By Kel and Michelle Kiefer
ckelll@hotmail.com  and msk1024@yahoo.com
 

Category:  Casefile
Spoilers: Conduit, En Ami
Rating: R
Archive:  Just ask.
Disclaimer:  Not ours.  Sigh.
Summary:  A missing child and a family
with something to hide.  In the aftermath
of "En Ami," Mulder and Scully investigate
a "classic alien abduction."
Comments: Huge thanks to an amazing team of betas:
MaybeAmanda--thank you for helping us tighten the
bolts, Marasmus--thank you for helping us see the
true framework of the story, Syntax6--thank you
for helping us hone and polish the characters
and Sdani--thank you for reminding us that we
needed to establish the foundation.

Out of the Everywhere is complete, and we will be
posting it as we make our final beta edits.  We're
aiming for twice a week.

The X-Files may have listed it as
"Lake Okobogee" but the spelling in Iowa
appears officially to be Okoboji:

http://www.vacationokoboji.com/2002/index2.html
 
 

Out of the Everywhere - part 1
 

Mom said it never happened, but Kevin remembered.

They were camping by the lake.  Kevin wanted to sleep
outside like a cowboy, but mom wouldn't let him.  Not
until Ruby offered to sleep outside with him.

Ruby was the coolest sister.  She told him how cowboys
ate beans all the time and that's why they had to
sleep outside.  Kevin pursed his lips and made fart
noises, and Ruby laughed.

The next thing he remembered was waking up to horrible
noise that shook the ground and bright light like an
explosion.  He thought it was the atom bomb.  He
screamed for his sister but Ruby was gone.

Mom said it never happened.  She said Ruby made some
mistakes when she was younger but it wasn't nice to
talk about it.

But Kevin remembered.  How Ruby disappeared.  How men
in suits took him away and his mom couldn't stop them.
How an army of motorcycles tried to kill him in the
woods, but somebody saved him.

Another man in a suit, but not like the others.

Kevin looked around his bedroom where childhood met
teenage life.  The posters on the wall competed with
the soccer trophy from fourth grade.  He really
needed to replace the baseball and bat lamp with
something less dorky.  The bed was covered
with a mixture of clean and dirty clothes.  His
mother hadn't felt well enough lately to bitch at
him about the mess.

He opened his closet door and knelt down.  Damn, but
it was rank in there, probably from his scuzzy old
sneakers.  He pulled shoes, puzzle boxes, old toy
cars and dirty clothes out until he located what he
was looking for at the very back.

Blowing a layer of dust off an old Adidas box, he
kicked the crap back into the closet.  He sat on the
bed and opened the box.  He picked out a lucky half
dollar, a Ken Griffey, Jr. baseball card, a red
Matchbox car, one dog-eared photo of him and Ruby
dressed up for Halloween when he was really little,
and his favorite Batman action figure.  Underneath
all of that was a little white card.

Sometimes Kevin wondered if Mom was right.  Maybe
everything was a dream and Agent Mulder was a made-up
hero like Batman.  That's when he'd go back to his box
of treasures.  He held up the business card to read
the printing.

Fox Mulder, FBI.

*************X***************

Scully knew it was wrong to find so many reasons
to avoid the basement office but she still found
herself jumping at errands to different parts of
the building.  She could just as easily have phoned
Agent O'Hara with the tox screen results from the
Phillips case.  Reviewing the results line by line
in person had been unnecessary. Flipping through
O'Hara's vacation photos from Disney World was
overkill.

She squared her shoulders as she descended the stairs
to the basement office.  It was time to face the
music or more specifically, face the Mulder.

Over the last seven years, her relationship with
Mulder had shifted and changed countless times.
Though very private people, there were times when
she and Mulder were so deeply connected it was hard
to tell where one left off and the other began.
Her road trip with the devil had been like
a small earthquake in their relationship, the
effects subtle but seismic.

She couldn't fault Mulder for less than professional
behavior.  He wasn't rude or insulting; he didn't
criticize or belittle.  Only someone who knew him
well would have detected the anger seething under
the surface.

They hadn't talked about what had happened since
that awful day in Mulder's apartment when he wouldn't
meet her eye.  She still burned with humiliation
over being duped like the green girl she'd once been.

He hadn't touched her in the past week.  Even before
they'd become lovers, Mulder had exercised an almost
proprietary physicality with her, touching her far
more than was seemly for a coworker.  Scully
was surprised at how much she missed that touch.

Lovers.  She mulled the word over in her mind.
It had begun a few months ago as Mulder recovered
from brain surgery.  A touch, a perfectly innocent,
commonplace touch had turned into something
resembling a caress.  A kiss on the cheek somehow
detoured to the right and arrived at her mouth.

She'd always assumed their first time would be
the equivalent of spontaneous combustion--a
hot and sweaty tangle at the end of a tough case.
How different the reality was from her imagination.

Their first time had been slow and careful, each
caress deliberate, each kiss long and deep.  She'd
been rocked with amazement at the feeling of Mulder
moving within her, stunned at her own response
as she writhed beneath him.

Afterward, they'd both had tears in their eyes.

Her trip with Spender had created a rift that
tender lovemaking was unlikely to repair.

Maybe they could salvage their work relationship.
They'd managed to dig out from some pretty big piles
of crap as partners.  Scully had less confidence
about their ability to salvage their fledgling
sexual relationship, though.  How could they remain
lovers if Mulder couldn't bring himself to look at
her, much less touch her?

She stood outside the office, gathering her nerves
together as Mulder's voice droned through the door.
Scully remembered the first time she'd gotten up
the courage to walk through that door, so many
years, so many miles ago.

Mulder was hunched over, the phone cradled between
ear and shoulder, when she entered the office.
He didn't look up as he scratched notes onto a
yellow legal pad.  She wasn't sure he'd even
realized she'd walked into the room.

"Okay.  Yeah.  Slow down.  Did she mention
any strange noises?  Smells?"

She loved watching him when he was like this--
engaged, excited, alive.  Mulder continued to
ask questions and jot information on the pad.

"I want you to try and keep everyone calm, okay?
I'm going to check out some stuff from here
and see what I can find," he said, pushing back
from the desk a bit.  He saw her finally and gave
a small nod.  "I don't know.  I'll try.  All
right.  You too."

He hung up the phone, immediately turning to his
computer.  Scully stood, mesmerized, as his fingers
flew over the keyboard.

"A case?" she asked.

"Looks like it might be."  His eyes didn't stray
from the computer screen as he typed away.

"Are you going to tell me about it?" she asked,
annoyance creeping into her voice.

Seconds stretched into a minute with the silence
broken only by the clicking of the computer keys.
Finally, the printer hummed to life as pages
began to print.

"Do you remember Lake Okoboji?"

*********X**********

Suitcases on wheels were definitely the single
woman's friend, Scully thought as she pulled her
bag behind her.  Not that she hadn't always been
able to carry her own suitcase.  Or, she hoped,
her own weight.

After checking in at the ticket desk, she set off
for the gate.  She kept an eye out for Mulder,
finally spotting him sipping a cup of coffee and
watching the panorama of air travel outside the
big window.  She wondered if things were ever going
to get back to normal between them.  For that matter,
what exactly was normal for them?

Arriving separately at the airport was perfectly
normal.  Over the years, they'd flown out of DC
hundreds of times.  Sometimes, they arrived together,
and sometimes they didn't.  Of course, the last few
months, they'd usually been together the night
before and it would have been silly not to carpool
to the airport in the morning.

It meant exactly nothing that Mulder had passed her
ticket across his desk and said he would see her
at the airport.

As she made her way to Mulder, she recalled the few
case details he'd shared with her.  The phone call
had been from the now fourteen-year-old Kevin Morris
asking Mulder for help.

Ruby, Kevin's sister, had a little girl who'd gone
missing in what Mulder described as a "classic alien
abduction" scenario.  The child had been missing
for almost two weeks.

Mulder must have caught her reflection in the window
because he turned, smiling, just as she approached.
His expression returned to the politely guarded look
of the last week as he greeted her.

"They just called for handicapped passengers.  I
I wondered if you were coming," he said.

"I'm only five minutes late."

After takeoff, Scully was able to wrest the casefile
away from Mulder.   She smiled, remembering the
early days when he would withhold the files until he
had her airborne and unable to object to the
flimsiness of the case by walking away.

Mulder flipped through the airline magazine, casting
glances her way occasionally.  Included in the folder
was the preliminary police report logged into the missing
children's database by the Sioux City sheriff's office.
Destiny Morris, age 6, had been traveling back from
Lake Okoboji in a 1990 Ford Aerostar with her mother,
Ruby, when bright lights forced them off the road.

Ruby remembered nothing after the bright lights
until she woke up in the dirt a few feet from the
car.  Scully's eyes kept drifting up the page as one
detail drew her attention.

Mulder had put the magazine back in the seat pocket.
His eyes were closed, his arms folded over his chest.
She could tell from his breathing that he wasn't
asleep.

"Mulder," she said, nudging him with her elbow.  Her
arm tingled at the contact.

"Hmmm?"

"Destiny Morris is six years old?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered without opening his eyes. "Why?"

"Ruby went missing in August of 1993.  The police
report lists Destiny Morris' birthdate as May 16,
1994.  Ruby may have conceived before she disappeared."

"Possibly."

"Or I suppose it could have been soon after.  Even
after reviewing Ruby's medical records, it could be
hard to determine."

"Or it could have been during."

"Possibly," she said, sneaking a glance in his direction.

For a split second, it felt like old times.

Scully raised the shade and gazed out the window.
Being able to recognize the terrain below was always a
little unnerving to her--too easy to picture the plane
plummeting to those rivers and lakes and roads.  But
there were only fluffy clouds beyond the window right
now.  Unthreatening pillow-like clouds.

**************X******************

Out of the Everywhere - part 2

Scully drove out to the Morris house, while Mulder
went to talk to the sheriff.  Scully hadn't been
surprised when Mulder suggested they split up after
they checked into their hotel.  Disappointed, maybe,
but not surprised.

They were most effective working together, each
listening to the witnesses from their individual
point of view, each asking different questions.
Without Mulder's ballast, she felt unbalanced,
circling endlessly like a rowboat with one oar.

No one had answered the door when she'd first arrived.
Scully heard the phone ringing inside the house as
she tried to call, followed by Darlene's voice on
the answering machine.  She'd walked around the house,
noting the swing set and Little Tykes playhouse in the
backyard.

The mesh on the screen door was torn and the garden
grown over with weeds, giving the property a neglected
air.  The mailbox contained no more than that day's
delivery.  The curtains were partly open, allowing
Scully to see the newspaper spread over the kitchen
table next to a coffee mug.

Scully retreated to wait in the rental car on the
hunch that the Morrises wouldn't be gone for any
length of time.  And wait, she did.

Shifting in her seat, she noted that she'd lost all
sensation in her backside.  Several hours on the plane
followed by over an hour in the rental car waiting
for someone to come back to the Morris home had left
her numb and irritable.

Her patience was rewarded when a car containing Darlene
and Kevin pulled into the driveway, taking the corner
a little sharply and leaving tire marks on the brown
lawn.

Scully got out of her car, crossing the street to
meet them.  "Oh God," she muttered under her breath.

Darlene leaned heavily on her car, eyes squeezed shut
as she swallowed hard.  Thin and pale, she was almost
unrecognizable from the healthy woman Scully remembered.

Her waxy skin had a grayish cast, covered by a thin
sheen of sweat.  She wore what Scully always thought of
as a cancer patient head scarf.  Had chemo robbed her
of her hair?  Her eyes had an odd, bird-like
quality without eyebrows or lashes.

"You okay, Mom?" Kevin asked, taking her arm.  He glanced
at Scully, his expression both hopeful and disappointed.

"I'm all right, honey," she said, gently.  Her face, when
she looked up at Scully, registered recognition, then shock,
then anger.  "What are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Morris, I'm here because Kevin asked us to help
find Destiny."

Kevin didn't meet his mother's gaze, keeping his eyes
downcast.  With a sigh, Darlene turned back to Scully.

"Kevin was mistaken.  We don't need your help.  I'm
sorry you came all this way, but you might as well
turn right around."

"Mom, maybe they can help."

"Kevin," Darlene began, her voice thin and reedy.
Suddenly, her eyes went wide and her skin seemed
tinged with green.  She broke away from her son and
stumbled up the steps, one hand covering her mouth
as the other scrabbled anxiously to unlock the
door.

She wrenched the door open, and a moment later,
Scully and Kevin heard retching from inside the
house.

"It must be hard for you," Scully said, quietly.

"It's okay," Kevin said as he studied the toe of
his sneaker.  He'd grown into a tall, lanky teen,
all elbows and knees.  Hair that had darkened
from blond to sandy hung over his eyes.  "I wish
Mom would let me get my instructional permit
so I could drive her.  Sometimes she has to stop
the car on the side of the road and throw up."

"How long has she been going for chemo?"

"This is the second round for her.  But it's so
much worse this time.  I tried to call Ruby but
they said Mr. Harriman had her take some papers
out to Orange Center to get signed."

"We want to help you, Kevin."

"Did, uh, did Agent Mulder come too?"

"He's here," Scully said, fighting a smile.  What
an impressive shadow Mulder must have cast in
Kevin's young life.  Lord knows, he knocked her
off her feet back then, too.  "Agent Mulder went
to see the sheriff."

A look of panic passed over Kevin's face.  Poor
kid.  With all that had happened when he was a
child, it was no wonder Kevin had developed a
fear of authority.

The sound of vomiting started up again and Kevin
looked as if he might cry.  "I hate this," he said.

"Maybe I can help," Scully offered.  At his skeptical
look, she went on.  "I'm a doctor."

That appeared to reassure him.  When you're fourteen,
FBI agents and doctors probably seem like they can
solve anything.   Kevin nodded and led her into the
house.

The kitchen was messy--tomato sauce splatters on the
stovetop, dirty dishes in the sink.  Crayon drawings
signed by Destiny were proudly displayed on the fridge
door.

They found Darlene in the bathroom, slumped against
the tub as she wiped her face with wad of toilet paper.

"Kevin, baby, I'll be fine.  Go do your homework,"
she said, seeing her son.

Worry and fear spurring obedience, Kevin murmured
his agreement and left.  His departure revealed
Scully in the doorway.

"Would you, please, just go away?" Darlene asked
impatiently.  "Can't you see this is a bad time?"

"What did your doctor prescribe for nausea?" Scully
asked.  She took a washcloth off a shelf, wet it and
handed it over.  Darlene sighed, leveling an angry
look at Scully before she wiped her face with the
damp cloth.  Closing her eyes, she rested her head
against the tub, obviously too tired to argue.

"I have some Compazine. But it doesn't always
work and it knocks me out.  I hate being a
zombie--my family needs me."

"Darlene," Scully began, crouching next to her,
"they can manage for a little while.  You can't
help them if you can't get off the floor."

Darlene nodded after a minute.  "Okay.  It's in
the medicine cabinet."

Scully sorted through the cabinet, moving aside
mouthwash and eyedrops until she found the amber
pharmacy vial.  Judging from the number of pills
and date on the label, Darlene had only taken a
few in the months since the prescription had been
filled.

"Let's get you into bed," Scully suggested, helping
Darlene off the floor and into the bedroom.  "I'll
bring you a pill after you're settled."

By the time Scully returned with the pill and a
glass of water, Darlene was stretched out on the
unmade bed.

"Kevin offered to get me some pot," Darlene mumbled
around the pill as she brought the water to her lips.
She took a small sip and then another.  "I didn't
know whether to be touched at his thoughtfulness or
horrified that he knew where to get it.  I decided
on touched."

Scully smiled as she put the glass on the dusty
bedstand amid crumpled tissues.  She slipped
Darlene's shoes off and pulled the covers over
her, straightening out the rumpled sheets and blanket.
Spying a wastepaper basket near the door, Scully
moved it by the bed.

"I had cancer a few years ago," Scully said.

Darlene eyed her with new interest.

"You look good," she said.  "You had chemo?"

"Yes.  And other treatments."

"I'm getting Trantomycin," Darlene said.

Scully winced.  It was one of the older drugs and
one of the harshest, but for certain tumors it was
still the treatment of choice.

"Where is your cancer?" she asked.

"Breast.  What about you?"

"I had a tumor behind my nasal sinus,"
Scully said.  "They couldn't operate."

"But you got better," Darlene said, her eyes locked
on Scully's.

"Yes.  I got better.  I've been clear for almost
three years."

"Mom?" Ruby Morris stood in the doorway, looking
from her mother to Scully.  How much did Ruby
remember of her return six years ago?  Darlene hadn't
allowed more than a brief meeting before sending the
agents away.  "Kevin called and said to come right
home."

The last time she'd seen Ruby, the girl lay dazed
and pale in a hospital room.   Her face had lost
the roundness of childhood, the pretty features
now set in worry.

"He shouldn't have bothered you, honey," Darlene
said, her words slurring slightly with drowsiness.
"I don't want you to get in trouble at work."

"Don't worry about that, Mom.  Mr. Harriman
understands."

"I'm Dana Scully, with the FBI.  I don't know if
you remember me."

Ruby shook her head, looking confused.  "I'm sorry,"
she said, looking at Darlene.

"My partner and I came here six years ago, when
you were missing."

"Kevin called them...about what happened to
Destiny," Darlene mumbled.

"Mom," Ruby said, moving forward to sit on the
side of the bed.  Darlene's eyes were drifting
shut as the medication took effect, but she forced
them open to look into her daughter's
eyes and nod slightly, as if Darlene was
giving her daughter permission to talk.

After a moment, Darlene drifted off into sleep.
Touching Ruby's shoulder, Scully nodded in
the direction of the door.  "Why don't we let
your mom get some rest?"

Ruby nodded and followed Scully out of the room.
They returned to the kitchen where Ruby set about
clearing the table and stacking dishes for washing.
Nothing pointed up how messy your surroundings were
more than a stranger in your midst.

"Can I get you some coffee?  Tea?" Ruby asked.  She
tied a dishtowel around her slim waist to protect her
work clothes, a dark blue straight skirt and lighter
blue short sleeve blouse.  The garments were neat and
basic--probably purchased at a chain store.

"Just some water, maybe," Scully replied.  Ruby took
a pitcher of water out of the refrigerator and poured
two glasses.

"I just don't understand why all this is happening to
us," Ruby said softly.  "First Mom gets sick, then my
baby..."  Her voice trailed off into tears.

"Do you have a picture of Destiny?" Scully asked.

"Oh yeah," Ruby said, rising quickly.  "I'll get
some."

A minute later, she returned with a small pink photo
album.  Scully leafed through the pages, noting that
Destiny was a solemn, rather petite child.  There
were some extra school photos at the back of the
album.

"Her hair is so pretty," Scully said.  "She must get
her coloring from her father."

"I suppose," Ruby shrugged.

"Does her father stay in touch?"

"It's just us," Ruby answered.

"Can I have one of these?" Scully asked.  "I'll
return it."

"Oh, sure."

"Tell me about that night, Ruby.  The night Destiny
went missing."

"We were driving back from Spirit Lake."

"What were you doing at the lake?" Scully asked.

"We walked around--it's real pretty there.  It was a nice
day--Destiny fed the ducks."  Ruby smiled at the memory.
"She didn't like them getting too close.  She kind of
pelted them with stale bread.  Then, we had dinner."

"Just you and Destiny?" Scully asked, sensing Ruby
was leaving something out.

"Yeah," she said.  "Just us.  Anyway, time kind of got
away from me and it was 9:00 before we set out
for home."

"So you drove home.  What route did you take?" Scully
asked.

"We were driving home along the Route 71.  There
were hardly any other cars on the road.  I forgot
how much I hated driving that route when there's no
moon--it was so dark.   We'd been riding for about
half an hour when the radio went dead.  The engine
kind of stuttered and then stopped.  And then it got
so bright--like white hot--like I was staring into
the sun..."

Ruby's voice had become more and more agitated.
She brought a trembling hand up to her face.

"The next thing I knew, I woke up lying in the dirt
on the side of the road and my baby was gone."

***************X****************
 

Out of the Everywhere - part 3

For the first time in his life, Mulder understood how
a man could raise his hand to the woman he loved.

That smoking bastard lured her in with a story that
wouldn't convince a baby. "Get in the car, little
girl, and I'll give you the secret to eternal life."

He'd always had confidence in Scully's judgement and
common sense.  He might tease her about being cautious
and practical, but in truth he valued those qualities.
He depended on her for counterbalance.  So why the
hell had she blithely climbed aboard the Smoker
Express?

Sooner or later they would have to talk about it, but
because Scully was so stupid, he would have to spell
it out for her.

When Mulder contemplated their conversation, it went
something like this:

"Hey, Scully, do you know why Cancer Man insisted on
taking you along for the ride? See, he's had my
mother, and he took my sister, and my grandmother is
dead. So that left you."

But Scully wasn't stupid, and that was the problem.

She was intelligent.  She was intellectually rigorous.
She was his touchstone, goddamnit. She was absolutely
not supposed to run off with his archenemy for the sole
purpose of proving she could be impulsive.

If she was trying to impress him with her spontaneity,
he wished she'd restrict herself to the bedroom.  Scully
wasn't impulsive.  She wasn't equipped for it.  Her one
foray into impulsive had nearly gotten her killed.  He'd
chalked Ed Jerse up as an anomaly in Scully's otherwise
ordered life.  Mulder was completely unable to explain
away or understand her behavior now.  It was as if he
didn't really know her.

Perhaps he never had.

Was this payback for his so-called "ditches"?  If she
wanted to demonstrate that she could put him through
the wringer, she could have taken a cruise without
telling him.  Gone on a religious retreat.

He would tell her, "Next time you want to punish me,
Scully, choose something that doesn't endanger your
life."

Scully would glare and say, "Not everything is about
you, Mulder."

This was about him, all right. This was all about
him.

Not only had Cancer Man nabbed her to humiliate
Mulder, Scully had taken the bait in order to impress
him, or teach him a lesson, or scare the shit out of
him.

It was hard to love someone who you also wanted to
strangle, and working with her was harder still. He
would have given her the slip and taken this case on
his own, except he knew that would mean the end.
They flew to Sioux City together, spoke cordially on
the plane and checked into two rooms in a motel
downtown. Everything was normal, or close enough.

"I'll talk to the police while you interview the
family," Mulder had suggested. "Or do you want it the
other way?"

Scully eyed him levelly before she answered.
"Fine. I'll start with the family," she said.

He nodded and walked off toward the sheriff's office,
leaving Scully the car for the drive to the Morris
home.

They hadn't been any help to the family six years ago,
not Mulder with his sympathy or Scully with her
skepticism. Their visit had landed the National
Security Administration in the Morris home.
Black-suited operatives had slashed and smashed their
way through Kevin's room, and then they'd dragged him
away, screaming for his mother.

Darlene Morris might not even let Scully in the house.
For that matter, the sheriff might refuse to talk to
Mulder.

Sheriff Mike Linklater embodied most of the traits
Mulder disliked about small town sheriffs, but also
most of their typical strengths.  Mulder remembered
him as strongly paternalistic and full of pride about
how well he knew his constituents.  He hadn't bothered
to investigate Ruby's disappearance because he had her
pegged for a runaway, and that infuriated Mulder.

Later the sheriff had been a useful ally, using his
local connections to dig up information and sharing
what he learned.

Scully had criticized Mulder for being obnoxious to
the sheriff, but Linklater didn't seem to hold a
grudge.  He appraised Mulder calmly from across his
desk.

"Agent Mulder of the FBI. What's on your mind this
time?" he asked.

"The Morris family," Mulder said.

"Oh, for pete's sake. Why don't you leave them
alone?"

Mulder had the sudden feeling he'd been handed the
wrong script, or that he was missing a few pages. The
sheriff hadn't cared about Ruby's disappearance, but
he wouldn't be indifferent to a missing six-year-old.

"Why do you say that?" Mulder asked.

"Last time you tried to help them, you had that
little boy arrested as a spy."

Mulder could have answered that he wasn't responsible,
because that was a different three-letter agency of
the federal government.  Or he could've pointed out
that his partner had  made the government pony up
for the damage they did.  It didn't seem worth the
effort.

"How are they doing?" he asked.

"Minding their own business," the sheriff shot back,
but then he answered. "Kevin's a good boy. He quit
the hockey team when Darlene got sick, but he's
keeping out of trouble."

"Darlene is sick?"

"Cancer.  A bad one, it looks like. I think the
biggest strain was on Ruby." He shook his head. "And
she'd been doing so well, too."

"She used to be a wild one," Mulder said, echoing the
sheriff's description six years ago.

"She cleaned up, once the baby came. She got her high
school diploma and took a job at Harriman's Insurance
Agency. I thought she'd put those wild days behind
her, until... Well, she's under a lot of strain."

"What happened?"

"She came barreling in here one night, screaming that
her daughter was gone. It was three in the morning,
and she had some crazy story about car trouble and
blinding lights. My deputy woke me up and I drove in
at a hundred miles an hour, but by the time I arrived,
Darlene was here, explaining how it was all a
mistake."

"What kind of mistake?" Mulder asked.

"I guess Ruby got to partying again, maybe pulled off
the road to sleep it off. When she woke up, she
forgot she'd left the kid back home with her mom."

"So the child was never missing after all."

"Nope. She was safe with grandma the whole time."

"But what about your report in the missing children
database?"

"My deputy entered it before Darlene showed up.  I
guess I'd better see about getting it deleted."

"Did Ruby seem like she'd been partying?" Mulder
asked.

"She was hysterical, and she forgot where she left
her kid."

Mulder kept his comments to himself as he left the
police station and crossed the street to the library.
There he used the phone book, his cell phone and his
natural gift for deception to ascertain that Destiny
Morris had missed more than a week of school.

Destiny was missing and Darlene was covering up.
Ironically, the sheriff's efforts to portray Ruby
as dedicated mother and dutiful daughter produced
the opposite effect.  The answer to Destiny's
disappearance might be very close to home, and
very brutal.

Harriman's Insurance Agency, where Ruby worked, was
only a block from the library. Mulder decided to
drop in, hoping to talk to her away from her mother.
As he walked down the street, he wondered how much
Ruby remembered about her own disappearance. A car
gone dead, bright lights, lost time--it could all add
up to an easy set of lies.

Ruby was not at work, he found. He tried asking the
young woman at the reception desk about her, fishing
for whatever he could get, but the fish weren't biting
and a middle-aged man came out from a side office and
asked him to leave.

There was nothing more he could do until Scully
brought back the car. Then he could drive to the
scene of Ruby's alleged motor trouble or possibly out
to Lake Okoboji. Maybe tomorrow Scully could nose
around downtown while he drove out to talk to the
Morrises. Or maybe it was time to rent a second car.

He couldn't avoid Scully forever. Eventually they
would have to talk about what happened.

He walked back to the motel.

**********X***************

He heard the door open and close when Scully went
into her room, and then the rap on his own door.

"Mulder?" she called.

"Coming."

He cracked open the door.

"May I come in?" she asked after a minute.

"Yeah.  Of course."  He moved aside.

"Is something wrong?"

He sat down on the bed and pulled on a shoe.

"What did you find out at the Morrises?" he asked.

"Darlene Morris has cancer, and she wants us out of
her life. Ruby wants her daughter back.  And Kevin
is confused."

"No sign of Destiny?"

"What do you mean?"

"Darlene Morris told the sheriff her granddaughter
was safe at home, and Ruby had made a mistake."

"She did?"  Scully seemed surprised.  "Well, I suppose
that's understandable.  She doesn't want him intruding
when he can't help her anyway."

"That's one explanation.  I'm sure you've considered
some others."

"What, that Ruby killed her?  Or Darlene?"  She shook
her head.  "I didn't get that vibe at all."

"You didn't get that vibe?"  he repeated
sarcastically.  Scully held her ground.

"No, Mulder, I didn't."

"What about Kevin?"

"Kevin?  Mulder, Kevin was the one who called you."

"Okay, fine.  The Morrises are all pure as the driven
snow.  But you did look around?  Maybe checked the
bathroom for blood?"

"I had a good look, especially at the fixtures, edges
and behind the toilet.  I didn't see anything to
indicate a crime scene or a major clean-up."

This was the real Scully.  The shrewd investigator who
looked for evidence.  Who would never go joy-riding
with Mulder's lifelong enemy.

"I also checked Ruby's car.  The paint on the roof is
blistered."

"You can do that with a propane torch," he said.

Scully's look was a mixture of distaste and annoyance.

"It sounds as if you have this all figured out," she
said.

He sighed.

"Okay, tell me Ruby's version."

"She was coming home from the lake, around
nine o'clock on Thursday night."

"Kind of late for a school night."

"She works Friday and Saturday nights."

Not exactly banker's hours, Mulder thought.

"Just her and the kid all day at the lake?" he asked.

"That's what she said.  Do you want to hear the
rest?" she asked.

"Sorry.  Go on."

"She was driving east along the Route 71 . . ."

Mulder felt the hairs on his neck prickle.

"Very dark night, and not much traffic . . ."

He barely heard the rest.  Engine stalled, radio and
electronics went haywire, then the blinding light.
Finally, waking up in the dirt and finding her
daughter had vanished.

"Scully, think about what you're saying.  They were
at the lake, and I'm sure the road cuts by the lake.
We don't have a motive, but that's a lot of
opportunity."

Now Scully looked alarmed.

"Maybe we'd better take a look," she said.

************X*****************

Scully drove, both hands on the wheel, frowning
with concentration.  Mulder wanted to ask about their
destination.  How had Ruby described it?  Had she
modified the details under questioning?  Was she
specific about distances?  If he had been the driver,
Scully would have had to share that information.

At first Mulder had been inclined to accept Kevin's
description of an alien abduction, but now he held
dark suspicions.  Ruby had changed her story too many
times for his comfort.  It was all very sad, single
mother, two jobs, and now her own mother sick, but it
all added up to pressure.  People under pressure do
horrible things.

Scully signaled left and drove the car across the
median and onto the opposite shoulder.  Mulder didn't
notice any distinctive landmarks, but Scully seemed
quite definite about the location.  He grabbed a
flashlight and got out of the car.

The ground was thick with weeds and brush.  They would
have to return by daylight, Mulder thought. His first
instinct, whenever possible, was to view the site as
it had appeared at the time of the incident in order
to visualize things as the participants had.

If Ruby had taken the car close to the water, the
signs would still be visible.  But the body could be
right here on dry land, hidden by the ragged vegetation.

He turned to Scully, who was on hands and knees next
to the car.

"How big was she?" he asked.

"Thirty-six pounds, forty-two inches," Scully answered
absently.  "Ruby showed me the papers from her last
physical."

Tiny, Mulder thought.  She could be anywhere.

"Look at this," Scully called.  She was playing the
beam of her flashlight along the ground.

Mulder joined her, leaning against the car and
straining to see.

"The grass is scorched," he said.  "At least that's
what it looks like."

"Yes.  Burned here. . . and here. . . but not there."
Scully swept the light so that it revealed where a
rectangle had been spared.  "That would be where she
stopped the car.  The ground below was protected."

"Could be," he acceded.

Scully rose to her feet.

"I think that's about all we can do here tonight."

They got back in the car.

"We passed a diner," Scully commented as she started
the engine.

"I noticed."

"I'm hungry.  Maybe you can live on air and suspicion
but I need something solid."

*************X**************

Out of the Everywhere - part 4

Scully patted a little more concealer under her eyes,
closed the tube and dropped it into her makeup bag.
She'd have to apply her makeup with a spackle trowel
to approach normal looking this morning.  Good
thing Mulder could barely bring himself to look at
her these days.

She had jolted awake in a cold sweat at 4 a.m., her
pajamas plastered to her skin.  As she'd pulled the
damp fabric away from her, Scully found herself a
little surprised that she was wearing anything at all.
And that she was truly awake.  She'd dreamed that she'd
awakened back in the bedroom at the inn in
Pennsylvania where Spender had taken her after she'd
passed out.  Only in her dream, she woke up naked.

Scully had been too agitated to sleep after that.
She'd watched an old black and white version of
"The Phantom of the Opera" before the farm reports
came on.  Considering she hadn't fallen asleep
until after midnight, she was in for a long,
exhausted day.

Sleep had been in short supply since she'd gotten
back from her trip to hell with the smoking man.
She barely recalled her dreams upon waking, feeling
only a vague sense of vulnerability.  Once awake,
she'd toss and turn and try to figure out what the
hell Spender had done to her.

One thing was clear--there was no way she was
going to tell Mulder what had happened.  He was
angry enough without adding more fuel to his fire.

What was it they used to say about rape victims
who dressed provocatively or walked through
bad neighborhoods?  That they'd asked for it.

Not that Mulder would ever say that.  He was too
much of a gentleman.  But it would kill her to
think that he'd ever thought that--even for the
tiniest heartbeat of a moment.

Most of all, she couldn't bear for this, too,
to be all about Mulder.  He had this habit of
taking every burden upon himself and this
violation would somehow end up being all about
him.

Sometimes it felt as if she didn't get to own
her tragedies.

Scully took a swig of coffee, thanking the gods of
mid-priced hotel chains for in-room coffeemakers.
She didn't think she could face breakfast, but
coffee was non-negotiable.

Mulder wanted to talk to the people at Destiny's
elementary school this morning.  She hoped he
would be satisfied with a drive-through fast
food breakfast.  Scully wasn't sure she could
face a repeat of last night's nearly silent
dinner.

For a man who knew how to turn on the warmth,
Mulder could be cold enough to freeze her
panties.

*************X***************

Scully knew that Mulder was questioning Mrs. Effels
to learn about Destiny Morris.  Mrs. Effels probably
knew it herself, but she couldn't help responding
as if Mulder's attention was a personal gift.

Mulder was a virtuoso, and the helpless schoolteacher
was a violin.

The three of them were seated at the "reading table"
in the back of the classroom, Mrs. Effels in her
teacher chair, Mulder and Scully in uncomfortably
small chairs.  Mulder's knees had been up around
his ears as he folded himself the child-sized seat.
If things hadn't been as tense between them,
Scully would have teased him about it later.

"Your power of observation is impressive, Mrs.
Effels," Mulder said earnestly.

"I hardly think so, Agent Mulder," the teacher
replied, but she leaned closer to bask in his
praise.

Mrs. Effels had reported that Destiny was a
high-strung kid who responded to frustration by
screeching and flapping her arms up and down.

"Is it unusual for Destiny to miss school?" Scully
asked, feeling almost like an intruder.

"She was out a lot over the winter.  Children do
get sick, you know."  Mrs. Effels answered without
taking her eyes off Mulder.

"Would you say she was a sickly child?" Mulder
asked.

"Not sickly, just little things.  Colds.  Eczema.
Allergies."

"And Destiny is not in school today?" he asked.

"No.  She's been out since Friday of last week,
actually."

"Would you recall who reported her absence?"
Scully asked.

"I'm not really sure," Mrs. Effels replied.
"The message was left on the school's voice
mail.  I suppose it was her mother or her
grandmother."

"But that was almost two weeks ago," Mulder
said.

"Yes.  After a week, Destiny's mom dropped
off a note from her pediatrician.  I kept
a copy for my records," Mrs. Effels said as
she walked over to her desk.  After a few
moments of searching, the teacher returned
with a photocopy.

"Dr. Smolen," Mulder said.  "Writes a neat
note."

"Yes," Mrs. Effels agreed.

"May I take this?" Mulder asked.

"Sure.  I can get another copy from the office."

"What about Destiny's home life?" Mulder asked.

"I don't know what I could tell you about that."

Mulder nodded and started to stand.  It was all
the prodding Mrs. Effels required.

"She seems to get a lot of love and attention.
No father in the house, but her mother and her
grandmother try to make up for it," she offered.

"I'm sure there were ways you could tell," Mulder
said, settling back in his chair.

"Her lunch. Little sandwiches in cookie-cutter
shapes.  Fruit cubes.  Soy milk."

Scully knew all about Destiny's food habits from
her time with Ruby the day before.

"Anything else that made her stand out?" Mulder
asked.

"Her clothes.  She wore the same thing every day."

Again, this was old news to Scully.  Every night
Darlene would hand-wash the little dress because
anything else was "too scratchy!"  Every night
Destiny wore the same nightgown.

"She sounds like a challenging kid," said Scully.

This time Mrs. Effels turned to answer her.

"Well, I'm not fond of the screeching.  The other
things. . ."  The teacher shrugged.  "Give her time."

"Child psychology isn't my field," Mulder began, "but
from your description, I was wondering if Destiny
might be autistic."

"To be honest, I had some concerns at the beginning
of the school year, but she tested within normal
levels.  She's got some quirks, that's all."

"I think Destiny is very fortunate to have you for
her teacher," Mulder said, and Scully thought he
probably meant it.

"I remember when she was born," Mrs. Effels said.
"I was teaching third grade then and Kevin was in
my class."

"That must have been a big moment for him," Mulder
said.

"He was a very proud uncle," Mrs. Effels agreed.
"I'm sure half the class went home asking if they
could get a baby too."

Mulder thanked Mrs. Effels for her help, taking the
woman's hand and smiling into her eyes.  If Mrs. Effels
had been an ice cube, she would have melted into a
puddle at Mulder's size 12 feet.

With one final ingratiating smile, Mulder walked down
the hall leaving Scully to trail after him.  Scully
wondered if Mrs. Effels assumed she was a trainee agent
following Mulder around and taking notes on how to
conduct a proper investigation.

As he pushed through the main door into the bright
sunlight, Mulder finally seemed to remember she was
there.

"A pediatrician wouldn't write a note for a child he
hasn't seen, would he?"

Of course, Mulder could have been merely musing to
himself.

He popped the door locks, the cellphone in his hand
before he slid into the driver's seat.  He pulled the
photocopied note out of his pocket and smoothed it
flat over the steering wheel.  Scully settled
herself beside him, listening to the familiar beep,
boop, beep as he dialed.

"Good morning," he said in response to the tinny
voice on the other end of the phone.  "Bill Armbruster,
here, from the medical claims department.  Yes.  That's
right, Iowa General Health Care.  You're right, we're
the biggest around..."

A week ago, Mulder would have been playing to her as
audience, smirking and showing off his chicanery.
Now, his gaze was somewhere beyond the windshield.

"We're just auditing some of our records.  Can you
tell me the date of Destiny Morris' last visit?
Nothing since the well-child visit in January?
No...that matches our records exactly."

Mulder flipped his phone closed and pocketed it.

"So the note..."

"...was a forgery," Mulder finished her sentence.

*****************X*******************

Faced with Mulder's best pushy door-to-door
salesman routine, Darlene Morris didn't stand a
chance.  His foot was wedged in the door before
she knew what hit her.  Reluctantly, she allowed
them into the house.

"You look a lot better today," Scully said.
Darlene's skin was less gray, her eyes clearer.
But she still seemed tired, almost as if she had
to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the
other as she lead them into the kitchen.

"Chemo day is always the worst for nausea.  I just
feel drained the day after."

Darlene dropped wearily into a kitchen chair, her
arms folded across her chest.  Scully couldn't help
but recall the reception they'd received six years
ago when she and Mulder had been viewed as Darlene's
saviors.  Well, it was Mulder who'd been seen as the
champion.  Darlene had picked up on Scully's
skepticism right from the start.

As she sat at the table, Scully remembered the first
time she'd been there.  How young she had been, how
green.  In those days, she'd put her trust in God,
her parents and the United States government.  When
did her entire value system shift to Mulder?

"You're wasting your time here," Darlene said as
Mulder took a seat opposite her.  "Kevin shouldn't
have bothered you."

"I don't think a missing child is a waste of time,
do you?" Mulder asked, his expression as bland as
a bowl of milk.  If Mulder felt any sympathy for
Darlene Morris, he'd buried it deep.  His voice
had a hard edge when he spoke again.  "I mean, I
can't imagine anyone turning down help to find a
child.  Unless, that is, they were hiding something."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she
replied.  Darlene pulled her sweater more closely
around her.

"You lied to the sheriff, Darlene.  You told them
that Destiny was safe at home.  Then you called
her school and told them she was home sick.  Did
you forge the note from Destiny's doctor, Darlene,
or was it Ruby?"

"There was nothing the sheriff could do," she
whispered, shaking her head.

"Is Destiny beyond help?" he asked.

"No!" Darlene said, suddenly realizing that
Mulder thought the child was dead.  "Of course
not."

"Darlene, we want to help you," Mulder said.  "But
we can't do anything unless you're honest with us."

"I am being honest.  The sheriff can't help.  No
one can help.  We just have to wait until they let
her go.  Like Ruby."

"I want to believe you, Darlene.  Really, I do.  But
you made that very difficult when you lied.  The
sheriff believed you, but sooner or later, he's going
to put two and two together and come up with four.
He's going to call the school and find out Destiny
has been absent since the night Ruby stumbled into
the sheriff's office.  And then they're going to
call the pediatrician's office just like I did and
find out they haven't seen Destiny since her last
checkup.  Forging a doctor's note is a serious
matter, Darlene."

"You don't understand."

"I guess I don't and the sheriff isn't going to
understand either.  He's going to start asking
questions like who might want to hurt a little girl,
especially a difficult kid--"

"--She's not difficult," Darlene interrupted.
"She's...different."

"Tell me about her," Mulder said.  Scully knew
what he was doing.  'Keep them talking' was the
rule.  Keep them talking and they might say
something you could use.

"Ruby never told anyone who the father was.
About a month after...after we found her by the
lake, she came to me, crying.  Said she thought
she was pregnant.  I asked her if it was Greg
Randall, but she wouldn't say one way or the other.
She never said so, but I think she thought that
maybe 'they' did it."

"'They'?"

Darlene shrugged her shoulders.

"You must have some idea," he said.

"I don't know.  Sometimes, I don't think even Ruby
knows.   I remember holding Destiny in the hospital.
She was so tiny and so quiet--it was strange the
way she didn't make any baby sounds.  I remember
saying out loud--'where did you come from,
baby dear'--like this hours-old baby was going
to answer me."

"Out of the everywhere, into the here," Scully
murmured.

Mulder's gaze shifted away from Darlene.

"It's a poem," Scully explained, feeling almost
defensive under Mulder's scrutiny.

**************X***************

Out of the Everywhere - part 5
 

As they walked from the Morris house, Mulder weighed
the possibilities.

Maybe Destiny had been whisked away by aliens, and
Darlene knew no one on earth could do anything about
it.

The other version was darker.  He didn't think Darlene
would hurt the child, but she might be covering up for
somebody else.  Someone she loved enough to protect,
even if they had done something terrible.

Teenage boys were capable of heinous acts and
audacious deceptions.  Young mothers could also be
cold-blooded killers.  To Kevin Morris and his sister,
"alien abduction" might just be the first excuse that
sprang to mind, the way Mulder might plead heavy
traffic or a flat tire.

He'd felt Scully bristle at his treatment of
Darlene.  The Scully he used to know wouldn't
have been swayed by cancer-survivor sympathy.
The woman who shot him a severe look as she got
into the car was a stranger.

He wasn't without feeling.  He had been stunned by
Darlene's pallor and frailty.  Well, maybe he was a
shallow son of a bitch.  His first thought on seeing
Darlene's scarf-covered head and lashless eyes was
gratitude that Scully had never lost her hair.

"You think that poor sick woman hurt her grandchild?"
Scully asked.  "Mulder, I saw her yesterday--she
couldn't get off the bathroom floor without help."

Then maybe she had help, he wanted to say.  Maybe she
thought lying about what happened was the only way to
protect what was left of her family.

"She lied, Scully," he said.  "Ruby lied too, but only
after her mother got to her."

Scully just shook her head.  "After what happened
six years ago, I certainly understand why Darlene
doesn't have a lot of confidence in the authorities.
It's not as if this attitude is new."

The familiar electric jolt of intuition buzzed up
Mulder's spine.  Darlene's attitude was not new at
all.

"The truth has brought me nothing but heartache,"
Mulder murmured under his breath as he tapped
the steering wheel with his thumbs.

"What did you say?" she asked, turning to him.

"In the hospital corridor, outside Ruby's room
six years ago.  Darlene said that the truth had
brought her nothing but heartache.  She'd faced
ridicule when she told the truth."

Scully frowned a little.

"I remember that.  I think she just wanted you out of
her hair, Mulder.  Ruby was back and that was all she
cared about."

"It would have been a rare opportunity to talk to an
abductee while the experience was fresh, before all
the crackpot UFO groupies got to her."

Mulder's disappointment was not only for himself.
Ruby needed the chance to talk about her experiences,
and he was sure that Darlene would never let her have
it.

"She said she was ridiculed all her life," Scully
mused.

For a moment, all the tension between them evaporated.
Scully's thoughts were following the same trail as
his own.  She might not arrive at the same conclusions,
but he felt the almost forgotten joy of untangling a
riddle with her.

"It just didn't make sense. Why would her sighting of
a UFO bring ridicule, especially when she was one of
any number of people who saw the lights?" Mulder
asked.

"She was the one mentioned in that article you
found.  And didn't she take a photo?  Maybe she
got a lot of unwanted attention over that."

"Not likely," Mulder said as he pulled away from
the curb.  "Not the kind of attention that
drastically affects behavior over thirty years
later."

"So, where are we going?" she asked.

"You've given me an idea," he answered.

***************X*****************

He hated microfilm machines. His stomach was
roiling and he'd developed a headache deep
behind his eyes from the spinning text. Scully
probably had some Dramamine, but he was damned
if he was going to ask her.

They had settled in at the Sioux City Main Library
Branch and were working their way through the
1960s editions of the local paper.  The periodical
room was empty except for the two of them.
They'd split the decade between them, and now
Mulder was up to 1965, two years before the
camping trip sightings.

"I'm done with the 60s, Mulder," Scully said
leaning around the microfilm machine to see him.
She looked as tired as he felt.  Well, good.
If he wasn't sleeping well, neither should she.
"I'm starting on the 1970s."

A crack about drugs, sex and rock 'n roll was dying
to be made, but he tamped it down.  Mulder turned
back to the whirr of his own microfilm reader as he
advanced through 1965.

"Mulder!  I think I have something here," Scully
called out.  Her voice echoed in the quiet room.

He jumped up and came around to stand behind her
at the reader, fighting the urge to rest his hands
on her shoulders.

"What do you have?"

"An article in the Sioux City Journal March 10, 1970
edition.  'Frank J. Morris was taken into custody on
suspicion of foul play in the disappearance of his
daughter, Darlene Anne Morris, age 13, who has been
missing for two weeks'."

"Keep cranking."

Mulder leaned forward, scanning as Scully scrolled
ahead, grabbing the handle from her when the follow-up
article swam into view.

March 13, Darlene Morris was found wandering dazed
along Route 71.  Her father was released from custody.

"No explanation for the disappearance," Scully
commented.

"Keep looking, but I don't think you'll find one."

"What does it mean, Mulder?  One family, three
generations . . ."

"We have to talk to Darlene again."

Scully nodded grimly.

"But no browbeating.  No rough stuff."

"I'll leave the rubber hoses in the car."

Mulder walked out of the library, Scully's heels
clacking along behind him.  Fresh air brought welcome
relief for his microfilm queasiness and they stood,
blinking in the bright sunlight as their eyes recovered.

"Shit," Mulder muttered as he watched Sheriff Mike
Linklater amble across the street from his office.

"He's been waiting for us," Scully answered in a
whisper.

The lawman planted himself in their path, arms folded
across his chest.

"Now, it can't be our fine public facilities that are
keeping you here."

"That *is* one fine library," Mulder said.

"Look, I know you two were down at the school asking
about Destiny Morris.  FBI in town, people talk.
So, what the hell is going on?"

"We're trying to find out," Scully said.

Mulder knew she didn't want the sheriff involved, but
there was no way around it.  Wisecracks and evasions
wouldn't cut it.

"Ruby was right.  Her daughter is missing," Mulder
said.  He could sense Scully's irritation.

Linklater's mouth tightened to an ugly frown and his
breath rattled in his throat.

"Ruby was telling the truth that night, and the girl's
been gone for two weeks?" he asked.

It took a minute for Mulder to realize that the
sheriff's anger was mostly with himself.

"I'm sorry, sheriff.  We weren't trying to keep you in
the dark," Scully said.

"Two weeks wasted, and nothing done," the sheriff
said.  "Why the hell didn't you tell me as soon as you
knew?  I should report you for obstructing justice."

"Sheriff, our investigation is well under way," Scully
said.  "The Morris family is very leery about
policemen, but they're starting to open up to us.  I
hope you won't jeopardize that."

"I don't think I heard you right, young
lady.  Are ordering me off this case"

"Not at all," Scully said, in her most persuasive and
earnest mode.  "Agent Mulder and I are treading very
lightly with the family right now.  We're asking for
a few days.  I think we're getting somewhere."

Linklater was speechless.  Mulder was too.

"We'll be sure to keep you in the loop," Scully added.

The sheriff heaved a huge, throaty sigh.

"All this time gone by, there's probably nothing left
to lose.  You've got two days.  And you damn well
better keep me in the loop, or I will lock you up for
obstruction of justice."

Linklater's head was down as he crossed the street
back to his office.

"Two days," Scully said with a note of satisfaction.
"Mulder, what's wrong?"

"Nothing.  I'm just trying to find a gender-free
synonym for *balls.*"

**************X***************

Darlene only let them in because she didn't have the
energy to argue.  Scully had walked her back to the
bedroom, insistent and reassuring, with a meaningful
over-the-shoulder warning for Mulder to stay away.

He waited in the living room as Scully bustled in and
out of Darlene's bedroom.  He knew she made tea and
guessed that the other trips involved medicines or
blankets.  When five minutes passed without Scully
emerging, Mulder walked slowly and quietly to listen
outside Darlene's door.

"He thinks I'm lying."

"He just has some questions."

"Why can't he believe me?  He believed me last time."

They were talking about him, which made Mulder feel
more like an eavesdropper than an investigator.

"Something happened where believing someone turned out
to be an awful mistake," Scully answered haltingly.

He wanted to drag Scully out of the room and ask her
what the hell she meant by that.  If he had questions
about Destiny's disappearance it was because most
child disappearances involve people close to the
child.  That Scully had been Cancer Man's uneasy rider
was irrelevant, and none of Darlene's business.

"You people can't help us, you can only make it
worse," Darlene said.

"Like what happened to your father when you went
missing."

"How do you know about that?" Darlene asked, all
the color draining from her face.

"We read the newspaper accounts from 1970," Scully
answered.

"My dad loved me!  He never hurt anyone, and they
arrested him!"  She was too weak to raise her voice,
but her anger was vivid.

"And what happened to Kevin six years ago . . ."

"They dragged him out of my arms, and you let them.
And now he thinks Agent Mulder is some kind of
superman who can bring Destiny back to us."

"I was so ignorant," Scully said.

"What?"  Darlene sounded surprised at Scully's
confession, but not as surprised as Mulder felt.

"I was naive and foolish, Darlene, but I assure you I
am neither of those things now.  I want to hear about
your disappearance, but I also want to know about
anyone on earth who might have taken Destiny.  I may
not be able to bring her back, but I will do
everything in my power to see that innocent people
aren't harassed or prosecuted."

Mulder was convinced, but Darlene sounded doubtful.

"You're asking me to trust you.  I don't really have
another choice," she said.

"Just talk to me."

Mulder leaned against the wall, making himself as
comfortable as he could for Darlene's account.

"But Kevin will be home any minute.  He'll want his
snack."

"I'm sure Kevin can find his way to the kitchen.
Besides, Mulder's here."

Mulder inched away from the door, treading carefully
until he was back in the living room.  It was a little
dustier than he remembered it six years ago.  The photos
on the mantle were still there: the prom picture and
Ruby on a pool diving board.  The population had grown
though, a middle school graduation photo of Kevin and
an assortment of pictures ranging from a baby to a
solemn faced little girl that had to be Destiny.

When Kevin came barreling into the house a minute
later, Mulder was casually paging through a magazine.

**************X*****************

"Awesome, right?  A hundred times better than Taco
Bell."   Kevin took another bite of his burrito.

"Glad you suggested it," Mulder said.  They were in
the Mexicana Cafe, Kevin's favorite restaurant.

"Mom can't eat here anymore.  Too spicy.  I guess
that's why she said it was okay for me to go with
you."

"It's a good place to talk," Mulder said.

"Yeah, like we used to."

"I'm surprised you remember that," said Mulder.  What
surprised him was not that Kevin remembered but how
much the memory meant to him.

"Of course I remember. You brought Ruby back.  And
you saved me from a million motorcycles."  Kevin
broke into a smile.  "Well, maybe it wasn't a million.
I was little then."

"There were a lot of motorcycles," Mulder confirmed.

"Mom says you didn't bring Ruby back."

"Your mom is right, Kevin.  I didn't."

The boy sighed.

"Well, you listened to us and you believed us.
Because it happened to you too."

Mulder remembered Scully warning him that he was too
close to the case, that he was thinking about Samantha
instead of Ruby.  Had he been so unguarded and
unprofessional that he told Kevin about his sister?

"Is that what I said?" Mulder asked.

Kevin put down his burrito, wrinkling his forehead as
he tried to remember.

"I think so.  You said about wanting so much for her
to come back.  Your sister, right?  You lost your
sister."

Mulder took a few seconds to ask himself if he was
willing to exploit that connection, and decided that
he was.

"Except she was my little sister.  I was supposed to
protect her."

"That's bogus.  There's nothing you can do against
those lights."

"Yeah, but they didn't believe about the lights.  They
were asking me questions like did I watch her in the
bathtub."

"That's just gross."

"That's the kind of question policemen ask.  Did she
ever make me mad?  Try to get me in trouble?  Did I
like to see her naked?"

"You had to answer those questions?"

"Yeah."  Even after all these years, Mulder marveled
that his father had let the police question him alone.
By evening the family had a lawyer, but that first
morning he'd been on his own, with instructions to
just tell the truth.

"That's what the police are going to do to me, if
Destiny doesn't get back in time?" Kevin asked.

"They might."

Kevin pushed his plate away.

"This is going to look really bad for me," he said.

"Did you do anything to hurt Destiny?  Do you know
where she is?" Mulder asked.

Kevin shook his head.

"But sometimes she really pissed me off so bad I
wished she had never been born.  And when she was
really little . . ."

Mulder held his breath.

" . . . when Ruby or Mom would change her diaper . . .
I'd try to get a good look."

"Why?"  Mulder asked calmly, ignoring Kevin's
embarrassment.

"Why?  Cause I couldn't figure out how girls pee."

"They're going to ask you if you ever wished
Destiny would go away.  Do you want her to come
back?"

"Of course I want her to come back," Kevin sputtered.
"I want her to come back so Ruby will stop crying
and so my mom won't be worried.  You want to know how
much I want her back?  Every day when I get home from
school, I turn the TV so it gets static.  I watch and
watch, but all I see is nothing."

"I'm sorry Kevin.  Of course, you want her back.  I
know that."

Kevin nodded, his face drained of color.  "What
else?" he asked.

"Are you ever alone with Destiny?"

"Is that another question the police would ask?"

"Yes."

"Then that's going to look bad for me too," Kevin
said.  "I watch her every day from after school until
dinner time."

Kevin trusted him enough to answer his questions and
Mulder told himself that was all right.  It wasn't
about being professional or objective, it was about
finding out the truth.

He only wished he'd picked a different restaurant.  He
doubted if Kevin would ever want to come here again.

**************X***************

Out of the Everywhere - part 6

Motorcycles still clogged the parking lot at the
Pennsylvania Pub.  The bar was every bit as noisy
and smoky as it had been six years ago.  The
clientele was no less rough, and the floor still
sticky with spilled beer.  Some things never changed.

Mulder's eyes had sparked with excitement when he
heard that Ruby moonlighted at the Pennsylvania Pub
on the weekends.  Scully could practically see the
little wheels turning in his head--slinging drinks
in a biker bar didn't fit in with Ruby's straight
and narrow lifestyle.

Darlene had told them how hard Ruby worked--days at
the insurance agency and weekends at the bar.  With
Darlene too sick to work, the extra income kept food
on the table and a roof over their heads.  Scully
chose to think working here was noble, if misguided.

Changing her life seemed so important to Ruby.  Working
two jobs, taking care of her child, supporting Darlene
and Kevin--it was a heavy burden for a young woman.
That struggle had to be infinitely harder in the
environment of the Pennsylvania Pub.

Scully followed Mulder to the bar, the pulsing backbeat
of rock music pounding in her ears.

"Behave yourself, or I'll cut you off for the night,
you old boozehound."  The woman behind the bar laughed
as she pushed a beer toward a large man whose backside
overwhelmed his barstool.

"Jessie, you're breakin' my heart here," the man
said clapping his hands over his chest.

Jessie was a tired-looking bleached-blonde with big
hair--a marked change from the one-eared tattoo
exhibit from years ago.

"What can I get ya?" Jessie asked.  Her voice was
gravelly, most likely from years of cigarette
smoke and talking above the din in bars.  Though her
figure was trim, she was older than Scully first
thought--probably near sixty.

"I'll have a Heineken," Mulder said.  So this was
to be an unofficial visit, Scully thought.  Scully
shook her head when the woman looked to her for an
order.

Jessie delivered Mulder's beer and took his money.
Mulder smiled at her, and just like Mrs. Effels
earlier that day, the bartender glowed.
Mulder really deserved some kind of award for
being able to charm the tough and the meek and
do it all in one day.

"Is Ruby here?" he asked, his voice as innocent
and non-threatening as Scully ever heard it.

"Nope," Jessie answered as she loaded glasses
onto a rack behind the bar.  "This ain't her night."

Apparently, Mulder's charm had limited power in
this universe.  Scully stepped back a little to give
him room to work his magic.

"Jessie--may I call you Jessie?" he asked. As she
nodded suspiciously, he continued.  "Ms. Scully
and I are from the Insurance Underwriters Board--
this is just a routine background check."

Well, at least Mulder remembered she was there,
Scully thought, even if it was only to lend
credibility to his non-lecherous intentions.

"Background check?"

"Well, we can't very well give Ms. Morris more
responsibility without a background check,
can we?"

"Why the hell didn't you just say that," she
said, slapping her hand on the bar.  "So what
do you want to know?"

"Tell me about Ruby:  When does she work?
What kind of worker is she?"

"Lessee.  Ruby works Friday and Saturday nights.
Wish she worked every night--drink orders are
always up when Ruby is working."

"Pretty girl?" Mulder asked.

"Oh, yeah.  The guys love 'em young and blonde.
Kid really rakes in the tips too, but she says
the day job is her ticket to somethin' better."
Jessie shook her head.  "I can't see how answering
the phone and typing up insurance papers is gonna
give her a leg up, but what the hell do I know.
No offense to you two, of course."

"No offense taken," Mulder said, smiling.
"Does Ruby socialize with the people here?"

"These bums?  Not much.  She's friendly and all,
a nice kid.  But she keeps to herself, mostly.
She talks about her little girl sometimes but
not much else.  All I know is she shows up on
time and works hard."

"Hey Jessie!  We're dyin' a thirst down here."

"Gotta see to the drunks," she said, as she
moved down the bar.

Mulder took a long pull on his beer.  Scully
wondered what he'd hoped to discover tonight
and if he was satisfied.  Not since the beginning
of their partnership had she'd felt so out of
touch with her partner.

"Who knew all those months doing background
checks for Kersh would pay off," she said as
she turned to face the crowd in the bar.

"Glad it wasn't a complete waste of time," he
answered.  Braced on his elbows, Mulder leaned
back on the bar.

Scully watched the rowdy group playing pool.
Two biker types were engaged in what was either
a case of one-upsmanship or the beginning of
a dispute.  Scully's money was on a fistfight
within the hour.

"Oh my God," she murmured as a young woman
emerged from the crowd and walked toward them,
a beer in one hand and a sly smile on her face.

"Well, look who's here," the woman said, taking
a swig from the bottle.  "Remember me?"

"Of course. How could we forget?  You killed Greg
Randall and tried to pin the rap on Ruby Morris,"
Mulder said.  "Your parole officer know you spend
time in a bar?"

"Not unless you tell him," Tessa replied, with
the little feline smile Scully remembered from
so long ago.  Dressed in tight jeans and a short
leather jacket, she fit right in with the other
patrons.  Scully wondered if the "ace of spades"
emblem on the lapel was a fashion statement or a
gang insignia.

"So, how much time did you do for murdering your
boyfriend?" Mulder asked.

"Forty-six months plus time served," she answered.
"The judge felt sorry for a poor confused kid."

"So confused you told us it was Ruby who was pregnant
instead of you," Scully said.

"Or so confused you didn't know the wolves would go
digging where poor old Greg was laid to rest."
Mulder kept his tone bland, almost bored.

Her only reaction was a sly grin.  Four years in
prison hadn't changed Tessa much.  Her cheeks were
still baby-round, her eyes still small and hard.

"So, how come you're here?" Tessa asked.

"Agent Scully wanted to get in some trout fishing."

"I thought maybe it had something to do with Ruby
Morris's kid."

"I gotta say, Tessa, your track record as an
informant stinks," Mulder said with a shrug.  "But,
hell, I love a gamble.  Why do you think it would
have anything to do with Ruby or her family?"

"I heard Ruby went to the sheriff, yelling her head
off that the kid was gone.  A kid I know was there
that night--the loser got picked up for boosting a
car.  Anyway, this guy said Ruby's mother flew in
there saying it was all a mistake.  Now, I wonder
how somebody makes a mistake like that."

"And I'm sure you have valuable information about
that."

"You know, I was gonna tell you all about Ruby's
rich boyfriend in Spirit Lake.  Her *older* rich
boyfriend.  I heard he don't like kids," Tessa said,
with a tiny smile.  "But now I'm pissed off, so you
can shove it."

"That's quite an attitude," Mulder said.  "I mean
for someone in parole violation."

"I was only tryin' to help."

"If you're so keen on helping, tell us the boyfriend's
name," Scully said.

"Ask Ruby," she said.

"I'm asking you," Mulder replied.  "You're such
a helpful citizen, after all."

"I only seen him once," Tessa said, taking a long
pull on her beer.  "He came in to talk to Ruby.
I think she said his name was Dan Walden."

*****************X******************

"We should call Tessa's parole officer," Scully
said as they walked through the pub's parking
lot.

"We should," he agreed, blandly.  He unlocked the
doors and shot her a look over the car roof.  "But
not right away.  She might be useful."

"Tessa Seers is about as useful as a viper."

"We have to talk to this Dan Walden." Mulder pulled
out of the parking lot.

"All we have is Tessa's word that he's Ruby's
boyfriend."

"What time did you say Ruby came back from Spirit
Lake?" he asked.

"Around 9:00."

"So what the hell do you think Ruby was doing in a
strange town until 9:00 with a fussy little kid?"

"Even if she does have a boyfriend, that doesn't
mean she's another Susan Smith."

Mulder blew out a slow breath, his fingers tapping
on the steering wheel.

"I don't understand you, Scully."

"What don't you understand, Mulder? How anyone could
possibly disagree with you?"  The stale cigarette
smoke from the Pennsylvania Pub had permeated Scully's
clothes, and the odor was turning her stomach.  The
argument with Mulder wasn't helping matters.

"I don't understand why you accept Ruby's story
without question," he answered calmly.

He was painfully close to the mark. Scully had
allowed Ruby to evade her question about Destiny's
father. She hadn't pressed for more details of the
evening at Spirit Lake.

"And yet you're buying Tessa's statement, despite her
track record," she said defensively.

"I'm not *buying* anything. I'm approaching everyone
with a healthy dose of suspicion. Like I always do."

Mulder was the master of the snap judgement.  Often he
turned out to be right, but he forgot all the times
that facts disproved his first theory.

"You've got to be kidding," she said.

"What are you saying?  I'm not a good investigator?  I
don't know how to do my job?"

"Isn't that what you're saying about me?"

"No, but . . ."  He left the thought unfinished.

"But what, Mulder?" she asked.  There was nothing
constructive about their bickering, but his
implication was a challenge she couldn't ignore.

"I always thought you were an excellent investigator,"
he said calmly.

His use of the past tense was another implication she
couldn't ignore.  She used to be an excellent
investigator.  Now she was a sucker who toured the
countryside with the cancer man.

"And now, you're not so sure," she said.  When several
moments went by with no reply from Mulder, she continued.
"It's pretty clear that I'm not adding much to this
investigation.  I think it would be better if I went
back to DC in the morning."

"But we're not finished here," Mulder protested.

"I'll complete my report tonight.  You may find parts
of it useful."  She rolled down her window, hoping the
cold breeze would dissipate the stench of tobacco.
As if nausea wasn't enough, maddening tears pricked
behind her eyes.

"Scully, no.  Not like this.  Please."

Her threat had triggered Mulder's  predictable protest
and now she wished she hadn't said it.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow," she said.

"I need you. You've gained Darlene's trust and
Ruby's, too. And the sheriff's."

He was so truly full of shit.   Apparently Mulder himself
was the only one who didn't trust her.  She turned to him,
amazed at his ability to backpedal so easily.  His eyes
seemed to plead with her, but her gaze didn't waver.

"Okay, Scully, we'll talk about it tomorrow.  So, wanna
get something to eat?  Some coffee?"

The night was chilly and Scully had to close her
window.  The stink of smoke was in her clothes and
skin.

She shook her head.

"I have to wash my hair."

***********X************

Out of the Everywhere - part 7

No silver tray, no linen napkins, just Styrofoam
cups and paper bags.  But it was the thought that
counted.  It was chilly at seven in the morning,
in spite of the bright sunlight.  Mulder crossed
the parking lot from the little grocery across
the street from the hotel.

Mulder hoped Scully would see his gesture as a peace
offering, not a feeble attempt at a bribe.  He had
serious concerns that she had become too close to
this case, but he hadn't meant to insult her.

He knew that his anger was fueled by fear.  Scully
had scared him half to death and he had allowed that
to get in the way of the partnership.  Somewhere they'd
lost the ability to challenge one another without
turning it into a fight.  He didn't want to fight.
Most of all, he didn't want her to leave.

Screwing up his courage, he knocked on her door.

"Mulder?"

Scully had a hairbrush in one hand as she opened
the door, obviously surprised.  She looked like
hell, eyes shadowed from too little sleep.  She
was dressed, but her blouse was untucked, and
her feet were bare save their sheer hose.  The pink
nail polish on her toes made her seem vulnerable,
almost delicate.

"They say that breakfast is the most important meal
of the day, Scully."  Mulder raised the bags as an
offering.

Her expression was guarded, and for a heartbeat,
he thought she wasn't going to let him in.
With a sigh, she moved aside.

"You have coffee in there?" she asked, warily.

"The very best that Lloyd's Superette had to offer."
He crossed the room to unpack the bags on a small
round table.

"You went to a lot of trouble," she said.

"Not really."

He'd spent a ridiculous amount of time over his
purchases, choosing carefully.  Yogurt.
Oranges.  Mini muffins.  Girly food.

Scully sipped her coffee and made a career out of
peeling and sectioning an orange.  Mulder ate a
bran muffin, carefully picking out the raisins.  The
silence stretched until Scully broke it.

"We have a responsibility to the people we investigate
to cause the minimum harm and disruption," she said.

"Understood."

"I know why you're concerned.  You think I've lost
my objectivity."

Mulder shrugged.  "Happens to the best of us."

"For a man who sets such store by his own intuition,
you have precious little respect for mine."

It would be easier to respect Scully's intuition if it
hadn't taken her on Cancer Man's rolling rendezvous.

"Intuition is fallible.  I've been duped more times
than I'll ever know," he said.

"That's why we'll conduct a full investigation.  Push
Ruby to tell us what she did that Thursday and who was
with her.  Trace her steps and see if her story
holds."

"Good plan."

"But we're going to be careful, because we don't want
to damage innocent people in the process."

"Even if we don't know who the innocent people are."

*********************X*********************

"The one thing I should have taught my kids is
that all you can do is wait," Darlene said.

She still looked frail, but less ill.  She'd
allowed Mulder and Scully into her home with
weary resignation, and they sat in her living
room.  Someone had done a bit of straightening
and dusting since yesterday.

"Because they always brought you back," Mulder said.

That got Darlene's attention.  She nodded warily.

"I don't remember much about it.  It wasn't
anything terrible.  A few bad dreams, some odd
bruises.  Nothing that bad..."

"Until your father was arrested," Scully said.

"My mother panicked.  It had happened before,
but this time was so much longer.  Weeks instead
of hours or days.  She went to the police and the
only thing they did was put my father in jail."

"And you were returned," Mulder said.

"That's right.  Nothing by the aliens was as bad as
how they treated him.  If only I'd remembered
that I wouldn't have looked for help when Ruby was
gone, and Kevin would have been spared."

Mulder remembered Scully's outrage at the wild
excesses of the NSA, seizing an eight-year-old and
treating him like a spy.  It was Scully who had
pursued the matter, despite Mulder's cynicism.  It
was Scully's zeal that won an apology and a small
settlement for the Morrises.

"You can hardly blame Ruby for going to the police
when she woke up on the ground with her child
missing," Scully said.

"I don't blame her, I blame myself.  When Ruby came
back, she was very confused.  She had no memory--
even of the weeks before she was taken.  I thought
it was better if she didn't know about what
happened to Kevin and me.  Maybe if I'd told her,
she'd have known to keep quiet and wait it out."

"You weren't there that night, Mrs. Morris.  You can't
be sure of what happened," Mulder said.

"I know where you're going with this," Darlene said.
She was too weak to shout, but her anger and disgust
were obvious.

"We're just trying to find out what happened to
Destiny," Scully said.

"So what's next?  Maybe Ruby did this all herself.
Threw her baby in the lake and said it was aliens.
Or maybe I did it.  Or Kevin.  And when Destiny comes
home, you'll say how sorry you were to have caused so
much trouble.  But meanwhile you have our names all
over town, and everyone whispering what we did to our
baby."

"There's no way Ruby could have done this, not without
help."  Darlene gasped, but Scully held up a hand and
continued.  "If this wasn't an alien abduction, it was
an elaborate hoax, and whoever did it will be caught.
But if it was aliens, we still need to cover all
the bases because you know that's what the cops will
do."

"None of us hurt Destiny," Darlene said, cold fury in
her voice.  "I don't know who would want to hurt such
a little girl.  I want you to leave now.  I'm tired."

"Call me if you change your mind.  Or if you just
want to talk," Scully said as they retreated,
despite Darlene's stony glare.  Mulder didn't
speak until they were back in the car.

"I thought I was supposed to be the bad cop,"
he said.

"I was just trying to be honest," said Scully.

"Let's just hope we can get to Ruby before Mama
reminds her to beware of strangers with badges."

Mulder didn't know what to expect when they
arrived at the insurance company, but Ruby was
ready to cooperate.  She told her boss she needed
time off for something personal and that she'd
be sure to make up the hours before her next
paycheck.  He agreed with a shrug.

The sheriff's office seemed like a poor locale
for the interview, and the Morris home was off
limits, which left the motel.  One of the nice
things about having a female partner was that
you could take a female subject back to your
room without fear of innuendo.

"Destiny's coming back soon, that's what my
mother says," Ruby told them.  "Three weeks is
about the maximum."

"Your mother told you to lie to the police,"
Mulder said.

Ruby was startled by the accusation.

"You understand about that," she said, turning to
Scully.

"You used a forged doctor's note to cover Destiny's
absence from school," Scully said.

"Because I had to.  You know I couldn't tell the truth."

"What is the truth, Ruby?  What happened that night?"
Mulder asked.

"The truth is what I told Agent Scully.   I was
driving home late at night when the car went dead and
the bright light came.  I passed out and when I woke
up, she was gone."

"So you reported her disappearance to the sheriff,"
Mulder prompted her.

"I was so frightened.  I drove to the sheriff's office
and told the officer what happened, and then I called
my mom."

"Your mother convinced you to change your story,"
Scully said.

"She told me things I never knew.  That I had vanished
the same way as Destiny, but no one believed her.  How
the cops wrecked our house and took Kevin away."

"So you decided to tell the police that Destiny was
fine and there was nothing for them to investigate,"
Mulder concluded.

Again she turned to Scully.

"How can the police help me if Destiny's on board a
UFO?  All they can do is make trouble for my family."

"Ruby, think about what happened that night.  Your car
failed, you saw bright lights, and you lost
consciousness.  It might not be what you think,"
Scully said.

"It could be a hoax.  Anyone with some basic
mechanical know-how could rig your car.  You could
have been drugged," Mulder explained.

"But who would want to do that?" Ruby asked.

"What about Destiny's father?  Would he try to kidnap
her?" Scully asked.

"I don't even know who it is," Ruby answered in a
whisper.  "Some boy maybe slipped me something to
knock me out?  Or did it happen when I was missing?
I never knew."

"That must have been terrifying," Scully said, her
voice gentle.  Ruby nodded silently.

"Sad story," Mulder said dryly.

Ruby cringed, and for a moment she looked as if she
might cry.  Scully's expression was questioning.

"I'm telling the truth," Ruby said, her voice shaking.

"You didn't tell us about your boyfriend," Mulder said.

"I don't have a boyfriend," she protested.

"Tessa Seers told us you do." Scully said.

"Someone respectable.  Rich.  He could make your life
so much easier--but he doesn't like kids," Mulder said.

"You don't know Tessa.  She's crazy," Ruby protested.

"But Tessa's the one who told us about Dan Walden.  And
you lied to me, Ruby.  You told me you spent all evening
alone with Destiny.  Just you two.  Dinner alone.  Out
by the lake alone," Scully said.

"Feeding ducks in the dark," Mulder added.

"No more lies, Tessa.  Tell us the truth," Scully pressed.

Ruby swiped at her tears, swallowing hard as she tried
to compose herself.

"Dan's not my boyfriend.  We kinda dated a few times,
that's all.  And he loves kids, so Tessa's wrong about
that."

"An older man," Scully suggested.

Ruby nodded in Mulder's direction.  "About like him."

He didn't doubt that Scully would have a lot of fun
with that comment later on, but for now she was all
business.

"We heard he's rich.  Settled," she said.

"He's got a good job," Ruby affirmed.  "Look, if I
tell you what you need, could you just leave him out
of this?"

"We'll do our best," said Scully.  It was a flimsy
promise even by FBI standards, but Ruby seemed
satisfied.

"He's a high school principal--acting principal,
anyway.  It would really mess things up if you start
spreading his name around."

"You were coming back from his place when your
daughter disappeared," Scully guessed.

"That's right.  I have to work Friday nights, so
Destiny and I went out there on Thursday.  He made
us dinner and then we played Hi-ho Cherrio."

"He cooked dinner for Destiny?" Scully asked, and
Mulder remembered Mrs. Effels commenting that
Destiny was fussy about food.

"Spaghetti.  He chopped it up and I put some butter
on top, and she was fine with that."

"How long did you play Hi-Ho Cherrio?" Scully asked.

"Well, how long *can* you play Hi-Ho Cherrio?  I
guess we played about half an hour, and then we
watched videos until Destiny fell asleep."

"What time did you leave?" Scully asked.

"Around nine.  You know, Dan's not the kind of guy
I usually date.  The first time he came in to renew
his homeowner's policy, I didn't give him a second
glance."

"Too old for you to notice," Scully supplied
helpfully.

"Not just the age.  Thinning hair, thick glasses.
But once you get to know him, none of that matters."

"You said you haven't seen Dan since Destiny went
missing.  Have you talked to him?" Scully asked.

Ruby looked uncomfortable.

"I've been avoiding him.  I'll call him up when my
child is back, but right now... it's too hard to
explain.  Most people wouldn't understand."

"Your friend Tessa made it sound like the perfect
romance, except Destiny was getting in the way,"
said Scully.

"She's really not my friend, and she's weird--even
weirder than back in high school."

Mulder remembered Tessa as a remorseless killer
with an inexplicable interest in dishing the dirt
about Ruby Morris.

"Weird?  How?" Scully asked.

Ruby seemed surprised that Scully would ask.

"She's just out of prison for killing Greg Randall,
and she wants to hang out with his old friends,
like nothing ever happened," she said.

"What else?" asked Mulder.

"She wants me to go camping with her.  I should take
Destiny, and she'll take her little girl, and we'll
have a cook-out by the lake."

"I thought she gave her baby up when it was born,"
Scully asked.

"But now she's talking about getting her back."

Mulder felt a jolt of apprehension.

"Ruby, when did Tessa come back to town?" Scully
asked.

"Let's see... about a month ago."

Mulder calculated a week between Tessa's arrival and
Destiny's disappearance.  He and Scully exchanged
glances.

"Do you have a phone number for Tessa?  An address?"
asked Mulder, but Ruby shook her head.

**************X*************

Out of the Everywhere - part 8

Scully was supposed to be the skeptic while he was the
believer, but something about this case had made them
switch personas. Scully searched for little green
abductors while Mulder played the odds that Destiny
Morris had vanished at the hands of a relative.

Blinded by preconceptions and preoccupied with their
own wounds, they'd both been sloppy. If Destiny was
dead in a ditch or ringing 'round the moon in a UFO,
then time didn't matter. If she'd been kidnapped,
then time was everything.

"We had her and we let her go," Scully said bitterly
as she pulled the seatbelt across her chest and
clicked it into place.

"We still don't know that Tessa is involved," Mulder
reminded her.   He turned the ignition key and the
car roared to life.

"She was released from jail about a week before
Destiny disappeared.  I'm not ready to chalk that up
to coincidence."

"We'll find her."

"She's not at the address that's registered with her
parole officer, and she walked off her job the second
day," Scully said.  "We should try her mother's
address."

"I'll call the sheriff to run her down for us," Mulder
said, flipping his cell phone open.

Scully's eyes narrowed.

"The sheriff?"

"I want to talk to Dan Walden."  He turned to face
her.  "I want *us* to talk to Dan Walden."

"Do you think he's involved?"

"Ruby tried to hide him from us," he reminded her.

Scully seemed satisfied.

"And we can follow the route Ruby took coming home."

************X*************

"Your father is going to kill you," an obviously
furious mother hissed at her bored-looking son as
they left Principal Walden's office. "What were
you thinking, Tyler?"

Tyler shrugged, ambling past Mulder and Scully as
he left the area. His mother hurried after him,
shaking her head in disgust.

"The principal will see you now," the secretary
announced, tripping Mulder into a vivid high school
flashback.  A meeting with the principal about a very
serious matter.  His mother's mortification and tears
on hearing he'd been caught with a Penthouse magazine
hidden inside his notebook.   In the end it was the
principal who had to reassure her that Fox was most
probably a normal boy.

Mulder filed into the office after Scully, reminding
himself that he'd grown up to be a federal agent and
not a sex offender.

"Mr. Walden, I'm Agent Mulder and this is Agent
Scully."

Dan Walden stood to greet them.   He was a small man
with a high forehead, and at first glance he seemed
to defy Tessa's description of "old" and "rich."

"Please, sit down." he asked.  "Is this about one of
my students?"

"No, sir, this is personal," Scully said.

Dan Walden gave a nervous smile.

"I didn't know the FBI investigated stolen credit
cards," he said.

"We're investigating the disappearance of Destiny
Morris," Scully said.

Mulder watched the man's face at the news and saw
total surprise.

"Destiny? That's terrible," Walden said.

"Then you know her?" Scully asked.

"I met her, yes. And I know her mother. My god,
they were just at my house."

"You were one of the last people to see the girl
before she went missing," Mulder said. He had no
reason to pressure the mild-mannered principal,
but it might be productive.

"That was a couple of weeks ago. They both came for
supper," Walden said.

"What did you think of Destiny? Lots of people find
her difficult," Mulder said.

"I only met her the one time. I thought she was a
cute kid," Walden said. "What happened to her?"

"That's what we're trying to find out," said Scully.

"Destiny's been missing since that night?" Walden
asked, shaking his head. "I had no idea. Ruby
didn't return any of my phone calls. I thought...
I just figured Ruby didn't want to see me anymore."

"Was the age difference a concern?" Mulder asked.
"I mean, you seem like a settled kind of guy.
Ruby's not much older than your students."

"I thought about it.  I knew we'd attract a lot of
gossip," Walden said, his face reddening.

"Did anyone know Ruby and her daughter were having
dinner with you?" Mulder asked.

"I don't think I mentioned it to anyone."

"How did you make the arrangements?" Scully
asked.

"I knew she moonlights at a scruffy bar and I drove
down to talk to her there."

"When was this, sir?" asked Scully.

"The weekend before.  That Friday."

"So you met her in the bar and invited her to dinner."

"Her and Destiny.  She was nervous about letting me
meet her daughter.  I, uh, thought it was about time."

"Did anyone seem particularly interested in your
conversation?" Scully asked.

"Well, it was a biker bar.  I stuck out like a sore
thumb."

A crowded Friday night with a meek-looking stranger
talking to the popular young waitress.  Mulder could
picture the scene.

"Everyone was watching, but did anyone try to get
closer?" he asked.

"Well, not that I noticed at the time.  But later I
had some suspicions."

"Go on," Mulder said.

"A couple of days later I realized my Visa card was
missing.  I thought I just lost it, but when I
reported it they told me about some pretty strange
charges."

"Charges you didn't make," Scully prompted him.

Walden actually smiled.

"Size seven ladies' biker boots with buckles up the
side.  Princess Dahlia's night-time collection.
Leather motorcycle jacket with custom ace-of-spades
lapel insignia.  And express delivery on all of it."

"Not your style," Scully acknowledged, but she was
sending frantic signals to Mulder.

He didn't need Scully's coaching.  Tessa's short
leather jacket was unforgettable.

"We're going to need to to contact your credit card
company," he said.

"I have the numbers right here."  Walden passed a
stack of papers across the desk and then his
telephone.

"Thanks," Mulder said as he started to dial.

"Will this help you get Destiny back?" Walden asked
Scully.

"I hope so."

"If I hadn't been so pushy about meeting her, this
wouldn't have happened," Walden said.

Scully gave the expected response, but Mulder was
focused on his own conversation with the anti-fraud
division at Visa.  For once his FBI credentials
brought him cooperation, but the answer he found was
a dead end.

Tessa's purchases had been shipped to an address he
already knew.  Her mother's house.

He was about to tell Scully the bad news when she
snapped her cellphone shut and put it away.

"Thank you for your time," she told Walden.  "Let's
go, Mulder.  The sheriff found another address."

**************X*****************
 

Highway 71 threaded past Center Lake and then
between East Okoboji and West Okoboji Lakes.  It
wasn't the only route to Sioux City, but it was
perhaps the most direct.  And it was the way
Ruby had driven.

Scully shot him little glances when she could
risk taking her eyes from the road.  She was ten
miles over the speed limit, hurrying to an address
that *might* be Tessa's residence.

"Must be pitch black on this road at night," she
observed.

Mulder kept his eyes on the sides of the road,
watching for breaks in the trees.

"It'd be easy for someone to tuck into one
of these paths and wait unseen."

"Is that what you think happened?" Scully asked,
slowing as the road curved.

Mulder sighed.

"It would fit some of the facts," he said.

"It's been two weeks," she reminded him.  Two weeks
was long enough to erase tire tracks and foot prints.

"It can't hurt to look."

He looked but didn't find.  Finally they passed the
point where Ruby's car had failed under a blinding,
blistering light.

"We can try again if that address doesn't pan out,"
Scully said.

"Another longshot," Mulder said.

The address supplied by the sheriff was an abandoned
building, popular with local derelicts and criminals.
The cops kept clearing it out, but the squatters and
junkies always returned.  Mulder suspected that the
only connection between the building and Tessa
Seers was that the sheriff didn't like either one.

"Tessa was evicted from her approved housing.  She's
not with her mother.  She must be staying somewhere,
Mulder."

"So the sheriff gave us the location of the local
nuisance property.  We'll be stuck busting up a meth
lab or something, to save him the trouble."

"Greg Randall used to live there.  It's not just a
random address," she said.

"You didn't tell me that part."

"Besides, I've never busted a meth lab."

They spoke little for the rest of the ride, just a few
exchanges to verify street signs and directions.
Mulder's thoughts flipped from the best scenarios to
the worst.  If Tessa wanted to replace her own lost
child, she would take care of Destiny, not hurt her.
But Tessa was malignantly self-centered, and Destiny
was a high-strung, difficult kid.  Even if Tessa
planned to play mommy, something could easily go wrong.

There was some comfort in knowing that Scully must be
mulling the same thoughts.

The highway changed from scenic lake views to miles and
miles of nothing before the outskirts of Sioux City
came into view.  Mulder could see railroad tracks
from the highway and remembered reading somewhere that
Sioux City had been a major meatpacking center in the
late 1800s.  Trains would have been integral to that.

But then again, trains had been used for hauling
more than just beef around the country.

The road paralleled train tracks for a couple of miles.
If there was a "wrong side of the tracks," this was
definitely the place.  It looked like the wrong side
of the planet.

It might have been a bustling neighborhood years ago,
but few of the houses appeared to be habitable.  A
group of children played on the hardscrabble front
lawn of the one house on the block that looked like
people lived in it.

Scully slowed the car as Mulder read off the last
of the sheriff's directions.

A small, ugly pink house sat alone on one corner,
windows and door boarded up.  Next door was the
putty-colored two story building the sheriff said
was probably the home of Tessa Seers.

There were boards on the windows, but several had
been pried away.  Mulder was sure that as soon as
the authorities nailed them up, vagrants pulled the
boards down.  The paint job had given up the ghost
years ago.

Scully stopped the car and they got out.  The torn
screen door hung on its hinges, the wooden door
behind it was ajar.  As they approached the front
door, both of them automatically felt for their
weapons.

Mulder pulled open the screen door and knocked on
the frame.

"Hello?  Anybody home?" he called.  The wooden door
creaked as he pushed it open.  They waited quietly
for a minute, then Mulder called out again:

"Pizza delivery.  Hot pizza.   Pepperoni pie from
Papa Dino's."

When no one responded, he stepped into the house,
Scully following.

The furniture was battered and dusty, but a short
leather jacket draped over the back of the threadbare
orange couch suggested recent habitation.  A jacket
with a custom ace of spades emblem.

A takeout tin overflowing with cigarette butts
decorated the battered end table.  Scully wrinkled
her nose at the stink.

Mulder moved to the next room, but Scully stopped to
examine the jacket.  Unmistakably, it was the one
Tessa had worn the night before.  The stale smoke
smell that clung to it brought back the memory of
the Pennsylvania Pub.  Exploring the pockets
produced a checkstub in the name of Tessa Seers
and credit cards in the names of Joyce Yamamoto,
Francine Wilkins and Dan Walden.

"Scully, look at this," Mulder called.

Scully found him in a small bedroom.  The windows were
smudged and grimy, but someone had swept away the
cobwebs and dust.  The bed was covered with bright new
linen and frilly pillows.  A Raggedy Ann reclined
against a large teddy bear, smiling hopefully.

The room was waiting for a little girl who never came.
Toys in sealed boxes were stacked on the floor.  Little
dresses hung in the doorless closet, tags intact.

Destiny had vanished two weeks ago from her mother's
car, but she hadn't made it to this new home.

"Something went wrong," Scully said.

****************X***************

Out of the Everywhere - part 9

"I'll call the sheriff.  Tessa's too dumb to cover her
tracks," Mulder said.

"They'll nail her," Scully said.  She couldn't bear to
look Mulder in the eye.

"I botched it," Mulder said.  "Let's get out of here
before we fuck things up for forensics."

Destiny was probably dead long before Kevin's call
brought them into the case.  Scully took comfort in
that, feeling disgusted with herself for doing so.

A noise from the front of the house snapped her from
her musings.

"Wayne, is that you?  And where's my favorite little
girl?"

Tessa's voice, excited and happy.

"Don't pounce," Scully whispered.  Tessa would be in
the room in seconds.  Scully's warning was a reminder
to herself as well as Mulder.  No accusations.  Be
friendly.  Let her talk.

"Oh, damn.  I shoulda known Wayne wouldn't be caught
dead driving a Taurus," Tessa greeted them.   Smoke
drifted upward from the lit cigarette in her hand.

"Hi, Tessa.  Nice house," Mulder said.

"Yeah, and I didn't invite you," she said.

"We were hoping you could help us.  You seemed to know
a lot about Ruby and her boyfriend," Scully said.

Tessa brightened.

"You weren't exactly nice yesterday," she said, taking
a drag of her cigarette.  "I don't even know why I should
tell you anything."

"So we can catch Ruby, and make her pay for what she
did," said Mulder.

Scully couldn't have pulled off that line, but
Mulder's monotone made it work.

"If I help you, maybe you could help me," Tessa said.
"I could probably tell you a lot about that boyfriend.
I have a friend who's good at that stuff."

"How about you tell us where they hid the body," Mulder
said.

"How do I know where crazy Ruby woulda hid the body?"
Tessa asked.

"You gotta help us if you want us to help you," Mulder
said.  "I bet we could get them to turn on the water
here.  Electricity, too."

"I got friends who can do that stuff," Tessa said.

"What kind of help do you need?" Scully asked.

Tessa tilted her head to one side, then the other,
pursing her lips as she thought.   With exaggerated
care, she flicked ashes into the tin on the coffee
table.

"There's this guy who said he'd do a favor for me."

"And why would you need our help when you've got
such useful friends?" Scully asked.

"Maybe you can scare him a little, make him do what
he promised."

"I don't know, Tessa.  So far you haven't given us
much," said Mulder.

"I gave you the boyfriend.  Ask him where they put
the body."  Tessa sounded impatient, even indignant.

Mulder looked at Scully, but the pantomime was for
Tessa's benefit.  His face said that he wasn't
interested, that Tessa would have to give them more.

"The guy who owes you this favor.  What's his name?"
Scully asked.

"Wayne Tenner.  He's kind of a geek, but he knows
about computers and stuff."

"Where's the body?" Mulder quietly brought the
subject back to Destiny.

"That's all you care about, isn't it?"  Tessa was
offended.

"You want help with Wayne, you have to help us
too," Mulder said.

"Oh--at the lake!" Tessa blurted.  "That's where they
dumped the body."

She's lying, thought Scully.

"Lake Okoboji?" Mulder asked.

"Well where else?" Tessa asked.

"She's buried there?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah.  Now, I don't know where you're gonna find
Wayne, but there's people at the Pub who can tell
you."

"Or did they dump her in the water?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah, could be they just dumped her in the water,"
Tessa agreed.  "This guy Wayne, he knows where my
daughter is.  Found out they live in Council Bluffs.
He's gonna pick her up from her school."

"Which is it, Tessa?  They buried her or they threw
her in the lake?"  Mulder's anger was rising.  Scully
wondered if he'd really been listening.

"Tessa, where is your daughter?" Scully asked.

"They gave her to a married couple and they named
her Elizabeth, but that's all they'd tell me.
Wayne found out their last name was Carpenter and
where she was, and he's supposed to get her back."

"You fixed up this room for her," Scully said.  "For
Elizabeth."

Tessa nodded.  "I  think I'm gonna keep that name,
too.  It's pretty."

Mulder scrubbed his fist against his forehead.

"This is all about... *Elizabeth.*  Not Ruby's child,"
he said.

Tessa wrinkled her nose.

"I've seen Ruby's kid--she's a creepy little freak.
Elizabeth has long blond hair.  I think maybe she'll
be a singer."

Mulder picked up the Raggedy Ann doll from the bed,
fingering the red yarn hair.  "We'll talk to Wayne
for you, Tessa.  I'm sure Elizabeth will be very
happy here."

He handed Tessa the doll and with a hand on Scully's
arm, guided her from the room.

"Don't forget," Tessa called after them.  "Ask at
the Pub."

Mulder kept his hand at her back all the way to the
car.  Scully could practically feel electrical current
through her clothes.

"Drive around the block," Mulder instructed after
they'd gotten in the car.  He had his cellphone out
and was already dialing the sheriff's number.

"Tessa's been a busy girl," Mulder said as he waited
to be put through to the sheriff.  "Here she is working
to tear one little kid away from her family and she
still takes the time to implicate Ruby and Dan in the
death of another."

Scully slowed the car as she swung back onto Tessa's
street.

"Keep back a few houses," Mulder said.  "We want to be
able to see if Tessa leaves but not have her spot us."

Scully listened as he finally got through to the
sheriff and began to outline what they'd discovered:
the room prepared for Elizabeth, the credit cards in
Tessa's possession.

"That's Wayne Tenner, T-E-N-N-E-R.  Tessa described him
as a computer whiz.  I don't know if he's armed, but
I'd consider him dangerous.  The kid's name is Elizabeth
Carpenter.  According to Tessa, Tenner is supposed to be
snatching the girl from her school in Council Bluffs."

Mulder listened for a moment, fidgeting in his seat.
"Yeah.  We'll keep the residence under surveillance
until your men get here."

He turned to her as he disconnected.  "The sheriff
is sending a detail to pick Tessa up.  He's calling
the Council Bluffs PD."

Tessa was obviously home to stay, at least for a
while.  They watched the house, but she never
emerged.  The sun was setting, the sky painted
pink and purple behind the ugly gray of the house.

They sat in silence, each absorbed by their own
thoughts.  Mulder worried a thumbnail as he kept
his eyes on the house.  Scully concentrated on not
having to pee.

"Hope they don't barrel down here with sirens
blaring," Mulder said.  As if in response, a
police cruiser silently glided past before
stopping in front of Tessa's house.

Five minutes later, an angry, struggling Tessa
was escorted out of the house and into the cruiser.
The look she shot at them as the car passed by
would have curdled milk.

"I don't think Tessa likes us anymore," Scully
said.

"Then I guess the day hasn't been a total loss,"
Mulder replied.

The sun was almost gone now.  Scully could feel
the waves of frustration coming off Mulder.
Another day ending and still no solid leads
on Destiny.

"We're back to square one," he said.

"Yeah," she agreed.  "We'll start over in the
morning.  On the other hand, if I don't get
something to eat soon, it isn't going to be
pretty."

They drove back to their hotel, stopping along
the way to pick up a pizza and a bottle of
cola.  Mulder knew better than to argue with
her when she'd missed lunch.

Mulder followed her into her room, holding the
pizza while she cleared the small table of papers
and her laptop.  Scully kicked off her shoes
and dropped into a chair.  They were somewhere
between hell and normal; she just wasn't sure
which they were closer to.

"Warm soda and cold pizza," Mulder said as he
handed her a glass.

"Mmmm," she answered after she took a sip. "And
it's flat, too."

Too much cheese and what tasted like ketchup for
sauce, the pizza was only barely adequate, but she
was starving.  She was on her second piece before
Mulder settled down with his first.

Long legs stretched out before him, Mulder took
a huge bite of pizza.  His cellphone rang while
he was mid-chew and Scully smiled at his *every
damn time* expression.

"Mulder," he answered, around his mouthful of
pizza.   He sat up, suddenly alert and listened
intently.  "Thanks, Sheriff.  Please keep in
touch."

"Well?" Scully asked after Mulder hung up his
phone and prepared to take another bite of pizza.

"They haven't located Wayne Tenner, but he's got
a record--convicted on embezzlement when he was
24.  Since then, he's been mostly unemployed.
Elizabeth Carpenter is safe at home--Council Bluffs
PD has a watch on the house and they'll have
officers down at the school tomorrow."

He dropped his pizza back on the paper plate,
tossing his napkin on top.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"I'm picturing Kevin's face tomorrow, when we tell
him we're no closer to finding his sister."

"Sister?"

"Destiny," he said.

"You mean his niece."

"Yeah," Mulder said, slowly shaking his head as if to
clear it.  "Yeah, niece."

"I know you're frustrated, Mulder.  But your instincts
told you something was up with Tessa.  You may have
saved Elizabeth Carpenter."

He shrugged.  "I just wish we had something to
tell the Morrises."

"I've got to take a shower," Scully said, rising
suddenly.  She felt as if the cigarette smoke had
settled on her skin like a grimy film.

Mulder gathered up the greasy plates and napkins.

"I'll get this out of your way," he said.

Scully grabbed her pajamas and toiletry kit.  "It's
okay, Mulder.  You can finish your dinner."

"I'm finished," he replied.

The hotel shower had a safety feature to prevent
scalding and a water-saving device that limited the
flow to a sputtering drizzle.  Scully showered for a
long time, soaping and rinsing, shampooing and
repeating.

Mulder was gone when she emerged from the bathroom.
Sighing, she took a comb through her hair and
got into bed.

It wasn't late, but she was tired.   She turned
on the TV, flipping until she found a familiar rerun
to block out her thoughts.  As the crowd at Cheers
greeted Norm once again, she drifted in and out of
sleep.

*************X***************

Out of the Everywhere - part 10

Someone's face was inches away from hers, grunting
and wheezing, the breath fetid and rank.  Someone's
mouth was on hers, bitter-tasting and foul with
tobacco, the tongue pushing past her lips.
Someone's hands were on her breasts, roughly mauling
and pinching her nipples.  Someone was kneeing her
thighs apart and penetrating her--painfully,
ruthlessly.

Something obscured her eyes, and her hands were
restricted above her head, preventing her from
defending herself.  She tried to shrink away from
the mouth and hands, from the thrusting, from the
weight pressing her into the mattress, but she
couldn't escape.

She screamed and screamed against the mouth that
covered hers.  The air was filled with the sound
of her attacker grunting and her own guttural cries.

The skin on her hands was rubbed raw as she struggled
against whatever bound her.  The ties loosened until
she pulled a hand free.  Her other hand slipped
from the bindings and with one swift motion, she
pulled the blindfold off and pushed the attacker away.
Looking into his glittering eyes, she saw the pure
evil there.

"No!  Oh my God, NO!"

"Scully, wake up. You were having a bad dream."

She jolted awake as Mulder gathered her in a
comforting embrace, whispering gentle words in her
ear.  "S'okay.  It wasn't  real."

She buried her face in the hollow of Mulder's neck,
breathing in the warm, salty smell of his bare skin.
Hot tears pricked her eyes as he rocked her back and
forth.  How long had it been since Mulder had held
her in his arms?  Weeks?  It felt like years.  She
dreaded the moment when he would remember that
everything was different now and turn her loose.

She could still smell the Smoking Man's foul breath,
still taste the bitterness of his mouth.  Her stomach
twisted in disgust and she broke from Mulder's hold,
stumbling into the bathroom.  She hung onto the sink,
as waves of nausea passed over her.  When she was
sure she wasn't going to vomit, she sat on the edge
of the tub.

"That must have been some dream," Mulder said as he
wrung a washcloth out and pressed it against her
forehead.  Scully gratefully took the cloth and
bathed her face and neck.

"It was...oh God, I can't even talk about it."

Mulder sat next to her on the edge of the bathtub.
Scully sat forward, elbows on knees, her face buried
in the washcloth.  She felt his hand massaging
circles on her back.

"I think you have to, Scully," he said softly.
"You can't keep it all in."

"It wasn't real."  Scully jumped up from the tub
and walked into the bedroom.  "It wasn't real," she
repeated as if doing so would ensure it stayed a
dream.  This was definitely something she wasn't
prepared to talk about with Mulder.

Her pajamas felt clammy, sticking to her skin and
leaving her chilled.  She rummaged in her suitcase,
pulling out a t-shirt.  Mulder had followed her into
the bedroom, standing expectantly with his hands on
his hips above his low-slung sweatpants.

"Thank you for waking me up, but I'm fine now," she
said, her eyes trained on the wall just beyond
Mulder's face.

"Oh yeah, you look fine.  Really. The dead-white,
deer-in-the-headlights look really works for you."

She thought about asking him to leave so she could
change, then decided it didn't matter.  He'd seen her
naked plenty of times, although never in the past few
weeks. Turning, she stripped off the pajama top.  Her
skin felt scorched under his gaze as she pulled the
t-shirt over her head.

"You were screaming for someone to stop--to let
you go.  What was the dream about, Scully?"

"Nothing.  It was about nothing," she said angrily.

"It wasn't 'nothing.'  Someone was hurting you.
Someone was . . ."  His inflection switched from
declaration to question.  "Raping you?"

"Drop it! Okay?  Just leave it alone."

"No.  I won't 'just leave it alone' when it's
affecting you like this.  You look like hell."

"Why, thanks for noticing."  Exhausted, she sat on
the bed, afraid her legs were going to give out.

"You don't think I know you haven't been sleeping?
How long has it been since you slept the whole night
through?  Since your little trip?"

"I wondered when you'd get around to mentioning
that."

"What were you trying to prove?  That you could be
reckless too?  That you could be just as irresponsible
and half-assed as me?"

"You think I was copying you?  Think again, Mulder.
I knew exactly what I was doing."

"What did he do to you, Scully?" he asked, standing
over her.

She wasn't about to sit and let him use his height
advantage.  She stood, brushing past him to take
a drink from the bottle of water on the dresser.

"Did he rape you?" Mulder asked in a soft voice.
He moved closer to her, hunching a little so he
could see her face.  God, don't let him be
tender with her.  She could handle him angry.
Gentleness would peel her layers away and leave
her naked and defenseless.

"No," she said a little too forcefully.  "At
least I know that much."

"Scully?"  His hands were like iron bands as they
gripped her upper arms.  "Was there a question in
your mind?  What are you saying?"

Every ounce of energy deserted her until Mulder's
hands were the only thing keeping her from landing
in a heap on the floor.  She wanted to tell him to
go to hell, that it wasn't any of his business,
but she didn't have the strength to fight any more.

"He drugged me.  I'm not sure how, but I fell asleep
in the car and woke up the next morning in bed...in
my pajamas."

Mulder's anger cut through her like a knife.  His grip
on her arms tightened until he realized what he was
doing.  Then the anger in his eyes turn to pain.

"Sorry," he said, releasing her.  "I'm sorry."

"He didn't hurt me, Mulder."  He snorted, skepticism
plain in his face.  "At least not physically."

"He's a sick, fucking bastard and I should have killed
him years ago."

"I had a full exam--every possible test.  I went to
the doctor that day, right after we left the office
building."

She would remember that day forever: standing on
the sidewalk after they'd left the empty office
where she'd met with Spender, bright sunlight
nearly blinding her as Mulder walked away.
She'd clutched the car keys so tightly they
left marks on her palms.

"Why...why didn't you tell me?" he asked.  Emotions
played over his features--anger, pain, sorrow, guilt,
and maybe pity.  He moved closer, taking her by the
shoulders, gently this time.

"You weren't speaking to me, remember?"  She shrugged
out of his arms and returned to sit on the bed.  He
looked properly discomfited.  Scully sat against the
headboard and drew her knees up to her chin.  "And
when you forced yourself to talk to me, you were
sarcastic."

Mulder's head was down, one hand massaging the back
of his neck.  "I'm sorry," he said.  "I'm sorry you
didn't feel like you could talk to me."

"I know you were frightened, Mulder.  I know what
that feels like, and it's pretty rotten," she said.

"I wasn't frightened, Scully.  I was full-throttle,
stark staring terrified.  Scully--you could have been
killed."

"It was a calculated risk.  No matter what you think,
I didn't do this casually--I took every precaution I
could."

"You could have been killed!" he shouted, running an
impatient hand through his hair.  "You trusted the
devil and thought that a few 'precautions' would
save you?  How could you be so fucking stupid?"

"What do you want from me, Mulder?  Do you want me
to apologize like some naughty child?  Well, I won't.
I'm sorry you were scared, but, damn it, I'm not
sorry I did it."

"I don't want an apology.  I just want to know you
won't ever do that again."

The air between them crackled with electricity.
Scully straightened her legs out before her,
studying the fabric of her pajama bottoms.

"I can't promise that," she said, quietly.
"Mulder...what he offered me...no more cancer,
no more suffering.  Look at what's happening to
Darlene.  How could I not take that chance?
After what I went through--how could I not do
everything possible to make sure no one ever
has to suffer like that again?"

"Nothing--no promise, no cure would be worth
risking your life."

His voice was thick with emotion.  She wanted
to go to him, to put her arms around him, but
getting off the bed and standing before him
was as far as her body seemed able to go.
Tears blurred her eyes as she looked at his
stunned face.

"Mulder, the only person who can decide what
my life is worth is me."

"I know that," he said.  "But...you have to
know what you mean to me."

"I do know.  And I know what you mean to me.
Mulder, you took some pretty big risks over
the years to find out what happened to your
sister.  You came close to dying a dozen times
over to discover 'the truth'.  And why?  Because
you thought the gain was worth the risk.
If you had it to do over again, would you
change anything?"

His eyes burned into her, and she almost
laughed at leaving the king of words
speechless.  Silently, he shook his head.

"Mulder, I know you don't want to hear this,
but under the same circumstances, with the
same objective, I'd go with Spender again."

"I can't lose you."

"You think I want to lose you?" she asked.