Disclaimer: The story idea and some of the characters are mine. Scully, Mulder and the rest belong to God and Ten Thirteen Production...I Made This. Memento Mori-Post Episode A Heart on the Outside Chapter one: Healing the Faith He watched her walk down the hall as he took the thin vile out of his pocket and held it between the sleeves of his shirt. He dreaded the day when he would have to tell her. She had to know, no matter how much it would hurt. She had to know the truth, when she was strong enough. She was gone now, disappeared into her room. He stood there a while, then turned and walked down the hall. She turned the corner and stopped. What she had told him-she meant it. People did live with cancer. But they also died from it. What she had, had been given to her, and there was no cure. She turned and peered back down the hall. Mulder was still standing there. She turned away and leaned her head back against the wall. When she turned back to look-he was gone. neXt day "Are you sure you want to be back to work?" Mulder asked. She looked up suddenly from the desk, "I can't let this run my life." Mulder nodded. He walked over and knelt beside the chair, "and it won't run your life, Scully, we'll find the cure. I won't let you down." She looked at him, touched his cheek, "thank you, but you don't have to save me." "Scully, if I can save you, let me. I want to." "At what costs?" "Any costs, Scully. It doesn't matter." "Your life, your career. Don't lose that to try to save me. It's not worth it. You'll never win." "Scully, don't say that. Your life and health and happiness means so much to me. More than my own." Scully diverted her eyes. She didn't want him to reveal his heart to her, because she didn't know whether she could return it. He took her face in his hands, looked into her eyes and pulled her face closer to his, "Scully, you can't give up hope. You can't give up. You're young and beautiful and the strongest person I've ever met. You have the rest of your life to live and you can't give it all up because they want you to. If you give up, they will win. And without you, my hope will die too." Her eyes became watery and she forced herself not to blink or her tears would fall, "Mulder..." "Don't say anything, Scully," he ordered ands he obeyed. What could she say? She held her feelings inside. No matter how much she wanted to express her own heart, it was too difficult. Words nor actions seemed to come to her, no matter how hard she tried. All she could do was stand there and bite her lip so she wouldn't cry. Through the past four years, he had become the one person in her life she could count on. The one person she trusted inexplicably. Her savior. He brought her back to this world when she thought she might never get back. And he was here now, promising her once again that he would bring her back. It was a love that had grown strong through four years of loyalty to each other. Love of what though, exactly? A friend, a really good friend, like a brother? Lover? She had never thought about it before, never wondered if it was love. She knew she cared deeply for him, she had known that for years now. But she wasn't sure exactly what those feelings contained. She tried to look beyond. Beyond her feelings, beliefs, and Mulder. She knew if she were ever to lose him, she herself would die inside. She had to figure out just how deep those feelings went, and the true nature of her desire. She had to think fast because he was waiting for her reply. She couldn't look into those amazingly intense eyes much longer. But it wasn't something that was easy to decide, something you decided so quick. She didn't want to make a mistake about this. But what if it was true love, what was she going to do about it now? She couldn't just reach up and kiss him, push away all the barriers they had so silently put up and guarded. Maybe it was time to push some of them away. It was four years. People do fall in time. There was plenty of time to see each other in their true light, bond with him. They'd already been through so much and she would never leave his side if he needed her. She knew he had those same feelings right here, right now. This moment was a true example of that. But this wasn't the right time to show forth those feelings, if they were true love as she thought. "But you can't go off and fight your battles for me, without me. Whatever you do, I'm there with you, all the way. You hear me?" she asked. It seemed just the same revelation of love to her as saying the words. "Of course I do, Scully," he said, but she suspected more than he was saying. "I'm not going to die, Mulder. I'm not giving up. I'll fight this to the end, till they back down. And if they don't, I'll go over them." The determination in her eyes blazed. "And I'll be right there with you, Scully. All you have to do is say the word." He leaned forward and she thought for a second he was going to do it, but at the last moment his lips rested between her eyes. They stayed like that for a while. Then, suddenly, she felt a drop of water hit her cheek and she realized they were his tears. She wanted to do it now. Her stomach turned and fluttered from nervousness, but she wanted too, every ounce of her wanted too. She was right there, so close. All she had to do was tilt her face and do it. She had never been so scared in her life. Not even when she'd found out that a part of her being had been invaded, just under a week ago. She tilted her head back till she was staring into his eyes. Then she closed them. He could feel the heat from her breath on his lips. He had seen a different change wash over her when he stared at her. His eyes dropped to hers. She closed her mouth and licked her parched lips. She was about to do something, he knew, but she bit her lip back instead. He wanted her to do it. Reveal herself like he'd never seen her before. Out of her shell, out from behind the mask that she so cleverly wore. He wanted to see the real Dana Scully. The person. But he realized she didn't have the nerve. She was so strong for everything else, but not for this. But he could only fight the battles he could. The one's inside her were hers alone to battle. So he let go of her. He let go of her, but yet he still hung on. that night It was late, but yet she was up working on her report. She needed something to take her mind off...other things. She'd been too much of a coward and only after wards had realized he understood what she had wanted to do. She felt ashamed that she couldn't do it. Couldn't give him that love back. Now her heart ached with what she had done. There was a knock on the door. Outside stood that person. "I, ah, couldn't sleep. I figured you probably weren't either." "No, I wasn't," she said awkwardly. "Ah, can I come in?" he asked, fiddling with the zipper on his black jacket. "Of course, you're always welcome here." He came in and sat on the couch. She knew he was trying to lighten the mood, "we only just started the case, Scully, and already you're doing the report." All she could do was shrug, "so, is there anything you wanted, Mulder?" "A couple things I'd like to know, Scully, sit down." He patted the seat next to him. Close to him. She sat. "And that would be?" she raised her eyebrow. "I think you know already," he replied, his face completely expressionless except for the seriousness in his eyes that seemed to bore right through hers. She was forced to turn away. Her mind was reeling and her heart pounded so fiercely against her chest she was sure he could hear it. "What do you mean?" she stalled. "You know what I mean. I'm going to wait until you tell me." So, she had to lighten the tension further. She had to take his mind off this subject but she knew it was firmly placed. She had to stall, to think of something else. Why's he doing this to me? Has something changed? She wondered. "No, I don't know what you mean. Why don't I put on some coffee cause we'll be here for a while if you don't tell me what you're talking about." She started to stand up. "SIT." He said sternly and grabbed her hand and pulled her down, "you do know what I'm talking about, and it's about earlier and I want to know. So tell me. I know it's hard, but it's me, Scully, and you don't have to be afraid to tell me anything." She sunk back into the couch. She looked at him, but then looked away. "I can't do it for you, Scully. You have to do this on your own. Only you know what you want." Still she didn't say anything, but stared at the coffee table in front of her. He let her have her time, but she couldn't have forever. Because there wasn't forever to be given to them. "Scully, tell me." "I can't, Mulder." "Scully, I never make you tell me everything. Believe me, I know things are easier kept inside. But this time I'm demanding you tell me." He wasn't wining, but his tone was serious. There was no wait out. She took a deep breath that he didn't hear and turned around on the couch so one leg was bent in front of her. "I know you want to know what I'm thinking, but you can't order me to tell you like that. I'm not ready, Mulder. You must respect that." He nodded solemnly. He did respect it, he just wanted her to come out, open up to him. "I think you better go then. I'll see you at work tomorrow." Again, he nodded. He got up and walked towards the door. At the door, he started to walk through and rubbed his knuckle along her cheek and gave a half-smile. All of a sudden, she reached out for his arm and pulled him back to her. She pressed her lips against his and he pushed back. It felt good. But did she do the right thing? He pulled away and said, "that wasn't so hard, was it?" and closed the door behind him. She leaned back against the door and let out the biggest sight in her life. Now, they had done it, but what did it mean? She didn't know if this was just a one-time thing or if this would turn into something more. She didn't think her, Dana Scully would ever fall for a man like him, but who knew? She turned out the light, walked into her room and shut the door. End Chapter one: Healing the Faith Chapter two: Confusion and the future neXt day He was walking down the hall towards Skinner's office and he saw her going down towards the office of head of him. Apparently, she had gotten to work before him. She had left him a note to tell him there was a meeting. Suddenly a man walked towards Scully quickened his pace and stopped her. "Excuse me, are you Agent Scully?" he asked. "Yes, can I help you?" "Yeah, actually you can. See," he turned around and began walking in the direction Scully was headed. "I'm Agent Craig Delitos. I'm somewhat knew to the D.C. Field Office. I know about you and Agent Mulder and the X-Files. But I've come to you because I need your help on something I've found. But I don't want any theories. Agent Mulder tends to go overboard. But if we could meet somewhere later, you think you can help me?" then he handed her a folder, "inside are the copies of everything I've dug up. It's rather personal to me. I'd appreciate if you don't confide in this to anyone. "You have my word. I can see what I can do." "Thank you. Now I'll let you go because I know you have a meeting with Skinner." She nodded, and wondered why or how he had known so much. How'd he know about her meeting? She'd ask him later. She went directly into Skinner's office and sat down. "Where's Agent Mulder?" Skinner asked. "I don't know, sir, he should..." she stopped when Mulder came into the room. "Agent Mulder, have a seat." Mulder sat down, " is this something to do with our current X-File?" "Not exactly," he replied, "I'm assigning Agent Scully to another department for a few days. You're to remain on the X-Files till she comes back." "Why?" Mulder asked. Why are they taking her away? "The Assistant Director of the Sociology Dept. has asked her to join them to solve a case. I wasn't given a reason, I was just told to do so." He looked over at Scully and waited for her to agree. She glanced at Mulder, then back at Skinner and agreed. "That's about all. Agent Mulder, you can wait outside. Scully, I'd like to talk to you for a moment." Mulder got up and left. Scully sensed by the way he walked, purposefully, with his head high and his shoulders drawn back, he was not happy. Skinner occupied her for a few minutes, "the case has already been started. I assume you've already met Agent Delitos," he glanced down at the folder, "it should only be a few days with them at the most. I think you'll find it very close to...home." "Mmmhmm." She mumbled, "so where do I go now, then?" "Review over the folder and contact Agent Delitos when you have thorough knowledge of the case. He'll set up a place to meet you, or whatever. If you have any more questions...you're free to go." Scully walked back down to the office and saw Mulder sitting in his chair moodily, "what's wrong with you now?" "They're gonna split us up, Scully." "Come on, Mulder, no their not. It's a one-time thing. It's happened before." "But we've gotten so close, Scully. It makes sense they'd want to slow us down by taking you away." "Then why would did they ever re-open the X-Files? Give us a chance?" "They're playing with us. Just as they've always been." Scully sighed and sat down in the chair, "forget it, Mulder. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be gone for a couple days, then I'll be back. I'll still be in the building." "Do you even know what the Sociology Dept. is, Scully?" "No." "It's like the X-Files. Just a fancier name. It all involves cases from the past. Murders linked to bazarre happenings." "If it's like the X-Files, why aren't we investigating them?" she questioned. "Well, because they aren't considered paranormal, officially. None of the cases have been solved under 'unexplained'. They LIE when they don't know the answers. Sound familiar?" "Uh, huh-" "Scully, you're getting yourself into something when you do this." "How exactly do you know so much about this dept? How come I've never heard of it?" "They're very quiet. I'm surprised Skinner mentioned them." "Mulder, you're paranoid. You think every government department is hiding something. I know things go on, but..." "But what, Scully?" he asked watching her. "Never mind, Mulder," she looked down at her lap. "Opp." He said after a few minutes of silence, "well then, I guess I better let you get back to your new assignment." He continued as he neared the door. When he was almost through, he added, "and don't try to stop me when I'm leaving," and he walked through, shutting the door. "Mulder!" she gasped, surprised. She dumped the folder on the desk carelessly and stalked out the door after him. But he must have rushed out of there. What was that all about? That sudden outburst? God damn him. She spent half an hour looking for him. Main lobby, cafeteria, back to the office. He must have stalked out of the building, mad as hell for some reason. The way he had reacted yesterday and last night-what had suddenly brung on that change in attitude? She remembered what he said afterwards, 'that wasn't so hard, was it?' he smiled at her. Surprised, yes, both of them were. But not angry. He had pretty much forced her to tell him her feelings, and when she'd refused, he'd looked so disappointed in her, she had leaped to that point without even thinking first. She sat down behind the desk in his chair and thought. A knock startled her from her thoughts. "Come in." she said. It obviously wasn't Mulder, since he wouldn't have knocked. "Agent Scully?" Her eyes snapped up, "oh, it's you, Agent Delitos." "Yeah, I ah just... I have some free time right now. Do you want to come with me on a lead, and I'll tell you about the case?" Scully stared at him for a moment trying to interpret what he'd just said through her fog-clogged brain. She tried to clear her head of Mulder thoughts. "Yeah. Ok, I have some time too." She stood up and took the folder with her and followed him out of the office. "So this eighty-two year old woman claims that this spirit has been tormenting her?" "Yes, that's right." "Agent Delitos, can I ask you something?" "Oh yeah, sure." He replied, turning the steering wheel. "How'd you come to being assigned to the Sociology Dept.? I've never heard of it." Delitos looked at her suddenly, startled, but he wiped the surprise quickly off his face. How did she know about the Sociology Department? He wondered. "Oh, I'm interested in the paranormal like Agent Mulder. But I'm not looking for the same thing. What I want to do is disprove the stories. Show people that the supernatural doesn't exist." "Ok, I see." "So how is it you are still on the X-Files? Wouldn't think you would still be there all this time." "Let me ask you another question-how do you know so much about me?" "I checked out your background. I like to know what kind of person I'm working with on a case. You know your known all over the place. You and Agent Mulder have quite a history together. It's all people talk about. Not bad or anything. They say the two of you are the top couple agents in the field." "You mean the top two crazies in the field. It's so nice to be talked about. Never thought I'd be famous. Think I'll wind the FBI Award for most insane?" she cracked. "Well, at least you're recognized. I go to people and their like 'huh? Who the fuck are you?" She looked away from him and rolled her eyes. She decided it was best to change the subject. She was a little uncomfortable of the fact that he had looked into her background. In fact, the whole thing was a bit...weird. Since when did Skinner just reassign her, and that was all? He hadn't told her anything. It was as if Skinner was hiding something from them, "I'm sorry, I didn't have a chance to look through the case yet." "Oh, ok. PD was getting complaints from this woman, Mrs. Bekka Belere to come and arrest the previous owners of the house she lives in now. The police went to check it out, but found that the previous occupants were deceased. But the woman seems to believe that their ghosts are tormenting her because they want her to leave the house because they still live there." "And you don't think so. You think she's making this up?" "Yes. Don't you? She's old and lonely. She wants to get attention. So she..." he stopped because he had run out of words. "Well, I've seen a lot of strange things on the X-Files. While most of them can be explained through science, I have to admit, some are pretty out there." Delitos wasn't convinced. "Anything can be explained through one science or another. That's what I believe. That's why I asked you to work with me on this case. Your background into this type of phenomenon and hard science make you the perfect person for the job. You've had experience in both." He pulled up to the curb, "well, this is it." he said. She looked up at the house and noticed all the things wrong with it. Tall, dying, pine trees were placed evenly in line in front of the house. The grass and weeds were overgrown and uneven, sprouting in large clumps here and there. The paint was dirty and peeling, and dust front the windows was evident even from here. Even though the sun was out, the house was hidden in shadows. They walked up the steps and she knocked on the door. From inside, they heard nothing, "Mrs. Klasnov?" Scully called out. Delitos peered in through the dirty window, "it doesn't look like she's home," he replied and left the porch. He started walking around the side to go up the porch in back. Scully joined him there, "the door is open," he said, pushing it open slowly. "We'll get a warrant-" she started, but stopped when he went in anyway, ignoring her. "Why do I bother?" she muttered. "It doesn't look like anyone has been here for a while." She observed once she'd found him in one of the rooms. She scanned the furniture with her flashlight. "Yeah." He breathed, confused. He turned and left the room. Scully walked over to one of the windows and looked out. She ran her finger along the windowsill and lifted off a good inch of dust. His exit from the room went unnoticed, so she thought he was still there, and replied, "there's something wrong her. This house looks like it's been vacant for several years." His footsteps neared her and she waited for his reply. But all of a sudden, she felt his hand on her shoulder. She froze as he moved up and brushed her hair back from her neck. He held her hair back with his other hand, and she stared out the window in surprise. She was going to turn around and ask him what he thought he was doing, but he pinched her neck, heard, and let go. She wobbled a bit, and when she turned around, no one was there. But that wouldn't have mattered anyway, because in the next instant she was suddenly stricken blind and she grabbed hold of the window ledge to keep from falling, in shock. Once again she felt hands on her, pulling her away, and she tried to struggle but then she felt tired, and she couldn't make herself function. So she slipped into sleep and let the hands carry her. Mulder finally went back to his office, but Scully was gone. Which was just he best anyway, because he didn't want her to see him right now. He was going over those last few seconds in his head, but he couldn't come up with a reason why he'd said them out loud. His out burst startled them both, probably, no, most definitely, her more than him. She probably felt ashamed, guilty, and violated right now. He'd finally gotten it out of her, after all this time. Then, he'd gone running out of there with no explanation as to why he'd said it. Things would be different from now on. There was no going back even if they ignored this. But the thing was, what he wondered was s his reason for the outburst this morning, he realized was that she hadn't told him this long ago. When they would have more time. Now Scully's life was slowly draining away, and so much time was being lost. That's why he was mad. But not really mad. He'd didn't know what was what anymore. The only thing he'd ever known for sure what he wanted, was to find Samantha. But he wasn't so sure that's what he wanted right now. Would he rather lover her as a friend and nothing more, or risk a chance at true love and risk her friendship as well? He remembered a passage from a book he'd read long ago. Is it better to have loved and lost, or better to have never loved at all? Only if it was Scully. He couldn't imagine getting up every morning if it weren't' for the waiting anticipation of seeing her. And he loved those few moments when she would cast her shield away, like last night. She was a strong woman, the strongest there was, the kind that knew what they wanted and went after it. But at the same time, she as so deep inside herself. He only knew of one reason for that and that was tragedy, loss, pain. But as a child, she had none of that n her life. At least, none more so than others. He couldn't count it towards her fathers' death three years ago, or Melissa's either. She'd been that way since he'd met her. He turned the note over and over in his fingers, staring at her handwriting from earlier note. It was particularly bubblish and preppy. Unlike Scully, as he imagined her handwriting should be: small and neatly written, although this was very neatly written, too. Very unlike his own scribblish language. She was the doctor; she'd be more fitting with his instead. As for a doctor, if judging her occupation by her writing, no one would expect a thing. His thoughts wondered back to reality and he wondered where she'd gone. Today, Skinner's announcement of her temporary new a partner, had been vague, if to give it that much. He should have said more, now that he thought about it. But if he went up there and asked, he would get his ass kicked out. He looked at the calendar on the wall. When was February going to be over? Then, again, it had just started. He thought there was something odd about February, something he should be doing. He was getting fidgety, waiting for Scully to come back. He picked up the phone and called her on the cell phone. He wanted to talk to her in person, but for now he had to talk to her at least. Her phone rang and rang, and after eight rings, he hung up, somewhat worried now, he was. She opened her eyes to a dimly lit room. She looked around her and discovered she was lying on a bed. A very, very dirty bed. The light that filtered through was from a cracked and yellowing blind that was probably stuck pulled down for all the rest of eternity. How had she gotten here? she couldn't remember. She tried to sit up, but found that she was strapped down. The motion sent the room spinning, or her head, of which one she wasn't sure. She began to access the situation. She found that her hands were tied above her on a hook in the wall. She tried to turn her head back to see how they were tied. She grew up near boats from her father's job. She might possibly be able to untie it. She waited and listened for a few minutes to see if there were any breaks in the silence. None that she could tell. She grabbed hold of the rope with her hands and pulled herself up into a sitting position. She just might be able to break free if her head would stop its merry-go-round ride. There-the knots weren't too tight. She worked at it for several minutes then had to stop as her arms began to go numb. Finally her arms slid free. She shook her arms, getting rid of the ache of holding them up for so long. She had no idea how long she had been out. She walked to the door, which had been left open an inch. All was dark beyond. Carefully, she eased the door open, just enough to let her through. She reached behind her for her gun, but it was gone. She walked into the hall, glancing around. The dust made her sneeze. She tried to hold it in, but she was unable to stop it. She froze where she stood, and listened. She came to the conclusion that she was the only one in the house. A loud ringing noise filled the air and she jumped back, hitting the hall wall behind her. She realized it was her cell phone and let out her breath. She took it out of her pocket and put it to her ear. "Scully." "It's me, Scully. Where have you been? You weren't answering your phone for hours." "I'm ok, Mulder. I think there's something going on at this house." "What house?" he asked. "The house that Agent Delitos and I went to, where Skinner reassigned me." There was a brief moment of silence before he answered, "look, Scully, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean any of that...where are you now?" "I'm in the house...uh, something happened...and I don't know where Agent Delitos is." "What happened, Scully?" he asked. He knew he had a reason to worry. She walked into the room she had last been in when it happened earlier, but she wasn't sure what had happened. She couldn't remember anything, except that maybe Delitos was at fault. But she wasn't sure. "I don't know, Mulder, but he's gone and I don't know if he's at fault or not. I have to find him." "I, Scully? You don't want any help?" he asked. She smiled faintly, "if you were offering to help, Mulder, I'd appreciate it." She told him where she was, and an hour later he met her. "I was looking over the house. I don't think anyone's lived her in several years. Which is why I'm doubting Delito's case. And," she continued, leading him into a room off the side of the bare room, "I found foot prints over here. Their not mine." Mulder bent down to examine them at a closer look, "there to large to be yours anyway. They're a man's shoe. Or a really large woman's." He looked up at her, have you tried contacting him?" "I can't. I don't know where he lives, or his number. Or his first name for that matter. There's something else too, that I can't quite pinpoint. And I probably shouldn't have agreed to go with him earlier. I don't know anything about him, and he seems to know an awful lot about us." He pounded on the bars and screamed at the guard, but he was ignored. He sat back against the wall in the far corner of his cell. His recollections of the past two days were just a dim and jumbled memory. The most he could remember was a sudden flurry of movement and then he woke up here. Where ever this was. Chapter There: In the subject 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe; all mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shum the frumious Bandersnatch!" He took his vorpal sword in hand: Long time the manxome foe he sought- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, And stood awhile in thought. And as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgrey wood, And barbled as it came! One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back. "And hast thous slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" He chortled in his joy. 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did grye and gimble in the wabe; all mimsy were the borogroves, And the mome raths outgrabe. There was an investigation into Agent Delito's disappearance. Scully explained what had happened to her. Mulder as worried and Scully went to the DC lab to have some blood taken to determine what kind of drug she had been given. But there were no traces left in her blood and all they could conclude was that it probably was a hallucinogen. Delito's Assistant Director, Issac Casey had a meeting with Skinner early Wednesday morning. When they were through, Skinner called Scully and Mulder into his office, "Agents, have a seat." They sat down and waited silently for Skinner to tell them further news, "as you know, we have one lead and that is you, Agent Scully. Agent Delitos' Assistant Director Casey wants to know if you know anything else." "I don't." she replied. "Ok. He's planning on opening the investigation to any field agent who is free to help. I want bot of you to begin." Both agents nodded. "Well, that's all, unless you have anything to say." "No, sir." Scully replied. After they left and were walking down the hall, Mulder laid his hand on her arm to slow her down, "I hope you're not feeling guilty about this." Scully looked at him, "no. I didn't cause any of it." "Good, because your not and I don't want you feeling that way." She just nodded. They went back down to the house and went inside. There were four crime specialists inside, sifting over everything. "We have a size match on the footprints over here," they heard one of them say. "We got prints!" another yelled out suddenly after Mulder and Scully followed one of the crime specialists into the kitchen. There was white sifting powder on the counter to find any prints. Two specialists were at the other end with print tape and slides. Mulder walked over to them, "you have something?" "Yeah, it's not that good, but we'll take it to the lab. Hopefully we can at least get a partial image." Mulder turned to look at Scully, then turned back to the man, "we'll take that down for you. We were just on our way," he lied. He could literally feel Scully's boring into his head as he lied. "Ok, we'll get a match faster, thanks, Agent Mulder," he said and handed him the kit. "Come on, Scully," Mulder replied, pulling her along by her shoulder. She ignored his lie and followed him back to the car obediently. "What do you want with me?" he called out. The man sitting outside looked up from his book. He set the book down on the desk, then got up and disappeared. When he came back several minutes later, he had a plastic green cup in his hand. He reached in through the bars and threw the contents at the man inside, then walked back, sat down at the desk and resumed reading. Agent Delitos sputtered and gagged as the awful smell filled his senses. "You threw piss on me, you sick son of a bitch!?" The guy ignored him. Delitos spit and gagged, "let me out of here!" he yelled. He walked up to the bars and tried to shake them, "let me out of here, dammit!" He got up from the chair and walked down the hall, "Agent Mulder," he heard someone call. He turned around, "yeah?" "The prints you brought in, Agent Mulder, we have a match for them. Mulder followed him into the lab and stood behind him at the computer. "See this swirl here," he said, circling his finger around the image on the screen, "we were able to match it to someone in the FBI database." "You mean, someone who works here, their part of this?" "Yes, or it could be a careless mistake of one of the agents searching the home for evidence, but I doubt it. Where's Agent Scully?" he finally asked. "I'll feel her in on it later. Can you give me a name, Pendrell?" "Most certainly," he swiveled back around on the stole and changed the computer screen. A picture came up, "his name is Peter Holten and he was a Special Agent in Field Sciences. He retired about seven years ago. His partner Jack Kriegs still works here over in Violent if you want to go talk to him. I don't see how this Holten could be any threat. He was an excellent agent." Mulder looked at the screen, taking in the information and the suspected agents' features. "It's him." He finally replied. Pendrell looked at him in surprise, "how do you know?" "It's him," he said again, "tell Skinner and Casey." "Where you going, Agent Mulder?" "Tell them." He said nothing more and walked out of the lab. He ran his finger down the bridge of her nose where she-and he just a while ago-was sleeping against the back of the chair, "Scully, come on." She opened her eyes, "where?" she asked. He took her hand and pulled her up. She grabbed her coat off the back of the chair and put it on as he followed him out. 1616 Channel Street Virginia, 4:46pm He knocked on the door again but no one answered. He looked through the windows. "Mr. Holten? Are you there? It's the FBI," Scully called. Mulder went around back of the house and after a few minutes, called out her name. She went around the side then stopped, "Mulder?" she called out. He was nowhere to be seen. "Scully, in here," he said from inside the window. "Mulder...what are you doing?" "There's no one here, Scully," he said, climbing back out the window. "But I think I might have an idea." He held up a small piece of paper in his hand, then raced back up the side of the house to the car. In the car, Scully took the paper. It was crumbled. "Allens Grove, Lot 13, Section 11,21,56?" she inquired. "What does that sound like to you, Scully?" he turned his head to glance at her, then back to the road. "Storage?" "Close. It's a lot of warehouses out in Ranch Hill," then he went on to explain as she looked at him, "I have two cousins who live out there. Every time we would go visit, we would pass these warehouses. They all had their own names, like Kalgry Grove, Habough Grove, then series of numbers afterwards. Me and Samantha used to bet how many names and numbers we could remember by the time we got to the house. Usually we could only remember a couple of the groves." "How far is it?" "About an hour and a half. Call Skinner and Casey, and feel them in." He set down the phone, then hurried out of the room in a rush. He met the assistant director in the underground parking lot and together, along with six other cars, they got in and headed out to Ranch Hills. Skinner took out his gun and opened the cylinder. He wanted to be sure it was loaded. "Come on, lets get there," Casey mumbled, more to himself than to the agent driving. They pulled up at the gates to the entrance of the lot. Skinner, Casey and the agent got out of the car. The rest of the cars pulled up behind them. Through a walkie-talkie, Skinner set up procedures, "everyone go in quietly. We don't want to alarm this guy." The agents went in, then split up. Skinner turned when a car came driving up and stopped behind Skinner. He walked briskly over to them. "You better be certain about this, Agent Mulder." "I am," he replied and reached behind him to unholster his gun. Skinner let them pass and they both went in. they moved off to the left of the row of warehouses, "Scully, over here." She looked up at the plate above the door: Allens Grove Lot 13 Section 11,21,56. Scully pulled out her gun and waited on the right side of the door for Mulder to open it, "ready? One, two...three," he whispered. Light filtered in through the small high windows and laid shapes on the ground. Mulder taped her arm and pointed in the direction of a sound. It was the sound of iron being hit by a solid object. Mulder and Scully raced towards the sound. But before they could reach the door, a man came through it. He stopped in surprise and his eyes went wide. Scully and Mulder both stopped simultaneously. "Stop where you are, Peter Holten!" Mulder yelled, directing his gun at the man. Scully stepped closer, "come away from the door and put your hands up!" Mr. Holten did neither and stepped back through the door and slammed it shut. Mulder squeezed off a shot. Mulder ran up to the door and turned the knob, "He's got it locked." He stepped back and fired to shots into the framework. The door was opened again, "don't come near me," he said, "I have explosives!" he cried and with that he lifted his shirt to show them. Mulder glanced at Scully; she was looking at the orange rolls of dynamite tied to his stomach. She turned her head slowly to watch him. Slowly, he reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone, all the while, his gun trained on Holten. "This is Agent Mulder. Tell your men out there that he's here in Allens Grove. Lot 13, Section 11,21,56." Skinner hung up. Mulder put the phone back and returned his attention back to the matter at hand, "sir! If you would just let Agent Delitos go we can work this out. It's all in your hands." "You're right, the balls in my court and I suggest you and the missus come in the room here with me." "I don't think we'll be doing that just yet," Mulder said. "Why don't you just release Agent Delitos. What business do you want with him?" "It's none of your own damn business." He spit out, "now get on the damn floor like I say!" "We will shoot you if you give us no choice." "If you shoot me, this whole place will be blown up and I ain't afraid of no gun! Now throw your guns over here and get down on your stomach!" They both hesitated, "call up your friends in the FBI and tell them if they come in here, I won't hesitate to blow you all up." he watched them, "DO IT NOW!" Mulder did as told and ended the call, "good, now this is the last time. Don't test me." They threw their guns down, risking them going off, and they went sliding across the floor. They got down on their stomachs and waited to see what would happen next. "Good. Now stay there," he walked over and stopped to pick up the guns. Mulder turned his head to look at Scully. God, what were they going to do now? The thing you never did in a hostage situation was give up your gun or get in a position lower than the hostage taker. But what else were they to do? A man desperate enough to arm himself with explosives could be desperate enough to blow everyone up, including himself, and at the cost of their own lives, they couldn't risk that. Peter Holten watched them from the door. One gun he had put some where in the room behind him, the other held by his side. Suddenly a noise ran out and both Scully and Mulder instinctively felt for their phone. The man laughed and replied, "you know, you guys are so funny. You always think it's your pone. But sometimes it's not. I'll just be a bullet away, so if you move, you won't get far," he disappeared. Skinner's agents took that as an entrance and ran up along the sides of boxes. "Get back!" Mulder whispered. They all ignored him. They must not have gotten skinners message. Scully edged closer. She whispered in his ear, "you didn't really call, did you?" He looked at her and she knew the answer. Peter Holten stepped out from the room at that moment, "what are you doing here? I thought you called them and told them to back off," he stood there in anger, "I'll tell you what, there's no savin your pal back there, so you might as well just try to save yourselves," he said to them all. "I count to five, then I'll pull this here tab." "You'll die too if you do this-" Mulder began. "Don't you think I know that? But what's the point of going out if you don't do it the right way? One! Two!" Mulder jumped up, pulling Scully with him and ran. They didn't make it more than ten feet when an explosion rocked them off their feet. It landed them about five feet away, it wasn't a large explosion at all like Scully thought it would be. They rolled on the floor, his arms wrapped around her as they landed. They stayed that way till they realized that they were all right. Mulder pulled away and got to his knees, unsure if something would happen next. Part of the wall where Holten had been standing was gone. He couldn't see his body anywhere. Most likely, he was all over the place. The agents, all surprised to be alive, got up from their places. He helped Scully to her feet and holding on to her arm they walked cautiously towards the destruction. Several agents began to make their way over. Mulder stepped through the door into an office. He looked around and saw the open door to a jail cell. He looked in, "Scully," he called. She walked over, glancing at him before looking in. Agent Delitos was slumped on the floor in a puddle of his own blood. "Peter Holten never had any intention of killing anyone but himself," Mulder said. Skinner and Casey looked into the cell as forensics were putting Agent Delitos' in a body bag. Skinner went of to Agents Mulder and Scully and replied to them sincerely, "you did a good job agents. There's noting you could have done to prevent this. Forensics are reporting that Agent Delitos has been dead for more than eight hours." The agents both nodded and watched as the body was taken out of the cell. Scully put her hand on Mulders arm as she walked away. When he finally went outside, Scully was sitting in the car, waiting, "everything's done here, now we can go home." "Ok," she replied. He looked at her for a few minutes till finally she looked away and put on her seatbelt. He was still shook up from the fact that today they could have died. He guessed she felt the same way, even more so by the fact that she was all ready dying. That thought sent an icy jolt through his stomach. His heart ached considerably for her and he wanted to reach over and hold her. But this was hardly the place to do that. As he stared out the front window, he thought about what the Kurt Crawford clones had told him. What he had seen in that room in the hospital. About Dr. Scanlons sudden disappearance and all the MUFON women who had died. Scully was the last to still be alive. Well, not the last-there would always be more. "Mulder?" She jolted him out of his reverie and looked at her. He turned back and started the car. Chapter 4: Moonlight on a Castle When he finally dropped her off, it was dusk. A thin line of sunset could still be seen at the edge of the hills to the west. He waited until she disappeared in the doors, then pulled away. He went home and sat down on the couch with out turning on any lights. He flipped on the TV to fill in the silence. He sat there for a while till he had an idea. An idea that might make things a little better. And harder, because there was a risk of getting too close, then losing her. He got up and left the apartment. She turned off the TV when someone knocked on the door. She opened it up to find Mulder standing there with his hands behind his back. "Can I come in, Scully?" She opened the door wider to let him in. when she closed the door and turned to him, there was a bouquet of flowers being held out to her. Her jaw dropped slightly in surprise. "What is this, Mulder?" she asked. "I'm remembering your birthday this year. It's early, but it's better than not at all, huh?" he attempted at slight humor. "Besides, it might not happen again for another four years," he thought a moment. "Kinda like dog years." "Dog years? I'm a dog now? Thank you. Flowers two times in one week, Mulder. This is a different side of you." "That's not all," he replied and took her arm, "I want to show you something else." "Oh?" she looked at him as he took her to the door. When they were in the car, he pulled out a handkerchief, "turn around. I don't want you to see where we're going." She started to protest, but the look he gave her kept her silence. She let him tie it around her, closing off her sight, "I feel ridiculous." "Well, don't." "How about I just leave it off till we're half way there?" "Nope. You have to leave it on the whole time. You might figure out where we're going." She gave in and let him have his way. He wouldn't relent and she knew that. That was her weakness. The drive was quiet and he thought she might have fallen asleep. But when he turned the radio onto a rap station, she in no terms ordered him to change it. "I was just testing, Scully." she was probably making one of her 'yeah, sure. Fine. Whatever.' He couldn't see her face in the darkness that had settled. And he couldn't see her eyes, which were the most descriptive. He was at the destination now. The sounds would probably give it away, but there was no way to turn nature off at its work. He helped her out of the car and led her down the sidewalk that followed into the beach for about twenty feet before abruptly ending. He stopped her there. "Mulder, where are we?" she asked inquisitively. He let go of her and she felt naked without his presence beside her. She felt a cool breeze and what felt like the spray of water. No way, she thought. He had not just brought her to the beach. The closest one was three hours away. Of course, she had fallen asleep in the car, but it had only felt like a little time had passed. Then she had woken up and sat there in silence till he turned on the radio to a rap station of all stations. Suddenly, warm hands incased her face and tender lips found her own. She jumped in surprise of the sudden contact and a deep pain filled her stomach. Was it nervousness? Her arms reached up to clasp his own and immediately he pulled back. She had never felt so ridiculous in all her life, standing there in front of him with a handkerchief bound across her eyes. She closed her mouth, then opened it slightly again to breath. Neither of them said anything. They didn't need to. This was his way of telling her all the things he felt and letting her at the same time show him her feelings without making her make the first move. She reached her hand up to hold the side of his face. He bent forward and pulled her close, wrapping his hands around her back in a strong hold. She wrapped both arms around his neck and pressed lightly. With one hand she untied the knot behind her head and wrapped her arm back around, letting the handkerchief dangle from her fingers till she let it drop. Now she was afraid to pull away, to look into his eyes. The course they were taking had taken a wide turn in the opposite direction. But she pulled away finally, but was not able to look at him. He lifted her chin with his finger and stared at her a long moment. The moment was uncomfortable and she turned her head. He took it to mean that she wanted to take a walk along the beach. Anyway, it would ease some of the uncomfortableness that she was feeling. They took off their shoes and socks and left them in the cement, then walked along the tree line. After awhile they made their way closer to the water and she sat down in the sand, "have you ever made a sandcastle?" he asked. She looked at him, "no." "Then why don't we make one?" he said. He began digging sand into a pile. "Are you going to help?" she did. They built a rather lopsided mound with a few holes for windows. "Well, I've seen much better ones on TV." Scully replied, looking at the awful thing. "Scully!" he feigned shock, "what are you talking about? This is a piece of art! We could go up in history for this!" "For what? Sandcastles for Dummies, who actually are dumb?" "Oh, now you're insulting my intelligence, too?" he feigned surprise again. "No, I wouldn't dare, Mulder. Especially when there's miles of water so close." She stared out at the dark ocean. "Oh, well there's plenty of other ways to make you disappear," he said, then an uncomfortable few seconds followed as the realization of what he said sunk in, "sorry." "It's okay. How about if I try one? At least mine'll look like I didn't put sand in a pile and say 'look at my beautiful sandcastle'." "Yeah, you gotta put work into these things. They're so stubborn to build. Like you," it was out of his mouth before he'd realized he'd said it. But to his relief she ignored the comment. Past midnight now, all sounds but the water had faded out. Maybe it was time to go home. As he let her out in front of her house again, he asked, "hey, Scully, are you going to be at work tomorrow?" "Ain't I always? Mulder-" she started. "Good night, Scully," he interrupted and closed the door. Once at home, she took a shower then sat down on the bed. She couldn't sleep now. Her heart was still pounding hard and it hadn't stopped all night. She sat down at her desk, turned on her laptop, and began writing out her report. In light of the on-going investigation into the death of Special Agent Craig Delitos, no motives have been depicted and an in depth investigation will be continued until this matter is solved. I don't know what went on in that house in Brenwood, why a case involving an elderly woman convinced of ghosts was made up to cover up the truth. The house has been condemned for eight years and must have been a distraction to take Agent Delitos, and to drug me and tie me up so they could come back later. But I was gone when they came back. Reason as to why they picked Agent Delitos is still unclear as the investigation goes on. The only suspects of the case itself are now victims of death and there is no further questioning into Special Agent Peter Holten. She saved her work and closed the laptop. There was nothing further she could write about it. The case was out of their hands, which was just as well, and the final report would be made by one of the agents now in charge of the investigation. What is happening to her? What is happening to me? When I look in her eyes all The depth is what I see. It's so hard to bare A moment to wipe away a tear Pouty lips, the same color As her hair, rain wash Down so they cover my tears. Alone is not an option Blessed is me by him His soul is divine and His mind is just so... So words can not describe What I've felt for him so long. But what's happening to me? It won't be long before I'm gone And what will happen to him? What will happen to him when I'm gone? Note: This is the longest piece of X-Files fan fic I have written so far. I hope to write longer. I hope you all enjoy reading this and given me feed back on it. If you don't, they will be out to get you. They may be watching right now.