From: dgraml6525@aol.com (DGraml6525) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: New" Memories Better Left Forgotten part 1 Date: 28 Apr 1996 13:11:42 -0400 The characters of Dana Scully, Fox Mulder, Melissa Scully, Walter Skinner, and Kristen Kilar belong to Ten-Thirteen Productions and Chris Carter respectively. No infringement is intended. I also borowed the song "Torn" from Hootie and the Blowfish...if I went this far I might as well go all the way right? Okay, a little back story. Many people did not like the episode "3". Well, I was not one of them. I really liked that episode and all the doors that it opened up to the world of fanfic. If you are not familiar with this episode, you may want to watch it again before reading this story. Part of this story is rated NC-17. Nothing too graphic, but should not be read by people underage. And about the Telecommunications Bill, it is my first amendment right to write this, and your first amendment right to read it if you are of age. Mr. Clinton may enjoy some of these stories........ Now that everyone is mad because I am dredging up bad memories, on with the story. "Memories Better Left Forgotten" By DGraml6525 Dana Scully sat in the basement office of the J. Edgar Hoover Building, lost in thought. Since she and Mulder had taken their impromptu vacation, the paperwork had piled up. The longer she let it sit, the worse it would get. She had come to work a few hours early to get started on it. Where was Mulder? He was supposed to be the workaholic. Of course, she could have awakened him when she left her apartment early this morning, but he was sleeping peacefully. `He needs the sleep,' she thought. `Of course, he probably would have been up at the crack of dawn if we hadn't been up for so long.' `No, we have waited too long already. I am not going to feel one single bit of remorse for the turn our relationship has taken,' she scolded herself. `It has been working out fine since the start, and I will not worry about it turning sour.' `As long as the bureau doesn't find out....' `No they won't....we're being very discreet.' Then the thought struck her. `Some people would think it weird that someone sits and argues with herself.' She had to giggle at the thought. Spooky Mulder must be rubbing off on her. "What's so funny?" Mulder asked from the doorway. "Oh just thinking about something. Did you sleep well?" "You stole all of the blankets. I had to sleep up against you just to stay warm." "Of course, you could wear clothes to bed next time." She raised her eyebrows teasingly while she said it. He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "That wouldn't be fun for either one of us." She laughed and shoved him away. He walked over to his desk just as she dropped a pile of folders onto his desk. He stared at incredulously. "That's your half." She smiled. "Your kidding me, right? For a pair that no one thinks does any serious work, we sure as hell have a lot of paperwork." "Well, we have a meeting with Skinner in an hour. Better get ready for it." "Great, I hope he has a new case for us so we can escape again for a while." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Mulder, if we keep this pace up, we'll both be dead by he age of 40. And someone will have to investigate the cases." His reply was cut off by a curt knock at the door. It opened to reveal one of the secretaries from the pool upstairs. "Assistant Director Skinner would like to see you now." Scully glanced at Mulder. "Thanks, Sherry," Mulder said, a puzzled look on his face. She nodded and bustled out of the room. "It must be something important if he's calling us in early," Mulder said as he stood and pulled on his jacket. "Oh God, Mulder, you don't think he knows, do you?" "How could he know? Anyway, we discussed this. You said that if the bureau were to find out and separate us, then you would resign and take a job in a local coroner's office or hospital. You haven't changed your mind have you?" "No, that was my suggestion. Not yours. I would go to the ends of the earth to stay with you. And if it meant leaving the bureau, so be it. I love you, and I won't hide it from you ever again." He kissed her softly and ruffled her hair. "I love you too. More than you'll ever know." "Good, then let's go face up to Skinner's newest crisis." ************************************************************************ Walter Skinner sat in his office, rubbing his temples. `I just had two whole weeks without any of Scully and Mulder's shenanigans and I still have a headache,' he thought sourly. He knew that he shouldn't blame all of his headaches on them. Actually, in the time that he had known them, he had taken a interest in the rogue duo. He knew that they stood for justice...what was right. But certain people didn't want them to succeed. And Skinner was forced to choose what side of the line he would stand on. Mulder and Scully found a way to cross that line, time and time again. Well, at least this time, his cigarette smoking baby-sitter didn't have anything to do with the case. There was a knock at the door. Agent Scully poked her head in the door. "Come in Agent Scully." She walked in, followed by the long strides of Agent Mulder. These two were different now. Something about them was different. They seemed to have a certain ....glow. Skinner smiled inwardly. "These two will make each other very happy." He thought. "I am not going to disturb that until I am forced to." "You wanted to see us sir?" Scully asked. She always felt as if she was in the principal's office at school while she was in this office. Mulder, for his part, looked perfectly calm. "I trust your vacation time was well spent?" Skinner asked formally. "Uh, yes sir. I don't know about Scully but I worked out a lot of pent up frustration." Scully threw Mulder a look that could have melted an iceberg. Skinner had to force himself not to laugh out loud. So, he was right, these two had been together on their vacation. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves- yourself, I mean." Quickly changing the subject at their puzzled glances, he continued, " I have received a case that I think deserved immediate attention." Mulder automatically sat up straight. His eyes burned with new intensity. "Agent Mulder, I know that you worked the 'Trinity Murder' case in Los Angeles last year. Agent Scully, I don't know if you ever were made aware of the case." "No sir, was this when the X-Files were closed?" "Well, yes. It was also when... you were missing." Mulder suddenly looked uneasy in his chair. He shifted from position to position, looking at the floor. Scully, for her part, simply nodded. "Anyway, there was a series of murders, which led investigators to Los Angeles. Agent Mulder became involved in the case there. They arrested a young man who believed that he was a vampire. He later died in jail, for unknown reasons. The police put out a warrant for the man's girlfriend, one Kristen Kilar. Agent Mulder found her at her home. Her 'friends' showed up. Three of them to be exact. Eventually Kristen killed herself and all of them." Scully looked shocked by this news. Mulder had never mentioned any of this to her. Mulder interrupted. "What does that have to do with the case now?" "Well, there was a murder in Miami Beach last night. The victim was stabbed to death with what the coroner has labeled 18-gauge veterinary needles. The victim was also missing most of his blood. The coroner guessed that most of the blood was removed after the victim was murdered. Bite marks were found on the victim's arm, abdomen, and inner thigh. It is the same M.O. as the Trinity Murders. I want you and Agent Scully to go to Miami Beach to see if the cases are related. Maybe Ms. Kilar had friends." Mulder stood, taking the file out of Skinner's hands. He turned and strode out of the office. Scully nodded to Skinner and chased Mulder out of the office. Once they were on the elevator, Scully turned to Mulder. "What is it? What aren't you telling me? That story that Skinner fed us doesn't add up." Mulder closed his eyes, as if he was trying to block out a memory. "We'll just see what we dig up in Miami Beach. Then we can decide if the cases are related or not." Scully nodded her head. Mulder was trying to protect her from something. And she was going to find out exactly what it was. =========================================================================== From: dgraml6525@aol.com (DGraml6525) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: New: Memories Better Left Forgotten part 2 Date: 28 Apr 1996 13:13:50 -0400 (See Part 1 for the disclaimer) Memories Better Left Forgotten Part2 Mulder and Scully arrived at Miami International Airport later that afternoon and were met by Police Detective Jose Fajardo. He seemed a pleasant man, but he was also intensely dedicated to solving this case. As he drove them to their hotel on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, he filled them in on the specifics. "Well, as far as we know, the victim was David Chiola, Jr., a 28 year old white male. He was found in his home, naked in the bedroom. There was a bar receipt on the nightstand from the Leatherwhip, a heavy metal joint down on the strip. The housekeeper found him approximately 9:30am on November 2. The receipt was stamped 11:21pm, November 1. The coroner placed his death between 2:00am to 4:00am. It was hard to tell." Mulder leaned forward from the backseat. "Detective, what gave you the idea to call us?" "Well, I have a cousin who works for the LAPD. He suggested that I call you because of the work you did on the Trinity Murders." Scully watched as Mulder nodded, and leaned back in the seat. He avoided her gaze all together. Scully continued to watch Mulder through the passenger side mirror. The Detective continued. "Man, that Kilar chick must have been real messed up." Mulder winced. Scully continued to watch, trying to gage Mulder's emotions, still trying to read what was on his mind. "I wouldn' t really know, Detective" was Mulder's reply. "Really? According to my cousin, you spent more time with her than anyone." "She told me that it was her ex-boyfriend and 2 of his friends that were killing people because they believed they were vampires. They wanted her to join them. She refused. That was the end of it." But Scully knew better than that. ************************************************************************ The Detective got them settled into their hotel and provided them with the list of all of the blood banks in the area that Mulder had requested on the phone. Two of the blood banks had new employees. "Well, this one just hired a janitor who's 72 years old. It's hard to believe that he could wrestle a 28 year old man down and stab him to death with a needle," Scully said. Mulder pointed to the only other name on the list. "This one just hired a new night watchman. A 35 year old man named Alan Ratcliffe. I ran a check through the FBI computers, but there's no record of that man anywhere." "Mulder, just because this case resembles the Trinity Murders doesn't mean the killer believes that he's a vampire." Mulder looked away from her. "It *is* a place to start. I'm going to head over to the blood bank to talk to him." He stood and reached for his coat. "You coming?" Scully shook her head. "I have to head over to the ME's office to double check the coroner's analysis of the body. I want to make sure she didn't miss anything." "Okay," he said. She looked at him, expecting a caress, a good-bye kiss, or something. The things that they had perfected in the last few weeks. Instead, he turned and walked out the door. ************************************************************************ Scully snapped off her plastic gloves and pulled off her lab coat. She was so confused, Confused about the case.... and confused at Mulder's cool attitude towards her. She didn't understand why anyone would want to drain someone's blood with a needle. She didn't understand how this case could be linked with the murders in Los Angeles a year before. All of those suspects were dead. And Mulder.....he had completely changed in front of her eyes. He went from being her friend, her lover, her soul mate..... to being Agent Mulder, her partner at work and nothing else. The ringing from her cell phone broke her train of thought. She pulled it from her pocket of her green scrubs and flipped it open. "Scully," she answered "Agent Scully, this is Detective Fajardo. I think you need to get to the hospital. They just rushed Agent Mulder there from the Dade County Blood Bank." ************************************************************************ Scully rushed into the emergency room still dressed in her scrubs. She hadn't taken the time to change. She rushed up to the admissions desk and flipped open her FBI identification. "I'm Agent Scully, I was told my partner, Agent Mulder, was brought in here." She was panicked to near tears. The desk clerk shuffled through some papers, obviously bored by the situation. "Uh, Mulder you said? Yeah, he's in curtain two." Scully rushed towards the curtain. She flung it to the side, expecting to see wires and electrodes and machines. She saw Mulder sitting on the side of the bed, talking to a man. A nurse was wrapping Mulder's wrist in an ace bandage. "Oh, hi, Scully," he said. "Mulder, what the hell is going on?" "Well, this is Alan Ratcliffe. He brought me to the hospital. I was talking to him as he was mopping the floors. I didn't realize that they were so slippery....." He trailed off. She looked at him. "You fell on a wet floor?!!" "Yup, and I sprained my wrist." She wanted to reach forward and wrap her arms around him. But she knew that would have been completely inappropriate. The nurse finished with his wrist. "All done Agent Mulder, don't use that wrist for a couple of days. The swelling should be down in about 48 hours." The nurse smiled at Scully as he exited the room. Mulder hopped down off of the bed. "Alan here is going to help us." Alan looked at him. "I told you, I don't know anything about that man's murder. I was working. You can ask Rusty at the clinic about that. I was there all night. But, I think I know someone who can help. Someone who's into that 'blood-sport' stuff. I'll have her contact you later." Alan turned and left. "Mulder, do you believe him?" "Yeah, he has an alibi. But I think he knows more than we do at this point. Did you turn up anything at the ME's office?" "No, it was just as the coroner said. He died of puncture wounds in the jugular caused by the 18-gauge needles found at the scene. Most of the blood in his body had been drained. There were no finger prints. The only semen found was his; even the bite marks are inconclusive until we find a suspect." "Well, then let's head back to the hotel and wait for Alan's 'friend' to contact us." ************************************************************************ Even though they had reserved two rooms, Scully had left all of her stuff in Mulder's room. The other room was just for appearances. Scully was stretched out on the bed, typing into her computer as Mulder was preparing for bed. There was a knock at the door. Scully glanced at the clock. Nine twenty-five, a little late for a visit. Oh, well. She got up and opened the door. There was a young woman, about 5'5, with long dark hair, standing at the door. Her eyes were dark, and expressionless. She appeared to be maybe 20 years old. "I'm sorry, I was told that this was Agent Mulder's room." Her voice was deep. "It is. I am Agent Mulder's partner. Can I help you?" "Alan Ratcliffe told me to you wanted to talk to me." She replied, striding past Scully into the room, uninvited. Mulder came out from the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. "Hello, Agent Mulder". Mulder froze. He looked up and the towel dropped from his hands. Scully watched this exchange. These two obviously knew each other. Mulder stared their guest, wide eyed. "What, no cheerful greeting?" Scully stepped forward. "Well, I'm Agent Dana Scully. You are...?" "My name is Kristen, Kristen Kilar." =========================================================================== From: dgraml6525@aol.com (DGraml6525) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: New: memories Better Left Forgotten part 3 Date: 28 Apr 1996 13:16:58 -0400 See Part 1 for Disclaimor Memories Better Left Forgotten Part 3 Scully threw an astonished look at Mulder. He stood with his eyes focused on Kristen, as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. "Alan said that you wanted to talk to me," Kristen repeated. Scully started. "I'm sorry, Ms. Kilar, but we were informed that you were killed in the fire that destroyed your home." "It was a mistake," Kristen said simply. Mulder shifted from foot to foot, wanting the situation to be a dream. A really bad dream.... "A mistake? Why didn't you come forward to let everyone know you were alive? I don't understand." "At the time, it was safer for me to be dead. You were right, Agent Mulder. We thought John was dead. They had picked up a third, but The Spirit had shown John how to come back. At the house that night, you only saw the three of them...The Father, the Son, and the Unholy Spirit. But there was another. And I took their lives. But later I found out that there were more of them looking for me. So I moved here to live a normal life." She smiled suspiciously. Mulder finally found his voice. "You said you took their lives?" Kristen stared at him, then nodded slowly. Mulder continued. "What about the blood? Did you taste the blood of a believer?" Scully stared at him incredulously. Exactly what point was he trying to make? "Agent Mulder, that would make me one of them, now wouldn't it?" She smiled. Scully spoke up. "One of 'them'"? "A vampire." Mulder said trying to stare Kristen down. Scully raised her eyebrows and dropped her head. This was really beginning to be too much for her to handle. Kristen looked at her. "You don't believe." It wasn't a question. Scully stared at Kristen. How could she have known? "I have a way of knowing things." She answered Scully's unspoken thought. Before Scully could reply, Kristen began walking to the door. She stopped in front of Scully. "I just wanted you to know that neither me nor my friends were involved with that young man's death. Agent Mulder, Agent Scully." She nodded. That was when she noticed the small gold cross hanging around Scully's neck. Kristen reached forward and began fingering it. She turned to Mulder. "I see you found her." She said knowingly. Scully's eyebrow furrowed as she looked at Mulder. The color had drained from his face. He couldn't speak. Kristen turned and walked out the door. Scully, immediately lunged verbally at Mulder. "Okay Mulder, I want the truth. What the hell happened in Los Angeles?" "Not now Scully. I'll tell you...I have to tell you. Just not right now." His face looked pained, his eyes sorrowful. Scully walked to him. The look on his face broke her heart. She wrapped her arms around him. He returned the hug quickly, then pulled away from her and walked to the bathroom. He went in and shut the door. She heard the faucet begin to run. That hurt her.....he was trying to pull away from her. She pushed open the bathroom door and barged in. Mulder turned to her suddenly, his face was half-lathered with shaving cream. He was trying to maneuver his razor with his left hand. Scully sat on the edge of the sink, her feet barely touching the floor. He threw her a grin. She knew that it was forced. "I'm having a little trouble here." He said. She looked at his right wrist, still wrapped and swollen. She took the razor from him. "Why are you trying to shave now anyway?" He shrugged, not giving an answer. She suddenly felt that she needed him, needed to feel him against her, feel him inside her. She needed to hold on to him. "I'll help you." She said raising the razor towards his face. His eyes widened as he slapped her hands away from him. He grabbed a towel and began wiping his face. Dana felt as if she would break into a dozen pieces. She slid off of the sink, the rejection cutting her like a knife. She stormed into the main room, grabbed her bags, and headed for the door. Careful not to let him see the tears running down her face. She was halfway out when Mulder called. "Dana...wait!" She didn't miss a step. The door slammed shut. Maybe forever....... =========================================================================== From: dgraml6525@aol.com (DGraml6525) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: New" Memories Better Left Forgtten Part 4 Date: 28 Apr 1996 13:17:03 -0400 See Part 1 for Disclaimer Memories Better Left Forgotten Part 4 Dana Scully laid on the bed in room 317. Her eyes were red from crying, the pillows cradling her head were tear stained. *Dammit Mulder, what's wrong? What did I do to make you push me away?* She chastised herself. *You haven't cried like this since your date dumped you at the Senior Prom* she thought. No, this was worse. This hurt worse than anything she had ever experienced. And she saw no end to the pain at all. The door next to hers slammed shut. Here he comes. *Now he's going to see how upset this has made me. I won't open the door* she thought. *Yeah, I am sure that will stop him*. The doorknob began turning on her door. She had locked it when she first entered. Then she heard his voice, the voice that could make her bend to its will. "Dana, open the door." "Mulder go away, I am busy." "Dammit Dana I said open the door. Now!" Scully opened the door slowly. Mulder sauntered in, unsure of exactly what to say to her. "I, I have to explain." "Yes you do....you have to explain a lot of things to me. I put it all on the line for you Mulder, my career, my life. Now all of a sudden you want to keep secrets from me?" "It's not like that. I love you, whatever happens, don't doubt that ever." "Then tell me what's wrong." He just looked at her, making no effort to speak. Scully started. "That night Mulder, that first night in my apartment, I laid it on the line for you. I told you that I loved you unconditionally. I would even have traded my job for a cushy job in a coroners office if that meant we could be together. You can never leave the X-Files. The truth of what really happened to your sister is in there somewhere. I was ready to accept you for all your flaws. I am ready to take second billing to Samantha if it ever comes to that......now something is bothering you, and you can't share that with me?" Mulder looked into her ice-blue eyes. She was crying heavily now...but the image kept flooding Mulder's memory. Dana...his beloved, beautiful Dana, laying in the hospital, with tubes and machines keeping her alive. "I went to California about 3 weeks before you...were returned. It was a murder investigation that had baffled the police in three states. I thought at first that it was just a bunch of lunatics, believing they were vampires. But things quickly escalated out of control." He turned away from her. Staring down at the floor he continued. "I met Kristen at a club where the gang hung out. I thought that she was one of them. Eventually, the local police and I searched her house. That was when I discovered that Kristen was not one of the them, she was running from them." Scully stared at Mulder, wondering where this was leading. He still had his back turned to her. "I went back to Kristen's house later that night. She was alone....and she told me who the other three were. One was her ex-boyfriend. He abused her, like her father before him. She was running and running and getting nowhere. She just wanted it to stop......." Mulder's sentence trailed off. Scully listened attentively. "I......I had spent the last three months searching for you, chasing and chasing and getting nowhere. She was there and.........." Realization suddenly dawned on Scully. Now she understood. She stepped in front of Mulder and lifted his face in her hands. "Was that why you were so upset? You were afraid that I would reject you for sleeping with another woman? Mulder, that was before we had made any personal commitment to one another. I knew that you weren't a virgin......" He interrupted her. "No, it's not that. I tried to save Kristen and I thought I had failed. Just like I failed to save you." She tried to interrupt but he silenced her with his bandaged hand. "When you reappeared in the DC hospital, you were dying. No matter what I did you kept getting weaker and weaker. I tried to get the men who had done those horrible things to you, and they still slipped away. Your sister....your sister was the one who saved me." Scully listened intently. This was part of the story that she had never heard before. "Melissa came to my apartment to tell me that you were getting weaker. The doctors were expecting you to die at anytime. She wanted me to come to the hospital to talk to you.....tell you how I felt. At first I wasn't going to do it...but in the end I had to. I couldn't let you go without expressing to you how I felt. After I left the hospital, I went home.......home to my empty life. I was so deep.....so deep into darkness as Melissa put it.....that I didn't see anyway out. I-I was going to end it." Dana looked at him...surely he didn't mean that! "I had my gun in my lap, ready to pull the trigger. Melissa came knocking on the door..it was like she knew...she knew what I was going to do. She talked to me for a while, then took my gun. She went to the hospital and let me think about what I almost did. It was so bad that I sat on the floor., contemplating other ways I could kill myself. Then the phone rang.....Melissa telling me that you had woken up." Mulder was crying now. His eyes were red and unfocused, and he couldn't quite bring himself to look into Dana's eyes. She stepped away from him, the shock registering slowly. "I never knew....."she muttered. Mulder whispered to her... "Now you do" and left the room. =========================================================================== From: dgraml6525@aol.com (DGraml6525) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: New: Memories Better Left Forgotten Part 5 NC-17 Date: 28 Apr 1996 13:17:56 -0400 See Part 1 for the Disclaimer Song Memories Better Left Forgotten Part 5 Mulder walked from the hotel to the courtyard behind it. Beyond the courtyard was a wooden fence which opened to the beach. Mulder slipped through the fence, seeing the moon shining off of the clear ocean. *What a mess I have made now* he thought. *Why couldn't I just be honest with her?* He sat on the sand, watching the waves roll in and out. *Kind of like me.....washing away piece by piece until there is nothing left.* He sat and waited for the answers to fall from the sky. ********************************************************************** Scully hung up the phone. Her mother had been worried. She could tell by my voice. No one knows me like Mom. Dana called her mother to check on her dog....at least that was what she had told herself. She really needed the comforting voice to soothe her.. even if Margaret didn't know the truth. The only person who knew about her and Mulder was Melissa.....and she could trust her not to tell. Dana grinned at the memory. Dana had completely forgotten that Melissa was coming over that day. Missy had just returned from the rehabilitation center....and wanted to take on the world again full steam ahead. So her and Dana were going to go shopping. But when Mulder had come over the night before and ended up spending the night. What started out as an innocent breakfast on the couch after making love the night before had turned into something far more passionate. And as Dana laid under Mulder, lost in him.....she hadn't heard the key unlocking the door. But she did hear her sister clearing her throat......a bright smile lighting up her face. Mulder handled the situation well..... "Opps" was his response as he buttoned his pants back up before Melissa had too much of a view. Her and Dana talked while Mulder got to hide in the bathroom. He leaves me to live down the embarrassment Dana thought. But Missy was Missy...and she knew what the consequences would be if anyone had found out. So she kept quiet...but now at least Dana could share her happiness with someone. Happiness....where did that go? It was hard for her to understand what had happened while she was gone. Her mother had told her....Melissa had shared her opinions....but Mulder pulled his emotions into a shell. The same shell he erected around himself when things or people got too close. *I thought I had finally broken through that shell.* Dana chastised herself. *I have broken through.....but to a point that Mulder never wanted me to reach. He didn't want me to know what happened. That was something that was between him and Melissa. She kept an eye on him. And in a way, I think she did it for me.* Dana snorted. Melissa has a way of knowing things....things that it took her and Mulder over four years to figure out. And know that they had figured it out...she felt as if they were no better off then when they started. *I have to go to him. I can't let him pull away from me...it could be forever. I could never take it if he pulled away like that.* She walked to his room next door. The door was unlocked and he was no where to be found. The beach...he had told her when they first checked into the hotel that it had a great view of the beach. She hurried to the courtyard. The fence was still open...he must have gone out there. Scenes kept replaying in her mind. When they first met....the case at Ellens Air Base, Tooms...not once but twice. TOOMS!! That was the turning part for her...when she knew that she either had to be the 'good little agent who was sent to spy on Mulder' or 'Spooky's partner.' That was what one of her academy friends had called her, Mrs. Spooky. It had infuriated her at the time, but know she would love nothing more than to be Mrs. Spooky. And she had made her choice.. her and Mulder had solved the case as a team...and she had never heard from Tom Colton again. When Tooms again re-entered the picture....things had turned really hairy for them. He was loose and they had to try to prove that he was responsible for murders that had been commited 30 and 60 years before. And the car.....the conversation in the car...it had made her heart stop. That was it....the conversation in the car. On the way through the courtyard she made an impromptu stop. ********************************************************************** Mulder stared out at the water. The moon was bright tonight......he would love to see Dana here. The moon reflecting off of her hair was always a beautiful sight. He imagined him and her, splashing around in the water...just enjoying life as it was. A can of ice tea suddenly appeared over his shoulder. He jumped and turned to see Dana standing there...making the offering. He grinned ironically at the memory. His hand brushed along hers as he reached for the can. The touch made him feel electric....the same feeling he always got when she touched him. He dropped his head down, the tears rolling freely. Now that he had finally told her the truth....the weight had been lifted. She knew that he was near suicide when she had been taken. And she was the one making the peace offering.... Dana bent down and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her head on top of his. "It's okay Mulder. In a way, I know how you feel." He turned his head and looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed. What had she meant? "In New Mexico...when they told me you were dead. I ran to the quarry...the boxcar was still burning. I....I called your name over and over....waiting for you to answer. I sat and waited almost all night...waiting for you to appear. When the realization dawned on me...I wanted to throw myself into that boxcar too. To be with you, wherever you were." "But Dana...you were. You were and still are with me everywhere I go.' Her tears were flowing freely. With their heads together, their tears mixed and ran down their faces. He rocked her back and forth.....never wanting to let her go. But he had to. They had to keep their relationship a secret. He knew that she was ready to throw away her FBI career for him....for the pursuit of his sister. But he didn't want to be responsible for that. He did not want that hanging over his head too. And deep down he knew, he could never work with another partner. "Dana...we have to go back to the hotel." She smiled. "I can see the report hitting Skinner's desk now. Two of his agents caught necking on a public beach in the middle of the night." She began to giggle as she imagined Skinner getting angry. But then the ramifications of that settled in. Yes, definitely time to go back to the hotel. She stood and reached for his hand. They walked back to the hotel, never saying a word, but just enjoying the physical feeling between them. Thirty feet behind them, shadows rustled as footsteps began to follow. ************************************************************************ As soon as they locked the door to her hotel room, he reached for her. With one final glance to confirm that the shade was indeed drawn shut, he kissed her hungrily. Their hands began the gentle explorations of one another's bodies. They both knew exactly where to touch...the one little spot that could evoke the most response. But getting there was half of the fun. He began unbuttoning her blouse as she reached for the button of his pants. Moment later she laid him back on the bed, exploring, ever exploring. Reaching into her overnight bag, she removed a box of condoms. He stifled a moan as she slowly put it on him. They were always afraid of that invisible barrier. That barrier....if ever broken.. could bring bad consequences. And what a perfect weapon to use against them.... a defenseless child. But at this moment, all thoughts of the things that chased them in the night was gone. He turned her over on her back and entered her gently. Always gently.. he never wanted to hurt her again, not ever again. But now, there was only each other, joined physically, mentally, spiritually. Never to be torn apart again. When their pleasure had peaked, he collapsed on top of her. They enjoyed the smell of each other while they slept. They lay there, cuddled in one anothers arms...asleep in minutes. Three shadows moved outside the drawn blinds....... ************************************************************************ Mulder's ringing cellular woke them the following morning. Well almost morning.. the sun had not risen yet. Mulder disentangled from Scully and reached for the phone. He was too close to the edge of the bed and landed on the floor with a thump. Dana jumped up and grinned as she heard him cursing as he reached for his phone. "Yeah" he answered groggily. "Agent Mulder, this is Detective Fajardo. Sorry to bother you this early but there has been another murder." Mulder quickly wrote down the address as he and Scully began the perilous job of getting ready to start the day on three hours sleep. ************************************************************************ The crime scene was crawling with Miami Police by the time Mulder and Scully got there. The victim was a woman, thirty five years old. Detective Fajardo had already returned to the station. "Even though the murders are being performed in the same way, I don't think that this is someone repeating the Trinity Murders." Mulder pointed out to Scully. "Why? I mean, they are using veterinary needles to extract the blood. they seduce the victims before killing them." "But the ammo is different. The Trinity Killers would always murder three people in each city. A father, a son or someone who was related to the word sun in one way, and a holy spirit...Each member of the group had designated themselves one of those. A father, a son, and an unholy spirit. The victims here don't have the link. They just seem to be random victims." "A bad copycat killer? Is that what you think is going on? " "Or just someone who is into blood sports. They could be worse...someone who just strikes randomly." "We need to talk to Kristen again. She has to know more about what happened then she let on last night." Scully shuddered at the thought of her last statement. Kristen was weird...she knew things. But not like Melissa knew things....Scully had the distinct feeling that Kristen was dangerous. Mulder nodded and called Allen at the number he had left. Allen gave them Kristen's address where she could be reached. Scully and Mulder exchanged glances. She was working as a receptionist. Mulder smirked. "The Dade County Animal Shelter. What a perfect place to get 18-gauge veterinary needles." *********************************************************************** Mulder and Scully entered the little restaurant Kristen had agreed to meet them at. Mulder liked the name of it...a real manlyman's restaurant. Scully looked around the restaurant called "A Place for Steaks". Jeez, I wonder what their specialty is? They spotted Kristen sitting at a table sipping on red wine. She was perfectly relaxed. They sat at the table, and Scully's eyes immediately focused on a scratch on Kristen's forearm. Kristen caught her stare and grinned. "A little gray haired lady brought her cat in to be neutered....he didn't like the idea too much." Scully nodded....but put the little data down in the notebook she kept in her mind. Mulder leaned forward. "We need you to tell us more." "More? There is nothing more to tell you Agent Mulder." Scully decided that Kristen was waiting for her to join in. "Ms. Kilar...." "Clifton now...." Scully's eyebrows raised at the interruption. Then Kristen explained. "My last name is Clifton now." "Oh, okay, but there has to be something that you can tell us that could help." Kristen looked at her. "Agent Scully, they are dead. John and the others died in the fire, that was the end of it. I just want to get on with my life now. I have nothing more to do with it." Mulder interjected. Kristen, if you escaped is there any chance that the others did too? She was dead....I know that. But John was alive the last time I saw him. And the one you attacked with a knife could have survived." "John was tied up and helpless when I poured the gasoline around him. I lit the match and watched him burn. The other's were dead, their bodies still in the place we had left them. I poured gasoline all around them.....they all burned." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "If you think of anything else, contact Detective Fajardo at the Miami PD. He will contact us." Scully began to gather her things. "Detective Jose Fajardo you mean?" Kristen sounded panicked. "Yes, why?" Mulder leaned forward. "John....His parents were divorced, his mother remarried and had his last name changed to match hers. His biological father's name was Fajardo." "The son....." Mulder was shocked. Kristen nodded. "That was why John went by the son." She got up and left. Scully and Mulder rushed from the restaurant. ********************************************************************* On the way to the police station, Scully called Danny, a friend of theirs in the bureau who helped them out occasionally. He ran a check on Detective Fajardo. His record was spotless....except the fact that he moved around a lot. He moved from city to city for the past several years. He also had a brother who was a veterinarian in Coral Gables. Not too far from Miami proper...... When they arrived at the police station, Detective Fajardo was outside. His neck was scratched....and he looked surprised to see Scully and Mulder there. "I was getting ready to call the two of you. The lab pulled a couple of prints from the crime scene.. they should be making a match soon." "Detective, do you have any children?" Mulder started. Scully stepped to the other side of Fajardo in case he bolted. "No, I don't. I had a son but he was killed in an accident." "Those are nasty scratched you have there. Were you helping your brother at his clinic?" The Detective began to turn pasty. So they were checking his background. "It isn't me if that is what you are thinking Agent Mulder. These scratches are from some chippy I met at a bar late last night....actually early this morning. She was a wild one....." The Detective grinned. "You have had some of those right Agent Mulder?" Mulder ignored the crack. It was fitting into place....the Detective threw down his cigarette and put his hands out. "Well handcuff me and take me in if that is what you need to do. But you have nothing on me." Mulder led the way into the station. ********************************************************************** A few hours later, Scully tossed a folder down in front of Mulder. "The scratches on his neck have been cleaned with alcohol... AND, the victims fingernails were scraped clean before the crime lab ever reached the scene. There are no hair or skin samples to be found." "So all we have left is the hope that The Detective's cuts were deep enough to leave some blood evidence at the scene." Scully nodded. Mulder had began to put the pieces together while she was running the lab evidence. Kristen's boyfriend John had indeed been Detective Fajardo's son. When John was arrested, Fajardo was working out of an Oregon Police Bureau, the last state John had been seen in. After John's death, Fajardo transferred to Miami. Several unexplained murders had occurred in Oregon during the Detective's time there. When the murders started in Miami, Fajardo convinced the chief of police to involve the agent who had solved the LA murders...the agent whom he also believed responsible for his son's death. Fajardo had been the first at both Miami crime scenes.....probably destroying evidence while he was there. Scully read the notes Mulder had written. Then she added at the bottom "Like Father Like Son?" *********************************************************************** Dana Scully typed into her laptop computer. :The Dade County District Attorney believed that there was enough evidence to convict Jose Fajardo. His blood had been found at the second crime scene...only small droplets but the DA believes it to be enough to convict. The supposed woman that Fajardo claimed to have been with the night before has not been found. No one in the nightclub remembers seeing him enter or leave with anyone, and the security cameras show nothing. One note to add....small puncture marks were found on the Detectives arm. Blood analysis and drug screenings found a trace of Hypnitol, a drug which is used to sedate animals. The trace was minute enough not to have caused permanent damage. Only one type of semen was found at the first murder scene. Interviews with friends of Fajardo indicate that he had from time to time homosexual relationships. But friends of the first victim had never known him to have homosexual relationships. Used condom packaging was at the crime scene, but the condoms themselves were not found. Was the Detective living out his son's fantasies? Or was the whole point of killing a revenge plot against Mulder? Under the advice of the Dade County DA, this case labeled X11211013 is here by closed. ************************************************************************ "Well, now where to?" The first man asked. "Oh, I don't know. I have always wanted to visit Boston." The second man said. "How about Washington DC? Many, many possibilities there." Kristen said through a smile. The two men looked at her. Washington...yeah, that was a place definitely filled with 'new blood' so to speak. *********************************************************************** Scully and Mulder put their baggage in the trunk of their rental car. So many things had transpired over the last few days...it was hard to digest. But they had one another and always would. No matter what happened, that would be the one constant. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully would forever be partners.......professionally, personally, and spiritually. He flipped on the radio as she steered the car out of the parking lot. They joined hands across the front seat as they listened to the words. "I feel nothing, inside myself Please don't watch me, love like an infant trying to stand up Have I, two souls? One heart, one goal Am I real? I don't want to feel any pain, anymore I feel nothing, besides this pain Please don't touch me, love like an infant scared and crawling Have I, Two Souls? One heart, one goal Am I real? I don't want to feel any pain, anymore The announcers all too professional voice popped up. "That was Hootie and The Blowfish with 'Torn' . We all feel like that one time in our lives or another don't we?" Mulder and Scully exchanged a knowing glance, and drove into the rest of their lives together. The End ***********************************************************************