Spoilers - Series through 5th season
Keywords - MSR, angst, NÑ-17 
Summary - You can't keep them apart
Added 5/18/99

Believe Me-Part I (PG)

Talk about a lost weekend, he thought as he woke with a pounding headache and an 
overwhelming thirst. Nothing was coming back to him. He managed to roll to his 
hands and knees, but had to stop there, fighting nausea. What had happened to 
him? 

Okay, last night he’d gone to a bar, just to get out of the apartment. And to 
keep from going over to Scully’s like he wanted. He’d had a couple of beers. 
There was a woman at the bar. She’d gotten friendly, but she was Scully’s height 
– hell something about every woman reminded him of her. Height, lipstick color, 
blue eyes, and heaven forbid red hair. 

He had it bad for her. He had to keep his distance off duty. Hence, the bar. But 
he hadn’t had that much to drink. Unless someone had drugged him. 

He managed to reach his feet and swayed there, his hands on his knees. After 
several deep breaths he straightened up. Damn he felt horrible. And where the 
hell was he? Now that he was finally upright, he turned slowly. A large room, 
cement floor, metal walls, windows painted black – definitely a warehouse. He 
tried to work some moisture into his mouth as he continued to turn, searching 
for the door. There it was, would it be too much to hope his car was outside? 

He patted his pockets. Shit! He stopped to check. All of his pockets were empty. 
No keys, no wallet, no ID. Great, he’d been rolled. At least he hadn’t worn his 
gun. That’s all he would have needed, to have to explain to Skinner; no to Kersh, 
why he’d lost a gun. 

So now what? He didn’t even have money for a cab. Where was he anyway? Hell, was 
it night or day? The door wasn’t locked and he stumbled out into the dark. No 
watch, shit! He headed up the alley toward the street. 

Okay, he was a lot closer to Scully’s apartment than his own. She’d patch him up, 
scold him for his stupidity and make it better. And he had a decent excuse to 
see her now. He trudged off in that direction. 

He finally passed one of those signs that told the time. It wasn’t that late, 
just past ten. Good, maybe whoever had his keys hadn’t gotten to his apartment. 
And Scully wouldn’t kill him for waking her – she was probably still up. 

He took a while to reach her place. His head was still killing him. At least the 
lights were still on. Good, he didn’t have her key anymore either. That caused a 
pang in his gut. None of the other losses seemed nearly as important suddenly. 

He knocked at her door, but there was no answer. He tried again, maybe she’d 
dozed off on the couch. Finally! He saw the knob turning and she opened the door 
slowly. 

He took a step forward, but when she didn’t move to let him in, he stopped. 

"What do you want?" She spoke quietly, her voice sounded dead and flat. 

"I want to come in. Are you okay?" He finally stopped to take in her appearance. 
He’d been so absorbed in himself and his aching head, but now he really looked 
at her. 

She looked terrible. Her hair was limp, hanging uncombed and stringy around her 
face. Her face – it was blotched and swollen and her eyes were red and barely 
opened, and. . . and how could she have lost weight since this afternoon? She 
wasn’t even standing straight. She was slumped and listless, like posture was 
too big a burden or her robe was too heavy to wear. 

His hand automatically came up to touch her, "Scully? What. . . ?" 

She stepped back and leveled her gun at him. He hadn’t even realized she was 
armed. 

"Who are you?" 

His eyes widened and he automatically put his hands out from his sides to show 
he was not threatening her. Something terrible was going on here. 

"Scully?" 

"Stop it! Don’t call me that. Only Mu. . . no one calls me that." 

Was she having a psychotic episode? Hell, was he? "Okay, okay. I’m not here to 
hurt you. I just. . . tell me what’s wrong." 

"Who the hell are you? Why are you here?" 

"Scu. . ." he stopped as she raised the gun back into firing position and just 
looked at her again, "It’s me, it’s Mulder. What, what’s wrong?" 

Fresh tears had come to her eyes, even as they narrowed with her anger. "I don’t 
know who sent you here to do this to me, but I should kill you for it now." 

"Scul. . . Dana. Please, I don’t know what’s going on. Talk to me, tell me what’s 
happened! Please." 

"How do you know my name?" She had backed away from him, so he came farther into 
the room, closing the door behind him. She stiffened at that, but said nothing. 

"I won’t hurt you. Please, I don’t know what’s going on." 

She dropped the gun to her side. "If you’re here to kill me, go ahead. I don’t 
care." She sat heavily in the chair and it was all he could do not to take her 
in his arms. 

Okay, he was missing more than just a couple of hours at the bar. Scully didn’t 
know who he was and now she was suicidal. His headache receded with the 
knowledge that she needed him this badly. 

"Here’s what I want you to do, are you listening Dana?" That name didn’t come 
easily to his lips, but that was good. It made him think more clearly about what 
he wanted to say. "Get your cuffs. I want you to cuff me and let me sit on the 
couch. Then I’ll tell you what I know and you’ll tell me what’s wrong. Okay?" 

He had to make it work. She looked like she was completely devastated. 

"You want me to cuff you?" Who was this mad man that had come to her apartment 
tonight of all nights? 

"Yes. I need you to trust me, like I trust you. Please, Dana." 

Why was she even listening to this man? How had she let him get inside of her 
apartment? Even now she was a better agent than that. What had he done to make 
her let him in? He had made no moves, no attempt to harm her. There was 
something about his eyes. She shook herself, she really was losing it. The cuffs, 
yes, she could do that. God, was she so far gone that even the company of a 
deranged homeless man was better than being alone? 

Silently she rose and walked to her desk, not turning her back on him. He made 
no move to approach her, just watching her with what looked like sympathy and 
confusion in his eyes. His eyes. 

She tossed the cuffs to him and he slipped them on himself as she held the gun 
slightly raised, not really pointed at him any longer. 

"Will you listen to me now? Please?" He seated himself on her couch, in his 
normal seat. This was where he’d spent so many hours working with her, watching 
her when she wasn’t paying attention, wishing he could spent even more hours. 
She nodded but did not speak. 

"Dana, I don’t know what’s going on, but I am Fox Mulder." Her eyes narrowed and 
the gun she still wouldn’t release trembled in her hand. "Please, let me finish. 
I came home from work earlier this evening and decided to go out for a beer at 
Kelly’s. I had two beers, Scully, only two, but I don’t know what happened after 
that. I woke up an hour ago in a warehouse on J Street. All my ID, my keys, my 
watch are gone. I thought this girl in the bar had rolled me, but something else 
has happened. I don’t know what that is and I need you to tell me, please Scully." 

She had flinched each time he had called her Scully, but had remained silent, 
letting him finish. She sat staring at him, not speaking. He didn’t dare hurry 
her, he was already on thin ice here. 

After several deep breaths she seem to come back to herself. She looked into his 
eyes for a second, then away as though she couldn’t bear it. 

"I don’t know who you are or why you’re doing this to me. I buried Mulder this 
morning. He was found in his apartment, shot six times in the chest and once in 
the head. They held the body for three days and finally released it for burial 
yesterday. I can’t take anymore. I don’t even want to know why you’re here, I 
don’t care. Just go, now, please." 

He’d forgotten to breathe while she was speaking. Now he drew in a deep breath. 
"What day is it?" 

"Thursday, May 27." 

"No, it was Friday, May 21. I’ve been missing for a week? And you weren’t 
looking for me, you thought I was dead." He fell silent, contemplating her words. 

"Mulder is dead. I identified him myself and checked all the test results, the 
autopsy." Her voice was dead and flat again, all emotion leached from her. Her 
eyes were barely blue. 

She thought he was dead. She believed it and it was killing her. She was in this 
pain because she thought he was gone. He wanted to be pleased by that, but not 
in the face of this kind of despair. 

He rose slowly from the couch, his fingers spread to show her he was not a 
menace. He walked to the mirror she had on the wall beside the door. Well, he 
looked terrible, but he was recognizable. With a shower and shave. Oh come on, 
she’d seen him a lot worse than this and never not recognized him. 

"Scully, what do you see when you look at me?" 

She’d been watching him silently. Now her eyes questioned him. 

"Please, Scully. Why don’t you recognize me? I need you to look at me, see me. I’m 
not dead." 

"Why? Why are you doing this? Were you sent here to drive me crazy? I can’t take 
anymore. Whoever you are, I want you to leave." 

"Scully, we’ve been through everything together. You attended my father’s 
funeral for me when everyone but you thought I was dead. I wasn’t then and I’m 
not now." She said nothing, just letting him talk. 

"You shot me, Scully, so I wouldn’t kill Krycek and convict myself for killing 
my father. You remember all that." 

"Anyone could find out about that. It’s all in the record." 

"Okay," he was thinking frantically, "It’s not in the record that you came to my 
room in Oregon, practically naked to have me check the marks on your back." 

She drew back. "I don’t know what they know about me." 

"They don’t know we opened Emily’s casket and found only your necklace. The 
necklace I wore when you were missing." 

She had grown pale at that. Why were his eyes so. . . she shook her head? "How 
do you know that?" 

"Because I was there. After Tara and Bill came up to you with their son, they 
left the sanctuary with your mother and you decided we needed the proof of her 
illness. But she was gone. They would never let us have that kind of knowledge. 

"Would anyone else know how much your brother Bill hates me? How he glowered at 
me the entire time I was in his home, even though you needed me." 

"Why are you doing this! Mulder’s dead! You aren’t Mulder! I’ve lost him forever 
this time. Stop this! Stop it!!" 

She’d dropped the gun and covered her face with her hands again. He was dying to 
go to her, but too scared to move. Why couldn’t she see him? What had been done 
to them, to her? Had there really been a funeral? His mother! What was she 
thinking? 

One thing at a time, Mulder. He rose slowly and went into her kitchen. When he 
stood she had jerked back and started to reach for her gun, but he had kept his 
distance, so she just watched him. 

He went without hesitation to the cupboard and pulled out her favorite mug. He 
found her tea also, and again chose her favorite. How did he know these things? 
He fixed the tea exactly as she liked it, despite the handcuffs and brought it 
to her. He left it on the coffee table, not getting too close, then returned to 
his seat on the couch. 

"Drink it, Scully. Try to relax a little." 

She took a sip. He hadn’t been out of her sight, so he couldn’t have drugged it. 

"Who are you?’ Her voice was shaking. 

He shook his head. "Just relax, Scully." 

She almost protested the use of that name again, but instead sank back in the 
chair. Tears continued to leak from her eyes and occasionally she would wipe 
them away absentmindedly. 

She was in such pain – he had never dreamed she would be this affected by his 
loss. Relieved maybe. No, this was no time to be flip. He’d known she cared for 
him – not like he loved her of course, but she’d kept this hidden from him. 

He wanted to go to her, to comfort her. But she didn’t know him. What was she 
seeing when she looked at him? Whose body had she so positively identified as 
his? 

They were both startled by the knocking on her door. He rose and walked to the 
door to look through the peephole. 

"It’s Frohike." He whispered to her. 

She rose and motioned him away from the door. She looked to confirm his words. "Go 
in the other room. Don’t make a sound." 

He nodded and headed into her bedroom. He didn’t know why she wanted to keep his 
presence secret, but he wasn’t about to argue with her. At least she hadn’t 
thrown him out yet. 

"Oh, Scully." Even Frohike was taken aback by her appearance. "You shouldn’t be 
alone. Let me take you to your mother’s." Mulder relaxed, at least he wasn’t 
coming on to her. Maybe he had more class than they’d given him credit for. 

"No Frohike. Thanks, but I need some time. I’ve been babysat since I found the. 
. . the body." She swallowed, trying not to break down again in front of him. 

"You’ve been strong too long. You can’t handle everything alone – you planned 
the funeral, you looked after Mrs. Mulder, hell I heard Skinner himself had to 
stop you from doing the autopsy. Scully, you’re human. We know how much you 
loved him, but you have to look after yourself now." Mulder eavesdropped, not 
sure how to react to what he was hearing. 

"I’m. . . I’m okay. I just need some time alone." 

"If it helps any, he loved you just as much. God, I can’t believe he’s gone 
either, Scully. We are here for you." How did Frohike know that? It was true, 
but how did he know? 

"I know." It was just a whisper. 

"Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to your mother’s. Of course, you 
know I’d stay, if you want." He didn’t even make it sound like an advance. 

"Thanks. I. . . I need some time." 

"Okay. I understand. You’ve left the jammer on?" At her nod, "Look, we’ll be 
over tomorrow. If you need anything before that, please call us." 

She nodded, unable to speak and let the little man out. She didn’t hear Mulder 
come back into the room. 

"I didn’t know Frohike could be a gentleman." 

"How do you know him?" 

"Scully, I’ve known the guys for years. We met on the Modeski case - I've told 
you about that. We’ve worked together ever since. They were with me when I broke 
into the Lombard Research Institute, when I found out Dr. Scanlon was on staff. 
I sent Byers to stop you from taking any more treatments." 

"That’s it! Shut up! I want you out of here. Now!" She threw the keys at him. He 
ducked, then turned to find where they had landed after bouncing off his 
shoulder. 

He unlocked his hands and turned back to her. She had moved closer, to hurry him 
out. "Scully, you’re shaking. Please let me. . . " 

"Out!" She shoved him toward the door, making physical contact for the first 
time. Her eyes widened and all color left her face. He caught her in his arms 
before she could hit the floor. 

She had lost weight. Had she not eaten at all since she’d "found" him? 

"Scully, come on, come back to me." He laid her gently on her bed and hurried to 
get a damp cloth for her forehead. "Scully? Can you hear me?" 

She stirred and he retreated to give her space. She opened her eyes and 
immediately drew back from him. "What are you?" 

"I don’t understand." 

"For a minute I thought. . . no." He could feel her shudder from where he stood. 

"What did you see? When you touched me, what did you see?" He asked anxiously. 

"No." She cringed as he stepped toward her. 

"I won’t hurt you, Scully. I’d never hurt you. Take my hand, just for a minute. 
Please, Scully." 

One tear escaped, she was obviously scared. But this was Scully. He felt her 
gather her strength and held out a shaking hand. He did the same, allowing her 
to take his hand. He made no move to grasp it, despite his need. 

"Oh my god." She dropped his hand as though it had burnt her. 

"What happened? Please, talk to me Scully!" 

"I’ve lost my mind." 

"You saw me, didn’t you. You know it’s me now." He took the chance of moving 
closer to her and she did not draw away. 

"I knew grief could do strange things to your mind. I never realized that I. . . 
" She was talking to herself, ignoring his presence. 

"Its not you, Scully! They did something to you. Look at me." He laid his hand 
lightly on her arm. "Scully, I need you to think. Who else saw this body, who 
helped with the identification? Did my mother see the body? The guys? Skinner?" 

"No. No only Kersh and I saw your body. But it was you. I saw the lab work. They 
wouldn’t let me observe the autopsy, Skinner held me, held me back himself. I 
don’t know how he knew, I didn’t. . ." She finally met his eyes. "You’re not 
dead?" 

"No. I’m alive and I’m here. Rest now, Scully. We’ll get to work on this 
tomorrow. When the guys come over, we’ll let them see me. I’ll stay hidden until 
then, if you’ll let me stay." 

She nodded mutely. 

"I want you to get some rest. I’ll be in the next room, just relax. Okay?" Again 
she nodded, not looking at him because they weren’t touching. He backed out of 
the room and left the door opened a crack. 

He desperately needed a shower and shave, but he would wait until she was asleep. 
He wanted to be where he could hear her in case she needed him. He sank onto the 
couch his mind trying to get a handle on what could have happened to her and to 
him for that matter. Only she and Kersh had seen his body, not his mother, not 
Skinner or the guys. He’d have to think about that one for awhile. 

She did sleep, but not peacefully. He finally took a chair into the room just to 
be closer to her. He knew he shouldn’t be in here but he couldn’t leave her 
either. She was so restless, occasionally crying and even moaning a couple of 
times. What could he do to help her through this? 

She jerked again and he thought she woke, but then he saw she was crying again. 
He eased his shoes off and laid down on the bed beside her, stroking her arm and 
murmuring to her, so that if she did open her eyes she would see him, not 
whatever they had placed in her mind. 

When Scully woke the next morning her first thought was that something 
incredible had happened. She lay there with her eyes closed trying to gather her 
thoughts until she felt the bed move. Mulder! And it really was Mulder, lying 
fully clothed on top of the covers beside her. Giving her all of the room in the 
bed, but gently cradling her hand in his own to maintain contact, so that she 
would know it was him when she found him there. 

Part of her wanted to laugh, only Mulder would take such pains to make sure she 
knew nothing had happened between them. She sobered quickly and experimentally 
removed her hand from his. No! She still saw someone else when she wasn’t 
touching him. What had they done to her? 

She eased from the bed carefully so she wouldn’t disturb him and slipped into 
the bathroom to get ready to face the day. When she emerged he was no longer in 
the bed and she could smell the coffee coming from the kitchen. She headed that 
way and he met her at the door with her cup in his hand. 

Looking at him wasn’t an option until he took her hand and led her to the table. 
"You didn’t get much rest." He offered. 

"More than the last few days. Thanks for. . . being here." 

"No place I’d rather be, Scully." He drank his coffee with his left hand in 
order to touch her with his right. "When you’re ready, we need to call the guys. 
I’ve got to find out what’s going on here." 

"I’ll do that now. Why don’t you go ahead and shower." 

"I guess I am pretty ripe by now. Will you be okay?" 

"I’m getting better by the minute. Go on." 

Her call to Byers was short and she volunteered no information. His comment, "We’re 
already on the way," caused a smile to form. They had been so good to her, so 
much better than her own brother. That wiped her smile away. 

Byers hadn’t been kidding. They were at her door before Mulder was out of the 
bathroom. "How are you doing, Dana?" 

"I need your help." 

"You’ve got it." 

The three of them turned as the bathroom door opened and Mulder walked out with 
a towel around his waist and one drying his hair. As one their mouths fell open 
and Byers took a step toward him. Frohike regained his voice first. "Mulder? Is 
that you?" 

"You see me?" 

"What Mulder?" Langly joined in, "You practicing invisibility?" 

"How did you do it? All those tests – Scully ID’d you herself." Byers was beside 
him now. "Why did you do it?" 

"It’s a long story guys. Let me get dressed and we’ll tell you what we know. 
Scully, do I have any clothes here? I don’t think it’s safe to go to my 
apartment yet." 

"Oh my god!" Scully clapped her hand over her mouth. She glanced over at Byers. 
"Your apartment. . . Mulder, you don’t have an apartment. Your landlord wanted 
your stuff out immediately. We," she glanced at the three men looking guilty 
along with her, "we cleaned it out." 

"My couch? My clothes?" 

"Most of your stuff is in Mom’s garage. I, uh, I gave those videos you don’t own 
to Frohike." 

Mulder turned and glared at the smaller man. 

"Hey! I haven’t hurt them." 

"There’s some clothes in here." Scully turned to her bedroom. After another 
sharp glance at Frohike he turned to follow her. 

He caught up with Scully as she was opening one of her drawers. He spotted some 
silky underwear, and there mixed in were his boxers. 

"Scully?" 

Her chin went up, "I slept in them, okay?" 

"You slept. . . " His voice faded away. Anything he said at this point would 
most likely get him slapped. He could do nothing about his eyes changing color 
and watched as her face reddened. 

"Scully?" He drew her into his arms when he realized she was crying again. 

"You really are alive?" She whispered into his chest. 

"Oh yeah." He kissed the tears from her cheeks and lightly brushed her forehead 
with his lips. "You better let me get dressed, Scully. We’ve got company." 

"Oh!" She drew back from him. He kept hold of one hand and didn’t let her drop 
her eyes from his. 

"I’ll be out in a minute." She turned then and left the room, consciously not 
facing him when he let go of her hand. 




Believe Me - Part 2 (PG) 

It was all business when he returned to the living room. He needed his life back. 

"Tell me the whole story, from the beginning." He settled back on the couch, his 
hand on Scully’s knee, the others dragging up chairs to listen. 

"I tried to call you Saturday," Scully began, "I needed some information from 
you, but there was no answer. I didn’t think that much about it, but when you 
didn’t answer Sunday either I decided I’d better go feed the fish, since you 
probably had gone out of town. When I got there, your door was unlocked. The 
lights were out. I called out to you, then went on in and. . . and you were 
lying on your back in front of your couch in a pool of blood. Mulder, your face 
wasn’t damaged. You were easily identifiable. I could see four wounds in your 
chest from where I stood. I froze; I don’t know how long I just stood there. I 
finally called 911 and then Kersh. They took you away and Kersh said I couldn’t 
do the exam. I won’t repeat what I said to him, but I guess I’m lucky to still 
have a job. 

"Mulder, they ran every test, DNA, fingerprints, it was you. I saw you." 

She was shaking at the memory and he put his arm around her. "That’s not what I 
remember. Let me tell you my version." She grabbed a couple of tissues from the 
box Byers extended and settled back. 

"I went to a bar, just to get out. I had two beers, total. There was a woman 
there who tried to get friendly, but I wasn’t interested. I don’t know if she 
drugged my drink or someone else did or what. I don’t remember leaving the bar, 
it’s just a blank after that. I woke up last night in a warehouse on J Street 
with no ID. I walked here thinking it was still Friday night. 

"If someone went to those lengths to make you believe I was dead, why did they 
dump me so close to home? Why did they dump me at all? Scully, where did Kersh 
see me?" 

"I called him after I called 911, he came to your apartment. He saw you just 
like I did." 

"Why didn’t you call Skinner?" 

"I couldn’t reach him. And I didn’t think about that at the time, but he should 
have been the one." 

"No. I’ll bet someone had him out of the way so you couldn’t reach him." 

"I hear the wheels turning, Mulder. What’re you thinking?" Byers leaned forward. 

"I’m not sure. I want to know why Kersh identified my body but Skinner and you 
guys weren’t asked." 

"Not asked? We tried to demand it." Frohike broke in. 

"I think we need to have Skinner join our little party here." Mulder reached 
over and picked up the phone, handing it to Scully. She dialed quickly. 

"Walter? No, I’m okay. I was wondering if you could come over to my apartment 
for a few minutes. Now if possible. Thanks." 

"You know Skinner’s private number?" Mulder gently probed. 

"I’ve used it a lot in the last few days." Was her only comment. 

She relaxed back on the couch, letting the four of them bounce ideas off of each 
other about what was going on. The theories became increasing outlandish and a 
couple brought a smile to her face but she kept quiet, enjoying the fact that he 
had left his arm over her shoulders. She tried not to be obvious about it, but 
kept glancing up at his face just to ensure he was still there. 

When Skinner knocked at the door, she rose to let him in losing physical contact. 
She needed to be watching Skinner’s face anyway. 

"Dana, are you okay?" Skinner had eyes only for her when she opened the door. 

"I’m fine. I need you to see something." She stepped aside to let him enter. He 
caught sight of Langly and started to speak, when Mulder rose from the couch. 
Whatever he had planned to say was lost. Scully thought for a moment that he was 
going to choke. 

"Mulder?" He glanced over at Scully. "What the hell is going on here!" 

"Come on in." Scully took his arm and led him to the couch where he sank 
gratefully into the cushions. 

"I’m not dead." Mulder offered. 

"I can see that. I want to know how you did it and most of all why." 

The five of them brought him up to date on what they knew and some of what they 
surmised. 

"Wait a minute, just who was in that coffin I carried yesterday?" His gaze swept 
the room. 

The comment startled Mulder. Skinner had been a pallbearer for him? That needed 
some more thought, later. Who else? No, not an appropriate question right now. 
Maybe it had just been these four guys; did he have six friends? He shook his 
head to try to get back to the topic. 

Scully was watching his face, and as always was there with him, thinking his 
thoughts. She squeezed his hand and he felt himself regain control. 

"It bothers me a lot that Kersh identified my body." 

"Yeah." Skinner joined him. "I didn’t think about it at the time, but I was 
manipulated away from the morgue. Kersh himself practically threw Dana into my 
arms." Scully nodded at that memory. She had been frantic to get in that room 
and handle things her way. Skinner’s arms had held her back, while supporting 
her completely, both physically and emotionally. Skinner’s eyes on her showed he 
shared the memory. Mulder’s arms instinctively tightened around her. 

After a long moment Skinner looked at Mulder. "You need to stay dead, while we 
investigate this." 

"I know." 

"Mulder, your mother?" Scully asked. 

"I don’t mean to be cruel Scully, but we can’t let her know I’m alive. I want to 
trust her, but some of her associations. . . No, she stays in the dark." 

Scully looked down, but didn’t argue. That was hard enough for him to admit, no 
need to make it worse. 

"You need to stay hidden. We can make room for you at our place." Byers offered. 

"I have an extra room, it might be safer with me." Skinner offered. 

"He stays here." Scully’s voice, though soft and low, was edged with steel. The 
discussion ended immediately with no further debate. Mulder felt the relief 
flood his senses, this was where he had to be. "I’m not expected back at work 
for another two weeks, that gives me the most freedom of movement." 

She had taken a leave of absence? Mulder was once again overwhelmed at the depth 
of her anguish. She usually threw herself into her work, not escaped from it. He 
felt humbled by her, she was so much more than he deserved. 

"Dana?" Skinner drew her attention, "I need to know who you see when you look at 
Mulder. I hate to get an artist over here, but. . . " 

"The program is on her computer." Mulder offered. 

"Then let me have a try at it." Langly volunteered and headed for her desk. He 
booted up her computer and gallantly allowed her to feed her in password, though 
he had known it for some time. 

She forced herself to look at "Mulder" while describing him. The others had 
their eyes on the screen, but Mulder held her eyes since he couldn’t touch her 
hand. 

The blond, pale man with a thin face, mustache, thin lips, and a small nose 
looked back at them from the screen. "What color are his eyes, Scully?" 

"Hazel, they couldn’t disguise the eyes." Mulder’s hand twitched to take hers, 
but he fought it back. 

"I want a printout of that. I want to run it through every database I can find." 
He turned back to Mulder, "I think whoever took you has a mole in their 
organization. You had help getting away. If they were this sophisticated, they 
wouldn’t turn you lose in this city, probably not this country." 

Mulder nodded, he’d already realized that. "Will you be safe looking for this 
man? Kersh is right there." 

"I still have a few people there I can trust. And these guys probably can do 
anything off site that I can." The three of them reluctantly nodded. "Okay, 
there’s nothing we can do right now except gather information. Keep your head 
down and be on full alert. Dana, you have my beeper number, use it. I’ll be in 
touch as soon as I know anything." 

Scully let him out and Mulder watched him give her a quick hug. He was aware it 
made the hair on his arms stand up, but kept his mouth closed. 

Byers, suddenly realizing that five was definitely a crowd, poked Langly who 
caught on and nodded. "Scully, Mulder, we’re gonna get out of here. We need to 
get started on this." 

"Oh, okay. I need to go out too. There’s nothing here to eat." 

"Hey, we can handle that for you. Do you have a list?" 

"You guys have done enough." Scully’s eyes immediately moistened at this show of 
continued support. 

"Let them, Scully. You and I still need to talk." She nodded and went into the 
kitchen to make a quick inventory. 

"How was she? You said she looked after my mother?" 

Byers spoke in low tones with an eye toward the door she’d entered. "She was 
walking dead, Mulder. We made sure she wasn’t alone." 

"It was like that?" 

All three of them nodded. They moved apart as they heard her returning. Frohike 
took the list from her and they headed toward the door. 

"We’ll let you know what we turn up. Keep out of sight." Scully let them out as 
Mulder stayed on the far side of the room. As soon as the door was shut he 
approached her and put his hands on her shoulders. She leaned back against him 
for a second, then stood up straight again. 

"Scully, tell me everything. Tell me what you saw at my apartment." 

She shuddered and didn’t respond. 

"Did you touch the body?" 

"You were cold. You were so cold." He turned her and wrapped her in his arms. 
After a moment he spoke again. 

"Did you see anyone? Pass anyone on the way to the apartment? Did anyone speak 
to you? Touch you?" 

"No, there was no one." 

"What about the night before?" 

"I didn’t see anyone after I got home Friday night. I spoke to Mom on the phone." 

"Do you remember any dreams?" 

"No, I. . . " 

"What?" 

"Yes. There was a dream. The. . . the abduction dream." 

"I didn’t know you still had that." 

"I don’t often, but sometimes it just happens." She watched his brow furrow. "What? 
What are you thinking?" 

"I’m not sure. Let me worry about it. Right now I want you to be able to see me 
when you look at me." 

"Me too." 



Believe Me - Part 3 (NC-17) 

What the hell was wrong with her? She couldn’t shake this. He was alive and she 
was so thankful she could still cry at the drop of a hat, but something else was 
wrong. The nightmares were bad. It had always been him with nightmares, not her. 
It seemed like most nights she woke to find him comforting her. And her broken 
sleep meant that she couldn’t keep her eyes open in the afternoons. She just 
felt terrible all the time. This wasn’t like her, maybe when she went back to 
work her energy would come back. She could only hope so. 

Mulder’s concern was growing as well. She wasn’t getting better. If anything she 
was getting worse. This wasn’t just grief – maybe it had started out that way. 
And maybe that was the problem. She’d allowed her body to get so rundown that 
she’d let herself get ill. She had lost weight, she kept getting sick, and the 
nightmares seemed to have left him and settled in her. 

She washed her face and came out of the bathroom. As she had feared, he was 
waiting for her. 

"Feeling better?" 

She nodded and tried to get around him. He put out his arm and stopped her, 
checking for fever. "I think you need to see someone." 

"And tell them what?" 

"Tell them your symptoms, have them run tests. Scully, I’m here, but I feel like 
I’m losing you." 

She shook free and headed for the kitchen. "I’m going to make some tea, want 
some?" 

"No thanks." He sighed. She had no fever but her appetite was gone. Hell, he 
needed to think about this some more. He counted on her to handle the medical 
part. 

The knock on the door caught him off guard. She hadn’t heard it, so he checked 
through the peephole. Skinner, alone. He opened the door cautiously and let him 
in. 

"You doing okay?" At Mulder’s nod, "Is Dana here?" 

"Yeah, she’s in the kitchen." 

"Is she doing any better?" Mulder shook his head. 

"Well, I have some news." 

"I’ll get her." He headed into the other room as Skinner removed his coat. They 
came back holding hands. Mulder couldn’t keep his concern for her from his face. 

"Scully, Mulder, I found your face. Whoever did this had a warped sense of humor. 
In 1978, Billy Ray Moore was convicted of murder, four counts, in Texas. He was 
executed in the electric chair in 1984 when he canceled all appeals. It took us 
a while because the files on the dead run last. Any luck on breaking through the 
memory block?" 

"None. I don’t think it’s an implanted memory anymore. We’ve tried hypnosis 
several times without any success. The guys and I are beginning to think it’s a 
transmission." 

In his mind he was seeing the sessions they had held trying desperately to break 
through her memory. He’d hated to put her through it. He hated even more that it 
hadn’t worked. Byers was no expert at hypnosis, he’d made that clear going in, 
but you didn’t have to be an expert at breaking through a memory barrier to see 
that one existed. Mulder had even assisted after the first time. He had been 
trained at Oxford. They had all agreed he was too close to this, but he was 
willing to try almost anything so that she could see him again. Byers had done a 
good job. Now they knew that ‘They’ had been taking her again just prior to his 
death. She still didn’t know who they were. The abductions were only lasting 
hours now, not weeks. Was that a good thing? He could feel his hands become 
fists again at the thought. He hadn’t been able to protect her, hadn’t even 
realized she needed protecting. 

"Transmission?" 

"Yes, through her implant." His teeth were gritted. "That’s the only thing that 
makes sense. Why does no one else see what she sees? And there just wasn’t time 
for a deep memory implant. Byers is working on a way to block it, but we have to 
be careful testing it." 

"Well, I don’t have anything else yet, and I shouldn’t stay long. Anything 
specific you want me to check?" 

"Not right now. We’d rather save you for when we reach a dead-end." 

Skinner nodded and reached for his coat. The crackle under his fingers caused 
him to pause. "Uh, Dana, I need your signature." 

"On what?" She didn’t even sound like herself. 

"I need your help to commit fraud. I don’t know how to stall on this without 
arousing suspicion." He withdrew the papers from his coat pocket. "This is to 
release the life insurance." 

"What life insurance?" 

Skinner glanced at Mulder. "For a spacey kind of guy, he had sense enough to 
sign up for the best plan." 

"So you need his mother’s signature." 

"Uh, no." Skinner looked over again at Mulder’s red face. "You’re his sole 
beneficiary." 

"I am?" 

"Listen, I’ll, uh, I’ll leave these papers here. You call me when I can pick 
them up." He laid the papers on her coffee table and headed for the door. Scully 
stood staring at the papers; Mulder held the door at an angle where he couldn’t 
be seen. 

"Mulder, I didn’t know." Mulder shook his head but said nothing. "Look after her." 

"I will." He shut the door and turned reluctantly toward her. 

She looked up at him and quickly away, "Me?" A tear fell from each eye. 

"Oh Scully, who else would I want to leave anything to? I just never thought I’d 
be here when you found out. There’s more, hell I left everything to you except 
the videos you gave Frohike." 

"Mulder." She sank onto the couch. 

"It’s yours. Don’t think about it now. I’m more concerned with your health at 
the moment." 

"Don’t." 

"No. We have to talk about it. This isn’t grief and it isn’t flu. You haven’t 
been hiding nose bleeds from me, have you?" 

"No! I haven’t hid anything from you. How could I?" 

"We are kind of in each other’s pockets here, aren’t we? I could go stay with 
the guys." 

"No! No." She took a deep breath and he couldn’t help but appreciate the motion. 
Then it all clicked in his mind and his face went ashen. 

"Mulder? Mulder what is it?" 

"I have to go out." 

"No! Mulder you can’t." She was clutching his arm. 

"Scully I’ll be careful. This is something you can’t do. I won’t be long." He 
grabbed a jacket and a baseball cap and let himself out her back door. 

"Mulder." She breathed as she sank onto the couch. 

***** 

When he returned he found her huddled on the couch clutching the afghan he slept 
with around her. 

"Oh Scully." He gathered her up in his arms. "I’m sorry. I didn’t realize. . . " 
He held her close. 

When she could speak she murmured into this chest, "What was so important?" 

"I’ll show you in a minute. Right now I need you to listen to me. Try not to 
think I’m totally insane." 

She nodded, still not removing her face from his chest. 

He smoothed her hair down, "We’ve agreed that we have a friend inside of the 
group that’s doing this to us." She nodded. "I think that when they took me our 
friend couldn’t be sure he could get me away, help me escape. I think they 
wanted to leave you with something, just in case." 

"Leave me with what?" 

"A. . . " He had to stop and moisten his lips, "A child, Scully." 

"A what?" Now she did look up. 

"A baby, I think my baby." 

"That’s not possible." 

"Yes it is, Scully. They have your ova, they obviously had access to me." 

"But. . . no! Damn it! No!" She tried to jerk away but he held her. And 
continued to hold her as she began to pound on his chests and arms, growing 
increasingly hysterical. 

"Scully, please." He took her blows as his heart sank, only stopping her from 
hitting herself. 

When her emotional storm finally passed she collapsed against him. 

"It’s. . . it’s okay Scully. Even if it is true, you don’t have to have it. You 
can have an abortion, or. . . " 

"Is that what you think I want?" Her voice wasn’t steady, her breath still 
hitching. 

"It’s okay. If you don’t want. . . Look, we’re not even sure. That’s what I went 
to get, one of those home tests. You can take the test and then decide if. . . " 

"That’s not. . . Mulder, that’s not what’s wrong. I don’t believe I’m pregnant, 
but if I am I want to be pregnant the old fashioned way. Why do they have to 
control everything? If I carry your baby I want you to give it to me. I want 
them out of my life, I want some normalcy – not to be monitored or transmitted 
to or impregnated by some chip in my neck. I want. . . Mulder do you really 
believe I’m pregnant?" For the first time she sounded as though she had hope it 
was true. 

Her revelations had rendered him speechless. He’d been ready to help her abort 
his child because she didn’t want his baby. Now she was saying she wanted. . . 

"Mulder?" 

"I don’t. . . I can’t. . . Maybe you should just take the test." 

"I need to wait until morning. If you’re right, it’s so early I’d need the first 
morning’s. . . Mulder, where did you get this idea? What made you even think it?" 

"Uh. . . " His face was scarlet. 

"What, Mulder? Tell me." 

"Your breasts." 

"My breasts? With everything going on around us, you’ve started staring at my 
breasts?" Her eyebrow had reached Himalayan heights. 

"I’ve always stared at. . . oh god. Could you give me a running start before you 
shoot me this time?" He seemed to sink into the couch. 

"I might hit you in the ass if I do, and I’d hate to cause brain damage." That 
gave him the courage to look up and see the smile she had managed to keep from 
her lips, but not her eyes. 

"We have to wait until morning?" She nodded, "Not one of my strengths." 

She did smile then, "I know." 

"Look, why don’t you go on to bed. You’ve not had a great day and I can be 
mortified out here all by myself." 

"Why don’t you come on to bed too?" 

"Wha. . . what?" 

"You end up in there every night anyway because of the nightmares. I’d say we’re 
both fated for nightmares tonight." 

He nodded in agreement. Was she letting him off the hook, even after that 
admission? She was so much more than he deserved. "I’ll clean up in here, you go 
get ready." 

She was already in bed when he came in and lay down stiffly beside her. She 
scooted back until she was against his chest, as he finally began to relax he 
heard her whisper, "So you’ve always looked at my breasts?" 

Rather than make a comment that truly would lead to a bullet, he put his arm 
around her and kept quiet. 

***** 

She woke to daylight, no nightmares, and Mulder’s arms around her. The test, she 
should take the test. She slipped out of the bed being careful not to wake him. 

He was awake, but he pretended not to be, not sure what she wanted. She was gone 
what felt like a very long time. When he heard her returning he closed his eyes. 
He felt her lie back down leaving a lot of space between them. Okay, that was 
enough. His arm snaked around her drawing her to him. "Well?" 

"I didn’t mean to wake you." 

"Scully." His tone meant business. 

She looked up from his chest. "I’m pregnant." She couldn’t mistake that look of 
total joy that flashed in his eyes before he could hide it. That eased the knot 
in her chest considerably. 

"Are you okay?" He finally asked. 

"Yes." 

"I was serious last night. If you don’t want. . . " 

Her arms tightened around him. "I resent their interference. It’s not the way I 
fantasized about getting pregnant. I mean if we’re right and it is yours." 

"It is." 

"Then I’m carrying your baby and we’ve never even kissed." 

"We could fix that." She’d never seen him so still, waiting. 

Her nod was almost imperceptible and the light touch of his lips was chaste and 
cool. The second, when she responded was warmer. The third positively steamy. 
His hand had found it’s way under her t-shirt and held her breasts. She gasped 
into his mouth. 

"Okay?" 

"Very okay." And he was kissing her again. He did know what he was doing. 

"Wait, we should slow down, Scully. I don’t want to rush. . . " 

"Mulder, my own mother couldn’t make a case for us rushing anything." He grinned 
down at her. 

"You’re probably right there." His hand had traveled down to her stomach, 
caressing it lightly, then on down to the elastic of her panties. When she made 
no move to stop him, one finger entangled itself in her curls. The scent of her 
arousal surrounded him, so he continued his exploration. He noted her breathing 
had become shallow and she lay open, awaiting whatever he had in mind. 

When his finger grazed her moist bud she gasped, and when his finger slipped 
inside he wasn’t sure she was getting any oxygen at all. When his hand moved 
back up to her stomach she moaned slightly. No fair, he couldn’t stop now. And 
turn about was fair play. He hissed as her hand found him through his shorts. So 
he liked that, she wrapped her fingers around him and he lost the power of 
linear thought. 

He didn’t remember removing his t-shirt, or hers for that matter, but there was 
no longer anything separating them. 

He knew without asking that it had been a long time for her, so he wanted to be 
gentle, slow – she wasn’t helping there. God, she was ready. He began to ease 
himself into her slowly. She grasped his hips and arched, filling herself with 
him. 

"Scully." He pulled back away from her. "Scully. There’s a 17 year-old inside of 
me, ready to humiliate me completely. Please. . . stop that Scully or I’ll. . . 
" 

"You’ll what, Mulder?" 

He was hanging onto control by his fingernails and here she was playing dirty, 
massaging him with those muscles. He withdrew completely, eliciting a moan of 
protest from her. Then his lips were on her nipple and she relaxed again, 
allowing him to set the pace for a while. 

When he finally allowed her to guide him back to her center he was more in 
control, able to enter her without the fear of immediate humiliation. At least 
she had given some control back to him. But this wasn’t going to take long, it 
had been a long time for him as well – face it years and this was what he’d 
waited for. She was matching him thrust for thrust. 

She was so close, he seemed to know instinctively what she needed and she felt 
his finger again find that bundle of nerves. She almost never came, the fear of 
loss of control overpowering her physical needs. Not this time – not with Mulder, 
she gave herself over to him and spun out of control in the safety of his arms. 

He thought he would die of sheer joy as this woman convulsed in his arms. Only 
in his best fantasies had he dreamed of pleasuring her like this. Then her 
orgasm pushed him over the edge. One thrust, two and he too was gone – retaining 
only enough sense not to crush her beneath him. 

He returned to his body to find her hand caressing his cheek and his eyes locked 
onto hers. "You can see your unborn children in her eyes." What was that? A line 
from a song? It was true. 

"You okay?" Her hand moved down onto his chest. 

"Yeah, oh yeah. You?" That smile that came over her face was all he needed. "You 
seem to be feeling better this morning." 

"I think you’ve stumbled across a sure-fire cure for morning sickness." 

"Should I apply for a patent?" 

"No, I have no intentions of sharing." 

"Um, I like it when you’re territorial." 

She smiled and reached up to pull his face down to her own. She kissed his nose 
then looked him directly in the eye. "You know your theory about why this 
happened is bullshit, don’t you?" 

He looked up from her lips startled and began a protest, until she zapped him 
with that eyebrow. He looked away abashed. 

"I’m pregnant Mulder, not stupid. This is no gift from a friend. This baby is 
the catalyst for all of this. They found out the experiments on me worked. They 
had to get you out of the way in such a manner that I wouldn’t be looking for 
you. They’d have to keep me alive, for awhile. But we know what they’re capable 
of. They would have faked my suicide or something to hide me away. When they 
didn’t need me anymore. . . You did have help escaping, but that’s as far as I’ll 
go with it." His grip tightened. "Want to admit you had this all figured out?" 

He took a deep breath. "I’m not going to let that happen." 

"You’re probably still alive to make sure I conceived. Since I’m still free they 
don’t know. It’s not going to take them long. Mulder, don’t coddle me, or lie to 
me. I’m still your partner." 

"In every way." 

"We should get up." She started to rise. 

"Why?" His eyes were dilated, his body obviously excited just listening to her. 

"Because now we have another reason to figure out how to make ourselves safe." 

His hand was back on her stomach. "You’re right and we will. I’m going to push 
the guys to find a way to block that transmission." 

She nodded, suddenly fighting tears. "Scully?" 

"I’m okay, really." 

"I’ll make you some breakfast, if I can walk." 

"I have every confidence in you." 



Believe Me - Part 4 (R) 

The guys came over that afternoon with a new jammer and their ideas for a block 
to the implant. 

"You know, with just a small amount of radiation. . . " 

"No. Nothing toxic, nothing that could harm her or the. . . nothing toxic." 

"Okay, okay. We have other ideas, something with lead maybe." 

"Hey, if it works for Superman." Mulder agreed. 

"Uh, yeah." Byers rolled his eyes. 

"We’ve got to be especially careful testing it. They can’t know we’re trying 
anything. It could be very dangerous." 

"The test would only take seconds, they probably won’t even notice it. She’d 
just need to touch it while looking at you. If she sees you as you, we know it 
works." 

Scully came back in the room; "Did you ask about going out of town?" 

"Not yet." 

"You going somewhere?" 

"Possibly. Can you get us some in-depth IDs?" 

"Yeah, no problem." 

"At least three apiece." 

"Three? It could get expensive." 

Mulder chuckled. "You haven’t heard? Scully inherited a fortune when I died." 

"No kidding? What did you leave us?" Frohike turned and looked up from his notes. 

"I haven’t seen you returning my video collection." 

Frohike turned away, reddening as he saw Scully’s eyes on him. 

Mulder relented, "Keep ‘em. I won’t be needing them." 

Everyone in the room looked over at him then. He managed to keep his expression 
bland. Scully was unable to stop the slight smile and retreated back into the 
kitchen. 

"Mulder?" Byers whispered, then, "Nevermind." And he shared a grin with Langley. 

"So she’s gone." Frohike looked mournful. 

"She’s gone, and don’t you ever forget it." Mulder loomed over him. 

***** 

He stood at the door watching her pack. She was being careful, nothing personal, 
nothing that could be traced back to here. He hated this for her. He needed to 
be away from here, hopefully to continue his work in some way, but she was 
giving up everything to come with him. Her career, her home, her family. It wasn’t 
right. He wasn’t leaving anything behind because he had her with him. He should 
go on alone, but he couldn’t leave her. He didn’t think he ever could have, but 
now, with a baby. No, the very thought made him ill. 

She had looked up and seen him at the door lost in thought. He hadn’t said it, 
of course, but she knew he was worried about taking her away. How could she make 
him understand this was her choice? He was her choice and that it had been no 
contest. None at all. She’d seen what the other side was like when he’d "died". 
Her life was with him, and if she could carry this baby to term, with them. 
Wherever they were, whoever they were. 

He hadn’t realized she was beside him as his guilt took him for a ride. Her kiss 
brought him back to the present. "Remember me?" 

"Oh yeah." His eyes locked on hers. 

"It’s time to stop the analysis, Mulder, and go on to the action." 

His finger traced her lips. These last couple of days had been beyond his 
wildest dreams. Being this happy was so foreign to him; he had to keep 
recognizing it anew. 

"Can I be enough for you?" 

"You already are. What more do I have to do to show you?" 

"You scare me, Scully. You see more than is really there." 

She shook her head, "You’re just afraid it’s not real, Mulder. What if I, say, 
got pregnant to prove my commitment?" 

"Very funny." But his hand had found her stomach. He touched her even more than 
he used to, and she encouraged it since it was the only way she could see the 
real Mulder. She was becoming more and more anxious to test this new device the 
guys were working on. Seeing Mulder, instead of that unfamiliar face she saw 
when he wasn’t touching her had become almost an obsession to her. But it was 
definitely Mulder making love with her at night. Her body knew his instinctively, 
on a level she’d never even approached before with any other man. 

"Come on, we need to finish packing. If the guys have succeeded, we need to be 
ready to go." 

"And you’re honestly willing to just go." 

"With you? Why can’t you believe me?" 

He shook his head, "What do you want me to pack? You’re not taking many clothes." 

"We don’t want it to look like we’re running, besides, they won’t fit soon 
anyway." He grinned. 

***** 

"Without testing it, we can’t be sure, but theoretically it should work. She’s 
just got to be in physical contact with it. Like she has to be with you, in 
order to really see you." 

"How many of these do you have?" 

"Three. How many do you think you’ll need." 

"Well, she’s always got to be in contact with it. Always, no slip ups – while 
sleeping, bathing, walking, eating. If the transmission gets through, they have 
her." 

"Hey Mulder, we know that. We’re not kidding around here." 

"Mulder." Scully touched his arm. "They know this." 

"It’s important." Scully smiled and nodded, then silently mouthed, "Thanks." 

"You want to test it?" The agony of this decision was clear on his face. 

"I’m ready." 

"Scully. . . " 

"We have to try it. Mulder we can’t go on like this. If it doesn’t work, we have 
to know to try something else. Mulder, please." 

She watched him wilt, but he couldn’t deny her words. 

"Just an instant, Scully. So short that they won’t notice." He had hold of her 
arm. "Promise me." 

She nodded and moved to stand next to Byers, her eyes locked on the face they 
were transmitting to her. 

"Are you ready, Scully?" Byers was watching her face. She nodded and Byers and 
Langley moved closer to her. "Let me touch it to you, then I can move it away. 
You just keep your eyes on Mulder." 

"Let’s do it." She held out her arm. Byers glanced over at Mulder, then placed 
the small metallic object to her arm. After a quick count of three he removed it. 
Her eyes were wide. Langley had hold of her arm as she swayed. Then Mulder had 
her in his arms. 

"It worked." She whispered. "I saw you." 

"Are you okay?" 

"Relieved. I need to sit down." 

He ignored that, scooping her into his arms and heading into the bedroom. He 
laid her gently on the bed, his eyes full of concern. "Scully?" 

"I’m okay, Mulder. There was no sensation, no pain, you were there. Your face 
was there, not that other one. I hadn’t realized what that would do to me." 

He buried his face in her neck. "I love you Scully." He whispered. 

"I’ve never doubted that. Why don’t you get rid of everyone and you can show me." 

He looked up and smiled. "That’s why you’re the brains of this outfit." He 
squeezed her hand and rose to do her bidding. 

"Is she okay Mulder?" 

"Yeah. It worked great. We’ll need all three. You might want to make more, I don’t 
mind spares." 

"Do you know what you’re going to do?" 

He nodded, "What you don’t know, you can’t tell." 

"Well, guess we better get out of here. Let us know what you need, you’ll get it." 

"Thanks guys. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for us." 

They shook hands with him, Frohike hugging him at the last minute. Everyone 
knowing that if they saw each other again, it would not be soon. 

He joined her in the bedroom after letting his friends out. "Are you okay?" 

"I’m fine, really. Come here." She was propped up on her elbows scanning his 
body. 

He grinned, "That sounded suggestive you hussy." 

"It was meant to." 

He knelt on the bed and began crawling up her body, stopping occasionally for a 
nip or a kiss, pulling her shirttail out with his teeth. She was laughing by the 
time he finally made it to her lips. He flipped over, pulling her on top of him, 
massaging her back and enjoying the feel of her breasts pressed against his 
chest. 

"You missing those videos you don’t own?" 

"Not for a second." He drew the t-shirt over her head and proceeded to show just 
why he wasn’t missing the videos at all. 

***** 

The phone caught them off guard. She made sure he was settled then reached for 
the receiver. "Hello?" 

She sat up straighter and glanced at Mulder. "AD Kersh. Is everything okay?" 
Kersh? Mulder’s hands became fists, but otherwise he didn’t move. 

"As well as could be expected under the circumstances, thank you. Yes, my leave 
is up on Monday. Is it an emergency, sir? Well, I’d planned to fly out in a few 
hours. I’m supposed to meet my mother and visit with my brother. In California. 
New partner?" She watched Mulder’s reaction to that comment. "Yes, I’ll be back 
on Sunday. Are you sure? I could call and tell them I’ll be a day late." 

Mulder gave a grim smile, she was good. Had she ever lied to him? 

"Thank you sir. Yes, first thing in your office." She hung up and looked over at 
Mulder. 

"They caught it." 

"Yes. We need to go. Mulder, will you be okay?" 

"Me? Yeah." 

"Then let’s do it. Let me get dressed. You probably should too, since we’re 
trying to be inconspicuous." She was trying to keep it light. He needed that 
more than she did. 

With one more kiss they rose and after dressing placed the final items in the 
trunk of her car along with the boxes already there. 

Mulder hid on the floor of the backseat under a blanket and she drove to 
National. Once there she parked in long-term parking, as close as possible to 
the rental car Byers had left for her yesterday. Then removing her roll-around 
and large carry-on bag she left the car without a word, just squeezing the hand 
he slipped from under the blanket. 

Once in the terminal, she retrieved the ticket she had purchased on-line in her 
own name, using her own credit card. She then made her way to the gate, again 
checking in with her own ID and took a seat. In a few minutes she checked her 
watch and rose, taking her bags and went to the ladies’ room. She chose the 
handicapped stall and proceeded to change. The curly blond wig was first, then a 
brighter red lipstick and blue eye shadow. Next the shoes, removing the heels 
she usually wore and changing to running shoes and finally reversing the jacket 
she wore. 

She stuffed all evidence of Dana Scully deep in her carry-on bag and pulled out 
the new ID she and Mulder had agreed on. Leeann Frazier – not even their 
initials could remain the same. The last thing was to retrieve one of the small 
metal devices the guys had created, and using the bandage she had fashioned, 
secured it to her left shoulder blade. No sensation, no way for her to know it 
was working except to see him. She needed to see him. 

When she left the rest room she turned away from her gate and made her way to 
luggage pick up. She slipped out the door and spotted the car, with Mulder 
slumped, faking sleep, behind the wheel. He’d been watching and was out of the 
car before she could reach it. He took her things, stowing them in the back seat 
and opening the door for her. 

"Good to have you back, Honey." He pecked her cheek and shut the door. 

She managed not to laugh as he got back in. "I feel like trick or treat." 

"But you see me." 

"Oh yeah – I just need to get used to you seeing me, like this." 

"It is different. You gonna go with more cleavage?" He looked hopeful. 

Her look of disdain caused a laugh. "It doesn’t work as well with that make-up, 
Sc. . . Leeann. You just don’t seem as stern somehow." 

"Then how am I supposed to keep you in line now?" A smile was growing on her 
face as well. 

"Well I had an idea about that. I want to head south instead of west." 

"Why? I thought we were going to Philly tonight." 

"I was checking on different state laws and. . . " 

"And?" 

"Scully. No, I need to use your name for this. Scully, will you marry me?" 
Before she could reply he rushed on, "I know you deserve better, but I also know 
you’ll never find anyone who loves you more, or wants you more. Could you 
consider it?" 

She took a deep breath as he held his own. Finally she spoke, "You know Mulder, 
I was beginning to think I was going to have to ask you. Yes. Yes, I‘ll marry 
you and so will Leeann and Beth and all the rest of me." 

The total joy on his face brought tears to her eyes. She couldn’t remember ever 
seeing him so happy. 

"A major tactical error here." 

"What?" 

"I’m driving and I can’t take you in my arms." 

"You’re right, we’ll have to take care of that – very soon!" 

"And I get to make love with all you ladies?" His fingers were trailing up her 
thigh and that leer was more than familiar. 

"Only if I get to make love with all you guys, Ryan." 

"Ummm, sounds like a deal to me." 

***** 

"By the power vested in me by the state of South Carolina, I pronounce you 
husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." 

His hand only trembled slightly as he brought it up to her cheek and gave her a 
light kiss on the lips. He felt her arms go around his neck as she took control 
of the kiss, and heard the justice of the peace’s wife clap. 

Heaven, well the closest he’d ever get. And a lot better because he was with her.