they were confronted by the Kindred.  They were
warned to stay away but were allowed to leave unharmed. Mulder held
Scully protectively until they cleared the gate.  Suddenly he
unleashed his anger and shook Scully roughly, shouting in her face.
    "What the hell were you doing in there?!"
    "I...I don't know!" she answered, still dazed and confused.
    "What do you mean you don't know?" he continued to shout.
    "I can't remember..."
    Mulder wasn't satisfied by her responses and  demanded to know
more. "Why were you even in his room, alone with him?" 
    Trying to clear her head, Scully related what she could remember.
"He said he had information..."
    He ignored her and vented his anger pointedly.  "Hell, I almost
got caught down there. And where as my back-up? Screwing around with
John-Boy !" 
   "Mulder, it's not like I had any control..."she suddenly felt
violently ill and ran to lean against the fence, vomiting onto the
ground. 
   "No shit." Mulder yelled at her as she wretched painfully. His
common sense was overwhelmed by the image of another man groping at
Scully without resistance. "You didn't seem to have any problems with
control yesterday in the office.  You were just as horny as me but
your fine sensibilities stopped you then."
   "Let's just get out of here." she said as she wiped her mouth
clean and stumbled towards the road, unwilling to talk to him in his
present state.
   He blocked her path and shouted "Not until you tell me what the
fuck is going on!" 
   "I think he drugged me! I think he was trying to kill me." she
finally said.
  "Then let's get you to a hospital" he replied in a flat clinical
tone.
   "So you can prove I'm not lying." she  accused. "If the toxicology
report is negative will you still believe me?"."
   He rolled his eyes in disbelief and disgust.  "Now who's
paranoid?"
   "Answer the question!" she demanded
   "YES, Scully.  I believe you!" The realization calmed him slightly
and he tried to express his pain.  " I'm just pissed off that someone
can just walk up and take you away from me." Hurt and confusion
flushed his face as tears formed in his eyes.
   Tenderly she took his face in her hands and said "Mulder, they can
drug me, rape me and even kill me but they can't ever take me away
from you.  I'm in your heart, a part of you forever just like you are
to me."  She rested her head against his chest and listened to his
heart beats soften.
    He breathed uneasily trying to gather his thoughts.  "I think
your right.  I think it's the sex that kills. Let's get out of here
and I'll tell you what I saw..." his voice became more relaxed but
still had a edge of anger "What I saw besides you about to do the
wild thing with a stranger."
    Satisfied that they had stopped yelling at each other, she
ignored his remark and continued to walk down the  path, holding his
hand tightly in hers.

    They had little time to repair their wounded relationship as the
case rushed forward. What Mulder had seen was the strange ritual in
the catacomb cellar and the transformation of the dying kindred man
into a woman.  He guessed that the gender transformation somehow
revitalized the body.  What Scully remembered from her meeting with
Brother Andrew was that a Kindred named Martin had been enthralled
with the outside world and its carnal pleasures. Martin and the other
Kindred were "different"; they could seduce anyone although such
abuse was prohibited by the sect.  Andrew must have been just as
enthralled with Scully as he sought the forbidden pleasures with her.
  
     
   Before long, another incident occurred but this time it left a
surviving witness.  The exposure to Martin's sexual appetite poisoned
his system but  not enough to kill him. The witness claimed that the
woman he picked up in a bar somehow changed into a man when
confronted by the police.  Mulder knew it had to be  the Kindred
brother gone astray, although he still had no idea how the
transformation took place.
    Another lead brought them straight to the scene of another death.
Martin got the jump on them, decking Mulder as he fled.  Scully
managed to cornered him in an alleyway when the Kindred suddenly
appeared and whisked him away. Brother Andrew stood between her and
the Kindred. For whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to shoot
and was knocked off her feet by the man.  By the time Mulder
recovered and reached Scully, the Kindred had all vanish.  The
following morning, police stormed the Kindred homestead only to find
it deserted with no evidence of any means of transportation.  The
cellar was filled and sealed with concrete.  All they found was a
large mysterious crop circle in the hayfield.

    Mulder was convinced they were not of this earth and flew off
into space once their times here was done.  Martin was a rebel who
wanted to stay, to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. The Kindred had
used their investigation to locate him and take him back.  That's why
they were allowed to leave the farm, why Brother Andrew seduced
Scully.  
    Scully saw no evidence that supported his theory but seem fairly
convinced that the Kindred would not be returning. As they closed
case, they discussed the implications of being able to seduce anyone
of either sex. It was a way to breech the subject of their recent
tension.
   "Theoretically, what would be the advantages of being able to
seduce anyone?" Mulder proposed.  "Money, power, free cable?"
    "There's no advantage if it kills everyone you seduce." Scully
replied.
    "It didn't kill Michael or you.  I think it was the intensity and
extend of exposure that killed.  Maybe in small doses it simply
creates a 'friendly' ambivalence.  That would explain why no one ever
got too suspicious of the Kindred before.  If I were visiting a
strange new world of violent impulsive creatures I would consider
using a chemical ice breaker to ensure my survival and acceptance. In
theory of course." Mulder smiled and egged her on to debate.
    "That's a fairly sound theory, Mulder. I'm impressed." She smiled
and thought of a good challenge for her partner.  "But if that's
true, what would you do to maintain control so people like Martin
don't expose the whole operation?"
    He thought for a moment then offered "I'd let my 'people' engage
in some kind of controlled release to satisfy the curious and placate
the anxious." 
    She looked at him with deadly seriousness "Mulder, are you saying
you'd invite aliens over to watch you video collection?'
   He laughed slightly then said "No, I was thinking more like
virtual reality.  Besides I gave up most of my videos."
   She threw him a surprised look and asked  "When did this happen?"
   "The same time I canceled my subscription to 'Celebrity Skin'. 
One week after I first had sex with you." He had shifted gears from
office chatter to his own obsession.
   "I'd say I'm flattered but that doesn't seem appropriate.  What
exactly were your motives?" She resisted his teasing and continued
her line of thought.
   "Nothing else compared to the memory of sex with you." he answered
honestly.  "Sometime I need to think about something besides you so I
kept a few videos and magazines but when it comes down to who I
really want to seduce the only one I can think of is you." 
   She shook her head in exaggerated movements "Now I know you're
lying!  You can't tell me you would refuse an attractive woman's
advances if you knew there was no danger of retribution from
her....or me."
    "Maybe you're right.  But we're not just talking about sex ,
we're talking about seduction.  If I just want sex, then the videos,
phone lines and prostitutes are enough. But the art of seduction is
more than sex.  It about control, desire and surrender.  It's guiding
consciousness away from logic and into to passion." His voice deepen
with each word, the tones themselves became hypnotic. Scully indeed
felt her logic slipping away and her own passion rising. "But if
you're lucky, really lucky, you seduce someone you love and discover
they love you. Then you're both seduced by the powerful influence of
pure sincere loving lust."  His eyes darken and burned deeply into
her as his breathing degraded to heavy panting.  He shifted his body
so she could clearly see his arouse state.  But he made no move to
approach her.  
    She knew he was seducing her right there in the office, without
even touching her. She locked the door and drew closer to him,
anticipating another "indiscreet act". The Kindred had nothing on the
'invisible' touch of this special man.

_________________

CASE TWO - LAZARUS SQUARED

   Mulder worried anytime Scully was out of his sight but when she 
performed her duties as an FBI  agent without him, he went into an
absolute panic. It didn't matter that she patiently and logically
explained why Jack Willis asked to have her for his backup for the
capture of Warren Dupre and Lula Phillips, the modern day Bonnie and
Clyde bank robbers. Willis had been ostracized by the other agents in
the Violent Crime Section by his single minded obsession concerning
this case and he wanted someone to back him up that he could trust
implicitly.  Mulder knew Scully and Willis were friends since he
taught at the Academy. Mulder also knew that Scully was a level
headed able-bodied fully qualified field agent who handled herself
well in a crisis.  But  she was his lover and that fact overshadowed
all other thoughts.
  "Don't worry, Mulder. Everything will be fine. Willis has been
tracking these two for a year.  He's ready for them.. Beside there
will be 3 more agents outside and one in the vault for back up." 
Scully reassured Mulder as she tried to  leave the office to meet
Willis.  He had been holding her tightly for the last 5 minutes,
saying little and kissing often. Reluctantly, he let her go and she
slipped away under his watchful eye. "And I don't want you hanging
around that bank." she added knowing his tactics all too well. 
"You're more likely to endanger the operation than to protect me.
I'll call you as soon as I can." She gave him a long deep kiss to
quiet anymore protest and left.  

   The stakeout went horribly wrong.  Dupre entered boldly and
threaten everyone with a shot gun.  Willis drew his weapon once his
back was turned and ordered Dupre to drop the gun.  Scully had her
sights on Dupre as well.  There was no escape for him but like a
trapped animal, he roared and fired upon Willis, who dropped
instantly.  Scully fired three rounds which struck down Dupre.  Lula
Phillips, who should have been waiting in the 'get-away' car outside,
was no where to be found.  
    
    The two dying men laid on tables in the ER as the code team
worked on both.  Dupre had just been declared dead and they were
about to call the code on Willis, when Scully intervened and demanded
they continue the resuscitation.  After 3 more attempts, the code
team finally got a cardiac rhythm on Willis.  Scully remained at his
side, whispering encouragement to him, while his vital signs slowly
stabilized.
    Willis was admitted to the hospital and a weary Scully wandered
into the waiting room. Before she even saw him, Mulder embraced her,
kissing her hair and face, just to make sure she was real.  She was
too tired to demand he be cautious and discreet, and she welcomed the
world of the living.  Agent Bruskin of the VCS who had been
supervising Willis's case, walked in on the two agents and their
un-partner-like actions but did nothing more than clear his throat.
Mulder and Scully separated self-consciously and Scully asked "So
what now, Sir?"
   Bruskin smirked slightly at the thought of making some rude
comment about the two making out in public, but decided to maintain
his professionalism and said "I hear Jack is going to be all right."
She nodded weakly and he smiled. "Good, he deserved a break on this
one.  We're still trying to track down Phillips and whoever tipped us
off in the first place, but we're bound to turn up something soon. 
You still want in on this?"
   "I think I owe it to Jack.  If I had been more alert maybe..." she
said sadly.
   "Don't take it so hard.  All the witnesses said it looked like
Dupre was about to drop the gun.  Even Jack relaxed his aim a bit."
Bruskin assured her.
   "Still I feel some responsibility.  Is it OK if Mulder works with
me on this one?" she asked pensively.
    Bruskin made no guesses about their relationship; he'd seen
plenty of inter-department affairs during his career but these two
seemed to be a pretty unlikely match.  He did appreciate Mulder's
ability as an investigative agent despite his 'spooky' reputation.
"Sure, we can use all the help we can get.  Welcome aboard, Mulder."
    Mulder shook Bruskin's hand then asked  "Do you need Scully to
perform an autopsy on Dupre?"
    "Normally we would, but since she's the one who shot him, we're
waiting  to bring in the Coroner.  It should be done in the next
couple of days.  We're not in any hurry since we know exactly what
killed him."
    "Me." Scully said solemnly.  Taking another person's life was
sometimes necessary but she always had a difficult time morally
justifying it.  Mulder started to put his arm around her to comfort
her but she distanced herself from him, aware of the other agent.
"When's the debriefing ?" she asked Bruskin.
    "8 am tomorrow. Watch yourself, Scully.  Phillips will probably
be gunning for you since you killed Dupre." he warned.
    Mulder interrupted "Scully lives alone. I'll stay with her
tonight and make sure she's safe.  She can bring me up to date on
this case and maybe I can add to Phillips's profile."
    Bruskin didn't bat an eye and simply said "Consider that your
assignment for tonight. I'll get the rest of Jack's case file to you
in the morning. See you in then."  He said to himself <I may as well
give the kid a break.  Who else is going to sleep with a paranoid
alien chasing spook but a lady who cuts up dead people and shoots
bank robbers.>

    Two days later, Jack Willis disappeared from the hospital and the
body of Dupre was mutilated to remove the wedding ring he worn as a
symbol of his love for Lula Phillips. Evidence pointed to Willis as
the culprit.  Scully was concerned that Willis was suffering from a
post traumatic psychosis. Mulder thought about his own wedding ring,
which he rarely wore but meant so much to him.  He always carried it
with him, a symbol of his love for Scully.  Suddenly, he was
concerned that Willis was not himself, literally.  He examined the
data gathered so far.  Based on Willis's EKG trace during the code
that showed 2 distinct heart rhythms, the  taking of a a significant
personal item and the fact that Willis cut the fingers off with his
left hand even though he was right-handed, Mulder suspected that
somehow Dupre's consciousness entered Willis body at the time of his
death. Scully was totally unconvinced of Mulder's  theory, more so
than usual. 
    Mulder took her to the University of Maryland to hear the
theories of a researcher  who was investigating near death
experiences. He spoke of how the body discharges energy as it starts
to die, giving the survivors a new zest for life. Mulder silently 
remembered his own near death experience which was followed by making
love to Scully and thought to himself  <Now that's zest!>. He shift
his attention back to Dr. Varnes who said physical proof of the
energy phenomena existed in the electrical dysfunction of watches
worn by many people who had such an experience. Even after listening
to Dr. Varnes explain how the dying body can be 'vulnerable' to other
'energy fields', i.e. other souls, Scully  remained closed to such
ideas. Her protective and defensive attitude lead Mulder  to ask how
well she knew Jack Willis.
   
   "We dated for almost a year." she finally admitted.
    Mulder's face redden with anger and he raised his voice to her.
"You said you two were friends! You never said anything..."
    "This is why!" She scolded back.  "I haven't forgotten what you
did to Colton.  You're still too reactive towards anything you
consider a threat to our relationship, to my loyalty to you."
     "But you didn't have to lie to me." he replied, still angry and
upset.
     "I didn't lie.  Jack and I ARE just friends.  We broke up over a
year before you and I  started working together on the X-Files.  I
don't suppose you've told me about all the women you've seen since we
got divorced."
     "It's not the same." he grumbled. " You spent a year with him."
     "It was more like four months with a six month let down. For
some reason, we always felt connected.  We even had the same
birthday. We used to celebrate it in some dive in Stafford that had a
slanted pool table.  Believe or not in some ways he reminded me of
you.  His devotion to work, his obsession with justice, his caring
nature.  But it was always so hard for him to relax, impossible
really. He was always so intense, so relentlessly determined. He
suffered from depressive moods.  Maybe I thought I could change that.
 But when I realized I was just using him as a poor substitute for
you, I had to be honest with him. He had a hard time letting it end
but we did manage to stay friends."
     Mulder nodded as he listened then asked bitterly, "Did you sleep
with him?"
    "Mulder! I can't believe you'd even think of asking me that." 
    "I'm sorry,  I just have to know.  After everything I went though
for that privilege..."
    Scully threw her hands up. "That's enough!  Don't you dare start
playing stupid male ego games.  If I wanted to be with Jack, I
wouldn't be with you. I could understand you being upset  if my past
made me dysfunctional in our relationship, like Phoebe did to you,
then I would owe you an explanation but..." His expression went from
anger to hurt at the mention of Phoebe's name. "I'm sorry, Mulder. 
That was uncalled for."
    "But it's true. Forget about it.  Let's just stick to the case."
She nodded in agreement. He took a deep breath and got back on track.
"So I take it you know Jack very well.  Do you believe he's
predisposed to this kind of psychotic episode?"
     "He had some...repressed emotions." She said nothing more but
her face turned a ghostly white.  Mulder was prepared to drop the
issue when suddenly Scully burst into tears.  "He...he hit me,
Mulder."
    "WHAT!" Mulder shouted as he turned her to look in her eyes.
"That bastard hit you..."
    She closed her eyes and quickly regained her composure, the mask
of strength gracing her face once again.  "It only happen twice. I 
wasn't  really hurt. He was frustrated and drunk at the time."
   Concern filled his voice as it softened and asked "Dana, why
didn't you say anything?"
   "I wasn't afraid of him." Her guarded tone emphasized her
carefully chosen words.  "It was just the circumstances of our
relationship that made him that way.  Once we agreed just to be
friends, there weren't anymore outbursts."
   Mulder shook his head with disbelief.  How could she ever allow
such a thing.  "I don't understand. Why didn't you just get away from
him."
   "I told you - it was the circumstances.  I didn't want to hurt
him." Scully seemed reluctant to discuss the matter further.
   Mulder only grew more upset, as thoughts of anger and jealousy
entered his head.  "I still don't get it.  When I threatened you, you
left..."
   "You left me, remember? Besides, I was only 21 years old." she
shot back, unwilling to debate the issue.
   He confronted her with a cold stare and an icy voice "When you
left, you told me  you loved me.  What did you say to him?"  
  She turned to leave "I'm sorry I ever said anything.  Understand
one thing - I refuse to compare you and Jack." 
   "What's so special about Willis?  What circumstances let you
forgive him?" Mulder demanded.
   Scully  finally gave up her restrain and said spitefully "Jack was
functionally impotent." Scully waited as Mulder was silenced by
surprise. "It was due to vascular damage secondary to his diabetes. 
I told him it didn't matter to me but he never fully believed that. 
Sometimes it just too much for him to deal with. That's why I
couldn't be angry at him for striking out when he felt frustrated."
   It dawned on Mulder that he had forced Scully to break a personal
confidence to calm his own insecurity.  Committing such a betrayal
hurt Scully more than any of the blows delivered by Jack Willis. He
hung his head as Scully gave him a look that clearly said 'There, are
you happy now?'.  Mulder tried to put his arm on her should but she
moved away.  Not phased by her rejection he announced "I'm a real
asshole, aren't I?"
   She couldn't help but break her hard expression. "Yes, you are
Mulder.  At least you're an honest asshole." As they walked together
she added "But I believe it's still along way from saying Jack had a
near death experience to saying his body has been inhabited by Warren
Dupre."

   Just then Mulder's cell phone rang.  Lula Phillips's brother was
found in his apartment shot to death.  What they didn't know was that
Jack Willis pulled the trigger.  But what only Willis  knew was that
it was the spirit of Dupre that controlled the body.  What little of
Willis's consciousness that remained after the body died, remained
with only one intent - to tell Dana he was sorry and would always
love her-even if it killed her.
  
   Mulder and Scully surveyed the crime scene as a commotion
developed in the hallway.  Scully heard Willis's voice and found him
arguing with an officer who refused to admit him into the apartment. 
He claimed to have lost his ID and so she vouched for him.  Dupre's
spirit recognized her as the person who killed him and seethed with
hatred plotting his revenge.  Thanks to Willis's emotions, he knew
she would trust him, making his revenge even easier.  Scully got
'Willis' to agree to a full physical and pysch work-up before being
allowed back to active status then escorted him the crime scene. 
    Mulder watched him suspiciously gauging his reactions, looking
for any sign of inconsistent behavior.  All the evidence made him
wonder if it really was Willis that Scully brought back from the
dead.
    After 'Willis' was cleared to resume his duties, he reported to
the pistol range to re-qualify with his weapon.  Mulder watched as
the man fired with deadly accuracy, using a left handed grip.  Mulder
told him that today was Scully's birthday and tricked him into
signing a card for her.  When Mulder confronted her with the  card, 
signed by 'Willis' with his left hand, on a day that he should have
known wasn't her birthday, in as style totally different than how he
signed reports three days earlier, she still wasn't convinced that
somehow Dupre controlled his body.  
    Mulder proposed coldly "Dupre was a survivor and he was devoted
to Phillips. Death wouldn't  give him an escape. He'd fight his way
back. But if Willis was all the things you he was, he wouldn't have
any reason to come back."
    Scully rallied to Wllis's defense.  "Mulder, you hardly know the
man. His life DOES have meaning and purpose.  He wouldn't just give
up if he knew we could save him."
    "Scully, he lost you." He tenderly took her hand and kissed the
finger tips  "I barely survived until I got you back."
    She took her hand back.  "No, you're wrong.  It is Jack and he's
still suffering from emotional shock.  I can't start accusing him
now.  We have to help him." Scully insisted.
     Mulder knew there was no point in arguing but planned to keep a
close watch on the new re-certified agent.  
      
    Scully went to see Willis  but he was preoccupied with following
up on a tip regarding the location of Lula Phillips. He convinced
Scully to go with him.  Dupre saw it as the perfect opportunity for
his revenge.
    Mulder had been meeting with Bruskin to discuss his new profile
on Phillips, which included suspicions that she may have been the one
who set up Dupre, trying to escape his suffocating love.  Mulder went
to the VCS to find Scully but was informed that she had left with
Willis to check on a tip.  Panic set in at the thought of her alone
with 'it'.  He quickly played back the hotline recording and called
Bruskin to bring back up to the scene. Mulder tore out of the
building, unwilling to wait a second longer to find Scully.
    'Willis' and Scully found Phillips as she fled from the
apartment. Not recognizing her lover in his new body, she ran away
from him until Scully tackled her and cuffed her.  To both of the
women's surprise, 'Willis' took her weapon and instructed Scully to
cuff herself. He cooed kind words to Phillips who thought he was
crazy until she saw him prepare to release the cuffs. Scully calmly
appealed to Jack's better nature, convinced that he was delusional,
believing he was Dupre.  This only angered him and he struck her
across the face. 
    Just then an enraged Mulder grabbed 'Willis' from behind,
screaming "Get the hell away from her, Dupre!" Mulder threw him to
the ground and pointed his gun at him and continued to yell.  "You
murderous son-of-a-bitch. You couldn't just kill Willis, you fucking
stole his body. She is not going to be your next victim."
     Scully had no idea what Mulder was ranting on about but was
afraid he was going to kill Willis.  "Mulder, just get me out of
these." she said trying to divert his attention.  Unfortunately it
worked too well.  'Willis' took advantage of his distraction,
knocking him down and dislodging the gun from his grip.  "Willis'
scrambled for the gun but Mulder managed to get a hold of his collar
and pulled him into a strangle hold.  Mulder kept swearing until
'Willis' finally past out.  Mulder felt a strange surge of power and
anger then continued to choke the limp body.  Suddenly, Phillips
slammed a 2 by 4 against his head and Mulder slumped over.  She had
recovered the key that 'Willis' dropped and freed herself while
everyone was distracted.  
     Phillips looked at Scully and said "Your friend's crazy.  But at
least now I know who I can trust."  She revived 'Willis' who
immediately kissed her and thanked her for recognizing him, saying
she was why he came back. The two  hauled Scully off as a hostage,
leaving Mulder to suffer alone.

    Mulder awoke with a splitting headache as the back up unit showed
up.  Bruskin made sure he was OK and suggested he go to the ER.
    "They've got Scully." he replied shakily.
    "Who? Phillips and Willis?  You think they planned this whole
thing?"
    "It may not be Willis." Mulder replied cryptically.
    Bruskin gave Mulder a hard stare "This isn't  one of your X-File
theories..."
     Mulder was unphased. "It does matter what I think, they took
Scully.  They'll torture her and kill her if we don't find them." 
   Bruskin saw the wild look in Mulder's eyes and remembered how the
two agents embraced in the hospital.  Being an FBI agent was often
lonely stinking business.  What really stunk was losing your partner
in the line of duty.  Could anyone stand to lose his partner and his
lover at the hands of another agent?   No wonder Mulder got crazy
ideas, the truth could be unbearable.  Bruskin calmed Mulder by
saying "OK, we're looking for Scully now, all right?  They'll  comb
this area and send out an APB.  You get back to Willis's profile and
see if you can come up with a possible hiding place."

     Mulder poured over Willis's notes and tapes and fully realized
his obsession with the case.  Willis almost envied the two outlaw
lovers.   Mulder himself began to feel longing for the freedom they
had, to act without concern of consequences.  His thoughts flooded
with visions of frustration and anger and finally total resentment of
his own life and its rules.  He pictured Dupre and Phillips speeding
away from a crime scene, laughing at his inability to stop them,
laughing at his impotence as an agent and as a man.  Suddenly Mulder
shook himself to reality. <These aren't my memories or thoughts!
Could it be Willis after all?>  There was only one thing Mulder could
think of that would evoke a response that would clearly tag Willis -
Dana Scully.  
      He gripped the arms of his chair and pictured Scully perfectly
in his mind. He was rapidly assaulted by unfamiliar images and
emotions.  Images of a shared birthday celebration in some dive, an
cold cabin in the Barrens, and finally, of striking Scully in the
face.  Mulder felt nauseated at the thought of hitting her.  Even in
his wildest rages, Mulder NEVER hit Scully.  Mulder became enflamed
with feelings of love, anger, regret, rejection, and lust. He rapidly
became aroused with erotic images of Dana, the way she looked four
years ago.  He ripped open his fly and started to masturbate and
nearly passed out from the sensation. Willis hadn't had an erection
or a full ejaculation in years and Mulder knew what he was
experiencing was Willis's reaction to his fully responsive body.
    Mulder forced himself to picture his own memories of making love
to Dana.  The consciousness that was Willis cried in jealous agony
then realized Mulder was sharing the experience with him.
Mulder/Willis could feel every inch of Dana's warm body as she slide
along his swollen manhood and drew him closer to orgasm. Her smell,
her heat, her wetness- all still fresh in Mulder's mind felt even
more exciting and new.  He let Willis's memories of her past
affections mingle with these bold sensations of her passion.  His
hand pumped mercilessly, unaware that he had torn the skin on the
shaft and drew blood. He heard his own voice scream in ecstasy as he
came. 
     Release, relief, and gratitude swept over Mulder.  He hastily
cleaned himself up after his 'encounter'.   He regarded the skin tear
and sighed "Jack, you're just a little too rough for me." He heard a
<sorry>  from deep in his mind. But now he needed Willis's help in
return, his help to find Scully.
      Mulder was directed to examine part of Dupre/Phillip's file
which described "safe houses" the couple maintained, older homes
easily rented on a no-name cash only basis.  Several addresses were
listed but it was clear that they change sites frequently. The
information seemed to be of little help until he felt compelled to
compare it to the list of robberies.  Each "safe house" was within a
10 mile radius of the last robbery. Mulder at least had a place to
start.
    
      While in the VCS office, Mulder's cell phone rang and the voice
sent a cold chill down Mulder's spine. "Willis?"
       The voice answered "That depends who you ask."  Mulder
demanded to speak with Scully and 'Willis' agreed.
     "Dana, are you OK?" Mulder cried.
     "Mulder, don't ...." was all she could say before the phone was
pulled away.
     "Dana!" Mulder shouted into the phone desperately.  Suddenly his
voice turned into a pleading sob "D, I'm sorry!"
    The phone line went dead as the agents cursed Willis and watched
Mulder agonize over his partner's fate.  Even Bruskin's couldn't have
guessed that he carried the suffering of two men in love with her.

    Scully had been stunned at Mulder's last words.  Had it not been
the familiar voice of her partner, she would have sworn it as Jack
saying he was sorry, just like he did after hitting her.  Mulder
rarely called her Dana but never called her "D", only Jack used that
nickname.  But Jack was with her, torturing her, and believing to the
core that he was Dupre.  Why would Mulder say he was sorry? Could he
be expressing an empathic bond to Jack, influenced by what she had
told him about their relationship.  No, it was all too unbelievable
and confusing.  <Keep your head level and appeal to Jack's better
nature; he's still in there, not in Mulder.> she thought logically. 
But the man in the room was unaffected by her appeals to remember
their time together, insisting he was Dupre.

     Scully knew one thing about Jack Willis that Dupre didn't - that
he was diabetic. His high intake of sugar without any regulating
medication threatened to send him into a diabetic coma.  They robbed
a pharmacy to obtain the insulin but before Scully could administer
it, Phillips turned on her and 'Willis'.  It turned out, Phillips was
the one who set Dupre up, and just when she thought he was dead and
gone, his 'spirit' turns up again.  So she would kill him a second
time , letting the coma overtake him.   Meanwhile she still had
Scully as a bargaining chip for a clean get away.  

     The location of pharmacy break in confirmed to the rest of the
team that Mulder had chosen the right search area.  But it was still
like looking for a needle in a very large haystack without more
specifics.  A call came in from Phillips with her demands and a 24
hour deadline.  They traced the call but Mulder recognized it
immediately as Scully's cell phone number.  Everyone thought things
were at a hopeless stand still. Mulder listened to the recorded
conversation over and over. Then he heard it. A sound in the
background, just at the end of the recording.  A clever FBI recording
specialist  isolated the sound and identified it as the sound of an
small aircraft taking off. Based of the location the local airport,
they were instantly able to cut their search area into a manageable
size.

    The agents gathered in the ready room for the briefing.  As
Bruskin entered and announced Mulder had something for them on the
case, one agent said sarcastically "What an alien virus? Or does he
have some new information on the Kennedy assassination?"
    Bruskin bristled, understanding just how important this was to
Mulder, and replied "Mulder's all right.  Pay attention to the man. 
You might learn something."

     The search went slowly and nearly came to a dead halt when
another crisis situation broke out, forcing the PD to pull out of the
search. With the deadline approaching, Mulder turned inward for help,
for any clue from Willis how to find Scully. An intense pain crept
over Mulder as his hands and feet went numb, his stomach tied into
knots. He felt feverish and thirsty.  Finally he could picture
Scully, bruised and handcuffed to a heating fixture.  Willis had
somehow channeled his own body which was suffering from the early
stages of diabetic coma.  Mulder concentrated on the image, and on
the window above Scully.  He could see a plane just clearing the roof
tops. 
    Bruskin entered the room and found Mulder in a trance-like state
of shock.  He shook him roughly and barked  "Mulder, can you hear me?
Don't weird out now!  We need  to come up with a plan or she's dead 
in just a few hours."
    Mulder shot upright and glared at Bruskin.  "Give me a map." he
demanded.  Bruskin handed him the area map he'd been carrying. 
Mulder studied it for a minute then circled a small area just north
of the airport. "Here" Mulder declared "Look for a two story rundown
house facing south."
    Bruskin stared at Mulder "Are you sure? How can you..."
    "Just do it!" Mulder yelled desperately.
     Bruskin knew when the shit hit the fan a good agent just went on
instinct and Mulder had some of the best instincts in the business. 
But was his involvement with Scully affecting his judgment? Bruskin
chose to follow his own instincts and said "Sure thing, Mulder. I'll
call the new orders to the team right away,"
    
   They quickly located the hide out.  With no clear shot into the
house, they stormed the front door. As they broke in, lead by Mulder,
they found Phillips had been shot by 'Willis' who had succumbed to
his illness. When  Mulder saw Scully, he suddenly lost conscious
control of his actions.  He kissed her lips and whispered "Forgive
me, D. I'll always love you. I came back to tell you but now it's
over. Good bye." He kissed her again and Mulder reeled at the lonely
void that filled his heart for an instant.  
    "Jack!" she cried looking at Mulder.  Then she shifted her stare
to the body of Jack Willis, as Bruskin announced he was dead.
     "Scully, are you all right?" Mulder said as he unlocked the
cuffs and soothed her wrists.  The voice, the touch, and eyes were
all Mulder. She sighed with relief, knowing that all questions and
doubts could wait.  It was indeed over.
    
     The events weight heavy on the minds of the agents. Scully had
witnessed what appeared to be soul of Warren Dupre declare his love
one final time before killing Phillips to join him in death. She
heard what she though was Jack say 'I love you' from Mulder's lips.
She wondered if love alone could really sustain the soul, even if
only for a moment.  Mulder could understand his connection to Willis
through Scully and his frustration of not being able to make love to
her. But Mulder felt a sense of foreboding when he realized his own
connection to Dupre, through his suffocating love of Phillips which
drove her to betray him.  Mulder knew he had to give Scully her space
or risk everything they had.

     The offical report said Jack Willis died in the line of duty. 
Mulder couldn't deny the ironic truth. As Scully packed Jack's
belonging from his desk, she questioned Mulder about the things he
said that reminder her of Jack.
     Mulder just smiled and said "Maybe my expert profiling skills
got me into Jack's head instead of just the bad guys, for a change. 
The best thing about profiling, is that it offers no proof.  Only
impressions and guesses, insights and revelations.  It only works if
you have faith and if you chose to believe."
    "So what should I believe? That Dupre's consciousness entered
Jack's body, and Jack's entered you?   That Dupre used Jack's
frustration to capture me and that you used his love  to find me?"
     Mulder pursed his lips and considered her challenge.  The moment
was right for another one of their heated debates, but perhaps Scully
wasn't ready  to face the fact that she affected Jack as profoundly
as Phillips affected Dupre. Instead, he gave her Willis's watch,
recovered from his body. On the back was inscribed "Happy 35th, Love
D". She took it and noticed it had stopped at 6:45, the time his body
went into cardiac arrest, Mulder observed.  She considered the
implications and asked him "What does it mean?"
     "It means whatever you want it to mean." he sighed as he left
Scully to finish packing, trying to give her the time she needed to
find herself.
     Scully gently put a hand on his shoulder to stop him and
whispered "I think it means that even when our bodies fade, the love
never dies."  
     Mulder marveled at her touch and how it healed his doubts and
insecurities, how it expressed her love completely.  Disregarding any
on-lookers, Mulder leaned over and kissed her, whispering back "Don't
you know - the Invisible Man is just another name for a spirit. 
Kinda spooky, huh.?"

______________________


CASE 3- YOUNG HEARTS

   "Are you sure you won't join me for the recital?" Scully asked her
partner as they drove to meet Agent Reggie Purdue, Mulder's first
supervisor in the FBI.  
    "I thought you wanted to keep this affair discreet?" he
responded, avoiding the question.
    "I hardly think accompanying me to a concert is scandalous."
    "It will be if I fall asleep and start groping you like I do in
bed." He winked at her.
    "That might be worth the scandal." she replied suggestively.
"Serious, I just want you to meet Kathy. I think we're at a point in
our relationship that we should know a little bit more about each
other's friends and private life. Not that either of us have much of
a private life  but I want you  in every part of my life, even if
just as a visitor."
    Her words warmed his heart. Despite his over-protective nature
and jealously, she still wanted more, not less, of him in her life.
<Damn, I really do love her.> he thought as he pulled in a parking
place.  As they got out of the car he made a suggestion.  "How about
a compromise?  I'll drop you off so I can meet Kathy, then I'll go to
the sport bar across the street and watch the Knicks game."
    "Deal." She reached out her hand to shake on the agreement but he
hugged her and kissed her instead. She accepted the kiss but broken
contact quickly. "Mulder, be careful." she admonished.
    "Can't help it.  It really turns me on when I win an argument
with you." he smiled gleefully.
    "Just remember that the next time you invite me to meet one of
YOUR friends."
    He guided Scully down the sidewalk to the store front. "That
would be in about 2 minutes.  Reg is the best friend I have in the
FBI, besides you."

    Scully knew that Mulder had very few friends in the Bureau, but
Reggie Purdue seemed to respect him and actually like him.  Too bad
the circumstances of this reunion where so awful.  Purdue had found a
note left at a robbery/murder scene that was reminiscent of a case he
and Mulder had worked on, Mulder's first case in the FBI.  The note
read "Fox can't guard the chicken coop."
   Even the mention of the name John Barnett disturbed and distracted
Mulder.  Scully recognized the pain and remorse that haunted him
constantly, but not this particular catalyst.  Mulder described how
as a hot shot rookie he came up with a crazy theory about a series of
armored car robberies that turned out to be correct. But Barnett keep
one step ahead, taunting them with these calling card notes. When
they finally did catch Barnett, a agent was killed "because I screwed
up" Mulder confessed.  Barnett was convicted and sentenced to 340
years of consecutive terms. Mulder added "The judge promised me, he
would die in prison."
      "So you think he escaped?" Scully inquired, still confused by
Mulder's sullen mood.
      "That's just it. He did die in prison, four years ago."
      "You're sure?"
      "I was paying attention." he replied pointedly in a bitter
tone, then walked away.

      Scully followed and  tried to comfort him  but he refused to
accept any sympathy, as if he didn't deserve it.  She usually allowed
him to indulge his self-pity but today was the day to make him
confront the real world, she resolved. "Why do you think you're the
only one responsible for the fate  of the world?  That because of
you, everything went wrong?"
     Mulder's rage at himself wasn't about to be challenged. "You
weren't there, Scully. You didn't see the look on Steve Wallenberg's
face just before Barnett shot it off!"
     "This isn't a safe job.  We all take the same risks.  It could
have been YOU, Mulder." she added with a stern inflection.
     He stared at the ground and said gravely "It should have been
me."
     Scully jerked his head up enough to look into her crystal clear
blue eyes. "Do you want to give Barnett a second chance? Is that
what's this is about?" she scolded. "Do you think there's a rash of
criminals coming back from the dead to fulfill their last wish?  Tell
me Mulder, what do you think is this is?"
    He pulled away from her and shot her a painful glare.  "It's
happen again Scully.  And it's my fault. I have to stop him this
time, even if he's already dead." He turned and walked away so
quickly she would have to run to catch him.
    Now Scully knew what she was really up against - Mulder's deep
and destructive guilt complex and his obsession with the X-Files.  
She hoped she was a good enough agent and a caring enough lover to
see this through before Mulder slipped any further into his own
personal hell of regrets.  

     While Mulder had the note analyzed, Scully meet with Purdue to
get more back ground on the original case.  He showed her the video
footage of the arrest, how Mulder was behind Purdue and had a clear
shot but withheld fire expecting him to surrender since he was
surrounded.  Mulder was following  FBI policy which dictated that he
hold fire while the suspect held a hostage at gun point.  She watched
in horror as Barnett shot his hostage then fired upon the agents in
front of him.  Mulder responded and shot Barnett but not before two
people had died.  Purdue told Scully how Mulder lost his composure on
the witness stand at Barnett's trial with a outburst of  hatred and
loathing toward Barnett and his inhuman actions. Purdue also told her
how Barnett promised he'd get Mulder someday. "To tell you the truth"
the senior agent reflected, "I wish Mulder had killed Barnett right
there, at the warehouse."
      "Mulder has been thinking the same thing ever since that
moment." Scully replied.  
     Purdue shook his head and recalled his thinking at the time. "I
assigned Mulder to cover the rear.  I though he'd be safer there,
being the new kid and all.  Had it been a more experienced agent,
maybe...."
     "But they still would have been in violation of Bureau policy."
she observed.
    "I would rather face of Board of Inquiry than a wife and kids. 
My one consolation is that Mulder wasn't the one who was killed.  He
was just a kid.  True, he wasn't married like Wallenberg but..."
    "He was, at one time. And maybe again soon." Scully offered to
console the man.
    Purdue was taken back by the comment. "What? Mulder?"
    She knew he would figure it out eventually so she just said
"Thank you for making the choices you made to keep him alive. You
have no idea what it means to me."
     "You ...and Mulder?" he asked with disbelief "Since when?"
     "Actually since about ten years ago, with  a seven year break in
the middle." Purdue shook his head in astonishment as she continued.
"This is suppose be a secret but I think I can trust you and I want
you to know that you made the right decision."
     "Thank you Agent Scully but when you've been around this
business as long as I have, you learn regret is a poison that eats
away at you 'cause all the wishing can't change what happen.  Yeah I
wish Mulder had killed Barnett but he's dead now and we have a new
case to deal with."
     "I only wish Mulder could see it like that." Scully sighed.
     Purdue gave her a smile of encouragement "Stick with him. 
Underneath all that guilt and paranoia, he's worth it."
     "That's why I'm still here" she sighed, with loving resignation.

      Scully tried again to get Mulder to stop blaming himself for
the deaths that occurred that night.  He ignored her suggestion that
this could be a copy cat killer or someone who conspired with Barnett
to get him. All he could focus on was his own anger.  "If I had
pulled that trigger 2 seconds earlier Wallenberg would be alive today
to watch his son play football.  Instead I've got some dead man
robbing jewelry stores and sending me hikus." he snarled and stormed
from the office. Scully knew this  case just got tougher as she
watched Mulder close the walls around himself.

     Mulder gripped the note found on the crime scene as he watched 
Wallenberg's son playing football.  The FBI handwriting specialist
was 95% sure the note was written by  Barnett and 100% sure that it
was less than 48 hours old. Vowing vengeance for Wallenberg and
redemption for himself, Mulder return to his car to find a manila
envelope inside. He opened it to find a note which said "A hunted Fox
eventually dies" and photos of him as he and Scully arrived on the
scene of the robbery to meet with Purdue.  Mulder's seething anger
turned to horror as one on the photos showed him embracing and
kissing Scully. Once again, Mulder endangered her life, by her mere
association with him.  He looked around for any sign of the gloating
Barnett.  "I'LL GET YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH !" Mulder shouted,
directed at anyone who was listening.

    Murder discussed the case with Purdue in his office, and insisted
that  Barnett was alive and starting another crime spree.  Purdue
tried to convince Mulder that the man was dead and that anyone who
knew about Barnett's threats could be pulling this hoax.  As Mulder's
reason for believing it was Barnett got 'spookier', Purdue told him
privately that someone in the FBI might be setting him up, to
discredit him and the X-Files. He warned him to cover his ass.  With
impeccable time, Scully knocked and entered the office with more
details of Barnett's death including a copy of his will and the
disposition of the cremated remain.  Mulder was still unconvinced 
that Barnett was dead and left, still bitter and riddled with guilt.
    Purdue turned to Scully and asked "Can you get through to him?
He's too personally involved in this case to think reasonably."
    "Reasonably thinking isn't one of Mulder's strong points." she
responded with slight smile "But brilliant intuition is.  He may be
on to something. I have a hunch to follow up with the prison."
    Purdue let out an exasperated chuckle "It must be love. You're
just as scary as him."
     "Just call me 'Mrs. Spooky'." she replied.

     Scully found Mulder in the Suspect ID office. She presented him
with evidence that perhaps the death certificate was falsified. 
Barnett died of a cardiac arrest according to the offical record, but
had originally been admitted to the infirmary for a hand infection.
His medical history showed no sign of heart disease or complications.
    Mulder took her aside and when he was sure no one was looking, he
kissed  her passionately. Before she could protest, he whispered
"That's for believing in me."  She had finally gotten through to him
and they had a place to start a real investigation.
    
    Together visited the prisoner-trustee who Barnett name in his
will.  He claimed to have seen Barnett alive the night they said he
died.  He saw Dr. Ridley amputate the infected hand and the strange
milky colored eyes that looked to him for help.  Scully regarded the
interview with skepticism, but Mulder took it as proof that Barnett
was alive.  
     When they returned to their office, Mulder received a call.   He
recognized it immediately as Barnett. Scully went to run a trace as
Mulder attempted to keep him on the line as long as possible. 
Mulder's blood boiled listening to the man as he claimed to have
stood next to him in line for coffee that morning.  "I'm everywhere
you are. Everywhere! I own you." he gloated.  Mulder was unaffected
by his threats but demanded proof he was who he said he was. Barnett
just laughed and promised he'd have his proof and hung up before they
could complete the trace.

      Mulder refused to leave the office that evening, sifting
through composite photos, evidence from the jewelry heist, Barnett's
prison record, and the records of the prison infirmary.  Scully went
home around 8 and made him promise to join her by eleven o'clock. By
10:45pm, Mulder found only one inconsistency. Instinct told him that
it must be the key to finding out what really happened to Barnett. He
needed to bounce the idea off someone but he knew better than to call
Scully, because she would only convince him to come home.  He smiled
when he realized he thought of her apartment as home but refocused on
how to proceed with the case.  He called Purdue, who had been sound 
asleep. 
     "Go home, Mulder" Purdue groused "Scully won't wait forever."
     The comment stunned Mulder for a moment. He feigned ignorance
"What?"
    "It's all right, Mulder.  She told me. Personally, I think it's
great." he reassured him. "She cares a hell a lot about you, you
lucky bastard.  Maybe she can give you a better perspective on
things."
     "Thanks, Reg, but right now I need some perspective on this
case..." Mulder proceeded to explain his dilemma. The note was
written by a right hander and Barnett was right handed but the
prisoner claimed to have seen Barnett's right hand amputated. 
Suddenly, Purdue's voice choked off and the line went silent except
muffle cried.  Mulder shouted into the phone but received no
response.  He called 911 then the FBI Operation Center and finally he
called Scully and told her to meet him at Purdue's home.
   
      When Scully arrived on the scene, the police had collected the
evidence and the body was being removed. Initial findings were that
he was strangled to death, by a right handed person.  Mulder stood by
numbly, recalling the details of Purdue's life and their friendship,
regretting the shot not fired so long ago. He showed her the note
that Barnett left by the body, reading "Funeral for Fox's friends -
then for Fox."  He closed his eyes painfully and his voice grew
unsteady "He said 'Fox's friends.' You're the only other friend I
have. Barnett knows about 'us'." She could see the tear flow under
the closed lids. "He's going to kill you, just to make me suffer."
    "Not if we get him first" she replied stoically, as she rested
her hand on his arm  

     Mulder returned with Scully to her home.  He checked the each
room before he let her enter.  He refused to go to bed with her
because he couldn't  protect her if he was  distracted.  They sat on
the couch as he recalled his failure to fire on Barnett at the
critical moment, and the four death that followed.  All at once,
Mulder shut his eyes tightly then gritted his teeth and clinched his
fists, seething with lethal thoughts.  Scully reached over to stroke
the side of his face. He grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips,
kissing and caressing her. Tears followed, as he continued to pull
her against his chest. "Dana, I can't...it's my fault he's out there.
My fault he's after you."
   Scully did something he never expected. She threw him off the
couch.  "Get up, Agent Mulder!" she ordered.  His eye still damp with
tears just stared at her. She grabbed his shirt and yanked him
upright.  "I said get up, now!"  Without understanding, he stood up
before her.  "Dry your tears and start acting like a Federal Agent. 
I don't need some sorry weepy jerk hanging around me, trying to act
like a human shied.  I need Special Agent Fox Mulder to figure out
how to catch this killer."  
    Mulder admired every aspect of the woman he loved and now her
strength of will overwhelmed him.  Just as much as he wanted to
protect her, she needed him to accept the inherent danger they faced.
  They were partners and they needed to watch out for each other
while still doing their job.  He selfishly guarded her as his lover
but at some point he had to allow the rest of the world to benefit
from the talents  of Special Agent Dana Scully.  "All right, Agent
Mulder reporting for duty." he said straight faced.  "We need to find
out what Dr. Ridley was up to with Barnett. I'll leave that to you,
Doctor.  I'll check the evidence found at Reg's place. If he's keying
in on you and me, it's best if  we stay in the Bureau offices as much
as possible during work.  Right now I think we should..."
    "Right now I need Fox to help me forget the horrors of this job
and to help me remember why I love him so much." she said with a
smile.  "He can lock the doors and windows, check the closets and
under the bed but once he's in the bed, I want his full attention."
    "Trust me.  You'll have nothing less." he answered. They made
plans for the investigation the next day then went to bed, finding
safe haven in each others arms.
     
     The next day, Mulder made little progress with the physical
evidence.  It seemed unlikely the note was written by a man with a
prosthetic hand, although he was sure it was Barnett.   One other
oddity was noticed.  No prints where lifted from the notes but the
smearing indicated the writer was not wearing gloves.  What did
Ridley do with Barnett's hand, Mulder wondered.
     Scully discovered alarming evidence that Dr. Ridley hadn't been
officially a licensed physician since 1979.  He had been doing
research on a disease which caused extreme premature aging in young
children, progeria, but when he started to conduct human tests
without approval his grant was withdrawn and his medical license
revoked. He focused not so much on the disease and it's young victims
but on it's role in unlocking the mysteries of the aging process.  He
considered aging to be an opportunistic disease and was convinced he
could actually reverse the process.  This would explain why he
falsified death certificates on prisoners, so he could a have supply
of human test subjects that no one would miss.  When Ridley left the
prison to conduct his experiment in secret, he may have taken the
"deceased" intimates with him to continue his work.
     Scully tried to piece together the puzzle while Mulder's own
brand of logic lead him to believe that Ridley was successful in
aging Barnett backwards, creating the perfect disguise-youth. Scully
insisted it he was science fiction until he stopped her and reminder
her "You thought I WAS science fiction" , referring to his "invisible
man" personality.  
    "Fine." she relented "If it will make you happy, I'll check the
Internet for any medical references that might be related.  I do
think you're right in that something Ridley did altered Barnett's
appearance. I just need to figure out what."  
    He hugged and kissed the way he always did when he won an
argument and went to research what Barnett would look like, 5 years
younger.

    When Scully started to leave of the day, Mulder interrupted his
investigation,  and prepared to follow her home.  Scully knew he had
slipped back into his protector role. "I'll be OK.  You don't have to
leave for my sake. I know you want to stay and work on this." He
wavered for a moment, unsure if following her would't instigate
another outburst. Then she added "Stay, Mulder, and prove that your
right about Ridley and Barnett."  It was a challenge he couldn't
resist, as he said good night to her.
      Scully sat at home writing her field notes which did not
support Mulder's theory.  Thinking of him, she lit three candles, a
sign that she was waiting for him, crazy ideas and all. Her mind
snapped to attention when she heard a noise. She took her gun from
the mantle and crept slowly through her home.  She saw nothing but
finally there came a knock from the door.  "Who is it? " she called,
pointing the gun at the door.
    "It's me." called a familiar voice. Suspecting something was
wrong since he didn't use his key, she opened the door cautiously the
gun still ready.  She peered at Mulder and a man she recognized as
Dr. Ridley from the pictures taken in 1978. He hadn't aged a day but
his eyes were an eerie gray.  Mulder pushed Dr. Ridley in and said
"Meet Dr. Joe Ridley,  I caught him trying to access the FBI
database, trying to find who was heading up this investigation. I
thought I'd save him the trouble."

     Dr. Ridley explained that he came to them to tell his story
because no one else would listen or believe.  He obviously succeeded
in reversing the aging except for the eyes, but now he was dying.  He
reported that he and all his other subjects became susceptible to the
same fatal diseases that killed progeria patients. That is, all his
subjects but Barnett, whose treatment was varied to include selective
bio-insulator production.  In doing so, he was able to re-grow
Barnett's hand, although he had to use cells from a salamander to
stimulate the process, growing a membranous webbed wholly in-human
hand.  Scully was fascinated by the scientific feat but Mulder was
just short of revolted at the thought.  Ridley went on to explain
that the US government continued to sponsor his work until Barnett
stole all of Ridley's research with the intent of selling it to the
highest bidder.  The implications of such knowledge was staggering
but Dr. Ridley confessed his motive to continue his work, despite
ridicule and censure, were no more noble than a desire for power.  
    Ridley left Mulder and Scully to crawl back into the darkness he
came from.  His confession answered the questions of how Barnett
could be terrorizing Mulder but left disturbing overtones of
government involvement.  Mulder made a few calls then left to meet
his government contact, 'Deep Throat', to confirm Ridley's story. 
What Mulder discovered was that the government was dealing with
Barnett for the research, offering money and immunity.  Mulder left
disgusted and embarrassed by his own government, who would harbor a
murderer for the chance at the fountain of youth. One thought crossed
his mind <I can kill a young man just as easily as an old man.>

  He returned to Scully's place and told her about his meeting.  They
talked all night as they planned to capture Barnett first before the
deal was made, so they could at least try to prosecute.  If they
could expose the government involvement maybe the public could demand
regulation of such technology.  
   "Scully, the worst part about it is that you and I work for the
same government that would deal with this animal, this freak." Mulder
growled.
    "It's the same government that gave refuge to German nuclear
scientist during World War II and that tried to convince us that
ducking under a desk could protect you from an atomic blast.  All in
the name of the greater good." Scully sighed.
    "Those bastards are trying to run our lives, control our minds."
Mulder fumed.
    "Only if we let them." she replied resolutely. She gave him  kiss
to reassure him they could make a difference.

   He  glanced at the time. 6:45 am. "I don't have time to go back to
my place. Mind if I take  get cleaned up before work?" She offered
her bathroom.  "Thanks. Too bad a shower isn't enough to wash off the
filth of being associated with 'them'."
   His body dragged into the shower, weary from revelations and
guilt.  He leaned into the spray of warm water, with his eyes closed.
 He heard the shower door open then felt a warm body press into his
back.  A pair of hands reached around and slowly lathered his chest
and stomach with soap. He heard her soft sexy voice say "They don't 
control everything in our lives, Fox.  We can wash away the deception
if we reveal the truth."  His mind opened to let in the light of
truth and the sense of hope.  Released from the despair, his body
awaken to the pleasurable touch of the one person who believed in
him. 
   He stood still, practically holding his breath, as her hands
drifted down and found his awakening erection.  The soap slicked
fingers encouraged his arousal then wandered around his thighs and
calves. Her warmth left him as she gently pushed him forward,
bringing her hands up, kneading his buttocks and stroking his back.
He moaned at the sensations and continued to let her bath him.  She
turned him slightly, letting the water hit his shoulders. Standing
astride him, she let one hand continue upward to scrub his shoulders
but the other slid back to his front side and caressed his excited
flesh.  He responded with deep throaty sighs and rocked his hips,
pushing harder into her nimble hand.  The confined space, the water
beating on them,  and his need to see her face drove him beyond
conscious control. He rapidly turned to face her, then cupped his
hands under her buttocks, lifting her until their faces meet.  His
mouth devoured hers, as her hand guided the tip of his erection
towards her impassioned crevice. He slid in with no resistance, the
rocking motion of their bodies in tandem driving him in deep with
each thrust. Before long, they reached the inevitable climax of
maximum intensity. As her feet touched ground again, he whispered
"There is no way they could ever control you.  You're my own private
truth."   
   
   Scully stepped from the shower, leaving Mulder to finish cleaning
up.  As she dried off, she heard her answering machine rewind and
play the last few messages.  "Mulder, get out here, now."
   Wet and naked, fumbling with a towel in one hand and his automatic
pistol in the other, Mulder ran into the living room.  "DANA! Are you
are right?"
    "Mulder, someone is accessing my answering machine remotely."
   Mulder found his cell phone and tried to get a trace on her line
but the caller disconnected before it went through.  "Damn!" he swore
"Who could have gotten the remote code for the machine?"
    "Last night before you arrived, I could have sworn I heard
someone in my apartment, but when you knocked, I thought I'd mistaken
the noise for you."
     His face showed his alarm but he decided to avoid the issue of
him wanting to be there to protect her.  Instead he suggested  "Let's
take the machine to the lab and check it for prints and trace
evidence."
     "Don't you think we'd better get dressed first?" she observed.
     Regarding her fine form, Mulder replied "Yeah,  those lab-boys
might start checking you for trace evidence."
   
    Barnett's prints were lifted from Scully's answering machine.
>From the stored messages, he would have learned  she planned to
attend her friends cello recital that evening.  Mulder and Scully
agreed that he would plan to kill her there.  To his private horror,
Mulder had no choice  but to set a trap using Scully as bait.  Mulder
hid his anxiety and fear for her safety from the other agents but she
could clearly see it as they met with members of the stakeout team. 
She scribbled a note while he briefed the team on the plan and rules
of engagement.  As they left the room, she handed him her note which
read "A clever fox always wins." 
    Barnett called Mulder again. This time he laughed at Mulder's
promise to stop him. "Who's going to stop me? You and your lady
friend? This is land of the free, man." Barnett goated some more then
sighed and added "Be sure to kiss her goodbye, Mulder."
   "BARNETT, IT"S OVER!" He shouted as the line went dead.

    The FBI arrived two hours before Scully was scheduled to meet
with her friend, Kathy.  Scully had warned her earlier that afternoon
to stay in the ready room and to not let anyone she didn't know
personally in until the concert started. "There might be some
trouble." Scully told her and explained by simply saying "FBI
business." 
   Mulder briefed the agents again before they spread out through the
crowd. He took Scully by the hand and stroked her palm lightly with
his fingertips, restraining the he guilt he felt for exposing her to
this danger. He knew Barnett would kill her if given the chance. 
"How you feeling?" he asked her. 
    "First time I've ever played the target."
    He attempted to brake the tension by musing "Let's make sure it's
not the last."
    "It'll be your turn next time" she was her come back.
   A dark mood filled his voice as he answered "I'd do it now if I
could. If anything happens to you..."
    "You'll still need to catch Barnett before he disappears without
a trace.  This may be our only chance, Mulder, if he's making a deal
to sell Ridley's research notes." she reminded him seriously.
    Mulder nodded as he moved his hand around her waist and pulled
her closer. She shot him a stern look to remind him of the other
agents around. He smiled slightly and said "Just checking your body
armor." Then he focused his deep gaze on her and promised "I'll  stay
alert out there. I won't let my emotions take control.  Trust me."
    "Always." Her eyes turned dark with grim determination " Now let
me do my job."
    He let her go and watched as she moved through the crowd.  As he
tried to see her as just another agent instead of his lover, he
suppressed the dreaded sense of loneliness that filled him at the
thought of living without her.

     Scully moved nervously through the crowd in the lobby,
uncomfortable in her layers of Kevlar.  She tried to avoid glancing
towards Mulder but couldn't help but flash him a reassuring smile
when she realized he looked more nervous than her. <Stay cool, love.>
she thought <This is part of your past we will put away forever.>
Suddenly, she noticed a young man press through the crowd then she
saw the gun in his hand.  "GUN !" she called, alerting the agents and
preparing for the inevitable.
     The shots slammed into her chest and threw her back, then she
crumpled to the floor. People scurried in all directions as Mulder
yelled to the agents, the image of Scully being hit blocked from his
mind so he could concentrate.
     Barnett immediately new something had gone wrong.  Even with her
layers of clothing, he should have seen blood.  When he heard Mulder
and saw the agents converging on him, he realized his boldness had
lead him into another trap.  He grabbed Scully's limp body and ran
back into the concert hall,  pulling her along like a rag doll.
Mulder scream "NO!" as he saw his helpless partner being taken
hostage.
      The agents followed Barnett into the hall, weapons drawn but
withholding fire to avoid endangering Scully.  Barnett held her body
in front of him like a shield, his gun point at her head.  Snarled
"Stay back, Mulder!  Don't even think about it."
     Mulder knew Barnett couldn't resist taunting him again, and he
directed  the other agents to get out.  Some how in Mulder's mind, he
believed he was the only who could save Scully. He fought the rage
that was exploding inside him, suppressing the urge to blindly attack
Barnett with his bare hands.  Mulder focused on Barnett's eyes,
averting his gaze from the one woman who meant everything to him.  To
see her there, a victim of a crime he couldn't prevent, would drive
him insane.
      "Just let her go." Mulder kept voice steady  and his gun aimed
at Barnett.
      "Go ahead and shoot. Go ahead, man. Shoot, Mulder. What are you
afraid of , huh. What? It's against regulation?"
     "I know about your deal.  Just let her go and you'll be
protected." Mulder replied, his voice tightening but controlled.
     "You need me alive, don't you, huh, because I'm the only one who
knows where the research is."  He held the gun to her head and shook
her fiercely.  "So I can shoot  her and you just have to live with
it, don't you, huh?" Scully moaned slightly, roused by his shaking.  
     Mulder's concentration slipped and he look at her at the mercy
of this murderous freak.  His mind numbed and his aim faltered, as
tears clouded his vision.   He heard a voice crackle over his ear
piece ordering him to hold fire until backup was in place.  He ripped
the device off and gripped his weapon tightly with both hands,
shaking in spite of his efforts of control himself. "SHUT UP!" he
shouted 
     "Careful, lover-boy, or you'll shoot her yourself.. 'An old fox
can't learn new tricks' huh, Mulder." Barnett taunted.          
     Mulder's breath became short and rapid as he lowered his weapon
slightly.  He opened his mouth to speak but the words were not that
of an FBI agent but of a desperate man with no option left except
begging.  "Please, don't  hurt her. Take me if you have to. She's not
a part of this."
    "You really do love her, don't you,  huh?" Mulder nodded without
thinking. "Guess what, Mulder - I own you so she's mine too. How
'bout it Mulder? Just like old times, huh, HUH?" he gloated.
   The words shocked Mulder back to reality.  The reality of what he
had to do to save Scully. Mulder raised his gun as Barnett pulled
Scully close and cocked his revolver. Then he saw her eyes open and
gaze at him, giving him the faith he needed. Mulder raised his gun
and fired a single focused shot.
     Barnett dropped, with an expression of total surprise as his
death mask.  Suddenly unsupported, Scully collapsed beside him. 
Mulder ran to her and gently picked her up. He  carefully checked her
head and chest for any wounds.  All he found was the single round,
fired by Barnett in the lobby, embedded in the Kevlar. Her eyes still
open, she moaned in pain as he shift the protective vest.  "You're
bruised badly on the sternum. The paramedics are on the way." he
whispered as he leaned over her. He tenderly kissed her neck, as his
examination disguised his actions. 
     The other agents poured in followed by the paramedic rushing to
Barnett.  Someone was yelling at Mulder that he had orders not to
fire.  Mulder pointed to the discarded ear piece and ignored any more
comments, his arms wrapped protectively  around Scully as he helped
her up, enraptured at the sensation of her every breath. He noticed 
Barnett's note that he had dropped besides Scully, which read "A lone
fox waits to die." Barnett was doomed to fail because Mulder knew in
his heart Scully would always be with him.

     At the hospital, the medical team went to extreme measures to
try to revive Barnett, as a "CIA man" tried to question him.  But
Mulder had delivered a 'one-shot-kill' and this time he was not
coming back.  Mulder watched the scene and was joined by Scully once
she was cleared by the ER doctor.
    "Mulder I know what you did wasn't by the book..." Scully started
to say.
   "Tells you something about the book" he interrupted bitterly, then
looked at the efforts to save Barnett "And about the people who wrote
it."
     They pondered the whereabouts of the papers that Barnett hid. 
How they might turn up someday and could change the way we view life
and death. Mulder knew in the wrong hands they could change the
balance of power.  Scully observed every major scientific discovery
changed the world but that the faith of its people decided it's fate.
 Secrets abound yet mankind endures, she claimed.
     "...And though he has questioned closely, no other human
being...knows those books are there, with the subtle secrets of
invisibility and a dozen other strange secrets written therein. And
none other  will know them until he dies." Scully quoted eloquently.
    "What's that?" Mulder asked curiously.
    "It's from 'the book'." she answered cryptically.
    "What book?" 
    "The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells." she answered with a smile
    "Oh, THAT book." He smiled back and kissed her, both knowing the
secret to life and death hinged not on youth or power or invisibility
but on believing in yourself and trusting the ones you love.

END
_________________
Story notes:   
GENDER TENDER - The orginal episode never gave any reason my these
'aliens' would have such a bizarre talent then be forbidden to use
and what was that ritual in the cellar? So I stuck my theories in
Mulder's head.
 LAZARUS SQUARED - In an early draft of the script, Mulder was
suppose to get inhabited by Dupre.  So I took that idea and let Jack
do a little bit more that get shot in the first 5 minutes.  I hope he
appreciated it even if I did make him impotent for the sake of a plot
device.  It would explain why when Scully was cold in his parents
cabin, all he did was wrap her in blankets.  Mulder (at least my
Mulder) would have been much more resourceful in generating heat. 
Bruskin seemed liked an OK guy so I let him act as a spokesman for
how other agents viewed the less-than-discreet relationship.  Finally
I thought the search sequence was a bit weak for I kicked up the
pressure a bit and let Jack help out.  
YOUNG HEARTS - Lots of  things bugged me about the orginal episode. 
How and why did Ridley look up Scully to confess his sins and where
did he go after he left her place? Why Scully didn't tell her
cello-playing friend that there would be a killer on the loose at her
recital? Why does she type reports by candle light?  Why did Barnett
run if he knew the FBI had orders not to shoot?  So I took them on
one by one.  I also wondered why the hand and the eyes, but they just
make it spookier on TV.  I included them for consistance and so I
could describe the look on Mulder's face when Ridley calmly explained
what kind of hand Barnett had. And of course the gratuitous
sex-in-the-shower scene just cried out to be written after seeing her
step out of the bathroom with the shower still running.

I will not stick quite so much together in one shot again. Two
stories max per installment in th future.  Sorry this is such a hugh
file but I just get carried away sometime...OK, ALL the time.  
Please send comments and any feedback to shinkai@mlode.com

Intro to the IM Series:

If you haven't read "Meeting the Invisible Man" you won't have any
idea why Mulder and Scully  are acting so strange.  This story is
based on that history, not the one we all know and love.  In the  IM
Files  (The Invisible Man Files) history,  Mulder and Scully had
befriended each other  in England while Mulder attended Oxford.  The
young Scully was raped and became pregnant.  Mulder married her to
provide for and protect her. After losing the baby to a miscarriage,
Scully's fear of intimacy clashed with Mulder's darker, obsessive
nature.  Despite their profound love for one another, they divorced
and went their separate ways until reuniting 8 years later in the
FBI.  The IM Files chronicles the rekindled romance through the
re-telling of classic X-Files episodes (or so I hope).
Each story is a complete but the plot bits from the original episodes
are told in less detail to save me from rewriting someone else's
script.  I endeavor to keep all facts not related to my modifications
the same, although I may take liberties with plot points that annoyed
me in the original.