Date sent: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 09:57:22 -0700 (PDT) To: "Lisa Reeves" From: schong@hooked.net (Sylvia Chong) Subject: Forwarded story by Erin Livingstone (to be rearchived) Penance By E. Livingstone Ok, I've put away the paint brushes for awhile and made another attempt at this. Please keep in mind this whole writing thing is new to me, so don't expect to much. I wouldn't say this is a full blown M/S romance type story, but there is a bit of that whole unresolved love thing going on. So if that bothers you, you may not want to read this. I would rate it: PG , maybe PG-13 Summery: A ghost from Scully past comes back to haunt her. Figuratively and literally. The characters belong to Fox, Chris Carter, etc..... not me. I would love some feed back. Please send to Eeees@aol.com Penance ( Part 1) By E. Livingstone As the sedan pulled up to the curb the moon broke from a lone cloud and shone brightly. Mulder looked at the sleeping form next to him, reaching out a hand he touched her cheek lightly to wake her. "Scully...hey Scully wake up, were here." He stepped out of the car and pulled her suit case out of the trunk and brought it to the passenger side. Opening the door he looked down at her, eyes still closed, head slumped onto her shoulder. "Scully?" "Mmmhh, yeah.... ok... I'm awake." She said, as she opened her eyes. "Need a hand with your bags?" "No Mulder, I think I can manage." She stepped of the car, the cool night air waking her fully. She tilted her head upwards glancing up at the stars. Mulder watched silently wondering what she saw when she looked in to the night sky. He knew what he saw, mysteries, possibilities, unanswered questions. Did she see this or did she just see.... stars. He wanted to ask, but he didn't want to start something. Things had been a little testy between them lately. She was polite and professional, like always. Outwardly she seamed her normal self. He was sure that if he asked anyone if they saw the change in her, they would say he was paranoid. Big surprise. But he new her and even though she gave him her * I'm fine, Mulder * speech every five minutes, he could see it growing in her. A sadness she tried to hide, but it was in her eyes. "You ok, Scully?" He asked, in a hope she might actually tell him the truth. "I'm fine, Mulder. I'll see you in the morning." She replied as she picked up her bag and headed inside. "Sure." He said mostly to himself. As she entered her apartment she kicked off her high heels and dropped her suitcase. Shrugging off her jacket and tossing it over the couch, she made her way towards her bedroom. When she entered the darkened room a deep voice came out of the darkness. "Bought time you got home." "What the......" She was trying to get her gun and turn on the light at the same time and not having much luck with either. As she finally got hold of her gun, pointing it into the darkness as he turned the light on from the other side of the room. She blinked against the light and when her vision cleared she saw her uninvited guest. His tall, lean and well tanned body wearing nothing but a towel. Her towel. "You wouldn't shoot an unarmed man, would you?" He said with a smile his arms raised part way up. "Bryan? God... I should shoot you. You scared the hell out of me." She lowered her gun, shook her head and laughed softly. "What are you doing in Washington?" "Would you believe, I was in the neighborhood?" "Since the last letter I got from you was from Fiji, no I wouldn't." He moved a little closer to her. "Well, maybe I just missed you." "It's been three years, you just realized this now?" she spoke in a tone that said she wasn't playing. "Alright, the truth is.....and let me finish before you start lecturing me....is that with all the crap you've been through in the last couple years and especially lately. Well..I just thought.....I care about you Dana.....and just I thought you might... need someone. You know a shoulder to cry on, that sort of thing. And I know, I know, your an adult, a doctor, a FBI Agent...you don't need anyone... but the thing is..." His dialog was cut short by her fingers against his lips. "Bryan?" "Yeah?" "Shut up." She spoke in a low whisper as she pulled his mouth down to meet hers. The kiss was deep and passionate. He pulled her close, his arms wrapping tightly around her body, as her hands traveled down to the towel at his waist, untangling it until it fell to the floor. Dana sat leaning against the head board, propped up by pillows, eating Ben and Jerry's ice cream from the carton and looking at the tan body lying face down across the end of her bed. She unlike him, she had thrown on some cloths, well at least an oversized t-shirt. As she watched him she thought about how long it had been since she had seen him, his hair was lighter than she remembered, reddish streaks made there way through out the loose curls. Probably from being out on his boat so much. The sun had effected more than his hair, judging from the deep tan that covered his body. Dana thought about her partner and how in some ways he was so much like Bryan. They both had a single mindedness that drove them, usually right into trouble. For Mulder it was finding the truth beneath the lies and fighting against any one that would stand in his way. Bryan on the other hand, just didn't like being told what to do. The strongest trait they shared was the ability to make her crazy. She moved her feet into the curve where Bryan's torso and hip joined and watched him squirm a little. The corners of her mouth turning up around the spoon full of ice cream as he turned his head to look at her. "Chunky Monkey? She asked holding the carton out to him. "Well, I have put on a couple pounds, but there is no reason to be rude." He said evenly. She laughed, nearly choking on the ice cream in her mouth. Then leaned forward to give him a spoonful. A little remained on his lip and she kissed him lightly, tasting the banana flavor of the ice cream on her own mouth. With a smile she returned to leaning against the head board of her bed. "Dana, I don't want you to take this in a bad way. Because by all means it's a good thing. But I don't remember you being quite so........ ah...enthusiastic." As he spoke the last word he looked down his back at the red scratch marks lining either side of his shoulder blades. Her smile widened, even as her cheeks darkened. "It's been a while." "Oh really? Than I take it those rumors at the bureau aren't true?" "You'll have to be more specific. I seem to be in a lot of rumors." "Mrs. Spooky?" "Oh.... that rumor. No, I am not sleeping with my partner. I learned my lesson, believe me. So what about you?" "I've never even met your partner." Scully laughed and threw a pillow at him, "You know what I mean." "You mean has there been anyone since you broke my heart." "Your the one who left." "You could have come with me." "And you could have stayed." An uneasy silence fell between them neither of them wanting to go down that road again. Reaching over he touched her leg, running his hand along her shin. "Any regrets?" "We would have killed each other within a year." "True enough. But it would have been one hell of a year." He said with a grin. "The truth is, lately... I can't help but wonder how the choices I've made have affected my life, and the people I love." She spoke the last of the sentence so quietly he barely heard her. "Mulder talks about things being fated." "At the risk of agreeing with someone they refer to as Spooky Mulder, I think he has a point." "So you think every thing happens for a reason. My Dad died because it was his time. If my sister hadn't been murdered in a botched attempt on my life, she would have been hit by a bus or slipped in the shower, cause it was her time. You probably think I was destine to get abducted and lose three months of my life, or my dog was fated to meet up with that alligator." "Well, your dog getting eaten by an alligator is just weird, but yeah, I guess I think there is some sort of plan to things. It may not be all that logical, but it helps me sleep at night." "Maybe....but I can't help feeling that I am responsible for what happened to my sister....." "You don't have to tell me about guilt....I carry around more than my share." "Sometimes I think that if I'd got on that boat with you three years ago......I don't know." She looked up at him and smiled, "Then again.... I probably wouldn't have all this pent up ......enthusiasm" "So can I take your lack of social life to mean you've been saving yourself for me?" He beamed, glad to be on a new subject. "No, but hey, as long as your here." She put down the ice cream and joined him at the foot of the bed. Dana pushed her self in to the warmth of his body, it had been so long since she woke up to find a man beside her. Well, if you didn't count waking up in a car, with Mulder complaining she was drooling all over the seat. Her mind started to drift back to sleep...Mulder....Muld....Oh my God, Mulder, her mind screamed at her. She sat up with a start and looked at the clock. "Dammit, I'm late." She said, jumping out of bed and running for he shower. "For what?" He asked, lifting his head and realizing he was talking to a empty pillow. Bryan padded into the kitchen and put the coffee on. Starting to get a chill he went to the dryer to pull out some of his cloths. It seemed like everything he owned was dirty and he figured Dana wouldn't mind if he ran a couple loads of laundry. Pulling out a pair of silk boxers he slipped them on just as there was a knock on the door. Figuring he was covered enough, he went and opened the door. The man before him, who was looking in the other direction, turned, holding out a bakery bag and said, "I brought breakfast." His jaw dropped, realizing he was not talking to his partner but to some guy in his underwear. "What a coincidence, I just put coffee on." Bryan said enjoying the look on the other mans face. "Sorry...I must have the wrong..." before he could finish his sentence he turned and read Scully's apartment numbers on the open door before him. He had no idea what to do, he had not had to deal with this situation before. And considering he just dropped her off 10 hours ago he didn't expect to be greeted by a half naked man at her door. Bryan turned and went back to the dryer speaking over his shoulder "Dana's in the shower, I'm sure she will be out soon. The coffee should be ready, make your self at home."As he walked away Mulder could not help but notice the scratch marks running along the sides of his back. Mulder blinked hard and thought , too much information, way too much information. He watched the stranger gathered up his cloths out of the dryer and go into the bedroom. Mulder was doing a slow burn as he went to get some coffee "Make your self at home" He mimicked under his breath. Who the hell does this guy think he is. He sat at the kitchen table sipping a bad cup of coffee and really wishing Scully's car wasn't in the shop and he could have met her at work and be completely oblivious to what she had been doing last night. But now he was sitting here, trying desperately to get the image of Scully, that man and those scratch marks out of his head. "You know it really is about time we finally met." The stranger, who at least now was a stranger with cloths on, reentered the room. "I wasn't aware we had met at all."Mulder said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice and wondering how long she had been seeing this guy. "Sorry, my manners are a little rusty. Bryan. Bryan James." " Bryan James..... as in Special Agent Bryan James?" "You've heard of me?" "How could I not. Your were quite possibly the only agent with a more infamous reputation than me. I'm Fox Mulder, by the way. Scully's partner." He emphasize the last sentence a little more than he meant to. "Yes, I know who you are." He replied matter a factually. Scully entered the room in a hurry. "Mulder. You're here." She spoke in choppy sentences, not quite making eye contact. "We're going to be late, we'd better get going."Mulder noticed her voice was nervous, and not just like a teenager that had got caught with her boyfriend, there was more to it. "See you later?" Bryan asked, sounding a little injured at her embarrassment of being caught with him. "Yes, later." She turned to look at him realizing in her embarrassment and rush to get Mulder out of here she was being rude to him. She went and kissed him lightly, "Bye." Scully braced herself for an onslaught of questions as they drove to work. But Mulder was not saying a word. She could see the muscles working along his jaw line and that he was griping the steering wheel so hard this knuckles where white. They where almost to work before he finally he broke the silence. "So Scully......" Dana took a breath. Here we go. "Did you go hit a singles bar after I dropped you off or what?" "You think I went and picked some guy up for a one night stand?" "Well, with his reputation....." "Your one to talk about reputation." "As I was saying... with his reputation with the ladies.....among other things." "Not that it's any of your business really, but I've known Bryan for a long time." "How long?" He asked intrigued. Scully's phone rang, saving her from any more questions, "Scully." she spoke into the receiver, "Yes sir....as soon as we get in ....oh...no sir, I understand. Good bye." "Let me guess, Skinner wants to see us?" "No.... Skinner wants to see me." "Come in Agent Scully" Skinner stood and gestured toward the chair in front of his desk. As she sat, he settled into his seat and spoke, "I'll get right to it Scully, you may know that Bryan James is back in D.C." Her posture stiffened slightly. Seeing her discomfort he continued, "Believe me Scully, I don't want to be in your business any more than you want me there, but I'm one of the few people who know what happened. Have you told Mulder your about your.... connection?" Sully shifted uneasily in her seat."No sir, I'd always meant to, but it was never something I could work in to a conservation. Or maybe I just didn't know how to tell him." She looked up at him feeling awkward. "I guess I just didn't know how he would react." "Looks like your going to have to find out. I got word this morning that three bodies have turned up. The MO is the same as the murders that you were working on three years ago. They're pretty sure it's the same guy. And since your the only one he left alive, they're going to need your help.You and Mulder need to get out to the latest crime scene. This guy needs to be caught before there are any more murders.." He walked around the desk towards her and handed her a file, "If you are in contact with Bryan, tell him to stay away from this. The last thing youneed is an ex-agent looking for revenge. And Scully, be carful, you of all people know what this guy is capable of." "Are you referring to Bryan or the killer." "Both" As she watched the elevator doors slide shut she let her self take in what had just happened. She didn't know what to feel. Fear, at having to face this old case she had tried so hard to forget. Anger, at Bryan for conveniently leaving out the real reason he came back. Or just plain worrying how to explain this to Mulder. Mulder looked up as Sully entered, her face was pale and her expression unreadable. "Scully, what happened with Skinner?"He asked concerned. "He put us on a new case" Mulder was still examining her trying to decipher what was bothering her. She everted her eyes. "We have to get out to the crime scene." She turned away from him, gathering her things off her desk. She jumped a little when she felt his hand on her arm, and turned to face him. "Scully.... talk to me. What's got you so freaked out." "I'm Fi...." "Fine, Mulder." He cut her off, finishing her sentence for her. He let go of her arm, pissed that she wouldn't confide in him and headed for the door. "I'll meet you in the car." He spoke without looking back as he walked through the open door. Scully looked down at the file in her hand and shook her head. "It's going to be a long day." They had been driving for a couple hours. Scully had taken the wheel so Mulder could read the file and familiarize him self with the case. She had spent the whole drive trying not to think of the horrific details of the case. She had instead been trying to figure out how to tell her partner how she was connected to this case and how Bryan fit in. Her running dialogue in her head was not helping, "Hey Mulder, did I ever tell you about......no......You remember that guy in my apartment this morning, well he was once.........no.....I should have mentioned this along time ago, but...." "Scully?" "What?" She jumped a little, fearing for a moment that she had been talking aloud. "This file is incomplete." "What do yo mean." "There is a mention of one victim that was left alive by this guy, but it doesn't have any name listed. Just says that they were a FBI agent." "Really," Her voice cracked slightly and she fidgeted in her seat. "I guess it's classified." "Yeah, I suppose." He put down the file and looked out the window. "Scully.....you wanna pull over for a minute?" "Why?" "Nature is calling." "We're almost there." "I just drank a half a gallon of Mountain Dew, Scully. I'd wait if I could." She smiled and pulled off the road, watching him rush into the dense forest. The sun that had been shining down on the car disappeared behind some clouds and the car suddenly became chilly. She shivered against the sudden cold and looked out the passenger side window to see if Mulder was returning yet. When she saw no sign of him her eyes glided back across the front windshield. As her gaze fell on the rearview mirror she froze, seeing a mans piercing blue eyes staring back at her. Grabbing for the door she opened it, spilling out of the car and stumbling backwards on the loose gravel under her feet. Suddenly her back was pressed firmly against the unmistakable form of a mans chest. She swung around, ready to confront him, only to see Mulder staring at her questioningly. She griped his arm and looked back at the car. It was empty, with no sign that any one had ever been in the back seat. She looked back at Mulder, confused. "What's going on?" Mulder asked, concerned. "I.....uh...I just wanted some fresh air..." She lied, trying to get her breathing under control. "Ok...then why do you look like you've just seen a ghost?" "There is no such thing as ghosts." She replied defensively,moving away from him. "Why don't you drive for a while?" She headed for the passenger side of the car, hesitating a moment and eyeing the back seat before she climbed in. They crossed under the yellow tape to enter the sporting goods store. It was swarming with police, dusting for prints and looking for clues. There was a large blood stain in the carpet, spreading beyond the confines of the body outline marked on the floor. A large policeman moved to them. "Can I help you?" "I'm Agent Mulder with the FBI, this is my partner Agent Scully" "I'm Officer Johnson. We have been expecting you. The body has already been taken to the coroners office. They tell me you'll be doing the autopsy, Agent Scully? "Yes, that's right." "Well I hope the body gives you some clues, cause I'm afraid there is not much to go on here."As he spoke he glanced around the room. Mulder followed his gaze, until it rested on a young cop standing off to side and looking very green, in more ways than one. "What's with him?" "Poor kid. He lost his lunch as soon as he saw the victim. Can't say as I blame him." He looked at Scully, "At least this psycho saved you the trouble of opening up the body." Mulder walked in to the room just as Scully pulled the sheet back from the dead body. Mulder's face paled and he quickly looked away, understanding why that young cop had looked so sick to his stomach. Taking a deep breath he looked back at the body. Scully had gone into her professional medical mode and didn't seem to be effected by the sight in front of her. She was measuring the knife wound that ran from just below the victims belly button to just under his chin. "Why would anyone do this?" He asked as he looked at the mans face. It had been frozen in his last emotion, which had obviously been fear. "I don't know, and beyond the things we already know about the killer, I don't think we are going to find out much more from this guy." Mulder grimaced and went to wait out side. Scully found him sitting in a waiting room, reading an old issue of Field and Stream. He looked up as she approached and held out the magazine. "Why don't they ever have any thing good to read in these places." "I doubt they would keep copies of you usual fair." She gave him a small grin as she dropped onto the couch beside him. "Anything?" "Not really, other than being pretty sure it's the same guy that murdered the other men." "Well I guess our work here is done for now. What do you say we head home?" Scully, visibly disturbed by the thought said, "I was thinking, Mulder, why don't we get some dinner and just stay in a motel tonight? We could head home in the morning." "Sully, it's only a couple hours back." "I'm tiered..." "Well if you'd got some sleep last night...." He said sarcastically. "Look if you want, I'll drive, you can sleep all the way home." "God Mulder, do you have to fight me on every thing." her voiced was raised in frustration. Running a hand through her hair she said, "I just want to stay here tonight, ok?" "Ok." He said simply. Deciding maybe if they stayed she might tell him what was bothering her. And somewhere inside he was glad she wouldn't be returning to her house guest tonight. After setting in to there respective rooms, they changed into more comfortable clothes, from the emergency stash they kept in the car for situations like this. Meeting at the diner next to the motel, they sat in silence. Scully was picking at her food when Mulder decided to try again at getting her to talk. "Is there any reason in particular you don't want to go home?" "Why would you say that?" "I just think if I had someone waiting for me, I would take the two hour car ride over a Motel 6, in the middle of nowhere." Dipping his fry in ketchup he continued, "Unless of course there was some reason I didn't want to go home." "Mulder...." "Look, I know this is weird. We've never really had to talk about this stuff before. But I would like to think if I had a problem.... about anything... I could come to you. You know you can do the same with me." His eyes where imploring her to confide in him, to let him help. "I just didn't want to have to face him tonight." She said simply, looking down at her plate of uneaten food. "If your embarrassed about last night..." "I don't regret last night if that's what you mean." She paused, then rolling her eyes she continued. "You really want to do this Mulder? You really want to talk about.....everything... with each other?" "Yes." He tried to sound confident, but knew they were headed into dangerous territory. "Ok..... Bryan was waiting for me last night when I got home. He was there....in just a towel..." "Whoa....I don't need details." He cut her off quickly, his hands raised. "Your the one who wanted to talk." "Sorry, this situation kind of taken me off guard." "Well it's not like I planned it." "I guess I just never thought of you as...spontaneous." She looked up, surprised at his comment. "I saw the scratches." Her face reddened a bit and she smiled, "You may have noticed I haven't had much of a social life since I met you." She paused, "The truth is, it had been a while since.....well.. lets just say I was over do...." She looked down at her plate trying to find the right words. "Do you ever get lonely, Mulder?...... Don't you ever just need someone to.....to hold on to? Last night I needed someone, I guess I have for a long time. Bryan was there........we have a history......it just happened." "Why do I get the feeling there's more to it than that?" "Because there is. But I don't want to talk about it in the middle of a diner. Finish you dinner and we will talk, ok?" Mulder was laying backwards on his bed looking at the painting that hung above his head board, trying to remember all the motel rooms he had seen that particular picture. Scully was in the adjoining room and even though he was trying not to, he could hear her trying to explain to Bryan why she wasn't coming home tonight. He had a flash of what it must be like to be seeing a married woman. Her making excuses to her husband, while he waited on the motel bed for her to return. He guessed this is what it will be like if she ever married. Quickly he pushed that thought away, not wanting to go there. The muffled voice, coming through the wall, raised slightly. "I don't want to debate this over the phone."Scully said into the receiver. Then realizing Mulder could probably hear her she quietly said, "Look Bryan the bureau wants you as far away from this as possible and so do I." "I don't want you to go through this alone." His voice was full of concern. "I'm not alone." "Aren't you? How can he be there for you if he doesn't know the truth." The line was silent. "You never told him. Did you?" "I just.....no...I haven't.." She stammered, defensively. "And your having those dreams again?" "How did you know...." "I was sleeping next to you last night remember?" She laughed lightly, "Yes... I remember. I'm ok, Bryan. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. And for what it is worth I'm going to tell Mulder the truth tonight. I should have told him a long time ago." "If you need me, I'll be there." "I know. I'll see you when I get back." Scully knocked lightly as she enter Mulder's motel room through their adjoining door. He was sprawled out on his bed, staring at the picture on the wall. "Why are you staring at that hideous painting?" "No cable."He said dryly without taking his eyes off the painting. "So, how's Bryan?" "He's fine. He send his regards." "Yeah, I bet.... What do you see in that guy, Scully?" Turning to look at her, he gave her a little smile and then sat up, swinging his feet off the bed. "You know, you would probably like him if you gave him a chance." "I doubt it. But, judging from the rumors I've heard about him, we probably have a lot in common." "You have no idea." She mumbled under her breath. Pointing to the ice bucket on the dresser he said,"I got a couple cokes, you want one?" She walked over to the dresser, picking up a can and opening it, happy to have something to do with her hands. There was a mirror above the dresser and she watched him watch her from the other side of the room. "Your probably wondering why we've been assigned to this case, huh? I mean it's not much of an x-file. " "I don't know. I've been rereading the case file. The murders that took place three years ago as well as the resent ones have a bit of a paranormal feel to them." She turned to look at him, thinking he was joking with her. One look in his eyes told her he was dead serious. "Mulder, you've got to be kidding. Tell me you don't think aliens are going around gutting these men." "Did I say aliens?" "Than who, or should I say, what?" "Don't know yet. Just got a feeling." He stood and walked over to retrieve the remaining can of coke. Then clinking his aluminum can against hers he continued, "So tell me partner, now that we are alone, why don't you tell me what's got you so preoccupied lately." She moved away from him abruptly, wishing she didn't have to do this. Looking back at him and seeing that he was watching her pace, she decided it was time to tell him everything. "You might want to sit down." She said in a serious tone. Penance ( Part 2) By E. Livingstone Ok, I've put away the paint brushes for awhile and made another attempt at this. Please keep in mind this whole writing thing is new to me, so don't expect to much. I wouldn't say this is a full blown M/S romance type story, but there is a bit of that whole unresolved love thing going on. So if that bothers you, you may not want to read this. I would rate it: PG , maybe PG-13 Summery: A ghost from Scully past comes back to haunt her. Figuratively and literally. The characters belong to Fox, Chris Carter, etc..... not me. I would love some feed back. Please send to Eeees@aol.com **************************************************************** Her expression told him that she was not kidding, so he didn't even question it. Returning to the bed he sat on the edge, facing her. "Mulder there's something I have to tell you......something your not going to like. I've been trying to figure out the right way to say this...... I haven't had much luck. But, before I do this, I need you to understand this isn't about you, ok? It was the choices I made that lead me here." "Scully..." A hundred thoughts bombarded his mind at once, none of them good. Had he done something....was she sick... was she leaving him. She saw the look of fear come in to his eyes, "Mulder, please just let me do this ok." "Ok.... tell me."His voice shook slightly as he braced himself for her words. "Three years ago I was fresh out of the academy. There was a big murder case going on, some guy was going around killing young men, slicing them open. Since I had a medical background they brought me in on it. They assigned me to an agent with a fairly dubious reputation. You see, Bryan..... he was my first partner..." Mulder didn't say anything, the look of shock on his face said it all. Reading his expression she asked with a little smile, "You really thought you were my first, Mulder?" "Ugh.... I....... yeah...I guess I did. You never said anything." "I meant to tell you...I should have told you... a long time ago." "So this is your big secret? That you had a partner before me and that you were on this case three years ago. Granted, I'm surprised but...." "Oh don't worry it gets much worse," She said with a sigh and sat next to him on the bed. "It was kind of a bad time for both of us, personalty and professionally. The murders went on for a long time. Bryan was coming off a messy divorce and the bureau was breathing down his neck making it clear that this was his last chance at saving his job. I was so green..... and scared to death. And there was my break up with Jack." She looked directly at him, deciding to just say it, "We became lovers." She waited for him to absorb the information before continuing. "You know how it is, you spend every waking moment with someone. Something is bound to develop....." She stopped, realizing what she was saying and who she was saying it to. She stood abruptly, pacing in front of him, "Needless to say, it ended, badly." "What happened?" "We were on a stake out. There was reason to believe that the suspect would show up on this deserted road, just out side town. It was the third night in a row we had been out there. I guesswe where starting to get on each others nerves, cause we got in to a fight about some thing. I can't even remember what. Bryan got pissed and decided to get out and go for a walk, to cool off. About a half an hour went by and he still hadn't returned, I started to worry and got out of the car. I'm not really sure what happened after that. I remember feeling a cold hand on my shoulder and turning, thinking it was Bryan. It wasn't. It was the suspect, his face was only inches from mine. I don't remember anything after that. I woke up in a hospital, two days later." He just looked at her, not knowing what to say. She could see a flash of anger cross into his eyes and knew it was directed at Bryan. Walking over to him, close enough so he had to look up to keep his eyes on her face, she grabbed a handful of material from the bottom of her t-shirt lifting it to the bottom edge of her bra, exposing the white skin of her belly. Mulder was somewhat startled until he realized what she was showing him. Just below her bra the ruff skin of an old scar, about two inches long, contrasted against the smooth skin of her stomach. "I was the FBI agent that he left alive." Without thinking Mulder's hand moved to her stomach, running his fingers lightly over the uneven skin of the old wound. Not taking his eyes of the scar, he said, "Why didn't you ever tell me this? Why isn't any of this in the report?" She swallowed hard trying not to react to the heat of his fingers against her skin. As she stepped back. his hand fell away, breaking their contact and she dropped her shirt, smoothing it against her as she returned to sitting beside him. "By the time I woke up, the truth about my relationship with Bryan was out in the open. Apparently he had a little trouble acting like he was just my partner, with me laying unconscious in a hospital." Mulder looked down at his feet, suddenly caught up in an unspoken memory. "They told me he had found me, about a mile up that road, stabbed and beaten....left for dead. There was a dead man found next to me. He had been sliced open like the others. But there was no sign of the suspect. The case had gotten a lot of publicity up to that point and the higher ups decided it would be best to sweep this little incident under the rug. They didn't want the papers to read how two FBI agents got into a lovers spat, letting a murderer kill again, hospitalize one of the agents and get away, scott free. Needless to say Bryan had used up his last chance. In return for early retirement, he left quietly. They assigned the case to other agents, but ironically the murders stopped after the incident anyway. Well, until now." "What about you?" "I didn't have as many strikes against me as Bryan, so as much as they would of liked, they couldn't really fire me." "What happened wasn't your fault." "The bureau didn't see it that way. Since the whole incident had been left off any official reports, they couldn't punish me with an official reprimand, either." "How did they punish you?" He asked curios, but as she averted her eyes trying to think of a reply, it all started to make sense. Some of the first words he ever spoke to her, came back to him and he whispered them to himself, "Who'd you tick off to get this assignment, Scully?" He had said it as a joke, but she had not denied it. "Oh my god," he said jumping to his feet, "It was me...... I was your punishment." She didn't answer, "I'm right aren't I?" She still wasn't looking at him, so he crouched down in front of her, grabbing the bed on either side of her, so she couldn't look away. They punished you, by sticking you down in the basement with me." Her silence made him angrier "Dammit, Scully tell me I'm wrong." She still said nothing. "God, I am right ....aren't I? That's why you never told me. All this time you let me believe I was your partner, only to find out I was your punishment." "It's not like that, Mulder. Being your partner is not a punishment." "Right......ok.... you tell me than why were you assigned to me?" His voice was sarcastic and more than a little angry. "Mulder...you know they assigned me to the x-files to keep tabs on you." She was trying not to meet his angry eyes, but every time she tried to look away he moved his head to follow. "I knew they had partnered you with me to try debunk the x-files, yes, but I had know idea you where sentenced to me. Tell me Scully, how long are you in for? Do you get time off for good behavior?" "Dammit, Mulder," She stood causing him to topple backwards. She just looked down at him, sitting on the floor. He was hurt and angry and she wished she knew how to make it go away. "This is why I never told you. I knew you wouldn't understand, that it would hurt you." He stood and took a deep breath trying to regain his composure. "I had no illusion of why you became my partner, but I let my self believe that you stayed with me cause you wanted to. That my quest, had become ours. So forgive me if I need a little time to come to grips with the fact that the only reason you've stayed with me, is because you had to." His voice steadily grew louder and angrier as he spoke. She sat down on the bed, feeling suddenly tiered. Then looking into his eyes said quietly, "You really don't know me, do you?" "I thought I did.....but no, I guess I don't." "I have been your partner for over two years, does this really change anything?" "Yes...yes it does... it changes everything.....you know I was doing fine on my own..... I didn't ask for a partner. ." He was pushing and he knew it, but his anger kept him going. " And I sure as hell didn't want a partner that's was just doing time, cause she couldn't keep her pants on...." He was hurt and he wanted her to feel the way he did. He could see by the look on her face, the pain that moved into her eyes, that he had succeeded. She stood with out a word and went in to her room, locking the door behind her. "Scully......" He called in a vain effort to stop her. "Shit." Dana felt the goose bumps rising as the air turn colder. Grabbing the blankets she tried to wrap them tighter around her body, but refused to give in to the chill that was trying to wake her. Dreams swirled through her mind .....a strong hand ran it's fingers down the side of her face.. ...his fingers were so cold against the warmth of her skin.... she shivered, drawing the covers in tighter...... "Mulder..... Bryan"....she was crying out there names not knowing why fear was starting to overwhelm her.....his hand still touched her face.....running his thumb across her cheek, tracing a icy trail as it moved. "Mulder"..... her voice echoed in her ears as she cried out his name again....in the distance she heard some one calling out to her. Her heart was racing as she struggled for consciousness. Snapping open her eyes, she tried to focus in the dankness of the room. He was there. At the foot of her bed stood a man, she recognized him immediately. Dana opened her mouth to scream, but it never reached her lips. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream, all she could do is stair at the man in front of her. A light from behind him gave an eery glow. His piercing blue eyes seemed to look right through her, but he made no effort to come near her. He didn't have to, she felt as if he was restraining her from across the room. The man opened his mouth to speak, but the words felt like they where coming from inside her head. "I isn't over." She tried again to scream, as a deeply buried memory came back to her, this time she succeeded. As she felt the scream escape her, the adjoining room door buckled against a force coming from the other side. She herd some one screaming her name. It was enough to free her of the hold the man had over her, taking full advantage she dove out of bed, grabbing her gun off the near by dresser. I one swift movement she rolled along the floor, coming up in the corner of her room, back against the wall, gun pointed into the direction of the intruder. He was gone. A sudden warmth filled her room. The heat caused her head to spin and she struggled to stay conscious as the heat and panic started to overwhelm her. She swung the gun quickly across the small room, then back again. The adjoining door finally gave way and Mulder, dressed in only a pair of sweat pants, came flying in, gun in hand. She swung the gun at him. He saw his partner huddled in the corner of her empty room and ignoring the fact that she had her gun pointed right at him, he crossed the distance between them. Dropping to the floor, he checked to make sure she was alright. Her pajamas were drenched in sweat, tendrils of wet hair clung to her forehead. Eyes, wide with fear, locked with his. "Scully......what happened?.... Are you ok?....You were screaming.... ..calling my name..." He stopped questioning her, realizing he wasn't giving her time to answer. "He was here." Her voice was shaky, eyes searching the room. She griped his forearm tightly trying to make him understand. "The murderer, he was here." A little while later they sat in his room. Scully noticed that the temperature had returned to being comfortable. Mulder had given her time to compose herself, before asking her any more questions. He sat in an arm chair watching her. She looked at him and gave him a slightly embarrassed smile. She knew what she had seen, but going over it now in her head, it sounded crazy. "You can talk now, Mulder" She said, still holding his gaze. She knew he was giving her time. "Tell me what happened?" he said gently. "I was asleep.... I felt a cold hand on my face.... I opened my eyes and he was there, standing at the end of my bed." "I thought you said he had his hand on your face?" "He did.....I think he did.....I felt his touch.....but he wasn't.... he was at the foot of the bed." She tried to sort through the memory. "Did he say anything?" "He just said, it's not over." The phone rang causing both of them to jump. Mulder picked up the receiver. "Mulder." he said simply, in to the receiver. " I understand....we'll be right there." Hanging up he turned his attention back to Scully. "I guess your visitor was right. The police just found another body. Look Scully, if you don't want to go down to the crime scene....." "I'm sure as hell not staying here by my self." She interrupted, standing up and heading back into her own room. "I'll get dressed." Sully looked out the side widow as they drove. She couldn't get the image of that man out of her head. Turning to look at Mulder she watched him for a moment then asked, "Do you think I'm crazy?" His reaction was not what she expected. He started laughing, hard enough he had to slow down so he didn't drive the car off the road. Looking at her face he saw that it had been a serious question. "I'm sorry.....but that's usually my line." He said, returning his eyes to the road. "Why would you ask me that?" "You saw that room Mulder. Dead bolted from the inside, the widow was closed. The only exit was the one you broke in through. It seemed so real........but it must have been a dream." "Do you normally have dreams realistic enough to draw your weapon." "The temperature change, his touch, not being able to move. I heard his voice inside my head, for gods sake. There is no other explanation." "No reasonable one." "Don't start. It was a dream." "This guy has killed nine men.... excuse me counting tonight, ten, without being caught. How can you be so sure what you saw wasn't real." "It's not the first time he's invaded my dreams." "What?" He asked. "I've had these nightmares before. Three yeas ago, and now they have returned. It was a nightmare, Mulder, brought on by this horrific case and...." She didn't finish her sentence, returning her gaze to the side widow. They had both been trying to ignore the fight they had. But the wall between them remained. Flashing lights lit up the darkness ahead of them, ending there conversation for the moment. The same cop from the earlier crime scene greeted them. "Glad you decided to stay in town. We are normally a quite little town. Four murders in a week. We aren't really equipped for this sort of thing, yeah know?" "Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this before any more people get killed." Mulder said trying to sound hopeful but knowing they still had nothing to go on. The body had been like all the others. Scully was preforming the autopsy, trying to be professional and just do her job, but she kept seeing the face of the killer. It had been the same man she was sure of it. She looked down at the slash that ran through the man on the table before her. The killer's face appeared in her mind and she closed her eyes trying to rid her self of the memory, it wasn't the memory of earlier that night. It was a vision from three years earlier, the man on that deserted road. He had touched her with his cold hand......his piercing blue eyes....... She backed away from the body, trying to regain her composure. In a low voice she said to herself, "Get a grip Dana, it was a dream.... it was just a dream." "What was a dream?" A familiar voice asked from behind her. She spun around to see Bryan standing there. He looked at the body on the table and winced. "Nasty....I tell you Dana, I don't miss this part of the job." "God, you never did listen to me. I told you the bureau doesn't want you near this case. Which part of that did you not understand?" "What are they going to do, fire me?" He said with a smile. "I have to do this, you know I do." "I got enough problems right now. I cant worry about you getting your self killed in the name of revenge." "Even if what I am avenging is what that monster did to you?" She pulled of the rubber gloves she wore. "Come on Bryan, this isn't about me and you know it." "How can you say that?" "You know I'm right. Some times I think that man scarred you deeper than he scarred me." "Dana..." "I have to finish this Bryan. We can talk about it later at the motel." She said turning back to the body. Bryan walked down the hall and found Mulder sprawled across a small couch, sound asleep and clutching a copy of Good Housekeeping. He swatted Mulder's foot, jolting him awake. "What?" Mulder asked in a grumpy voice. "We meet again." Bryan said with a smile. Mulder's face was expressionless as he said, "This day just keeps getting worse." "Nice greeting. Especially since I came down here to help you." "I'm guessing the bureau doesn't know your here." "Nope.....but I'm sure they will figure it out soon enough, so what do you say we catch this guy before they come try to drag me off." "I'm having a really bad day and the last thing I need right now is another partner." "She told you, huh?" "Yeah, she told me." "You couldn't have thought she requested to work with you?" Mulder just glared at him. "Hey no offence, pal. But I know agents like you, hell, I was an agent like you. I can't remember anyone beating down my door, wanting to be partnered with me. It was just Dana's misfortune that she drew the short straw. Look where it go her." "Partnered with me?" "That's not what I meant, but yeah, I guess that was the end result." He joined Mulder on the couch. Changing the subject back to the case he said,"I want to catch this guy, Mulder. I need to catch this guy." Realizing he wasn't going away he said, "Ok, Bryan you want to help so bad, give me a statement." "Excuse me?" "My file is incomplete, you were there that night. I've heard Scully's story now lets hear yours." "I'm not going to tell you anything. I'm here to solve this, not to be interrogated by you." He objected, jumping to his feet. "You are a civilian, with information pertaining to this case." Mulder's voice was raised, losing his temper. Standing, he faced the other man. Then baiting him, he continued, "You know Scully said the murders ended right after you were taken off the case. Your whereabouts can't be verified for the night she was attacked, can they? Tell me, do you have an alibi for the other murders?" "You think I killed those men? You think I hurt her?" His face reddened as anger filled him. "You son of a..........you want to know my story? Ok, fine I'll fill you in. Three years ago I was a special agent who had managed to get him self on everyone's shit list, you know the type don't you Mulder?" he asked sarcastically. "I was assigned a new partner, a pretty, young partner. There was an attraction between us, one we both tried to ignore for the sake of protocol. After a wile that just didn't seem like a good enough reason. One night after returning to our motel from a crime scene, we gave in to it." Bryan looked into the other man eyes, "Right there in the car." Seeing Mulder's jaw tighten, Bryan knew he had regained the upper hand in this battle of wills. Sitting back down on the couch he looked up at Mulder. "Would you like me to go into more detail?" "Don't screw with me." Mulder looked as if he was going to loose it. Taking a deep breath he said, "Just tell me what happened that night." Bryan's face sobered as he remembered that night. "We were driving each other crazy. Some times it seamed like the closer we got personally the harder it was to work together professionally. We got in to it about .......god, I don't even remember what we fought about. I got out to clear my head..... I left her alone." The anger in his voice turned to sadness, as he fought against the pain of a memory he'd spent years trying to bury. "I left her there.....I should have stayed.....she was my partner....she was my...." He looked at Mulder, "I'm not sure I can do this sober. What do you say we get out of here?" "I'll go tell Scully we are leaving, meet me outside." They sat in lounge chairs next to the small motel swimming pool. The light flooding out of the pool illuminating the cement deck. Bryan drained the beer he had and reached into case that sat between the two deck chairs, pulling out another. Mulder sipped his beer, feeling a little buzz moving into his head, and waited for Bryan to continue with his story. "I had walked quite a way when I heard a scream, carried on the wind. I ran back to the car as fast as I could....but she was gone. There was no sign of struggle, no footprints, nothing.........she was just...gone. Everything is a blur after that.... I just remember screaming her name." He took another drink and fell silent. Mulder closed his eyes, trying to push away his own bad memories. "The reinforcements arrived and we searched the area for what seemed like an eternity." Bryan continued, his voice starting to slur a little. " It was three hours later before I found her......the longest three hours of my life." "Try three months." Mulder said in a quite voice, still not able to disengage himself from his own memory of her disappearance. Bryan heard Mulder's comment and looked up. He realized just how much they really did have in common and some of the anger he had towards him fell away. "It must of been hell." Bryan commented softly. "Hell would have been better." He said softly, as he took another drink. "How did you keep your sanity?" "Who says I did?" Mulder replied with a small smile and finished off his beer. "You said, you found her?" He asked, wanting to move the topic away from himself. "I was searching through the woods for her, when I saw something move in the distance. I thought it was the killer, so I gave chase." "Was it him." "No.....it couldn't have been human. It moved so quickly....I couldn't tell you what I chased that night, but it lead me right to her, then just vanished. She was laying, covered in blood, next to a dead body. I thought.....I really thought I was too late. That bastard had stabbed her... beaten her....he just left her there to die. If she had been out there any longer...." He stopped, not able to finish his sentence. Looking at Mulder he continued, "I wasn't exactly discreet about my feelings for her while she was in the hospital. Seeing her like that......I guess I kind of lost it. You know the rest of the story." "No, actually I don't. Why did it end. I can't imagine she blamed you for what happened?" "No..she...didn't have to....I blamed my self." "Because you weren't there. You couldn't save her." Mulder said quietly, knowing all to well that he was right. Bryan looked at Mulder, knowing that if any one knew how he felt it was him. "How did you get past it...to stop blaming yourself?" "Who said I did?" There was no smile combined with his reply this time. "I'm serious." Mulder looked into the other mans eyes. "So am I." Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Then breaking the silence, Mulder said, "How did it end." "I became overprotective, while she was recovering. I became overbearing when she told me she would be returning to work. So I gave her an ultimatum, either me or the FBI. For future reference she doesn't react well to ultimatums." He laughed at the memory. "Man was she mad. I bought a boat and asked her to come with me, to sail into the sunset. She just said, no." He drank the rest of his beer and looked out over the still water. "I just couldn't watch her leave every morning, knowing she may never come back, and there was nothing I could do to stop it."He closed his eyes, the alcohol starting to make him sleepy. "So I sailed off, leaving her and the FBI behind. And now my life reads like a Jimmy Buffett song." "Margaritaville." Mulder said with a laugh, starting to feel a little light headed himself. "That would be the one." A smile passed over Bryan's mouth but he didn't open his eyes. In sleepy voice he said, "I don't think you should get so worked up about how she ended up with you Mulder.... ..the way I see it you got the good end of this deal." It was the last thing he said as he drifted off to sleep. Mulder looked at the man sleeping in the chair next to him, examining his options. The right thing to do would be wake him and then help him upstairs to bed. But, that bed was already occupied by Scully and he wasn't real eager to have them together. A devilish grin spread across his face as he pulled off his trench coat and covered Bryan and headed to his room. Mulder entered his darkened room and quietly moved to the adjoining doorway to check on Scully. Peeking around the corner he could see her curled around her pillow, sleeping soundly. He watched her for a little longer than he needed to, but satisfied she was ok, he headed for his own bed. His head was spinning and the shirt he was trying to get off became a bigger challenge than he expected. As he finally freed himself from his shirt, he let out a sharp gasp from a pain shooting through his shoulder. Scully woke with a start. She realized the noise she heard was coming from the other room an got up to investigate. She stood in the doorway looking at Mulder, teetering like the floor was moving under his feet, but it was the big blueish bruise on his swollen shoulder that really caught her attention. "Your hurt." He jumped, started by her voice. "I'm ok." He said looking at her with glazed eyes. "But I think in the future I should put on some clothes before breaking through doors." "Sit down, Mulder", she commanded as she moved into his bathroom for a towel, then the mini bar, for some ice. "I'm ok, Scully."He said still standing. "Yeah, and I'm a doctor. Sit down." This time he did as he was told and she joined him spreading out the towel and dumping the ice cubes onto it. She stepped in front of him putting her hand along side his jaw, holding his head steady. "Are you drunk, Mulder?" "No..*hik*...well maybe a little." "What did you do with Bryan or should I ask?" "He's fine. He's....just taking a nap....by the pool." "Well as long as he's not in the pool." Wrapping the towel around the ice, she picked it up and climbed up onto the bed so she was sitting behind him. Placing the compress against the back of his shoulder, she asked, "What were you two talking about all this time?" Mulder could feel the warmth of her breath against the back of his ear as she spoke. He felt his heart beat a little faster and hoped she hadn't noticed. "Talking about? Well... you.....mostly." "Me? Oh, that cant be good." "Tell me Scully, there's something I just don't understand about you and Bryan. How could you go against prodical like that?" "You mean how could I sleep with my partner?"She moved the ice, trying to reach the rest of the swelling. He could feel a cold trickle of water roll down his spine and the heat of her finger tips as she caught it at the small of his back. "I'm not perfect Mulder....I'm not immune to.....temptation." Letting her free hand rest on his waist, she tried to ignore how true that statement was. There was a pause in the conversation as he closed his eyes. Between the alcohol in his system and her hands on his bare skin he was having trouble regaining his train of thought. "It's just.....you're the one who makes me follow the rules."He managed to say. "I've learned what breaking them will get you?" "Ten to life with Spooky Mulder?" He asked sarcastically. She didn't reply and he wished he could take back his last comment. He could feel her moving behind him, she pushed the ice higher on to his shoulder. He jumped as she moved it into a tender portion of skin. "I'm sorry." She said in a quite voice, he could hear the emotion in her voice and knew she was not just referring to the coldness of the ice. "I didn't mean to hurt you." "I'm the one who went through that door." "Yeah, to protect me from my own subconscious. And that's not what I was referring to." He turned his body slightly and slowly, so she could keep the ice on his shoulder as he moved down to lie on the bed. Scully adjusted her self so she could still tend to his injuries as he laid down on his stomach. She smoothed his hair lightly, watching his eyes close at her touch. "You don't have to stay, Dana." His voice was soft and his use of her first name caught her off guard. "You've got to get the swelling down." She replied trying to ignore the double meaning of his words. He turned to her, rolling on to his side, draping his arm over one of her crossed legs. Looking into her eyes he said, "That's not what I was referring to." "I know." She said simply, looking away and using the ice that was threatening to slide off his shoulder as her excuse for averting her eyes from him. "Is that what you want?"" her voice cracked slightly. "I'm not blind, Scully. I can see how unhappy you've been lately. Sometimes I look at you, and think my god, why does she stay? I guess you gave my answer, it's not by choice." "You didn't answer my question." She said still not quite able to meet his gaze. "And you didn't answer mine." His voice held an edge of anger and he sat up abruptly, the ice pack falling onto the bed. Facing her, he put his hand on the side of her face so she had no choice but to look into his eyes. "Dammit Scully, just tell me what you want." "Mulder.. I....." She pushed away from him suddenly very angry. "Do you really think that little of me, to think I would stay somewhere I didn't want to be. "No...I.." "If I wanted out, I would have left you along time ago. And don't think it never crossed my mind." In a calmer tone she continued, "Is that what you want, Mulder? You want to go back to the way it was before we met. You said it yourself... you never wanted a partner...." "I didn't mean it..." "Yes, you did." "Scully.....I was angry.....I wasn't thinking strait..." "That's usually when your most honest. Come on Mulder, you have never completely trusted me. You still think of me as someone who is working against you. If your quest, hasn't become ours it's because you wont let it be. You spend half your time running off on you own and shutting me out. What do you think would have happened if I had told you about Bryan and the whole mess that led me to the x-files? You knew they wanted me do debunk your work, if you knew the whole story...." She picked the ice pack up off the bed, placing it in his hand, deciding she had enough for one night. Getting up off the bed, she turned to him and talking in a quite voice continued, "I'm going to bed. Keep that ice on you shoulder."Then she headed into her room for the night. "Dana." His soft voice stopped her. "I trust you more than anyone.... sometimes.....most times...more that I trust myself..... please believe that." "Good night, Mulder." Was her only reply as she exited his room Mulder sat in a small room searching through old files for clues. The case had taken on an importance to him on many levels. He wanted revenge for what this man had done to his partner. Both for her physical pain and emotional. Part of him wanted her to see that she was suppose to be with him, not that she just had to be. He had let him self come to trust her, to need her and he hated the idea that working with him had been a punishment for her. Realizing that dwelling on it wasn't going to accomplish anything. He returned his focus to the case. He spread out the photos of all the victims. They all bore a striking similarity in apparency. Every one of the men were about the same age, sandy brown short hair, blue eyes and a stocky build. He had requested a picture of the man that had been found along side of Scully. There was a few details in the file, autopsy results and the location of the murder, but not much else and no photo to compare with the others. He looked up as Bryan entered the room. He was walking very softly, almost in slow motion. "You look like crap." "Bite me." He evenly as he sat down on a small couch against the wall. "I need some coffee." Mulder took pity on him and got up to pour him a cup. "Thank you." He said as Mulder handed him the coffee. "By the way, thanks for leaving me out by the pool. I woke up to a five year old hitting me in the head with his beach ball." Mulder laughed at the image, "It's not my fault you can't hold your liqueur." A police officer entered the small room with an envelope in his hand. "Agent Mulder, this just arrived for you. " He handed Mulder the envelope and then left the two men alone. Mulder opened it and pulled out a file. He read though it, stopping at some pictures of the crime scene. Examining the photos, he looked over to Bryan. "The man they found that night, next to Scully. How did he die?" "Like all the others. Cut right up the middle. Why?" Mulder handed him the picture. "This isn't him. It looks like him, but then all the victims look similar. The guy we found that night was sliced from his belly to his collar bone....this guy obviously died from those bullet holes in his chest."He looked up from the picture to see that Mulder was not listening to him. He was searching through the other papers. "Mulder, it's not the same guy. They sent you the wrong information." "Says here that he died out on that same road..... only it was six months before the other murders began, three years ago. They never found his killer." "You think he was killed by the same guy?" Mulder was engorged in the papers, his eyes held an intensity that Bryan recognized as the same look he used to get when the pieces were coming together on a case. Scully walked into the room and stood beside Bryan. She looked at her partner as spread the papers out on the small coffee table. "You've go that look in your eye Mulder. What are you on to?" She asked moving in closer. Mulder picked up the photo and stood, handing to Scully. "Do you recognize him?" She took the photo and then almost dropped it. As she looked at the dead man, her face went white, she looked as if someone had just slapped her. "Who is he?" She asked in a barely audible voice. "Todd Bowen. Is he the man that came to your room last night?" "What in the hell are you saying, Mulder?" Bryan jumped in to the conversation. "That guy...." "Is he the man that you saw last night?" Mulder asked her again, cutting off Bryan. "Yes....he's the man I saw." "He was killed three years ago." She sat heavily on the couch, "Well.....I was sleeping.....it could have been a dream.......but I was awake the night I saw him three years ago......was that the night he died?" "He died six months earlier." "Whoa wait a minute," Bryan said confused. "what are you saying, that a ghost is responsible for these murders?" Mulder ignored him concentrating on Scully, who couldn't take her eyes off the photo. "Scully, what do remember about the night you first saw him?" "I..just saw his face.....I don't remember what happened after that." "You have to remember that night, Scully. I think it's the key to all this." She stood up trying to move away from him, "I don't remember." Bryan moved in between her and Mulder, "You heard her, she doesn't remember, so back off." "This man is the key, don't you get it?" "This man, being the ghost? You really are one brick shy, aren't you Mulder?" Mulder ignored his comment, "Bryan I want to talk to Scully alone." "I don't think that's a good idea...." "I don't give a..."Mulder started but Scully stopped him from blowing up, with a touch to his arm. "Bryan wait in the hall, ok?" "Dana?" "Please." Bryan relented and went to wait out side. Scully turned to Mulder. He pointed to the closed door. "I don't like having to justify myself to him. He is not my partner... hell he's not even an agent anymore." He said in an agitated voice. She was just looking at him with that, are you done, look. Smiling sheepishly he continued in a softer tone, "I guess I don't like having to share you." "You don't have to share me, Mulder. You wanted to talk to me alone.....I'm here......but I still think this can be explained as a dream. "I think what you saw was more than a dream, Scully." He continued, trying to move the conversation back to the case. "Let me ask you something, do you believe in heaven?" "What, now I saw an angel?" "You didn't answer my question." "Yes, I suppose I do." "Then you can except the possibility of an afterlife, right?" He had that tone in his voice, he was on a roll and she couldn't help but smile. "There are those who say if a person dies an violent or unnatural death that there soul has trouble moving on. They can't cross over to the other side. Some say the spirit will remain on earth to finish unfinished business, then they are free to move on." "Ok, for the sake of argument lets say that is true. How does a disembodied spirit slice people open with a butcher knife? And why? Doesn't seem like the way to get on the fast track to heaven to me." "Granted it's just a working theory, but I'm sure there is something there." "Mulder.....this is crazy." She said quietly, looking at the photo of the dead man again. "I'm going to get out of here for a while, ok?" Mulder knew her well enough to know that the tone of her voice meant that he had just pushed her to her limit. His theories took a toll on her basic belief system and there were times when she just became to tied to fight him anymore. "Take as much time as you need." He said taking her hand and giving her a reassuring smile. As she left, Bryan reentered the room. "Is she ok?" "She just needed some time alone." Mulder said as he walked back to the papers spread across the table. "You really think this guy is the answer?" "It's not like we have anything else to go on." "You have a point. So what have we got?" Bryan asked. "A guy fitting the same general description of the other victims, murdered six months before the killings started." "Is there any personal information in there?" "He worked in a mill......survived by a wife.....no children." "I don't suppose he has a twin brother." "That would be convenient, but no." They both sat down at the table to go through all the information again. Dana sat on the front steps of a church just down the street from the police station. She had stopped and got a sandwich and was feeding the remains to the pigeons that gathered near her feet. She felt the sun beating down on her and closed her eyes enjoying the warmth. As he reopened them she cold see a man walking towards her. There was no question in her mind who it was, even if his casual dress of jeans and a t-shirt was unfamiliar, his broad shoulder and the way he carried himself was unmistakable. "Hiding?" He asked as reached the bottom of the steps on which she sat. "Something like that. What brings you here, sir." "You do, Agent Scully. And that ex-partner of yours." Skinner lowered his frame so he was sitting on the step beside her. "He is here, isn't he?" " Please try to understand. Imagine if you and I where partners and this had happened...." "Scully, I don't have to be your partner to understand wanting to make this guy pay for what he did to you. But Bryan's quest for revenge will only put every one in more danger." "It's about more than revenge sir. He needs closure....he blames him self for what happen me.....I think he feels if he can catch this guy, he can move on........to put it behind him." "It's not the answer." "I know.....but trying to convince him he is wrong is almost as hard as trying to convince......." "Mulder." She looked at him a smiled. "I take it, you have told Agent Mulder the whole story?" "Yes, sir." "How did he take it?" "Badly." "Look Scully, it's no secret that the two of you haven't been getting along to well lately. If you want to transfer...." "Why is every one so hell bent on freeing me from the x-files." "I have seen what happens to Mulder, without you. It's not something I'd like to experience again, believe me. I have no doubt how much he needs you. But you really have to examine what this job means to you. The only thing that keeps you with him, is you. If you want out, I'll sign the forms, no questions." He stood, stepping back down to the side walk and putting on a pair of sunglasses. "Are you going to talk to Bryan?" "No, I'm going to trust your judgment. I'm heading back to D.C. I'll be looking to you to keep a handle on both of your partners, Agent Scully." "I'll do my best, sir." She watched him walk away, thinking even in levis and a t-shirt he still commands total respect just by the way he moves. Standing up she thought it was about time she returned to the police station. But as she looked at the big doors of the church, she decided there was something she had to do first. Bryan lay on the couch , still not quite recovered from his hang over. He looked over at Mulder who was still sitting at the table looking through files and taking notes as he went. "Where are we?" Bryan asked. "Ten murders. Four here and six three years ago, in a little town about a hundred miles away. All the men have similar features and according to our only eye witness..." He looked at his watch. "who has apparently run away, the suspect looks very similar to the men he has killed. There has been no sign of forced entry very little sign of struggle. And our best lead at a suspect has been dead for over three years." He dropped his head down on to the table in frustration. Scully walked into the empty church, standing at the back pew and took in the sights of the big church. Her eyes wandered across the stained glass windows, the arched ceiling and rested on the statue of the crucifix at the front of the hall. She smiled as she felt it, the reason she had come in, that sense of faith filling her. She took a minute to just stand there and then turned to leave. "Can I help you, child." The voice came from behind her and she stopped, turning around to see a elderly priest looking at her. "No father, I just came in to......" She stopped not quite knowing how to put it. "I just needed to be here for a minute." He smiled at her and she could see that had been explanation enough. "Is there any thing you'd like to talk about?" She pretty sure that if she said no, he would know she was lying. So she nodded, and he ushered her to a nearby pew. "I lost my sister recently....she was killed....and...I... I can't make piece with it. They were after me....it should have been me." She dropped her head looking at her feet. "Do you believe in fate, father?" "I believe god has a plan for all of us, yes." "Why would that plan take my sister from me?" She felt tears welling up in her eyes. "I wish I could give you the answers you need, child. But know your sister is in heaven." "I want to believe that.... I really do. But what if.......what if she never knows how sorry I am?" "She has moved on....she's at piece....I'm sure she would want the same for you." She looked up into the elderly mans kind eyes, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I wish it were that simple, Father." Scully entered the small room to find Mulder and Bryan eating cheeseburgers and debating football. "Well I see you two have bonded." She said sarcastically. They both looked up at her. "Thought you'd ran off, Scully." "I don't suppose you have this thing solved yet?" "No, but we do have somewhere to start, other than Mulder's ghost." Bryan said as he held out a very large stack of papers. "A list of every one that has moved to this town in the past three years and a list of every one who has been or is staying at all the motels and hotels in the area." Mulder took part of the stack, putting it with the other files and stood. "I think we should call it a day." He looked at Scully and then Bryan, suddenly feeling very much like a third wheel, "You need a lift Scully?" She looked at Bryan," No...I .....we can ride back together." An awkward silence filled the room as Mulder made his way to the door, heading back to the motel, alone. Mulder clicked off the late night movie and threw the remote on the night stand. As he stared up at the ceiling he heard a noise coming from the room next to him. Whispering.....then a giggle. He closed his eyes, "Oh no.... don't do this to me.... " He whispered into the darkness. Every noise felt like it was echoing through his room. He knew logically it could be anything, that his imagination was probably making it much worse. They could just be talking or maybe it was just the t.v. A sharp laugh, her laugh, flowed through the wall like it was made of paper. He grabbed his pillow and put it over his head, trying to shut out the noise. But in the darkness images filled his mind, joining with the sounds coming her, from them. Pulling the pillow away from his head, he climbed out of bed, dressing quickly. He was muttering under his breath as he put on his shoes "If she thinks I'm going to listen to her while they....she's got another thing coming...I'm out of here..." He grabbed the files of the dresser and headed out his door. Scully looked up when she heard the door of Mulder's room close. She wondered to her self, why he was just getting in now. Returning her attention to Bryan, who was apologizing for not telling her the real reason he came back to DC. "To my credit, you should know I never lied to you." "What about all that stuff about wanting to be a shoulder I could cry on." "That was true....and so was the part about me missing you." "Well now your just sucking up." "Is it working?" "Maybe." She said with a smile, and a laugh. "Are you still mad I'm here?" "No, I understand your need to put this behind you. I just don't want you to get hurt, trying to make amends for something that wasn't your fault." "It was my fault. I should have never left you alone..." She could see the guilt in his eyes. "Don't you think you've spent enough time beating your self up over this. Catching this guy wont change what happened that night. We both made choices, some of them were better that others." "How about the choice we made the other night?" He asked moving towards her on the bed. "I can't say as I have any regrets about that particular choice." He moved in closer and she put her hand against his chest , stopping him. "However.......I don't think I would feel comfortable making that same choice again with my partner in the next room." He gave her a little pout and then flopped down on the bed. Looking up at the ceiling he said, "Maybe catching this guy isn't the answer to my problems, but it's a start." She snuggled into his chest, closing her eyes. In a whisper she said, "You need to make piece with the things that you are powerless to change. We all do." She was cold, cold enough that she started to shiver. She tried to reach out for Bryan, to let his body warm hers, but she couldn't move. In an instant she woke, panicked, knowing what was going on. He had returned. He stood there, just like before, making no effort to come near her. "It's time." He held out his hand and although every thing in her was telling her to run away from him, she sat up, climbed out of bed and went to him. He stood by the door. She moved to him, opening the door and he walked outside. She followed. They stood in the front yard of a small house. Dana, dressed in only in the sweats she had been sleeping in, shivered against the cool night air. She looked down at her bare feet, and wasn't really sure how she had gotten there. Deciding to give her self over to the dream...psychosis....or what ever it was, she looked at the man next to her. He still had that same eerie glow, even though there was no light behind him this time. He looked strait at the house, "It has to end." She felt him say. The sensation made her shiver even more. "Did you kill all those men?" "No.....but I can't stop it....." "Do you know who killed those ten men?" "Eleven."He corrected. Looking right at her, his piercing blue eyes held a sense of sadness. "Please....help me end it." He turned away from her and moved towards the small house. The hold he had over her disappeared as he walked away, almost making her topple over. As her head cleared and she wanted to run. But looking at the house she knew this was the key.....inside were the answers. Taking a deep breath she said to her self, " This is crazy", then she followed him towards the house.. Mulder sat at the counter of a empty diner, looking through the files again. Frustrated he pushed them aside. The lone waitress walked over to him to freshen his coffee. He recognized her as the waitress that waited on them the other day when he and Scully had dinner there. "You and the missus have fight?" She asked. He smiled, "She's not my wife....she's my partner." "Is that the politically correct term these days? I have trouble keeping up." Deciding that explaining would be more trouble than it was worth he asked her, "Why would you think we had a fight?" "It's three in the morning, and your here instead of sharing a nice warm bed with her. There are only two reasons for this and since you don't smell like cheep perfume, I'm guessing it's the other one." "Not bad, but you forgot one other scenario, what if she's sharing that nice warm bed with someone else?" "Ouch. That's got to hurt." "It's her life. She can do whatever..or whoever she likes." He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, more than the waitress in front of him. Really wanting to change the subject he said, "So tell me..."He looked at her name badge, "Katie...why are you here?" She laughed, "Yeah...you got me. Had a big fight with my....partner. I swear sometimes that man makes me so mad I could kill him. But with my luck he'd probably come back from the grave and haunt me." Something in Mulder's head clicked into place and his eyes went wide "That's it." He exclaimed as he grabbed for the stack of papers he had brought with him. Scanning page after page he found what he was looking for. "Katie...you are a genius." He said as he jumped of his stool, throwing down all the money he had in his pockets. Then running out of the dinner. Mulder ran into his room and strait for the adjoining door. He banged on it with his fist, forgetting that it was broken. The whole door fell forwards, into the other room. The noise of the crash brought Bryan strait up in bed. "Wha...." Mulder moved quickly into the room. Flipping on the light. "I know who did it." He said, expecting to be talking with both of them. He looked at Bryan alone in the bed and moved to the bathroom, seeing it was empty, he swung back to Bryan. His stomach tightened, his voice panicked, "Where is she?" Bryan glanced around the room looking as confused as Mulder. Mulder rushed him, grabbing the front of his shirt forcefully, "Where is she?" His eyes filled with the fear that history was repeating itself, "I ....I don't know." Mulder, trying not let his panic overwhelm him backed away from Bryan pulling out a piece of paper out of his pocket and said, "Get dressed." "Do you know where she is?" Bryan asked hopefully. Clutching the paper tightly he said simply, "God, I hope so." Scully entered the small house through the open back door. The man who had brought her here had disappeared and she was grateful to have chance to focus on her task. She looked around the kitchen. In the sink there was a knife, a big knife, with what appeared to be dried blood on it. "This must be the place" She said quietly. Spotting a phone on the wall she called Mulder's cellular, but there was no answer. Cursing to her self, she hung up the receiver and headed into the livingroom. On the mantel there were a row of photos. She examined them. A woman made appearances in most of them, including one that had been pushed to the back, almost out of sight. Dana picked it up trying to get a better look in the dim light. The woman was posing in her wedding dress. She recognized the groom immediately as the man that brought her to this house. The pieces fell into place in her mind. A suddenly she was not alone, standing beside her was the man in the photo. His sudden appearance startled her and she dropped the picture, braking it. His eyes looked down settling on the photo behind the broken glass. "It's you......in the photo....it's you isn't it?" She stammered. "Yes.....she is......was... my wife." "She killed those men?" "Yes... she killed them....and me." "Then your...." She stopped, not wanting to finish the question. "Dead.......yes...after she shot me I became.... trapped...in this existence....that's why you must end it." "How?" "You have to stop her........It's the only way to free me...please... I want to go home..I want to rest." His voice moved into her mind and held a desperation that she could feel right down to her bones. Dana looked at her outfit, realizing she had no gun, hand cuffs or even shoes for that matter. Grabbing a poker off the fire place hearth, she made her way up stairs to the bedrooms. She had just made it to the top of the stairs when a figure rushed her in the darkness, knocking her off her feet. Her head struck the floor causing a momentary black out as the poker skittered across the floor. As her vision cleared, she looked up from her prone position to see her assailant. It was a very large woman holing a knife, not as big as the one in the kitchen but just as lethal. The woman standing above Scully tried to figure out how she knew the intruder at her feet. Her eyes went wide, suddenly recognizing her. "I killed you......" She sensed movement and turned to see her deceased husband had appeared in front of her. She gasped, recoiling from him. In a high pitched and desperate voice she yelled out. "No....I killed you.....I killed both of you...." She raised the knife, not quite sure who to stab first. Scully took advantage of her hesitation to reach for the iron poker. Grabbing it she swung it at the woman's legs, knocking both of them out from underneath her. The woman fell backwards, desperately grabbing for the staircase banister. Not able to brake her fall, she went head first down the steep staircase, landing in a heap at the bottom. Scully stood at the top of the stairs looking at the unconscious form below. At her feet, the knife the woman had held, protruded from the wooden floor. Out side she could hear a car skidding to a halt in front of the house. A light behind her started to become brighter. Turning to it she could see him, his glowing aura has enveloping him. The sound of his voice moved into her head. "It's over......I can move on now...." Dana just looked him, not knowing what to say. "Is there any thing you want me to tell them?" Dana's breath caught in her throat and she knew if there ever was a time to let her self believe in the incredible, this was it. Tears sprung to her eyes as she said, "Tell them that I love them....tell her... tell her that I'm sorry....." The man nodded as the light enveloped him completely. The flash of light was so bright that she lost her balance falling to the floor. Blinking hard, she could see spots before her eyes, but nothing else. He was gone. On the first floor of the house she could hear two deep voices calling out her name in unison. Still sitting on the floor, she replied, "I'm up here." Trying to stand she became dizzy and sat back down. She reached a hand up to her head, pulling it back to discover she was bleeding. Mulder and Bryan came running up the stairs, barely even noticing the unconscious form they had to hurdle on the way up. "Mulder dropped down to her side, putting one hand gently along the side of her face. "Are you ok?" "I'm fine, Mulder.....I think I may need some stitches, though." Dana looked down the staircase, as Bryan went down to check the woman's pulse. "She's the killer." "Yeah, I know." He said as he examined the back of her head. "How?" "I'll tell you later. Right now I think we need to get some cops out here and get you to the hospital." Looking down at Bryan he asked, "How is she?" "A lot better of than her victims." Mulder and Bryan entered the hospital room just as the doctor had finished stitching up Scully's head. He looked at the two men and said, "Four stitches and a slight concussion, but other than that she will be fine." Both me smiled in relief and moved to her as the doctor made his way out of the room. "How's our killer?" She asked in a slightly slurred voice, from the pain killers they had given her. "She is down the hall spilling her guts." Mulder replied sitting next to her on the hospital bed. "Did she give any reason why she killed those men?" "Its the age old story. She suspects her husband is cheating on her, so she follows him one night, they quarrel and in the heat of passion she shoots him 12 times." Bryan picked up the story where Mulder had stopped, " But, according to her, the husband doesn't die, she keeps seeing him over and over again. So she kills him again....and again.... every time she saw a man that looked like her husband she killed him. Three years ago she left the town were the murders began and moved here, but apparently she saw what she thought was her husband and the murders started again. I'm going to go check to see if they have a complete statement yet." He held her hand for a moment and then left. Mulder waited till Bryan had gone before turning back to Scully. "How did you know where she was Scully? Why did you go off alone like that?"He asked. "I wasn't alone...."Her voice was groggy and she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.. "He took me there....." "Who?" "Him....he brought me to her...to his wife..." Her eyes were closed. "Scully....were is he now?" He asked not sure if she could still hear him. In a tone, barely above a whisper she spoke only one word, "Heaven..." "So do you feel better?" Bryan turned to see Dana standing beside the car he was packing. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question? Your the one who just got out of the hospital." "I just wanted to know if you've found that sense of closure you wanted." He threw the last of his bags in the trunk. "No.....not really. Don't get me wrong I'm glad that this case is over, that this psycho has been caught, finally. I just hoped that I wouldn't feel that sense of guilt, of loss, any more." "I never blamed you for what happened." "I know....maybe some day I'll be able to stop blaming myself." "I wish you would come back to DC." She said as she took his hand. "Someday.....but for now I've got get back to my boat, try and find some kind of piece. I promise I wont take three years to resurface again." He moved to her taking her in his arms and kissing her lightly. Mulder stepped out of his motel room. Spotting the couple embracing, he looked down at his bag, pretending to adjust the zipper until they broke apart. Then walking over to Bryan, he held out his hand. "It was... uh....interesting." Bryan said, excepting the other man's hand and shaking it. "To say the least." Mulder said with a smile. With a glance back to Scully he smiled and got into his car, driving off. Scully sat on the hood of the sedan, waiting for Mulder to return. The only light illuminating the dark night was the dome light of the car. She breathed in the clean air and looked up at the full moon surrounded by more stars than she had ever seen. Hearing a rustling sound she turned to see Mulder heading back to the car, still zipping up his fly. "Didn't your parents ever teach you to go to the bathroom before you leave on long car trips?" She asked with a laugh, looking back up at the stars. "Since when do ever do what I'm told?" He sat on the hood of the car, joining her. He looked at her for a moment and then quietly asked the question he wanted to ask days ago. "What do you see?" "What?" She asked, confused. "When you look up at the night sky, what do you see?" He asked again, not sure wether she really understood what he meant. She was silent for a moment, not sure she knew how to make him understand. Then looking directly into his eyes, she softly said, "God." He just looked her, surprised by her answer. "It's the same feeling I get seeing a baby being born..... a vivid sunset..a perfect rainbow...it makes me feel that .....that we are not alone." His eyes held her for a long moment and with a smile she said, "Your not the only one who sees possibilities up there." "I guess not." He said, shaking his head. " I tell you, you've been full of surprises on this case. From your involvement with Bryan to finding out how it lead you to me. And this case....I mean my god Scully, you told me last night, that Todd Bowen, a man that's been dead for over three years took you to his wife's house. That he was the one who told you she was the killer....." "Mulder.....I took a pretty good blow to the head last night..my memory might not be all that reliable." "Are you denying what you saw?" It was a question he had asked her many times and it took some effort to keep the frustration out of his voice. "No....I saw something...but was it real? I don't know. It is quite possible that my mind saw this man....that for what ever reason it created this whole scenario. Believe me, I'd almost rather go on record as believing in ghosts.....It would mean that I'm not crazy." She looked at him and let out a small laugh. "Maybe a little spooky.... but not crazy." He smiled at her words."You know Scully, you never did tell me how long you were sentenced to the x-files." "I wish you would stop using that word." "Sorry... how long did your punishment call for you to be....assigned.. as my partner." "One year..." She said simply. "or the until the x-files project was shut down." "Wha...you mean..." He stammerer. "I chose the latter." "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" His voice held the embarrassment he was feeling. "Well, I was going to but you interrupted me before I could... I believe it was something about not wanting a partner that couldn't keep her pants on." He cringed, as he heard his words repeated back to him, "You know Scully you may have been right about that blow to the head affecting your memory....I'm sure I couldn't been that much of a jerk, to make a comment like that." It was a round about way of apologizing and he could tell by the way she was looking at him that all would be forgiven. "You really stayed because you wanted to?" "My punishment was having to work against you Mulder, not with you. It was my choice to stay, for better or worse." He took her hand in his, running his thumb across the back of it. Feeling a sense of happiness filling him, he let out an odd laugh and said, "But, you know Scully, you really didn't have as much choice as you think about being my partner." "Mulder..." She started, wondering if he had heard a word she had said. "Wait....hear me out....just think about it Scully, even if you had never got in trouble, you were already on the path that lead you to me." "How's that?" She asked curiously. "Your first case....a woman, haunted by the husband she murdered....it was an x-file...you were bound to end up on my door step.... it was only a matter of time." She laughed realizing, he my just be right. "Must be fate, Mulder." "You cant fight destiny, Scully. Looks like we're stuck together." "Ten to life?" She asked, a smile spreading across her mouth. "Ten to life."He agreed, returning her smile. "I tell you what Mulder, lets start with ten and then we'll take it from there." He jumped off the car, holding his hand out to help her down, "Lets go home partner." THE END So, what do you think?