Title: "Transparent Memories"
Author: Heather Horn
Rating: PG
Category: Angst
Summary: Scully is kidnapped and taken to a glass dome in the middle of 
Chillum, Maryland. Mulder goes after Scully, and discovers that someone he
trusted was involved in the kidnapping of his love.
Disclaimer: Dana Scully, Fox Mulder, the X-Files, and all relating 
characters are copyright of Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and the FOX
Network. No copyright infringement is intended. No money is being made off 
of this.
Feedback: I'd love to hear what you think about my story. I am always looking
for ways to improve my writing and an comments are greatly appriciated!
actingislife@chickmail.com
Archive: Just tell me where you're putting it and attach my name. Thanks a
million!
Author's Notes: I would like to dedicate this story to Robyn. She was my 
inspiration for this story. Thanks, Robyn, you're a great friend, writer,
and 'shipper. 

Dana Scully was just about to call it a day when she was hit over the head -
hard! She fell unconcious to the ground, and two masked men dragged her out
to a van waiting outside the apartment. Before you could look twice, they
were gone, with no evidence of anything ever happening.

An hour later, Fox Mulder recieved a very disturbing phone call.

"Mr. Mulder," the mysterious voice on the other end said. "You're going down.
We have your one weakness." Then there was click, leaving Mulder confusing.
Not two seconds had passed when the phone rang again. 

"Who the hell is this?" Mulder shouted into the phone, annoyed with the 
prank calls.

"Hey, man, chill." Langly said. "It's us."

"Oh, sorry," Mulder replied, letting out a sigh. "What's up?"

"Our scanner just picked up a very important conversation that we think you
should know about." Byers explained.

"I don't have time for UFOs right now, guys." Mulder said in a worried tone
of voice. He was still thinking about the phone call he had just recieved.
His one weakness. What was that supose to mean?

"It's doesn't concern that, Mulder." Frohike said, hushed. "Scully's in 
trouble."

"I'll be right there!" My exclaimed in full gear. He grabbed his keys and 
ran out the door, not even remembering to take a jacket that chilly, 
mid-September night.

Mulder made it over to the Lone Gunmen in record time. Frohike opened the
what seemed like endless locks on the old, creaky door and let a 
panic-stricken Mulder inside.

"What's going on here?" Mulder asked. "Right before you called, I got 
another call from saying that I was going down. That they had my one
weakness." 

"Well, if Scully's your one weakness, then that's what we're talking about."
Langly said.

"She sure as hell is mine." Frohike mumbled. On impulse, Mulder gave Frohike
a look. The kind of look you give your best friend when they say they like
your girlfriend. A look of death. Frohike quickly corrected himself. "Sorry,
Mulder, I forgot. You and Scully are a thing now."

"Scully and I are not a thing!" Mulder cried defensivly.

"Then I can go out with her?" Frohike retorted.

"No!" Mulder shouted in horror.

"You guys, calm down! This is important! If either of you ever want to date
Scully, you're going to have to find her first." Byers interrupted them.

"Okay," Mulder exhaled, calling a tempoary truce. "Show me what you've got."
Langly flipped a swicth and a tape began playing.

"We got her, boss." A man was saying in a dopey New York accent. 

"Good." The other voice said. Mulder reconized that voice. It was the voice
of the same person who had called him earlier that evening. 

"What should we do with her?" The first man questioned.

"Take her to that glass dome in the middle of the field. Torture her. Kill
her. Do whatever you want to her. I don't care, just don't let her go."

"Sure, boss." Then there came a shrill cry in the background.

"Mulder! Help me!" It was unmistakibly Scully. He'd know that voice 
anywhere. Langly clicked off the tape player, and the three men turned to
face Mulder. It took all of his strength to not brake down in tears. Mulder
took a deep breath and swallowed. 

"Do you know where they're taking her?" He asked in anguish. 

"We were able to trace the call to somewhere Chillum." Frohike informed 
Mulder.

"We did a check on the cell phones, but we weren't able to find anything." 
Byers continued.

"So I'm looking for a glass dome in the middle of Chillum, Maryland?" Mulder
asked, a rising skeptisim in his voice from lack of information.

"That's right." Langly replied. 

"Thanks." Mulder told his friends gratefully as he left. "I'll call you 
later." Mulder ran out the door and took his cell phone out of his jacket
pocket. His pressed speadial and let the phone at Scully's house ring twenty
times.

No answer.

Then he tried her on her cell phone.

Nothing.

"Damn it!" Mulder exclaimed as he drove off towards Chillum. It was three 
o'clock in the morning before he reach his destination. Mulder stiffled a
yawn. He was tired, but he wasn't going to get any sleep until he was sure
that Scully was safe and sound. 

"Okay, I'm in Chillum." Mulder thought to himself. "Now what?"
 
Mulder drove around for hours, searching for anything that slightly
resembled a glass dome. It seemed like a lost cause. Mulder had seen a few
propane tanks that looked like little white Nazi storm troopers, but 
that was all. Mulder couldn't give up on Scully, though. It wouldn't be 
easy, and it wouldn't be fun, but somehow, Mulder would get to Scully if
it was the last thing he did. Mulder was on a mission. A quest to find 
Scully, his reward being able to see her once again. He sometimes took 
Scully and her crazy logic for gratitude, and he made a mental note never, 
ever to do that again. 

Around five o'clock, Mulder's phone rang. His heart skipped a beat, hoping 
it was Scully calling to say that she was back in Washington and doing fine.
Instead, it was Assistant Director Skinner, calling to yell Mulder's ear
off.

"Agent Mulder, why did you and Agent Scully fail to show up for work today?"
the old man asked in annoyance, sure that his spookiest agent would reply
that he had found an X-File. But when Mulder told Skinner the news, Skinner
only wished it was an X-File that had kept the two agents out of work.

"Agent Scully is missing, sir. I believe that she was kidnapped sometime 
last night. I'm in Chillum, looking for her. I'm sorry I didn't call, I've 
been distra-" Mulder confided.

"It's alright, Agent Mulder. Where did you say you were? I'm coming down 
there." 

"No, sir, this is something that I need to do myself. The reason that they 
took Scully is so that it would kill me." 

"I'm not sure I understand, Agent Mulder, why the absense of Agent Scully
would cause your own death." 

"Sooner or later, sir, you're bound to understand." Mulder replied, then
quickly hung up his phone. A few seconds later, Mulder's phone rang again.
Although he really didn't want to explain what he ment to Skinner, he picked
it up anyway. It *could* be Scully, after all.

It wasn't Scully. 

It was the same mysterious voice, the strange centrifugal force that had 
called him the night before.

"She's getting weaker. And so are you." The voice teaser before hanging up.
Mulder's jaw tightened as he tapped in the Lone Gunmen's number.

"Hey, Mulder, what did you find?" Frohike asked, picking up the phone on the
first ring.

"Nothing. Absolutly nothing." Mulder answered, depressed. "What about you
guys?"  

"Sorry, buddy, but even with our power we can't seem to get much at all. Do 
you have any suspects?" Langly pondered.

"Well, there's always that suspision of C.G.B. Spender, but all his coleges 
are dead now, and it wasn't his voice on the phone. Speaking of that, I just
got another one of those calls. If it wasn't that cigarette-smoking jerk who
took her, I don't know who it was. Do me a favor, okay?"

"Anything." Byers responded.

"I want you to call up A.D. Skinner and tell him that if he wants to help find
Scully, not to let C.G.B. out of his sight, got it?"

"Will do." Frohike replied.

"'Kay, call me later." Mulder told them, and hung up his phone, continuing 
to drive. Mulder was about to push down harder on the gas pedal to cover 
more ground in less time, but something caught his eye. A glisting in the
middle of a long corn field that seemed to last forever. Mulder blinked as 
he was caught off guard by deja vu. Mulder turned off the engine and stepped out of his rental car, then went to get his flashlight out of
the trunk.

Mulder began walking through the endless field, making sure that he had his
gun ready if he needed it. After an hour, Mulder came to a clearing. There
stood a giant glass dome, almost like a bubble. Mulder crouched to the 
ground and made his way slowly towards the dome, looking in. He lie there,
taking everything in for a moment. Then he spotted the red flicker. It was
Scully. If you couldn't find her, you could always find her hair. Mulder
peered into the dome. Scully was tied up and half naked while two men were 
hitting her, slapping her, kicking her, punching her. It felt like they were
punching Mulder, too. Right wear it hurts. Who ever those men were, Mulder 
would kill them both. How could anyone hurt someone as kind and gentle as 
Scully? Just then, Mulder was able to catch Scully's eye. Without drawing to much attention to herself, Scully smiled at him the best
she could with the gag over her mouth. Mulder mouthed to her, "I'm going to
get you out of there!" and blew her a kiss. Mulder started to get up when
he bumped into something in back of him. Mulder spun around and drew his
gun.

"Krycek!" Mulder said madly in a loud wisper. "Are you behind this?"

"Am I behind it personally or am behind it indirectly?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Of course, Mulder, I wouldn't allow anything evil to go on without me."

"How do I get Scully out of there?"

"You know, that's a very good question."

"Tell me or I'll shoot you!" 
 
"Don't you get it?" Krycek asked. "Everyone that this man has worked with 
for the past fifty years is dead beside me and Diana. He needs new coleges.
This is their test."

"Wait - Diana's in on this?" Mulder asked in shock. He felt horrible! Scully
had been right about Diana all along and Mulder didn't listen. 

"You didn't know that? Gosh, Mulder, you *are* vaunerable. I thought Scully
would have gotten that through your thick head by now, considering you're a 
thing."

"Scully and I are not a thing!" Mulder yelled, a little louder than he 
should have. 

"Sure you're not." Krycek replied with a wry nod, then began walking away.
When he was nearly out of sight, Mulder yelled, 

"Krycek!" Krycek turned around to face Mulder. "Thanks." Krycek just nodded,
then continued walking. Mulder didn't know why he had thanked Krycek. Maybe
it was because he had reveled a few distant facts about to conspiricy. Or
maybe it was because Krycek had restored Mulder's faith that once he got
Scully out of that transparent torture, maybe they *could* be a thing. 

Mulder walked around the entire dome, looking for a way in. When he was back
where he had started, he looked in and saw the men had left Scully. She now
sat in a heap, crying, intently watching Mulder's every move. Her eyes
begged Mulder to save her. Mulder pressed himself aganist the glass, feeling
in the tears in his own eyes. It reminded him of when he was a little kid.
He would look in the window of the toy store, wanting that one special toy 
so badly as he looked in the display case, his nose pressed aganist the 
glass. But he couldn't have it. Mulder couldn't stand to stay there any 
longer. 

"I love you." He mouthed to Scully. She nodded back, her face enlightened 
for a breif moment. Mulder turned to leave, but saw something shiny on the
ground. He kneeled down to look at it. Scully's necklace. Mulder held it up
for Scully to see and looked even more blissful as the tears ran down her 
pale face. 

While Mulder walked back to his car, he phoned the Lone
Gunmen.

"I found her." Mulder told them the second they answered the phone. There 
was a large clutter of cheers on the other end. 

"You don't sound very happy, Mulder." Frohike accused. 

"Yeah, well we're not out of the woods yet. I need you guys to get down 
here, pronto. I can't find any possible way of entrance."

"We're on our way." Langly said. "Where are you?" 

"Route Sixty-six. Right where the road intersects with forty-three."

While Mulder waited for the Lone Gunmen, Mulder sat in his car, phone to his
ear, listening to Scully's voice on her answering machiene, tears streaming
down his face. He looked down at the palm of his hand, where Scully's 
necklace rested. Just then, he saw headlights pull up behind him. Mulder 
quickly shut off his phone, stuff Scully's necklace in his pocekt, and
jumped out of the car. He met the Lone Gunmen just as they were slamming the
door of their tacky van.

"Where is she?" Asked Frohike.

"This way!" Mulder called, braking into a run through the corn fields.

It was nearly ten o'clock by the time Mulder found his way back to the 
glass dome. When the Lone Gunmen ran up behind Mulder and saw the large 
structure, they all cursed in unision, Frohike the loudest.

"What? What's wrong?"

Byers sighed.

"This is a new-technology dome. The door is sealed off once the occupants
are inside." He explained.

"No one gets in, no one gets out." Langly finished.

"Says who?" Asked Mulder, cocking his gun.

"Mulder, don't!" Byers yelled. "It'll be raining glass for miles!"

"You shatter that glass, you risk killing everyone inside."

"That's just a risk we'll have to take." Mulder retorted. Mulder looked into
the dome and saw the two men talking, heads bowed down in conversation.
Scully's eyes were half-closed, she would be asleep within seconds and hoped
that when she woke up, all the pain would go away. But before she could 
completly shut her eyes, something caught her eye. 

Mulder.

He was pointing a gun at the side of the dome.

Scully quickly covered her head the best that she could with the fabric tied
tightly around her wrists. Mulder fired his gun, and it cracked the left
side of the dome, quickly spreading. Mulder kicked one little piece of
glass in and it all fell.

Then everything went dark.

Scully awoke to the sounds of the faint bleeping on a monitor and the light 
breathing of someone hoovering over her. She opened her eyes slowly, and 
smiled weakly at Mulder. He set a bouquet of flowers down on her bed, then 
took her hand and they finger-cuddled for a breif moment.

"How are you feeling?" Mulder asked, starring insanely at Scully. 

"I'm fine." She replied.

It felt so good to be able to touch Scully once more, to hear her soft-spoken words. He
could now smell the undiscribable intoxicating smell of Scully. He could
taste the skeptism in her every breath. 

It was just like old times. 

Almost.

Mulder reached deep into his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a shimmering
gold chain with a cross on it and handed it to Scully. Scully's face light
up like a child on Christmas morning. Although she was still weak, Scully
managed to sit up slightly and give Mulder a hug. 

"Oh, thank you, Mulder!" She said hoarsly, choking back a tear. "You know 
how much this means to me." Mulder help her fasten the necklace on, and 
Scully lie back down, allowing Mulder to stroke her face gently. There was a 
knock at the door, and the Lone Gunmen, along with Skinner, entered to greet
Scully.

"Hi, Scully, how are you?" Frohike asked, handing her a bouquet of flowers.
Not as big as a bouquet as Mulder's, though, Scully noticed.

"Thank you," Scully said dryly, doing everything in her power not to laugh
at Frohike's boyish compition with Mulder. Frohike was nice enough, but he
should realize by now that she only liked him as a friend; her heart
belonged to Mulder.

"Do you remember what happened?" Byers asked. 

Scully placed two hand on her forehead, trying to recall what she had been
through.

"Well, I remember two men coming into my apartment. The next thing I know,
I'm waking up in the back of a van. But then I think I must of been knocked
out again, because the next thing I remember is a - a glass dome. Where the 
beat me. Then Mulder fired a gunshot at the dome, and -"

"Not his smartest move." Frohike commented. 

Enough was enough.

Scully was sick of Frohike's immaturity of trying to degrade Mulder's
stature.

It wasn't going to work.

When you love someone, you trust them.

You trust them with your life and know that they'll take good care of it.

Just like Mulder had always done.

"One of his smartest actually, Frohike. Mulder's the one who got me out of
there! He saved me life!" Scully was angry now, but too tired to do anything
about it.

While Scully told the Lone Gunmen her story, Skinner pulled Mulder aside.

"Agent Mulder, I think I finally understand what you meant on the phone the
other day." Skinner's jaw was tight, his lips drawn in a thin line, but 
Mulder was just glad that he wasn't running through the halls of the 
hospital screaming like a raving loonatic.

"What's your opinion on the matter, sir?"

"You know the brearu's policy. I'm sure you'll find a way to work around it;
you always have."

Mulder gave Skinner a tight smile, then walked back over to Scully's bed. 

"I think Agent Scully would like to rest." Skinner interrupted the Lone 
Gunman, ushering them out of the room. He made no attempt at making Mulder
leave the room, and had no intentions of doing so. He would leave when he
was ready. Skinner could stop a lot of things, but even a man with his power
couldn't stop love.

Mulder kissed Scully's forehead, then backed away towards the door. Just 
before he turned the handle, he spun around and said to Scully,

"I love you." 

This time, Scully was able to answer.
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"Transparent Memories" was written by Heather Horn on Febuary 21, 1999
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