ThatsAll.html

That's All

By Virtie
virtuesandvices@aol.com

RATING: PG
CATEGORY: MSR, X-File
SUMMERY: Scully is granted a wish on Halloween.
DISCLAIMER: A few of these characters aren't mine,
but since I'm not making any money off of them,
I'm sure Chris Carter, Fox, and 1013 Productions
don't mind that I'm borrowing them for a bit.
DEDICATION: To Mighty Mortis. Your support, your
friendship, and most of all, your courage, were
always inspiring. I think you would have really
liked this one. Thank you for everything.

This story has been in my head for a long time, but
until recently I was never sure how I wanted to bring
it to life. A few weeks ago, I had a nightmare,
one that was scary enough to wake me from my sleep.
Of course, once I was awake, I thought to myself,
"That would make a great X-File." Then I set about
trying to combine this X-File with a personal story,
because, well, that's what I do.

A few years ago, I desperately wanted to re-write
an X-Files episode, one called 'all things.' Now,
don't get me wrong, I liked the episode; I thought
Gillian did a great job with it. But when I saw the
previews to it the week before it aired, I had an
"It's a Wonderful Life" scenario running through
my head, and I was a bit disappointed in the actual
episode. The potential for so much more was there.

Anyway, yesterday I came up with the idea to
combine these two ideas. So here's my Halloween
story for 2004, a union between my nightmare and
'all things.' Scary, huh? That's what it's all
about!

October 25, 2004

That's All

*************************************************

The X-Files Office
October 29th

Scully watched as Mulder turned and left the
office, his back stiff, his hands clenched. He
reminded her of a petulant child who, knowing he
wasn't going to get his way, silently marched
away, chin up, pretending he didn't care. And
that's exactly how he had sounded just before he
turned and left, too. "Fine, I'll go by myself."

She sighed and picked up a pen from his desk.
With an exasperated groan, she threw it at the
now empty doorway. Now who was acting like a
child? Shaking her head slowly, she walked over
to her workstation and sat heavily in her chair.
Why did he have to be frustrating? And why did
she have to be so stubborn? It was an X-File,
and they investigated the X-Files, so it should
stand to reason that they should both go
investigate. But Scully was tired of the
traveling, tired of the motels, and tired of
trying to find her way around Mulder's
paranormal theories. She used to find it all a
challenge, but lately things had changed. She
had changed. And she didn't know how to make
it better.

Werewolves. They were myths. They were not
going around Central Minnesota killing dogs...
or people. Elbow on her armrest, chin in her
hand, Scully went over what Mulder had just told
her in her head. Several dogs, mostly large dogs,
were being mauled and killed by something in the
small town of Wolfcove, Minnesota. Many
residents blamed actual wolves, though the local
wildlife experts were trying their best to
eliminate that theory, stating there would be no
reason for the endangered animals to approach a
civilized area just to attack domestic dogs.

Three days ago, a 78 year old woman had been
found dead, her wounds identical to those found
on the mauled dogs. Suddenly, wolves lost their
place on the top of the suspect list when
someone mentioned that a neighbor of the lady
had a pit bull. However, there was no indication
that the dog, who had never shown aggressive
tendencies and was kept securely on a chain when
outside, had done anything wrong. Many had still
wanted to blame the dog, demanding it be put
down, until yesterday. Yesterday, Mulder had told
her, the very dog they wanted to blame had been
killed in the same manner as the old woman.

Mulder had reminded her of the Manitou, a case
they had investigated in Montana their first year
together. Scully had reminded him that there had
never been any proof of a Manitou, werewolf, or
any other kind of monster. She also reminded him
that it was almost Halloween, and some sick person
was probably responsible for the deaths. Local
law enforcement could handle it.

With a grin, Mulder had told her that Detective
Lennox of Wolfcove County had called him up
specifically to ask for their help. Apparently,
he had once worked with Detective Bocks from
Minneapolis, who had nothing but great things to
say about the agents who had originally caught
Donnie Pfaster years ago, long before his escape
and subsequent death at Scully's hand. Mulder
hadn't mentioned the last part, knowing how
sensitive Scully was about that subject.

Just thinking about Pfaster had caused Scully's
stomach to churn; this killer was probably
someone as sick and evil as he had been. She
wanted nothing to do with it. "I'm not going,
Mulder."

"Uh, what part of 'we were asked to help' didn't
you understand, Scully?"

Mulder's condescending tone did not make Scully
feel any better. "Mulder, you can profile the
killer from here just as easily as you could
in Minnesota." Strangely enough, she didn't tell
him to go by himself; the idea of him
investigating anything without her didn't appeal
to her any more than flying to some bump in the
road town in the Midwest did.

"Scully, you can't 'profile' a werewolf!"

"Mulder, it is not a werewolf!"

"How do you know?"

"Because werewolves don't exist?" she asked
sarcastically. "Haven't we had this conversation
before?"

His eyes dark and his face grim, Mulder didn't
seem amused by her question. "So what you're
saying it that you don't want to go?"

Eyes wide, Scully tried not to laugh. "Uh, yeah.
That's exactly what I'm saying."

To which he responded, "Fine, I'll go by myself."
Grabbing up the files, he had turned and walked
out of the office, as petulant as a little boy.

And she must be the little girl who wouldn't play
with him, Scully mused silently. There were many
days when she couldn't help but wonder what her
life would be like if she had never heard of the
X-files. If she had never met Fox Mulder. The
thought sent a sharp pain through her heart, and
yet, life would be so much easier without him in
it. Wouldn't it?

With another sigh, she stood, gathered her things,
and locked up the office. She might as well go
home for the day, idly wondering if Mulder would
'tell on her.' She didn't think Skinner would be
too happy to hear she had refused to go with her
partner on a legitimate assignment. Then again,
he might just award her a medal of honor for doing
so; he, of all people, knew how difficult Mulder
was to work with.

Scully reached her car and felt herself sag against
it. She should have gone, she thought. Mulder was
bound to get himself into trouble without her there
to run interference. She reached into her pocket and
found her cell phone. He was probably at home,
packing; she'd tell him to wait for her. Before she
could dial his number, the phone in her hand rang.

"Scully," she answered.

"Hey, do me at least one favor and feed my fish
for me, will you?"

No 'hey, it's me.' No 'please.' No hint of apology.

Gritting her teeth, Scully mumbled, "Sure, fine,
whatever," and hung up. No 'of course.' No 'good
luck.' No 'be careful.' Once again, she felt herself
lean on the car. "God, I wish I'd never met the
man," she whispered.

"You don't really mean that."

Scully spun around and found herself looking...
down. Well, sort of. The man in front of her was
a couple inches shorter than her, and that in itself
was a shock. His Asian features were surrounded by
wrinkles, but she couldn't even guess at his actual
age. He wore a neat gray suit with a purple silk tie,
and he had a small smile on his lips.

Scully looked around the parking garage, but she
could see no one else. She looked again at the Asian
man; he wasn't wearing an ID badge, and he wasn't at
all familiar to her. "Who are you?" she asked. "How
did you get in here?"

"You may call me Yasuo," he told her. "I come and
go as I please, or as I am willed to."

"Willed?" Scully took note of the strange phrase,
forgetting for the moment to take the cell phone
in her hand and call security.

"Do you believe in God, Dana?"

"How do you know my name?"

He simply smiled. "I know you believe in God,
therefore you must believe in angels."

Scully stared at him for a moment. "Oh, I see.
You're supposed to be an angel." Again she looked
around; maybe Mulder hadn't been calling from his
house. "Let me guess, you're my guardian angel,
and you're about to tell me that I need to go to
Minnesota with my partner in order to save my soul."

The little man laughed. "No! Or course not. That's
silly." His smile faded. "I'm not really your
Guardian angel; that job is actually taken up by
more than one entity. You and Fox lead very exciting
lives." His eyes glittered through the wrinkles.
"I'm just here to help you find your way through
this... jungle... you have created in your mind."

Scully, couldn't help herself. She was intrigued.
"Jungle?"

"Yes," Yasuo nodded. "You're lost in it. After all
that's happened to you in the last few years, it's
understandable. Donnie Pfaster, Samantha, your loss
of Emily, which is still eating away at you..."

Scully felt her eyes widen. "How the hell do you
know all that?" Again, she searched the parking
garage. "Mulder?"

"Fox isn't here, Dana," Yasuo said quietly. "In
fact, he's already on his way to the airport. You
might still have time to catch him."

Glaring at him, Scully growled, "No."

The little man nodded. "Then maybe you'd like another
option."

More unnerved and suspicious than ever, Scully asked,
"Like what?"

"What was it you said when I first arrived. 'God, I
wish I'd never met that man'?"

Scully cocked her head at him. "What are you, the
Ghost of Halloween past?"

He laughed. "I already told you. I'm an angel, not
a ghost."

Scully nodded. "Right." She turned away from him,
shoving her phone in her pocket and pulling out her
car keys. "Nice meeting you, but I have to go."

"Where?"

She paused at his question. "Home," she finally said.

"Alone."

She swung around to face him again. "Yes. Because
that's the way I want it."

"Are you sure, Dana?" Yasuo asked. "If you had never
met Fox, can you imagine what your life would be
like? Maybe you wouldn't be going home to an empty
apartment."

Scully's memory swept her back in time. In her mind,
she saw Daniel, his smile, his obvious pride and
joy in her accomplishments. The love in his eyes.
She brought herself back to the present and glared
at Yasuo. "The past is the past and the present is
now."

"But if you could have a different present..?" His
voice trailed off.

"That's not possible."

"I could make it possible," he told her. "Tell me
one thing you would change from your past, and I
can make it so."

She wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry. But she
couldn't do either, not when she believed him. Why
in the hell did she believe him? She closed her eyes.
If she had never left Daniel for the FBI, she would
never have been assigned to the X-Files. She would
never have met Mulder. What would her life be like
now? Better?

Or worse?

"I wish I'd never joined the Bureau," she whispered,
stunned that she was even saying the words.

Yasuo nodded. "If that's what you wish..."

Everything around her suddenly went dark.

*************************************************

Wolfcove, Minnesota
October 30th

When Scully woke, she lay staring at the ceiling
for a long time. She knew where she was, in her
bedroom in her home in Wolfcove, and she knew
what day it was, the day before Halloween.

She also knew she was the local Medical Examiner,
the only M.E. in Wolfcove, and that the last few
days had been the most frightening, intriguing days
of her life. A life that consisted of a brief
residency at St. Mary's Hospital in Alexandria,
Virginia, a slightly longer marriage to her former
professor Daniel Waterston, a miscarriage, and her
subsequent relocation to the 'wilds' of Minnesota.
She knew she had lived here in Wolfcove for more
than five years now. And yet...

Why did she have all these 'memories' when she knew
full well she was Dana Scully, FBI Agent and
partner to Fox Mulder?

"Because in order for you to understand why your
life as Agent Scully is what you were destined to
be, you need to remember it while living this life."

Scully sat up in bed, glaring at the little Asian
man who sat in a chair on the far side of the room.
"I assume you're going to be my guide on this...
journey?"

He smiled at her and nodded.

Scully threw herself down onto the bed, covering
her eyes with her hands. "I don't need this. Can't
you just let me sleep without dreaming?"

"You think this is a dream?" Yasuo asked.

"What else could it be?" Scully demanded, uncovering
her eyes, but not bothering to sit up. "Even if I
had decided against joining the FBI, I never would
have married Daniel."

"Why do you say that?" Yasuo queried. "You loved
him very much."

"He was already married," Scully grumbled, sitting
up again. She checked under the covers to ensure
she was decent, then threw them off and swung her
legs over the side of the bed. At least her choice
in sleepwear hadn't changed.

"He divorced shortly after you left for St. Mary's,"
Yasuo explained. "His daughter found out you were in
love with her father and let her mother know. Daniel
didn't have a chance after that."

Scully frowned. "We never even slept together," she
murmured. She had wanted to. But her morals refused
to allow her to go that far with another woman's
husband.

"Maggie didn't know that," her 'guide' told her. "And
you never told her different, even after you and Daniel
married."

Scully scrunched her brow. "There was a baby." She
looked at Yasuo, the pain fresh in her heart. "A girl."

Yasuo nodded. "You were very ill during your pregnancy.
You became light-headed one evening on top of the
stairs. You didn't pass out, but you became disoriented
enough that you lost your balance and fell. Your baby
died and you nearly bled to death before you managed
to drag yourself to a phone and called for help. You
were five months pregnant."

Scully nodded, somehow 'remembering.' "Daniel wasn't
there. It was much later that I found out he was with
his secretary. And yet, he blamed me. Said I should
have taken better care of myself."

"You filed for divorce not long after that and moved
here."

Scully stood and walked to the window. There was a faint
tint of orange on the horizon, indicating dawn was
nearing. A few cars passed on the road, their headlights
blazing. People on their way to work; she should be
heading to work soon herself. "Why Wolfcove?" she asked,
turning to Yasuo again. "Is this a joke?"

Yasuo smiled at her. "No. In this life, Wolfcove is where
you came after your divorce. And you are helping the
local Sheriff's department investigate the murder of one
Gloria Marchon, a 78-year-old former schoolteacher. You
are the one who originally said it was a wolf that was
killing those dogs, probably a rogue."

"And Detective Lennox? He's the one in charge of the
investigation and..."

"And the man you are currently dating."

"I was afraid you were going to say something like that."
She looked out the window again. "Mulder?"

"Should have arrived last night. He's probably already
made contact with the good Detective and is waiting to
meet and speak with you."

Scully couldn't help but feel a wave of gratitude that
Mulder was still investigating the X-Files, even without
her. At the same time...

"Are you trying to tell me that it's fate that I meet
him? That there is no way I'll ever not meet Fox Mulder?"

Yasuo just smiled.

"Fine," Scully grumbled, crossing her arms. "I get it.
You can let me wake up... or send me back... or whatever."

Yasuo's smile widened. "I'm afraid I can't do that
quite yet, Dana. You may think you are convinced about
how much you need Fox in your life, but you aren't."

"So, what?" Scully asked. "I'm supposed to meet with
him, pretending that I don't remember everything I've
shared with him in the last seven years?"

Yasuo shrugged. "He won't remember any of it, so it
shouldn't be too hard." At Scully's disbelieving look,
he added, "He's never met you, Dr. Waterston."

Suddenly, Scully's alarm went of on the nightstand behind
her. She turned to switch it off, and when she spun
around to face Yasuo again, he had disappeared.

Filled with a sudden dread, Scully turned on the light
and slowly started getting dressed, repeating to
herself over and over again:

"This is just a dream. This is just a dream. This is
just a dream."

*******************

THAT'S ALL-PART 2

*******************

Wolfcove County Coroner's Office
Wolfcove, Minnesota

Scully stepped out of her car and took a deep
breath, taking note of the wet smell in the near
freezing air. Wolfcove was situated right on the
tip of Wolfcove Lake, one of the many, many lakes
that dotted Northern and Central Minnesota. Forest
surrounded the town, but there were plenty of open
fields dotted with farms. It was borderline wilderness,
and Scully knew that wolves were rarely seen here,
being much more common in the less populated north.
She didn't question how she knew this. However, she
did continue to fret over how she was going to act
around a certain FBI agent this morning.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when she
took her keys out and unlocked the door to the office.
She was always the first one here. Since she and her
assistant/secretary were the only full-time employees,
there were some days she was the only one here. She was
confident Brandi would be in today; the young woman had
been greatly interested in the goings-on with the
'wolf-man killings,' especially since her own Rottweiler
had been one of the dogs killed by the mystery creature.

Flipping on lights, Scully headed toward her office,
knowing she had to finish some paperwork on Gloria
before she could release the woman's body for burial.
She took a deep breath. She had known Gloria; the woman
had lived only a couple of blocks away from her. For the
first time, Scully felt a hint of unease that had nothing
to do with Mulder and his imminent arrival. Who, or what,
was killing these dogs? And were any other people in
danger?

Scully paused upon entering her office, startled for a
moment by the name on the desk: Dana Waterston. It amazed
her how everything here was familiar and yet strange at
the same time. Never had she had a dream this bazaar before,
and she had had some strange dreams since she had started
with the X-Files. Turning on her computer, she sat down and
started to work, finishing Gloria's paperwork, then flipping
through everything she had on the case. She wasn't about to
be caught off guard when the FBI started asking her for
details.

She paused. She was thinking like Dana Waterston. Like a
woman who was about to meet a person she didn't know from
an agency she was personally unfamiliar with. Odd.

A knock on her door caused her to jump. It was Brandi.
"Morning, Doc," the brunette said with a smile. "Feels
like snow, doesn't it?"

Scully nodded, once more caught between what she was
beginning to think of as her two worlds. "Yes," she said
softly. "Let's hope it doesn't interfere with the
investigation."

"Ah, I'm sure Jake can handle any kind of weather."

Jake. Detective Lennox. Instinctively, Scully knew that
Brandi had a crush on the Detective. The image of the
man's face flashed through her mind's eye. He was tall,
dark, handsome, with black hair and blue eyes, a wicked
sense of humor and a love of the outdoors that bordered
on obsession.

"Yes, I'm sure he can."

Scully heard the door to the outside open and saw Brandi
turn to face the visitor. She smiled and moved away from
Scully's line of sight. "Hi," Scully heard her say. "Can
I help you?"

"I'm looking for Dr. Waterston."

Though she had been expecting him, the voice still
caught Scully off guard. She tensed and started to rise
from her seat.

"And you are?"

Scully headed for the door to her office.

"Agent Mulder from the FBI. Detective Lennox was going
to meet me here this morning."

Scully reached the door, paused, then walked out just
as Brandi gushed, "Oh! You're here about the Wolf-man
killings!"

Mulder didn't reply as his attention had turned toward
Scully. She stopped, struck speechless by what she saw.

It was Mulder, no doubt about it, but he was different.
He was too thin, his hair was longer and it appeared
dull in the light of the front office. His suit was
wrinkled ever so slightly and his sedate brown tie was
askew. His shoulders seemed to droop, and he looked
exhausted. In both appearance and manner, he was far
different from the immaculate, confident Mulder she
had known.

"Mulder?"

He seemed to stand a bit straighter at her entrance, and
his eyes widened at her familiar usage of his name.
Belatedly, she remembered Yasuo's warning that Mulder
had never met her. 'This is just a dream,' she repeated
to herself.

"Have we met?" Mulder asked. But before she could reply,
he continued. "Because I'm sure I would have remembered
you."

His pitiful attempt at flirting only saddened Scully,
the words depressing her for no apparent reason. She took
a deep breath and composed herself. "No, I'm sorry. I..."
Think, Dana! "Jake told me you were coming, but I didn't
expect you until later."

A sad smile appeared on his face. "Jake," he whispered.
As if on cue, the outside door opened and Jake walked
through. They all turned to face him. "Speak of the devil,"
Mulder said. "We were just talking about you."

Jake's eyes swept over Scully before meeting Mulder's.
"Oh? Was Dana telling you stories of my incredible skills
as an investigator?"

Scully couldn't help but respond to his playful boast.
"Yeah, so incredible, you had to call in the FBI to help."

Brandi laughed as Jake scrunched up his face in reply.
Scully smiled, and then noticed Mulder's discomfiture at
the apparent familiarity between the three residents of
Wolfcove. "So, Agent Mulder. Jake told me you were a
profiler?"

Mulder looked up from the floor, his tired eyes meeting
hers. "I used to be. Right now I'm working for the X-Files."

Right on cue, Brandi asked, "The X-Files?"

"It's a department in the Bureau that investigates
unexplained events," Jake told her.

"Unexplained?" Scully pushed, keeping her attention on
Mulder.

"The paranormal, mostly." His voice was rough and his
gaze was unsteady, as if he was embarrassed. Mulder,
embarrassed about the X-Files?

"Paranormal?" Brandi asked. "Like ghosts and things?"

"Yeah, like ghosts and things."

"But you don't think the killings here in Wolfcove are
due to a ghost, do you?" Jake looked a little uncertain.
"I mean, Moe told me that while you investigate the
paranormal, you're damn good at catching earthly beings,
too. You caught Donnie Pfaster."

"Hey, wasn't he the guy that killed all those women
down in the Twin Cities?"

Jake nodded. "Moe Bocks called in Agent Mulder, and the
two of them managed to track Pfaster down."

"Not before he killed the woman he was holding captive at
the time," Mulder said softly.

'But you caught him, Mulder,' Scully thought. 'You caught
the bastard.'

"So what do you think is killing our dogs, Agent Mulder?"
Scully asked, breaking the silence that had descended after
Mulder's terrible words.

He focused on her again. "Probably a man," he said. "Another
nutcase like Pfaster."

Scully opened her mouth to argue, knowing from re-reading
her files that it was unlikely that a human had killed the
dogs and Gloria, but Jake spoke first. "Do you think he'll
kill more people?"

"Not if we catch him first." The words were confident, and
to someone who didn't know Mulder, his attitude might speak
of experience and confidence. But Scully knew Mulder. He may
be acting like he was interested, but she felt that he
really didn't care.

It scared her.

"Well, let's take a look at the records on the dogs," Jake
said, walking toward Scully and waving her back toward her
office. "After the first two deaths, we asked Dana to take
a look at the dogs and assess their wounds..."

"Which is why I know no human is doing this," she
interrupted, facing Mulder.

"I don't know if you know of some of the horrible things
men have been known to do, Doctor..."

"I do know, Agent Mulder," Scully interrupted yet again.
"Believe me, I do."

An uncomfortable silence descended on the group until Jake
once again herded them toward the office. "Hold all my
calls, Brandi," Scully told her assistant. She glanced at
Mulder, as if daring him.

And for the first time since the man had entered the
building, his eyes flashed back, as if answering the dare.

*************************************************

'Who the hell is this woman?' Mulder asked himself.

Confident, smart, beautiful. Never in his life had he
met someone like her. She was intriguing, and yet she
scared him, too. It was almost as if she could read his
mind, and she was definitely challenging him. He knew
there was no way he was up to the challenge, but he would
try. As he watched her state her argument about the
identity of the killer, he found he couldn't dispute her
facts. She was a doctor, and a damn good one by all
accounts. She wasn't making any of this up.

Especially the tooth she had pulled from the body of the
pit bull that had been killed two days ago.

Mulder stared at the molar, safely encased in a
plastic bag. It was definitely a tooth, from something
large. Like a wolf. "So you think it was a wolf, then?"

For the first time, Dr. Waterston showed a bit of
insecurity. She glanced at Lennox, who sat still, a grim
look on his face. "I don't know if I think that," she
said. "I know a little something about wolves, and Jake
knows a lot." Mulder already knew that the Detective had
studied wildlife biology as well as criminology. "For a
wolf to attack a human, or even a large dog unprovoked,
it would have to be either sick or injured. And a sick
or injured wolf would have a hard time escaping notice
around here."

"We have found tracks that appear to be wolf-like in the
area," Lennox added. "But as you know, the ground at the
crime scene was too disturbed to pinpoint any kind of
tracks."

"So, it could be a wolf, but it's unlikely, is that what
you're telling me?" Mulder was suddenly tired. He had
had far too many cases recently that had appeared to be
paranormal, but had turned out to be hoaxes. It was all
he was ever sent on, anymore. He was tired of it. He
would never have taken this case had it not been Agent
Bocks, a man whom he had worked with and respected, who
had asked him to help out.

Waterston seemed to take an uneasy breath. "Agent Mulder,
have you ever heard of a Manitou?"

Amazed, Mulder didn't know whether he should laugh or cry.
"Are you suggested that that is what is killing these
dogs?"

"What's a Manitou?"

Lennox was ignored as Waterston continued. "This area was
once populated by several Indian tribes, Agent Mulder.
Legends persist."

"Why don't you just go all out and claim it's a werewolf,
Dr. Waterston?" He couldn't help the sarcasm in his voice.

"Why do you think the people here have started calling it
the Wolf-man Killer?"

He stared at her. She was serious. Absolutely, frigging
serious. "Well, maybe the Detective here should start
carrying silver bullets."

"Agent Mulder," Waterston continued, undaunted. "Can I
ask you a personal question?"

Mulder shrugged, a bit nervous now. And completely aware
that Lennox had become silent, watching the byplay between
them nervously.

"How can you work for a department that investigates the
paranormal when you don't believe in it?"

He clenched his teeth, angry with the redhead for no reason
that he could fathom. "I was the only one qualified."

"Meaning?"

"I opened the X-Files several years ago, with a partner
that believed, as I did." Memories of Diana left a bad taste
in his mouth. "When she left, I went through a string of
partners, but nobody would stay. I finally woke up and quit,
too." He paused. "Last year, for some god-forsaken reason,
they re-opened the X-Files and put me back on them."

Waterston looked sad. Hell, she looked like she was about
to cry. "Hey," he continued. "Maybe you should join the
Bureau and take over. You sound like you might like the
work." Like he used to. Before...

The silence in the room was dreadful. Painful. Mulder was
glad when Lennox broke it. "Whatever it is that's killing
these people, man, beast, whatever, let's catch it before
it kills again. Can we at least agree on that?"

Mulder nodded, as did the doctor.

Unnerved by what was occurring, Mulder asked to look at
the medical records of the seven known mutilated dogs and
the old woman. He managed to discuss the case as
professionally as possible with his two companions.

Not once did he meet the eyes of the woman across the
desk.

********************

THAT'S ALL-PART 3

********************

Dana Waterston's House
Wolfcove, Minnesota

Scully sat down tiredly at the dinner table, staring
down at the microwave dinner in front of her. She wasn't
really hungry, but she knew she should eat. And while
she was exhausted, she didn't think she would be able
to sleep, either. Every time she closed her eyes, she
kept seeing Mulder as he had looked when she had asked
that ever-important question about believing. He had
seemed angry, and even scared.

What had happened to him to make him this way? The man
she had met today didn't believe in extreme possibilities,
but he had once upon a time. Scully remembered a moment
in their history when Mulder had stopped believing, all
because some slick government people had led him to believe
that he had been a major pawn in a giant hoax. He had
regained his faith, though Scully wasn't quite sure how,
and she had remembered how happy she had been to have 'her'
Mulder back.

Had something similar happened in this world as well? Or
was it something different? Even when he had stopped
believing in aliens and UFO's, 'her' Mulder had still devoted
himself to the X-Files, had still been determined to ferret
out the truth from his government sources, had still enjoyed
coming to work each day. What was different now?

"That's simple," a familiar voice said from across the room.
"You're not a part of his life now."

Scully glared at Yasuo, resisting the urge to fling her
cooling dinner at him. "Would you stop reading my mind."
She stood, carrying her uneaten meal to the garbage.
"You're not going to toy with my ego by making me think
that Mulder needs me in his life to be happy."

"Why not if it's the truth?"

She spun around to face him. "What happened to him? Why
is he falling apart like this?"

Yasuo seemed to consider the question for a while. "I
think that is something you will have to ask him."

Scully crossed her arms under her breasts. "Do you really
think he's going to be sticking around here long enough
for me to do that?" She shook her head. "He doesn't want
to be here. He doesn't want to be around me." It had been
obvious all morning. Not once had the man looked directly
at her after her interrogation, and when he left with Jake,
he just about ran out the door.

"Are you so sure of that?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Scully practically
shouted. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it!"

Yasuo just smiled, turned his head toward the door, and
shrugged.

A knock sounded, startling Scully. With an exaggerated
sigh, she marched across the room toward the front door.
Standing on her tiptoes, she peeked through the peephole,
and felt the ground drop out from under her feet.
Figuratively, of course. She turned to glare at Yasuo,
but he had disappeared. "Figures," she mumbled, the
opened the door.

"Agent Mulder, what a surprise." She couldn't stop the
sarcasm.

Hands in his coat pockets, Mulder looked at her grimly.
"I want to hear your theory, and I want the truth."

Placing her free hand on her hip, Scully returned his
stare. "I think you already know what my theory is."

"A werewolf?" Mulder let out a laugh with no humor behind
it. "You know, if I were to judge you by what I've heard
and read, and by the Detective's praise of you, I would
have determined you were one level-headed, classy lady."
He paused, tilting his head in feigned curiosity. "So what
made you so...open-minded?"

You.

She didn't say the word, but she felt it, and his narrowing
eyes made it appear he had felt it, too.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the
chance as a loud scream ripped across the yard from the
house next door.

Mulder immediately lost the lazy, haggard look and became
alert and focused. He unholstered the gun on his hip and
motioned to her with his left hand. "Stay here."

"Like hell I will!" Scully argued. She ducked off to the
side, opening a drawer in the desk sitting there, and
pulled out her own gun.

Frowning, Mulder eyed it. "Don't worry," Scully told him.
"It's licensed and I do know how to use it." With that
she headed out the door and toward Rose Reynolds' house,
pausing as another scream rent the air. Mulder pushed
past her and ran toward the sound, which was coming from
the woman's back yard.

Lithely, he jumped the chain link fence, and Scully
couldn't help but admire his agility. Then all thoughts
of athletic men left her mind as a horrible growl echoed
from beyond. She struggled over the fence after Mulder
in time to see a dark shape take off toward the opposite
side of the yard.

"I'll get him, you stay with her," Mulder yelled over his
shoulder, pointing toward the still whimpering Rose, who
was lying just past her back porch, bleeding. Her little
poodle, Sam, was barking crazily from inside the house.

Scully ran to Rose, quickly finding the worst of the
bleeding and trying desperately to slow it. She cast a
glance toward the direction Mulder had run, but it was
too dark beyond Rose's porch light to see anything.

Sirens began to wail, and Scully silently thanked whichever
neighbor had called the police. Then she silently pleaded
with God to take care of Mulder.

*************************************************

Mulder chased the dark shape, positive that it had to be
a man, but as he closed the gap, he began to wonder.
Maybe it was a man in a disguise, taking advantage of the
wolf-man craze by dressing himself up as a hairy monster.
But as the object of his pursuit ran underneath a
streetlight, Mulder's certainties died. Men didn't run on
four legs, not that fast anyway.

It was a wolf, and a big one. Skidding to a stop, Mulder
aimed his weapon and fired. The animal jerked, indicated
a direct hit, but didn't slow. It turned and jumped a
fence into another yard. Determined now, Mulder followed,
barely noticing the sound of sirens coming from behind
him.

He jumped the fence, dismayed to see the thick vegetation
the engulfed this particular yard. Maybe he should let it
go for now, he thought. It was wounded; it shouldn't be
hard to find tomorrow. He moved forward carefully, weapon
at the ready, but his caution was for naught. The animal
jumped out at him from its hiding place behind a large
evergreen, knocking him off his feet. Somehow, he managed
to keep a hold of his gun, and he rolled himself over,
regaining his feet just as the wolf turned to face him
once more.

The two stared at each other. The wolf appeared black,
but it was hard to tell in the dim light coming from the
house next to them. But even that dim light couldn't hide
the deadly glare of the animal's teeth as he snarled. Nor
could it hide the glare in the creature's eyes, eyes that
looked...

'Just shoot,' Mulder told himself. 'Shoot, now!'

"Hey!"

A shout from the back door of the house distracted Mulder
for less than a second, but that second was all the wolf
needed. On feet almost as large as Mulder's hand, it turned
and raced into the night.

"What's going on out there?" demanded the owner of the
house. The sound of sirens became louder as a cop car
raced his way. Mulder stood silent, a slight shiver racing
up his spine.

The wolf had looked him in the eye, and Mulder had looked
back into eyes that were inexplicably... human.

*************************************************

"It was a wolf," Mulder said firmly. "I saw it. A big,
black wolf."

Scully sat on the couch that was situated along the south
wall of Jake's office, watching the two men sitting across
the desk from each other. After ensuring Rose had arrived
safely at the hospital, Scully had come straight here,
only to find Mulder writing out a report at a borrowed desk
just outside of Jake's office. Jake had seen her coming,
asked about Rose, and then escorted both her and Mulder
into his office, where he had proceeded to ask Mulder what
he had seen.

"Do you know how rare black wolves are, Agent Mulder?"
Jake asked him.

Mulder just shrugged. "That's what I saw," he told the
Detective, his face devoid of expression. "Of course, it
was night. It may not have been black, just dark."

His demeanor disturbed Scully. He carried a bruise on his
left cheek from something that happened during the chase,
but since she hadn't read the report, she didn't know
what. And if she wasn't mistaken, he was hiding something.

"How did you get that bruise on your face?" she asked.

Mulder hesitated slightly. "It jumped me, in that last
yard. Knocked me down. I must have hit it on a rock or
something."

"It attacked you?" Jake was incredulous.

Mulder shrugged. "I don't know that it actually attacked
me," he said. "He jumped at me and shoved me to the
ground, but he didn't grab hold of me with his mouth or
anything." He paused, looking off into space as if
remembering back. "Then the old man came out of the house
and called out. It turned and ran before I could do
anything." He focused on Jake. "But I did hit him earlier.
I know I did."

Jake nodded. "That's odd that it didn't grab you. Even
more odd that it ran when it did." He glanced at Scully.
"It must be sick. We better tell the hospital to start
Rose on a rabies vaccination regimen."

"It does sound sick," Scully replied, but she wasn't
necessarily agreeing with Jake. She looked at Mulder,
who was eyeing her speculatively. Almost as if he knew
she was holding back.

"We'll start tracking him in the morning," Jake
continued, not even noticing the silent exchange between
Mulder and Scully. "I'll call Clayton in; he's the best
in the business." He stood, and Mulder stood with him.
"Why don't you go and get some sleep, Agent Mulder. We'll
meet you here at 7 AM. The sun will be up shortly after
that and we can get to work."

Silently, Mulder nodded in assent, then turned to leave,
giving Scully a small nod as he left.

Jake sat back down and looked at her. She looked back
at him, knowing what was coming. Finally, he spoke.

"So what was Agent Mulder doing in your neighborhood
when Rose was attacked?"

She thought for a moment, then decided that telling him
as much of the truth as possible was the best thing to
do. "He stopped by my house to ask about my werewolf
theory."

"Ah, yes," Jake said as he stood again. He walked over
to the couch and sat next to her. Despite her memories
of pleasant dinners and quiet hikes through the woods
with this man, Scully couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
"Exactly how did you get this theory, and why haven't
I heard it before?"

Scully shrugged. "I just don't believe a wolf could be
doing this, Jake," she told him. "Despite the evidence.
Don't ask me why; it's just a feeling."

Jake stared at her for a while. "You know, in a way, I
hope you're right."

Scully felt her eyes widen.

"I don't want wolves to get an even worse reputation than
they already have," he told her quietly. "Not now, when
they're finally gaining some ground in the Lower 48."

Scully nodded in agreement, and then sighed. "Whatever it
is, we need to catch it, kill it." She sighed. "There's
no guarantee Rose will ever be able to tell us what
happened, even if she lives." The older woman had lost a
lot of blood.

"We'll get it tomorrow," Jake said, and he sounded as
confident as he ever had.

Scully wished she had that much confidence.

"And afterwards, I'll take you out to dinner."

She couldn't help but smile at his statement. "Maybe,"
she replied. He was a wonderful man, but while she was
still in limbo between this world and the one she had
left behind, she was making no commitments. She stood.
"I need to get some sleep. Goodnight Jake."

"Goodnight," he said softly, and she could feel his eyes
follow her as she left the room.

**************************

Wolfcove, Minnesota
Halloween Night

Clayton may have been good, but he wasn't good enough,
especially after the cold rain started around nine A.M.
Scully knew of a few things worse than slogging around
in 40 degree temperatures with rain and wind
accompanying it, but as the day progressed, she couldn't
think of any of them.

When nightfall came, the small party of searchers, which
included Deputies, trackers and a couple of hunters,
decided on a new course of action. A stakeout. Dividing
in teams of two, the group split up in different vehicles
and parked at various points around the edge of town,
hoping that someone would get lucky and see the animal
they were hunting come out of the woods.

Scully knew that Jake had wanted to pair up with Mulder,
but he had been called in on another case, a robbery, at
a home about four miles west of town. When he learned that
Scully was determined to keep watch along with the others,
he asked Mulder to pair up with her. Scully was surprised,
but pleased, and began to wonder if her friend Yasuo was
somewhere around working his 'magic.'

Mulder wasn't the best companion that night, but then,
neither was she. They had both been out in the forest
that day, though in separate groups, and though they were
in dry clothing with hot food in their stomachs now, it
was hard to forget the wet chill outside.

It was almost eight P.M. before Mulder spoke.

"There aren't any trick-or-treaters." They were parked
near the entrance to the city park, which sat next to the
lake. Several houses lined the road that let up to the
park; their lights were on, but nobody was out and about.

"Do you blame them for staying home?" Scully responded.

"I suppose not," he replied. "When I was a kid, nothing
could keep me from trick-or-treating."

Scully looked over at him as he took a sip of coffee.
"Did you go with friends, or did you have siblings?"

He paused. "I had a little sister," he said quietly. "She
was quite a bit younger than me, so I usually went with
friends while my mom took her. When my dad decided I was
too old for it, he made me take her."

Scully pushed at subtly as she could. "You 'had' a
sister?"

Another pause. "She disappeared when I was twelve. I only
got to take her trick-or-treating once."

"Disappeared?" Scully asked. She had always been amazed
at the trust Mulder had put in her on their first case
together when he told her about Samantha. Was that trust
here in this world too?

Mulder shook his head. "It's a long story." Then he was
silent.

Scully frowned. The Mulder she knew had never been this
closed mouthed, especially with her. But how could she
get him to open up to her? And why did she want him to?
She knew the answer to the latter question: she wanted to
help him, to make him happy, or at least relatively happy,
like she remembered him. Even if she could never take a
permanent place in his life.

"Any other siblings?" she asked, trying to open up
conversation.

He shook his head, and for a moment Scully thought she
had failed, but then he turned to her. "You?"

"Two brothers and a sister," she told him. A sudden wave
of sadness flooded her. "My sister was killed," she
continued. "Shot by an ex-boyfriend." She grimaced. Melissa
would have died too young even if Scully had never been
involved with the X-Files. The thought didn't make her
guilt any less.

"I'm sorry," Mulder responded. "Your brothers?"

"Alive and well. Charlie is married and the father of
two boys. He's an architect, and they live in London.
Bill is in the Navy; he and his wife just had a baby boy
two years ago."

"Your parents?"

"My mom lives in Gladstone, Virginia. My dad passed away
almost seven years ago." She looked him, very curious
now. "Yours?"

He frowned and seemed to hesitate, but decided since he
had asked and she had answered, he better return the
favor. "My parents are divorced. My dad lives in
Massachusetts. My mom in Rhode Island."

His father was alive? Probably because he had never gotten
enough guts to try and tell his son the truth about his
history with CGB Spender and the others. Or he didn't
think Mulder would believe him.

There was another silence as Scully tried to figure out
a way to ask her next question, but Mulder beat her to it.

"Why do you believe in werewolves?"

"Why don't you?" she countered. "You're the one that
investigates the paranormal."

He glanced out into the dark. "I've seen to many hoaxes
to believe that anything like that can be real."

"I don't believe you."

He glared at her. "I don't know where you got the idea that
you know me so well, Dr. Waterston, but you don't."

Scully wasn't daunted. "What happened? You once believed,
now you don't. What happened?"

"Where's Mr. Waterston?" he countered.

She was startled. "How..?"

"I talked quite a bit with Jake on our hike today," he
told her. "He mentioned that you came to Wolfcove after
you left your husband."

Scully wasn't sure she was happy with the idea that they
had been talking about her, but it wasn't really a bad
thing, either.

"You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours."

"Fine. You first."

She sighed. "He left his first wife for me, a much
younger woman. We married, I got pregnant, he started
seeing his secretary, yada, yada, yada."

"You had a baby?"

Scully should have known he would focus on that part.
"She died. Before she was born."

He swallowed, as if her words caused him physical pain.
"I'm so sorry."

If he hadn't said anything, she would have been okay, but
his quite sympathy was her undoing. She turned her face
away and swiped at the tears suddenly scudding down her
face. Taking a deep breath, she faced him again. "Your turn."

This time, Mulder was the one who took a deep breath.
"There was a woman, Audra," he started. "A believer, like
myself. She was partnered with me several years ago and
we became very close."

Scully tried not to feel jealous. After all, she had
married another man in this world.

"I thought we had it made, both in our professional as
well as our personal lives." He paused, not looking at her.

"What happened?" Scully urged.

"She was spying on me," he told her. "Somehow, I had gotten
too close to a few too many government secrets, and she had
been sent in to make sure I didn't get any closer. When I
found out, she proved to me everything I had ever believed
in had been a hoax." He paused. "Including her."

Scully knew he was simplifying it all. What Kritschgau
had done to him in the other world, this woman had done in
this one. Kritschgau had been a stranger. This woman had
been someone he trusted, someone he loved.

It was as if Scully herself had turned on him. It was what
the powers-that-be had wanted Scully to do when they had
sicced her on Mulder all those years ago. Only she hadn't
done it; she had done the exact opposite.

Mulder laughed suddenly. "I supposed you're really
confused now?" His forced smile faded. "Or else you think
I'm crazy."

Smiling, she looked at him. "No. I don't think you're
crazy at all."

She saw movement outside his window behind him and tilted
her head to look past him. Seeing her movement, he turned
to look. "What the hell is he doing?" he asked no one.

Scully, eyes wide, realized Mulder could see the man
walking toward him. 'Well, why not?' She thought. 'This
is a dream after all.' "Uhm, that's Mr. Yasuo," she said,
opening the passenger side door of the car. "He lives in
this neighborhood. Let me tell him to get back home." She
got out and moved around the front of the car, not happy
to be out in the rain again.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

The little man shrugged, looking absurd in a big overcoat
and floppy hat. "I guessed you might be ready to go home
now."

"What?"

He nodded his head toward the car behind her, indicating
Mulder. "Now you know why he is the way he is. And why you
are so important to his life."

"Yeah, but..." she paused. "What about my life? What if I
think this life is better for me?"

He smirked. "Do you?"

'Yes!' She wanted to shout, but she knew it would be a lie.
Even here, in this little one horse town, on a cold rainy
night in October, she didn't want to be anywhere else but
with Mulder.

"No," she whispered.

"Okay, then..." Yasuo raised his arms in the air as if he
was about to magically transport her back to reality as she
remembered it, but Scully stopped him. "Wait!"

He paused, arms in the air, eyebrows almost as high.

"Not yet," she told him. "I want to catch this thing
first."

Yasuo lowered his arms. "As you wish."

A loud howl sounded off to her left, toward the lake. She
heard the car door opening behind her as Mulder rushed out
to join her. She glanced at him and he met her nervous look
with one of his own. "Let's go," she told him.

He nodded, and together they made their way toward the
sound.

Neither noticed that Yasuo had once again disappeared.

************************

THAT'S ALL-PART 4

************************

Mulder was aware of the cold rain hitting his face,
but its impact affected him a lot less than the simple
presence of the woman running next to him. Why did she
seem so familiar to him? Why did her presence comfort
and yet excite him at the same time? And why had he opened
up to her so easily tonight, telling her things he would
rather forget ever happened?

All the questions running through his mind faded as he
caught sight of the wolf, or what everyone presumed to
be a wolf. A wolf with human eyes. For a quick second,
Mulder wished he had told Waterston what he had seen last
night; maybe she would have been able to give him a good
scientifically acceptable reason for it.

They neared the lake, and Mulder realized his companion
was breathing hard. For some reason, this bothered him.
In his minds eye, she was in as good of shape as he was.
He paused at the shore, looked left, then right. He
glanced at Waterston. "You okay?"

She nodded, placing her hands on her knees and leaning
over, gulping in the cold, wet air that surrounded them.
"Guess I'm not in as great of shape as I thought I was."
He thought she sounded amused. "Which way do you think
it went?"

"You saw it?" he asked. "The wolf?"

"Sure looked like a wolf," she replied, not really
agreeing with him.

"You still don't think it is a wolf, do you?"

She shrugged, and then pointed to the ground in front
of them. Paw prints as large as a man's hand were imbedded
in the mud along the lake's edge. They traveled off to
their left. Without another word, Mulder set off to follow
them. He heard Waterston following, but didn't turn to
look at her.

"Wait a minute," she said suddenly.

He stopped and looked at her. She was pointing into the
trees. "What's that?" Without waiting for him to answer,
she headed away from the shore and into the forest.

Mulder felt his whole being tense. For some strange
reason, he knew what she was doing wasn't safe, and he
followed her, moving as quickly as he could through the
muck.

Waterston stopped before the tree that bore the object
she had seen. It was a shirt, its white fabric torn and
muddy. She touched it briefly. "I don't see any blood,"
she told him.

"I guess that's a good thing," Mulder replied. He looked
back at the lake, wishing more than anything that he had
a flashlight. The illumination from town was being
reflected well by the low clouds, but this far out, it
wasn't helping much. "Let's call for backup," he told
her. "Maybe we can get Clayton out here before those tracks
wash away."

She eyed him speculatively, then slowly nodded. "Okay."

He turned and headed for the shore once more, intent on
following it back to the park and their car. Out of the
corner of his eye, he caught sight of a large dark shape
in the trees above, and he turned, directing both his
gaze and his weapon upward.

Waterston gasped and turned to look up as well, but before
she could even complete the move, a huge branch fell from
the tree, the horrendous crack it made echoing over the
lake. She screamed as it came down upon her, and Mulder
felt his heart grow cold.

"Scully!"

He began to rush forward, but the shape he had seen in the
trees, the one that was responsible for the downed branch,
launched itself at him. He ducked and rolled, feeling the
heat of the creature as it soared over him, landing with a
grunt and growl several feet away. Mulder rose to his knees,
firing his weapon at the wolf. Three times he fired. Three
times the animal jerked as if hit, but it didn't go down or
even act affected at all.

"Mulder!"

Mulder turned toward his fallen companion. Though pinned
by the large branch across her middle, she managed to toss
her gun to him. Without stopping to think, he dropped his
own weapon and reached for hers. The wolf was rushing towards
him, its human eyes blazing, its teeth bared. Mulder fired
once. Again, the creature jerked, but this time it also
yelped. With a pitiful moan, it turned and ran off into the
trees.

Breathing hard, Mulder kept the weapon up and ready, but
the woods had become silent once more. He felt the rain hit
his head, causing mud to dribble down his face, and he brought
up one arm to wipe it of, stopping himself when he realized
that his coat sleeve was even muddier than his face.

"Mulder?"

Taking a deep breath, Mulder picked up his fallen weapon and
rose to his feet, then he stumbled over to Waterston. With
her help, he lifted the heavy limb off of her, then kneeled
down next to her, automatically touching her face as if to
assure himself she was alive.

"I'm fine," she said softly, answering the question in his
eyes.

Mulder handed her the gun she had tossed him. "Let me
guess," he told her. "Silver bullets?"

She nodded. "I had Larry Reynolds, Rose's son, make them
for me last week." She looked away, and then started to
stand.

Mulder took a hold of her elbows and rose with her, bracing
her. He let her go and was about to turn away when she
stopped him, her own hands on his arms.

"Mulder?"

He looked at her curiously. "What?"

"You called me Scully," she told him. "Why?"

He vaguely remembered yelling that name out when the branch
had fallen on her, but he didn't know why. "I don't know.
Does it have some meaning for you?"

She paused. "It's my maiden name," she told him. "It's what
you used to..."

Abruptly, she stopped, and Mulder knew his confusion was
showing on his face.

A sharp yelp from the trees kept him from asking what she
meant, and without another word, they both began to
follow the sound.

They found him in a clearing not far from where Mulder
had shot him. He was lying naked on the ground, his
breathing shallow, his heart slow. Three small wounds on
his chest were bleeding ever so slightly, and a much larger
one in his shoulder was bleeding profusely.

Mulder stood in shock as Dana Waterston kneeled down next
to the dying Jake Lennox. He watched as she gently brushed
the hair away from the Detective's forehead. "Call the
others," she said softly over her shoulder. Belatedly, he
pulled out his cell phone, hoping it would find a signal
out here. It did.

"I just wanted to be like them," Mulder heard Lennox
whisper. "But I couldn't control myself." The man tried
to smile. "Now I know why they are so much better than us."

Mulder managed to reach the Sheriff's Office, and they
promised they would get as many people out to help as
quickly as possible. But Mulder knew it would be too late
for Lennox.

He was right, as the man died moments before the others
made their way down the lakeshore and into the forest,
and Dana Scully Waterston began to cry.

**********************

Wolfcove Sheriff's Office
5:14 A.M. November 1st

Scully balanced herself carefully on the edge of the
chair, trying her best not to get mud everywhere. The
blanket over her shoulders helped, but it wasn't long
enough to cover her back end, and she was reluctant to get
the upholstery dirty. The people working here had enough of
a mess to deal with already.

Wolfcove's best detective was dead, and nobody had a good
explanation why. Mulder had admitted to shooting a wolf,
and Scully had corroborated his story right down to the
last detail. Finding the dying police officer had been
the last thing either of them had expected.

Many were saying that Mulder had shot the man accidentally;
it was dark and rainy and the FBI agent hadn't been able
to see clearly. Others were saying the detective had jumped
in front of the wolf Mulder had been shooting at, trying to
protect it. Only a few whispered the word 'werewolf,' and
then only to themselves.

Scully knew that Mulder would have a difficult time escaping
charges, and he might even have to face a prison sentence.
Even if Jake's death was labeled accidental, Mulder would
most likely be fired. She watched as he stood in the corner
of the room, hands cradling a Styrofoam cup of coffee,
staring into the dark liquid as if he could find the answers
to all life in the potent brew.

He looked absolutely devastated, and Scully's heart cried
for him. She had stated over and over that Mulder had not
intentionally shot Jake, but she didn't know if it would
do any good. There was nothing else she could do. Except...

She stood and walked across the room to stand in front of
him. "Mulder..."

"Who are you?" he asked tiredly. "Who are you really?
Someone else sent to play games with my mind?"

Scully looked into his eyes and wondered how she had ever
entertained the thought that she could live without this
man. She shook her head, and then she stood on tiptoe and
kissed him softly on the lips. "In your heart, you know who
I am. You told me so in the forest, when you called my name."

"Scully?"

She smiled, thrilled to hear that name come from his lips.
"Yes."

For a moment, his eyes brightened, but then they dimmed
once more and the hopelessness returned. "It doesn't matter.
Nothing matters anymore."

"What if I told you that we knew each other in another
life," she said softly, not wanting the cops congregated
just outside the open door to hear her. "What if I told you
that we were partners? Best friends?"

He frowned. "I would say you were crazy," he said, but his
voice lacked conviction.

Scully smiled again. "Maybe you'd be right," she told him.
"Then again, maybe you haven't just killed a werewolf."

He closed his eyes, hiding his pain from her. "I killed a
man," he told her. "A good man."

She pushed away from him, frustrated. She had hoped that
by staying here and helping him stop the killings she would
help him, but now she knew he was beyond her help. He had
needed her long ago, and she hadn't been there. Well, that
was about to change.

"Okay, Yasuo," she called out. "I guess I'm done here."

"Yes, indeed you are."

Scully spun around, unsurprised to see the little Asian
man standing between herself and a shocked Mulder. What
did surprise her is that they weren't in the little office
at the Sheriff's department anymore.

They were in the basement office of the J. Edgar Hoover
building.

Mulder looked around him. "What the hell?" He looked at
Yasuo. "You're the guy from the park. How did we get here?"
He frowned as he looked about the room. "This is my office,
only it looks different."

Scully glared at Yasuo. "Why is he here?"

Yasuo shrugged. "I thought maybe you wanted to say goodbye."

"What do you..?" Scully paused, then realized this may
indeed be her chance. If she was going back to 'her' Mulder,
her partner and best friend, who she would never consider
kissing for fear of changing the wonderful relationship they
had, this was her chance to let her true feelings show.

Taking a deep breath, she rushed by Yasuo, wrapped her arms
around a wide-eyed Mulder, and kissed him. At first, he was
frozen in shock, but then his arms came around her and he
opened his mouth, returning her kiss with a passion Scully
had only dreamed about.

Then, everything went dark.

***********************

When Scully opened her eyes, she found herself in the
X-files office once more, only this time she was alone. The
building was quiet, and the clock on the desk in front of
her told her it was still early morning, only a few minutes
before 6. The only illumination in the office came from the
small desk lamp.

She took a deep breath and walked behind the desk, sitting
carefully in the chair, only then realizing that she was
clean, in dry clothing, and that her body didn't ache as if
she had spent part of the evening pinned underneath a fallen
branch.

She reached for the phone, intent on calling Mulder, when it
rang. Licking her lips nervously, she picked it up. "Yes?"

"There you are," said a well-loved voice on the other end of
the line. "I tried your cell phone and your home phone, but
you wouldn't answer."

"Are you okay, Mulder?" she asked, not even offering an
explanation for being at the office this early in the morning.

There was a pause. "Yeah," he finally told her. "I'm okay. It
looks like I'll be here for a while, though. It's kind of a
mess up here right now."

"What happened?" Scully demanded.

"One of the deputies shot what he believed to be a wolf, only
when he caught up to the animal, he found one of the detectives,
naked and shot. He died shortly afterwards." He took a deep
breath. "Nobody here wants to believe he and the wolf were one
and the same."

"A werewolf," Scully responded. "How..?"

"Look, Scully, I know you don't believe either, but-"

"That's not what I was going to say," Scully interrupted
him. "I was going to ask how the deputy killed a werewolf.
Aren't they supposed to be hard to kill?"

There was silence for a moment. "Once I came here and
proposed my theory, several of the men here started making
and carrying silver bullets. This deputy was one of them."

A small smile formed on Scully's face. "Congratulations,
Agent Mulder. Even if they never solve the mystery in their
own minds, at least you stopped the killings."

Mulder huffed out a laugh. "I guess," he said. "It may be
a while before I can get out of here. I was with the deputy
when he fired, so I saw what he saw. I'm not going to let
him be charged with murder."

Scully nodded. "Okay. Keep me updated, huh?"

"I will." He paused a moment. "Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"I wish you had come. We may have been able to solve this
thing a lot sooner if you had been here."

"I don't think so, Mulder," she told him with a smile. "I
think there are some things we can handle very well by
ourselves." Mulder began to argue, but Scully stopped him.
"But only some things. For everything else, I think I need
you as much as you need me."

The silence this time was deafening, and Scully was sure
she had shocked her partner into speechlessness, not
something that happened very often. When he finally spoke,
his voice was low, and it sent a shiver up her spine. The
good kind of shiver.

"I'm gonna get out of here ASAP, Scully, and when I get
back there, I'm going to make you repeat those words to
my face."

Scully laughed. "You won't have to make me, Mulder. I'll
do it more than willingly... after you make me dinner."

She heard the smile in his voice. "Deal. I'll call you and
let you know when I'm getting out of here."

"Okay," she responded. There was another long silence as
neither of them were willing to hang up first. Finally, she
heard a resigned sigh and the line was disconnected. She
hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. She almost
expected to see Yasuo standing on the other side of the
room, a pleased smile on his wrinkled face, but she was
alone in the office.

'But not for long,' she told herself. Mulder would be back
soon, and then the two of them would continue on this amazing
journey... together.

THE END

Author's Note: Once more, I found the title for this
story with my favorite band, Genesis. Hey, it's only the
fourth song of their self-titled album that I've used.
Anyway, I always believed this song to be the perfect Scully
song, and finally I was able to use it for this story. Thank
you Phil, Mike and Tony. And thank you David and Gillian;
hope to see you both together on the big screen some time
soon!

***

That's All

Just as I thought it was going alright
I find out I'm wrong, when I thought I was right
It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all
I could say day, you'd say night
tell me it's black when I know that it's white
it's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all

I could leave but I won't go
though my heart might tell me so
I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes
so why does it always seem to be
me looking at you, you looking at me
it's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all

Turning me on, turning me off
making me feel like I want too much
living with you is just putting me through it all of the time
running around, staying out all night
taking it all instead of taking one bite
living with you is just putting me through it all of the time

I could leave but I won't go
it'd be easier I know
I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes
but why does it always seem to be
me looking at you, you looking at me
it's always the same, just a shame, that's all

Truth is I love you
more than I wanted to
there's no point in trying to pretend
there's been no-one who
makes me feel like you do
say we'll be together 'til the end

Just as I thought it was going alright
I find out I'm wrong when I thought I was right
it's always the same, just a shame, that's all
I could say day, you'd say night
tell me it's black when I know that it's white
it's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all

That's all