By Kelly Moreland
k_a_moreland@hotmail.com
 

Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000
Archive : Anywhere, just let me know.
Spoilers : None really.
Rating : Probably PG-13 for disturbing images, and language.
Category : Angst, M/Other friendship
Summary : Colonization/Apocalyptic hell
Feedback : is what keeps me writing.
Disclaimer : CC created M & S. I created Kari. I don't own
his, he don't own mine. 'Nuff said.

Author's note : This was the first piece of fan fic I ever
wrote. I've been revising it for a while because I wasn't
completely happy with it.
 
 
 

Fides Procuro
by Kelly Moreland
 

This is how our world ended. Swallowed in death, but not in
darkness, for a few of us survived.
 

On May 27th, 2001 life as we knew it did end. What remains
are threads of an unraveled tapestry. Pockets of humanity
scattered here and there.

I was at my fathers cabin in Missouri, on the lake of the
Ozarks.  The whole family was getting together, and I'd gone
up early to set things up. Since, as my father so delicately
put it, 'I don't have a real job'. I'm a writer by trade, or
by curse, depending on how you look at it. Coming from a
family of lawyers and doctors, I was the black sheep, and
*gasp* the only girl as well. Talk about double jeopardy.

Anyway.

I'd done all the things my father expected, bought
groceries, cleaned, aired; had the boat and canoes pulled
out of storage. Martha Stuart would have been proud,
I mused as I sat on the back porch with a beer.
My father might take it for granted, but Martha would have
been proud.

I had the radio on, halfway listening for the weather report
for the coming weekend. God knows my Dad and my three
brothers were expecting the weather to be perfect, made to
order in fact. They had male bonding to do! They had to
constantly congratulate each other on being the lords of
creation. Rain did not figure into things.

I secretly prayed for at least one day of cats-and-dogs
falling from the skies, kind of rain.

I know this sounds bitter, but Mom died when I was ten and
growing female up in a testosterone guided household ain't
easy. Try it, you'll see.

I just about fell out of my chair, when a news broadcast
interrupted the music. At this time, for unspecified
reasons, the President of the united states had declared a
state of emergency, and upgraded our status with NORAD to
DEFCON 3. He would be making a statement shortly.

The music resumed, and I just stared for a moment at the
radio. The first thing I did was try to call my Dad in St.
Louis, but all I kept getting was 'all circuits are busy'.
I turned on every TV in the house, tuning all of them to a
different news broadcast.

Someone had to know what was going on, right?

Sure. I held onto that illusion for all of an hour.

I carried the radio with me into the kitchen as I made a
sandwich for dinner. I wasn't really hungry, but it was
something to do other than pacing the floor. I finally
settled in front of the TV in the living room, and turned to
the mother of all news stations.

But, the more I listened to CNN, the less any of it made
sense.

Advisers and so called experts were speculating on our state
of emergency. Troops from Fort Brag to Edwards Air Force
base were being mobilized, as well as the national guard.

But no one would say who was threatening us.

The normally well composed news people  looked flushed, and
anxious. One actually got up and walked out of the station,
saying 'screw this', before they had a chance to bleep it
out.

Guess he'd heard enough.

When the President came on, he looked pale and worn. At two
fifty this afternoon, and object of unknown origin was
picked up on our defense satellites, as it entered our
space. At this time, we unsure exactly what it was, but
since it was holding its position, we could assume it was
not a comet or rogue asteroid. He would not say it was a
craft from another planet, only that the object posed
concerns for the Department of Defense. He urged people to
stay in their homes, or to seek shelter at FEMA or
red cross organized sites.

He assured us that this crisis would pass. I stayed on the
couch all night, wrapped up in a blanket, but not sleeping.
I tried repeatedly to call my father and brothers, but I
couldn't get a call out to anywhere. Around four thirty, I
saw something that is etched  in my mind to this day.

Video from an affiliate in Atlanta showed a black triangle
hovering over the downtown area. It fired on a building,
turned on its axis and fired on another. Then another ship
appeared, almost identical to the other one. The second
fired on the first, and the explosion was so bright it
whited out the screen.

There was static for about three seconds, then the TV died.
I flipped the power button on the remote, but nothing
happened.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled, walking over to the set, and
manually flipping the switch. Nothing. I checked the other
TVs, before finally laughing to myself. Perfect time for the
power to go out. I reached for the radio, and turned it on.

Nothing.

I flipped the power switch off an on several times, thinking
'this can't be right'.

I knew the batteries in it were fresh. I'd put them in
yesterday. I looked down at the digital watch on my wrist.
The display screen was blank.

I went through the house, every clock, every electronic
device, battery powered or not, was dead. Even my car
wouldn't start.

I walked back into the living room, and stood listening to
absolutely nothing. No quiet hum of the refrigerator, no
barely audible tick of the clock on the mantle. Dead
silence. Not even any crickets or birds chirping outside,
as the sun came up.

I sat down on the floor in front of the couch, and wept in
fear and frustration.

That was how I spent my first night.

I stayed three days at the cabin, waiting. For what,
I'm still not sure. My father and brothers never showed up.
I'd hoped in vain, that the power would come back on, that
something resembling a normal life would return.  But it
didn't happen. No phone, no radio, no TV. No news.
I had never felt more alone in my life.

That was when I  decided to go to Sunrise Beach. It was the
closest town, a good six mile hike from our place, but
anything would be better than sitting here I reasoned.
Besides, all of the food in the fridge had spoiled, and I
was fast running out of supplies.

So, off I went. Sunrise was one of those little yuppie-type
summer towns that I despised, and that my father helped
develop. It had several quaint B & B's, an open air market,
selling all the latest culinary trends, an L. L. Bean store.
Get the picture?

I avoided the place like the plague.

Now, it looked like the worlds first yuppie ghost town.
I walked along the sidewalk, the silence was deafening.
I wanted to scream out loud. To yell 'Is anyone here?',
but I couldn't seem to find my voice. I couldn't break the
silence that I'd come to hate.

As I rounded the corner of Pine Knoll, and turned onto Main,
I stumbled over something. I kept my balance, until I
looked down and saw what it was.

She might have been fourteen years old. She lay there on
the sidewalk, obviously dead for a while. Maroon streaks of
dried blood marking trails from her nose, across her lips
and chin. The front of her pastel tank top was stained a
murky brown.

I fell flat on my ass in shock, and crab crawled backward
away from her.

I struggled back to my shaking legs before throwing up.
I braced my hands on my knees, and retched long after my
stomach was empty.

Keeping my eyes focused anywhere but where she lay, I
continued on. I gradually became numb to the smell, and the
sight of it all. But seeing the children were the worst,
they still haunt my dreams sometimes.

Bodies lay in doorways, one old couple sat perfectly
positioned in rocking chairs on their front porch. Norman
Rockwell meets Stephen King. And all of them looked like
they had bled to death from their noses.I think I decided
right then, that I wasn't staying here. Not where 'the red
death held sway over all'.

There had to be other people somewhere. There had to be
somewhere else to be. Anywhere but here. I wasn't even sure
I could stay another night at the cabin now. Not knowing
that all this was so close. I went into Sunrift Adventures,
the upscale outfitter store at the end of the street, and
picked out a dark purple mountain bike, with saddle bags
behind the seat and a water bottle.

I debated on leaving money in the cash register for it, but
decided there was no point. They could sue me, if anyone was
alive to care. I added a tiny two man pup tent, a sleeping
bag, and a backpack to my stolen goods, before I continued
on to the grocery store.

I recognized the same check-out girl I had chatted with
just a few days ago, slumped over the same register.
That was as far as I got. I'm not sure if the smell was
from the corpses, or from the spoiled meat in the counter,
but my stomach couldn't take it. I retched my way back
outside  to my bike. Gasping in great lungfuls of air to
steady myself.

Screw it. The outfitter store had hiking supplies.
Dehydrated food. I could deal with that for now.

I stocked up on anything and everything I could find,
wondering why I even ventured on from here in the first
place. I filled both saddle bags, and strapped the tent down
over them. The backpack I saved for my clothes.

I'd lost my desire to go poking around town anymore.
Back home, I boiled water from the lake to make myself some
instant soup, and decided what to do next. Staying here
wasn't an option.

I had to find other people.

I got my atlas out of the car, and thumbed through it as I
ate. St. Louis was the first step. To find my family. One
step at a time was all I could do. I'd leave a note, on the
off chance that someone should show up here, but it didn't
seem likely. I slept on the couch that night, or tried to,
but the images from Sunrise haunted my dreams.

Two days later I rolled into St. Louis. The ride up had been
an experience. One I'd like to forget. Unfortunately, I
can't erase sections of my memory.

Highway forty-four was a nightmare of wrecked cars and
bloated bodies. Outside of Jefferson City, I rode into a
truck stop, and snagged a blue bandana from a rack by the
counter, tying it over my face. It helped a little with the
smell.

I spent my nights at empty hotels along the way,
too creeped out to camp near the highway. For some reason,
I'd thought St. Louis would be different than Sunrise Beach,
but it wasn't. If anything, it was worse. I rode past
Crestwood, Shrewsbury, and Maplewood as I headed home
to Richmond Heights.

I think my sense of smell had become accustomed to the
stench of death, but my sense of sight never would.
I still turned my eyes away from corpses as quickly as I
could.

I sped up as I turned onto Fair Oaks. With it's manicured
lawn, and carefully groomed hedges, Dad's house looked
immaculate as always. But just like the others on the
street, it was motionless and silent. Still, I couldn't keep
myself from dropping the bike, and running to the back door.

"Daddy?" I called as I flung it open.

There was no answer.

In my heart, I knew there wouldn't be. I found him in the
den, slumped on the floor. I sank to my knees in the
doorway, and cried.

Afterward, I buried him in the backyard, and left home for
the last time.

I didn't know where else to go, so I biked down Market
Street. My brothers all lived in this area, but I didn't
want to go look for them. If they were alive, I reasoned,
they'd have already been to  Dad's house and he wouldn't
have been lying in a heap on the den floor.

I stopped at Kauffman Park, and sat down on a bench.
I looked up at the bright stars over head. With no city
lights to outshine them, they were beautiful.

Finally, I pulled myself up off the bench. The Omni Majestic
hotel was on the other side of the park. It would be as good
as anywhere else tonight. I reached for my bike, and heard
something that stunned me.

"Federal Agent. Don't move!" A man's voice came from
behind me. I froze in place like a statue, more from
surprise than from the order.

"Are you armed?" He demanded.

"No," my voice sounded ragged and strained.

"Turn around slowly," his tone was softer now, and I turned
to face him.

He was half hidden in shadow, and I couldn't make out any
features other than his height. We stared at each other for
a long moment.

He wore jeans and a light leather jacket over a plain gray
tee shirt. Not exactly how I pictured a Federal Agent to
look, but I wasn't about to argue.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Kari Chandler." He stepped forward, tucking his pistol
away.

"Are you alone?"

I hesitated before nodding.

"You are the first person I've seen alive since May 26th."
I had to stifle a giggle. I don't know if it was relief,
or insanity that brought it to my lips.

"Where did you come from? How did you survive?" His voice
was a mixture of curiosity and something I couldn't define.

No doubt he was a fed; all he did was ask questions.

"Look," I sighed, rubbing my face with one hand, "I don't
have any problem answering your questions, but can we do
this sitting down somewhere? I'm tired. I buried my father
today."

"I'm sorry," his voice lowered, and his tone was sincere.

"I was about to go to that hotel," I pointed across the
park. "I've got a million questions to ask you too. Want to
do the Missouri inquisition there?"

I saw a flash of a smile in the darkness as he said, "That
happens to  be where I'm staying too." I chuckled as I
reached for the handle bars of my bike.

"By the way," I said casually, as I we started across the
concourse.

"You might have to arrest me, Agent..."

"Mulder. Fox Mulder. Why?" His eyes shifted down to me
suddenly.

"Because I stole this bike," I grinned at his seriousness.

"That's Okay, I stole the one parked in front of the hotel.
I won't tell if you won't."

"Fair enough," I laughed, something I thought I'd never do
again, let alone with another living person.
 

The lobby of the Omni was huge. But after lighting a few
candles next to group of sofas, it was almost pleasant.
That's when I got a decent look at him. Tall and lanky,
big nose that some how looked right on his face. Hazel
eyes with dark circles under them. An honest face, maybe
not open, but not the face of a mad man. A face I felt I
could trust.

"I'm about to starve," I said. "Mind if I make something
to eat while we talk?"

"No, I need to eat something myself. Be right back."

He went out the glass door, and unstrapped a small,
red, cooler from the rack on his bike..

I lit a can of sterno, and started some water boiling.
I picked through my dwindling selection of dehydrated
food, selecting beef stroganoff this time. I was really
getting tired with the stuff, but it was easy to carry on a
bike. And beggars can't be choosers.

"Want a beer?" He asked when he returned.

"Please."

He handed me one.

"Wish I could say they were cold." He sighed, settling
onto one of the sofas.

"Wish I could say it mattered," I grinned. "Right now, a
beer is a beer."

I raised the can in salute, before taking a long drink.
I opened the packet and dumped the contents into the
boiling water. I sat on the floor next to it as it started
to cook.

"Want me to go first, or you?" I asked, as he opened a
pack of cheese sandwich crackers.

"You." He nodded taking another swig of his beer. I told him
my story. The cabin, the news, or rather the lack there of.
The trip into Sunrise Beach. The trip here. Burying my
father. He listened, never once interrupting. His mouth a
grim line. I wondered if he'd buried someone too.

"So, that's how I ended up here." I finished. "Your turn
Fox."

"Mulder. No body calls me Fox. I hate it."

"Sorry," I mumbled, through a mouthful of food.

"I was in Kansas City, helping the Violent Crimes Section
with a serial rapist case, when the shit storm of
all time hit. After the EMP, people started dropping
dead left and right..."

"EMP. Electromagnetic pulse?" It finally clicked into place
for me. That's what happened to all the electronics.

"I'm not completely sure that's what it was, but it had
the same effect. Anything with a computer chip was rendered
useless. But I think it was also what killed everyone. That
doesn't make much sense, EMP shouldn't be fatal, but it's
all I can come up with right now. I was at the airport.
Trying to get a flight back to DC. But not getting anywhere.
All flights were on hold. I was watching the news, and
trying to call a friend, when everything just died. The
lights, the TVs, the phones. And then people started
screaming."

He paused, and I noticed the look on his face. He wasn't
remembering it, he was reliving it.

"At first, I thought it was from panic. The lady that was
sitting next to me fell across my lap. I thought she had
fainted, so I picked her up and carried her outside. That's
when I saw her face. Her nose was pouring blood...
I remember  it had soaked her clothes, and mine. She was
already dead."

"When I went back in, the terminal smelled like a slaughter
house, and no one was screaming anymore. There wasn't anyone
left alive to scream...."

He trailed off, and I let him. I was suddenly glad that I
had been alone when it happened.

"So why not us?" I asked after giving him a moment. He
jerked, startled at my words. I think he'd zoned out.

"I don't know," he shook his head looking at the empty can
in his hand, and reaching into the cooler for another.

"We can't be the only ones, right?"

"I hope not," his voice was heavy with sadness. I sat
quietly thinking, until he spoke again. Letting him take his
time.

"I'm going on to DC. I have to see if my partner is all
right. I tried to call, but I never got through."

He seemed to be weighing his words.

"Kari, I think you should go with me. I can't leave you here
alone, you're not even carrying a weapon. I think it would
be safer if we stayed together."

"I think you're right. And I don't want to be alone."

My voice cracked, and I couldn't help it, but I think he
understood.

"I don't know what we'll find there. It might be just as bad
as here..."

"I know," I nodded. "But honestly, just to have someone to
talk to. To hear another voice, and know someone else is
alive..."

He nodded, his eyes never leaving the floor.

"When do you want to leave?"

"Tomorrow. Pick up a few extra supplies, then head east on
sixty four."

I pulled out my atlas and spread is across a small table.

Mulder brought one of the candles, and looked over my
shoulder. I traced sixty four with my finger.

"Mt. Vernon is eighty two miles. Think we can make that
in one day, if we get an early enough start?" I said
checking the mileage chart.

"I don't know. It depends on how much stalled traffic
 there is on the way."

"Mm. Good point. But I made one hundred and thirty miles in
two days, and there was a lot of traffic to weave around."

"Do you have a tent?" He asked, still looking over my
shoulder.

"Yeah, but I haven't used it yet. It was too spooky to camp
near the highway by myself. I stayed in empty motels along
the way."

I closed the atlas and rolled it up, tucking it back into
my saddle bag, I could feel him watching me.

"I need to get a set of those." Mulder said as I came
back carrying my sleeping bag.

"We can check the bike shops tomorrow." I suggested.

"Right now though, I'm about to fall asleep with my eyes
open. Are you sleeping in a room, or right here?"

"Probably here." He pointed to the sofa he was sitting on.

"Mind some company?" I gestured to the one across from him.

"Not in the least." He grunted, as he stretched out on his
couch.

I rolled out my sleeping bag, and blew out the two candles
closest to me. I was out like a light, and sleep
dreamlessly, till Mulder screamed us awake near dawn.
 
 

"Scullllyyyy!"

I fought the tangled sleeping bag, finally breaking free of
it.  I fumbled to light a candle, getting it on the second
try.

"Sculllyyy!"

He sat bolt upright on the couch, his chest heaving.

"Mulder you ok?" I looked around, seeing no one other than
ourselves.

"Yeah. Just a bad dream," he gasped, his face shiny with
sweat in the dim light.

"You sure?" I asked, getting my water bottle from the
table and taking it to him.

"Thanks." He took a long drink from it, and then
drew a ragged breath.

I was wide awake and knew there was no chance of going back
to sleep, but at least I felt rested.

"Sorry about that," he said, after he'd settled down a
little more.

"No problem. I've had some harsh ones myself since all this
happened. But you're one hell of an alarm clock."

He didn't even crack a smile and I felt like an idiot for my
remark.

"I've had bad dreams even before all this. Guess I should
have warned you."

His tone was apologetic, and that made him seem vulnerable
somehow.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No. I just want to forget it," he shook his head, as if it
could erase the nightmare from his mind.

I left him in peace, and sat back watching the dim gray
light of early morning creep in the through the windows.

After a while, I excused myself and found a bathroom to
clean up in. Once I had washed, and changed into fresh
clothes, I was anxious to get moving. St. Louis held nothing
for me anymore. Nothing but old memories. Shadows of the
past.

Back in the lobby I could see Mulder was packing up his
stuff.

"Glad I'm not the only one anxious to get moving."

"I've got to get to DC. I'm going to push hard to get us
there as fast as I can, Kari."

"I know. I'm up for it, trust me." I said, stowing my
sleeping bag and gear onto my bike rack.

We biked out of St. Louis that morning, after finding Mulder
a set of saddle bags for his bike. We got lucky on the first
shop we tried. We restocked our dehydrated food, and rode
across the Mississippi river and onto interstate sixty four.

It was June third, and if you only looked at the crystalline
sky above us, the world was perfect. But if your gaze
drifted down to the death and destruction that surrounded
us, we were in hell.
 

end part 1
 

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Fides Procuro
by Kelly Moreland

part 2
 
 

We made it to Louisville late on the afternoon of June 6th,
and stopped by the welcome sign to take a drink. The past
couple of days had been grueling, but not as grueling as
solitude. Mulder had nightmares every night, and woke us up
screaming, usually for Scully. He eventually told me she was
his partner.

I was burning with curiosity about her, but not willing to
push for the answers. They'd come in time. I had nightmares
of the silent type. The young girl in a tank top lying on
the sidewalk in Sunrise Beach. The old couple sitting
serenely in their rocking chairs. Endless highways
filled with cars full of bodies, rotting and bloating in the
sun. A woman in a business suit sprawled next to a gas pump,
at some nameless station. And without speaking, or even
moving, each was an accusatory question of why us, and not
you.

You see, I had my own nightmares.

"Wanna make a bet on the winner of the next Kentucky Derby?"
Mulder asked, grinning wryly and running a hand through his
hair. I'd come to like his understated and quirky sense of
humor.

He passed me the water bottle.

"It wouldn't be fair to you," I replied with a deadpan
expression. "I already know who's going to win."

"Nobody?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yep," I grinned, swinging back on to my bike and peddling
away from him.

"Kill joy," he pouted, catching up to me.

"Sore loser" I laughed back at him. A single gunshot cracked
through the air, and we dove off the bicycles. I landed hard
sliding across the rough black-top, feeling pebbles and grit
from the road digging into my flesh.

"C'mon!" Mulder hissed, tugging at me and pointing
to a gully by the road.

I didn't want for a second invitation. I belly-crawled into
the ditch as he followed, his pistol drawn.

"Are you hit?" He glanced over me quickly.

"No, but my knees hate me right now," I grimaced, looking at
the rips on my jeans.

He was peering over the edge of the ditch.

"Did you see where the shot came from?" He whispered, still
glancing over the edge.

"No idea," I whispered back. We stayed still and quiet for a
few minutes, but heard nothing.

"Stay here. I'm going to circle around, see if I can find
anything. Just wait here, okay?"

I nodded, and he moved down the gully, crouching low.
He stopped in front of a drain pipe that ran under the
roadway. He looked inside it, glanced back at me, then
disappeared into it.

I waited.

And waited.

After fifteen minutes, I was about ready to go looking for
him, when I heard footsteps on the asphalt above me. I
flattened myself against the bank, and looked for anything I
could use as a weapon. I picked up a rock the size of my
fist, and clenched it tightly in my hand. It would have to
do.

"Are you going throw that at me?" Mulder asked.

I whirled, and saw him standing on the roadside above my
head.

"Jesus, man!" I swore, throwing the rock back into the
ditch. "Idiot that I am, I assumed you'd be coming back the
same way you left, so yes! You almost got beaned in the
head!" I yelled at him indignantly.

"You can come out. It's ok now. But I don't think we should
hang around here too long." He looked somewhat amused at me.

"Why, what did you find?" I took his extended hand, and
climbed out of the ditch. He tossed me a rifle shell.

"It's from thirty-thirty. They were close, real close. I
think it was a warning. Let's take it and move on."

I looked at the brass casing in my hand, and agreed, before
tossing it to the ground.

"Your knees ok?" He asked, looking at the rips in my jeans.

"My knees are in better shape than my nerves right now.
Let's just get out of here."

We rode hard and straight through Louisville, not stopping
or even speaking until we were past the city limits. I
pointed out a sign that said Shelbyville ten miles.

"Stop there tonight?"

"As long as no one shoots at us," he grunted.

It was full dark by the time we found a hotel that was close
to the interstate.

Mulder, insisted on checking out the rooms, before letting
me in. He has an over developed sense of chivalry. But maybe
that's not such a bad thing. I'd walked into a room on my
way to St. Louis, and found a cleaning lady on the floor.
I'd assumed that since the key was at the desk, it
would be vacant, but housekeepers have a master key.

"These two are empty," He nodded, coming back from his
inspection. I wheeled my bike into one of the rooms, and he
took the other. He always picked rooms with adjoining doors.

At first it had made me nervous, but I was comfortable with
it now; it made me feel safer. I sat down on the bed and
groaned, nice soft bed. I'd sleep good tonight.

I rooted out a couple of candles, and lit them. Placing them
on the table by the bed. Mulder came in carrying water and a
hand towel.

"Let me see your knees," He said, sitting on the edge of the
bed. I sat up and rolled up my pants legs. They were pretty
scraped up; with grit and dirt crusted in the gashes.

"They aren't too bad. I don't think I need stitches."

He uncapped the bottle in his hand, and began pouring water
over one of the scrapes. I couldn't help laughing.

"What's so funny? I know I'm not a doctor, but I can clean
up a cut." He actually sounded hurt.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, "I don't think anyone
has bandaged a scraped knee for me in twenty years. Not
since I was about eight years old. It just struck me funny,
made me remember my mom."

"Oh," he said softly.

"She died of ovarian cancer when I was ten. Dad, Russell,
Danny and Scott raised me after that." I shut up, realizing
that I was rambling.

"My mom died last year," He said after a quiet pause.

"She had cancer too, but she ended it early." That
implication hit me hard, and I winced inwardly.

"I take it she was terminal?" I asked softly. He nodded, and
started on the other knee. I didn't know what else to say
for a minute.

"Tell me about your partner?" As soon as I uttered the
words, I regretted it. He froze in place, and I started
mentally smacking myself for the look of pain that creased
his brow.

He cleared his throat, started washing my scrapes again,
then spoke.

"What do you want to know?" His tone was maybe an octave
above a whisper.

"How long have you been partners?" Too late to turn back
now, I thought, plunge on.

"Almost ten years." A ghost of a smile crossed his face.

"Jeeze. You two must have been through a lot together," I
hoped I wasn't pushing too far.

"Hell, high water, life, death. You know, the usual," he
chuckled grimly.

"She must be a good friend," I grinned.

"She's my best friend." Something in the way he said it made
me feel his sadness.

"Do you love her?" His head snapped up, and his eyes met
mine.

"Very much," he said, and then as an after thought he added.
"But we aren't lovers."

That surprised me. The way he called her name out at night,
they way he spoke softly and longingly about her. It sounded
like a lot more than just friendship.

"Ever think about crossing that line?"

He was finished with my knees, and now he sat back on the
floor, leaning back against the other bed.

"Many times. We even talked about it once. But we both
agreed it wasn't professional, and that it was a line we
weren't prepared to cross." His eyes had taken on a glassy
distant aspect.

"And you're regretting that now?"

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. I could hear the pads of
his fingers rasping against his five o'clock shadow in the
stillness.

"Maybe," He mused after a length of time had passed. I
nodded, and got up from the bed.

"Thanks Doc," I winked at him. "I feel as good as new."

I went to my bike and opened up the saddle bags, mulling
over the options for dinner.

"Hungry?" I called to him. He didn't answer, so I turned to
see why. He sat in the same position, but he looked lost. I
left the food packets and walked over, squatting in front of
him.

"Hey," I prodded softly.

He turned his face to me, and my heart clenched at the tears
in his eyes.

"Don't do this, Mulder." I urged.  "Don't start thinking
that chances are past, and doors are closed, until you know
for sure." I reached out, squeezing his shoulder. He
struggled to swallow an almost visible lump in his throat.

"To be your partner, she has to be strong. And if she's
strong, then she's probably there in DC waiting for you.
You have to have faith. Faith manages. It sustains us in the
hour when reason tells us we cannot continue, and that our
lives have no meaning. You have to believe."

Our eyes locked again, his were bright with a sudden
fierceness I didn't understand. But I knew that I had struck
a cord somehow.

"Yeah, you're right. Never underestimate the will of a red-
head." He looked more focused now.

"Oh man. My roommate in college was a red-head." I laughed.
"The best way to describe Renee was like this. Imagine ten
pounds of dynamite, crammed into a five pound bag. That was
Renee."

He chuckled softly, sounding almost normal again.

I mentally patted myself on the back.

"Did you mention food?" He grinned at me.

Yep, he was himself again.
 

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
 

We put the incident in Louisville behind us and trekked on.
Mulder insisted on traveling easy for the next couple of
days, because of my skinned and bruised knees. I argued with
him, but it was useless. The man has an iron will. So it
took us four days to make it across Kentucky and into West
Virginia.

Which we promptly renamed the too-many-fucking-mountains-to-
bike-across state.

We sat in a couple of rooms in a motel in Huntington,
arguing.

We were doing that a lot lately, and getting good at it. It
was really more like a debate, than an argument.

"If we can find a car, made before the seventies, we might
have a chance of getting it to start. Before the seventies
they didn't have electronic ignition." He said
after we had eaten dinner.

"Well. We are in one of the most red-neck states in the
union. We probably have a good chance of finding one." I
said sarcastically.

"Aw c'mon Kari. You never know, the red-neck brute of your
dreams might be in them thar woods." He teased.

"I've decided I should get myself a gun." I stated. "Just so
I have the option of shooting you for crap like that." I
smiled sweetly at him, and got the hurt puppy look.

I swear, I think he'd patented the expression. That, and
pouting.

"We can try it, but I choose to remain dubious." I said,
returning to the subject.

"Tomorrow we'll look around, so what we find. It'll take us
forever to bike these mountains."

"I think you just want to go country, and ride around in an
old rusted pick up truck." I quipped.

"Damn. You found me out," he sighed with mock despair.

"A truck would be better. With a truck, we can take our
bikes. When it runs out of gas, we can use them," he said,
serious again.

"Why not," I shrugged.

I learned an important lesson the next day. Mulder found a
pre nineteen seventies truck, not only pre seventies, but a
gorgeous, light blue, fifty two model pick up. And the damn
thing started right up.

The lesson? There's nothing worse than Mulder when he's
right. Smug doesn't even come close to covering it.

We laid our bikes down in the back, and rode out of
Huntington in style.

I swear he was even enjoying it. He sat behind the wheel,
with an open bag of sunflower seeds nestled between his
thighs, grinning and rubbing in the fact that he was right.

"Just listen to that engine," he smiled smugly.

"Yeah, it runs good. You were right. But you suck with that
gear shift on the column," I countered. "Poor truck won't
have any transmission left by the time you are done with
it."

"Sore loser," He muttered, still grinning, and flicked a
shell at me. I bated it away, and shook my head at him.

"Just drive, Jeeves." I smiled, leaning back and closing my
eyes. I wasn't really tired. I'd been sleeping good the past
few nights.

Mulder had too. His nightmares had left him peace it seemed.

He was happy to be driving I think. I'd occasionally hear
him humming low under his breath.

That truck took us all the way through West Virginia before
finally running out of gas in Front Royal. Virginia. I know
he hated to leave it.

"You aren't going to kiss the damn thing, are you?" I teased
as he straddled his bike and looked back at it sitting by
the road.

"Aren't you going to miss riding, instead of riding?" He
asked, gesturing down at his bike to emphasize the
difference.

"Yeah, I am, and it was a great truck. It suited you. If you
find some cans of gas, you can always come back for it
later."

"I might do that." he commented, as we started peddling. We
were less than a hundred miles from DC now, and his
enthusiasm was building.

I just hoped he found what he was looking for. I really did.
 
 

On June 12th, we rode into Georgetown, this was his
territory, so to speak, so he led the way. We went straight
to Scully's apartment.

At the door, Mulder knocked, and waited. There was no
answer.

He dug into his jeans pocket, and pulled out his key ring.
He stared at it in his palm, as if memorizing each line and
groove on its surface.

I had a pretty good idea of what was going through his mind.
What he might find inside. I gently laid my hand over his,
and slid the key from his grasp.

"Why don't you wait here?"

"I should be the one to go in..." He objected.

"No. You shouldn't." I shook my head. "Just wait here."

I placed my palm flat against his chest, and pushed him back
a few steps. Then I turned around and unlocked the door.

I closed it behind me after I went in. The apartment didn't
have the closed up smell of decay. That was a good sign,

I thought as I went room by room. Kitchen. Living room.
Bathroom. Bedroom. Then I went back the door and opened it.

He stood in the hallway, chewing on his thumbnail.

"It's empty," I said cautiously. I stepped back and watched
him go through each room just as I had done.

"Her purse, and some of her clothes are missing, I think."
He said with a deep sigh.

"So where would she go?"

"Her mothers house most likely."

"Then that's where we need to go." I stated evenly.

"I want to stop at my apartment first. Pick up a few
things," he said. I think he was stalling, but I didn't
mention that fact.

We biked over and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.
As soon as we came out of the stairwell, Mulder stopped dead
in his tracks.

"What is it?"

"There's something stuck to my door." He walked with
long strides down the hallway, and ripped a folded piece of
paper from the door of apartment 42.

"Well? What is it? Is it from Scully?" I asked, as he
opened it and cocked his head.

"It's a map." He turned it around and showed it to me.

It was a xeroxed map of the united states, the detail
wasn't very good, but next to several cities were numbers
in red. There was a one just below Jefferson City Missouri.
There was a one next to Louisville Kentucky. There was a
one next to Washington DC.

"A map of survivors?" I asked in disbelief.

"I think so," he said, and the raised the map to his nose
and inhaled.

"Does that smell like cigarette smoke to you?" He asked,
holding it out to me. I cocked an eyebrow at him,
but sniffed it anyway.

"I dunno," I shrugged. "Maybe a little."

He folded the map up quickly.

"We need to hurry," he said, opening the door.

Mulder grabbed some things, stuffed them into a
roll bag and hustled us out the door.

It took us an hour to get to Scully's mothers home, and he
hadn't spoken since we left his apartment, and I could tell
something was wrong.

We stopped in front of a white house on a tree lined avenue.
He knocked on the front door a few times, before trying the
knob.

It was locked. We walked around the house, and he headed
for the back door, but I saw something that made me call out
to him.

"Mulder." I said staring into the yard.

"Yeah?" He was knocking on the back door, and twisting the
knob in his hand.

"I think she's been here." He was beside me in a second,
staring at the same thing I was. By the back fence, there
was a grave. We walked over to it slowly. On a flat rock
the words 'Margaret Scully' were painted in white.

"Her mother?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes," he turned abruptly and strided to where our bikes
were parked.

"There's only one other place I know to look." He said as
raced I catch up with him.

"Where?"

"Our office."

It was almost impossible to keep up with him, but I managed.
Barely.

When we reached the federal building, he leaped off the bike
and let it crash to the ground.

"Mulder!" I yelled, as he sprinted toward the entrance.

He slowed, but I still had to run to catch up with him
again. His legs were a lot longer than mine. I would have
been lost in the twisting, turning, hallways in seconds.
After one final turn he came to a stop. I peered around him,
but the hallway was empty.

"Scully?!" He yelled loudly. Silence answered him. He
hesitantly took a step, then another, passing each doorway
until there was only one left.

"Scully?" He called out again.

"Mulder?!" We both spun around because the voice came from
the opposite end of the hallway. I looked at a petite
redhead, a couple of inches shorter than myself, and knew
she had to be Scully. My throat tightened, as I watched both
their faces. Shock, fear, joy, pain, and love each had their
brief unguarded moment.

Her hand came up and covered her mouth, which was hanging
open.

Mulder stood, rooted to the spot.

"Go," I hissed at him, and yet he still stood there. "Go
damn it," I said louder.

He bolted, and she met him halfway. He scooped her up in his
arms, laughing and crying at the same time, kissing her
lips, her forehead, her eyes, as she did the same. At that
moment, I didn't even exist on this planet, let alone in
that hallway. And I didn't mind.

I wouldn't have done a thing to interrupt this. That kind of
love isn't something you see everyday.

I realized then, that I was crying.

"I thought you were dead." She cried, her voice raw but
still audible in the stillness.

"You've thought that before," he smiled, letting her body
slide along the length of his back to the floor.

"How..?" She started, but he placed his finger over her
lips, silencing her.

"Later. Right now, I just need to look at you. I need to
feel you." He took both her hands in his. "And I need to
know that you are okay." His voice was cracking with the
force of his emotions.

"I'm ok Mulder. I'm fine." They both laughed at something I
didn't quite get.

"Going to introduce me?" She asked, looking past him to me.

I smiled, and wondered if she knew how lucky she was. I
think she did.

He let go of one hand, but wouldn't release the other.
His fingers firmly interlocking with hers. They walked up
to where I was still standing. I wiped my eyes, and took a
breath.

"Dana Scully, this is Kari Chandler, a good friend I made on
the long road home."

"Hi Kari." She smiled at me.

"Hi Dana. You don't have any idea how good it is to finally
meet you."

I said in all sincerity, shaking her hand as she offered it.
I looked up at Mulder.

"Faith manages." I said smiling warmly.

"Faith manages." He agreed.
 
 

Fini~
 

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
 

Fides Procuro II : Quod neque nec Respicio

by Kelly Moreland
 
 
 

Kari Chandler followed a few steps behind Mulder and Scully,
as they left the FBI Headquarters. Mulder had reluctantly
released Scully's hand, so she could gather her things to
leave. Now, as they exited the building, he placed his
hand in the small of her back, his thumb stroking lightly
along the back of her shirt. It was a gesture that spoke
of deep intimacy. Kari wondered briefly, if he'd exaggerated
when he'd told her they were not lovers. She quickly
discounted the idea. Everything she knew of Mulder at this
point, he didn't strike her as a liar. Not even a casual one.
"Want me to push your bike?" She offered to him, thinking he
would want walk with his partner. They had a lot to talk about.
"Nope." He answered, with a mischievous grin.
He looked down at Scully.
"How did you get here?" He questioned, the grin remaining in place.
"I walked. Thought I could use the exercise." She replied,
noticing the grin just as Kari had.
"Oh." He said, grinning broadly.
The words and the grin didn't match. He was up to something.
He suddenly grabbed the handlebars of his bike,
and swung a leg over it.
"C'mere Scully."
"What?" She asked with true innocence,
taking a curious step closer.
Mulder patted the handlebars of the bike.
"Right here." He grinned, his face transformed with
boyish charm.
"You've got to be kidding." She answered, taking a step back.
"Either that, or on the rack behind me, or right here."
He patted the top bar between his thighs.
"And I don't think that would be very comfortable."
"If those are my choices, I think I'll take the rack."
 She said without enthusiasm.
Mulder sighed with feigned dejection, as she straddled
the bike rack behind him, and placed a hand on
each side of his waist.
Kari couldn't resist a crack,
she'd been around Mulder for too long.
"Just out of curiosity Dana, is your will up to date?"
Scully laughed, but Mulder gave her a death stare as
they started off. Kari kept several feet behind them,
even turning casual circles in the empty street,
staying well out of hearing range.
"Mulder?" His partner asked, squeezing his sides a little.
"Hmm?"
"How much weight have you lost?" Her tone was concerned.
He chuckled softly, both amused and touched by the question.
"I come several hundred miles across country, braving the
elements, risking life and limb, to see you again and you
tell me I'm getting skinny?" His voice dripped with melodrama.
She sighed, and rolled her eyes
even though he couldn't see the gesture.
"You're.. ah.. just a lot firmer than I remember."
"You don't know the half of it." He mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. It wasn't exactly a pleasure trip Scully.
We made a lot of miles everyday. It was a two week long work out.
I'm surprised I didn't run Kari to death, trying to get back here."
"Where did you meet her at? Kansas City?"
"St. Louis, Missouri. That was where her family was,
she'd been out of town, and biked there to find them."
"I take it she didn't find them?"
"Not alive. What do you think of her?"
"Mulder, I just met her. I don't have an opinion yet."
"I think you'll like her. She's tough, and she's honest."
"Scully, we went to your mothers house before we came here.
I know about your Mom. I'm sorry. I should have been
here with you. For you." His lips thinned, as he spoke.
"It's ok Mulder. I was with her at the time. Bill had called
and gave us an early unofficial warning. I left the office,
and went to spend the night at her house. I buried her next
to her tea roses. She loved those roses. Daddy planted them
for her, the summer before he died." She recalled aloud.
Mulder took his hand from the bars long enough
to give hers a gentle squeeze.
"Any one else we know that made it?" He asked, after
putting both hands, and his attention back to steering them.
"No. Not that I know of." She sighed. "I found Skinner in
his office, a single gunshot wound to the head. I couldn't
run any tests, but I'm pretty sure it was self-inflicted."
"What?" The bike wobbled a little, as Mulder glanced
back over his shoulder at her.
"His service pistol was laying on the floor beside him,
with one shell casing. I think he knew what was coming."
He changed the topic.
"Any theories on what exactly happened?"
"Actually, yes. There was some footage of two..
aircraft fighting over Atlanta..."
"Ufo's Scully."
"Aircraft, Mulder. Of unknown origin."
He chuckled soundlessly, some things would never change.
"Anyway," She continued. "I think that when one was
fired upon, and exploded it released an Electromagnetic
Pulse that wiped out all our electronic devices."
"An EMP isn't fatal. How could it kill all these people?"
He asked, waving a hand that encompassed the empty streets.
"The human brain sends and receives information through
small electrical impulses. I've done some research on it,
as much as I could anyway, and an EMP of 3Hz to 30kHz
is all that's needed to effect all electrical and
electronic systems worldwide. And it's a fact that
electronic frequencies of 200kHz and higher
can effect people in numerous ways.."
"So," Mulder picked up her train of thought. "If this
were, say, 500kHz or higher, it could have short
circuited a persons brain."
"Which would most likely account for the spontaneous
nosebleeds. A majority of the victims may simply
have died from blood loss."
Mulder thought back to the terminal in Kansas City.
"I don't think so Scully."
They rode in silence for a few minutes.
"Mulder." Her throaty whisper got is full attention
immediately.
"Yes?"
"I'm very glad to see you." She slid her arms around
his waist, and hugged him tightly.
"Scully, Scully!" He warned. "Don't make us wreck.
It'd ruin the whole mood I'm trying to set."
She laughed, and burrowed her face into his back.
Mulder barely kept a groan from escaping his lips,
and forced his attention back to keeping them upright.
Almost there, he thought. Five more minutes. Tops.
"What mood would that be?" Scully asked, loosening
her grip around his middle, but not letting go entirely.
"I don't want to give away the surprise." He remarked
cryptically. "You'll find out soon enough."
"Should I be concerned?" She teased.
"Scully, you should know by now, that you don't have
anything to ever be concerned about when I'm here."
She knew it, and knew that he meant each word.
He stopped in front of her building, and held the
bike still till she was off. Kari pulled up beside him,
and dismounted.
"You two go on inside. I've got an errand to run.
I'll be back in a few minutes." They both looked
at him with puzzled expressions.
"Go on." He smiled.
"What are you up to?" Scully asked.
"I'm going to pick up something for dinner.
I'll be back as soon as I can." He raced away,
before any more questions or objections could be voiced.
"There's no telling with him, is there?"
Kari asked, as he rounded the corner out of site.
"Mulder?" Scully smiled. "Never."
Kari followed her up the stairs, and outside
the door she spoke.
"I think I should tell you. We came here first.
I hope you don't feel intruded upon,
but I was inside your apartment."
Scully's face held a slightly confused expression.
"Mulder had the key, but, I took it from him and
made him wait here in the hallway while I went in first.
Just in case." Kari looked slightly embarrassed by this,
 but Scully just nodded and unlocked the door.
"I've got some bottled water in the kitchen,
would you care for some?"
Scully asked, as she kicked off her shoes.
"Yes, please."
She drew two glasses from a ceramic cooler in the corner
and handed one to Kari.
"Oh god." Kari sighed, after the first sip.
"That's the coldest water I've had in weeks."
She chuckled at the silliness of her words.
Scully smiled. "I'd give anything to have the
annoying task of filling ice trays again."
"I understand." Kari nodded emphatically.
They walked back to the living room.
"Make yourself comfortable. I'm going to change."
Scully stated, walking down the hallway.
Kari sat down on the couch, but didn't really feel
comfortable at all. Part of her mind said she should excuse
herself now, and leave these two alone,
but at the same time, that seemed rude.
When Scully returned, dressed in shorts and a loose tee shirt,
Kari asked.
"Are there any hotels nearby?"
Mmm. Not really, Why?" She sat down on the other end
of the couch, and turned sideways, facing the other woman.
"I need somewhere to stay tonight."
"You can stay here. I have a guest room, and when ever
Mulder stays over, he sleeps on the couch."
Kari shook her head. "I don't think so, Dana--
Do you prefer Dana, or Scully? He always calls you
Scully, but I'm used to calling people by their first names.
Not their last."
"Dana is fine, if you are more comfortable with it."
She chuckled. "Mulder has called me Scully from the first.
But never call him Fox. He--"
"Hates it. I know. He told me."
They laughed together for a moment.
"You are more than welcome to stay here tonight."
"I know that I'm welcome to. I just don't think I should."
"Ahh." Scully nodded, chewing her lower lip.
 "Well at least wait till after dinner. Mulder would
probably be a little upset if you were gone when he got back."
"I'll wait till after dinner, but I just, um,
wanted you to know that I didn't plan on imposing."
"You wouldn't be."
Kari was silent and still for a moment,
then she spoke abruptly.
"He's a good man. He's got a good heart. I don't know why
I'm saying this, but he had nightmares. A lot of them.
And he always called out for you. Telling you to run.
That they were coming. He was so scared for you.
His one ambition was to get here, to find you.
And I was so scared that.. It would end badly.
That's why I wouldn't let him come in when we got here.
I'm not sure what he would have done."
She ran out of breath, and took a sip of water, looking at Scully.
Her head was cocked slightly to the right,
her arms wrapped loosely around one raised knee.
"He would have survived." She stated after a
few moments of silence.
"I'm not so sure about that." Kari disagreed.
"He loves you. You know that, don't you?"
"I know." Scully said softly, looking down at the
patterned fabric of the couch.
"And you love him too." It wasn't a question.
Scully didn't answer.
"I saw your face when in that hallway." Kari said firmly.
"You can not sit there and tell me you don't love that man."
She remained quiet, and Kari sighed in exasperation.
"You know. Two people who truly, deeply,
cared about each other was a special thing before the
world went to hell. I think it's a once in
a lifetime chance now." She paused, and
studied the glass in her hand.
"Touch passion when it comes your way, Dana.
And never walk away if it calls you by name."
Kari said nothing more, for a minute later they
heard footsteps and mumbling in the hallway.
"Get the door." Mulder yelled from outside.
Scully got up, with a smile, and opened it for him.
He strolled in, carrying a large cardboard box.
"What's all this?" Scully asked, trying to
peek into the carton. Mulder lifted it higher
so she couldn't see it's contents.
"This is dinner. On me. I'm cooking."
Scully turned to Kari, who still sat on the couch
watching the interaction with a bemused smile.
"Be afraid. Be very afraid." She deadpanned.
"I've never been more afraid in my life." Kari returned.
"Oh ye of little faith." Mulder scowled,
walking into the kitchen. Scully and Kari
chuckled quietly to each other.
"Are you sure you don't need some help?" Scully called out.
"I'm very sure." Mulder said softly,
returning with three wine glasses and
a good bottle of Lambrusco.
He uncorked the wine, pouring it and passing
each of the women a glass.
"To friends." He said, raising his glass.
"To friends." They answered in unison.

To Mulder's credit, he managed nicely with dinner.
But no one can really screw up spaghetti. Scully
had a two burner camp stove in her kitchen that
might never recover from the ordeal, but the
food was very good.
"So," Scully laughed, catching her breath.
"Here we both are, covered in manure, in the
pouring rain, and he has the balls to tell me that
I smell bad!"
Kari yelped, and slapped a hand over her
mouth to cover the sound, shaking with laughter.
"Oh yeah. Laugh it up." Mulder grunted with a smile.
They were well into the second bottle of wine,
and very relaxed.
"At least I never shot you!" He barked at Scully,
just as she was getting herself together.
Kari howled, and Scully nearly fell over,
all composure gone in an instant.
Even Mulder was laughing, and doing a very
bad job at hiding it. When they'd all managed to
settle down, Kari wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"On that note, I think I'd better say goodnight.
While I can still walk." She stood up, testing
her legs. "Yeah. I can still walk."
"What?" Mulder asked, as if he'd misunderstood.
"Goodnight. You know, as in see you in the morning."
Kari grinned at him.
"Are you sure you won't stay?" Dana smiled pleasantly.
"I'm sure, but I appreciate the invitation."
Kari said, picking up her backpack.
"Where are you going?" Mulder asked, still seated at the table.
"To find a hotel to spend the night."
Kari replied evenly.
"No no. You should stay here."
He said, shaking his head for emphasis.
"There aren't any hotels close by. You'll
have to ride a couple of miles to find one."
"So, make sure you give me good directions."
Kari said, unswayed from her decision.
"Hang on." Scully said, leaving the table
and walking down the hallway.
"You don't have to leave." Mulder whispered when she was gone.
"Yes I do, and if you can't figure out why,
then I truly pity you!" Kari whispered back fiercely.
That shut him up.
"You need to tell her how you feel. Isn't it time too?
You thought you had lost her. Are you going to wait
till you really do, then moan about it?"
Mulder didn't have time to reply, as Scully returned
carrying a brochure.
"How about this?" She asked, handing it to Kari.
She glanced over it.
"Perfect. Where is it?"
"Two blocks down on the left." Scully smiled,
then explained to Mulder, who looked confused.
"The new apartment complex they just finished,
down the street. It's the brochure I got on the
mail just before you left. Remember?"
"Yeah." Mulder nodded. "You going to be ok down there?"
He looked at Kari doubtfully.
"I'll be fine. You two need some time to talk, and
I'm beat. I'll drop by in the morning." She paused at the door,
Scully had walked with her.
"Night Mulder."
"Night."
Kari was surprised when Scully leaned in and gave her a quick hug.
"Night Kari. Come by in the morning, we'll have breakfast.
Don't worry, I'll cook."
"Night Dana." She said, vanishing out the door.
Scully shut it, and locked the deadbolt, there
 really wasn't a need, but old habits die hard.
Mulder stood up, and started picking up the dishes.
"What are you doing?" Scully spoke up. "I'll get those."
"No." He said. "We'll do them tomorrow.
I know you hate that, but right now, I just want to talk.
Dishes be damned."
He took the stack into the kitchen, and returned,
carry the last half of the wine.
Scully sat down on one end of the couch,
curling her knees up under her.
Not realizing that to Mulder it made her look that much smaller,
and more delicate.
He sat down, and refilled her glass.
"Mulder, are you trying to get me drunk?"
"No. Just myself, and I don't wanna drink alone." He grinned.
Scully shook her head slowly. They had shared many
silences over the years, but this one was different as it
stretched out between them. It was heavy and electric, expectant.
"I have something to say to you." Mulder said, his voice uncertain.
He cleared his throat softly. "But I think you already know."
"Mulder I've known for a long time. You don't have to say it."
He turned to her, and took her wine glass from her hands,
setting it on the coffee table, then capturing both of her
hands in his own. He rubbed his thumbs over the backs of her hands,
discovering a softness he had never noticed before.
He lifted one to his lips, and kissed it, grazing his
lips over her knuckles. Scullys breath caught in her chest,
at the heat and tenderness of his feather light kisses.
He raised his head, and looked into her eyes, never wavering.
"I don't want to tell you." His voice was low and husky.
He pulled her hands to his chest, and spread them out
against it, as he leaned forward slowly.
He slipped one arm behind her,
cradling her head, the fingers of his other hand delicately
tracing the outline of her lips. The tips of his slender fingers
detailed them slowly, before his lips took them under his kiss.
Without preamble, or apology, his tongue pressed into her
mouth and moved freely, rampantly, stroking,
delving and tasting all of her.
Her hands slid across his chest to his sides, then encircled
his back, pulling her body up against him. Her tongue
teasingly circled his, enflaming him even more. He tugged at
her tee shirt with his free hand, pulling it from the
waistband of her shorts, and let his palm slide up her
ribcage to her breast. He could feel it's hard peak
through the satiny material of her bra, and he tweaked
it gently between his fingers. Her small gasp was his undoing.
Forcibly he calmed himself, commanded himself to slow down,
to savor, not rush. He circled both arms around her, and rose,
bringing her to her feet, his lips never leaving hers.
He bent, pressing her tightly against the length of his body,
and lifted her, walking slowly and steadily to her bedroom.
He gently lowered her to the floor beside the bed,
and whispered into her ear.
"If you want to stop this, say so now, while I still can."
"No." Her voice was something between a moan and a gasp,
as she ran her tongue along the pulse point of his neck.
A groan that came from deep in his chest was her reward.
She pulled away abruptly and turned toward the bed,
folding back the covers, while he pulled his shirt
over his head. She lay back on the sheets.
He dropped his shirt to the floor, and kicked it away.
He knelt with one knee on the bed, and took the hem of her
shirt in his hands. He watched her eyes, watching him,
as he slowly raised it and pulled it over her head.
He slid his hands around her and deftly unhooked her bra,
drawing it away as they returned. His hands covered
her bare breasts, kneading them gently, relishing the
feel of her hard nipples against his palms.
He trailed his hands back down her body, hooking his
thumbs in the waistband of her shorts, and panties.
He slid them down her legs and let them fall where they may.
His stomach jumped suddenly, at the feel of her tiny
hands unbuttoning his jeans and tugging them down
past his hips, which arched toward her helplessly.
He kicked his legs impatiently, and they fell away,
landing in a heap by the side of the bed. Scully
traced the outline of his erection through the thin
material of his briefs, the only thing that separated
them now. Her thumb rolled over the connection of his
glands to his shaft, and he inhaled sharply.
He jerked away from her, and ripped the thin cotton
down his legs, and threw them across the room.
He took her small hand in his, and placed it in the
same position as before, her touch electrifying his senses.
She moved her hand slowly, in a light caress.
He moved over her, and held her for a long
time before kissing her. When he did, his lips
 honored her softly, and she moaned against him.
With a soft touch he parted her thighs and
acquainted himself with her mystery. Scully felt
like a rare treasure being discovered.
She was malleable and moist against his questing fingers.
She felt his passion, hard, so hard as it rubbed
against the nest of auburn hair between her thighs.
He pressed his lips, softly, urgently, against her breasts,
seeking her nipples.
He made no lunging, thrusting motions, but suddenly
she felt his intrusion and arched against that sublime,
invading pressure. He filled her slowly, completely
and the pleasure of his possession went on and on,
rippling over her entire body.
"Oh God, you feel so good." he whispered in her ear.
"So good Scully."
"Mulder." Softly she cried his name as he began
to stroke her with shallow thrusts that
gradually deepened. Her hands groped along his shoulders.
 Her body bowed and bucked.
Her insides coiled tighter, and tighter as he reached
higher and higher inside her to touch the
very center of her womanhood.
"Mulder!" she called as her world exploded
into dazzling fragments.
From far away she heard his own soft cries
and they were all her name.

His head was bowed against her chest, his thighs and
shoulders still trembling from the force of his release.
She laid her palm against his cheek. He turned his face toward it,
his lips pressing a gentle kiss to its center,
as he withdrew from her slowly. He shifted his weight,
and lay down next to her, she rolled onto her side,
and he spooned up tightly against her body.
They fell asleep within seconds of each other.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Kari rapped on the door early the next morning,
and eventually Mulder opened it, wearing only sweatpants.
She took one look at him from head to toe and smiled.
"Good morning." She said with a bright smile.
"Mmm" He growled back.
"Sleep well last night?"
"Uh-huh."
"Eventually." She snickered.
"Uh-huh" He grinned.
"Where's Dana?"
"She's in the bathroom. C'mon in."
"I can't. That's what I stoped by to tell you.
I've got something I need to do. An errand.
So I'm going to skip breakfast. With any luck,
I'll be back by this afternoon."
"You shouldn't take off without a gun." Mulder scowled.
"It's not safe. Remember Louisville?"
"What happened in Louisville?" Scully asked,
coming down the hallway, and joining them at the door.
"We got shot at." Mulder said casually,
kissing the top of her head.
"By who?"
"No idea. We never saw who it was."
"Look, I don't even know how to shoot a gun,
and you now that Mulder." Kari insisted.
"I'm going to do this. I'll be back later.
I promise I'll be careful. Good morning Dana."
The last she said with with a knowing smile.
"Morning." Scully smiled sleepily.
"See you guys this afternoon. If you aren't here,
should I look for you at the FBI building?"
"Yeah." Mulder yawned and stretched, draping
his arm around Scullys shoulders.
Kari waved, and trotted down the hall.
"You actually want to spend the day at the office?"
Scully asked as he shut the door.
"Well, maybe not the whole day, but there is something
I've always wanted to do on that desk."
"You too, huh?" Scully answered.
 

Kari wanted the two of them to spend the day alone together,
so she had found the perfect thing to do, and if
she really pushed herself, she could make it to the
truck and drive it back before nightfall.
Mulder had loved the damn thing, and really hated leaving it behind.
While poking around the apartment complex last night,
Kari had found several filled gas cans, stored in a
shed for the heavy equipment. Two of the smallest ones
were strapped to the rack on her bike, as she peddled
along interstate sixty six. She stayed low over the bike,
peddling fast, and keeping her momentum going.
It took a little less than five hours to get back to
where they had left the truck. She emptied both cans
into the tank, and lifted her bicycle into the back.
"Hello."
Kari spun around, gasping, heart racing.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." The man said,
his green eyes warm and friendly.
"Th-that's ok. I just wasn't expecting anyone to be here."
She laughed uneasily.
"I'm sure you weren't." He smiled again. He was dark haired,
and handsome, but something about him made Kari nervous.
Or maybe it was just the surprise. She glanced around.
"How did you get here? Surely you're not walking?"
"Actually, you just saved me a trip, but you don't realize it."
Kari took a small step back, alarms going off in her head.
He matched her pace, keeping the distance between them even,
but not close enough to be threatening yet.
"I want you to give a message to an old friend of mine." He smiled,
it looked less  friendly each time she saw it.
"I don't understand."
"Tell Mulder that he is alive only because they want him to be."
"Who is Mulder?" Kari lied, hoping her fear and confusion
looked alot like innocence.
"Don't play games with me." He stepped forward, and she stepped
back again. "Tell him Alex says hello, and if he's smart,
he'll make use of the map." Kari had backed into the truck,
momentarily forgetting it was there.
"I don't know anyone named Mulder. What do you want from me?"
She had pinned herself against the tailgate, as he
took another step.
"You're wasting your time trying to lie to me." he smiled
that same sick smile again. "We've been watching. We know.
You've been with him since St. Louis." he took another step
forward, less than six inches away from her now.
Kari kicked suddenly, catching him in the thigh, a
little off her intended mark.
Alex grunted, doubling his body over in reflex.
"You little bitch." he snarled.
Kari lunged to the right, but he stretched out his left arm,
and she ran into it. It felt like iron.
He shoved her roughly to the ground. Kari hated the fear she
felt in the pit of he stomach right then.
"Now, you can do this, or I can kill you and do it myself.
It's your decision." He let his words sink in.
"Now what's the message?" He asked, leaning over her.
"A-Alex says hello.And if he's smart, he'll figure out the map,
and that he is alive, only because you want him to be."
"Close." He shrugged. "He is alive only because THEY want him to be.
Say it again."
Kari looked up at his with undisguised hatred.
"Alex says hello and if he's smart he'll figure out the map,
and he is alive only because THEY want him to be."
She spoke clearly, although her teeth were clenched.
"Good girl." Alex said patting her on top of the head.
"Run along now."
Kari stood up slowly, her legs shaking.
"I truly I hope I see you again one day." She said facing
him with all the dignity she could manage.
"Count on it. "
"Next time one of us won't walk away."
He laughed coldly at her, unconcerned.
"Watch it sweetheart. I'm one of the good guys."
"Yeah, right, and I'm the fucking pope." She got into the
truck and slammed the door. The engine started on the first try,
and she pulled away, watching him as he stood casual in the
middle of the road. She thought about turning around,
and running him over, but as shaky as she felt she'd probably
get herself killed in the process.
"One day." She promised the dwindling image in the mirror.

Mulder leaned back in his chair, and looked over at Scully.
"I can't believe you are actually filling
out those expense reports."
He smiled, the smell of her skin, and incredible taste of her
that still lingered fresh on his tongue.
"It's something to do," she looked up with a smile.
"At least until you catch your second wind."
"Third." he pointed out. "Third wind."
"Whatever." She grinned. "You'd think that after all
these years of those videos that aren't yours, you'd
have learned something about stamina."
"Who knew you were insatiable?" he shrugged casually,
then ducked the pencil she threw at him.
"And there is nothing wrong with my -- Hi Kari."
He changed gears suddenly, letting the
previous conversation slip away.
"Hi." Kari said with the ghost of a smile.
"Are you ok? You look a little pale." Scully said,
her brow creasing.
"Um.. Yeah, I'm ok. I just. Got the living shit scared out of me."
"What happened?" Mulder asked, as Scully rose,
and filled a paper cup with water. She handed it
wordlessly to the other woman.
Kari took it with a mumbled thanks. She sipped it,
and fished into her pocket for the keys to the truck.
"I went to get something you left behind." she smiled
a little as he saw the keys dangling from her fingers.
She took a deep breath.
"I met someone who told me to give you a message.
He was, ah, very specific."
Mulder sat bolt upright in the chair, it's
springs squeaking in protest.
"Who?" He asked, Scully too was looking at her expectantly.
"Alex said hello, and that if you are smart you'll figure
out the map, and that you were alive only because they
wanted you to be alive." She repeated the message verbatim,
feeling a deep shame and sense weakness in her chest.
Neither of the other two spoke, so Kari cleared her throat
before speaking again. When she did,
each word was measured and precise.
"I know I'll regret this later, because I know how you
are about being right, but um, you were right again Mulder.
It's not safe for me to go somewhere alone and unarmed.
It's time I learned to shoot a gun. Would you show me how?"
He still sat in his chair, now rubbing his chin thoughtfully,
and she wondered if he'd heard her. There was a current
running between he and Scully, they looked at each other
and spoke volumes without a single sound.
"Now, or tomorrow?" He asked abruptly, not breaking his
gaze or moving from his seat.
"No time like the present. But I'm ashamed to say that
I'm twenty eight years old, and I've never even picked up
a gun. Think between the two of you I can learn?"
Scully turned and delicately perched on the corner of the desk.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, and yes, I'm sure you can."
Her gaze was meant to be reassuring, but Kari felt
somehow smaller before her eyes.
Intimidation didn't set well with her, neither did being
victimized. And that's exactly how she felt.
 

The Fox Mulder/Dana Scully handgun course had been informative,
and out right riotous at times. Mulder had intended it to be both.
It didn't require a Phd in psychology to see that
Krycek had scared the hell out of Kari.
The little run in had shaken her confidence.
He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but Krycek had
scared the shit out of him too.
More because of his message, than his presence. After,
they had dropped her off at her apartment, she had flatly
refused to stay with them at Scully's. He pulled out the map
he and his partner were looking at now.
"Do you think the numbers represent survivors?"
She asked, peering at the map on the table.
"That's a possibility. But why would he care if we found survivors?
What would it matter to him?"
"Well if they are, then we have two in New York,
three in Philadelphia,
four in Baltimore, and five in Atlanta.
The rest are just ones again."
"Doesn't seem right, does it?" He mused,
his chin propped in one hand,
his full attention on the map. Mulder studied it, trying to
find answers in the simple marks on the paper. He moved so suddenly,
that Scully was a little surprised.
He snatched up the map, and held it up in front of a candle.
"What is it?" Scully asked knowing he had found something.
"The ones are survivors. The other numbers are steps of action,
or destinations."
"How do you know?"
"I just do Scully. The only problem is, do we gather all
the ones before we move on to the two?"
"Do you have any idea what step, or action the rest are?"
"Not yet. Maybe they are just destinations. But, if we are
supposed to follow them in order, we'll be backtracking
across the entire eastern seaboard."
He sighed. "That's a lot of travel."
"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line."
Scully said, running her finger along the coast.
Mulder's eyebrows twitched for a second.
"Oh no. You've got to be kidding."
"You've never been sailing with me, have you?" Scully asked,
 knowing the answer to her own question.
"I think by land is our safest route."
"By sea will be our fastest."
Mulder didn't want to concede that point.
"What about the ones?" Scully asked. "Are we supposed to
find them all first?"
"I don't think so. I think any of the ones
can be the starting point.
As long as one of them leads to, or follows through to the rest."
"There's really only one way to find out." Scully said.
Mulder nodded, chewing on his lower lip, silently.
"Don't forget to pack your Dramamine."
 

Fini~

~~~
 

Authors note : This picks up where Fides Procuro II ends.
Heartfelt thanks to Plausible Deniability for the assistance with
the title. I do not speak Latin, and the translator program I was
using gives the words, but not the nuisances of the language.
PD, you are a redwood among sprouts.  :-)
 

Fides Procuro III : Pondera Somnia

by Kelly Moreland
k_a_moreland@hotmail.com

It took almost a week for Scully to find a boat that she was
satisfied with. Mulder was still objecting to the whole idea,
even though it was the most logical course of action. The trio
had spent the last four days going from marina to marina looking
at boats, before finally finding this one in Annapolis.
"I think it's perfect." Scully said, looking over the forty foot
Beneteau with a critical eye. Mulder turned to Kari, standing
silently at the rail next to him.
"Leave it to me to fall for the daughter of a sailor, when I get
seasick on rough ferry rides."
"Perfect Mulder logic to me." the blonde replied, before walking
up the short gangplank to where Scully stood.
"Scully, I don't know squat about boats, so what makes this one
any different the other thirty million or so we've looked at the
last few days?" She asked with a good natured grin.
"Draft, Shape, layout, sail rigging. They are close to the one my
father used to have, there for, I'm more comfortable with it."
"Works for me." Kari laughed, not understanding one single thing
her friend pointed out. She ventured into the cabin below, to
take a look around.
Scully turned to look at Mulder, still standing on the dock.
"Aren't you coming up?" She called.
"Yeah. I'm coming." He straightened up from the rail where he'd
been leaning, and stepped up the gangplank.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked, looking around the deck of
the boat with trepidation.
"You don't trust me?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest,
and pinning him with a sharp look.
"Scully, you know I trust you. I'm just out of my element here.
Maybe I am the control freak you once accused me of being, but
all this makes me nervous."
"Well, if you still feel that way by the time we reach New York,
we'll leave the boat. Take some other way back to DC."
Mulder's face softened as he looked at her, standing on the deck
of the boat. Her hair glowed in the sunlight, a shade whose
definition was somewhere between copper and fire. That suits her,
he thought to himself, electric and fiery.
"What are you grinning at?" She asked, snapping him from his
reverie.
"You." He answered simply.
"What is it?" She automatically assumed something was wrong.
"Nothing. Just enjoying how beautiful you are, before the moment
is stolen away." At that moment, he was an open book to her.
Nothing hidden, nothing unsaid, all his thoughts written on his
face.
"You've got the heart of poet, when you let it show. You know
that Mulder?"
He smiled and looked away. When he glanced back, the mask was
back in place.
He couldn't let his soul lay bare for very long, not even to her
though she saw it more than anyone else ever had or would.
He looked at all the boats docked at the harbor, then back to his
partner.
"You aren't worried about sailing this thing with no navigation
system? No GPS?"
"Nope. All we have to do is keep the coast in sight, and sail
north till we see a statue of a real tall lady holding a torch."
He shot her a look that said, very funny.
"Just relax Mulder." She chuckled. "You might even enjoy it."
Kari came back up from the cabin.
"So what do we do now?" She asked, sitting down at the cockpit
table.
"Lay in supplies. That shouldn't take us but a day or so, using
the pick up truck. Then set out."
"Ah man." Mulder whined. "I'm going to have to leave my truck
again?"
Both the women laughed, which was what he'd planned.

Scully was right about her time frame. The next afternoon they
had the boat stocked, using the third cabin as an extra storage
room. Kari had the foreward cabin with it's twin beds, leaving
the two of them with the larger master suite at the stern. Scully
suggested they spend that night on the boat, in order to leave
early the next morning. Her real intention was to let Mulder get
used to the feel of it before they actually put out to sea.
"What exactly are we looking for in New York?" Kari asked as they
all sat around the galley table.
"I'm not sure yet." Mulder said, he had a feeling they would know
the minute they got there.
"It's more or less an expedition." Scully replied.
"Personally, I'll be glad to be away from the city. Breathe some
fresh air for a while." It wasn't something they talked about, by
unspoken agreement, but the smell in the city was getting worse
with each day that passed. It was late June, with full summer not
far away. In a few more weeks, it would be unbearably hot
indoors, and to vile to have the windows open.
Death had become a silent partner in their lives. They passed it
on the street almost every day. It was a constant. Kari didn't
know, but Scully had told Mulder that the while they were apart
she had cleaned out what few bodies there were in their office
building. Including AD Skinner. She had simply dragged them down
to the parking garage, laying them out in a row.
Last night after making love to her, he'd curled himself against
her back. Something they both liked, and she'd asked about what
he'd seen on the trip. He was reluctant, but he'd told her about
the Kansas City terminal. He knew that he had a tendency to lock
things away, and bear his burdens alone. It was a habit she was
trying to break him of.
Kari excused herself early, and went to her cabin, leaving the
two of them still seated at the table.
"Are you getting more comfortable with this idea?" Scully asked.
"I'll let you know tomorrow, after we aren't safely tied to the
dock."
"You'll be fine." She smiled softly, reaching up to brush her
fingers through his hair, just above his ear.
Mulder closed his eyes for a second, knowing he would never get
tired of her touch. For years, they had played cat and mouse. To
keep his emotions in check, he'd told himself that the
forbiddance of it was what made it so sensual.
Lately he'd discovered that he had been lying to himself all that
time.
Now that she wasn't just his partner, and wasn't off limits,
nothing had changed. In fact, the feelings he had for her had
grown stronger with each day. Like a muscle that had become weak
from lack of use, but was strong and healthy once again. That was
how his heart felt. Strong and healthy and complete.
"Sleepy?" she asked, seeing his eyes closed.
"Not in the least." he smiled devilishly, his eyes still closed.
"But I am ready to go to bed. Are you?" They way he said it made
it clear that sleep wasn't what he had in mind.
"I think so." She smiled.
He stood up, taking her hand and lead her to their cabin.
 
 

Scully handled the sailboat like a pro, even Mulder had to admit,
she knew exactly what she was doing. He was doing a lot better
than he thought he would. Chesapeake Bay wasn't the Atlantic
ocean Scully had reminded him cheerfully, when he mentioned it.
Kari on the other hand, had fallen in love immediately.
By the time they sailed up the Hudson river and docked at the New
York port authority, Mulder was even at ease.
They had agreed to split into two teams the next morning, Scully
and Kari together, Mulder alone.
"Since we have no way to keep in touch with each other, we'll
meet back here at noon. See if we've had any luck." Mulder
dictated for the third time.
"Yeah, yeah, we got it already." Kari grumbled goodnaturedly.
Mulder leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Scullys forehead,
before he said
"Be careful."
"You too." She replied back.
"A Kodak moment, and me, without a camera." Kari sighed
wistfully.
"Kari?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
Kari blinked at Scully. "Can I push him out of the boat on the
way home? Please?"
"Jesus you two." Scully laughed, rolling her eyes. She grabbed
Kari's arm, and lead her away, as Mulder went another direction.
"You know it's all in fun, Dana." Kari said a moment later as
they walked along.
"Of course I know. If a day passed that you two didn't tease each
other about something, I would think one of you was sick."
"Not trying to be nosy, but you two look very happy." Kari
observed casually.
Scully said no words, but her smile was answer enough.
"It's strange." Scully said, after they had walked for a few more
minutes.
"What?"
"For years we've worked together, been through so much. And I
know that I've loved him for a long time. They way you love
someone who you know will always be there. No matter the
circumstances, or the cost, if I needed him all I would have had
to do was ask. I was content with that."
"That alone is something a lot of people never get to
experience." Kari said.
"But now it's deeper. It's the same, but it's magnified.
Sometimes, it's a little awkward."
"I think it's perfectly what it's supposed to be."
Scully looked at her, perplexed. Kari laughed a little at her
expression.
"You really don't see it, do you?"
"I guess not." Scully shrugged.
"You finish each others sentences. You have entire conversations
within a glance. If you were any closer, you'd share the same
skin. That kind of intimacy, with anyone, would have to be
awkward at times. I'm not sure if I could handle being that in
tune with someone."
"There have been times.." Scully trailed off.
"I can imagine. If I had an off day, at the same time my life
mate had an off day. Could get ugly."
Scully didn't let it show, but the phrase life mate struck a cord
in her. It was one thing that had been bothering her. A
scientist, by nature, categorized things. The turn in their
relationship couldn't easily be categorized, and it unsettled her
a little. She had always detested the term significant other, and
boyfriend sounded outright absurd. But life mate, that suited
them.
They walked on in silence, still several blocks from their
destination.
 

Hours later, they were back at the boat, waiting on Mulder. He
was late.
"Do you think we should go look for him?"
"Let's give him a little more time." Scully replied, watching the
docks.
"With Mulder," She said, her eyes still scanning the pier. "It's
most likely that he got distracted, and left a little late to
meet us."
"He does that alot?"
"He's been known to go off on tangents."
"Don't you mean tirades?"
Scully cut her eyes at the other woman, and grinned.
"Those too." She turned her attention back to the pier, noticing
a pair of figures moving toward them. One of them was limping.
"That's him. I'll get the first aid kit." Kari said, disappearing
down into the cabin, as Scully raced down the gangplank.
Mulder was limped down the dock. As Scully ran to them, she could
see that his jeans were torn, and his right calf was bandaged.
"Mulder what happened?" She asked, sparing a glance at the tall,
dark haired man standing beside her partner.
"I got attacked by a dog in central park." Mulder grimaced.
Kari ran up carrying their over sized first aid kit.
"I'm alright." Mulder assured them. "Scully, Kari, meet Doctor
Hunt Riley. Let's go back to the boat, and I'll tell you what
happened."
Kari wasn't so sure that he was alright. His jeans looked awfully
bloody to her. She was even less sure about his new friend. She
had seen some big men, but this guy was huge. He stood at least
four inches taller than Mulder, and could have easily been a
linebacker for the Jets.
Scully slipped her arm around Mulder's waist, walking with him
back to the boat with the other two following.
"I was cutting through Central Park on my way back here, when
this mutt." He spat the word viscously. "Came up and sank it's
friggin teeth into my leg and wouldn't let go. Doctor Riley heard
me, and came to help me out." He explained, while Scully gently
unwrapped his leg, looking at the deep gashes there. She could
see they had already been cleaned with betadine, and the dressing
was good. She changed the bandage anyway, and made a mental note
to give Mulder a shot of antibiotics later.
"Medical Doctor?" She asked, without looking up.
"Biophysicist actually." He answered, his voice deep and rich.
"I think we found what we were looking for." Mulder said, getting
Scullys attention.
"Doctor Riley works for the Genetic Information Research
Institute, on east thirty-seventh street. I think you should hear
what he has to say." Mulder explained.

They sat and listened as Doctor Riley told his story. He had the
weekend off, but decided at the last minute to pick up some
papers that he was working on. When he got to the GIRI Center, he
was amazed to see men in army type fatigues cleaning out the
offices. His supervisor was there, and told him to stay out of
the way, and let them do their job.
" 'Go home Doctor Riley. You shouldn't be here.' Which was
strange, because Mike never called me Doctor, We have... Were
friends for six years. He kept looking at me, and then at my
office. Then I realized what he was saying. My office was next. I
went and got the file off my desk. I had to hide it, so I tucked
it in the waistband of my pants, under my shirt. I picked up a
jacket that I kept there, and carried it out. Like that was what
I came for. I almost got away with it before I was stopped." Hunt
paused, as Mulder interrupted.
"Tell Scully about the man who stopped you."
Hunt shrugged, "I'd never seen him before, he was older, wore a
trench coat, and smoked like a chimney."
A strange look passed between the two partners.
"Can't say I cared for his attitude very much. He had two of his
men escort me over to where Mike Hawkins was standing. Anytime I
tried to ask Mike what was going on, they threatened us. I'd had
enough, and was about to invite them to make good on their
threats, when they packed everything up, and just left."
He paused, taking a breath as a look of sadness settled over his
face.
"Mike told me to go home. To spend some time with my family. He
was really upset, and I thought it was about the files, and the
research. I didn't understand then what it all meant. I do now.
He knew this was coming. The next day.." His voice cracked a
little. "The next day, for all intents and purposes, my life
ended."
"But you got out with the file?" Scully asked.
"Yes. They hadn't reached my office yet, and they didn't frisk
me. It's at home. But it's only one file out of the entire
project. It's pieces, fragments of the whole picture. I can't
even make sense of it. They never let us have all the data at one
time. We couldn't even talk about what we were working on. Very
secretive." he answered.
"I'd like to see it anyway, if that's all right." Scully asked.
"Sure. I can go get it now, if you want." he said, rising from
his seat.
"Yeah. " Mulder nodded. "I'd like to see it too."
"Ok." Hunt said, standing by the walkway. "I'll be back soon."
As soon as he was gone, Mulder turned to Scully.
"CGB Spender clears out a genetic research facility the day
before all hell breaks loose. A little odd, isn't it Scully?" He
sounded excited.
Kari sat quitely in the background, listening, but not
understanding.
"More than a little odd." she mused.
"So we came here to find him?" Kari spoke for the first time.
"I think so." Mulder said thoughtfully. "And we wouldn't have, if
it weren't for a stray dog. How's that for ironic?"
"That reminds me." Scully said, rising from her chair. "I need to
give you a shot for infection. Come on."
"You know I hate needles."
"You'd hate the infection even worse. Trust me." She didn't
mention rabies. It was rare in this day and age, but she would
have to watch him for it.
He grumbled a little more, but followed her into the cabin.

When Doctor Ripley returned, he handed Scully the thick file
folder, and she opened it with Mulder peering over her shoulder.
He was right. It didn't make sense. Some parts of the data had
even been blacked out. It reminded her and Mulder both of
declassified files they had seen before. Her eyes scanned down
the page.
LOC US HUMORFT ;DEFINITION HUMAN MRNA (KIAA0033) FOR ORF, PARTIAL
CDS. ; FRAGMENT 1829 - 1398 D26067  SUB DFA
The next entry read,
LOC US HUMATPSG ;DEFINITION HUMAN GENE FOR ATP SYNTHASE GAMMA-
SUBUNIT, COMPLETE CDS. ; FRAGMENT 20472 - 20902 D16561 SUB TRC
It went on, page after page. She looked up at Hunt.
"What were you doing with this?" She asked.
"Looking for matches in the fragment codes."
"Ouch." She winced, flipping through the pages. "There must be
five hundred entries here."
"It's a whole new definition of tedious." He smiled.
"Kari?" Mulder called out over his shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"What's your middle name?" Dana looked at him curiously, so did
everyone else.
"Why?"
"Cause I want a new pet name for you. C'mon what is it?"
"Michelle."
When she answered Mulder thumped the folder with his finger.
"Bingo." He said.
"What is it?" Scully asked.
"I was suspicious when I saw this."
Mulder pointed out an entry, as Hunt leaned in to look.
LOC US HUMKSIIC3E ;DEFINITION HUMAN GENE FOR FIBROBLAST GROWTH
FACTOR RECEPTOR. ; FRAGMENT 19 - 424 D11370 SUB DKS
"And this." He pointed to another at the bottom of the page.
LOC US HUMDAO ;DEFINITION HUMAN D-AMINO-ACID OXIDASE GENE,
PARTIAL SEQUENCE. ; FRAGMENT 2352 - 2783 D11370 SUB FWM
"That's why I asked Kari." He pointed again.
LOC US HUMRCC1 ;DEFINITION HUMAN RCC1 GENE, COMPLETE CDS. ;
FRAGMENT 20817 - 21249 D00591 SUB KMC
"My god." Scully breathed. "We're all in here."
"What's your middle name Hunt?" Mulder asked.
"My middle name is Hunt. Thomas is my first name." His eyes moved
over the page.
"There." He pointed.
LOC US HUMORFT ;DEFINITION HUMAN RCC1 GENE, COMPLETE CDS. ;
FRAGMENT 17625 - 21249 D00591 SUB THR
"I didn't volunteer to be part of this project." Hunt said with a
disbelieving laugh.
"None of us did." Mulder replied, his eyes still scanning the
page.
"Is this why we all survived?" Kari asked, leaning on the table.
"I don't now about that, but you and Doctor Ripley have a match."
"So do you and I." Scully commented.
"What does that mean?" Kari asked.
"I don't even know that." Hunt shrugged. "All I was told to do
was find matches in the fragment codes, and then turn it back in.
This is how the project was run. You do a small piece of
something that makes no sense, then hand it over to someone
else." He sighed in disgust. "I can tell you gene specific facts
about a strand, but fragments like this are almost useless."
"They did a good job of keeping you in the dark." Scully agreed.
"But it paid the big bucks, so no one really asked why it was so
chaotic to work on."
Mulder was drumming his fingers on the table, still reading the
file.
"So, did you by chance have another center in Philly?" He asked
turning to look at Hunt.
"Not that I know of. Sorry."
"Great. So what do we look for there?" Kari chuckled.
Mulder turned to Hunt.
"Doctor Ripley, we could probably use your help in solving this.
Interested?"
"What exactly are you trying to solve? I'm not sure I
understand."
"None of us do. But I believe Mulder is right. We are all keys to
this puzzle, or at least have some part in it." Scully commented.
"What else do you have to do? Stay in a city of the dead?" Kari
asked, perhaps a little unkindly.
Hunt considered this for a moment.
"It's not like I have a board meeting to attend, is it?" He said
with a degree of sadness.
"We could use your help." Scully told him.
"Alright. I'll go. You have enough room?"
"I think we can manage." Scully smiled.
"We can leave in the morning. Whenever you are ready." Mulder
added.
"I'll pack a few things this afternoon. Meet you in the morning.
I've got a few good byes to say."
"That's fine." Scully said gently. They all understood about
saying good byes. Ripley left, and the three of them sat down
around the table.
Kari let out a long sigh.
"We can put him in my room, I can sleep in the galley. The booth
there converts into a bed, right?"
"Or we could move the supplies around, make room for him in
there." Scully thought aloud.
"With as much as we packed, where would we put it?" Kari
countered.
"You could just share a room with him." Mulder leered
"Yeah. And purple monkeys could fly out of my ass. No thanks.
I'll take the galley berth."

In a world stripped bare of modern standards, life can fall into
a much simpler routine. Early to bed, early to rise becomes a
habit more of necessity than anything else. After sunset you have
little to occupy your mind. Conversation, or your own thoughts
were the most common options.Kari had chosen the latter, and sat
on the deck of the boat, looking at New York illuminated by
nothing but moonlight. It was eerie, and more than a little sad.
The city that never sleeps, now never woke. The skyline was
visible only because of the light of the moon. Without it, the
tall buildings would have only been shadows in a shadowy world.
She wished she had taken the time to see it once before the world
changed.
So much for tomorrows.
 

They had left New York and rode the Hudson river down to lower
bay and the Atlantic. Hunt Riley had arrived at the pier early,
and much to Scully's pleasure, he was experienced at sailing.
Although Kari and Mulder were both becoming more confident with
handling the craft, they both needed her watchful eye. She was
glad he had joined them for a lot of reasons. For one, she was a
pathologist, she understood the basics of bio genetics, but it
wasn't her field. Another thing that all of them enjoyed, Hunt
liked to fish. Fresh black fin tuna was a nice change from their
usual dehydrated or canned food diet.
She was at the ships wheel the afternoon of the second day,
thinking these things when Mulder came up from down below.
"Hey Scully." he smiled, sitting down beside her on the double
seat.
"How's the leg?" she asked. She'd been keeping a close watch on
it, concerned about infection. The white bandage wrapped around
his calf, contrasted sharply to the dark tan he was developing on
his legs.
"Feeling pretty good. Want me to take over for a while?"
"No, I'm fine. But I'd enjoy the company." she smiled back at
him.
"Scully, I've been thinking." He said, as the wind brushed his
hair across his brow.
"That can be dangerous. Dare I ask about what?"
"Krycek."
"And?"
"He told Kari he was one of the good guys. Doesn't sound like
him, does it?" He looked over at her, his eyes hidden behind a
pair of ray bans. Not that she needed to see them to know what he
was thinking.
"No, but he's been known to switch sides at the drop of a hat.
Any hat, any where in the world." Mulder laughed softly at her
words.
"So you think he might be setting us up?" she asked.
"I hope not. But I can't rule it out."
"I've thought about that more than once." she admitted.
"I've been thinking about something else too. And I want to ask
you a question." he paused before continuing. "Does it bother you
that we don't say the words?"
"We've never said the words, we've never needed too."
"But now that things are, different. Do you miss the words?"
"Mulder, I don't feel like the words are necessary. They are just
words, over used ones at that. The emotion is there, the words
don't have to be."
"I just want you to understand that.."
"You have a problem with the words. I know."
He watched his partner for a second. Sometimes it was frightening
how well she knew him.
"Do you know why?" he asked.
"I think I do."
"Tell me."
"Everyone you have ever loved in your life has either stabbed you
in the back, or been taken from you somehow. Anyone you ever say
I love you to, hurts you, or disappears."
He reached out, and gently turned her face toward him.
"So if I don't say those three words, you're safe."
"I'm not going anywhere Mulder."
"Just because I don't tell you, doesn't mean that I don't feel
it. It hits me sometimes, when I wake up in the mornings, and you
are still laying there asleep. When I see you look up at me, and
give me that smile that is mine, and mine alone. When we are
making love. I always feel it, I just don't want you to feel
cheated because I don't say it."
"I've never felt cheated by you. Not in any way."
She felt his hand, strong and gentle against her shoulder blade.
The heat from his palm radiating through her shirt. His
fingertips gently caressing the tiny scar at the base of her
neck.
"Well." She said her tone thoughtful. "Except maybe when you
ditched me all those times. I hated that."
"I never have apologized for that, have I?"
"Nope."
"I'm sorry Scully. I can promise that I'll never ditch you again."
"You'd better not." she grinned.

After going through the phone book in Philly, they found two
genetic research centers, one of them Hunt said was affiliated
with the GIRI center in New York.
"Then that's where we start." Mulder stated.
"You sure you're up to the walk?" Kari asked doubtfully. "It's at
least three miles."
"The walk, yes. A foot race, I think not." He answered dryly.
"Now let's go."

Late June in Philly is warm, add to it the smell of four million
decaying bodies and the constant hum of flies, and it's more like
hell on earth than the city of brotherly love.
"It didn't seem this bad in New York." Hunt stated, breathing
through his mouth, rather than his nose.
"The warmer it gets, the worse it'll be." Kari muttered through
the hand she held over her face.
"Makes me miss being on the boat." Mulder said with a shake
his head. "Bet you never thought you'd hear me say that." he
winked at Scully.
She just shook her head.
"If it's this bad here, what's it going to be like when we get to
Atlanta?" Kari mused.
It wasn't a question anybody wanted to answer.
The Palmer Institute Genetic Study was an imposing brick
complex with more than 30 separate laboratories. Hunt and Scully
looked over the directory, and chose the three most likely places
to start.
In the first room, they found nothing. Literally. The room was
bare.
"That's a little odd." Hunt said.
"Let's check the others." Scully replied, walking quickly down
the hall to the next room on their list.
It wasn't empty. They the pains taking process looking through
files and papers for anything relating to Hunts file.
After an hour Mulder stood up and stretched. Picking up the
folder he was looking through he walked idly around the room to
work the kinks out his muscles.
"Scully, take a look at this." he called. She left what she was
doing, and walked to where he stood. He held the folder loosely
in one hand.
"Call me crazy, but I don't think they died EMP." He said,
gazing out a large glass window into a courtyard.
Scully followed his line sight.
Laying in an enclosed courtyard a dozen or so bodies formed a
ragged line on the grass. On several them, the bullet holes
were plainly visible.
"It looks like they were executed before a firing squad."
Hunt and Kari joined them.
"Jesus." Hunt whispered.
They found a door that lead to the courtyard, and Scully, having
found both masks and gloves squatted down to examine one the
bodies.
"They were definitely executed." She called, the rest the
group had stayed a little further back. Mulder was picking up
spent cartridges from the ground.
"Looks like m16's." He said. "Standard Military issue, I'll bet."
He turned to Hunt.
"You said the men that cleared out the files were wearing
fatigues?"
"Yes. Army, I think."
Kari turned away and faced the wall, hugging her arms over her
chest.
"Are you ok?" Hunt asked, stepping up behind her.
"I'm alive. Anything else is negotiable." She gave a humorless
laugh.
"Go back inside." He urged quietly.
"It doesn't matter. I'll see them in my nightmares. I always do."
She walked away without looking back.

Scully collected several the ID badges before they returned.
Finding a company directory in a desk drawer, she identified each
persons field.
"Gene Therapy, Bio genetics, Virology, Biophysics."
"Enough college tuition money there to buy a small island."
Mulder remarked.
"The one that stumps me is the Virologist." Hunt muttered,
looking at the ID badges laid out on the desk.
"I think it fits right in." Mulder said.
"I don't understand why they executed them, if they knew the
colonization was coming." Scully said, looking up at him. "What
was the point?"
"I don't think they knew till the last minute that it was coming.
I think they were caught off guard. That's why they stole all the
files, they've hidden them somewhere. They killed the scientists,
to make sure they couldn't tell about the cure."
"A cure to what?" Hunt asked.
"A viral agent known as Purity. A little something to help our
off world friends take over. There was a group secretly working
on a cure."
"So how did our initials end up in all this?" Kari looked at him.
"And why are they examining different fragments our DNA,
looking for matches." Hunt wondered.
"Why do you look for matches in DNA?" Mulder turned to him.
"Only two reasons. Comparison, or splicing. Comparison doesn't
make any sense. These fragments are all from different areas
the DNA strand."
"But, in theory, it is possible to combine matching fragments to
create a new strand."
"In theory, yes." Hunt agreed, "but it's never been attempted."
"Not that we know anyway." Mulder replied.
 
 

Fini~

for now

~~~

Fides Procuro IV : The truth points to itself.

by Kelly Moreland
 

"One strand of DNA is all you need to clone." Mulder said, on the
way back to the dock.
"Yes, if you have the facility to do it in. Which, if I'm not
mistaken is impossible any more." Hunt pointed out.
"Why?" Mulder said, glancing over Scully's head, to the Hunt who
walked on the other side of her.
"Oh, how about lack of electricity?"
"We have no way of knowing if that is worldwide."
"I think you are giving these people too much credit." Hunt shook his
head.
"I know these people." Mulder replied grimly. "You aren't giving them
enough credit."
"You make them sound invincible."
"In a lot of ways, they are."
Hunt stopped in his tracks.
"It would take years to perfect the process you're talking about.
Taking a patched together strand of human DNA, with gene sequence
gaps filled in with god only knows what, and cloning a person out
of it? It's ludicrous."
"But is it possible?" Mulder was a step ahead of where Hunt
stopped, and had turned back to face him.
"In theory, yes. In reality, it's highly unlikely. And most of all, why?"
"I'm still working on that." He muttered, looking back up the
street they had just come down.
Scully recognized the concerned look on his face, and turned as
well.
"Where's Kari?" she asked, scanning the empty street behind them.
"I don't know. She was here a few minutes ago." Hunt answered.
They back tracked up the street, just in time to see her step
from inside one of the shops.
"Hey," Mulder called out. "Thought we'd lost you."
"Just had to pick up something." She said, catching up to
them. Mulder noticed she carried nothing in her hands.
They tabled their discussion for the rest of the walk back to the
dock. It wasn't getting them anywhere.

"I know something that might save us a lot of time getting to
Baltimore." Scully said later that evening. She had finally
gotten fed up with Mulder and Hunt arguing about the
possibilities versus the probabilities of DNA, and threatened to
glue their lips shut. It worked like a charm. They quickly found
other topics of conversation.
"If we are extremely lucky, we can cut through the Chesapeake
Delaware canal. Depending on how the locks are open. It's a big
if, but I think we should check it out."
"How much time would it save?" Mulder asked.
"Two days."
"We definitely need to check it out then."
"I agree." Hunt nodded.
"I'm sorry." Scully smiled wryly. "Did you two just agree on
something for the first time all day?"
"Oh ha ha." Hunt grinned.
"C'mon Scully, we were just.."
"Don't start again." she warned. He got the hint.
"Is it just me, or does Kari keep disappearing today?" Mulder
asked, noticing she was gone yet again.
"She's upset about something. She hasn't been talking much since
we came back from the lab. I think she feels overwhelmed by the
implications of all this." Scully replied.
"She's up on deck. I saw her when she left."
"I'll be right back." Mulder got up from his seat, and went up
the ladder.
At first he didn't see her, and thought she had left the boat. He
finally spotted her seated on the pulpit of the bow. He walked
over, and without waiting for an invitation, sat down in front of
her.
"What's up?" He asked pointedly.
"Nothing much. What's up with you?"
"Glad you asked! I'm wondering why you are so quiet tonight, why
you are keeping yourself separate from the rest of us. What's up
with that?"
"I just don't feel well."
"Then Scully needs to know about it."
"I'm not sick Mulder. I'm soul weary, ok?" She picked up a bottle
that was cradled in her folded legs, and took a long drink from
it.
Mulder wasn't surprised really, god knew he'd done the same thing
himself a few times.
He held his hand out for the bottle, and she handed it to him. He
read the label.
"Yukon Jack." he whistled softly. "Stout stuff."
"Yep." she mumbled.
He took a long drink from the bottle, grimaced, and handed it
back to her.
"I never really cared for Canadian whiskey."
"It's the only hard liquor I'll drink." she shrugged.
"So, what happened today, that has you drinking the hard stuff?"
She didn't answer.
"You have to talk to me, or I'm going to bug you all night. And I
had nice plans for the evening. This wasn't part of them."
She was still silent.
"Was it the lab?"
"Mulder, it was everything. For the past month, I've seen death
everyday. I've even smelled it in my sleep. I'm tired. I feel
like I've seen too much, I feel used up and exhausted. How do you
do it? How do you turn a blind eye to all this, and keep charging
ahead?"
"What makes you think I turn a blind eye? I've seen most of the
same things you have. It bothers me too. Sometimes, I think we
are done for. We are wiped out. Whether by accident or intent,
we, as a species are finished. But as long as any of us are
alive, we aren't finished." she looked at him, still saying
nothing.
"I can't believe that you've come this far, and are wimping out
now. You and I started this pretty much together, I expect you to
be there when it's over."
"One good shot of liquor, and you get loose lipped as hell." she
grinned for the first time since he came out.
"I hardly ever drink, what do you expect?" he shrugged.
"I expect you two to share." Came Scullys voice from behind him.
Kari held up the bottle wordlessly. Scully sat down, and drank.
Afterward, she cleared her throat hard.
"Is that whiskey, or Drano?" she asked.
"Both I think." Mulder answered.
"What's going on out here?"
"We are discussing strength, endurance, the will to carry on.."
"Mulder's waxing poetic about life. Run. Run far."
Mulder gave Kari his best hurt look, but she just grinned at him.
"I'm immune to that." she replied to his woeful stare.
"Scully, help me. I'm striking out bad tonight."
"Nu-uh. Don't look to me for help." she chuckled.
"Seriously, what's wrong Kari?"
"I'm just tired, of all the things I've seen, you know. It all
just got to me today. Everything. Mulder was giving me his
version of a pep talk. Just about made me put a gun barrel in my
mouth." she shook her head sadly, the gesture making all of them
smile.
"Now I'm offended. Really offended." Mulder griped.
"Oh, cry me a river." Kari shot back.
"OK, I take it back. You two are fine. I'm going to bed,
goodnight." Scully said, getting to her feet.
"Hang on Scully." he called, standing up as well, but turning
back to Kari.
"We need you. Don't bail on us now, ok?" his voice was low in the
darkness.
"OK." she answered simply.
He ruffled the top of her head slightly, and followed Scully into
the cabin.
"I can't believe he actually did that." she muttered to herself,
smoothing her hair
 

Luck was on their side, and they were able to use the canal,
arriving in Baltimore in two days, rather than in four.
As they sailed under Francis Scott Key bridge, none of them
noticed the lone figure watching from above.

Mulder had pawed through the phone book, coming up with only one
possible listing for Genetic research. The Maryland Institute of
Science. Coincidentally, it was only two blocks away.
The facility was intact, but after hours of searching, they had
found nothing of use. File after file landed on the floor, as it
was read and then discarded.
"Nothing." Mulder cursed.
"Maybe this isn't what we are supposed to find here." Kari said,
rubbing her strained eyes.
"Hold on Mulder. All of their genetic research is based on plant
DNA, not human or animal DNA." Hunt was still leafing through a
folder. "But they've had tremendous breakthroughs with
Nucleotides." he said with open admiration.
"English, Hunt, English." Kari cracked. Hunt looked up at her and
smiled broadly.
"Nucleotides exist in all bacteria cells and in the cells of
higher plants, humans and other animals. As well as fungi,
protozoa and algae."
"OK, that means what?" Kari asked.
"Nucleotides are thirty proteins that may be utilized in the
process of repairing human cells.  There are two major types of
repair that they can be used for. Base excision repair, which
removes simple base damage like methylated or oxidize bases and
Mismatch repair, which removes incorrectly paired bases."
"Son of a bitch." Mulder swore softly.
"Nucleotides can, in theory, be used to repair DNA strands."
Scully said, watching her partner start to pace.
"In theory." Hunt agreed.
"In reality, I'm afraid." Mulder said, his hands on his hips. He
had stopped pacing, and stood in the middle of the room.
"Let's go. We have to get to Atlanta." He said abruptly.
"It's the last piece of the puzzle."
"That's a long-assed trip, buddy." Hunt laughed.
"How long will it take us Scully?"
"To sail there? A week, if we are lucky. It's hard to say
Mulder."
"Then we need to get moving, we need to go." he seemed full of
nervous energy. Everyone picked up on it, and they were out the
door heading back to the dock.
"Mulder, what do you think we will find in Atlanta?" Kari asked
him quietly.
"I hope I'm wrong, but from everything we found, they may have
very well created a life, out of all of the names on that paper."
"You're saying they combined the DNA of over five hundred people to
make.. a child?"
Up until then, Mulder had only thought in the sense of person, or
a series of cells. Now that Kari used the word child, a new sense
of urgency set in him. Was it a child?
He was in front as they approached the dock and as he started up
the gangplank, he heard a low steady clapping sound. He looked
up. Standing on top of the cabin, was Krycek.
"Bravo Mulder." Krycek laughed. "And it only took you.. forever."
he mocked.
"Krycek, I'd say good to see you, but it isn't."
Behind him, Scully had drawn her Sig. She didn't trust Krycek
anymore than Mulder did. She wasn't taking any chances.
Krycek look pointedly at Kari.
"Hi sweetheart. Miss me?"
"No, but I haven't started firing yet." She smiled back bitterly.
"Tsk, tsk. I liked you better when you were on your knees shaking
in fear." He winked at her smugly. It made Kari's skin crawl.
"I'd like you better flattened under a tank, but we seldom get
what we want."
"I come here to aid your quest, Mulder, and you little friend
threatens me."
"Say what you have to say." Mulder stepped slowly onto the deck
of the boat. He knew Scully had drawn her gun, and now kept it
out of sight behind her thigh. Now, if she needed. She had a
clear shot.
"Tell me what you've found out, and I'll tell you how far off
base you are." Krycek still had that same smug smile on his face.
"You don't know?" Mulder smiled back at him. "And here I thought
you omnipotent."
"That's impotent, not omnipotent, Mulder." Kari corrected.
"I always get those mixed up, don't I?" He nodded.
Scully was starting to get worried. Between Kari and Mulder, they
were really pushing the chances of getting any useful information
out of him. The muscle in his cheek started jumping, and his
teeth were clenched.
She cut a sharp look at Kari, and Kari looked down at the
pavement, message received.
"Spend a night with me, I'll show you how impotent I am." Krycek
taunted her.
Kari's chin came back up. "I'd rather masturbate with a cheese
grater."
Krycek jumped down off the top of the cabin, onto the deck.
Mulder took a step to block the gangplank. Kari drew her gun from
the back waistband of her jeans, all in the same instant.
Hunt stood tense and watchful. He didn't know this man, but he
already disliked him.
"What did you come here to say?" Mulder said, distracting Krycek
from Kari.
"Just a trivia question for you, really."
"I love trivia. Ask away."
"What Federal Organization has a building with it's own back up
power supply, and protection against EMP?"
"Something tells me it's not the SETI project. How about the
CDC?" Mulder answered.
"Give that man a prize." Krycek answered dryly.
"What will we find there?" Scully asked.
"Go see." Krycek replied, brushing past Mulder and strolling down
the gangplank.
Kari still kept the sights of her gun on him. He walked straight
to her, and stopped less than a foot away.
"Oh put it up." He sneered at the gun in her hand. "You don't
have the nerve." She lowered the weapon, and stared into his
eyes.
"I promised you last time, that one of us wouldn't walk away."
She said softly.
"I know. It was so cute, and defiant of you--" Kryceks words were
choked off, when she pulled the trigger.

"Kari!" Mulder yelled, jumping straight over the rail to the dock
below. He yanked the gun from her hand, and looked at Krycek. He
was doubled at the waist, holding his foot.
"That fucking bitch shot me in the foot!" He yelled at the top of
his lungs.
"Uh, yeah. We kinda noticed that." Hunt replied casually.
Scully sighed deeply. "I'll get the first aid kit."
Mulder dug his fingers hard into Kari's shoulder, and pushed her
onto the boat. She didn't look up at him, until he whispered her
name.
"Kari?" she glanced up shyly, thinking to herself he's seriously
pissed, only to see him grinning at her.
"Masturbate with a cheese grater?" he mouthed silently.
She shrugged, as if to say, it's all I could think of.

Scully and Hunt bandaged Kryceks foot, none too gently.
When they were done, he stood to go.
"Hey Alex?" Kari jumped to her feet.
He turned around and glared at her.
"That's limping, not walking." she pointed out solemnly.
He left without replying.

"Did you two plan that whole scene?" Hunt asked, as they sat
after dinner that night.
"What scene?" Mulder asked innocently.
"Yeah, what scene?" Kari echoed.
"With what's his name." Hunt grinned.
"No." they answered in perfect unison.
"They just have a tendency to feed off each other." Scully put
in. "Like sharks in a frenzy."
"That was a really stupid thing to do though." Mulder said to
Kari, for the third time since that afternoon.
"Well, I can't turn back time. I did it. Can't undo it."
"He could have shot you, Krycek is always armed. I'm really
surprised he didn't."
"I know why he didn't." She answered casually.
"Oh really? Do tell." he invited.
"He wouldn't, or couldn't, because my name is on that list. I
know now that's why we all survived. It all comes down to that
list."
"Mulder's right, it was stupid." Scully agreed.
"I know." Kari said with no remorse. "But tell me that you didn't
enjoy seeing him jump around holding his foot?" she taunted.
They couldn't.

They started their long trek down the coast, the next day. Scully
made certain they had the most up to date nautical maps she could
find, while Hunt and Kari laid in supplies for the trip. Mulder
left for an unknown errand, and returned a couple of hours later,
with four gas masks.
"In case Atlanta smells as bad as we think it will." He
explained.
The weather was clear, but the winds were less than generous. It
took nine days to reach Savannah. By the time they docked, they
were all ready for a change of pace. Close confines can test even
the strongest relationships.

Biking was definitely a change of pace, especially uphill all the
way.
"Mulder?" Kari called one afternoon, while they were peddling up
a particularly long hill on interstate sixteen.
"What?"
"Why didn't you talk Scully into letting you bring that damn
truck?" she teased. He gave her the death glare.
"Hey." Scully called out beside Mulder. "I said it was Ok, you
were the one that told him no."
"Yeah," Mulder called back. "What she said!"
"Shut up and peddle." Hunt broke in.

Atlanta was even worse than they thought, when they reached it
three days later. Mulder had been right to bring the gas masks.
It was the only thing that made it bearable.
The destruction from the white lighted blast they had all seen on
CNN was nothing compared to the reality of it. Literally half of
Atlanta was gone. The CDC building itself had been hit hard. It
was a half structure, at best, a dangerous pile of rubble at
worst.
"This is insane." Scully said, looking at the tumbledown remains
of the white brick building.
"Mulder, you can't be serious about going in there."
"I'm at least going to look around. See what I can find."
At the back of the building, he found what he was looking for. A
cellar type door that led underground, it had no door handle,
obviously activated by a card key slot.
"Shit." Mulder swore, running his thumbnail along the slot by the
door.
"I doubt we could pry that open with a crowbar." Hunt mused,
looking at the nearly seamless doorway.
"I doubt we could blow it open with a hundred pounds of c4."
Mulder grunted.
"Hell, if we are out of options, then try knocking." Kari joked.
Hunt reached out and rapped on the door four times, playing
along.
None of them expected it to be opened, let alone by a troop of
armed guards.

"Identify yourselves!" One of the barked.
"I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, this is Special Agent Dana Scully,
that is Kari Chandler, and he is Hunt Riley."
"Keep your hands visible, and do not move. Do you understand."
All four of them nodded. One of the guards disappeared down the
hallway.
"Mulder?" Scully said quietly.
"Yes?"
"Were you expecting this?"
"Yes."
"This is bad, this is really bad." Kari muttered, staring down
the barrel of an M16, and remembering Philadelphia.
"Just stay calm." Hunt whispered beside her.
A figure walked down the hallway toward them.
Mulder and Scully recognized him immediately.
"Agents, what a lovely surprise." CGB Spender said.
"I wouldn't quite go that far." Mulder replied.
"But you would come this far, you've traveled a long way Agent
Mulder. What is it you expect to find here?" he tapped the ashes
from his ever present cigarette.
"Answers." Mulder replied evenly.
"To what questions?"
"Why you've been matching DNA from hundreds of , why those same
have apparently survived a blast that killed the rest of the
population. What have you done?" The last was nearly a shout.
"I've gotten the technology that will eventually put us back on
our feet. What have you done Agent Mulder?"
"I've found you out, you son of a bitch."
"You've found nothing. And even if you had, who is left alive to
care?"
"Everyone who is left alive will care. That's the whole point.
The only ones that survived are the ones on your list."
"Do you even know how you survived, Agent Mulder? Do you really
know what happened?"
"Why don't tell me, and I'll see if I can gleaned the truth from
the bullshit."
CGB Spender laughed, and lit another cigarette.
"Do you remember ordering Chinese take out the night before
everything happened?"
"Not especially, no."
"Nanotechnology is a marvelous thing. See, you injested an
automated device so small, you couldn't even feel the weight of
it on your tongue. All of you did. Everyone who survived did, one
way or another." He took a slow drag off his cigarette.
"So you have all of us tagged?" Mulder asked.
"No, within four days, the