CHAPTER EIGHT

Time and tide
nothing and no one can stop us now
for better, for worse
this time I'm sure it's gonna last
gonna last forever
we've got time
baby, there's no rush
gonna be a better day for us
hang on and I will wait for you
our love will always stay as good as new
- Basia, Time and Tide
 

The weeklong rain showers had helped to cool things down, the draught
worn-soil temporarily saturated with moisture, leaving large shiny
puddles in respite.  Mulder cracked his window and breathed in the
fresh smell of wet pavement as he pulled up in front of a small,
elegant Italian restaurant with a brick facade and potted trees dressed
with small  white lights that reflected off of the glistening pavement.

Scully looked over at him as a valet ran around to the driver's side of
the car.  "Have you ever eaten here before, Mulder?"  She asked, a hint
of amusement in her voice.

"No, but my good buddy, Walter, told me they have great calamari."  He
flashed her a grin as he slid out of his seat, taking the ticket from
the valet as another valet opened the door and helped Scully out of the
passenger side.  He jogged around the front of the car, placing his
hand on her back to escort her inside.

The restaurant was dimly lit, most of the ambient light coming from
more small sparkling lights on potted ficus trees in the corners and
soft glowing candles on the tables.  Each table was draped with crisp
white tablecloths and the waiters wore starched white shirts with black
pants, vests, black bow ties and long white aprons.  The music was old
jazz - Sinatra and Rosemary Clooney crooning gently in the background
to the sound of silverware scraping against china and soft
conversation.

Scully raised an eyebrow as the maitre'd lead her to a small table in
the back corner near one of the ficus trees, Mulder following directly
behind.  Skinner had suggested that Mulder bring her here?  It raised
the question as to what exactly Skinner thought was going on between
them.

She wished she knew herself.

Mulder watched her closely as she navigated between the tables, noting
how the environment seemed to shift around her, the patrons watching
her with admiration as she passed, keeping her the moving center of the
room.  She truly was beautiful, but he was biased on that subject.  She
packed a powerful presence in that petite frame and she knew she was
intelligent, she even knew she was attractive, yet she had no idea just
how attractive she was when you considered the whole package.  For him,
her lack of total self-awareness was part of her collective charm.

He sucked in a breath and blew it back out, wondering if he was in a
little over his head.  He hadn't been on a date in years and this
wasn't just a date, it was Scully.  He had everything to gain if he did
this right.

They were seated and handed menus, and Mulder ordered two glasses of
Chardonnay from the bar.  Behind her menu Scully drew in a nervous
breath.  The air between them was still slightly awkward; it had been
since they left her apartment.  They were both relieved to have
something to divert their attention to, the waiter giving them ample
time to peruse the menu before returning to take their order.  Mulder
asked for a calamari appetizer out of respect for Skinner's
recommendation, and the linguine pescatore for himself.  Scully opted
for the chicken piccata with vegetables on the side.

When the waiter had left they looked at each other once again.

Scully broke the silence first.  From his choice in restaurants and his
behavior it was clear that Mulder wanted to set things right between
them.  She hoped that they would be able to do so.

"I'm sorry I tried to ignore you at Agent Mancina's luncheon the other
day, Mulder.  I was...still angry with you, and there were so many
people there from Forensics..."

He shook his head.  "It's okay, Scully.  There were things I wanted to
say to you, too."  His eyes wandered over her face as she spoke and he
could see that she wanted to work things out as much as he did.  He
took a deep breath and dove in.  "You look good.  Great, actually."

She looked back at him a minute before replying.  "So do you, Mulder.
Better than the last time I saw you."

He cleared his throat, sitting straighter in his chair.  "About
that...I'm, uh, sorry for my behavior at the hotel.  I know you were
looking out for my best interests and despite my bizarre way of showing
it, I do appreciate the effort."

She nodded slightly, looking into his eyes and reading his sincerity.
"Apology accepted."  She looked down at her wine glass a moment, her
breathing shallow.  "Mulder..." his name stretched slowly, taking a
deep breath before continuing, "why didn't you tell me about Leslie
Martin the night we were at Hansen House?"

He chewed on his lip, looking at his own wine glass before looking up
at her.  "I don't have a good reason for that.  Would you believe me if
I said that I didn't think it was significant at the time?"

She kept her gaze on him.  "What about after we found out about the
Lisa Lewis and Karen Darby connection?  After I received the flowers
and the invitation from Senator Harman?"

Mulder fidgeted a bit.  "I didn't make that connection until the day we
met with Skinner and he reassigned you to the lab."  He paused.
"Leslie Martin came to see me just as I was getting ready to come to
your apartment.  She was dressed just like you.  I thought she WAS you
for a minute.  She told me to tell you to cooperate, that we didn't
know the kind of people we were dealing with.  She was frightened for
her own safety, I think.  With just cause, obviously."

Scully looked down again.  He had been at her apartment that same
evening but still hadn't mentioned the woman or her visit.  She felt
her stomach sinking, the familiar let down that occurred whenever
Mulder dropped one of his omissions on her.  She knew he thought he was
protecting her by not telling her, but it didn't stop the sting of the
truth as it continued to slap her in the face.  "But you didn't tell
me, Mulder."

Mulder could see her hurt at his confession and he closed his eyes,
letting out a breath before looking back at her.  "Scully..."

She licked her lips and met his gaze.  "Mulder, I know why you feel
like you have to keep things from me, but..." she paused a moment,
thinking.  "I can't continue to work with you like this.  Not if I have
to wonder if you're telling me everything or if you're keeping things
from me because you're worried about my safety or whether I can handle
the truth."

His eyes became dark and fixed on her at her words, his mouth opening
in surprise.  "What are you saying?  You would leave?"

"No.  Not leave.  I'm as invested in the work as you are.  But if we
are no longer able to operate as a team, then we need to look into
other ways of getting the work done, separately."

"Scully," he said softly, "that's not what I want.  Look, I admit that
my judgement in this case was way off.  I never should have manipulated
the situation to get you removed from the investigation.  But when it
comes to you and your safety, I have to trust my instincts.  Ninety
percent of the time I've been right."

"What about the other ten percent, Mulder?  Do I get relegated back to
the lab?  That's not my definition of a partnership."

He snapped his mouth closed.  "Alright."  He licked his lips.  "Look.
I am sorry that I went to Danny and asked him to recruit you into the
lab.  It was my problem with the Padgett case that left me feeling
vulnerable about my ability to protect you, and I overcompensated by
trying to tuck you away where you couldn't get hurt.  It had nothing to
do with your ability as an agent.  You're a great agent, and there's no
one, NO ONE, that I would trust more working beside me."  He reached
across the table and grabbed her hand, his eyes intense and his voice
full of passion.  "We're a team, Scully.  You and I.  Nothing can
change that.  Not Skinner or Cancerman or Senator Harman or anyone
else."

At that moment the waiter reappeared with their appetizer, and they
reluctantly pulled their hands away, the power of Mulder's intensity
still hanging in the air.  Scully was left feeling a little out of
sorts and she reached out for her water glass, taking a sip and forcing
her breathing back down to normal.  She glanced around the restaurant,
looking at the faces of the other patrons enjoying their food and their
companions.  In the background, Barbra Streisand was wailing about
people who need people.

Wasn't that the whole point?

She looked at Mulder sipping his wine.  His face was slightly flushed
and their eyes met as he put his glass back down on the table.
"You could have told me you were having difficulty with the Padgett
case, Mulder."  She said softly.  "I didn't know.  If I did, we could
have dealt with it together."

"You had enough to deal with on your own."  He reached over and grabbed
his wine glass again.  "I thought I could handle it."

She nodded, watching his face.  "So what changed your mind?"

He sighed and sat back, looking into the glass.  "Seeing you, or what
I thought was you, lying on the floor of that hotel room covered in
blood.  I knew it was Leslie Martin, I had been speaking with her, but
at some point something snapped.  For weeks I had been reliving the
moment I found you on the floor in my apartment, only in the replayed
version, you didn't wake up."  He took a sip of wine, then looked at
her sorrowfully.

Her eyes were full of empathy.  "Mulder..." she said gently, "you were
under a great deal of stress."

He took a deep breath.  "Skinner sent me to Psych Services."  He
stated.  "He wouldn't let me continue with the investigation until I
spoke with someone about it."

Scully took a breath and let it out slowly.  "You spoke with Karen
Kosoff?"

He nodded.  "Psychologist heal thyself."  He grinned wryly.  "I thought
I didn't need to speak to anyone, let alone a professional.  But she
helped me to see through a few things."  He let out a soft laugh.  "She
also focused my attention on some behavioral patterns that were
damaging the significant relationships in my life."

Scully forced back the smile that was playing on her lips.  He'd been
through quite a lot in the last week and he really was trying very hard
to make it all come out right.

"Such as?"  She prompted.

"Trying to handle everything myself, for one thing.  Not that I can
change overnight, but I should be able to recognize it better when I'm
doing it now."  He smiled at the smile she was no longer able to
conceal.  "She thinks quite highly of you, you know."

She raised her eyebrow in response.  "You spoke about me with Karen?"

He laughed.  "Of course.  You're my partner.  What, you didn't talk
about me when you went to see her?"

She smiled demurely.  "Maybe...in passing."  She looked up at him in
embarrassment, a slight flush coloring her cheeks as she reached for
her own wine glass.  "How did you know I'd seen her, Mulder?  I've
never mentioned it."

He shrugged.  "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Scully, you
can't tell me everything, I understand that.  I'd like it if you
trusted me with everything, but it's more important that you have
someone to talk to when you need to."

She took in a deep breath and a sip of wine.  "I'd like to be able to
tell you everything, Mulder."

He paused, watching her closely.  "But..."

She raised her eyes to his a moment, then looked back into her glass,
shaking her head.

He watched her face.  "What?"

She sighed.  "Sometimes, Mulder..." she looked up at him, then paused.
"You're not always available."

His face wore an expression of hurt and acceptance.  "When?"  He asked.
She looked at him, but didn't respond.  "When, Scully?  Tell me."

She watched his face, knowing he would accept a certain amount of
undeserved guilt over any admission she gave.  "Forget it, Mulder.
It's not important."

His eyes narrowed in assessment.  "The Pudovkin case."

She raised her eyebrows but didn't look at him, taking another sip of
her wine.  Leave it to Mulder to start big.  She wasn't about to touch
that one.

He paused, watching her.  "Ruskin Dam."  He said with conviction, his
voice faltering.

Her eyes were wide and she swallowed back the lump sitting in her
throat.  "Mulder..." she paused briefly, "it's really not important.
Let's just eat, ok?"  She glanced up at him briefly, then reached for
the calamari.

Mulder sat back in his chair, watching her the way he watched a suspect
during an interrogation.  "Talk to me, Scully."

She put the calamari back down on the table and rested her hands in her
lap, her face turned down toward her hands.  She began speaking without
looking up.  "Mulder, there are a lot of things we should say to each
other, a lot of things we probably should have said long ago.  I don't
think we're prepared to have this conversation right now."  She turned
her face up to look at him.  "Not without getting into subjects that
are currently closed for discussion."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and considered her
words carefully, knowing exactly to what she had been referring.  She
was right, among other things, Diana Fowley and her involvement in his
past was a subject he wasn't ready to discuss with her.  There was
still a great deal of tension between them over that subject, and it
would take more than just a reconciliatory dinner to get through.  He
sat up straight, nodding slightly, then reached across the table and
wrapped his fingers around hers.  "Then let's just say we'll work
toward it."

She looked down at the table where their hands were tentatively but
powerfully connected, then back at his face, nodding.  "Small steps."

"Small steps."  They smiled briefly at each other, then he reluctantly
let go of her hand and reached for the appetizer, serving her first
before helping himself.
 
 

They made it through dinner chatting comfortably about less important
things; summer blockbusters and office politics, baseball, tennis and
women's soccer.  After dinner they drove back to Scully's apartment.
She didn't offer and he didn't ask to come in, it was already assumed
that he would.  Things felt right, like they'd come back to the same
page, he realized as he strolled past her through the open doorway and
stopped in the middle of the room, staring without seeing at something
outside of the window.

"Do you want anything?  Coffee?"  She asked, cracking the windows and
the blinds to let the cool evening air into the stuffy room.

He didn't reply and she looked over her shoulder at him, realizing that
he was lost in thought, so she moved over to sit on the sofa and wait.

After a moment, he looked over at her.  "There's something I want to
tell you, Scully."  His voice was low and serious.

She looked up at him, her brow furrowing as concern covered her face.
"What is it?"  She asked softly, her voice coming out higher in pitch
than usual.  She never knew what to expect, she only hoped that
whatever it was, it wouldn't leave her feeling lost and alone again.

He looked at her intensely, his desire for her to believe him pouring
off of him in waves.  "I didn't meet with Leslie Martin to have sex
with her."

"Mulder..." she paused, holding his gaze and licking her lips again.
"Whatever your reasons..." she paused once more and took a breath to
start again, then let it out.  "Mulder, it's none of my business.  I
shouldn't have asked you what I asked this afternoon."  She closed her
eyes, then looked back up at him.  "I'm sorry."

He chewed on his bottom lip, watching her face.  "You know, Scully, I'm
not much different than any other guy.  I do have the same
temptations."  After a moment he drew in a deep breath, fixing on her
with wide, open eyes.  "I'll be the first one to admit I haven't
exactly been a saint."

She looked to the side, suddenly unable to look at him as tension
coursed through her.  She swallowed, waiting for him to continue.

He looked her over, sensing her discomfort.  "Still, you of all people
should know that I wouldn't resort to something like that."

She met his gaze and regarded him for a moment before dropping her
eyes.  "Do I, Mulder?"  Her voice was nearly a whisper.  "Your
fascination with adult entertainment aside, there are a lot of things
about your personal life that I don't know."

"You know the most important things."  He continued to stare at her
with a focused intensity that made it difficult for her to reciprocate.
Her pulse was racing and she couldn't remember a time when the tension
had been this thick between them, even when they were arguing over a
case.  He stepped up to the sofa and placed a finger under her chin,
tilting her face up toward his.  Their eyes met and he brushed his
knuckles against her cheek.  "However attractive I might have found
her, she wasn't you, Scully."  His eyes were warm and his voice soft.
"And you do have the right to ask.  You've had that right for a long
time."

Scully stared back at him, her hand coming up to grip his wrist
tightly.  He stepped closer, gently pulling her to her feet.  With his
free hand he reached out to draw his index finger over her lips,
dipping into the indentation just below her nose, over her full upper
lip and down to her lower lip, caressing gently.  Her breathing had
become shallow and her eyes never left his as she tightened her hold on
his wrist.

Mulder watched her for a sign to stop, or at least to slow down.  "Is
this okay?"  He asked softly.

She gave him a slight nod, and he cupped her face between his hands,
bending his face to hers as she rose up on tiptoe to meet him.  Their
lips touched softly, lightly grazing against each other, then pulling
apart.

His hands slid down her shoulders, caressing her bare arms.  "I
don't want to ignore this anymore, Scully."  He whispered, his eyes on
hers.

She let go of his wrist and slid her arms up his chest, linking her
hands behind his neck. Her breathing labored, she moved to kiss him
again and he snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her tightly
against him, deepening the kiss.

When they broke for air her hands slid back down his chest to clutch
little handfuls of shirt.  His hands moved sensually up and down her
back and over her bottom, pressing her body firmly into his.  "We
should talk about this."  She rasped breathlessly as she laid her
forehead against his chest.

He nuzzled his nose against her temple.  "Okay.  You first."

She drew in a shaky, cleansing breath and let go of his shirt.  "I
can't do this with your hands on my ass, Mulder."  He let go with a
grin and she stepped back, reclaiming her objectivity.  Glancing up at
him, she couldn't help but smile in response to the glint in his eyes.
She took in another breath.  "We seem to be in agreement about where
this is heading.  The question now is, what are we going to do about
it?"

"I think that's obvious."  He replied with a slightly sarcastic smirk,
his eyes shining brightly as he reached out and slid his fingers down
her cheek once more.

She closed her eyes to the sensation, a soft hum escaping her lips.
"Mulder..." she whispered.  "You know it's not that simple."  She
looked up at him.

He drew his fingers into her hair, combing gently.  "That pent-up on-
the-job tension won't bother us so much anymore."  Looking down, he saw
her staring up at him without humor.

"That might not be such a bad thing.  We'd probably get more
accomplished that way."  She stated clinically.

He grinned self-consciously, and she snickered softly despite herself.
Placing a kiss against her temple, his voice grew serious.  "If you
really think about it, Scully...it will change very little, and then
only the small stuff."

She was silent, her eyes closing as she reveled in the feel of his
hands in her hair.  She wanted this - him - so very much.  That he
wanted her in that way was still amazing to her, in spite of the fact
that she'd had several days to dwell on it.  Contrary to her usual
pragmatic behavior, she just wanted to take a leap of faith, live for
the moment and trust that it would all work itself out later.  If only
she could allow herself that simple pleasure.

Mulder slid his fingertips down her back to lightly caress the skin
exposed through the thin straps of her dress, feeling the goose bumps
rising on her as she drew in a shaky breath.  He grinned at her
reaction, leaning in, his lips brushing her ear as he continued
intimately,  "C'mon, Scully...we're already friends."

She caught her breath.  "Mmmm hmmm..." she replied with a shiver.

"We know each other well enough to recognize the times when we'll need
to focus on the work."  He placed a kiss on her forehead, "and the
times when one or the other of us needs a little private space..." he
placed soft kisses on her cheeks, running his lips lightly down her
jawbone.

"We have that now, Mulder."  She stated, pointing out the obvious.

He raised his head just slightly and looked at her under hooded
eyelids.  She gazed back at him, her eyes shining in an unspoken
challenge.

"But I want so much more, Scully."  His mouth hovered over hers,
teasing, until she let out an impatient little sigh.  He pressed a
gentle kiss to her lips briefly before slanting his head and covering
her mouth with his, his tongue pushing between her teeth while he
gathered her in his arms, pulling her close.  Just as she was melting
into the kiss he broke it, grinning with wet lips.  "We'll have to work
at finding a balance, of course, considering we have six years of
catching up to do."

She looked up at him with eyebrows raised.  He knew exactly what he was
doing and what her concerns would be, which shouldn't really be
surprising, considering his formidable talent for getting inside
people's heads.  After six years together, how could he not know a
thing or two about the machinations of Dana Scully's mind?

His hands were resting loosely on her hips and she laid her hands on
his forearms, squeezing gently as she looked down.  "I want you to stay
here tonight, Mulder..." when she looked up, he was beaming at her.

"Scully, I know you've been hot for my body since the day we met..."

She flashed him a reproachful look.  "I'm not finished."

He closed his eyes.  "I hear a big 'but' coming.  Don't tell me you're
throwing me out again."

She gave him her no nonsense look that he knew was just covering her
amusement.  "I want you to stay here tonight because I don't want to
feel that there is pressure to end this evening any particular way."

Mulder looked relieved and he nodded with understanding.  "I'm going to
leave that completely up to you, Scully.  Whatever you want."

Her eyebrows arched briefly and she looked a bit surprised.  "Mulder,
you've got just as much input into this as I do."

He looked at her with intensity.  "You KNOW what I want."  His voice
was nearly a growl it was so low.

She closed her eyes and smiled before drawing a breath and looking up
at him.  There was a light flush covering her face and she said, "Well,
without forcing the issue, let's try talking things out and see where
that takes us."

Mulder sat down on the sofa and looked at her with a smile as he
loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button and cuffs of his shirt.
"Mind if I at least get comfortable?"

She gave him a smile as she slid off her shoes and sat down next to
him, tucking her legs up under her.  Mulder's arm wrapped around her
shoulders and she was both surprised and pleased by the action as he
let out a long, satisfied sigh of contentment.  She looked up at him
with amusement and he grinned back at her.

"So tell me...the day we met, what WAS your first impression?"  He
asked casually, as if the question had suddenly popped into his head.

She smiled to herself.  "You're not serious."

"You thought that?"  He asked, acting surprised, his mouth falling
slightly open.

"No, I mean about this topic of conversation."  She wore her skeptical
look.

"Answer the question, Scully."

She sighed, and glanced at him sideways.  "I thought you were...cute."

"You did not."  He feigned humility, enjoying the topic way too much to
hide his grin.

"I did."  She burrowed into his side, resting her hand on his chest,
just over his heart.  His hand came up to cover hers, holding it in
place.  She closed her eyes, soaking in the forgotten sensations of
physical intimacy - he was tracing light patterns up and down her arm
with his fingertips, leaving her skin tingling.

"Aren't you going to ask?"  He asked her after a long moment, his
breath ruffling through the hair at her crown.

"I'm not sure I want to know."  She replied, eyes still closed, before
tilting her face up and looking at him.  "You didn't like anyone
invading your turf."

"I questioned your assignment to the X-Files, but that didn't mean I
wasn't excited to have someone with your credentials to help me out."
He moved his hand from hers and cupped her cheek, caressing with his
thumb as he grinned at the memory.  "Although you were such a
smartass..."

She sat up again.

"ME?"  Her voice was sharp.

She glared at him as he continued, "...so fresh, and so very pretty."
He watched the moisture rise in her eyes and he continued, his voice
whisper-soft.  "I've always thought you were beautiful, Scully.  Even
more so as I got to know the person inside."

She looked down and swallowed back the lump in her throat.  He could be
so damned sweet when he wanted to, saying just the right thing.  Of
course, she knew that on occasion he found her somewhat attractive -
she'd have been blind to miss the stolen glances and off-handed remarks
accumulated over the years.  She was sure he'd noticed the same from
her.  Still, it was nice to have it acknowledged, even if it was
conveniently timed.

She grinned and looked back up at him.  "Nice try, Mulder, but you're
still not getting me to admit that I was hot for your body."

He laid his head back against the sofa and sighed in mock defeat, then
lifted it up and smiled at her.  "Really, Scully.  You need to learn
how to take a compliment when it's offered to you."  She rolled her
eyes and he continued.  "You see!  Repeat after me..."

"Mulder..."

"Just go with it, Scully.  Go on...now I'm going to give you a
compliment."  He looked into her eyes and said, "Scully, you're
beautiful.  All you need to say is, 'thank you, Mulder.'"

"Mulder..." she sat up straight, pulling her face back to look at him
fully.

"...thank you, Mulder.  Go on, say it."

Her voice was flat as she glared at him.  "Thank you, Mulder."

He shook his head.  "Let's try it again.  Scully, the evening sky weeps
with jealousy over the color of your eyes."

She let out a short laugh.  "Come on..."

"Scully!  This isn't a joke."

"The sky weeps, Mulder?"

He rolled his eyes in exasperation.  "Will you just stop?  Just stop!
I'm not giving up until you take this seriously."

She sighed.  "Oh, alright."

He chewed his lower lip, seriously studying her.  "Thank you, Mulder."

She let out another impatient little sigh, picking uncomfortably at a
thread on the sofa cushion.  "Thank you, Mulder."  She mumbled.

"Alright."  He turned his face and leaned in closer to hers, his voice
dropping to a near whisper.  "Scully, you light up my life."

She looked up, half expecting to see him smirking at her.  But his face
was serious and his eyes were warm as he gazed at her tenderly.  A
breeze blew through the open window and caressed his hair.

"Thank you, Mulder."  She replied softly but audibly, reaching out and
placing her hand against his cheek.

"You know, Scully..." he looked down, then back into her eyes.  "You
give me hope to carry on."  She blinked at him and he continued, "You
light up my days and fill my nights with song."  A spark flickered in
his eyes, and she rolled hers, pushing against his chest with her
hands.

"Mulder!  You can be such a jerk."  She laughed and he grinned, taking
her hands in his.

"It's true, you know."  He turned her hands over and kissed each
upturned palm.

She sat back against the sofa wearing a smug grin, then looked sideways
at him.  "Uh huh."

He was looking at her expectantly.

"I'm not singing it back to you, Mulder."

"But you're so good at it."  He said seductively, leaning in closer to
nuzzle her ear.

She gave him her most threatening look and he grinned, wrapping his
arms around her, gently pulling her with him as he laid back
horizontally across the cushions.

She struggled briefly to find a comfortable position, tucking one arm
between the cushions at the back of the sofa and wrapping the other
over his abdomen.

"You're the ONLY ONE I'd sing for, Mulder."  She said through her
exertion as she shifted once more, laying her cheek against his chest
at last.

"You know what I like."  He said warmly.  "Although..."

She waited for him to continue, and when he didn't she raised her head
and looked at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop.  "What?"

His eyes were solemn.  "I wish you'd be a little more forthcoming."

He watched her eyes as they changed from clear to clouded, blue to
gray.  She knew he wasn't talking about her singing.

"We discussed this earlier, Mulder."

"No, Scully, that was about personal problems and other issues.  I'm
talking about emotional accessibility."  His fingers were playing with
the hair at the nape of her neck.  "I'm talking about you putting a
wall around your emotions to keep me out."

She tried to sit up, but Mulder's arms held her against him.  Instead,
she looked away, across the room.  "That's not to keep you out, Mulder.
It's to keep me in."

He raised his head and watched her face, the stoic expression and the
distance in her eyes.  "You don't have to hide from me, Scully.  I know
you think you've got to be a good soldier and pretend it doesn't get to
you, but you don't have to pretend for my sake."

"I've got to deal with my emotions in my own way and on my own time,
Mulder.  I've got a job to do.  You know that, you're a part of that
job."

He lowered his head back against the cushion and closed his eyes.
"What about right now?"

She looked down at him, admiring the way his eyelashes rested against
his cheeks.  Such a handsome face, she thought, running her fingertips
along the side of his face.  "Right now it's just you and I.  I don't
have anything to hide."

He opened his eyes and looked at her for a long moment, his eyes
burning a deep emerald green.  "Padgett said you're in love."

She held his gaze, fighting the years of habit and the urge to look
away.  "I am."

He was fighting the urge to pull her to her feet and over to the
window, shouting it out gleefully to anybody in Georgetown that might
listen.  Instead, he swallowed and held her gaze.  "Were you ever going
to tell me?"

She closed her eyes, then looked down.  "Probably not."

With those two words he felt his heart shatter, closing his own eyes
against the emotion.  He didn't want her to see it - she had merely
been honest.  Wasn't that what he was asking her for?

Scully laid her chin down on his chest and looked up at him.  "I've
been waging an internal battle with it for years, Mulder.  I believed
that there wasn't room for those feelings...that they would get in the
way of the work.  I'd reached a place where I thought I could live with
it."

He couldn't fault her for that, either.  He'd tried to do the same
thing, only she was obviously better at it than he was.  "Didn't you
ever wonder..." he looked down at her, his eyes shining dark and green.
"...if maybe I might have felt the same way?"

"I thought...maybe.  Sometimes."  She laid her cheek against his chest
again, facing away from him.  "Other times I thought...no.  Or maybe it
was the nature of it that I found confusing.  To be perfectly
honest..." she looked at him again, "the nature of my own feelings
haven't always been clear."

He held her gaze and they looked at each other silently, sharing the
question on both of their minds.  Could they manage both a working and
a personal partnership?

"I want to try this."  Mulder said at last, his eyes full of the desire
to succeed and his voice breaking with emotion.

Her gaze softened and she allowed him to see all of the love and
respect she felt for him in her eyes.  "So do I."  She replied, then
gently laid her cheek back against his chest.

They were silent for a while, sinking into each other, each listening
to the other breathe and growing drowsy from the wine and the heat and
the warmth of the company.  Mulder's voice was soft and rough when he
finally spoke.

"Whatever happens, promise me you'll never leave."  He said, drawing in
a shaky breath.

Her voice was throaty and low.  "If I were going to leave I'd have done
it a long time ago."

"Just...promise."

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.  It was impossible for
anyone to make such a promise, and yet, she believed herself to be
answering truthfully when she whispered, "I promise."

Mulder let out a long, slow breath as if he'd been holding it, and she
felt him relax underneath her.  Within minutes she dozed off, content
and wrapped securely within her partner's arms.
 

END CHAPTER EIGHT

*X*X*X*X*

CHAPTER NINE

And now good morrow to our waking souls,
Which watch not one another out of fear;
For love all love of their sights controls,
And makes one little room an everywhere.
- John Donne, The Good-Morrow
 

It was a strange sensation for Mulder, waking up to sunlight streaming
across his face; his partner tucked tightly between his chest and the
back of the sofa.  He blinked a few times and looked down at her
upturned face, her soft, even breath escaping parted lips and eyelids
fluttering.

The strangeness lay in the fact that for the first time in a very long
time he'd slept through the entire night, uninterrupted.  The bonus was
the sight of Scully completely relaxed and uninhibited laying in his
arms.  The only thing that would have made it better was if they'd both
been naked.  His body didn't care, though, and he reminded himself that
he was going to let her set the pace for the progression of physical
intimacy.  He carefully extracted himself before he was too tempted to
act on his primal urge, padding off to the bathroom with a yawn.

He scrounged up a new toothbrush and a fresh razor refill in Scully's
well-stocked bathroom cabinet, taking a quick shower and giving himself
a shave before returning to the living room to wake Scully for work.
His internal clock rarely failed him, and as if on cue, he heard the
clock radio click on in her bedroom.

Scully was on her stomach on the couch, one arm still tucked between
the cushions and the other arm stretched up over her head.  The hem of
her dress had ridden up and bunched around her waist, exposing a hint
of lacy white bikini briefs and a fair amount of well-toned porcelain
ass and thigh.  The side of her face was mashed into the cushion and he
grinned, tugging her dress down and squatting next to her.  He tucked
her hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek with the back of his
fingers, her eyes fluttering opened and resting on his face.

"Rise and shine."  He said with a smile.

She looked like a twelve-year-old that had played dress up and fallen
asleep in her mother's cocktail dress as she pulled her arm out from
between the cushions and sat up, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.
"What time is it?"

"Six.  Your alarm just went off."  He gently brushed away another stray
strand of hair from her face.

She stretched and groaned softly, then looked back at him.  "You've
already showered and shaved."  She commented.  "You want some coffee?"

He shook his head.  "I'm gonna go home and grab a clean suit.  How
'bout I meet you at work with coffee and bagels?  My treat."

She smiled.  "Gee, and I didn't even have to put out."

He grinned, leaning in and kissing the side of her mouth.  "Let's not
ruin my reputation by spreading that around, alright?"

She smiled and brushed a hand against his smooth cheek.  "Your office
or mine?"

"Mine. There are too many watchful eyes near yours and I may have the
uncontrollable urge to grab you, you never know."  She smiled, knowing
he was kidding, and looked up at him quietly for a long moment.  He
stood, holding a hand out to help her up.  As she rose to her feet, he
pulled her into his arms in a warm hug.  "Sorry I fell asleep in the
middle of our talk."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed, feeling warm and
fuzzy and not fully awake.  "Mmmm...I thought I was the one who fell
asleep."

After a long moment, he planted a kiss on the top of her head and
pulled away.  "I promise we'll talk more later, okay?"  He stepped
around the sofa to grab his suit jacket as she nodded her reply.

They smiled at each other, Scully watching him close the door behind
him before padding off to the shower with a yawn.
 
 

Mulder balanced one cup of coffee on top of the other, a brown paper
bag between his teeth as he unlocked the door to his basement office.
He nearly stepped on a large manila envelope shoved underneath the
door, and caught the coffee before it tumbled out of his hands when he
sidestepped the envelope.

"Shit!"  He muttered, the bag falling to the floor.  Luckily, the
contents didn't tumble out of the bag.  He sat the coffee down on his
desk and went back to retrieve the bag and the envelope.  He jostled it
gently, determining that the contents included photographs and a
videocassette.  Other than the words 'Agent Mulder' laser printed in
Courier New typeface across the front of the envelope, there were no
markings on the outside to identify the source.

Sitting in his chair he opened the envelope cautiously, taking care not
to disturb the contents too much in case he needed to have them
analyzed.  History taught him to be wary of envelopes without return
addresses slid underneath doors.

The photos were 8x10, black and white glossy, taken with a 35mm camera
with a telephoto lens.  They were too close to have been taken with a
standard lens without the subject knowing about it.

The first one was taken in the Italian restaurant, he and Scully
smiling and holding hands across the table.  He grinned at the image.
They looked like a couple.  Tangible proof that last night really
happened.  Even Scully couldn't deny that.

The next photo - Leaving the restaurant, standing on the curb waiting
for the valet, his hand on the small of her back.  They still looked
like a couple.

He flipped to the next photo - Entering Scully's building, his hand on
her back again.  His unease was growing, then he got to the next one...

...thin black lines equally spaced running horizontally across the
image - Venetian blinds.  They were in Scully's living room, standing
very close and gazing intensely at each other.  Their height difference
was noticeably evident from that angle - It had obviously been taken
through the window of her apartment.

The last photo was of Scully's living room in daylight.  The two of
them were asleep, wrapped together on the sofa, legs entwined.  That
one couldn't have been taken more than two hours ago, he reasoned.

He grabbed the telephone and punched the number for security, anxious
to learn who had left the envelope.  The security officer had just come
on duty and didn't remember receiving any envelopes, but promised he
would check with the officer on duty before him.

Mulder slammed the receiver down on the phone and swore, "Goddammit!"
Looking at the images once again, he dropped his forehead to the desk
and tucked his face in the crook of his arm.  It seemed like they were
never going to be able to catch a break.  He looked at the unmarked
videotape with dread, then slipped it into the VCR on the A.V. cart
behind him and punched 'play.'

There was no sound, only grainy, black and white art-house style
footage of the two of them in Scully's apartment.  His hands were on
her face, and they leaned in to kiss, pulling away quickly and looking
at each other.  Her arms went around his neck and they kissed again,
more passionately, and his arms wrapped around her and pulled her
against him, giving the illusion that he was trying to devour her. To
his horror he was aroused by the image on the screen, seeing with his
own eyes the passion that he'd felt the night before.

That was obviously something he had no intention of sharing with Karen
Kossoff the next time he spoke with her.

The phone on his desk ran and he punched the 'stop' button on the VCR,
reaching over and grabbed the receiver.

"Mulder."

"Did you get the package?"  The voice was male, but indistinguishable.

He sat back in his chair, a look of annoyance on his face.  "I'm much
more photogenic in color."

"You didn't take my advice."

"I don't take advice from strangers.  My mother taught me that a long
time ago."  He said sarcastically, looking up to see Scully standing in
the doorway, a look of concern on her face.  He nodded once and she
nodded back, pulling out her cel phone and stepping into the hallway
and speaking softly into her phone to have the switchboard operator
start a trace on the call.

The voice continued.  "It would be a shame for her to end up like the
others."

Mulder tamped down his anger.  "That would be a very, very big
mistake."  He said, his voice low and dangerous.

"You have the power to stop it."

"Oh, believe me, I will."  He looked up at Scully, catching her eye.
There was a burst of static on the other end of Mulder's phone, and
then silence.  She snapped the mouthpiece shut on her phone and tucked
it back into her pocket, looking irritated.

"Not enough time."  She said with a sigh as she walked over to his
desk.  "Was it the same voice from the last time?"

Mulder bit the inside of his cheek.  "I think so."  He looked up at
her, then down at the pictures on the desk.  "This one came with visual
aid."  He picked the pictures up and held them out to her.

When she looked at him she saw the exasperation in his eyes.  She
stepped up to the desk and took the pictures from his hand, flipping
through them, pausing once or twice.  She looked a little sick.  Her
expression mirrored his own when she looked up again.  "What did he
say?"

"He said I have the power to stop it."  Mulder stood, walking around
the desk.  "There's more."

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.  Looking up, they saw
Skinner standing in the doorway holding up a manila envelope.  "I
assume you got the same thing I did?"

Mulder and Scully exchanged a look, Scully looking down and Mulder
turning toward Skinner.  "You can't tell from the picture, but we
really enjoyed the calamari."  He quipped.

Skinner entered the office.  "Maybe you can explain to me why I found
these shoved under my door this morning?"  He tossed the envelope on
top of Mulder's desk.  To Mulder's relief, there didn't appear to be a
videocassette in Skinner's package.

Mulder and Scully exchanged another look.  "There's been another
anonymous call in conjunction with those."  Mulder said.  "I think
whoever it is, he's trying to throw us off balance by threatening
Scully's safety or by trying to drive a wedge between us."

"For what purpose?"  Skinner asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I think he's trying to buy himself some time."  Mulder replied.
"Leslie Martin told me 'timing is everything.'  There must be some
event or time frame that he's trying to hit.  I haven't been able to
pinpoint what, exactly."

Skinner crossed his arms in front of his chest.  "Frankly, I can't
figure out what any of this has to do with a United States Senator and
the deaths of two prostitutes and two yuppie workaholics."

Mulder sucked on his lower lip and looked at Scully.  "I don't think
Senator Harman is our man."

Scully looked up at him at the same time as Skinner.  "Mulder..." she
started, but he interrupted her.

"No, Scully, he no longer fits the profile.  If Lisa Lewis wouldn't
accept the Senator's advances so he found a prostitute who looked just
like her as her note indicated, why kill them?  These weren't crimes of
passion.  They were calculated, planned ahead of time."

"Maybe he killed them because he couldn't control them."  Scully
replied.

Mulder shook his head.  "I don't think so.  Carrie Lewis told us that
Lisa told her that the Senator had been coming on to all of the girls
at the yacht club the day that boating party photo was taken.  When one
girl didn't warm up to his advances he moved on to another one."

Scully watched his face, scrutinizing.  "You think the Senator is being
set up."  She surmised, looking to Skinner and then back to Mulder.
"Even if someone were trying to discredit him, why murder?  If he's
that much of a philanderer then they could have easily found someone to
tell their story to the tabloids."

Mulder grinned.  "The President admitted to having sexual relations
with an intern in the White House and he's still there."  His face
clouded over.  "I wonder if that had anything to do with the 'timing'
Leslie Martin had been referring to?"

It was clear to the Assistant Director his two agents were back in sync
as a working team.  There was presently no need for him to hang around
and watch, although it was a good show.  "You may be on to something."
Skinner said.  "I'd like to stay and find out, but I'm late for O.P.R."
He turned to leave.  "Agents..." They looked up, and he hesitated.
"...I don't know what whoever sent that package was trying to
accomplish by sending those to me."  He gestured toward the envelope
still lying on Mulder's desk.  "The Bureau's official policy is there
is no policy forbidding agents from becoming personally involved.
Still, I'd take those home and keep them there."

There was a hint of a smile on his lips as he turned and walked out the
door, and Mulder grinned at Scully.

Her forehead wore the familiar crease that appeared whenever she was
concerned or deep in thought.  "Mulder, if Senator Harman isn't
involved, then why did he send me those flowers and an invitation to
dinner?"

Mulder looked at her warmly for a long moment before replying.  "I
didn't say he isn't involved, Scully, I just don't think he's the one
behind the murders."

"Well, maybe I should talk to him again."

Mulder leaned back against his desk, crossing his legs at the ankles
and his arms in front of him.  "Think you can handle old Horny Harman's
Southern charms?"

She crossed her arms in response and assessed him coolly.  "Why not?
I've had plenty of practice fielding the odd remark and flying innuendo
over the past seven years."

He grinned and reached out to take hold of her hand.  "You've thrown a
few out there yourself as I recall."  She smiled and they looked at
each other, feeling the warmth envelope them.  After a moment, Mulder
dropped her hand and stood straight.  "Hold off for now on visiting the
Senator...maybe we can go together, schedules permitting."

She took a deep breath and stood straight.  "I'd better get up to the
lab."  Her voice was softer and higher than usual, betraying her desire
to stay.

"Hang on a minute, Scully."  She looked up at him with curiosity and he
stepped back around the desk, his face troubled.  "There's something
you need to see."  He punched the 'play' button on the VCR and the
image of the two of them returned.

She saw herself and her partner in black and white, thin vertical lines
running across the picture.  Mulder's hands were on her ass and they
were staring at each other, speaking but without the accompanying
sound.  He reached up and caressed her face, and then his hands went
into her hair.  Scully turned and looked at Mulder with wide eyes as he
hit the 'stop' button once more.

Mulder was biting his lower lip, watching her.  "I never thought I'd
say this, but it's a good thing we didn't do anything besides talk and
sleep last night.  I may have received this as a Triple X video of the
month selection if we had."

She drew in a deep breath through her nose and let it out slowly.
"Other than the sick feeling I have over knowing that such an intimate
moment was not only witnessed, but recorded..." she paused, looking up
at him, "...it gives me the creeps to think that it happened in my own
apartment."

Mulder stepped up to her, placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned
close, his voice dropping to the low, intimate tone he'd used the night
before.  "I would feel better if you came to stay with me, in my
apartment, until we catch whoever is doing this."  She was about to
decline when he placed the tips of his fingers over her mouth,
silencing her.  "I know you can take care of yourself, Scully.
Just...humor me.  Consider it your part of the therapy on Fox Mulder's
new twelve-step mental health program.  Unless you tell me otherwise I
won't maul you in the middle of the night, Scouts honor."  He held up
two fingers as an oath.

She looked into his eyes and nodded slightly.  "Alright Mulder, I'll
stay with you tonight.  But only if you let me help you out with the
case while I'm there.  I need to be doing more on this than starring in
somebody's twisted idea of entertainment or sitting in the lab proving
your innocence in the Martin investigation."

He smiled.  "For which I am again indebted to you and to your science."
She returned his smile and moved to leave.

"Scully..."

She stopped at looked at him, an eyebrow raised in question.  He was
holding up the paper bag and one of the coffee cups from his desk.

"...breakfast?"

She accepted the small offering with a smile of gratitude, taking a sip
from the cup and closing her eyes in satisfaction, then giving him a
pleased look.  He grinned at her as she backed out the door and
disappeared into the hallway, remembering something Ginger Rogers once
said...

'I did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in heels.'

He would have bet his life that Fred didn't fully appreciate his
partner for all that she went through for him.  He, however, would not
make that mistake and planned on doing whatever he could to make sure
Scully knew it.
 
 

Scully had the P.C.R. results from the Leslie Martin case by mid-
morning.  Although it didn't reveal the identity of the last man she
would ever have sex with, it did prove that that man was not Mulder.

She had let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the results would go a
long way toward convincing the DCPD of Mulder's innocence in the
murder.  She knew from the M.E.'s report and her own notes that Leslie
Martin must have ingested a highly concentrated amount of sodium
hydroxide several hours prior to the time of death from the damage done
to her esophagus.  Detective McCracken and the D.C.P.D. had done a
thorough search of her apartment and had discovered drain cleaner
containing sodium hydroxide, but there was no evidence of other
chemicals that indicated that the poisonous chemical had come from that
source.  Without a note or proof that her death had been the victim's
own hand they couldn't call it suicide.  As for the source of the
sodium hydroxide, it was also found in aquarium products and Mulder
owned a few fish, but that wasn't enough to charge him with the murder,
either.  The plain truth was, there just wasn't any motive on Mulder's
part other than to interrogate her on the Harman case, so it wasn't
likely that he would remain a suspect for long.

She had figured out a way to prove his innocence, anyway.  Security
cameras in the hotel lobby recorded with time and date stamp every
person who entered and exited the building.  She had called up hotel
security and requested all of the videos from the day Leslie Martin was
murdered, and they agreed to send them over to FBI Headquarters before
the end of the working day.  She was certain that Mulder hadn't been
with her more than twenty minutes, half an hour tops.  She was also
certain that whoever she had had intercourse with that day would be on
the tapes as well.  All she had to do now was figure out his
identity...and quite possibly she'd find the killer of Karen Darby,
Lisa Lewis and perhaps even Steven Hoyt as well.
 
 

Mulder grinned at the sight of the woman in the white lab coat.  She
always appeared so capable sitting behind a microscope.  As she slid
the paper under the lens one more time, her placed a hand atop her
shoulder.

She immediately knew it was Mulder, and she smiled.  As she turned to
look up at him smiling back at her, she was drawn into those green eyes
that she loved so much.  "Why Agent Mulder, what brings you to my part
of the world today?  As if I didn't already know.  You've come to whisk
me away to that romantic lunch you always promise, but never deliver
on, right?"

"Sorry, Henderson.  I've got a lot of stops to make today, and lunch,
unfortunately, isn't one of them.  We'll keep that raincheck open
though, ok?"  He gave her arm a little squeeze and stepped around her
work table to sit across from her and in front of the other lens of her
microscope.

Mulder liked working with Agent Henderson.  She was quick witted and
one of the few agents around who didn't consider him "spooky," so of
course, he enjoyed playing with her.  She would definitely earn that
lunch if she could determine if the initials on Lisa Lewis' suicide
note were genuine.

He peered into the viewfinder, not entirely sure what he would be
seeing.  "What do you have for me?"

"Well, it's not a lot to go on. The person who wrote this was left-
handed. But you probably already knew that." She looked over the
eyepiece to see if he was really listening, then she continued
playfully.  "But I think I've got it narrowed down to points indicating
that it was written by a man in his mid-forties, using a Mont Blanc
fountain pen with a mother-of-pearl barrel and that he had a complex
about his teddy bear when he was young."

Mulder looked up from the microscope and blinked once slowly.  And
waited.

"Ok, so I don't know anything about the teddy bear.  But it was written
by a male, I'd say early to mid-forties and it was written with a Mont
Blanc fountain pen, with or without the mother-of-pearl barrel.
Distinctive ink."

"Can you tell me anything about the paper the note was printed on?
It's computer paper, I know, but is there anything special about it?"
With so little to go on, Mulder felt like they were grasping at straws.

"Nothing really special in and of itself.  But from what I read on the
ME's report about the evidence collected at the scene, and what I saw
of the evidence that they brought in, the paper that was in the paper
tray of her computer's printer doesn't match this.  Besides, when Danny
tried to get the printer to print a sample we could compare to this, he
discovered that the printer was broken, and it had old toner dried into
the jets.  It looked like it was out of commission for quite some
time."

"Anything else?"

"Just that the guy who wrote this could be considered a little 'anal'
in my book.  Even as he tried to duplicate the victim's handwriting,
his attempt at it couldn't hide an overwhelming tightness and rigidity
to his script."

"Well...I don't suppose this sample indicates where I might find him,
does it?"

"You might want to try that little bar down the street.  I hear they
have the best martinis in town.  I could go with you to do some
extensive testing."

Mulder flashed her a grin and touched her shoulder briefly as he turned
to leave.  "Thanks, Henderson.  I owe you."

"What else is new?"  She shot back with a smile as he opened the door,
a look of gratitude on his face as he grinned at her once more before
stepping into the hallway.
 
 

It was already mid-afternoon when security called and notified her that
a package had arrived for her from the Willard Intercontinental.
Scully finished the blood typing she was working on for the V.C.S. and
headed down to the reception area. Mulder was standing in the lobby
with one of the secretaries she'd encountered on the elevator a week or
so ago, his arms crossed and a blank look on his face.  The woman sent
out enough body language to clue even the casual observer into the fact
that she was practically begging for him to take her home and fuck her
senseless.

There were at least twelve videos in the box - more than she had
expected.  It would take the better part of a day to go through it all.
She sighed as she signed for it and tucked it under one arm, glancing
at Mulder once more before heading back to the elevator.  Mulder caught
her eye over the secretary's shoulder as she punched the call button.
Without taking his eyes off of Scully, he mumbled something and walked
away from the woman in mid-sentence.  She turned to see the object of
her affection taking the box of videos from his partner's arms and
gently guiding her into the elevator with a soft touch to the small of
her back.

Scully saw the enraged look on the woman's face just before the
elevator doors shut between them.  Turning to Mulder, she smiled.
"Investigating a new lead, Mulder?"

He grinned at her.  "Jealous?"

She looked him over.  "Should I be?"  She already knew the answer to
the question, but she wanted to hear what he had to say.

"I have a videotape in my office that answers that question if you
really need reminding."

Her face clouded over.  "Did you find out anything more about the
person who left that for you?"

"No, I was just checking with the security guard to see if he'd heard
back from the guard who was on duty with the package was delivered.  He
said it was dropped off by a Caucasian male at the same time as
Skinner's package, but he couldn't remember much about his appearance.
The guard did say he was the one who slipped it under my door when his
shift ended."

The elevator doors opened to the third floor and they stepped out
together.

"What's in the box?"  Mulder asked as they entered her office, setting
the box down on her desk.

She answered over her shoulder as she walked behind the desk.  "Proof
of your innocence."  Her voice was just a trifle smug.

Mulder reacted with a surprised expression and a glimmer of delight in
his countenance for his partner's brilliant proclamation.  Scully
looked up at Mulder and rewarded him with a huge smile.

At that moment there was a knock on the door and Danny poked his head
in.  "Sorry for the interruption..." they both gave him a polite smile
and he continued, "A.D. Skinner called next door looking for you, Agent
Mulder."

At that moment, Mulder's cel phone trilled.  He threw Scully a look of
apology and pulled the phone out of his pocket, sliding past Danny out
the door.

Scully looked at Danny.  "Any news?"

Danny shook his head.  "The contractions are still inconsistent.  Her
doctor won't let her come in until she's had them five to seven minutes
apart for at least an hour."

Scully closed her eyes and sighed with a soft smile.  "How's she
holding up?"

Danny grinned.  "She said she's ready to rip it out with her bare
hands.  She asked if you have any experience performing a C-section on
a living person and if there might be an open autopsy bay you could
use."

Scully chuckled.  "I can only imagine what her doctor is going through,
then."

"Quite frankly, I'm more concerned about her poor husband."  He offered
a parting smile and left her alone to peruse twenty-four hours worth of
security video.
 
 

Assistant Director Skinner's call was to confirm a time when they could
go over to Leslie Martin's apartment in Gaithersburg to search for any
leads.  Mulder gave Skinner the update from Henderson about the
handwriting analysis on Lisa Lewis' forged suicide note, and agreed to
meet with his surrogate partner just after 7:00 p.m. when his afternoon
O.P.R. meetings were finished.

Phoning Scully later than afternoon, Mulder suggested she head over to
his apartment whenever she was ready as he'd most likely be late.  She
let out a small sigh of resignation then told him about the D.C.P.D.'s
continuing search for suspects in Leslie Martin's death.

"You've been taken off the list, Mulder."  She said, a smile coming
into her voice.  "The security video from the hotel confirms you
arrived at 4:06 p.m.  I've had a copy made and sent it over to
Detective McCracken.  He said that they weren't seriously considering
you as a suspect, anyway, but the proof on the video confirmed your
innocence."

Mulder let out a long-held breath.  "What about the D.N.A. on her last
customer?  Any ideas?"

"Trying to find a match is going to be a lengthy process with no clear
suspects to compare the results to.  I'm going to go through the rest
of the security video this evening and see if anything or anyone stands
out."

"Frohike sent background files on several of the key players to my home
computer.  Take a look at them when you get there, they may give you a
little more to go on."  They were silent a moment.  "Scully, I'm sorry
about going off with Skinner and leaving you on your own tonight.  I
know I promised..."

"Mulder, it's okay.  It's my work too, remember?"  She sighed.  "I just
wish I were going with you."

"So do I."  He said seriously.  "Do me a favor?  Call Detective
McCracken back and tell him that the handwriting analysis on Lisa
Lewis' suicide note came back as a fake and let him know that we're
officially including it in our investigation into the murders of Karen
Darby and Leslie Martin.  Not that what we've been doing these last few
weeks hasn't been official, but they'll probably want to open an
investigation of their own."
 
 

By the time Mulder and Skinner arrived in Gaithersburg, it had already
been another long day for the FBI.

Leslie's townhouse was part of a multi-unit complex fronted by a large
man-made lagoon.  It was in one of the trendy new "communities" that
were springing up around the country to entice baby boomers and young
professionals who didn't want to live in urban high-rises anymore. All
the townhouses faced the lagoon with views of the water and birds and
the little sailboats or kayaks which were attached to each dock.  By
the time Mulder and Assistant Director Skinner arrived there, the sun
was setting picturesquely on the horizon.

Skinner looked around the area as Mulder opened the door with the keys
the homeowner's association had given them.  "Betcha fifty dollars none
of these nice middle- class neighbors know what Leslie Martin really
did for a living."  He commented.

"I wonder what the C.C.& R.'s say about high class call girls."  Mulder
grimaced slightly as he turned the key in the final lock and popped
open the door.

As they stepped into the foyer and looked around, there was nothing to
immediately indicate anything of the oldest profession.  There were
signs that the Gaithersburg and D.C. police had thoroughly searched the
condo for clues to her murder.  But it was still apparent, even after
the search, that Leslie Martin had made a home for herself, apart from
her profession.  So much like Scully, Mulder thought.

The large, open floor plan was arranged to take best advantage of the
view off the deck.  It was very comfortable with a quiet mix of taupes
and ivories on the furniture and walls.  One wall was covered with
shelves of books: novels and poetry, mostly, disheveled by the police
investigators.  As the two men looked around, they both got the feeling
that this had been a private sanctuary.  They immediately saw the
differences between Leslie Martin and Scully, but they recognized the
similarities as well.  As a result, they moved through the apartment
with a different sensibility than they might normally have on an
investigation.  Somehow it felt as if they were prying.

As they worked their way around the room, Mulder remarked, "Have you
noticed there are no photographs anywhere?"

"You'd think she'd have some of friends, if not family."  Skinner
started up the staircase to the loft above.

"Like this life was hers alone - to be alone."  As Mulder followed his
boss up the stairs, he reflected on what kind of life Scully had been
living since she joined him as his partner.  How often does she find
herself all alone in her apartment, wrapped up in a book or a case
file?

The loft up the stairs was Leslie Martin's bedroom and dressing room.
A king-sized bed was placed in the center of the room with small
skylights running along one side of the ceiling to let in morning
light.  Skinner spotted the desk, computer and filing cabinet at the
Southern end of the room and began his search there.  She was a
meticulous record keeper.  All receipts neatly catalogued.  All banking
records immaculate. But nothing out of the ordinary stood out as he
looked through it all.

"There's a make-up kit in here that would make Tammy Faye Baker
jealous."  Mulder commented as he stepped out of the bathroom.  "Did
you check the closet?"

"No, I'm still going through the papers here.  She was quite a
bookkeeper.  Didn't you say she was an investment counselor in San
Francisco?"  Mulder nodded.  "You could take some lessons from this
woman's record keeping skills."  The Assistant Director didn't look up
as he spoke, his message getting through without eye contact.

Mulder rolled his eyes and opened the walk-in closet door.  "Jesus,
look at this."

At that, the Assistant Director did look up to see Mulder flick the
switch to turn on the revolving clothes rack inside the massive closet.
It ran like a professional dry cleaner's rack, full of clothes.  It was
clear where Miss Martin's tastes ranged, for as neutral as her
surroundings were, it was evident that she liked colorful clothes.
Mulder and Skinner stood at the closet door in awe as a rainbow of
fabric rolled by.

"My, my, every woman's dream.  My wife would have killed for a closet
like this."  Skinner commented.

"I'd kill for a closet like this."  Mulder stopped the procession when
something caught his eye.  He sent the rack into reverse a few feet and
saw a black suit still wrapped in plastic, slightly set apart from the
rest of the clothes.

"A sore thumb."  Mulder commented, pulling the suit out of the closet.

"That looks more like something Agent Scully would wear."

"Yeah, I'd have to say it's damned close to her style.  Look at the cut
of the jacket."  Mulder held it out for Skinner as he pulled at the hem
to make it hang better on the hanger.

"Don't they call this a 'duster'?"  He pulled on the hem again to allow
him to look at the cut of the fabric more acutely.

"No, 'dusters' are longer than this, I think this is called a 'three-
quarter length', or something.  Scully claims it makes her look taller.
See how it goes down to about mid-thigh?"  He held the small jacket,
still on the hanger, up to his torso and smoothed it down to give
Skinner a better look.

Suddenly, the two men looked at each other awkwardly.  Mulder pulled
the outfit away from his chest and held it up for inspection at a
distance.

"She must have just bought this to use in her impersonation of Scully.
The tag is still on it.  Loffredo of Milan is the store name.  I'll run
a check on it in the morning."  Mulder turned to see that Skinner had
returned to the desk across the room.  He held up a business card with
the store name printed on the front and an address on the back.

"The store's in Georgetown."  Skinner crossed the room again to compare
the logo on the card to the tag attached to the suit.

Mulder looked solemn.  "Scully lives in Georgetown."  He walked over to
the file cabinet they'd gone through earlier and pulled open a drawer.
"I'm sure the immaculate Ms. Martin would have kept a receipt.  That
should tell us when she bought it or if someone else bought it for
her."

Skinner, knowing that they may be in for a long haul, picked up on
Mulder's apprehension.  "We'll book this suit into evidence in the
morning, along with the receipt, if we can find it.  In the meantime,
let's see if we can come up with any records that might indicate who
was encouraging her to emulate Agent Scully."
 

END CHAPTER NINE

*X*X*X*X*

CHAPTER TEN

This is a man
Who needs a woman
I'm not afraid to say what I feel
I'll never be unfaithful
I've been wrong and lived the lonely nights
Silence is loud
Without her whispers
My body craves her touch
Such are my prayers
Every break of dawn
To open my eyes
And see her by my side
- Zucchero, 'Feels Like A Woman'
 

Spending the evening alone in Mulder's apartment wasn't any better than
spending the evening alone in her own - there was less to do, Scully
thought as she peered out the window for what must have been the
thirtieth time.  Mulder must have asked Frohike to keep an eye on the
place, or perhaps on her, because she'd seen his van circle the block
more than once.  She knew that if anyone were watching her or Mulder's
apartment, the paranoid little troll would pick up on it.

She wandered back to the computer, clicking the mouse randomly over the
icons onscreen.  It was past eleven and she'd already perused all of
the background files on everyone involved in the Harman case.  She
couldn't handle looking at any more surveillance video.  She was bored,
and she wanted Mulder to come home.  She wanted someone to talk to, but
more than that she wanted to pick up where they had left off the night
before.

Onscreen the 'My Documents' folder opened to a window displaying a slew
of sub-folders, one entitled 'Scully' catching her eye.  She knew she
probably shouldn't, but with nothing better to do, she clicked on the
folder and perused the contents.

There were several .jpg files, all with numeric labels.  She clicked on
the one with the smallest number and a window opened with a picture of
her taken at the Lone Gunmen's, very early in their partnership.  She
was sitting on a desk with a look of amusement on her face.  She
wondered when that had been taken.  The next image she clicked on was
from the same visit to the Gunmen.  She was still sitting on the desk
and wearing the same suit, only her expression was solemn.

She closed the image and looked at the rest of the contents of the
folder.  There were files entitled 'Correspondence' that contained some
of the more personal emails they had exchanged over the years, and
another one entitled 'Commendations' that listed every piece of
positive reinforcement she'd received for her work in the past six and
a half years.  She raised her eyebrows at this and smiled.

There was a folder, nearly 12 megabytes, entitled 'Cancer Research.'
Every one of the X-Files she'd personally been involved in were there.
She clicked on the folder entitled 'Jerse' and icons popped up
cataloging one of her most regretted indiscretions.  A .jpg from the
Philadelphia PD of her tattoo.  The police file from her assault.
Another .jpg with a note on top from Frohike, 'This is the slimebag -
He looks too much like you to be a mere coincidence...' attached to an
image of Ed Jerse.

God.  Had she been that obvious?

She was growing uneasy, her emotions churning within her and not quite
certain how she should feel about her obvious violation of Mulder's
trust.  She closed out the file and stared at the screen, swallowing.
Her hand shook as she moved the mouse to the file entitled 'Desire,'
unable to stop herself from clicking on the icon and viewing the
contents.

A cyberkiss postcard addressed but unsent to Dscully@fbi.gov...

A .jpg of Gustav Klimt's 'The Kiss'...

William Butler Yeats' poem 'When You Are Old'...

Lyrics to several different songs containing the words 'blue eyes' in
the title...

The complete illustrated love teachings of the Kama Sutra, with
asteriks next to the 'Lataveshta,' 'Avalambitaka' and 'Jihva-
bhramanaka' verses...she'd discovered the Kama Sutra in college, but in
this context the images conjured now made her cheeks flush pink.

Lyrics to 'With or Without You' from U2's 'The Joshua Tree'...

A .jpg of Robert Doisneau's Le Baiser de l'Hotel de Ville...

There seemed to be endless files and links, some recent and some dating
back nearly seven years.  She closed the folder and stared at the
screen.  Every icon could be directly tied to an event or a moment in
her life.  Photographs, documents, emails - he had kept an electronic
record of her, down to her living will and instructions on how to water
her plants.  That he had kept these things touched her, but the fact
that he had been gathering these things for years and that they went
far beyond their working relationship brought tears to her eyes.

Mulder loved her.

Not only did he love her, he desired her, and he respected her and he
was proud of her, both as an agent and as a person.

She knew this on some fundamental level.  But this was proof.
Irrefutable proof and the reality of it hit her full-force.  She had
never been really clear about the nature of his feelings for her.  How
long had they been silently pushing their feelings aside, squandering
them away in some private, secluded place?

Scully closed out all of the files and stepped away from the computer,
wiping the tears off of her cheeks with her hands.  She didn't want
Mulder to come home and find her crying over his private collection of
electronic memorabilia on his partner.  Glancing at the clock on the
computer screen she picked up the telephone and dialed his cel, hearing
him answer on the third ring.

"It's me."  She exhaled, pausing a moment before continuing.  "Are you
still in Gaithersburg?"

He sighed.  "Yeah, it looks like we'll be here a while.  Is everything
okay?"

She paused.  "Yeah.  Everything is fine.  It's just..."

"What?"

She paused again, poking at a spot on the floor with her big toe.
"Nothing.  It's nothing."

Mulder shifted, trying to gain a little more privacy for his call.
"Scully?"

She let out a long sigh.  "It's...too quiet here without you, Mulder."

He was silent but she knew he was grinning anyway.  "Why don't you
invite Frohike up?"

She snorted her reply and he laughed.

"We've still got quite a few credit card receipts to go through.  I'll
be there as soon as I can, Scully, I promise."

"Yeah, okay." She listened to him breath a moment.  "Mulder?"

"Still here."

"I..." she stopped herself, feeling a little foolish for being so
needy.  "I'm fine."  She said with conviction.

There was a smile in his voice as he replied.  "I know."  He knew what
she really meant.  "Me too, Scully."

She smiled.  Hanging up the phone, she stepped back over to the window
and wrapped her arms around her middle.  She hoped that when Mulder
said 'soon' it meant before breakfast.
 
 

Mulder rubbed his eyes and blearily searched for his apartment key.  He
located it as silently as possible and slid the key softly into the
lock, turning it gently.  Part of him hoped that Scully was sleeping
and hadn't waited up for him.  The other part of him hoped that she
had.

He gently closed the door behind him and quietly turned the deadbolt,
tossing his tie and coat jacket across a chair as his eyes scanned the
apartment for her.  As he approached the living room he saw her,
wearing silk pajamas the color of aubergine as she lay on her back
across his leather sofa, the desk lamp casting shadows across her face
as her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.

Careful not to wake her with his shadow, Mulder stepped up to the sofa
and let his eyes run down her petite frame, smiling when they reached
her well-manicured bare feet.  It seemed that he'd spent more time with
her asleep than awake over the past few weeks.  As his eyes made their
return they caught the hint of angry red against alabaster peeking out
beneath the flipped up hem of her pajama top.  Kneeling, he gently
pushed the fabric up and revealed her smooth abdomen and the fresh scar
near her belly button.

Mulder gasped softly.  This was where she had been shot.  This was
where she had been injured in the line of duty while assigned to
another case and another partner.  This was where he almost lost her
once again.

Before Brown Mountain, before Padgett, this was where his own heart
nearly stopped beating.  The scar was star-shaped and puckered, raised
but not quite keloid.  It was smaller, thank God, than the one on his
shoulder.  He knew if he turned her over on her stomach there would be
a corresponding scar on her lower back, no doubt near the tattoo that
marked the time she had decided that she was no longer going to put her
life on hold for him.

It was history.  They'd been through seven years of cases and
misunderstandings and near-misses but she was here with him now.  She
was here and she wasn't going anywhere.  That which didn't destroy them
made them stronger, and she was tough as nails...she was also soft and
pliable, her skin stretching and returning to form under the gentle
path of his fingertips as he traced the bone at the bottom of her
ribcage.  He watched her soft, flat belly gently rise and fall like the
tide.

He leaned over, pressing his lips to her cool skin.  He let his lips
glide softly down the smooth expanse, feeling the soft line of peach
fuzz tickle his nose as it grazed lightly along her abdomen.  Pressing
a kiss to the small swell below her navel, he flicked his tongue out
for a taste.  She tasted both cool and warm, salty and sweet.

Mulder laid his cheek against her skin, looking up at her face.  She
was deep into sleep, her face completely slack without the usual mask
of worry and caution.  Her lips were slightly parted and her breathing
was slow and easy, uninterrupted by nightmares or other horrors.  She
was safe and content, at least for the moment.  He closed his eyes and
let out a long, silent sigh, weary with fatigue and too many nights of
his own harrowing nightmares.  He wanted to curl up on the sofa beside
her and sleep through the night like a child the way he'd done the
night before, but the desire not to wake her was stronger, so he
remained on the floor on his knees, his face pressed into her abdomen.

Scully shifted slightly and the cadence of her breathing changed,
barely noticeable but enough for him to open his eyes and look at her
face.  She was watching him, looking down through heavy lids.

His hand found hers at the edge of the sofa and he entwined their
fingers lightly.

"You look tired."  She said, her voice high and airy.

He closed his eyes briefly, then looked back up at her.  "Remind me of
that the next time Walter calls and wants to play."

The hand that wasn't entwined with his found its way into his hair.
"Did you find anything?"

He let out a soft sigh at her touch.  "Yeah, it may be something.  Can
we talk about it in the morning?  I just want to go to bed."

She watched him a moment, her hand running gently through his silky
brown strands.  "You want me to sleep out here so you can stretch out
under the air conditioner?"

"I want you stretched out next to me under the air conditioner, unless
you're more comfortable out here."

"No."  She pulled herself into a sitting position and took a deep
breath, looking him over.  "When was the last time you had more than
one full night of sleep in succession, Mulder?"

He stood, helping her to her feet as well.  "What year is it?" Was his
reply as he shuffled into the bedroom behind her.
 
 

He didn't know what he had expected.  It was one thing to wake up in
Scully's living room, on Scully's sofa, with Scully tucked tightly
between him and the sofa back.  But waking up with her in his bed was
an entirely different situation.

Although they had fallen asleep in each other's arms, they weren't
spooned together, curled up like little baby cats.  He didn't awake, as
he'd imagined, to the delicious sensation of his morning erection
pressed into her tight round bottom.  She was on her stomach, her arm
hanging off the edge and one small foot stuck out from underneath the
flat sheet that was bunched up tightly in her fist and held very
closely to her chest.  He was on the other side of the bed, his upper
torso exposed to the cold air blasting from the window unit, the far
edge of the sheet stretched diagonally across his body and barely
covering his usual morning erection.

And lots of space in between them.  Lots and lots of space.

He'd never figured Scully for a cover hog, but there you had it.
They'd both spent too many years sleeping alone to change after one
night.

He considered waking her to see if she might be willing to help him
relieve his morning condition, but then thought better of it.  She'd
yet to give him the green light on the sexual intimacy and besides, the
way she was coveting the bedcovers made him suspect that she might wake
with violent impulses if he wasn't careful.  So when she suddenly
rolled over and looked at him, her eyes wide and clear and looking
straight through to his very soul he caught his breath with surprise.

"I wanna kiss you," she said with a smile, her voice the same clean
alto he knew and loved, "but I need to brush my teeth first.

"Meet me back here in two minutes."  He said with a grin, both
scampering out of the bed.  Mulder made a quick pit stop while she
rummaged through her overnight bag, then took his toothbrush and
toothpaste to the kitchen sink to give her a moment of privacy.  He
beat her back to the bed and he climbed in, straightening the sheet and
tucking his arms back behind his head to wait.

Scully emerged from the bathroom with her hair combed, her teeth
brushed and her face washed, looking every bit as immaculate as she
always did.  As she approached the bed she grinned, her smile bright
and slightly mischievous and he dared to hope that perhaps this was it,
finally, as she crawled over the covers toward him.  She planted one
hand on either side of his chest and leaned down, still grinning as she
kissed him.  He was cool, responding only with his lips for about
fifteen seconds, then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her
down against his chest, exploring her mouth with his own while she did
the same.

Their kisses tasted of toothpaste and mint, both still feeling the ease
and playfulness in their encounter, and with growing certainty that
she wouldn't put on the brakes he deftly rolled her over, one leg
tucked between hers and his weight resting on his elbows.  She smiled
and her fingers started exploring his body - the cut of his arms, the
smooth skin on his back, the ridges of his ribs.  He took that as a
good sign and did the same, his hands roaming freely over her compact
frame.

They went on that way for a long time, kissing and exploring, the mood
growing serious and their breathing growing more shallow until his
fingers found the buttons on her pajama top and began to loosen them
from their snares.  At the last button she glanced down with a raised
eyebrow as he parted the two halves of fabric.

Mulder raised himself up to rest on one elbow as he looked into her
face, silently asking for her permission to move ahead.  She knew what
he was asking and a small smile of encouragement from her was all it
took for him to take what he wanted, giving her pleasure at the same
time.  His lips moved over her upper torso, alternating between gentle
kisses and not-so-gentle nips to her neck, shoulders, breasts,
clavicle...she responded with her hands and her lips, stroking and
tasting his neck and chest, biceps and shoulders.

They were deliberately slow, enjoying the spirit of the discovery but
impatient enough to push the momentum forward.  They spoke only with
darkened eyes, watching responses and acknowledging pleasure as they
removed the rest of their garments, until he was hovering over her on
outstretched arms, his hips cradled between her thighs and looking into
her face while undulating lightly against her.  She reached between
them to touch the hardness of him that she felt brushing against her
mons, stroking lightly.  He drew in a shaky breath and they both looked
down to watch her small hand glide against his fully engorged penis,
then looked back at each other, their eyes locking.  It was understood
between them that the time had arrived, and she gently pressed his tip
into her moist center.   She closed her eyes as he completed the
joining of their bodies, panting softly while he groaned in ecstasy.

It would not last long, he knew, moving as slow as he could manage for
a man who had not done this with another person in a very, very long
time.  He watched the emotions play out on her face and he leaned down
to plant a kiss against her parted lips.

"Can you come this way?"  He asked, prepared to change positions if she
needed to.

Her eyes glittered as she replied with a nod and a warm throaty, "yeah"
before her eyes closed again and she began to move against him in
counter rhythm.  All thought gave way to the sensations that surrounded
them in a thick fog of need.  To experience the act after so many long
years of denial, sharing it with the one person in the world you wanted
to be sharing it with all along was more than either of them could
mentally process.

All they could do was feel.

He tried to wait for her but it was no use - it had been too long for
him to have such control the first time out.  Luckily, she seemed on
the edge herself and he was quick to react.  As his retreating body
left hers damp and cold under the air conditioning she had barely
gasped out half of his name in frustration before he assaulted her
center with everything that he had.  Lips, tongue, teeth, fingers,
thumbs...until her back arched away from the mattress and she clutched
fistfuls of sheet, crying out his name with a whimper.  He slowed his
ministrations and gently pulled away, then crawled up the mattress and
flopped down on his stomach next to her, breathing hard with a grin of
smug satisfaction as he watched her slowly melt back into the bed, her
face peaceful and serene.

After a moment she opened her eyes and turned toward him, reaching out
a hand to caress his cheek.  He leaned over for a slow, sensual kiss
that tasted like the two of them and when he finally pulled back to
look at her he saw a smile glittering in her eyes.

"I love you."  He said soberly, his eyes shining back at hers.

"I love you, too."  She replied deeply and softly.  Their eyes held,
seeing each other in the morning stillness for what seemed like the
first time without any emotional walls or roadblocks.

They'd had just a moment to enjoy their new intimacy before Mulder's
alarm clock switched on with a loud click, blaring Buddy and David into
the afterglow and effectively shattering the moment.  Scully rolled
onto her back and closed her eyes, groaning while Mulder slammed his
hand against the intruding appliance and the room was silent once
again.

He fell back against the mattress and closed his eyes, groaning.  After
a moment he looked at her and said in monotone, "time to make the
donuts."
 
 

They'd never get to work on time, she pointed out, if they shared the
shower, so she went first while he made coffee.  She could hear him
whistling when she stepped onto the bath mat and wrapped a towel around
herself, and had to chase him out of the bathroom a minute later when
he brought in her coffee and wouldn't leave her towel alone.

For Mulder, it was fascinating to watch Scully become Special Agent
Scully.  When she allowed him back into the bathroom, she had already
blow-dried her hair into its familiar shape and applied the small
amount of makeup and lipstick she wore during the day.  When he stepped
out of the bathroom showered and shaved she had donned her black
slacks, blouse and jacket and was padding barefoot around the bed
straightening the covers and plumping the pillows.  He dropped his
towel and dug through his closet in the buff to taunt her, but other
than catching her looking at his bare ass while she sipped her coffee,
she refrained from making any commentary.

"There's something in the car I want you to take a look at."  Mulder
said as he fastened the buttons on his shirt cuffs.  "We found it in
Leslie Martin's apartment last night."

"What is it?"  Scully asked as she took another sip of her coffee.

"Emmanuel Ungaro."
 
 

There was a gleam in her eyes as she examined the piece of evidence.
The texture and feel of the silk was unlike anything she had or could
ever afford, for that matter.  The tag on the suit indicated that it
cost more than her monthly salary.

"Since the tag is still on it, we're assuming that it's still fairly
new."  Mulder said, his eyes soaking in the reverent way she touched
the fabric.  "Other than that tag, we were unable to find anything else
indicating when or how she purchased the suit.  She had receipts down
to the hair-dryer she bought last September, but not even her credit
card statements listed a purchase in that amount from Loffredo of
Milan."  Mulder closed the trunk of his car and touched his hand to the
small of Scully's back, encouraging her to get into the car.  "It's a
long-shot, I know, but it is so far removed from anything else she had
in her closet it seemed like a good bet that she bought that suit with
the intention of impersonating you."

"A suit like this is way beyond my budget, I'm afraid."  She said
almost wistfully, holding on to the suit as she sat in the passenger
seat. "Mulder, I'm not certain, but I think this is a 'one-of.'"  She
said, her eyes still shining.

"A 'one-of?'  As in, the only one?"

"I think so, yeah.  The tailoring is exquisite."  She flipped the cuff
inside out and examined the lining.

Mulder crossed in front of the car and got in the driver's side,
pulling his seatbelt across his lap and fastening it.

"Mulder, maybe I could take this in to the boutique where it was
purchased and see if I can get any information, or maybe even a copy of
the receipt."  She was looking at him hopefully.  The truth was, she
was anxious to get out of the lab and do a little legwork.

He bit his lip as he looked at her.  "Pretending to be Leslie Martin,
you mean?"

"Why not?  I look enough like her."

He let out a short laugh.  "The whole point was for her to look like
you."

She looked at him a moment.  "Well, regardless, the worst that could
happen is they wouldn't be able to help me."

He nodded, starting the car and backing out of the parking space.  "If
it is a one of a kind, then they shouldn't have too much trouble
remembering it.  We'll run over there at lunchtime unless you've got
plans."

There was a hint of a smile as she replied.  "You're the one with the
car."
 
 

She met him in the basement at quarter to twelve wearing a huge grin.
"Agent Mancina gave birth to a healthy, nine pound seven ounce baby boy
named Tyler Joseph Mancina at five forty-seven a.m. this morning.  Both
mother and baby are doing just fine."

Mulder grinned.  "I thought she was having a girl."

"So did she.  I sent her a bouquet from the both of us."

Mulder leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, admiring her
openly and grinning at her natural assumption (rightly so) to include
him in her well-wishes to Agent Mancina.  "Thanks, Honey."

She closed her mouth, but her amusement remained in her eyes.  "So are
we going or not?"

He stood and grabbed his keys off of his desk.  "Yes, Dear."

She followed him out the door and stood behind him with her arms
crossed as he turned the key  "Mulder..."

He knew he was pushing it, but couldn't help himself.  "What is it,
Pumpkin?"

"...shut up or I kill you now."

He chuckled and they headed for the garage in silence.
 
 

Loffredo of Milan was the kind of boutique no one ever felt quite
comfortable in.  The décor was stark, almost industrial, with
relatively few racks of clothes amongst hard leather club chairs and
steel sidetables.  Most of the clothing was black or dark gray, which
meant Scully would undoubtedly see something she liked, Mulder thought
as he pulled off his sunglasses and looked around.  They had agreed to
go in separately and pretend they didn't know each other on the chance
that they may get more information that way.

The clerk was on him within seconds.  "Can I help you find something?"
She asked cheerfully, running her eyes down his torso in a not-so-
subtle way.

"I'm looking for something for my wife."  He replied, flashing her a
smile.  She was pretty - tall and slender with short blonde hair.  She
wore a short black skirt and a fitted black blouse and high chunky
heels that accentuated her long legs.

The girl smiled and looked into his eyes.  "Evening wear or something
more casual?"

"Something she could wear out to dinner or to the office."  Mulder's
eyes ran down her long legs and then back up to her face.  "Maybe
something like what you're wearing."

The girl stepped closer and licked her bottom lip.  "Do you know her
size?"

Scully entered the boutique carrying the suit and Mulder turned to look
at her as if he were merely admiring a beautiful woman.  He let his
eyes linger longer than was polite and without looking back at the
clerk, said, "about her size."

Still wearing her sunglasses, Scully pretended to ignore Mulder and
looked around, turning to face the clerk.  The girl offered her an icy
but polite smile and said, "Someone will be with you in just a moment."
She turned back to Mulder and touched his arm, smiling brightly again.
"If you'd like to have a seat, I'll see what I can find for you."  She
crossed the room and disappeared into the back.

Mulder leaned back and grinned flirtatiously at Scully.  Just because
he was working didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun.  She gave him
a raised eyebrow and her 'get serious' expression and turned away just
as another, older woman appeared from the door the other girl had
stepped through.

"May I help you?"  She asked in a pleasant tone, looking at Scully.

"Yes."  Scully held up the suit.  "I would like to have this altered."

The woman took it from her and held it up.  "Oh yes, Emmanuel Ungaro.
Do you have the receipt with you?"

Scully smiled apologetically.  "Unfortunately, no.  I've looked
everywhere for it but I can't seem to find it."

The woman looked back at the suit, then at Scully.  "I remember you,
you've been in here before."  She smiled.  "I'll just look up the sku
number in the computer and see if I can print out another receipt for
you."

Scully smiled.  "That would be great."  She followed the woman over to
the counter and watched as she ran the scanner over the tag on the
suit.

The other clerk reappeared carrying an armful of outfits.  She slinked
over to Mulder and held the first one up.  "Is this what you had in
mind?"

Mulder sat up and the girl stepped closer until she was standing
directly between his spread feet.  Mulder touched the fabric of the
skirt she held out to him and rubbed it between his thumb and
forefinger.  "Nice."  He said, looking up at her.

"Versace."  She said seductively.

Scully couldn't hear more than hushed tones of conversation and only
saw a glimpse of the spectacle out of the corner of her eye, but didn't
turn her head to look.

"What else do you have?"  Mulder asked, leaning back again.

The girl pulled another skirt and jacket from behind the first one and
held it out for him to see.  "Armani."  She purred.  "I could model it
for you if you'd like."

The printer on the counter began printing the receipt that Scully had
requested and Mulder looked over at her.  "Thanks, but I wonder if the
redhead at the counter would mind trying it on so that I could see how
it might look on my wife."

When he looked back up at the girl she was frowning.  "Do you want me
to ask her?"

He looked back over at Scully and sucked in his lower lip.  After a
moment he looked back at the clerk.  "Please."

The woman behind the counter pulled the receipt out of the printer and
smiled at Scully.  "We'll need to have you try it on so we can get the
correct measurements."  She smiled, holding out her hand for Scully to
follow her to the back.

As she turned the girl stepped up beside her.  "Excuse me, but the
gentleman man over there would like to know if you would try this on."

Scully was glad she still had her sunglasses on as she spun around and
looked at Mulder, her mouth falling open.  She silently asked, 'Mulder,
what are you doing?' which he didn't see but he knew anyway as she
looked into his dark eyes.

"Excuse me?"  She said to the clerk.

The girl shifted her weight from one foot to the other impatiently.
"He says you're the same size as his wife.  He wants to know if you'll
try it on so he can see if it will fit."

Scully looked over at Mulder a moment and saw the challenge in his
eyes.  He expected her to decline.  She knew she wouldn't be able to
afford these clothes on her own salary, so what the Hell.  They had
gotten a receipt they came for so she might as well enjoy the
experience.  Besides, she may be able to ask a few questions if it
appeared that she was actually shopping.  Looking at the beautiful suit
in the girl's hand, she smiled widely.  "Sure.  But I need to have my
own suit altered first if the gentleman doesn't mind waiting."

The girl looked at Mulder and he smiled.  "No problem."

With a frown the girl handed the suit to Scully and stepped behind the
counter as Scully followed the older woman into the back.

She'd tried the suit on in the bathroom at FBI Headquarters and knew
the skirt was too long and the jacket could be better fitted around the
waistline.  The woman was quick and efficient and took Scully's
measurements, then pinned off the excess fabric in minutes, helping
Scully out of the suit so that she wouldn't get pricked by one of the
straight pins.

The outfit Mulder had chosen fit like a glove.  She admired her image
in the full-length mirror as the woman arranged the Ungaro suit on a
hanger, pinning the receipt to the front and setting it aside for the
tailor to make the adjustments that afternoon.  She smiled at Scully in
the mirror and stepped out of the dressing room.

Scully ran her hand over the sleeve, feeling the Italian crepe under
her fingertips.  She let out a soft sigh.

"It's obscene how good you look."

Mulder was standing just inside the door, his hands in his pockets.

She turned and looked at him.  "Mulder, what are you..." she hissed,
catching herself just as the young clerk entered without knocking, a
scowl on her face and two more suits in hand.

"The only thing we have in dark red in a size two is a Krizia."  She
hung the garments on a peg next to the mirror, then turned and looked
at Scully, crossing her arms.  "That looks really good on you."  She
said, begrudgingly.

Mulder stepped closer to Scully and walked around her completely, his
eyes on the Armani and the smooth expanse of creamy leg exposed by it.
Scully avoided meeting his eyes, wishing she still had her sunglasses
on as he stopped behind her, looking at her reflection in the mirror.
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet, holding out a
credit card to the clerk.  "I'll take it."

Scully stared wide-eyed at him in the mirror, looking away quickly as
the clerk took the credit card.

"I'm sure your wife will like it."  The girl said.  "You'll have to
come out and sign the receipt.  We use an electronic pen at the
register."

She stepped out of the dressing room and Mulder grinned at Scully, his
hands on his hips.

"What are you doing?"  Scully whispered.  "You'll never get the Bureau
to sign off on that."

"No."  Mulder said, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a sunflower
seed and popping it between his teeth.  "That's why I'm paying for it."

"Mulder, I'm not gonna let you throw your money away on a suit that
will probably end up covered in God knows what or snagged on some fence
post."

He pressed against her from behind, encircling her waist with his arms.
He laid his chin on top of her head and gazed at her in the mirror, his
eyes warm and soft.  "You can wear it the next time I take you out to
dinner."

She closed her eyes a moment, then opened them and gazed back at him,
touched by his generosity but determined not to accept it.  "Mulder..."

There was another knock on the door and he had just enough time to pull
away before the young clerk stepped inside again.

"I just need your signature, Mr. Mulder."

Scully was looking at the floor and out of the corner of his eye Mulder
saw her stiffen, as if a switch had suddenly been flicked on.  She
quickly walked over to the Ungaro that had been collected from Leslie
Martin and pulled off the newly printed receipt, her mouth falling open
as she stared at it.

Mulder realized the same thing she had, and heedless of the clerk,
walked over to her and peered over her shoulder at the receipt.

Scully looked up at him, her breathing suddenly shallow.

"We've got him, Mulder."
 

END CHAPTER TEN

*X*X*X*X*

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Bawitdabadabangdadangdiggidiggidiggisetdaboogisetupjumpdaboogi
- Kid Rock
 

Skinner pushed through the glass door into the stark interior of the
boutique, his eyes squinting until they adjusted to the dim interior
lighting.  Scully was standing off to the side near one of the racks of
clothes, her cel phone up to her ear.  Who could blame her for staying
inside - the afternoon heat on the street was stifling.  Mulder was
talking to two clerks at the counter.  Both clerks, a pretty blonde
woman and an attractive more sophisticated woman, looked nervous.

"Is there anything else you can remember about him?"  Mulder was asking
the older clerk, taking notes as she spoke.

The woman replied while nervously twisting the rings on her fingers,
"No, I've told you everything I can remember."

Mulder looked up at Skinner as he approached.  "D.C.P.D. sent out a
squad car to bring him in for questioning but he didn't show up for
work today and wasn't at his apartment.  I've phoned in a search
warrant to Judge Farquart.  It should be ready within the hour."
Skinner said.  "You're sure he's our guy?"

Mulder turned to him and nodded.  "We've got his signature and American
Express card number on the receipt for the suit we found in Leslie
Martin's apartment last night, in addition to a receipt for a suit that
matches the description of the one she was wearing when she died.  He
purchased one other outfit in a size six that I'm betting we'll find in
Karen Darby's closet."

Skinner let out a huff of air and looked over at Scully, who was
looking at her cel phone with irritation, shaking it gently.  "Anything
else?"

"Scully's getting his complete background information sent to her via
email.  What we know of him so far indicates that he was jealous
over the affair between the Senator and his girlfriend, Stephanie
Curtis.  Maybe jealous enough to frame the Senator for murder."

Scully stepped up to them and sighed.  "I lost service during my
conversation with Byers, but what little he did tell me seems to point
us in the same direction.  It seems that Donald Mathers now works for
Senator Harman's chief political opponent in the next election.  He's
sending all of the information over to my work address via email as we
speak."

Skinner looked from Scully back to Mulder.  "Let's hope our search of
his apartment turns up the evidence we need to prosecute this guy."
Mulder dug in his trousers pocket and pulled out his car keys, handing
them over to Scully.  She accepted them silently into her upturned
palm, and their eyes met briefly.  An apology was exchanged once again
for her official removal from the investigation.  She gave him a slight
smile of forgiveness and looked up at Skinner briefly, then headed out
the door.

They were at the car when Mulder told Skinner he forgot something and
jogged back into the store.  From the street, Skinner could see him
speak to the clerks, sign something, hand over a business card and
offer a smile before jogging back out, leaving the clerks to stare
after him.  Mulder was grinning but his expression became laconic when
he caught Skinner glaring at him.
 
 

She understood the reasons why she was sitting in the lab watching the
centrifuge spin blood samples around instead of collecting evidence
against Donald Mathers for the murders of four innocent people.  She
even forgave Mulder for maneuvering her into this position with the
misguided intent to protect her.  That didn't mean she was in the least
bit happy about it.

Byers had emailed the background information on Mathers as he had
promised, and although it provided more than enough material for an
accurate profile, it didn't do much toward helping them get the
evidence they would need to prosecute.  With any luck, Mulder was
getting it from Mathers' apartment.

Still, it annoyed her to no end not to be part of the team gathering
evidence at Mathers' apartment.  Nevermind that it wasn't her case
anymore - it was Mulder's and Skinner's case.  But she had a stake in
it, too, and she wanted to be actively involved, doing more than
sitting on her butt in the lab watching blood separate.  If she'd
wanted to do that, she wouldn't have joined the FBI in the first place.

And then she realized how she might contribute to the investigation.
She had spoken with Mulder about going to see the Senator again the day
before, and now that they'd established that Mathers was most likely
operating out of jealousy and a desire to get revenge on the Senator, a
return visit to the Senator seemed to be in order.

She picked up the phone and asked for directory assistance, then for
Senator Harman's office.  She jotted the number down, hung up, redialed
and spoke directly with the Senator's receptionist.

"This is Dana Scully.  Is the Senator available?"

"Hold on a moment, Ms. Scully, I'll check."

She didn't really expect the Senator to be in, and she wasn't sure he'd
be available to take her call if he were, so she was surprised when a
moment later his sing-song Southern voice rang in her ear.  "Agent
Scully.  To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Senator Harman."  She replied, taking a deep breath, "I realize this
is short notice, but I was hoping I might be able to meet with you
today."

He paused a moment.  "I'm about to leave here within the hour, I'm
afraid."  He replied.  "Would you be willing to meet me at my home
office this evening?  Say, seven o'clock?"

Scully let out a breath and thought a moment.  Mulder would more than
likely be tied up with gathering evidence and they hadn't discussed
spending the evening together, although she assumed that he assumed as
much.  "Yes, that would be fine."  She told the Senator.

"I'll look forward to it, Miss Scully."  He replied pleasantly, and
hung up the phone.

Through the glass windows, she saw Danny walking up the hallway and
enter the lab, a case file in his hand.  "How's it going this
afternoon, Dana?"

She sighed and looked over at him.  "I'm processing the blood samples
brought in by Agent DeLuca.  The P.C.R. test on the Sydney case is
nearly complete."

Danny shoved a pen into the pocket of his lab coat and walked over to
her.  "I heard there was a break in the case Mulder and Skinner are
working on."

She gave him a slight smile.  "They've got a strong lead on the
perpetrator."

He leaned back against the counter.  "I guess once Mulder wraps the
case up you'll be heading back down to the basement, hmm?"

She took in a breath and checked the centrifuge, then looked back at
him.  "Have you hired a permanent replacement?"

Danny shook his head.  "No, not yet.  Look, Dana, I know your
assignment was supposed to be until we hired someone, but I know your
heart is with the X-Files.  I can't in good conscience keep you here
when I know you'd be happier out in the field with Mulder."

She dropped her face and studied her hands, smiling.  "Is it that
obvious?"

He smiled.  "Do you mean does everyone around here see it?  Yeah.  But
you've never been anything but professional, and you do great work.
Besides that, we've enjoyed having you around."

She looked up at him, her face showing her gratitude.  "I have enjoyed
the change of pace.  And I have to admit, I've enjoyed being in a less
isolated environment..."

"But..."

"But, my place is with the X-Files."

He grinned.  This was hardly news.  Looking down at his wristwatch, he
said,  "Well...we're all going over to see the baby this evening after
work if you'd like to join us."

She sat back, her disappointment showing on her face.  "I'd love to,
but I've already made plans for this evening.  Send Agent Mancina my
regrets?"

"Will do."  He tapped on the counter and offered her a parting smile.
She smiled in response and with a sigh, turned back to the centrifuge
once again.
 
 

She was halfway to Falls Church when she realized that she hadn't left
word for Mulder where she had gone.  If he assumed that she would be
staying at his apartment again that evening, even though she expected
that he'd be late like the night before, she knew he'd want to know if
she weren't going to be there.  Besides that, she had his car.

Scully took out her cel phone and dialed his cel number.  After four
rings she heard his voice, but there was static and she realized that
it was his voice mail.

"It's me."  She said, "You may be expecting me to go straight to
your apartment and stay there, Mulder, but I'm on my way to Falls
Church to speak with Senator Harman about Donald Mathers.  I think
Senator Harman may have some answers as to why Mathers chose to murder
those people and then try to make it look like the Senator was
involved."

There was a loud burst of static and she pulled the phone away from her
ear, then put moved it back when she heard the sound cease.  She looked
at the phone, only to see a blank display screen.  She punched the
power button a few times, but to no avail.  Silently cursing herself
for waiting too long to have it looked at, she tossed it onto the
passenger seat of the car.
 
 

By the time Skinner had gotten the full story on Mathers from Mulder on
their way his apartment at the Watergate, there were two D.C.P.D.
patrol cars waiting for them at the complex to act as backup.
Detective McCracken was among those waiting.

"Good to see you again, Agent Mulder.  I was worried we'd lost you a
while back."  McCracken nodded to A.D. Skinner in greeting and returned
his attention back to the charismatic, but 'difficult to peg' Special
Agent.

Mulder motioned for the patrol officers to gather round as he
responded.  "I take a lickin', but I keep on tickin', McCracken, just
like a Timex.  I appreciate the thought, though."  Mulder looked beyond
McCracken's line of sight as he addressed the whole group.  "Okay, the
suspect is Donald Mathers, mid-forties, 5' 10", dark hair, brown eyes,
gold wire-rimmed glasses.  He is to be approached with caution.  His
M.O. doesn't indicate he'll be carrying a weapon, but be cautious just
in case.  Detective McCracken can fill you in on the details."

As Mulder and Skinner moved toward the front entrance of the Watergate
complex, McCracken stepped forward to finish the briefing.  Before the
two men walked through the front doors, the other uniformed officers
were moving into their positions.  The two agents took the elevator to
the 5th floor with McCracken not far behind them.

The apartment was down the hall past a large bank of windows that
looked out over the Tidal Basin.  Mulder stepped to the right of the
door, allowing coverage from both sides.  McCracken stood behind
Skinner, out of the line of any possible fire, if they had pegged their
suspect incorrectly.  The men drew their weapons and had them at the
ready above the shoulder.  Skinner knocked on the door.

Nothing.  No response.

Skinner shouted out so he could be heard through the door with
authority.  "Donald Mathers! FBI! We'd like to ask you a few
questions." Again, no response. "We have a search warrant!"

Silence.

Skinner looked over at Mulder, who was ready to try opening the door.
They made eye contact then he nodded for Mulder to proceed.  He tried
the doorknob.

Locked.

Mulder reached into his lapel pocket and pulled out a small package
from which he removed a small, delicate and highly unorthodox lock
pick.  Deftly, he slid the pick into the door's lock and twisted,
feeling the tumblers move into alignment.  He gave the doorknob a
little turn and the door popped open, just as a black cat sprung from
the opening, startling the men in the hallway for a flash of a second.
"Guess we let the cat out of the bag," Mulder quipped to no one in
particular as the men steeled themselves, then rushed through the door.
Two uniformed officers entered right behind them.  Each man spread out
into a different direction as they began to search the premises for
their suspect.  It was obvious he wasn't home.

Mulder holstered his gun, and moved through the apartment to the
bedroom.  It was nothing fancy: a rumpled bed, a dresser, a mirror, a
chair with some shirts and ties thrown across the back. On the
nightstand next to the bed, Mulder spotted two envelopes with an
invoice attached.

Quickly pulling on a pair of latex gloves, he picked up the envelopes
and noted that the larger of the two was stiff from an inserted piece
of cardboard.  Paper-clipped to the smaller envelope was a professional
photographer's receipt for black and white photo processing: Ronald A.
Dobbs, Photographer.  This was the same photographer that took the
photo at the yacht club of Senator Harman and Lisa Lewis.  He made a
mental note to pull him in for further questioning.

Mulder looked inside the envelope with the cardboard, but it was empty.
He struck paydirt, however, when he looked into the second.  It
contained the  negatives of Scully and him at dinner; waiting for the
car; in her apartment.  There were also negatives of what appeared to
be Scully alone.  Portraits, actually.  He bet if he had them printed,
they'd prove to be portraits of Leslie Martin made to look like Scully.
Probably photos to guide them in their efforts to impersonate his
partner and the woman he loved.  He quickly looked around to see if any
of the D.C. investigators or Skinner saw him as he separated the
portraits out from the surveillance photos, folded the envelope as
small as possible and place it in his inside jacket pocket.  Better
that these stayed out of the evidence bag unless they became crucial to
the case, he thought.  He bagged the negatives of the portraits and
moved on.

Poking through the rest of the belongings in the bedroom, nothing stuck
out as pertinent to the case, so he continued into the adjoining
bathroom.  Things were pretty typical there, too.  Mulder rummaged
through the suspect's toiletries, then turned to the medicine cabinet.
On the third shelf next to the expensive aftershave stood an array of
pill bottles of various sizes.  One of the larger ones had a label
identical to the type found on the bottle in Lisa Lewis' apartment at
the time of her death.  The bottle had no registered pharmaceutical
markings and no doctor's name or numbers.  The label was largely empty
except for the marker scrawl that read 'Norco.'

The bottle appeared to be more than half empty.

Mulder bagged the evidence and turned to leave the bathroom, just as
Skinner entered the bedroom to find him.  "Did you turn up anything?
I've got an officer bagging receipts and other papers from the desk.
We should be able to turn up something that connects him to the
purchase of that suit."
 
Skinner appeared slightly excited, enervated by the search and the
feeling of being out on the street again, if only for a short time.

"I'm sure Scully will be able to link the pills in this bottle to the
drugs found in Lisa Lewis' system at the time of her death.  He's
definitely our man, Sir, but I don't think this guy is an experienced
felon.  I think this is a crime of..."

"Sir?"  One of the uniformed officers stood in the doorway holding a
bag that contained a can bearing a striking resemblance to crystal
Drano.  "Sir, I noticed this in the bottom of the suspect's coat closet
and thought it seemed out of place.  I checked the label.  According to
our briefing, it contains the same concentrated chemical as the one
used in the death of the last victim."

Skinner looked over at Mulder and was able to catch the sickened
anguish in his eyes as he imagined what it must be like to die in this
way.  He stepped forward to receive the second evidence bag.  "Good
work, officer.  See to it that this gets put into evidence with the
other items we're collecting."

"Yes, sir."  The patrolman exited the bedroom, but before Mulder and
Skinner could return to their conversation, he reappeared at the door.
"Sir, Detective McCracken says you both should come out to the living
room.  He's found something."

Detective McCracken had just removed the object from the floor of the
hall closet.  He had to tug a little to get it past some of the other
items in the closet, so he was a little out of breath.  He held a small
aluminum suitcase in his hands - the kind that photographers carried
expensive camera equipment in, or that guns were stored in.  He opened
the case to find the foam rubber cutouts carved into the exact shape of
a .38 revolver.  He knew this because the gun was missing.

The two FBI men exchanged looks with McCracken, but said nothing.  The
discovery was self-explanatory.  The suspect had taken the next
dangerous step.  He was armed and could be anywhere in the DC Area.
Mulder surveyed the room one more time as they stood there in the
center with the new evidence in hand.  His eye caught on the other
items McCracken had pulled from the floor of the closet, and he moved
to take a look at them.  His foot caught on a strap sticking out from
the dark closet, and he leaned down to pick it up, pulling out a video
camera case with the camera still inside.  No doubt the same camera
used to videotape them at Scully's apartment the night before...

Mulder's heartbeat increased and he suddenly had the strong impulse to
get going.  Putting two and two together, he realized that Mathers was
packing heat and he may try to make good on his threats.

He had to get to Scully.  He had to find this guy, and find him now.
His gaze sought out A.D. Skinner's returning look.  Skinner knew
Mulder had to move.  He hadn't yet made all the same connections Mulder
had, but he trusted him enough to know that look meant...

'Don't hold me back.'

"I'll take care of the arrest warrant."  Skinner pulled out his cel
phone and began barking orders.  "Detective, put out an A.P.B. on
Donald Mathers.  Subject is believed armed and dangerous, and should be
approached with caution."

The Assistant Director was empowering his partner to take off, and
Mulder knew it.  He nodded in acknowledgment and gratitude and headed
for the door as Skinner finished up in the apartment, pulling out his
own cel phone as he slipped into the