Title:  There Comes a Time 
    by Dyann Zimmerman

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
TUESDAY, 6:02PM
Mulder was in her kitchen slipping off his running shoes when she
returned home.  "Hey, Scully.  Nice day at the office?" he said
facetiously, judging her expression to indicate just the contrary. 
She gave him a look that told him she wasn't in the mood for his 
humor as she set the take-out on the counter.  "Sorry, Scully.  
Bad day at the office?" he said as he moved to her.  

She turned into his embrace, sighing, "Mulder, hold me.  Just hold
me."

"Scully, what is it?"

"I've thought about you all day," she said looking up at him.  She
kissed him lightly and said, "Go take a shower and I'll get dinner 
ready. I need to talk to you about something."

They sat eating dinner, her earlier notice that `we need to talk'
hanging in the air like the proverbial elephant in the living room. 
Finally, it was Mulder who broached the subject, his curiosity 
outweighing his trepidation."So,Scully, are we just going to talk 
about the weather or are you going to get to what's on your mind?"

"I'm sorry, Mulder," she sighed.  "I just don't know where to 
start...because I know you're going to be angry."  She refilled
her glass of wine before continuing.  "There are some things going 
on at work that I haven't told you about."

"Things?  What things?"

"There is... was a detective, a Det. Martin, with the PD in 
Bethesda that was assigned to this case I've been working on.  He 
was... um... very inappropriate, lascivious actually, on the first 
day I worked with him."

"Scully, did he do something to you---did he touch you?!" he asked
quickly.

"No, Mulder, not then."

"Not then?!!"

"Mulder, just let me tell you what happened, okay?  Please."

"Sorry.  Go on."

"Well, initially, I just tried to ignore him, thinking that I 
wouldn't be involved in the case beyond the initial autopsy.  I 
would've just let it drop.  I didn't want the hassle.  But, as you 
know, the case didn't turn out that way.  His behavior continued 
and I felt it necessary to confront him, to tell him to desist.  
Well... to say that he became upset is a considerable 
understatement."

"Scully, did he hurt you?"

"No.  But he grabbed me and may have done more had I not been able 
to get away from him and call for Security.  Anyway, after that 
point, I filed a report against him---for harassment and assault.  
Needless to say, he was put on suspension," she relayed 
matter-of-factly.  "And, evidently, someone has been following
me... following us and I suspect it's him."

"What?!  When?!" he said, becoming more uneasy.

"Skinner presented me with some pictures this morning---of us...
kissing... when we were at my mother's and yesterday before 
work... at the car and of you coming into my building with 
flowers.  There was also a record of when you entered and left 
here... and stayed here.  And... a picture of us, luckily very 
fuzzy, that must have been taken through my bedroom window... 
last night."

"Jesus!  Where is this son-of-a-bitch now?!"

"Mulder, please.  Don't even think of doing anything!  I mean it.  
It is important that I handle this myself.  Do you understand me?  
Mulder?" she said emphatically, looking directly into his incensed 
eyes.  "Promise me."

After a long pause he finally agreed, "Okay, Scully.  But you have 
to promise me something... that you won't keep me in the dark on 
this!  You have to let me in, let me know what is going on when it 
happens, not a fucking week later!  Why didn't you tell me sooner, 
Scully?! Why didn't you tell me the truth?!"

"Mulder, I didn't lie.  I have just avoided telling you because I 
knew you would react just like you have."

"Withholding something is no less untruthful than deliberately 
telling a lie, Scully," he said, almost dejectedly.

She stared at the table, not looking at him as she thought about 
the point he had just made.  "You're right, Mulder.  I'm sorry and 
I promise I won't keep anything more from you. Promise," she said, 
leaning over to him and giving him a light kiss.  "Promise...Seems 
Det. Martin has some `well-connected friends' that are putting 
some heat on Skinner and I guess, indirectly, me."

"You're kidding."

"No, unfortunately I'm not.  Skinner mentioned it this morning."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I would not be intimidated, nor would I have any
comment about the pictures... or anything related to them, even 
though Martin is using them to make it appear as if I fuck 
everybody I work with,"she said, barely hiding her inner feelings 
of feared defeat.  "I told Skinner if he needed to talk to us 
later, about how the FBI was going to handle this, then so be it,
but that I wouldn't comment in relation to this case.  So...
that's where it stands right now."

"Has this Martin bothered you further?"

"Well, I'm sure it was he who called early this morning.  And who
knows, Mulder, he may be outside right now.  He's obviously been 
around here more than once and he followed us to my mother's for 
Christ's sake!" she said with a distressed tone to her voice. 

Controlling his immediate reaction to find this piece of shit and
beat his brains out, Mulder instead put his hand on hers, giving 
her a supportive smile. "It'll be okay, Scully.  And maybe..., 
maybe I should call this guy and thank him," he said to her 
questioning expression.  "If you remember, that phone call brought 
about a nice little interlude this morning...," he good-naturedly 
leered at her.

"If I remember...?"she said smiling at him as she stood. "Come on, 
Mulder. Let's clean the dishes and you can watch a movie or 
something. I need to work on some notes for a bit. It won't take 
long."

Mulder was lying on the couch surfing through the channels
mindlessly as he watched her sitting at her desk.  He thought to 
himself how beautiful she was, almost numinous, lit only by the 
glow of her computer screen, lustrous blue reflecting off her 
glasses.  Finally, as she finished her report, she looked back at 
him only to find him sleeping, lying on his side with the remote 
still in his hand.  She shut down her computer and thought twice 
about waking him, thinking she'd take her shower first.  After 
readying for bed, she went to the living room to wake him, 
kissing his ear, whispering, "Mulder, come on.  Let's go to bed."

He stirred, opening his eyes to meet hers. "You don't have to say 
that to me twice," he said as he got up from the couch, putting 
his arm around her shoulders as they walked to the bedroom.  She 
crawled into bed as he undressed before joining her.  

They lay together in each others' arms, talking about nothing...
everything, for over an hour before he moved to kiss her.  "You 
are everything to me, Scully.  I love loving you," he said as he 
shifted over her in a progression she recognized.  

"Mulder... um... can we just snuggle tonight?" she said demurely.  

"Is something wrong, Scully?  You got a headache?" he joked.

"No, Mulder.  No.  It's just that... um...," she hesitated.

"If you don't want to, it's okay, Scully.  Really."

"Believe me, Mulder.  It is not that I don't want to---it's just 
that I, uh, don't think I can...," she said softly feeling her 
discomfort rise to a perceptible blush.  "God, this is so 
embarrassing...," she murmured almost under her breath.  "I'm... 
a... a bit sore... and swollen, I think." He fought his immediate 
reaction to laugh, but after a second or two, he couldn't hold it 
any longer and began to snicker, grabbing her around the waist, 
chuckling into her hair.  "Damn it, Mulder!  It isn't funny!" she
said, smacking his arm.  "And it is all your fault."

"Ouch!  Boy, Scully, when you don't get any you can turn into a 
really nasty person...," he quipped.  "Buuut..., I have just the 
cure, Dr.Scully...," he said with a deliberately lustful tone as 
he began kissing down her neck before reaching for the buttons on
her pajama top.  He grinned a deliberately lecherous grin at her, 
enjoying her giggle as he continued with her buttons.  Slipping 
the top off her, he trailed his hand over the lush curve of her 
breasts down the smooth skin of her stomach. She moved to kiss 
him, sliding her hands over his shoulders and down his arms.

"Scully, just lay back and let me do this... for you.  I don't 
want anything in return."

She embraced him, kissing him gently as she looked deeply into his 
emerald eyes before allowing herself to relax onto the pillows in
anticipation. He took her hands in his, intertwining their fingers 
as he kissed her eyes, the tip of her nose and each corner of her 
mouth, seemingly deliberately avoiding her lips.  He kissed and 
licked the soft underside of her chin, sliding to the hollow of 
her neck. "You know,Scully, Groucho Marx once said `Whoever called 
it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.'"

"Umm.  Nothing turns me on like a romantic quote from Groucho 
Marx," she said with a languid facetiousness.  "Mulder... I think 
you should stop talking now."  She stroked his wrists with her 
thumbs as she watched him return to his amatory activity. He began 
moving over her, running his tongue down the hollow of her 
cleavage, only letting go of her hands to palm and cup her 
breasts.  He rubbed his rough cheek against her already erect 
nipple before putting his mouth on her, sucking her hardened 
point into his mouth, making love to her breasts with his lips, 
his tongue and his strong but tender hands.  She had never 
considered her breasts as especially erogenous but she knew he 
had just changed her mind. 

Her hands were not still, touching him lightly, her fingers 
dancing over his moist skin.  He looked up to read the expression 
in her unfocused azure eyes, sensing the deep love she felt for 
him.  He scooted down to tongue her stomach and her navel as her 
breaths changed to sharp pants as he removed her underwear.  He 
pressed his face against her stomach for a moment as she stroked 
his hair, waiting.  He eased her legs apart, feeling how 
absolutely acquiescent, almost limp, she was to his touch, as he 
looked up to behold the contented expression on her face.  He 
kissed her inner thighs, which elicited a twitch, almost a 
shiver, as her hands fell away from their place on his shoulders.   

Placing his hands under her knees, he moved her legs up over his
shoulders, noticing she was already barely able to move and he was 
just beginning. He blew on the silky fluff of her pubic hair as he 
teased her lower lips with his fingers before parting them.  She 
reached for his hair, massaging his scalp to the rhythm of her 
soft moans.  Finding the small covering of her clitoris, he 
touched it lightly with the tip of his tongue, at last tasting her 
flavor. The intimacy of the moment was so overpowering, he had to
draw back for a moment before he could continue.  His hand held
her outer folds open for his tongue, his other hand finding its 
way over her ribs to her breast as she covered his hand with hers.  
A single finger carefully discovered the opening of her body 
already dripping with her silky fluid.  His finger entered her 
slowly as he licked at her engorged bud with his full flat tongue.  
As he slid his finger further into her center, she drew in a 
sudden, sharp breath, closing her eyes.

"Scully, is this okay?...I'm not hurting you?"

"Mulder, please stop talking,"she murmured, her eyes still closed. 
At this, he placed an open-mouthed kiss directly on her clitoris 
which caused her to lift her hips completely off the bed with a 
tender cry.  His self-satisfaction at her physical response made 
him smile as he continued to kiss and lick her.  He felt himself 
becoming harder as he gently tongued around and around and then 
over her clit moving his finger gently in and out of her opening.  
Her clit was swollen and throbbing as he took it between his lips 
to suck on it as he smoothly slid two fingers into her, stroking 
the slick heated flesh inside her.  He continued pressing his
fingers softly against her inner walls, trying not to hurt her, 
but hoping to find just the right spot to pleasure her.  She 
clutched his hand that had moved to hold her thigh as her body 
began to move more vigorously against him.  She moaned and 
whimpered unblushingly as she tensed and released her hand on his 
in rhythm to his mouth and fingers.  He momentarily stopped as
he caught his breath, thinking he had never been more turned on 
in his life and all because of what he was doing to her, not 
because of what was being done to him.

"Oh my God, Mulder.  Ooohhh....God...," she managed to cry out.  
She was almost writhing now and her hips lurched as she grabbed 
for the headboard to find some equilibrium.  He watched her 
display, getting so hard himself, knowing that he was bringing 
about this kind of reaction from a woman who generally kept her 
emotions further in check than anyone should.  He held on to her 
as she shouted, literally shouted, his name as her orgasm burst, 
her walls oscillating in spasms around his fingers, her juices 
coating his face and her thighs.  He held on to her, riding out 
the convulsion of her climax until her shuddering had slowed.  
He felt her legs continue to tremble against both sides of his 
head before he finally pulled his fingers from her, panting, 
resting his head on her thigh.

"Mulder, come up here," she wearily spoke, holding out her arms 
for him.  He moved up her body, resting his thigh between her 
legs as she continued to quiver weakly.  "Hold me.  Hold me 
tight," she said almost groping for him as she burrowed her head 
into his chest.  "Jesus, Mulder!" she said breathily, her voice 
exhausted.  As she began to settle from her euphoria, she looked 
at him and grinned slyly, "I'll never think of Groucho Marx the 
same way again."

Responding to his erection moving against her thigh, she reached 
for him as she nudged his mouth with hers, kissing him hard and 
wantonly. She moved her hand up and down his penis, spreading the 
beginning of his moisture over the tip before massaging her 
moistened palm against his constricted scrotum.  The friction and 
the pressure of her hand made him realize he wasn't going to last 
any longer.  She started kissing him, moving down his body, but 
before she could, he held on to her, saying "Scully, I'm not 
going to make it..."  She at once grasped his bulging shaft, 
bringing him off into her hand, continuing to stroke him as he
finished.  Once he regained an ability to move, he kissed her, 
panting into her mouth as he embraced her.  

"Thank you, Scully.  But I wanted this to be for you. You didn't 
need to do anything for me."

"It didn't feel like I didn't need to do anything for you," she
smiled at him.  

"I love you, Scully."

"I love you, Mulder.  But right now, I'd love you even more if we
took a shower.  We're both a mess," she whispered.  He smiled a 
contented grin as they both slipped softly out of bed and headed 
for the bathroom.

PARKING GARAGE
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
WEDNESDAY, 7:25AM
Despite her usually focused mind, she felt like she was barely 
aware of where she was, still awash with her feeling of total 
contentment since the change in her relationship with Mulder had 
altered her emotional being so drastically.  She was reaching to 
lock her car door when, suddenly, someone grabbed her hair and 
yanked her violently to the pavement.  As she instinctively 
reached to her hip for her gun, her attacker grabbed her wrist, 
twisting it over her back until she heard a snap.  The sharp pain
made her cry out but as she began to yell, something, a towel she 
thought, was stuffed into her mouth.  Pinned down prone on the 
floor, camouflaged between her car and the wall of the building, 
her face was scraping on the oily concrete as she struggled 
beneath the person whose large body was constraining her.  A male 
voice threatened her with denigrating and odious names, slapping 
her mouth and punching her ribs as she struggled to look up in an 
attempt to see his face.  But as she tried, the last thing she
remembered was a fist, hard, to the side of her head.

When she awoke, a man she recognized from the bullpen as a fellow
agent, was bending over her, urgently calling for help on his cell 
phone. She could barely see and tried to reach up to move her hair 
out of her eyes, but felt an overwhelming pain in her right arm.  
She felt the cold air and realized that her clothing must be torn, 
exposing her bare skin. But before she could cover herself, she 
must have passed out again as the next conscious thing she 
remembered was lying on a stretcher being lifted into an 
ambulance.  She tried to speak, to tell the agent to call Mulder,
but she could barely get any words out, realizing her mouth was 
swollen as she tasted blood.  She felt the doors slam shut as the 
ambulance screamed off and out of the garage.
	
EMERGENCY ROOM
WASHINGTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
WEDNESDAY, 8:08AM
All she could discern was hurried voices and medical equipment
clanging, opening her eyes only to be blasted by the blinding 
glare of the overhead light. She was trying to speak, knowing 
that everyone was necessarily too preoccupied with her physical 
condition to stop to listen to her.  She started to reach for 
someone's arm closest to her right hand but grimaced with a gasp 
at her attempt.  She suspected immediately that her hand or her 
wrist was surely broken.  She reached up with her left hand, 
comforted to feel a hand take hers and a woman's face come between
hers and the glowing light.  "Miss Scully, can you hear me?" 
she said soothingly.  Scully nodded and grasped at the woman's 
hand tightly.  "It's okay.  You're okay.  You have some injuries, 
but you're going to be fine," she said calmly and sincerely.  
Scully tugged on the woman's arm to draw her close to her.  The 
woman leaned in as Scully whispered to her as best she could, 
"Call Fox Mulder at 555-0160.  Please."  She laid Scully's arm
back on the gurney as she answered "I'll get someone to reach him
immediately, Miss Scully. Please relax and let us help you, okay?"  
Scully nodded as she closed her eyes into a drugged haze and 
relinquished her physical self to the strangers who were 
continuing all around her.

ROOM 306
WASHINGTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
WEDNESDAY, 12:42PM
She awoke feeling groggy and sore, but feeling a hand holding 
hers, she smiled recognizing it as Mulders.  "Scully?  Scully, 
`you awake?" he said softly.  She opened her eyes to locate him, 
to see his face.  But as soon as she saw him, she felt tears 
overcome her and began to cry. "Scully, I'm here.  You're okay. 
I'm here," he said to her quietly as he moved to hold her as he 
could without hurting her.  She held on to him with her left arm 
as her crying deepened until she was sobbing openly as Mulder
stroked her face and wiped her tears.  He kissed the side of her 
mouth trying not to touch her injuries.  She looked exactly like 
she had been beaten.  Exactly.  

"Umm... Mulder," she whispered. "I needed you to be here. Please
don't leave me," she said, starting to cry again.

"Scully, I'm right here.  I'm not going anywhere.  Just lay as 
still as you can.  Are you comfortable?  Can I do anything?" he 
said softly, searching her face and petting her hair.  

"I hurt like hell, Mulder, if you want the truth," she said with 
only the faint hint of a voice.  "God, what happened to me?  Who 
did this?"

"Scully, you got the crap beaten out of you and I have no doubt 
that the lovely Det. Martin, who is suddenly nowhere to be found, 
is involved somehow.  And if I ever...," he started to say before 
stopping himself. She didn't need his anger to worry about too.

"Mulder, remember your promise to me.  Please..."

"I'm here with you, Scully.  And that's where I'm staying as long 
as you need me."

"That'll be forever---Ouch," she murmured, reaching up to touch 
her lips as she grimaced in pain.  "Has anyone been apprehended?"

"No.  And they haven't found any witnesses, either.  But I talked 
with Skinner---he just left.  So whoever did this has the full 
force of the Bureau down on his ass. They may be able to find 
some clues on the towel that was stu...um...found at the scene," 
he said, softening his description.  The thought of what must have 
happened to her made him heartsick and angry enough, he feared, to 
kill the bastard who did it.  Her face was full of bruises and 
abrasions, probably from being scraped on the concrete floor of 
the garage.  She had a large lump above her blackened left eye and 
her top lip was split and swollen from blunt force, most likely a 
leather-gloved fist.  Her right forearm had a spiral fracture, the
result of a severe twist of some kind and her doctors figured the 
severe bruising to her chest and legs was the result of a few 
well-placed kicks. Actually, she had come through fairly luckily, 
physically at least. It could've been a lot worse---no broken ribs 
or internal injuries and nothing that would be permanently
disfiguring.  

She looked away from his sad expression as the door to her room
opened.  She recognized the person who entered as the consoling 
woman from the ER earlier that morning.  "Hi, I'm Dr. Goodwin," 
the woman said as she reached out to shake Mulder's hand.  

"Fox Mulder," he nodded.  "I'm, uh, Agent Scully's... partner."

"Nice to see you, Mr. Mulder," she said moving closer to the bed. 

"Dr. Scully, how are you feeling?"

Scully smiled at her, saying, "That depends...on when you're 
going to let me out of here, I guess."

"Well, Dr. Scully, first, we need to check out a few things 
further. I think we need to speak privately, however," she said 
as she looked expectantly at Mulder to leave the room.

"No, it's alright.  He can stay.  What is it you need, Dr.
Goodwin?" Scully asked. 

"I'll come right to the point then.  Do you remember being 
sexually assaulted during your attack?" she asked quietly.

"What?...No... I mean, no, I don't remember," Scully answered 
uneasily.

"Upon examination, we found semen and some swelling,but we're not
sure this is from your assault. When did you last engage in sexual
intercourse?" the doctor asked matter-of-factly.

"Um, yesterday morning," Scully answered, looking toward Mulder.

"Would it be possible for your sexual partner to cooperate with
some testing to determine if the semen is his?"

"Yes, her `partner' would agree to that," Mulder spoke up to the
obvious surprise of Dr.Goodwin. "Just let me know where and 
when," he stated looking sincerely at Scully as he moved to take 
her hand.

"We can take care of that now, while Dr. Scully finishes her IV
antibiotic and her fluids," she spoke to Mulder.  

"I'd like to go home," Scully said sadly.  "I'll stay in bed and
I can certainly recognize any problems if they would arise.  My 
antibiotic is almost empty as is the glucose, so, I'd like to go 
as soon as I can," she said, more a statement than a request.

"Your CT scan was negative and we found no symptoms of internal
injury, but you still need observation for a couple of days to be 
sure nothing will surface,"  Dr. Goodwin reported.  "But 
considering your circumstances, I might agree to you going home, 
but only if you have someone to stay with you," she said sternly.

"She does," Mulder interjected quickly.

"Um, okay, Dr. Scully.  You can probably go in a few hours or so
if we don't discover any further difficulties.  We'll give you a 
preliminary report on Mr. Mulder's tests as soon as we can and 
then you can decide how you want to proceed from there.  I'll 
write an order for Demerol PO and Keflex as a prophylaxis.  But I 
need to see you in my office next Monday, okay?"

"Yes, okay, but I think I'd rather just have Tylenol #3 for the 
pain. Demerol is more than I need and it has a tendency to make 
me nauseous."

"Well, that's what you've had thus far, so be aware of that. Call 
if you need anything else," she told her as she moved to leave.  
"Mr. Mulder, if you'll come with me, we'll get this over with."

"Just give me a minute, Doctor," he replied as the doctor nodded
on her way out of the room..  

"Scully...," he said softly as he moved to hold her.  "It'll be
alright.  We'll get this straightened out... together."

"It's okay, Mulder.  I'm okay with this.  Really," Scully said as 
she moved from his embrace to see him.  "I just want to go home."

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
WEDNESDAY, 5:01PM
Scully had been compelled to leave the hospital in her issued gown 
and Mulder's top coat since her clothing had been cut off in the 
ambulance and the emergency room.  When they arrived home, Mulder 
had eased her onto her bed, gently helping her out of the gown and 
into her own pajamas.  As he dressed her, he could see fully how 
bruised and welted her entire body was and it made him angry all 
over again.  He couldn't believe she wasn't complaining more about 
her pain---he would've been whining his head off had the situation 
been reversed.  He had made her some tea and encouraged her to eat 
some cottage cheese, about the only thing she had in the house
that didn't require a lot of chewing.

"Scully, I called your mom," he said flatly.

"Damn it, Mulder.  I wish you wouldn't have done that.  This will
really upset her, you know. For God's sake, I hope you didn't tell 
her anything about the possibility of the sexual assault... at 
least until we find out for sure."

"No, of course not. But, she's coming over and she's going to stop 
at the market and get some stuff you can eat,Scully. And she needs 
to know. She's your mother,for Christ's sake,"he said firmly.

"Oh, I was beginning to think you were my mother," she murmured
irritably.  "And answer your damned phone!  It's in your coat 
pocket---over there in the chair."

He looked at her, puzzled by her sudden grouchiness as he 
retrieved his ringing phone.  "Mulder.  Yes, sir...  Yes, sir...  
Okay, I'll see you in the morning then.  Yes.  She's doing fine, 
under the circumstances.  I will, sir.  And... thank you, sir."  
Turning to her he said "Skinner wants me back at work...
tomorrow... on the Bethesda murders.  We'll find this 
son-of-a-bitch, Scully.  I promise you that."  

Seemingly paying no attention to what he had just said, she spoke
"Mulder, come help me.  I need to turn on my side.  I think I'm 
going to be sick."

"Scully... Shit."  He cradled her in his arm, trying to turn her 
as smoothly as possible.  But she was obviously in pain, actually 
moaning...and cursing---several times.  

"Mulder, get me a towel and a pan--- there's one in the bottom 
cabinet next to the stove... And then leave me alone."  He got 
her a towel from the bathroom before going to the kitchen.  
Suddenly, the apartment door opened and Margaret Scully entered 
carrying a grocery bag and a small suitcase.

"Hi, Mrs. Scully.  You're just in time," he said taking the bag 
of groceries from her, setting it on the table. 

"Hi, Fox.  How is she?" she asked as she set her suitcase on the
floor.  

"You should probably go on in there.  I think she is going to be
sick," he said squeamishly.  She looked at him apprehensively 
before hurriedly heading for the bedroom.

"Dana?  It's Mom," she said, laying her coat on a chair.  As she 
moved closer, she could see her daughter's injuries.  "Oh, Dana.  
My God..."

"Mom, please.  I'm going to be sick and I need a pan or the 
wastebasket or something.  Please... Hurry, Mom."  Her mother 
looked around the room grabbing the wastebasket just in time 
before Scully began to heave, retching over the side of her bed 
into the container.  She threw up again, all over her sleeve and 
into her hair before her mother could hold her hair back out of 
her way. When she finally stopped, she rolled backward on her bed, 
moaning audibly, her voice hitching as she began to cry from the
pain, tears streaming from the edges of her eyes.  Her mother
returned from the bathroom with a wet washcloth and wiped her 
daughter's mouth and face and cleaned her hair before getting her 
another pajama top from the dresser.  

"Mom, could you get Mulder?" she asked.  "I need help into the 
bathroom."

Mulder helped her to the sink and she washed her face and gargled 
with water before brushing her teeth as he waited outside for her
to finish. After getting her back in bed, he left her alone with 
her mother as he went to retrieve the rest of the groceries and 
Mrs. Scully's things out of her car.  Her mother helped her take a 
Tylenol and fluffed her pillow before covering her with the sheet 
and spread.  "Thanks, Mom," she said quietly.

"Dana... Are you alright?" Margaret asked, her voice trembling.

"I've been better.  But I'll be fine.  Really, Mom.  Nothing 
serious, I just look and feel like hell."

"How did this happen?"

"Mom, I don't think I can talk about it right now.  Mulder can fill
you in."  She felt the Codeine starting its effect and finished, 
"I just need to sleep now, Mom."

"I'll leave the door open.  Just call if you need anything," her
mother said as she kissed her daughter's forehead before turning 
the light down to leave.

"Mom... I'm glad you came."

WEDNESDAY, 8:46PM
Mrs. Scully had made dinner and she and Mulder had eaten while he
filled her in on Scully's injuries and what he knew about her case 
and Det. Martin.  He was actually relieved that, this time, he 
hadn't dragged Scully into the situation which had caused her 
injuries and didn't feel responsible for causing the Scully family 
yet more pain.  The two of them had taken turns going in to check 
on her as she continued to sleep peacefully.  Mulder had resisted 
waking her after receiving a call from the hospital confirming 
that Scully had not been sexually assaulted as the semen had been 
a match for him.  Even though she had almost passed off the 
potential for her having been raped as only another chapter in her 
ordeal, he knew she had been devastated by the possibility. But on 
his last check, he found her awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, 
clearly in pain.

"Scully, what do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm trying to get out of bed, Mulder.  What does it look like I'm
doing?" she said as she stood.  He ran to her, slipping his arm 
around her waist as she gasped at his touch.  "Ow!  Mulder, I need
to try to get myself to the bathroom.  I can't have you carrying 
me around for the rest of my life."

"Scully, the hospital called... you weren't raped," he said, 
reaching to hold her as she physically stuttered at his words. 
He held on to her for a few moments as she composed herself before 
continuing toward the bathroom.
"I thought that was bothering you more than you let on.  Scully, 
you don't have to cover your feelings anymore around me.  I hope 
you know that."

"I do.  I do.  It's just...the thought of that was just more than 
I could manage right now, Mulder," she said quietly.

"Well, I guess it was your favorite sperm donor instead," he said 
as he stepped back to look at her.  Characteristically making no 
comment, she simply sighed another heavy sigh of obvious relief 
before leaning on him to walk to the bathroom.  	

"Unless you want to watch me pee, close the door on your way out," 
she said, finally giving him a slight smile.  

He stood outside the door and continued to talk to her.  "Scully, 
your mom is suspecting something..."

"Like what?"

"Like there is something going on between us.  I think you should 
talk to her.  I didn't think it was my place.  And I'm not leaving 
the two of you alone here tonight, so she needs to understand 
sleeping arrangements."

He heard the water running, so he opened the door, continuing, 
"And don't you think it's okay for me to see you pee?  Jeez, 
Scully, I've seen you---"

"Mulder... enough."

"Don't tell me that at your age you're afraid to tell your mother 
we're sleeping together," he teased her.

"I guess it's the Catholic girl thing still in me," she laughed 
as she moved toward him to give him a light kiss.  "I'll talk to 
her.  Help me into the kitchen first, I'm starving."

She finished a healthy portion of Jello and cantaloupe and was
enjoying a cup of herbal tea before giving Mulder a `get lost' 
look.  "Mom, let's go sit in the living room.  I'm sick of 
looking at that bedroom."

"Well, I think I'll go take a shower... or maybe a nice looonnng
bath," Mulder said obviously, excusing himself.  

She held on lightly to her mother's arm as they moved to the couch 
to sit.  Scully blew in her mug of tea to cool it before taking a 
drink. "Mom, I need to tell you something," she said, still 
staring at her cup of tea.  "Um, a lot has happened since last 
weekend and I don't mean all this stuff with work."

"You mean between you and Fox...," she said as she smiled a
knowing smile at her daughter.

"Well..., yes, that's exactly what I mean," she said, giving her
mother a surprised smile.  "Something changed, Mom.  Mulder and I
talked--after being at your house, actually--and we realized just 
what you said---that we weren't being honest about our feelings.  
And... well...I love him and he is very much in love with me.  I 
have no doubts.  None," she said looking squarely at her mother 
with a reassuring smile.

"Dana, I'm very happy for you.  Truly.  I'm glad the two of you 
have finally come to your senses.  And I'm hopeful that you have 
found what I found with your father... in Fox.  You know how much 
I care for him, Dana."

"Well, Bill will probably faint dead away...," she laughed. "Just 
so you realize, Mom, Mulder won't be leaving tonight.  I don't 
want you... or him, to feel awkward."

"Dana, you're a grown woman and this is your home.  I'm just 
thankful he is here to keep you safe."
	
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
THURSDAY, 6:01AM
"Scully..., Scully..., wake up," he said softly before kissing her
nose and sitting down on the edge of the bed.  

"Mmm, what time is it?" she asked groggily as she stirred awake.

"I've got to go.  I need to go home before I go in.  I don't have 
a suit here... So, how are you feeling this morning?  You seemed 
to have a restless night," he said as he stroked her hair.

"I'm okay, ...I think," she said as she groaned, trying to sit up. 
"Help me up, Mulder...  Oh, Jesus... Christ!---I hurt."

Touching her face to look at her he said, "Well, if it's any
consolation, I think you look a little worse today."

"Thank you, Mulder.  You are such a comfort," she said giving his
comment the facetious retort it deserved.

"Scully, I hate to run, but I've gotta go.  We've got two agents
stationed outside.  I'll call you later," he said bending to kiss 
her. "I love you."

"Mulder, promise me something," she said with a tone of caution 
in her voice.

"What,Scully?"he asked, already knowing what she was about to say.

"Remember that you are working on these homicides in Bethesda 
only. You are not on a mission to catch up to Martin.  It is very 
important that I handle this myself, Mulder.  Okay?... Okay?" she 
said emphatically, moving her legs over the side of the bed.

"Scully, I can't just stand by and let someone get away with 
beating the shit out of you!"

"First of all Mulder, you have no proof that it was Martin and,
secondly, I do not need my business handled by another agent, 
especially the one I am sleeping with.  Mulder, you will only
make my situation worse! Trust me, leave it alone!" she warned, 
shouting at him now.  "Mulder, I am adamant about this!"

"Scully, if all you want is to hear me say that I promise you, 
then I promise you.  Satisfied?  Look, I've got to go.  I'll call 
you later," he said plainly as he left the room already knowing 
that if given the right circumstances he would break his promise.

"Mulder!  Goddamnit! We aren't finished with this...!" she yelled
after him, bending over to clutch herself from the pain her 
exertion had caused.  She staggered to the over-stuffed chair 
falling into it in obvious pain.  

Her mother appeared at the door with a concerned, but questioning
look.  "Dana...?  Are you alright.  What's happened here?" she 
said tenderly.

"Mom, get me a Tylenol, please."  Scully took the pill drinking 
the entire glass of water to wash it down.  

"Dana, what were you two arguing about?  I could hear you all the 
way in the kitchen," her mother said.

"I just have a feeling that Mulder is going to do something 
incredibly foolish... incredibly, incredibly foolish."

BETHESDA, MARYLAND
THURSDAY, 11:10AM
First thing that morning at FBI headquarters, AD Skinner had 
briefed Mulder on the case and had inquired about Scully, 
seemingly taking it for granted that Mulder had been with her.  
After arriving at the local police department in Bethesda, Mulder 
hadn't found the officers especially forthcoming---or receptive to 
his presence.  He had found a little time to review the actual 
case file but still didn't quite have a handle on what he thought 
might in fact be going on.  Seated in an uncomfortable chair in 
the corner of the antiquated squad room, he was absorbed in the 
file and Scully's autopsy reports when he was startled by a 
booming voice, "We've found another body!"

Based on the case file, Mulder curiously noticed that the current
crime scene was uncannily identical to the last one.  A woman, 
found in a very public place---a Wal-Mart parking lot, to be 
exact---who had injection marks---very obviously---in her jugular 
and the insides of her elbows.  

"Who found the body?" Mulder asked the lead detective assigned to 
the case, a Det. Donaldson.  

"Uh, we got an anonymous phone tip," he answered curtly.  Mulder
quickly flipped the pages in the file to find printed confirmation
of what he expected---the last murder had been reported the same 
way.  After returning to the precinct, Mulder had promptly pursued 
Det. Donaldson in an attempt to determine exactly who had been 
involved in the initial investigation of the case.  Mulder was 
beginning to harbor suspicions that all of these murders may not
be totally connected to the suspect in custody.

"Excuse me, Detective.  I'd like to ask you a few questions," 
Mulder began.

"I thought Agent Clark was the FBI man on this case.  I wasn't
notified that anyone else would be coming up," Donaldson remarked. 

"Well, I'm sorry you weren't notified.  But I need to know where 
the initial specimen of the bacteria was taken and stored, who 
took it there and who had access to it,"he said matter-of-factly, 
sliding over the detective's apparent issue with jurisdiction.

"Just what are you asking?"

"Did Det. Martin have access to this bacteria?" 

"Look," the detective began as he led Mulder to a secluded corner 
out of the earshot of anyone else.  "I know who you are and I can 
about guess why you have shown up here asking questions, but..."

"You know who I am...?" Mulder queried, already irritated at the
detective's tone.

"Yea, I know exactly who you are!  And if you think you're going 
to come into my precinct, throwing your weight around to dig up 
dirt on one of the best police officers ever to wear the badge to 
try to justify the bullshit charges of your little red-headed 
girlfriend, then you're crazier than I've heard you are!"

Grabbing the front of the detective's shirt collar with both 
hands, Mulder shoved him into the wall with enough force to cause 
a nearby bulletin board to fall to the floor, making noise enough 
to draw the attention of the others in the squad room. "You listen 
to me you fucking prick.  Your best police officer ever to wear 
the badge put that FBI AGENT in the hospital yesterday, beaten to 
a pulp!" Mulder said, his voice dripping with anger.  Shoving the 
man again, he continued, screaming now. "So, if you know anything 
about the whereabouts of that best police officer ever to wear the 
badge, I suggest you tell me what I need to know! Because if you 
don't, you'll be the next one to visit a hospital!"  By this time,
several other officers had descended upon Mulder, pulling him off 
the stunned detective. As Mulder shook his shoulders to straighten 
his suit, he turned to leave, then stopped and pointed his finger 
at Donaldson with one last warning, "I'll find the bastard, you 
motherfucker."

Mulder sat in his car, thinking about his next move as he reached 
for his cell phone to call Scully---if she was still speaking to 
him, he thought.  But before he retrieved the phone from his 
pocket, he was startled by a tapping on the passenger side window.  
He rolled the window down and looked at the man standing outside.  

"Agent Mulder, I may have some information that you would be
interested in."

Mulder looked at the man for only a few seconds before opening
the door.  "Get in," he said noticing the young man's nervousness.  
"Who are you?"

"My name is Steve Reynolds... Officer Steve Reynolds. Let's drive,
Agent Mulder.  I don't want to be seen sitting in this car with 
you."  As they drove, the man began to explain, "I heard about the 
scuffle in the squad room earlier and I had to tell you that I 
think you are on the right track.  I never got along with Det. 
Martin.  He treated us rookies like we were there to clean his 
shoes.  He made no bones about the `friends' he had in high places 
and always acted like he could do just about anything he wanted 
and get away with it.  He had a reputation for being brutal to 
perps and everyone in the station knew how he felt about working 
with female officers.  I never doubted that he did what that FBI 
doctor, your partner, said he did to her, but some of the 
detectives are saying she trumped it up.  They don't like the 
Bureau being around anyway and I think they're all half-afraid of 
what Martin may have on them.  But..., truthfully?..., even I 
never thought Martin would go as far as I'm afraid he has in the 
case of these murders."

Mulder continued to drive as he looked at the officer, trying to 
get a feel for him... his motives... his reliability.  He just 
had a gut feeling that the kid was putting himself at risk to 
tell him the truth.

"Go on," Mulder said.

"Well, I've just heard this `through the grapevine' so to speak,
nothing concrete, but I don't think you are the only one who is
suspicioning that Martin may be involved somehow, at least as 
involved as far as falsifying evidence... and maybe further."

"How much further?" Mulder asked slowly.

"I don't know.  But you need to check the flow of evidence from 
the second and third victims.  They came along after your partner 
reported him and Martin had initial control of the evidence... a 
vial of the bacteria."

Mulder contemplated the man's inference before asking, "If I'm 
getting your drift... why would someone go so far as to commit 
murder simply to divert attention away from a sexual harassment 
and assault charge that may have eventually come down to a `he 
said/she said' anyway? Isn't it a bit like driving a tack with a 
sledgehammer?"

"Martin had been having a lot of trouble lately... a lot of 
trouble. Financial problems, family problems---his wife and his 
girlfriend left him. He was passed over for a promotion three 
months ago and he had once trained the woman who got `his' job.  
He'd just returned from a forced leave, for a drinking problem,
and he knew if he got anything else on his record, he would be 
 out the door.  So you can imagine, he might have had a
few reasons to... panic, I guess."

Absorbing the situation the officer had just handed him, Mulder
worried out loud, "A gun ready to go off and Scully may have
pulled the trigger."

THURSDAY, 6:58PM
Mulder had mingled with the locals trying to get a lead on where
he might find Det. Martin. Officer Reynolds said that he had heard 
that Martin hadn't fled the area and that a couple of the 
detectives, including Donaldson, probably knew where he was.  
Mulder had discovered information that, after Martin's wife had 
thrown him out, he was staying at a motel not far from his old 
house.  Mulder had parked his FBI issue sedan and had rented a 
small, inconspicuous car before staking out Martin's motel room. 
He sat in the car drinking coffee, absently chewing on what was 
left of a club sandwich as he remembered that he still hadn't 
called Scully.  As he reached for his phone, it rang.  "Mulder."

"Agent Mulder, where are you?" Skinner asked, obviously irritated.

"I'm still in Bethesda, sir."

"I want your ass out of there immediately.  I've been on the phone 
all afternoon trying to smooth the feathers you seem to have 
ruffled from there to the White House!"

"What?!"

"You heard me!  I want you away from Bethesda, away from this 
case, and back in Washington... now!  And I want you in my office 
in one hour. One hour!  Is that understood, Agent Mulder?!"

"Yes, sir," Mulder answered... with absolutely no intention of 
going anywhere until he got his hands on Martin.

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
THURSDAY, 9:30PM
In clear contrast to her mother, who was becoming increasingly 
uneasy, Scully seemed calm, sitting in front of her computer 
reading yesterday's field notes from Agent Clark on the Bethesda 
case. However, Margaret Scully noticed her daughter's distraction 
heightening as the evening progressed and as the likelihood that 
she would receive the call from her partner she awaited 
diminished.  Even though they had argued that morning as he left 
for work, he had still promised he would call and despite Scully's 
outer facade, Margaret sensed that her daughter was inwardly as
worried as she was.  Why hadn't he called?

For most of the evening, there was little conversation between
Scully and her mother, Scully seemingly consumed with what she was 
reading---or anticipating---on the monitor. "Dana, what are you 
so engrossed in?" Margaret eventually said as she approached her 
daughter from behind, glancing toward the motionless screen.   

"I'm waiting for another agent to post his notes from today...from
that case I've been working on,"Scully replied leaning back in her 
chair to look up at her mother.  "There was another murder this 
morning and I was hoping to get the autopsy report."

"Dana, I would think that would be the last thing you would want 
to hear about," she uttered before she was startled by her 
daughter's sudden movement toward her computer.  

"Here it comes," Scully said, apprehensively, her mother thought. 
The new image had no more than appeared on the screen when Scully 
distressingly gasped... yelling "Mulder!  Dammit!"  She continued 
to read, getting only partially through the document before 
slamming her only good fist to the desk, as she stood, cursing 
"Damn him!  Goddamn him!!!!"

"Dana!" her mother chastised with a look.

"Mom, he promised me!  He promised me!" her voice trembling.  

"Dana, sit down...and calm down. What is going on?" Margaret said 
calmly as she took her place on the couch next to her daughter.

"He promised me he would not do anything rash... with this Martin
thing and that report just told me that he didn't keep his word.  
He has, evidently, been fighting with someone in the Bethesda 
police department..."

"You mean as in hitting someone?" her mother questioned 
disbelievingly.

"Yes.  I mean as in assaulting a police officer!  Oh, but that 
isn't all..." she continued, moving to stand, biting her lip as 
she gasped slightly from the strain.  "The Bureau is on notice to 
locate him due to the fact that he failed to show up today for a 
disciplinary meeting with Assistant Director Skinner!  Jeez-us 
Christ, Mom!" she said exasperated, throwing her hands up as she 
paced the living room floor.  "No wonder he hasn't called.  I 
don't know which is my greater problem---this case or Mulder?!  
Actually... that isn't true.  I do know," she said looking sadly
at her mother as she sat down on the couch.  "And therein lies my
problem, I guess."

Margaret reached for her, as she lay her head on her mother's lap,
folding her legs up onto the couch.  "God, Mom, what have I gotten 
myself into?" she sighed.  

BRUMMAGEM MOTOR COURT
OUTSIDE BETHESDA, MARYLAND
THURSDAY, 9:30PM
Every once in awhile the blinds in Unit #10 would part slightly 
and Mulder could see that there was in fact someone occupying it. 
He was sure that Det. Martin was indeed hole up inside the crummy 
cabin but what he wasn't sure of was whether Det. Martin had 
realized he was being watched. Mulder had seen Det. Donaldson go 
in the room earlier in the evening, so he had to assume that 
Martin now knew that Mulder was in town.  Since no one else at 
the Bureau yet knew what Mulder suspicioned---that Martin was also
involved in the murders--- Mulder realized that if he fucked up 
this arrest, he was going to be in more trouble than Martin!  And 
besides, he could barely control his desire to break through the 
door and beat Martin senseless... for what he'd done to Scully. 
"Scully!  Shit!  She must be worried by now--- or mad as hell," 
he said to himself.  But he decided not to call her.  He had 
figured that Skinner was probably demanding information from her 
and he thought it would be easier for her if she didn't have any.

Mulder could tell the lights were off, the only illumination in 
the room being the blue flicker of the television filtering 
through between the slats of the blinds.  It was now or never, he 
thought, and he figured he would surprise Martin, hopefully, 
subduing him easily.  

Mulder closed the car door softly as he reached for his weapon and
eased off the safety.  With his gun and his flashlight in hand, he 
directed himself toward the door of #10, taking a deep breath 
before plunging his left shoulder full force into the firm wooden 
entrance.  As the door flew open, he raised his gun and flashlight 
and bolted into the room to find...no one.  Hearing the distinct 
sound of running water, he slowly moved further into the sparsely 
furnished room aiming at the bathroom door which stood only 
partially open.  "Martin, come out or I'll blow the door off it's 
fucking hinges!" he yelled.  But as Mulder took another step 
toward the bathroom, he felt the barrel of a gun jam against the 
back of his head.

"Drop the gun or your brains are hamburger," a voice said plainly. 
"Drop it!"  Mulder held his hands up slowly, letting the gun drop 
from his hand onto the unmade bed.  "Now, slowly... down on the 
floor... on your knees, hands on your head," the man ordered as he 
moved back to close the entrance door.  

"Detective Martin, I presume," Mulder said too lightly considering 
his dire situation.

"Shut the fuck up," Mulder heard as he felt handcuffs being locked
around his wrists.  Before he could speak, he was shoved forward, 
landing face first, hard on the linoleum floor.  

"Good move, Martin.  At least you aren't picking on a woman this
time."  He felt a hard kick to the left side of his head and lost
consciousness.

As Mulder lay motionless on the floor, Martin frantically searched 
his overnight bag, finally locating a syringe and a small vial. He 
removed the cap and pulled the remaining murky liquid into the 
syringe. He pushed one of Mulder's pant legs up to expose the 
inside of his knee,injecting him with what was left of the 
bacteria.  

J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC
FRIDAY, 6:34AM
Scully knocked on the door to the inner office belonging to Walter
Skinner as she opened it with the same motion.  AD Skinner watched 
her enter his office, the troubled expression on his face a direct 
reflection of how she thought she must look to him.  

"Sir, I'm sorry for barging in, but I think Mulder is in trouble."

Skinner stood up from his expensive leather chair, motioning her 
to sit down.  "Agent Scully, you should be home in bed.  You are 
in no condition to return to work."

"Sir,that is not the issue right now. I haven't heard from Mulder
in over 24 hours and I do not have a good feeling about it.  I 
think I've telephoned every living person in Bethesda in the past 
eight hours and the last person to admit seeing him said he was 
pursuing Det. Martin.  Sir, I'm afraid he may have found him."

"Agent Scully, I have every damned agent I can spare trying to 
locate Agent Mulder but for a very different reason.  I'll have 
his ass when we find him!"

"Sir, I know all about the altercation in Bethesda and his 
failure to show up here at your order, but I don't think it was 
within his control," she said, almost pleading with him to heed 
her veiled warning.  Skinner looked at her contemplatively 
before turning to answer his phone. 

"Yes.  What can I do for you? ...What's his condition? ...Which 
hospital? Tell the hospital that I'll have an FBI physician up 
there who is familiar with his situation in less than 30 
minutes," he said precisely as he hung up the phone, looking 
toward Scully.  She intuitively knew the call was about Mulder.

BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
FRIDAY, 7:16AM
As they traveled to Bethesda in Skinner's FBI fleet Towncar, with
sirens, he had filled her in on what he knew.  Mulder had been 
found in a motel room, handcuffed and comatose, with a laceration
and a hematoma on the left side of his head.  He had a temperature 
of 104 degrees and his kidneys were shutting down.  The hospital 
personnel had found Scully's phone number in his wallet and her 
mother had directed them to Skinner's office.  

Entering the emergency room, her own very recent visit flashed 
through her mind, giving her still sore body a shiver.  "You have 
a Fox Mulder here?" she said to the attendant at the desk.  

"Uh, ma'am, if you'll just have a seat, I'll check for you," the
attendant replied, obviously staring at Scully's bruised face.  

"I'm Dr. Scully with the FBI and I need to see Mr. Mulder now.  
Now!" she said raising her trembling voice as she fumbled to show 
them her badge.

"Uh, okay.  Let's see...  Through the double doors---second door 
on the left.  Ask for Dr. Morgan..." the attendant yelled toward 
Scully as she hurried off down the hall.

As Scully entered the ER bay where Mulder lay, she was stunned to 
see his condition, closing her eyes before taking a deep breath to 
settle herself.  She slowly walked to the edge of his bed, taking 
his hand before sighing to herself, "Oh, Mulder." The ashen pallor 
of his swollen and puffy face closely resembled the color of the 
sheets, she thought.  His skin was burning hot and he was shaking, 
obviously from the chills of his fever.  But before allowing 
herself to get lost in her emotions, she quickly turned to the 
nurse attending to the mass of medical equipment hooked up to him.  
"I need to speak to Dr. Morgan, immediately," she stated firmly.

"And you are...?" the nurse replied politely.

"I'm Agent Mulder's partner and I'm also a medical doctor.  And I 
think I know what is causing this!" she said moving back toward 
Mulder.  The nurse pushed a button on the wall intercom, speaking 
quickly, "Dr. Morgan.  ER 2. Stat."

As Scully checked Mulder's current vitals and began to review his
file, a man entered the curtained cubicle, immediately looking at 
the monitors before shifting his attention to Scully.  "Dr. 
Morgan?" she asked. "I'm Dr. Scully with the FBI.  This man has 
been exposed to a bacteria--most likely a combination of Endamoeba 
histolytica and Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae and possibly an H7 
strain of E. coli.  It is an extremely virulent bacteria, causing 
fatal Hemolytic uremia and Amebiasis---we have to start treatment 
now!"

"Dr. Scully, how on earth would someone have contracted all of
these bacteria simultaneously?" Dr. Morgan said incredulously.

"By injection, Dr.Morgan. We have at least six deaths attributed 
to it.  Now are you going to stand here and chat or are you going 
to treat him?!"  She looked at him sternly as the realization that 
she knew what she was talking about reflected on his face. "You 
need to begin with IV infusion of mega-doses of metronidazole or 
dehydroemetine until we can get him started on dialysis.  I can 
see that he is already jaundiced..., his...his labs show the WBC 
is already over 20,000 and the BUN and creatinine levels are 
already at dialyzable levels!  His treatment isn't something
that can wait!  Dr. Morgan?!"

"Nurse, load a 2000mg dose of metronidazole hydrochloride and 
infuse over the next hour.  Then maintain on 1500.  Get full 
labs again and call Nephrology---now," Dr. Morgan said and 
exited the room without another glance toward Scully.  She 
wouldn't have seen it anyway.  Her eyes were transfixed on Mulder.  

BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL 
FRIDAY, 4:36PM
Scully had spent the day waiting. Mulder had awakened somewhat but
was delirious, so he was sedated when she had gone with him to 
dialysis. She sat with him for several hours before going to lie 
down in the room Mulder had been assigned in ICU.  Prior to him 
returning from dialysis, the staff had come in every hour or so to 
give her a status report.  Even Dr.Morgan had called a couple of 
times, particularly after the FBI had furnished a copy of Mulder's 
Power of Attorney for Health Care form, naming Dr. Dana Scully as 
his POA.  Skinner had been there most of the morning trying, in 
vain, to get her to go home for awhile, as had her mother. Scully 
had her mother bring her Tylenol to the hospital, but she had 
taken only a half tablet about noon, not wanting to be too drowsy,
but being too uncomfortable to do without it.  No one had directly 
asked what had happened to her, why she was bruised and stiff and 
had her arm in a cast, but she certainly felt their inquisitive 
stares.  

Scully had drifted off for a short nap and her mother was leafing
through a magazine when the gurney carrying Mulder was rolled into 
the room.  Scully immediately awakened to the thud of the edge of 
the gurney banging into the opened door.  She winced as she stood, 
moving over toward her mother to allow the orderlies access to 
transfer Mulder into his bed. He was awake and instantly surveyed 
the room with his eyes until he fixed on Scully.  

"I'm not dead?" he said hoarsely with the dry wit she would have
sometimes like to have killed him for exhibiting at the wrong 
times.  

"No, you're not.  But you might be soon if they leave you alone 
with me," she said, then smiling as she moved toward him, taking 
his hand. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been reamed out by the Roto-Rooter man," he said 
weakly. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"I've... we've been here all day," she answered looking over at 
her mother. "Mulder, lie still and let them get everything hooked 
up.  I'll be right outside.  I want to talk to your doctor."

Dr. Morgan relayed that the combination of dialysis and large 
dosages of antibiotics had reduced the presence of the bacteria 
in Mulder's system, but that he was not yet out of the woods.  
"While no pockets of internal infection have surfaced thus far, 
as you know, this is still a possibility, given the type and 
strength of the bacteria.  We are particularly watching the 
injection site on the inside of his left knee.  He continues to 
have minute amounts of ameburia and the bacillus and coliform 
aren't yet indiscernible at this point.  We will continue the 
maintenance of antibiotic IV and we'll do another dialysis in the 
morning and... go from there," he said.  "Things look good, though 
Dr. Scully.  You were right on the mark with your diagnosis and 
treatment recommendations.  I have no doubt you saved your 
partner's life."

When Scully and her mother returned to Mulder's room, Scully
suppressed her initial reaction to cry when, seeing him amidst 
the labyrinth of requisite tubes and wires, the magnitude of his 
situation became starkly real to her.  Moving to him, she stroked 
his cheek before giving him a light kiss on the mouth. "I'm here, 
Mulder.  I'm here," she said quietly, looking at him with 
observable pain in her eyes.  

Noticing her daughter's expression, Margaret spoke to Mulder 
quietly before excusing herself from the room, knowing the two of 
them needed to be alone.  "Fox, I'm glad you're doing better," 
she said touching his arm.  "I'll leave you and Dana to talk, 
but I'll see you again before I leave.  Listen to your doctors, 
Fox... Both of them."

Scully leaned over him, looking into his eyes before giving him
another light kiss on the lips. "You gave me quite a scare,
Mulder."

"I gave myself quite a scare," he said without so much as a hint 
of humor to his statement. He told her he didn't remember much,he 
did remember the injection."And it was Martin...and Donaldson was 
involved too, at least in as much as aiding and abetting Martin."

"Mulder, they've arrested Donaldson and the troops are out in full
force after Martin.  It turns out that the last victim was 
Martin's girlfriend---and the wife of the fourth victim.  I think 
it will take a genealogist to figure out how all these people were 
connected....  But enough about this case---right now you need to 
rest," she said as she smoothed his hair, looking into his eyes.

"You still mad at me, Scully?" he said with absolute sincerity.

"Mulder,how could you even ask me that---or care for that matter?"
she answered with a small smile.  "I just want to get you well and
back home."  She laid her head on his chest, comforted by the 
strong, steady cadence of his heart. 
	
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
FRIDAY, 9:46PM
Margaret Scully was finishing some of her daughter's laundry while
waiting for her to return home from the hospital.  Scully had 
wanted to remain at the hospital with Mulder for the night, but he 
had finally talked her into going home.  After all, it had only 
been two short days since she had been in the hospital herself and 
being there with him all day had taken it's toll.  

"Mom?" Scully called as she entered her apartment, removing her 
coat. Even though she had felt so empty after leaving Mulder in 
the hospital alone, she had to admit she was comforted to be back 
in her own apartment again.  She just wanted to take a long, hot 
bath and go to bed.

"I'm in here, Dana," her mother answered exiting from the utility
room.  "How's Fox?"

"He was finally sleeping when I left him.I waited for the results
from his last blood test and everything looks good.  He might get 
to come home in a few days if he continues to respond to 
treatment," she said as she poured herself a glass of juice and 
took a Tylenol.  She sat down in the closest chair, taking a deep,
tired breath.  "Mom, I am about as exhausted as I have ever been 
in my life, I think.  I had thoughts of taking a hot bath..., but 
I think I'll just go to bed."  She finished her juice before going 
to her mother and embracing her.  "Mom..., thank you...for being 
here for me---and for Mulder.  I love you."

"I love you, too, honey. I am so proud of you. I heard Dr. Morgan
tell you that you saved Fox's life.  You can't know how that made 
me feel, Dana. I know your father is proud of you, too," she said 
releasing her daughter's embrace."Come on,let's get you into bed."

As Scully started to open her dresser drawer to retrieve a fresh 
pair of pajamas, she noticed that the drawer wasn't quite closed.  
She didn't know why that struck her as unusual, but she felt an 
odd sense about it. "Mom, did you put any laundry back into this 
drawer?" she asked her mother somewhat suspiciously.  

"Um, I don't think so.  Your pajamas are still drying.  Why?" her
mother asked innocently.

"Oh, nothing.  Nevermind," Scully answered, absently looking 
through the drawer for something, anything.  Finding nothing out 
of the ordinary, she figured she was just tired and overwhelmed 
by the day's events and forgot about her uneasiness.  

After securing her daughter into bed and watching her fall almost
immediately to sleep, Margaret had felt equally tired and in need 
of a good night's rest.  She knew there were officers outside 
watching the apartment and she felt safe, but she unlatched the 
door locks to check the hallway just to reassure herself.  Just as 
she opened the door, she was startled but relieved to see a man 
immediately produce a police badge and identification.  "Ma'am, I 
need to speak with you," the voice said plainly, prompting her to 
open the door fully to allow the officer in.  

"Officer.  Is everything alright?" Margaret asked innocently as 
the man stepped into the apartment.  

"Are you here alone, ma'am?  Is Agent Scully here?" he said 
surveying the areas of the apartment he could see from his 
position just inside the door.  

"Um, she's sleeping.  Is there something I can help you with?"

"No need to wake her.  But, we've received a tip that the man we 
are looking for may be in the area.  Would you mind if I checked 
out the rest of the apartment?" he asked politely. The man turned 
on the lights in the guest bedroom, looking around as he needed.  
He had his gun in his hand but reassured Margaret that it was 
only precaution.  He checked the kitchen before asking what other 
rooms were down the hall.  

"The bathroom and utility.  And Dana's room, but we don't have to
wake her, right?" she asked.  "She's had a very tiring day."

"No.  No.  I'll just go on in and have a quiet look, though, if 
you don't mind," he replied as he moved down the hall.  But 
before he reached the bedroom door, Scully appeared with her 
weapon aimed with both hands directly at the officer.  

"Hold it right there, you son-of-a-bitch!!"  she yelled in an 
incensed voice her mother didn't even know her daughter possessed.  
Her mother stood behind him,frozen in her steps at her daughter's 
words.  But as Margaret stood motionless, the man whirled around, 
frantically grabbing for her. Startled, she tried to move back 
from him, but as she did, the sound of a gunshot reverberated 
throughout the darkened apartment.  The bullet had hit him 
squarely and the officer dropped to the floor like a lead weight,
bleeding profusely from the gaping wound in what remained of his 
head.  

Margaret stood fixed to the floor, in shock from what had just
transpired before her eyes.  Scully had to step over the body to 
get to her mother, grasping her shoulders, physically moving her.  
"Mom.  Come on. Get in to the living room," she said quietly.  
Scully sat her mother down on the couch, reassuring her, 
"Everything will be okay, Mom."  There was pounding at the door 
that Scully immediately reasoned were the real agents who were 
assigned to guard her apartment.  "Stay right here, Mom.  I'll 
be right back, okay?" she asked and her mother nodded.  

"It's Martin.  He's dead," she relayed to the two agents whom she
allowed entry to her apartment.  "He's down the hall," she said 
pointing past the kitchen as she was dialing `911' before going 
back to her mother who was still sitting silently on the couch.  
Bending down placing her hands on her mother's knees, she looked 
at her closely, before quietly asking, "Mom, 'you okay?"

"Dana, who was that man?"

"Mom, listen to me.  Everything is fine.  It's over," Scully said 
as she moved to sit down beside her mother on the couch.

"Was that the man you've been looking for---the one who attacked
you?" Margaret said, almost fearfully.

"Yes," Scully answered plainly.  "Mom, I need you go into the 
guest room for awhile... until they get him out of here.  I need 
to take care of some things and they'll want to ask you some 
questions later."

"If that's what you need me to do."

"It is, Mom... for now," she said, giving her mother a reassuring
touch.  Noticing that her mother was splattered with Martin's 
blood, she added, "And get out of these clothes, Mom.  Please."

Within ten minutes, Scully's apartment was full of FBI Agents,
paramedics, local police and even a TV camera crew had tried to 
gain entry. The scene made for an incongruous picture---all kinds 
of people talking and moving around reflecting almost a social 
atmosphere within a circumstance that was one of the worst of her 
life.  She had slipped a jacket on over her pajamas and figured 
she must be a noteworthy picture in her haphazard wardrobe with 
her bruised face and casted arm.  Scully was relieved to see 
Skinner arrive knowing he would expedite things in order to get 
the unwanted strangers out of her apartment.  

After getting Scully's recounting of the evening's events, 
Skinner angrily quizzed the agent in charge.  "How the hell did 
Martin get in this building?!"  Not really waiting for an answer, 
he continued "I want this body out of here and this mess cleaned 
up now.  Get your pictures and evidence and go.  Agent Scully and 
her mother can make their official statements tomorrow."

BETHESDA NAVAL HOSPITAL
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
FOUR DAYS LATER, TUESDAY, 10:13AM
Mulder was scheduled to be discharged and he was antsy, 
impatiently strumming his fingers on the arm of the chair waiting 
for his doctor to come in to officially release him.  "Mulder, 
please stop that.  It isn't going to get Dr. Morgan in here any 
sooner," Scully said as she sat across the room waiting much more 
patiently.  She and her mother had gone to her mother's house 
after the shooting and she hadn't spent a night in her apartment
since.  She was glad Mulder would be with her when she returned
home for the first time.  

Scully had gone to the hospital early the next morning after the
shooting hoping that someone hadn't already told Mulder about the 
incident. He had taken the news about Martin in a way that she 
didn't really expect. Initially, he had said nothing, simply 
taking her in his arms and holding her while she finally cried. 
Then..., he apologized. "Scully, this shouldn't have had to be 
you.  If I hadn't screwed up everything... with Martin..."

Dr. Morgan, along with his nurse, entered Mulder's room with his 
chart in hand.  Scully stood, moving to stand behind Mulder, to 
await Dr. Morgan's words.  

"Mr. Mulder, you are a very lucky man," he began.  "Your labs 
appear clear at this time, but we'll continue with weekly tests 
for a month just to make sure.  You'll need to continue on oral 
antibiotics for a good six months before we can give you a 
totally clean slate.  Considering the debilitated condition of 
your body, coupled with your line of work, I wouldn't return for 
at least a month," he cautioned as he moved to leave.  

"Thank you, Doctor,"  Mulder said humbly.  "I kind of like my life 
and I guess I have you to thank for allowing me to keep it."

"Well, Mr. Mulder, as much as I'd like to take the credit," he 
said. "I had very little to do with it.  You need to talk to Dr.
Scully about that."

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
TUESDAY, 8:31PM
When they got home to her apartment, she was as drained as he was, 
but most of her exhaustion wasn't physical.  While her muscles 
remained tender and discomfort was still painfully present, she 
had almost forgotten about her maladies since being consumed with 
Mulder's precarious health. The repressed anger she still harbored 
at Mulder's reckless pursuit of Det. Martin, despite her warning 
and counter to his promise to her, was beginning to finally find 
time to surface.  She had tried to reason herself into forgetting 
about it, but she felt the very basis of their trust, their bond, 
had been violated.  If he was going to react in the same impetuous 
way to every situation that might present personal problems for 
her, then she wasn't sure their present personal involvement and 
their professional life could continue to coexist in their current 
state.  	

He had camped out on the couch as she had busied herself with 
trying to catch up on everything overdue, which was just about 
everything.  The evening had been rather taciturn, conversation 
having been limited by both her schedule of neglected household 
tasks and by their escalating emotional distance.  He sensed her 
cool mood but prudently, for once, left her alone and pretty much 
steered clear of her all evening.  The whole Martin debacle had 
been a mess from the beginning, he thought, but he was determined 
not to let it ruin what they had, either personally or 
professionally.  

"Scully?" he called after her as he got up from the couch to go 
find her.  "Where are you?"

"I'm in here," she called from the bedroom. "Mulder, you shouldn't 
be up.  Why didn't you call?  I would've come in to help you."

"Because I'm tired and I want to go to bed but I'm not going to do
that until we talk."

"Mulder, trust me, you do not want to talk to me right now," she
warned as she turned to look directly at him.

"But, Scully, I'm..."

"So help me God, Mulder, if you're about to say `I'm sorry' and 
think that everything will suddenly be just fine,I'm going to come
over there and hit you.  This is not about a simple apology.  It 
goes much deeper than that---at least for me, it does."  She laid 
the towels she was folding down and sat on the edge of the bed, 
motioning for him to come sit next to her. She took his hand 
before going on.  "Mulder, I love you... I love you more deeply 
than I ever imagined I could love anyone.  But that is not enough 
to maintain this relationship as it is... as I want it to be... 
for the rest of our lives.  A relationship is about honesty and 
trust... and consideration... and respect.  And the way I see it, 
you paid no attention to those aspects of this relationship when 
you went off after Martin. Maybe this whole thing in Bethesda 
happened as a sign to us that we weren't meant to be together... 
Maybe we can't be lovers, Mulder.  Maybe we should have left 
things as they were."

Although he felt as though he had been kicked in the stomach, he
managed to stand and moved over to sit in the chair facing her, 
needing to see her face when he spoke.  "Scully, I'm not offering
an apology for going after Martin the way I did.  Had he done 
this to you before our relationship changed, I would have reacted 
the same way.  It is the way I operate.  You know that.  I didn't 
do what I did because I didn't respect you or consider your plea 
to stay out of it.  I did it because that is what I do---it is who 
I am.  I do admit that I promised you I wouldn't go after him 
knowing full well that was exactly what I was going to do.  But 
that was due more to the fact that you were hurt---I was trying to 
appease you so that you wouldn't worry.  And that was wrong.  I 
should have been honest with you," he admitted, searching her eyes 
for understanding.  "But for you to say that you feel I don't 
respect you or that you can't trust me is inconceivable to me, 
Scully.  I have never respected anyone more than I do you.  And I 
trust you unquestionably and I thought you trusted me to the
same degree."

"Mulder..."

"And one more thing... Just because we wouldn't be sleeping 
together wouldn't make me love you any less---ever.  It's too late 
to turn back now, at least for me."

"God, Mulder, I don't want things to go back to the way they 
were---I doubt they even could.  But we can't leave them the way 
they are either. We have to have an understanding... or something.  
I have to know that when you promise me something that you mean 
it, really mean it."

"I promise you, Scully," he said as he stood, moving toward her 
to take her face in his hands.  "I.  Promise.  You."  She put her 
arms around him, laying her head on his chest as he wrapped her in 
his arms, kissing the top of her head.  

She separated from him, looking up into his eyes.  "Mulder, please
make me believe that I can trust your promise," she said as she 
stood, reaching up to kiss him lightly on the lips as he again 
enclosed his arms around her.  She just stood there, returning his 
embrace knowing that this was his way of sealing his promise to 
her.  "Mulder, get into bed.  I've got a few things to finish and 
then I'll be in."  He nodded and then kissed her, holding her 
without saying a word.  When she returned to the bedroom, he was 
already soundly sleeping, sprawled across the entire bed.  He 
almost looked like a different man lying there, since he had lost
so much weight and his generally robust color had not yet 
returned.  She wanted just to hold him feeling that she could 
transport some of her life into him just by her proximity... and
her will.  She thought of sleeping in the other bedroom, not 
wanting to disturb his obvious comfort, but knew he would find
more comfort in having her next to him and so would she.  
	
FBI HEADQUARTERS
ONE WEEK LATER, TUESDAY, 8:30AM
Scully sipped at her morning coffee while sorting through the 
previous week's mail and faxes.  She had been off duty until her 
shooting of Martin was investigated and even though a final 
determination hadn't yet come, Skinner had at least, let her 
return to desk duty.  Mulder had moved back to his own apartment 
the day before and she was tired, not having slept well without 
him next to her.  As her thoughts had wandered from the work
on the desk before her to Mulder alone in his apartment, Skinner 
appearedin an uncommon visit to their basement office.  

"Agent Scully, good to see you back at work," he said plainly.

"It's good to be back, sir... I think," she said as she gave him 
a slight smile.  He sat down in the chair in front of the desk 
that was usually reserved for her when Mulder was working. "Is 
there something I can do for you this morning, sir?"

"Oh, not really, Agent Scully.  I just wondered how Mulder was
recuperating," he said, almost sheepishly looking into his lap.  
His demeanor was not his usual official temperament and it made
her slightly uneasy about why he might have actually come to 
their office. 

"Um... he's doing fine, sir.  All of his blood tests have come 
back negative for the pathogen and he is gradually getting his 
strength back. He isn't ready for a triathlon yet," she smiled, 
"but he's been going to the club to swim the last couple of days.  
Quite frankly, sir, I think he's bored."

"I just wanted to let you know that you can return to full duty
anytime you're ready, as soon as your cast is removed, that is.  
The determination on Martin came in last night and you were 
cleared.  It was a good shoot.  I also wanted you to know that a 
vial of the bacteria was found in your apartment, along with a 
syringe.  We know it was planted.  It seems that Martin's initial 
plan was to miraculously solve the crimes he committed in an 
effort to bolster his troubled reputation.  But then, after
you entered the picture, after you weren't scared off by the 
pictures or the assault, we figure he decided to discredit you... 
to frame you," he finished.

"God.  He was obviously a very, very sick man...sad really. Thank 
you for telling me this in person,sir. I'm hoping that my personal 
involvement in this case can be kept as private as possible."

"I'll try my best, Agent Scully," he said trailing off without 
saying anything else.

"Um, sir, is there something else?" she asked quietly sensing he
was hesitating.

"Yes, actually there is, Scully.  But I'm not relaying this 
information in any official capacity yet," he commented before 
continuing. "But I wanted to prepare you."

"Um, okay..."

"As you know, there are others within the Bureau who have seen 
those pictures of you and Agent Mulder and who may want to use 
them against you or him to put an end to your partnership and 
the X-Files."

"Yes, I assumed as much," she sighed as her concerns were 
confirmed.

"I have received unofficial information that you and Agent Mulder 
may be re-partnered. I was hoping no one was going to follow up on 
those pictures or on your relationship with Mulder,but...they were 
just waiting for your professional behavior to be compromised..."

"Sir, I think you know that I have always taken great pride in my
professional behavior and that has not changed," she interrupted 
firmly.

"It's not you I'm concerned with, Agent Scully," he said finally
looking squarely at her for understanding.  "I'm afraid Mulder's 
recent conduct has been considered as just enough to finally 
cross the line."

"Sir, he has certainly done worse things." she snarled slightly.
"Why make an issue now?"

"Maybe they were just waiting this time.  I really don't know,
Agent Scully.  I hope you know that I will do what I can, but I 
answer to someone, too."
	
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
SATURDAY, 8:22PM
Scully arrived home carrying just enough grocery bags to make her
remember that she still had a few tender muscles from her tangle 
with Det.Martin.  She realized that shopping for two was a bit 
more cumbersome than simply shopping for herself and her own 
narrow personal preferences in food.  After putting everything in 
its place and making a light dinner, she sat down on the couch to 
call Mulder. Despite spending three nights at her place this week, 
he was still living at his own apartment.  She had stayed last 
night with him at his place, but had spent much of it cleaning his
neglected surroundings.  His stamina was still compromised and his 
daily trip to the gym to swim was about his limit, so she didn't 
mind doing things for him she would never do under normal 
circumstances.  

After the eleventh ring, she knew he had time to answer even
considering his slowed navigation these days.  She tried his 
cell---it was turned off.  Her underlying feelings on the status 
of their relationship this last week began to creep into her 
reasoning about why she couldn't reach him.  The atmosphere 
between them had been strained, seemingly just going through the 
motions of being together rather than wanting to be.  It made her 
tired and, she thought, resentful.  Resentful that he seemed
oblivious to her turmoil and that he didn't appear to have any.  
Resentful that he seemed content enough just having her around to 
help him and contributing nothing in return.  They were sleeping 
in the same bed, but nothing else, the unspoken excuse being the 
remnant physical limitations imposed by Mulder's medical 
condition.  But they both knew it was more than that.  

Slamming the phone back into its cradle, Scully became even more
irritated at herself for allowing herself to become so irritated 
at him. She knew this had to end and grabbed her coat as she 
headed out the door.  

Arriving at his apartment in record time, she just sat in her car
knowing that she needed to calm down and think about what she 
wanted to do before doing it.  That didn't seem to help much and 
she still wasn't resolved about what she was going to do---or even 
what she wanted to do. She knocked on the door, believing he was 
actually at home and just not answering his phone.  He opened the 
door with a look on his face that told her he knew it was her 
before he answered.

"I've been expecting you," he said resignedly as he closed the 
door behind her.  He stared at the floor as he slowly followed 
behind her choleric stride into the living room looking up to see 
her standing in front of his desk with her arms characteristically 
folded in a stern physical expression of her emotional state.  

"I'm so glad I have become so predictable to you," she said 
testily.

"Scully, I don't want to fight," he replied humbly. 

"And you think I do, Mulder?" she said as more of an accusation 
than a question.  "Well, actually, maybe I did come over here 
looking for an argument.  At least it would be some kind of 
emotional connection---which is more than we've had in the last 
week."

"Please, Scully.  Sit down and let's talk if you want to.  But 
I'm not going to stand here and trade snippy remarks with you.  
Call me names and get it over with if it'll make you feel better.  
I'll just catch the end of this movie here and you can let me know 
when you're finished," he said flippantly as he sat down on the 
couch, picking up the remote control. Infuriated, she moved 
between him and the television, slamming her hand on the button 
to turn it off.

"Goddammit, Mulder.  What is it?!  I can't take much more of this. 
I'm drowning here and you're acting as if it's just an 
inconvenience. Do you not sense that something is wrong--that our 
relationship is not where it should be?!" she said, still angry.

"And where is it our relationship should be, Scully?" he said 
looking directly at her.  "Should we be having candle-lit dinners 
and great sex every night before we get up and toddle on off to 
work hand in hand each morning?  That would make Ward and June 
proud, I guess.  Or maybe, it's William and Margaret, huh, 
Scully?"

She was absolutely seething now, too incensed to speak, her mouth
literally gaping in response to what he had just said and, more to 
the point, insinuated.  His metaphoric comparison had stunned and 
hurt her at least as much as it had surprised her.  "Is that the 
kind of life you think I want with you?  When have I ever given 
you any indication of that, Mulder?  When?  Actually, maybe I 
should've made that remark to you.  You sure as hell seemed to 
acclimate yourself well to me cleaning your house and washing 
your underwear this past week!"

"Oh, I don't think I acclimated myself to it nearly as much as 
you did, Scully."

"Mulder, if you think that was acclimation, then I've been very
mistaken about how well I feel you know me.  If you have 
interpreted the actions of my love for you as an attempt to 
transform you into a domesticated drone, then I don't know if we 
can go on from here...  I don't."             

"Scully...  You don't mean that.  You have blown this way out of
proportion.  I was just trying to illustrate that we don't need to 
have a white picket fence and three cats in the yard to have a 
relationship.  Why can't we just keep things as they are?"

"God, I can't believe we have come to this.  We are at such 
opposite ends that I'm not sure there is enough common ground left 
for us to continue, Mulder."

"Oh, come on Scully.  We're having an argument.  So what?  We've 
had `em before and we'll have `em again.  Don't make this more 
than it is...," he said more dismissively than he really meant to.

"Well, if you don't see that this is more than an `argument',
then...," she looked at him, unable to finish her words.  She 
turned quickly to leave, not wanting him to see the tears that 
seemed to suddenly burst from her.  If this was what life was like 
as Mulder's lover, she wasn't sure she was up to the task.  
	
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
SUNDAY, 9:20AM
"Mom, it's me," she said calmly into the telephone.  "I just 
wanted to let you know that I'm taking some time off from work and 
going away for awhile and not to worry."

"Dana, what's happened?" her mother asked, concerned.

Scully hesitated before deciding how much she wanted to tell her
mother over the phone.  "I really can't get into it right now, 
Mom.  But, I'm okay.  I'll be okay."

"Is it Fox, Dana?" she asked figuring it couldn't be anything 
elsethat would cause such a reaction.  

"Yes.  I need some time away.  So if Mulder contacts you, you can
honestly tell him you don't know where I have gone.  I'll call you 
in a few days, Mom, so don't worry.  Okay?"

"Dana, are you sure you want to do this, that this is the way you 
want to handle this?" she asked comfortingly.

"I don't know, Mom.  But right now, this is what I feel I need to
do... for myself."

FOX MULDER'S APARTMENT
SUNDAY, 4:00PM
He never thought he could get sick of watching basketball, but he 
was. But Mulder knew his inability to enjoy his usual Sunday 
afternoon fare had less to do with boredom than it had to do with 
his escalating preoccupation with rehashing his remarks to Scully 
the previous night.  What had he been thinking?  He had been 
scared.  Scared he was adapting too easily to the mundaneness of 
her being around his apartment waiting on him, seemingly enjoying 
her domestic role.  But he had blamed her for wanting it that way,
knowing now that it was him who started to slide so easily into 
that routine, not her.  Maybe she was, as she said, just taking 
care of him out of love because he needed it.  One of the things 
that had always attracted him to her was her apparent lack of 
desire for a conventional life.  What made him think that she 
would so quickly domesticate just to please him? God, he was an 
egotistical bastard, he thought.  

After calling her apartment for the sixth time and her cell an 
equal number of times in the last two hours, he dialed her mother.
"Mrs. Scully? It's Fox.  Is Dana there?" he asked politely.

"No, Fox.  She isn't," Margaret quietly answered.

"Please, Mrs. Scully.  If she's there, I need to talk to her, 
please," he appealed.  

"Fox, she isn't here.  I don't know where she is.  She called 
this morning and told me she was taking some time off and going 
away for awhile---and she didn't tell me where---purposely," she 
said truthfully.

"Would you have any idea where she might have gone?  Someplace 
maybe that she has gone before---a favorite vacation place... 
anything?" he pleaded.

"Truly, Fox.  I haven't a clue.  The only thing she told me was 
that she would call me in a few days."  He gave her his cell 
phone number and she promised if she heard from her daughter that 
she would at least call him and let him know that she was alright.  
He trusted that she would, but he wasn't content to wait.

He spent the next several hours checking her credit card and phone
records.  She hadn't charged anything or made any phone calls. He 
thought she may still just be driving and hadn't yet checked into 
a hotel, but she should've, at least, had a charge registered for 
gasoline.  But as he knew all too well, she was aware of every 
trick in the book and he thought maybe she had taken cash, 
presuming he might try to track her.  As he checked her bank 
records for a large withdrawal, he realized she would kill him if 
she ever found out everything he was doing to track her.  No 
transactions.  He resolved that maybe she already had enough cash 
for a day or two, so he decided he'd have to let it rest tonight 
and try again tomorrow.

FOX MULDER'S APARTMENT
MONDAY, 7:15AM
Mulder ran his hands through his hair as he waited on hold for AD
Skinner.  "Yes, Agent Mulder.  What can I do for you?" he 
questioned seemingly somewhat bothered by his phone call.

"Sir, I'm trying to reach Agent Scully.  Have you heard from her?" 
he asked plainly.

"Agent Mulder, please don't be coy with me.  I'm sure you know 
what I know.  She called in to take some time off.  She didn't say 
why and I didn't ask.  And I'm sure you know more about that than 
I do."

"Sir, did she mention where she was going or how long she would 
be gone?" he said, almost demanding an answer.

"No," Skinner answered flatly.  "I hope you get this resolved 
before you both come back to work," he finished as he hung up.  

Between running more checks on her credit cards, ATM and her phone,
Mulder called her mother again, but to no avail.  Scully wanted to 
be away from him and she didn't want to be found and she was doing 
a damn fine job of it.  The efficiency he had always appreciated 
and admired in her had come back to bite him in the ass, he 
thought.  He was just going to have to wait until she came to him. 
And the process of waiting was just about non-existent in Fox 
Mulder's mental and physical being.

MONDAY, 11:33PM
Mulder's eyes were transfixed on the dull glow of the muted 
television. He had never felt so utterly alone in his life.  If 
Scully had walked into his apartment at that very moment wearing 
pearls with Wally and the Beaver in tow, he would have bowed down 
and taken her back with pleasure. He only thought he had known all
these years how much he had wanted her---but now he really knew.  
He thought if he had to go another hour without holding her, 
touching her, he would shrivel up and die.  He couldn't bear it 
any longer and he suddenly felt an overwhelming need to at least 
go sleep in her bed.  At least he could see and touch her things 
and smell her smell.  God, he felt like he couldn't live if he 
didn't have something of her---his fix, he thought to himself as 
he grabbed his coat and headed out the door of his apartment.  

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
TUESDAY, 12:18AM
Using his key, he opened the door to her apartment, immediately
relishing in the fresh smell of her place that was her.  He closed 
the door with his foot as he slipped off his coat,throwing it over 
the back of the couch.  As he bent to take off his shoes, he was 
startled by her voice. "Put your hands up or I'll blow your head 
off," she said in her best FBI inflection.

"Scully!  It's me!  Don't shoot!" he said, sincerely afraid for 
his life.  He knew what a good shot she was.

"Mulder?" she said as she flipped on the kitchen light.  "What the
hell are you doing here?  You scared the shit out of me!"

"Scully.  Jesus.  You're here?  Have you been here the entire three 
days?" he asked, his voice almost trembling from a combination of
fear and the exhilaration he felt at just seeing her.

"Yes.  Mulder, you still haven't told me what you are doing here,"
she said, annoyed. She laid her gun on the mantle before moving to 
sit in the closest chair. Wrapping her arms around her knees as 
she bent them to her chest, she looked at him with an expression 
that, she hoped, didn't mirror her real feelings of how glad she 
was to see him.  He took her move to sit as permission for him to 
stay, at least for now, and took his place on the couch.  

"Mulder...?"

"Scully, I just wanted to stay here tonight, okay?  If you only 
knew how much I've mi...," he trailed off before he could finish 
telling her that he couldn't bear another moment without her, 
without something of her.  She sat there looking at him for only 
a few seconds before moving over to him on the couch.

"Mulder, have you been taking care of yourself?  You look like 
hell," she said as she touched his forehead to check for a 
temperature.  "Are you taking your medication?  Because if you 
haven't been, so help me God...," her voice dripping with 
irritated warning.

"Yes, Scully.  I've been taking my medication---as prescribed.  
I look like hell because I've been sick with worry... about you."

"Oh, please, Mulder," she said dismissively as she moved back to 
her safe place in the chair.  "It has only been a few days.  And 
you've been much better off not seeing me, believe me."  She 
leaned her head back against the chair before speaking, "What do 
you want, Mulder?  I'm tired."

"You.  I want you.  Scully, everyone I have ever been close to has
left me, in one way or another.  So when I get close to people, I 
have a tendency to leave them or, more to the point, make them 
leave me.  I guess before they do it to me anyway.  This 
overwhelming impulse just takes over that makes me want to piss 
people off to hurt them to some degree as sort of a defense 
mechanism, I guess.  And last week I panicked.  It meant so much 
to me that you took care of me, even though I could tell you were
ready to kill me, that I couldn't handle it.  I kept thinking you
would just back out of the responsibility and I would be left 
alone again. So I did what I always seem to do---I pissed you off 
so you'd leave. Subconsciously deliberately... if that makes any 
sense at all to you."  He moved over to sit on his knees on the 
floor in front of her chair, putting his hands over hers. "I love 
you, Scully.  I can't be without you.  We've got to talk this out 
and make this right.  I've missed you," he said pensively.

"Mulder, right now all I want to do is go to sleep.  These last 
few days have been anything but restful for me, too, you know," 
she said as she moved to stand.  He moved out of her way, standing 
as she did.  As she began to walk out of the living room, she 
turned back to see him still in the same spot,just looking at her.  
"Are you coming?" she asked.  

"What?" he asked, not believing he heard her correctly.

"Come on, Mulder.  We'll talk tomorrow," she said as she moved
back towards him, putting her arms around his waist, holding him 
tight.  "I've missed you too... so much.  I want you next to me...
in bed.  Is that okay?"

As they lay beneath the sheets holding each other, neither of them
could find the sleep they knew they needed and thought they wanted.  
His head rested on her breast, contented by the timbre of her 
delicate breathing and the unwavering cadence of her careful heart
as he realized his venerating need for her. This past week, he had 
feared their private relationship was disintegrating, almost 
before it had a chance to flourish. She reflected an 
unbeknowningly analogous scenario in her mind, subconsciously 
enlacing her fingers with his as his hand lay on her stomach
just beneath the silk of her pajama top.  

"Mulder...," she began as she touched his cheek with the palm of 
her other hand.

"What, Scully?" he answered, tightening his grip on her hand.  

"What happened to us?" she asked sadly.

He lifted his head from her chest, laying it next to hers on the 
down pillow.  He touched her cheek, turning her head to look at 
him before lightly kissing her triste lips. "I don't know, Scully. 
I think I was just scared.  What happened to you and what happened 
to me made me realize just how fragile life is... But now, it has 
made me understand that every moment counts... absolutely every 
minute of every day... and I don't want to waste any.  And I don't 
want to spend a minute without you in my life...ever."

"God, Mulder.  I have missed you so much, in so many ways," she
said turning to embrace him.

"Tell me, Scully," he said, smiling.	

"I've missed your heart... your love, your mind..., your... sneaky
smile," she relayed as she stroked his chest and his strong arm.  
"I even missed your disgusting sense of humor."

"Anything else?"

"Are you fishing, Mulder?"

"Maybe..."

"Yes, I missed your presence in my bed... and my body.  I love 
making love with you, Mulder.  I almost can't believe how used to 
it I became in such a short period of time.  I don't ever want to 
think about what life would be like without you...  I love you."  
She moved over his body, kissing him passionately before 
repeating, "I love you."

"I love you, Scully," he said with his passion unmistakable in his
voice, kissing her almost violently in his hunger to capture her 
body. They scrambled to remove their pajamas,laughing and giggling 
at their behavior as they kissed and groped for each other with 
the libidinousness of prom-night teenagers.  Without moving his 
attention from her body, he kicked at the constraining sheet and 
blankets as he moved to take her breast in his hand, his lips 
capturing the nipple of the other.

"Oh, Mulder...," she murmured, relishing in the carnal excitation 
her body had missed. She couldn't stay stationary, her entire body 
stimulated by the choreography of his mouth and his hands on her 
breasts as she writhed and moaned underneath him.  He reached for 
her center, roughly parting her lips with his almost 
uncontrollable fingers. Feeling the fervent secretion of her 
intemperate arousal, he quickly moved to part her legs and enter 
her in a single uninterrupted motion, his ingress causing her to
finally still beneath him.  She embraced him tightly, her hands 
spread across his perspiring back as if she was trying to gather 
him in all at once.  He moved within her only slightly, his 
breathing becoming more raggedly labored.  

"Scully, I think I used all my energy on your boobs," he panted.  
She kissed him, laughing into his mouth before moving under him as 
he rolled over to his back, still inside her.  She began to move 
on top of him, taking him in as far as she could, losing herself 
in the physical stimulation of his chest hair on her tortuously 
raised nipples.  He reached for her hips and she followed his
physical inference to sit up, sensually gliding her hands across 
his chest descending to rest on his quivering stomach. She shifted
her hands back to his thighs, arching her back as she began to 
move back and forth, undulating her hips in a continuous wave. 
Despite the inexplicable eroticism the painful depth of his 
penetration in this position elicited in her, it became too 
uncomfortable to continue. She moved her hands to his hips, 
shifting her weight to her knees to lean forward, lifting herself 
slightly to relieve the pressure of his length. She knew his 
exiguous stamina impeded him from thrusting against her and she 
secretly smiled to herself at the challenge of being in control of
bringing them both off.  She moved faster and harder against him, 
grinding herself against the heated surface of his body.    

"Oh, Scully.  Right there.  Right there..." he gasped, wrapping
his fervent hands around her waist.  She reached down to open 
herself further to expose her engorged clitoris to the wiry 
friction of his pubic hair, now covered with the liquid of her 
stimulation.  Suddenly, his hips lifted from the bed as he thrust 
into her with force she didn't think he could muster. She felt his 
semen warm her as he groaned her name, pulling her down over him 
in his embrace. She allowed him only a moment of repletion, before
moving up again to ride him, losing the last tenant of her control
until she was sated with her own orgasm, pulsing against him as 
she fell forward onto his chest.  He stroked her back, down her 
bottom to her thighs, massaging her softly as she lay spent, 
spread over him panting to catch her breath.

"Ohhh, Mulder," she sighed contentedly into his chest.  "I'm never
moving from this spot.  Never.  We could both quit the FBI and stay 
like this forever."

"Scully, you'd have to eat sometime... and buy shoes," he smiled 
as he turned them over on their sides, finally pulling out of her 
and rolling onto his back.  She reached for him, embracing, almost 
grabbing, him as she wantonly kissed his face and mouth climbing 
halfway over him again.

"God, Mulder.  If we could bottle what we have, we wouldn't have 
to work.  We could just do this and sell it," she said finally 
resting her head against the hollow of his shoulder.  "I love you 
more than..."

"I know, Scully.  I love you the same."


THE END