From: GHill52695 <fox42@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Sun, 4 Jan 1998 22:52:49 EST
Subject: "The Angel and the Fox" (1/4) by Gerry Hill


Disclaimer: This story is based on the characters and situations created by
Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting.  As such, the
characters of Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, AD Skinner, the Lone Gunmen, etc. are
the property of those entities and are used without permission, although no
copyright infringement is intended.  The following work is for the
distribution and entertainment of fanfic members only.  Any further
distribution of this work without the author's consent is in violation of
international law.

Additional Disclaimer: A friend who reviewed this story mentioned seeing a
fanfic some time ago which featured a similar basic plot.  I have no knowledge
of that story and since we don't know the author's name or the title of the
story, I thought this disclaimer would be appropriate.

Thanks:  A huge thanks is in order to Jo-Ann Lassiter, who beta read this
story in detail, sparing no punches, and I greatly appreciate her time and
expertise.  The bruises to my ego have *almost* healed. :-)  Thanks and a hug
also to Danielle Culverson, Macspooky, Yvonne Richards, and Helen Wills who
all gave me their honest comments, helping me immeasurably in making sense out
of this story.

Classification:   X, T, A - MSR

Rating:  R (Some bad language and sexual situations, both hetero- and
homosexual)

Spoilers:  "Pusher."

Summary: An old friend of Scully's comes to visit; an evil scientist is
encountered; Mulder gets hurt and is jailed; someone falls for Mulder.

NOTE: If you have a problem with homosexuality, you may not wish to read this.
However, this is not a slash story.

THE ANGEL AND THE FOX   (1/4)
By Gerry Hill (fox42@ix.netcom.com)

A Friday in November, 1997
Special Agent Dana Scully's Apartment
6:48 PM

As Dana Scully dragged her federal ass up to her door, weary from a long week
of frustrating dead ends, she was anticipating a long hot soak in her tub.
The two cases they had worked this week were bad enough, but the further
irritation of the brain-draining idiotic Mulder-theories became the last
straw.  His solutions were farther out-there than usual, which was saying a
lot.  The last one, something about someone walking through a wall, had
finally managed to snap the tenuous hold on her usual equanimity and she had
said some bitter things to her partner this evening before storming out of the
office.  She resolutely shoved the memory of his hurt expression from her
exhausted brain and put her key in the lock.

She froze as a hand was placed on her right shoulder and a male voice said,
"Dana?"

She knew that voice.  "Angel?" She spun around to see the tall, darkly
handsome man she remembered from medical school.  His grin was as wide as hers
as she threw herself into his arms and they mutually hugged each other.  She
found herself being lifted off her feet before he lowered her again to catch
her breath.

"You look wonderful," they both said at the same time, and they smiled.

"Come inside," Scully said as she finished unlocking the door and led him into
her apartment.  "We have a lot of catching up to do."

He happily followed her and dropped a duffel bag onto the floor before once
again gathering her up in his bear-like embrace.

Scully felt safe and warm in his arms, and was embarrassed to realize how
hungry she was for this kind of physical display of human emotion.  She had
kept her feelings in check for so long, being oh, so careful around Mulder;
not letting him see how much she needed him to be just a friend for a while
and not the intense, inward-dwelling, driven man she saw daily.

Standing back from the Antonio Banderas look-alike, Scully fondly said, "Angel
Luis Esteban Aguilar, it's been a long time."  She gave his name the Hispanic
pronunciation, but then reverted to the Anglican version of his first name, as
she added, "Angel, what brings you here?  Is everything all right?"  She could
immediately see that everything was definitely *not* all right when he turned
his eyes from hers and his smile faded.

He released her and walked to the sofa, sitting down abruptly as though his
knees had given out, and lay his head back on the cushions with a sigh.
Scully sat down next to him as he spoke.

"You know that Ken and I have been living together since we got out of
school?"

Scully nodded her head, afraid that she knew what was coming.

"I found out about three months ago that he was cheating on me, and when I
confronted him, he left.  For good.  He didn't even tell me where he was
going."  The eyes he turned on her were filled with remembered pain.  "I
thought we loved each other too much for that to happen.  I thought we would
be together for the rest of our lives.  I thought..." his voice trailed off
and he closed his eyes once more.

 Scully's heart went out to her friend.  She knew that Angel had truly loved
Ken.  It would take time to come to terms with the loss.

"I've been trying to deal with it these past months and finally decided to get
away for a week or so, visit old friends, see new places.  But it never really
leaves me, you know?"

She gently put her hand on his arm, giving him silent support.  She smiled her
reassurance when he looked at her, then got to her feet.

"I'll go see what we can fix for dinner.  I want to hear all about the private
practice you set up in San Antonio and what's been happening in your life.
You're staying here with me tonight and for as long as you want."

He grabbed her wrist and she halted, looking curiously down at him.

"I'll cook something.  You go take a shower or whatever.  You look beat."

She didn't even put up a token argument, but obediently reversed direction and
disappeared into the bathroom.

When the doorbell rang a half hour later, Angel had a pot of spaghetti
simmering on the stove.  In the bathroom, clean and rosy from the hot bath,
Scully had just donned her terrycloth robe.

Angel answered the door wearing a sauce-spattered apron, wiping his hands on a
dishtowel.  The opened door revealed  a very surprised Fox Mulder, who then
was treated to the sight of Scully wandering out of the bathroom rubbing her
hair with a towel, dressed only in her robe.

Scully suppressed a laugh at the sight of her partner with his mouth hanging
open, speechless for once.  She had to remind herself that they were supposed
to be angry with each other, which was probably the reason he had stopped by.
She could count on one hand the times he had been in her apartment over nearly
five years, so he must be feeling guilty about their disagreement.

"Come on in, Mulder.  Angel Aguilar, this is my partner, Special Agent Fox
Mulder.  Why don't you both get acquainted while I put some clothes on."

Angel eyed the tall, lanky agent and stepped back, pulling the door fully
open.

"Come in and have some spaghetti with us.  It should be ready in fifteen
minutes or so.  And as usual, I've made far too much."

Mulder looked exceedingly uncomfortable as he entered, something that Angel
didn't miss.  He had also noticed that Scully hadn't clarified the situation
to her partner, who was evidently coming to the obvious conclusion.

"I'm an old friend of Dana's from med school.  We're...renewing our
acquaintance."

"So I see," Mulder dryly commented.

With his eyes sparkling, Angel excused himself to tend to dinner.  He called
back from the kitchen, "Care for some wine, Agent Mulder?"

He heard a "No, thanks," close behind him and turned to see the lanky man
leaning against the doorframe.  Good-looking guy, he thought absently to
himself as he filled the pot with water for the pasta.

Mulder was looking Angel over very thoroughly, not knowing whether he should
deck the guy or just leave and try not to imagine Scully and Angel together.
Gritting his teeth, he asked, "How long are you in town?"

Angel shrugged, and said, "I guess for as long as she wants me."  He mentally
went *Ooops, that sounded wrong*, but didn't bother to correct himself.

Mulder was appalled at his reaction to that statement and left the room
abruptly before he grabbed the man by his collar and beat the crap out of him.

Deciding that he needed to leave before he embarrassed himself, he was nearly
to the door when Scully entered the living room dressed in baggy, comfortable
pants and a loosely-draped teal-colored sweater that dipped low enough on her
chest to show some interesting cleavage.  She was radiant with a quiet beauty
tonight, and Mulder's heart gave some interesting little flutters.  This only
made him angrier and more anxious to get out of there. 

"Mulder!  You're not leaving?"

She actually seems disappointed that I'm not staying, he thought.  "Yeah.  I
just wanted to apologize for our disagreement earlier.  I was being a jerk."

Scully came closer and took his hand in both of her own.  "Please, Mulder.
I'm sorry, too, and I would like for you to stay.  Isn't spaghetti your
favorite?"  It was her smile that did him in, and he finally nodded, relaxing
a little.

"I'll get you some wine and see how dinner's coming along."

After she left him sitting on the sofa, Mulder once more wished he had simply
gone home.  This threesome wasn't going to work.  And he didn't want to
examine his feelings for his partner too closely, at least not tonight.  He
realized that he was jealous, which was a wholly inappropriate reaction on his
part.

He turned to see what had happened to Scully, and saw her standing on tiptoes
very close to her friend, whispering something in his ear.  He found himself
standing and again moving toward the door, determined this time to make his
escape.  Mulder really didn't care to see this affectionate display by his
partner, no matter how much he wanted her to have a life outside the X Files.
Reality does bite, he thought sadly.

Scully heard the front door close.  She looked out into the living room and
was confronted with an empty sofa.  She stared, stunned, for a moment, before
telling Angel, "He's gone."

She sounded so desolate, Angel set his cooking aside and gave her his full
attention.

"Are you two lovers?"

Scully shook her head.  "No.  He's very protective of me, though.  We've been
partners now for nearly five years, and have been through a lot together."

Angel thought he could see something more than simple friendship in Scully's
expression, but wasn't sure.  One way to find out.

"Do you mind if I try?"

Bewildered for a couple of seconds, Scully appeared puzzled, then the light
dawned.  "Oh!  You mean, you and Mulder...."  She smiled, then laughed out
loud.  "Oh, Angel, I don't think so.  It isn't that you're not attractive;
it's just that he's never shown any interest in his own gender before."

"What about showing interest in you?"

She looked shocked at that and protested, "We're professionals.  He would
never do something that would jeopardize our careers."  She thought a moment,
then added, "Well, mine, anyway.  As for his own career, I don't think he's as
careful."

"Dana, are you sure I wouldn't be stepping on toes here if I checked him out
for myself?"

She let a smile play around her lips at the non-existent chance of Mulder
succumbing to Angel's advances.  "Of course not, Angel, but I warn you; he's
impetuous and just might punch your lights out if you tried anything."

"I'll be careful," was the smug reply.

Her peal of laughter was infectious and soon Angel was helplessly chortling as
he attempted to drain the pasta.  He managed to get strands of the stuff all
over the place, but most of it eventually wound up on their plates.  It was a
nice meal, but Scully's thoughts kept returning to Mulder, wondering if his
mood was still low, wishing he had stayed for dinner.

Meanwhile, her partner had forcibly pushed all thoughts of Scully and her
"roommate" aside and was trying to concentrate on the case at hand.  He had
gone to Scully's apartment not only with the intention of apologizing, but to
also get her input on the scientific theories involved with the displacement
of the molecules of a human body.  He still thought it possible that the
physicist Helen Culverson had discovered a way to "walk" through solid
objects, thus being able to leave a locked room at the four murder sites here
in D. C.

As he drove to the laboratory, where he intended to confront Dr. Culverson, he
glanced at the glowing digital numbers in the dark car and realized that
Scully and Angel were probably through with dinner by now.  They might have
moved to the sofa, where she would snuggle into his arms and he would run his
hand over that sweater and caress her soft breasts...Shit!  He slammed his
fist onto the top of the dashboard, and then did it again.

Enough with the jealousy, he told himself angrily, admitting that jealousy
was, indeed, exactly what he was feeling.  And I'll study *that* little
admission later, he thought, as he stopped in front of a large, fenced-in
building.

He sat in the car for a second, debating whether or not he should go by the
book and call Scully for backup before venturing into the lab.  But it was a
fleeting thought only, never having a chance for serious consideration.   And
besides, a dark little corner of his mind told him, he would be "interrupting"
Scully and her friend.  He got out of the car and walked through the open
gate.

When he pushed a button by the front entrance, he was answered by an
electronic-sounding voice, asking for identification.  After Mulder gave his
name and title and who he wanted to see, there was a silence, then a metallic
snick as the lock was released in the door.

He had at least expected a security guard, but found the interior hallway
stark and devoid of life. There were several doors in the walls, and one at
the very end of the hall.  He chose that last one to test, and found that it
swung open easily at his touch.  A crawling sensation moved down the back of
his neck and he drew his weapon as a precaution when entering the murky half-
lighted room.  It was enormous, stretching back farther than he could see,
with stacks of crates lining the fifteen-foot high walls, and counters piled
high with lab-type instruments.  Only a few of the fluorescent lights were
working, the rest giving off electrical humming and sparking sounds.  The
floor was just a rough concrete slab.

Mulder shut the door firmly and ventured a few feet into the large room.  Gun
in hand, he increased the pressure of his grip to compensate for the sweat
from his palm.  When he felt the slight breeze of movement behind him, it was
too late to react.  A heavy weight rammed into his back, forcing him to his
knees.  When they connected with the rough concrete, the cloth tore and it
felt as though his knees were losing several layers of skin from the abrading
contact.  Another hard push and he fell forward, slamming into the rough, cold
concrete slab floor.   The breath in his lungs whooshed out and his weapon
skittered over the hard surface, coming to rest just beyond the stunned
agent's reach.

Then it felt as though someone had dropped the Washington Monument onto his
head.  Mulder felt unbelievable pain for a second, and then a blessed, cool
blackness enveloped the world.


Saturday morning, 7:22 AM
Dana Scully's Apartment

Having gone to sleep early the night before, Scully had gotten out of bed at
6:30, made hot tea, and read most of the morning paper.  She had been tiptoing
around in her pajamas, trying not to wake Angel, who was gently snoring on the
opened-up sofa bed.  She stopped for a moment to look down at him and saw that
one long naked leg had escaped from the sheet, and his bare, muscular chest
looked delicious.  She felt a pang that this gorgeous man would never be
interested in her as a woman.  The thought was barely out of her head when his
eyes opened and met hers.

There was some amusement in the depths of Angel's eyes, along with some dark,
indefinable emotion.  He held an arm out to her while the other lifted the
sheet invitingly from his boxer-clad body.  She climbed into bed and willingly
let herself be engulfed against this warm, sleepy man.

After a few minutes, Scully thought she heard a tapping sound, but wasn't
sure, since her ears were partially covered with Angel's arms and chest.  She
snuggled closer, and suddenly felt what had to be a significant erection
against her lower belly.  Startled, she looked up at his face and he grinned.
"I'm not dead, you know.  Actually, it's partially from the dream I was having
when I woke up and partially from a warm body rubbing against me.  Sorry if I
offended you."

Scully noticed that the warm feeling in her lower body wasn't dissipating.
"You didn't offend--"  Suddenly the front door flew open.  Mulder stood in the
doorway, keys in a shaking hand, taking in the scene in front of him before
collapsing quietly to bleed onto her hardwood floor.  

She reached his side in an instant, eyes widening when she saw the head wound.
She wondered with anguish how, with all the head damage he had taken over the
years, he had avoided permanently scrambling that brilliant brain of his.  She
hoped with all her heart that his luck was still holding out.

Angel had quickly pulled on some jeans and was there by Scully's side, seeing
if he could help in any way.  Mulder was conscious, shoving their hands away,
trying to struggle to his feet.  Scully was equally as persistent in trying to
keep him lying down.

Finally, exasperated with his stubbornness, Scully stood, hands on hips, and
declared, "Mulder, you need a hospital.  I'm calling 911 for an ambulance."

He stopped moving and leaned back on his elbows in a partially seated
position.  "Please, no," he whispered.  "Scully, I'll be good and do whatever
you ask.  Just don't send me to the hospital again.  I'm not concussed.  I'll
be all right." 

The pleading look in his light hazel eyes won her over, against her better
judgment.

With a sigh, she asked Angel if he would help get him into the bathroom where
Mulder could sit in the tub on a small bench seat and let a shower wash the
grit and grime off his scraped knees and head wound.  "I'll be able to do a
thorough examination and then disinfect the areas that need it."

Mulder waved Angel off, however, when he tried to lend him a hand.  The surly
agent managed to stand, wobbling a bit, and slowly made his way to the
bathroom.  Scully shook her head in resignation and followed right behind.
She helped him shrug out of his suit coat, then matter-of-factly helped him
remove his tie, shirt, undershirt, shoes, socks and pants.  She left him to
get out of his boxers while she retrieved fresh towels and wash cloths from
the hall linen closet.

"Angel, please keep an eye on him while I get my medical kit," she asked,
handing the towels and wash cloths to her friend.  "Besides, as a practicing
doctor, you're more qualified to know if anything is wrong with him than I
would, since my expertise is with dead people."

He smiled, obediently tapped on the bathroom door lightly and went in.  He saw
that Mulder had turned the water on and was sitting on the bench in the tub,
letting the water cascade over his body.

Angel's breath caught in his throat at seeing this hurt and vulnerable man.
He was beautiful.  The water flowed over his hair, over the closed eyelids and
lashes, down his strong-featured face, over that full lower lip; it rushed
down in sheets across that sculpted back and chest, flattening the hair that
ran from his collarbones down to where his forearm lay across his lap...

With a start, Angel realized that Mulder was slowly toppling sideways.
Lunging forward he caught the agent around the chest, marveling at how soft
Mulder's skin was, yet how firm the muscles under the skin felt. *Oh, God,
where's Dana?* was all he could frantically think when he realized how
inappropriately turned on he was getting.

Scully walked in the door at that moment and saw his dilemma.  Placing her
medical kit on the counter, she sat on the edge of the tub and checked
Mulder's respiration and reactions, satisfying herself that he had just fallen
asleep.  Angel confirmed her conclusions when he said, "I think he's OK.  It's
just the blood loss and a natural escape from the trauma he's been through."

He continued to hold Mulder upright while Scully quickly shampooed and rinsed
her partner's hair, taking care to get the scalp wound clean, and then ran a
soapy washcloth gently over his abraded knees.  This served to wake him up,
and his eyes were indignant when he muttered, "Do you *mind*?  I don't need a
bathroom full of people while I'm taking a shower."

Scully ignored him, knowing what a grump he could be when injured and being
tended to.  Angel took the hint, however, and left the room.

She turned the water off, grabbed a towel and draped it over his head.

"Here, Mulder.  Dry yourself off, then put on the sweat pants and shirt I set
over there for you."

He pulled the towel from his head so that he could look at the expensive store
label hanging from the well-made outfit, and raised his eyebrows in a silent
question.  For the first time, however, he was getting a good look at Scully
and his eyebrows rose even higher.  She still was wearing her pajamas, which
were now wet from her contact with him in the shower.

Scully realized suddenly what he must be seeing, and chose to simply ignore
it, returning to the subject of the sweats.

"I bought them as a birthday present for my brother Charles, but I'm sure you
need them more than he does at the moment."  She showed him a tube of
antibacterial ointment lying next to the clothes.  "And put this on your knees
before getting into the sweat pants.  There's gauze and tape next to it, all
ready to put over the scrapes.  If you need help with it, holler, and I'll do
it for you.  When you're done, I'll put something on the scalp wound."

Mulder had wrapped the towel around his waist, stepped out of the tub, and
reached for the pants.  Since he was obviously going to get dressed even with
her standing near him in the close confines of the bathroom, Scully beat a
hasty retreat, closing the door behind her.

She ran to her bedroom and changed clothes, donning her jeans and a denim
shirt.  Once she rejoined Angel in the living room, Scully told him, "Thanks
for helping me with Mulder.  He can be a handful sometimes."

Angel smiled.  "But a nice handful, don't you agree?"

Scully's gaze hit his full force as she said, "Oh, God.  It never occurred to
me..."

"Don't worry.  I'm very honorable.  Besides, it's so soon after Ken...I only
wanted to tease you when I asked earlier if I could have a shot at him.  It's
pretty obvious that he's only interested in you."

Scully looked shocked.

"Dana, it's obvious even to me that the man was jealous as hell when he saw me
here in your apartment doing the domesticated bit."

She started to whisper, "We can't..." when her eye was caught by a shimmering
near the front door.  The quivering, out-of-focus air mass coalesced into a
tall, curvaceous brunette wearing a white lab coat.  She stood there, grinning
at them, and Scully and Angel could only stare.  If Scully didn't know better,
she'd have sworn the woman had just walked through the wall.

(Continued in Part 2)



THE ANGEL AND THE FOX    (2/4)
By Gerry Hill   (fox42@ix.netcom.com)

Even though Scully had seen the woman materialize in front of her, she could
not bring herself to believe that she had truly "walked" through a wall.  And
the woman seemed to recognize this disbelief.

"What's the matter, Dr. Scully?  Can't trust your own eyes?"  Dr. Culverson
seemed to be amused, although her eyes remained deadly serious.  Scully
suddenly noticed the gun that their intruder was holding at her side.

"Now, where is Agent Mulder?  I have some unfinished business with him.  He
pulled his own magic trick and arose after his death.  I'm not pleased that I
had to go searching for him when I have so much to get done."  She looked
thoughtful.  "Well, to be truthful, after a taste of his mind, I recognized an
irresistible urge to play with it just a bit more."

As if on cue Mulder came wandering out of the bathroom in his new sweats,
holding one hand to his aching head, and the other grasping the waistband of
the pants to keep them from sliding down his hips.

"Hey, Scully, got a safety-pin?"  He stopped abruptly when he realized they
had a visitor.

Then three people saw three different things happen at once.  Mulder saw Dr.
Culverson raise her weapon and shoot Scully and Angel point-blank in the head.
Blood and brain matter flew outward, spattering onto the sofa and floor while
their bodies crumpled bonelessly.  Mulder's scream of agony was ripped from
his lungs and from his heart.

Meanwhile, Scully saw Dr. Culverson shoot Mulder three times in the chest; he
fell mortally wounded to the floor, blood everywhere.  Her anguished cry ended
when a blow caught her on the head and she lost consciousness.

Angel's personal illusion was to see Scully and Mulder die, shot several times
each, while he stared on in horror.  Then he, too, experienced oblivion when
he was knocked unconscious.

Holding her gun on a grief-stricken Mulder, Dr. Culverson was pleased with the
results of her little experiment.  She had never tried to cause three
hallucinations at once with three different people, but it seemed to have
worked beautifully.

"Your friends are dead, Agent Mulder," she told the swaying, stunned agent.
"As you will be in a second.  I just wanted to enjoy your pain before I kill
you."

Mulder didn't much care what would happen to himself, as he felt a madness
settle over his mind, taking over his body's reactions and movements.  With an
enraged roar he sprang at the surprised doctor, grabbing her wrist before she
could think to pull the trigger of the gun.  His movements were so fast that
she found herself slamming into the floor with a violence that shoved the
breath out of her lungs before she could quite comprehend what was going on.

She was still fighting to get air back into her starving lungs when Mulder's
strong hand closed around her throat.  His other hand, still holding her gun
hand immobile, suddenly ripped the gun free.  It was a revolver, and he cocked
it, moving the next chamber in line with the pin.  He pointed the barrel at
her right eye, his finger tightening on the trigger.

Dr. Culverson's heels were beating against the floor as she fought to find
air.  Her vision was fading quickly with her body's cells screaming for
oxygen.  But that wouldn't be what killed her, a small part of her mind noted.
The bullet Mulder was about to put into her brain would do that.

"Mulder..."  A small sound behind the agent floated to his ears as he
straddled the doctor he was about to execute.  He listened for another sound
even as his finger tightened further on the trigger.

"Don't.  Mulder, please..." came Scully's whisper, making his aim slightly
waver.  He very nearly fired the weapon then, due to the tremor running
through his hand in reaction to his partner's voice.

Abruptly sitting back, he released Dr. Culverson's throat and raised the gun
away from her face.  Immediately she twisted to one side choking and gasping
desperately, unable to breathe properly.  Mulder ignored her, having turned
his wild-looking eyes toward the impossibly alive Scully.  She was sitting up
and gingerly touching her head, wincing at the pain.

Mulder scooted off the doctor's now unconscious body to crawl over to Scully's
side.  He tentatively reached out and touched her cheek, feeling its smooth
warmth.  He couldn't help himself then, and pulled her against him in a fierce
embrace.

Scully returned the hug but only for a moment.  She pushed back slightly and
said, "We have to check Angel.  He's hurt, too."

Mulder immediately backed off and his expression became unreadable.  Except
for his eyes...Scully felt a pang at the hurt she saw there.  "Mulder, it
isn't what you think."  She could see, though, that he had put up his walls
again and wasn't listening.  Well, she couldn't waste time with his jealousy
or feelings of rejection or whatever was bothering him.  She deliberately
avoided thinking about *why* he would have any cause to be jealous to begin
with.

Scully moved over to Angel, who was still unconscious.  Blood trickled from a
cut at his hairline.  She saw that he would have quite a bump there later, but
a look at his eyes didn't indicate a concussion.  She thought he would be all
right.  Her own head was throbbing viciously, reminding her of her own injury,
and she thought all three of them to be lucky, with no evident concussions to
show for the blows their heads had taken.

That left Dr. Culverson.  Scully'd had a taste of what she could do and
figured they would have to keep her unconscious for their own safety.  She
really doubted that the woman could actually walk through a wall, but it was
better to take precautions.  After all, *something* had happened, and
handcuffs might not be enough to ensure that it didn't happen again.

Scully retrieved her medical kit from the closet, took out a syringe and a
small bottle, and asked Mulder to help her.  He nodded and held the doctor's
arm steady for the injection.

He noted that Dr. Culverson was breathing properly again, and was beginning to
regain consciousness.  In fact, her eyes widened at the sight of the needle as
she became aware of her surroundings.  But thank God for Scully; she moved
quickly, pushing the plunger home even as Mulder felt the tickling of
something at the edges of his mind.

He dropped the doctor's arm and spun on Scully, seeing her bringing another
filled syringe to bear on him.  He shoved her onto her back, diving for the
syringe at the same time.  Mulder found himself lying across Scully's body,
holding her arm against the floor, her hand clutching an empty syringe.  Her
bewildered eyes stared up into his, but they were slowly clearing. 

"Mulder?"

His quick mind was rapidly sifting through all that had recently happened, and
he shuddered as he made connections and conclusions.   The unwelcome memory of
Robert Modell had occurred to him.  The mind control that man had exhibited
was certainly not something he ever wanted to re-live.

He realized suddenly that he was still lying on Scully, staring into her
slightly bemused eyes.

As he scrambled to get off her, he was embarrassed to realize that the loose
sweat pants had slipped much lower than was decent in polite company.

"Shit," he muttered, desperately pulling them higher as he stood.

Although uncertain as to what was going on, Scully had to bite back a smile at
his dilemma.

"I'll trade a safety pin for your telling me what the hell you were doing,"
she offered.

With an exasperated huff, he said, "Scully, that woman has been causing us to
see things that weren't really happening.   It's a form of hypnosis, although
it certainly goes beyond that.  Before the drug you gave her took effect, she
caused me to "see" you trying to stab me with another full syringe."

Scully looked down at the woman in disbelief, but thought that Mulder's theory
would explain a lot of things, including how she saw Mulder being killed, when

he obviously was still alive and in somewhat good health.

Like Mulder, the thought of mind-control frightened her a good deal.  The
memory of Modell forcing Mulder to play Russian roulette by first putting a
gun to his own head and then pointing it at hers was not a thing she wanted to
recall.

Without a word she went into a back room and returned with a large dangerous-
looking safety pin, telling Mulder with a straight face, "Be careful where you
stick this."

He cringed at the picture *that* conjured up, and carefully fastened the side
of the pants at the waist.  Scully called the D.C. police meanwhile, and also
took a moment to inform their boss, AD Skinner, what was happening.  She was
somewhat surprised that he took the news with a calm acceptance, only asking
that they keep him updated on future developments.

As she disconnected, she heard Mulder call, "Scully.  Your friend is waking
up."

Sure enough, she could see Angel sitting with a hand to his head looking with
bewilderment at a live Mulder and Scully.  When she knelt on one knee at his
side, he surprised his friend by pulling her off-balance against his chest and
tightly hugging the small body.  "You're alive," he whispered in her ear.

Scully pushed back and said, "Yes, that was apparently an illusion.  We're all
OK, thank God."

Angel let her go, but saw Mulder's dark-eyed stare eating holes through him
from across the room.  Dammit, I'm screwing this up for them completely, he
was thinking.  After we're done with the cops, I need to take him aside and
set him straight about Dana's and my relationship.

Sirens proclaimed the arrival of the police.  Looking out the window, Scully
saw a marked car with colored lights flashing, as well as one unmarked police
vehicle and an ambulance.

The emergency medical technicians entered first, and Scully got them started
on checking Angel over.  Mulder's eyes narrowed and he thought what Scully
might do to him if she knew what her partner had in mind for treating "poor"
Angel's wound.

It wasn't long before Scully's apartment was full of people milling around.
Mulder sighed with relief at seeing a detective walk into the room with whom
he had worked in the past.  Joe Lassiter was a six-foot-five African-American
who outweighed Mulder by a hundred pounds at least.  He was solid, not much
fat, and was already losing hair at the relatively young age of 38.  When he
saw Mulder he came to a dead stop and groaned. 

"I knew my day was going too good to last," he griped, but put out his hand to
shake Mulder's when it was offered.  "What kind of trouble are you in now?" he
asked glumly.

Mulder was grinning at him, knowing his dour exterior was just an act.  This
man was probably the most intelligent officer in D.C., and had a dry sense of
humor that had reduced Mulder to helpless laughter on several occasions.

"Detective Lassiter, it's great to see you again."

"Mmm hmmm.  Now that the niceties are out of the way, let's hear your sorry
tale."

Mulder got down to business and told him everything, starting with his
suspicions on his case, the visit to the lab, and what had happened here in
the apartment.  During this explanation, Detective Lassiter's expression went
from patient listener to sympathetic friend, to incredulous cop.

"Come on, Mulder.  Jeez, but you're a monumental pain in the butt.  I can't
tell that story in my report and expect to have it swallowed whole by the
judicial system.  Let's see.  According to you, this woman is a mad scientist
who can control your mind and make you see and believe things are happening
that really aren't happening.  You say that she's killed some people and was
about to kill you."

He pinned Mulder with his pissed off glare and said, "So you're still into
this creepy, paranormal shit.  Man, I don't need this.  If I had known you
were involved when the call came in, I would have sent Cruz.  Being ten years
younger, she can take the aggravation."

Mulder kept quiet, knowing that Lassiter just needed to blow off steam before
buckling down to work on the case.

"So how are we supposed to keep this doctor incarcerated if she can control
our minds?"  It was obvious that Lassiter was trying to keep the annoyance out
of his voice.

Mulder's simply said, "Keep her sedated; that's what we did."

Lassiter snorted.  "Yeah, right.  I can just hear the lawyers screaming about
that one.  Talk about violating a person's rights before they're even formally
charged."

"Well, she's going to escape if you don't keep her from projecting her own
version of reality, Joe."

"And you're really serious about what she can do?"

"Very."

He thought about it for a minute, muttered about "next he'll be telling me
she's a mind-sucking alien," and then called a few of the officers over to
him.

Mulder wandered over to the sofa and sank into a cushion with a sigh.  He was
going to stay out of the way and let Detective Lassiter set up a plan for
keeping Doctor Culverson in custody.  Besides, the tall, gorgeous redhead who
was currently on her hands and knees doing her forensics job was much more fun
to watch.  But she finished her work, packed up her camera and plastic
evidence bags, and left much too soon.

Then he saw Scully approach Lassiter and get involved in the discussion going
on there.  After a few minutes, Lassiter pulled out his notebook again and
began jotting down items of interest as his partner apparently was giving her
version of recent events.

Mulder saw Angel headed his way and ignored him, hoping he would get the hint.
But then he felt the sofa cushions dip slightly as Angel sat down next to him.
Dammit.  Now to try and be civil, for Scully's sake.

"Agent Mulder, I..."

"Just 'Mulder' is fine."

"OK, Mulder.  I want you to know that Dana and I are..."

"Sorry, but I really don't want to hear about it."  Mulder realized that he
was already beyond being civil.

"We're not..."

"Enough, already!"  Mulder's voice cracked and he felt dangerously close to
throttling the guy, even if he were taller and more muscular.

"I'm gay."

That...was interesting, Mulder thought.  His memory flashed back to the bare-
chested Angel with his arms around his own naked body in the shower.  A blush
instantly formed and he hoped it wasn't too obvious. 

Angel, however, didn't miss the blush and was quick to reassure Mulder.
"Don't worry.  I may be attracted to you, but that doesn't mean I'd do
anything about it."  Nothing like being honest, he thought.

But Mulder was far from being reassured.  "You're attracted to me?" he
practically squeaked in dismay.

"Uh, yeah.  But, like I said, you won't ever even notice it.  I would never
want to come between you and Dana.  Unless you wanted me to, of course."

Mulder looked Angel in the eyes for the first time during the conversation.
"Scully knows that you're, um, gay?"

"Sure.  Since we first met in college."

Mulder looked thoughtful at that news.  "So she knew I would think that you
were sleeping with her when I dropped by earlier."

Angel nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

Mulder had a big grin on his face, thinking that Scully wouldn't have given
him the wrong impression for any other reason than to make him jealous.  And
the only reason he could see for that, was because she knew how he felt about
her.  Carrying that thought further, she must feel the same about him.  Oh,
God.  He was getting into some scary territory, here.  Then an evil idea
occurred to him.

"Angel, would you be willing to go along with something if it means that I can
get my revenge on Scully for misleading me?"

"That depends.  Dana isn't someone you want to mess with, if you know what I
mean."

Mulder nodded thoughtfully.  "Yeah.  But she deserves having the tables turned
on her for once."

He looked at Angel and said, "Would you go with it if I gave her the
impression that we're, uh, mutually attracted?"

Angel frowned.  "You're not, though.  Are you?"  There was a wistful note in
the last question, Mulder noticed.

"No, sorry," he was quick to reply.

"Well, I don't like lying to her, but I have to agree that she should have
cleared up our
relationship from the beginning with you.  OK, I'll go along, but only long
enough to teach her a lesson."

"Great."  He smiled.  "Thanks."

The timing was perfect, since Scully approached them just at that moment.  She
had apparently taken a minute to change out of her casual clothes and looked
very professional wearing a cream-colored blouse with a navy blue skirt and
jacket.

"Detective Lassiter needs us to go to the precinct with him, since this is
such an unusual case.  There are some things that have to be verified and he
is requesting a copy of our case file on the other murders that you're
attributing to the doctor."

"Scully, I'm sure you can handle that yourself, since both of us aren't
needed.  Besides," he said, as he looked down at himself, "I'm hardly dressed
for work."

"And what were you planning to do?" she said, with a questioning look.

"I'm going to help Angel move his things over to my place.  We're finding that
we have a lot in common and want a chance to get to know each other better."

Scully's mouth dropped open as she stared at him.  She didn't know what to say
for a full minute, and just looked from one to the other.

Finally, she found her voice.  "Angel, did you tell Mulder about..."

"Yep.  He's fine with it, Dana.  He has a very open mind, open to new
experiences."

Angel and Mulder smiled at each other.

Dana thought she was going to be ill.

Their attention was drawn to the removal of the unconscious Doctor Culverson's
body on a gurney, accompanied by several uniformed officers.  Apparently
everyone was clearing out of the apartment.  Detective Lassiter stood at the
front door tapping his foot, impatiently waiting for the two agents.

She turned back to Angel and asked, "So you're not going to stay with me?  I
thought we were going to catch up on everything."

"We can still do that, Dana.  I'll be over to pester you tomorrow."

She nodded and walked toward the increasingly impatient detective, turning
once to look back at her two friends.  Mulder was definitely in Angel's
personal space, nodding at something Angel was telling him.  Very cozy.  She
bit her lower lip and went out with Detective Lassiter.

As the door shut, Mulder smiled slowly.

Angel closed his eyes, feeling the tall agent's body heat as he stood next to
him, and mentally groaned.  This was not easy.  He was aware of Mulder's
closeness, of his breath and heartbeat, and ached to hold the man against his
own body.

Mulder sensed this turmoil and stepped back abruptly, looking distinctly ill-
at-ease.

Angel flushed, embarrassed that the other man had picked up so quickly on his
feelings.

"Did you really mean for me to move over to your apartment?" he asked, testing
how far Mulder wanted to go with this deception.

"No, not unless you want to, and need a place to crash for awhile.  I have to
admit that I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable with this situation and I would
just as soon things got back to normal.  God knows what Scully must be
thinking is going on here."

Angel's mouth twitched as he thought about her incredulous expression when
Mulder told her they wanted to get to "know each other better."

Mulder caught the attempt Angel was making not to laugh, and before long they
were both snickering, then full-out roaring at the situation.

It took a few minutes but they finally calmed down, wiping their eyes and
stifling a stray snort now and then.  Mulder wandered into the kitchen and
called out, "Want anything?  We didn't have breakfast."

Angel called back, "Just some juice," and began picking up fallen cushions and
knocked-over items in an attempt to make the place more presentable.  Dana was
going to be pissed at the mess in here, he was thinking.

As he stood up from straightening out a rumpled throw-rug, he was met with a
hand offering a full glass of orange juice.  He accepted it gratefully, but
nearly dropped the glass when his eyes met the beautiful hazel ones which were
frankly appraising him.

"Mulder," he said with a tremor in his voice.  "I don't think we should hang
out together.  I just might throw you down and have my way with you."

The agent first paled, then a flush suffused his features.  "Nothing like
being open and honest, huh?"

They finished their drinks and then Mulder said, "I'm going over to my
apartment and get cleaned up.  Then I had better go see if I can give Scully a
hand, since I promised I wouldn't run out on her any more."  He was clearly
uncomfortable, not meeting Angel's eyes.

After gathering his ruined clothing and other belongings, he tucked them under
one arm and proffered his free hand to the man who was hovering nearby.

They shook hands with a firm grip, Mulder once again giving Angel a searching
look, then he was gone.  Angel barely made it to the sofa where he collapsed,
his hand clutched to his chest.  Christ, he was thinking; after nearly losing
it when Ken left, what do I do?  Fall completely for someone who can never
return those feelings.  Now what, you stupid bastard?  And what about Dana?
You assured her that you were "honorable" and wouldn't come between them.
Jesus, what a sorry fuckup you are.

(Continued in Part 3)



THE ANGEL AND THE FOX    (3/4)
By Gerry Hill   (fox42@ix.netcom.com)

It didn't take long for Mulder to change his clothes once he reached his
apartment.  Having shed the borrowed sweat suit over the arm of a chair on his
way to the bedroom, he grabbed a clean shirt, underwear, socks and his dark
blue suit.  He only hesitated over a tie, then grabbed one that he hadn't yet
worn.  It was dark gray with tiny little yellow eyes all over it.  To anyone
who didn't have his nose up against the tie, it would simply look like an odd-
shaped polka-dot pattern.

When he pulled up his boxers and then his pants, he was careful not to disturb
the gauze over his knees.  He noticed there was a little blood seeping
through, which was probably from when he had to bend his knees sitting down in
the car, causing the healing skin to split open again.  It had stung like
hell, he recalled.  His head sported a good-sized knot where he had been
blind-sided, but there wasn't anything he could do about it but to take
several more aspirin.

Once in the car, he dialed Scully's cel phone number.

"Scully."

"Hey, Scully, where are you?"

"Mulder?  I'm in my car on the way to St. Elizabeth's Hospital, where they're
temporarily keeping Dr. Culverson under guard.  Someone higher up was
scandalized at the 'blatant violation of her rights.'  The upshot is that he's
convinced a judge to order her released from sedation so that she can enlist a
lawyer's help in defending herself.  I'm trying to reach the place before she
wakes up."

There was a silence over the line as Mulder thought about the consequences of
an awake Doctor Culverson.

"Scully, don't go to the hospital."

"What?  I have to."

"Dammit, Scully, listen to me.  Forget your senses of duty, professionalism,
and whatever else gets your clock running and stay the hell away from that
hospital!"

Silence.  Uh, oh, that didn't go over well.  Mulder reminded himself too late
that she didn't react kindly to direct commands, especially when told to trash
her whole code of ethics.  He had a sickening sense of failure and stepped on
the gas pedal.  The hospital was about half an hour away.  He could do it in
twenty minutes if he ignored all traffic regulations and didn't get himself
killed.

Scully's voice in his ear startled him, she had been silent for so long.  She
was sweetly saying, "Angel likes to play games, Mulder.  Why don't you pull
out your 'Alien Invader' and knock his socks off?"  Her voice suddenly melted
into a snarl.  "And I'll just do the job that we're being paid for."  She
disconnected.

Ouch.  Mulder knew he deserved that, and it looked as though his little joke
with Angel had worked too well.

He narrowly missed having about six accidents, but finally screeched his car
to a stop in front of the hospital.  He left the door hanging open as he
practically fell out of the car and headed for the entrance.  The sliding
glass doors parted too slowly for him and they barely cleared his body as he
passed impatiently through, on his way to the front desk.

Having his ID open and ready, he asked, "Doctor Helen Culverson is being held
here by the police.  Could you please tell me where can I find her room?  My
partner, Special Agent Dana Scully, should have already arrived." 

The clerk was actually helpful and directed him to the third floor.  He took
the stairs and soon was standing outside the closed door to Room 311.

So where are the fucking guards, he was thinking, realizing that something was
very wrong with this picture.  He un-holstered his gun and held it pointing at
the ceiling, both hands gripping it tightly.  Pushing the door cautiously with
his foot, it swung slowly open, stopping with a bump against the sole of
someone's foot.

Mulder slipped into the room through the partially-opened door, briefly noting
that the body on the floor was that of a police officer with a badly bleeding
head wound.  Dr. Culverson lay in the hospital bed in front of him with her
eyes closed.  Some movement to the agent's right caused him to reflexively
bring his gun to bear on that area of the room.

Despite a part of his mind telling him to beware of how the doctor could twist
reality, Mulder found himself aghast at the sight of a tall blonde man holding
a wicked-looking knife tightly against his partners neck.  As he watched in
horror, blood began to trickle from where the knife was breaking the skin.
Scully's body was rigid with fear, her eyes closed tightly.

The agent reacted according to his training and yelled, "Federal agent!  Drop
the weapon and put your hands in the air!"  The man took no notice of him, but
grinned and told his terrified partner, "Say goodby to your friend,
sweetheart."

Mulder knew he had to decide in a heartbeat what to do, since the attacker was
clearly about to cut her throat.  The knife pressed harder and the blood
flowing down the whiteness of her throat was more than a trickle now.

His finger tightened on the trigger of his weapon.

Coming to a split-second decision and fervently praying that he was doing the
right thing, he swivelled toward the figure in the bed and fired one round.
Dr. Culverson saw his movement and desperately tried to change his mind with
another image, but the bullet smashed into her head before the thought could
form.  Which had been his intention.

Seeing that Culverson wasn't a threat anymore, Mulder turned back toward
Scully, afraid of what he might find.  He could finally breathe again when he
saw that she seemed to be all right.   His partner was standing next to a
middle-aged man with thinning brown hair and glasses who appeared to be a
staff doctor, judging by the name tag which identified him as "Dr. P.
Richards."  Both Scully and Dr. Richards looked pale and were staring at
Mulder in shock.

Several nurses, an orderly, and a couple of doctors showed up to check out the
gunshot.  Most of them hastily departed when they saw Mulder with a gun in his
hand.  One of the doctors had the presence of mind to call 911 on his cel
phone.  The second doctor saw that the woman on the bed was beyond help, and
began examining the man on the floor.

Mulder wearily re-holstered his gun and said, "Scully, tell me what happened
in here after you arrived."

Still stunned after watching her partner kill the woman on the bed, she
hesitated, then replied, "When I got here,  there was no guard outside the
room.  I entered to find Dr. Richards and the guard struggling with each
other.  Dr. Richards was able to knock the man to the floor and he hit his
head on the metal frame of the bed as he fell.  There's a bad gash over his
temple.  He's alive, but I wasn't able to revive him."

Dr. Richards spoke up at this point.  "The guard attacked me when I stopped to
check on the patient.  He kept screaming and seemed quite demented."

Scully touched Mulder's arm and said, "Then you showed up, pointing your gun
at Dr. Richards, acting as though you were going to kill him.  But instead,
you killed Dr. Culverson."  Her eyes were full of questions.

Mulder was well-aware of her shock at his actions; they mirrored his own.  He
was deeply affected by what he had done, but knew they would all have died had
he not taken Dr. Culverson out of the picture completely.  OK, that was a cop-
out.  He hadn't "taken her out of the picture."  He had shot and killed her.
Get used to it, he harshly told himself.

"What the hell are you people doing screwing up a crime scene?!"  The loud
voice floated in from the hallway, announcing Detective Lassiter's arrival.
When he entered the room it seemed to shrink by half its size to accommodate
his presence.

Immediately planting himself in front of Mulder, his nose inches from the
agent's nose, he said forcefully, "I raced over here when I was told about the
judge's order.  Obviously, I didn't make it in time.  What the fuck happened?"

With a stony expression, Mulder stated, "I shot and killed Dr. Culverson,
believing she was going to kill my partner, myself and probably several
others."

Lassiter digested this news, then walked over to the bed.  Refraining from
disturbing the scene, he looked around, then asked Mulder what he had used as
a weapon.  Mulder pushed his suit coat aside on the right, indicating his gun.

Lassiter mutely took possession of the weapon and dropped it into a plastic
evidence bag.  While marking it, he morosely noted, "There's no sign that the
victim was armed.  You killed that apparently defenseless woman in her
hospital bed."  He looked into Mulder's eyes and shook his head.  "You're
fucked, man.  I know that you told me she was controlling minds, but who's
going to believe that?"

Scully spoke up, when it was obvious that her partner was not going to
respond.

"Detective, you have myself, Mulder and Mr. Aguilar as witnesses to the damage
she caused to us at my apartment.  And as for this incident at the hospital,
you have Dr. Richards, the guard who was injured, myself, and Mulder for
verification of her strange and lethal...abilities."

There was a lot of talking, negotiating, a few phone calls, the taking of
detailed statements from all involved, and some stretching of the rules before
Lassiter finally lost his temper, telling Scully, "Fine!  He's all yours.  As
an officer of the law, he's in your custody for the time being.  Take him
home, keep an eye on him, and be prepared for a probable arrest."

It was nearly 1:00 PM by then, so Scully turned to her partner and said she
would follow him to his apartment, where he could pack up some things, then go
to her place for a late lunch.

As they took an elevator down to the lobby, Mulder was arguing with her.  "I'm
not going to be babysat."

"You don't really have a choice, Mulder.  You heard the detective.  I'm
supposed to keep an eye on you so they can pull you in if they have to.  This
case is far from over."  She glanced up at him from the corners of her eyes
and commented, "You can bring Angel along with you.  The two of you seem to be
getting along quite well."

Mulder had forgotten that she thought Angel had moved to his apartment.

"He's still at your place, Scully.  Listen, he and I..."

"Please, Mulder.  I really don't want to hear about your mutual admiration
society with Angel right now."

They were exiting the elevator, and she could see him clench his teeth as he
refrained from commenting.

Scully deftly changed the subject.  "Do you want to call Skinner, or shall I?"

At the look on his face, she quickly said, "Don't worry, I'll give him a call
and let him know what's happening."

As she settled into her car she watched her partner's lanky frame moving
slower than usual toward his own vehicle down the row.  She waited for a few
minutes after he disappeared, but there was no sign of his car leaving the
parking space.  Worried, Scully got back out and approached the rear of his
familiar vehicle.  He was inside but he wasn't moving.

When she opened the driver's door, Mulder didn't react to her presence.  His
eyes were closed and his forehead was pressed against the steering wheel; his
hands gripped the wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"Mulder," she began, placing her hand on his taut shoulder.

A shuddering sigh escaped him.  He lifted his head to stare out of the
windshield, but his expression was difficult to read.

"Let's go, Scully.  I'm OK."

She could clearly see that he was far from OK, but also realized that he
wasn't going to bare his soul to her right here in a parking lot.

"I'll meet you at your apartment," she said, giving his shoulder a pat.  

It took a little more than an hour to drive to Mulder's apartment, pick up
some overnight things, and then drive over to Scully's place.

After Scully unlocked the door, Mulder strode into the living room and threw
his bag into a corner.  Angel had been dozing on the sofa and sat bolt upright
at the sudden noise.

The first thing he saw was Mulder with a sad and defeated air, standing
forlornly with his hands on his hips in the middle of the room.  Angel asked,
"Are you all right?" as he got to his feet and approached the silent agent.

In reply, Mulder shook his head no and closed his eyes for just a moment.

Angel moved to come closer, but Mulder held a forefinger up in a cautionary
way.  The agent's gaze locked with the other man's and Angel bore the full
impact of stormy hazel eyes darkened with raw emotion.  Then Mulder turned
without a word, walked down the hall and they heard a door close.

Angel turned to Scully for an explanation, but she was mentally berating
herself for not seeing back in the hospital just how deeply her partner had
been affected by his part in the execution of Dr. Culverson.  He had shot
Modell in a similar fashion when Modell's mind control over Mulder had been
temporarily broken.  But his reaction that time had been horror at how close
he himself had come to killing Scully under Modell's direction.

This time was different.  This time he had killed a woman who had been lying
in a hospital bed.  She hadn't held his mind captive as Modell had.  She had
merely provided visions and images to confuse him and to cause him to take
actions that he normally wouldn't have taken.

Scully was thinking that Mulder had never shot anyone unless it had been a
matter of life or death.  Killing Dr. Culverson *had* been such a situation,
but now he might be thinking how he could have handled it in a less lethal
manner.  He had an infinite capacity for guilt, unfortunately.

In the bathroom, Mulder gripped the edge of the lavatory and leaned forward to
stare at his face in the mirror.  After a moment of solemn contemplation he
took his suit coat off and hung it on the hook at the back of the door.  Once
his tie had been removed as well, and his shirt sleeves rolled up, he splashed
his face with cold water.  After repeating the ablution, Mulder remained bent
over the lavatory, his face in his hands.  A raw, harsh sound was ripped from
his throat, and then another.  He would have screamed and wept in his rage at
what had happened and what was still to come.  But he wasn't by himself to
indulge in the release.  After a moment he took a deep breath and, using a
nearby towel, roughly dried his face.

During this time Scully had explained to her friend what had happened at the
hospital.  She tried to convey why she thought that Mulder had reacted to
Angel the way he had.  Scully described just how deeply her partner had been
affected by the taking of the woman's life and the searing guilt he must be
feeling.

"How can he keep doing this to himself and still function, if he takes the
weight of the world onto his shoulders every time?" Angel wondered aloud.

Scully could only shake her head, wondering about that very thing and not for
the first time.

"Angel, could I ask you a question?   I don't expect an answer if it makes you
feel uncomfortable or if it's none of my business."

He said, "Oh, God.  Is this one of those Jerry Springer-like questions where
you empathetically ask me about my love life?"

She smiled, then hesitated.  "Well, not really, but sort of.  What's going on
with you and Mulder?  You had said initially that you weren't ready for
another commitment.  You also said that there was something between Mulder and
myself that you wouldn't interfere with."

Angel had the grace to blush.  "I still don't intend to ruin what you two
have, but I'll have to admit that it has been getting more and more difficult
since I sort of...fell in love with him."


The two friends looked into each other's eyes; Scully, with shock, and Angel,
with a guilty happiness.

The subject of their discussion walked into the room at that moment,
hesitating only for a second before sitting down on the sofa.  With his knees
wide apart and the un-injured arm stretched out along the back of the sofa
cushions, he appeared to be very relaxed.  Studying the two friends through
his lashes, his eyes took on a sleepy, hooded look.

Scully and Angel found separate chairs in which to sit.  They were both
beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable under Mulder's silent scrutiny.

"I've got some things to say to you both," he began, then asked, "Do you each
want the other to leave while I get into some personal matters?"

Angel shrugged his unconcern and Scully shook her head, motioning with her
hand to continue.  They both were burning with curiosity.

With no further hesitation, Mulder turned his full attention toward Angel.

"I'm an insatiably curious person, Angel.  Scully will tell you that I'll go
to great lengths to satisfy that curiosity, often getting into trouble because
of it."  He paused, then went on, saying, "If you and I were to really start a
physical relationship, you would get hurt."

Angel looked startled that Mulder would have even considered the idea.  He
opened his mouth to reply, but Mulder held up a quieting hand and said, "Let
me finish and then you two can take your shots.  I like you a lot, Angel, but
any sex between us would only be to satisfy that raging curiosity of mine.
There wouldn't be any lasting love sworn or even pretended.  Then I would get
back to my job and my obsessions, leaving you to find your own way to whatever
it is you want in life.  But it wouldn't include me."

His honest and open gaze held Angel's stricken brown eyes for what seemed an
eternity.  Then it was his partner's turn.

Hazel eyes seemed to draw her into their depths, and she felt apprehensive,
wondering what was coming.  If the brutal truth he had given Angel was any
indication of what he had to say to her, she could hardly wait for the blow to
land.

"Scully...I've loved you for a very long time, although I've tried to hide it
from both you and myself."  She blinked in surprise, that he would say this
now.  "I think you have strong feelings for me, as well, but I don't know if
they can be called love.  And I'm not pushing you to tell me."

Scully doubted that she could have said anything at all, she was so stunned.
Vaguely aware that Angel had gotten to his feet, she found that there was no
attention to spare for him; it was all riveted on her partner.

"We're at sort of a crossroads here, Scully.  I may be going to prison for
what happened today, and/or lose my job, or maybe they'll let everything go
back to normal, where I can revert to being the self-centered jerk I've always
been.  But I wanted you to know how I feel in case..." His voice trailed off.

Gazing into Mulder's sincere hazel eyes, Scully said in a strained voice,
"Angel, would you leave us alone for a little while?"

As the front door closed signaling that they were alone, Scully got to her
feet and moved over to stand in front of  Mulder.  This gave her the height
advantage, but also managed to place her between his legs.  The awkwardness of
her position wasn't lost on either one of them.

"How dare you?" she demanded.  Mulder looked startled.  "You should have
simply taken him aside in private for that little revelation.  To tell Angel
something like that, with me as an audience, had to have embarrassed him to
death, not to mention the damage you probably did to the heart he had bared to
you.  So you have everything all figured out, Agent Mulder, and to hell with
anyone else's input, opinions or feelings."

She was getting pissed off enough to tell him how she really felt despite that
pitiful hurt look on his face.  Well, he started it.

"By the way, I love you, too."  There, she had finally said it, and the look
on his face was priceless.  He slowly closed his eyes as his mouth relaxed
into a happy, relieved smile.  But she wasn't done with him yet.

"And yes, you're a selfish bastard; you got that part right."  She could see
that the remark had hit a tender spot.  Good.  She decided to move on to the
Culverson case and then get back to carving a chunk out of his hide later.

"I don't think you'll be serving time, either; at least, not the prison kind.
They'll have Modell's file which documents that such a thing as mind control
can happen.  They'll also have witnesses to how dangerous that woman was.  And
in the case where someone seemed to 'walk through walls' and commit murders,
the prints found at the scenes will undoubtedly prove to be hers."

She paused and moved closer to him.  Her knees were now touching the insides
of his thighs. The corner of his mouth twitched.

"You said something about loving me, Scully?"  She noticed that his voice was
rougher and lower than normal.

She wanted to let go and simply love this man, but steeled herself and backed
off both mentally and physically.  Ignoring his question, she sat down next to
him instead of obeying her body's demands.

"What brought all this out today?" she quietly asked.

Mulder's gaze told her that he knew what she was feeling and was willing to
wait for her to make a move.  "I was convinced that the basis of Dr.
Culverson's abilities was a form of hypnosis.  I didn't think that she
possessed any other exotic tricks up her sleeve.  I still believe that she
found me at your apartment the old-fashioned way: She followed me when I left
the warehouse.  But there was something strange...When she introduced one of
her 'scenarios' into my mind, there was a physical sensation associated with
it.  Did you...?"

Scully shook her head.  "No, I never felt any warning of what was coming.
What did it feel like?"

"A tickling in my brain is the best way I can describe it.  Very faint, but
there.  What's scaring me, Scully, is that ever since I had to kill her, I've
felt that tickling.  It hasn't gone away."

"What do you think it means?"

He drew a deep breath and replied, "I think that she managed to implant a
post-hypnotic suggestion in my mind, and I haven't got a clue as to how or
when it might be triggered."

(Concluded in Part 4)



"THE ANGEL AND THE FOX" (4/4)
by Gerry Hill (fox42@ix.netcom.com)

Scully felt a chill go down her spine at Mulder's words.

"But when could she have done such a thing?" she asked him.

Despite her scientific approach to everything, Dana Scully had come a long way
from when she first began working with "Spooky" Mulder.   He was obscurely
gratified that she hadn't declared, "Mulder, you stupid ass!  That's just a
crock of shit!  There's no such thing as reading your fucking mind and doing
all the things you say she did."  He knew she would never phrase it quite that
way to him, even though she could draw on quite a colorful vocabulary from
hanging around Navy brats as a child.

Then Scully ruined his delight with her afterthought.

"And more importantly, *how* could she have done half of what you're crediting
to her?  I suppose you like Lassiter's 'mind-sucking alien' theory, right?"
Catching his eye, she backed off slightly with, "All right, but she isn't
Modell."

"Scully, you'll just have to trust me on this.  She was in my mind, I know it.
And there's still something lurking in there, waiting to jump out at us.  If
she picked up on any of our emotions while in our minds, she probably also
understood our vulnerabilities.  We'll have to be prepared to recognize when
I'm seeing something that isn't really happening in order to stop me from
harming anyone."

"Is that why you're being obnoxious to Angel?  Hurting him so he won't get
hurt?"  Her voice was tinged with sarcasm.

He protested, "I was telling him the truth.  But yeah, I was deliberately
heavy-handed about it."

There was a speculative look in her eyes.  "You mean that you really would
sleep with him just out of curiosity?"

He looked at the floor with great interest.  "Um, that's difficult to answer,
Scully.  It would depend on the circumstances.  If I were committed to someone
else, then the answer would be a definite 'no.'"

Pushing this as far as she dared, Scully asked, "And are you?  Committed, I
mean?"

Clearly growing more uncomfortable, he finally looked her in the eyes and
replied challengingly, "I don't know.  Are you ready to take that step with
me?"

Scully blinked at that.  God, how she wished for the good old days of subtlety
and flirtation.  This was putting it all on the line, dammit.  Was she ready
for this?  His direct and honest gaze was searing her soul, and she could see
he wasn't backing down any time soon.

She opened her mouth to reply, when she heard the front door open and turned
to see Angel come in.  And right behind him were Detective Lassiter and AD
Skinner.  They all looked decidedly uncomfortable.

Angel muttered something about having run into them at the curb as he was
returning, and then deferred to Skinner, who he judged was the most pissed off
in the group.

"Agent Mulder, get your coat.  Detective Lassiter has a warrant for your
arrest.  However, the Bureau is now involved with your case, which means we
should be able to get bail set and have you released later today."

Lassiter was obviously reluctant to arrest his friend.  He tersely read him
his Miranda rights and then followed Mulder down the hall to keep him in sight
while he recovered his coat and put it on.  The detective patted the coat down
first, and then checked to see that Mulder wasn't carrying any other weapons.
He raised his eyebrows at discovering the ankle holster and Baretta, but just
watched while they were removed and set down on the counter.

"Regulations call for handcuffs, Mulder," Lassiter commented.

That earned a wry smile.  "So when were you ruled by the regulations, Joe?"

Lassiter looked offended.  "Regs are my life, man.  OK, OK.  Forget the
frigging cuffs.  Just don't try something and make me hurt you."

Mulder nodded, figuring that the detective, for all his joking around and his
friendship, wouldn't hesitate to bring him down if he ran.  But then,
remembering Dr. Culverson's legacy to him, he said, "Better cuff me.  I'll
explain later."

Detective Lassiter was dumbfounded by the request, but complied, saying,
"First time someone other than my girlfriend *asked* me to use the cuffs."

They walked back to the waiting group where Scully had been filling in all the

details for Skinner.

Mulder felt extremely self-conscious about the handcuffs when three pairs of
eyes went to his manacled wrists.  Scully seemed about to say something, but
he caught her eye and gave her a slight shake of the head.  She didn't appear
happy about it, but said nothing.

Skinner spoke up.  "Agent Mulder, Detective...We'll be down to see you in a
while, after the booking process is over."  He was looking his most officious,
but Mulder could see the concern in his eyes.  That, or else it was irritation
at all the additional work he would be doing on behalf of his most troublesome
agent.

Angel appeared to be devastated by the situation; he was huddled at the end of
the sofa, looking at Mulder with anguish.  Mulder gave him a wink and a smile,
which only caused Angel to feel worse about what was happening.

Scully's reactions were just...Scully.  She had a determined look on her face,
which almost made Mulder sorry for the next official who dared to step in her
way.  He could depend totally on her, he knew, and extended his smile into a
grin for her.

There were no words needed, and Detective Lassiter escorted him out of the
apartment.


Fourth Precinct Police Station
3:46 PM

Lassiter was apologetic when he dropped Mulder off to be booked, saying he
would return shortly to go over his previous statement and take any additional
testimony from him.  He gave his friend an encouraging punch on the arm and
disappeared.

The booking sergeant was a little too pleased for Mulder's liking when faced
with the prospect of  running an FBI agent through the humiliating process of
fingerprinting, photographing, stripping and body search, and finally securing
him in the holding cell.  He was sneering at Mulder when he finally left him
in the less-than-sanitary room with two drunks.

At least he wasn't in there long, because Detective Lassiter showed up, true
to his word, and unlocked the door.  The handcuffs went back on, but this time
in front; the detective wanted a cup of coffee and didn't want to drink alone.

Mulder released a breath in relief as he followed the detective out.  One of
the drunks had been snoring in the corner the whole time, but the other had
shown a real interest in the new addition.  He had been trying to pick a
fight, stopped to vomit as he leaned against the wall, then had gone back to
being obnoxious and confrontational.

"I hate to say it, Joe, but the cell mates and the accommodations in here
really suck," Mulder mildly complained as they walked across the bullpen
toward an interrogation room.  He ruefully looked down at his one-piece orange
jumpsuit and added, "But the prison clothes are to die for."

"That's why I put you in there, Mulder.  Lends a little class to the place."

Mulder was distracted from making a reply as he saw Angel and Scully enter the
front of the bullpen, looking around for someone.

Then what he had dreaded finally happened.

One of the detectives in the bullpen called to his buddy across the room, in
an ongoing friendly argument, "That's bullshit!  Ahh, up yours!  Hey, wanna
picture of your sister naked?"

Later, they figured out that Culverson must have picked up information on
Samantha when she visited Mulder's mind, and had subsequently used the word
"sister" as a trigger word, figuring that it would eventually come up.

The effect was immediate.  Mulder suddenly saw everyone in the room as "them"
and he was being held against his will.  His mind was telling him to escape or
they would kill him.

Mulder turned suddenly and slammed the detective up against a wall with his

whole body weight behind the shove.  It was a partition wall and the sheet
rock cracked with the impact.  The crack widened when Mulder took the stunned
detective's head in his hands and slammed it against the already damaged
surface.  Letting the half-conscious man slide to the floor, the delusional
agent turned with Lassiter's weapon precariously held in his cuffed hands,
yelling, "I'm leaving, so stay out of my way!"  He fired a shot to emphasize
his point, aiming for and hitting a stack of boxes full of files.

Accustomed to all the noise in the room, most of the inhabitants hadn't
noticed the attack on Detective Lassiter, but the shot got everyone's
attention.

Angel and Scully were standing over to Mulder's right, only fifteen feet away,
but it might as well have been a hundred given the crowded room.  They both
began maneuvering around a desk, trying to reach their friend.  But seeing the
movement from the corner of his eye, Mulder started to turn in their
direction.

Lassiter, fighting the blackness that wanted to overwhelm him, had seen Angel
and Scully moving their way and had grabbed Mulder's leg in order to distract
him.  He felt the muscles jump under his hand and then the agent was looking
down at him with a strangely detached expression.

"Mulder!  This isn't real.  You have to shut out the images you think are
there and pull yourself back.  You're with me in the Fourth Precinct.  No one
is going to hurt you."

No glimmer of understanding was evident in the agent's eyes.  To Lassiter's
horror, he saw that Mulder was bringing the gun around to aim it at the
detective's head.

A scream distracted Mulder suddenly, breaking his concentration.  He looked up
and saw a more immediate threat than the guy on the floor at his feet.
Someone was shouting and running straight at him.  He drew a quick bead and
fired.

The instant he pulled the trigger past the point of no return, his mind
snapped back into reality.  In that second of clarity after the gun discharged
and the bullet hit its target, stark terror engulfed him as he saw that his
target was his partner.

Angel had slammed into Scully a fraction of a second before the bullet reached
her.  The .38 round hit Angel high in the shoulder, passed through muscle,
exited at half velocity and nicked Scully's collar bone on its way to a wall.
Angel's tackle carried them gracelessly to the floor.    Lassiter's gun also
hit the floor as it fell unheeded from Mulder's nerveless fingers.

Everyone was frozen for a moment, and then two officers attempted to take
Mulder back into custody.  He fought them off, so three more joined the fray,
trying to subdue this handcuffed madman.  Mulder fought and kicked and bit to
get free, screaming, "Scully!"

Although aware that Angel had moved into the line of fire at the last instant,
Mulder hadn't seen the result of his action.  He knew that Scully or Angel
could very well be dead.  He was close to losing his sanity.  My god, if I've
killed her...his thoughts were ripping him apart.  With someone sitting on his
legs, someone else lying across his chest, and with a shoulder dislocated
during the fray, he tearfully whispered, "Please.  Please tell me.  Did I kill
her?  Is she hurt?  Please."

Suffocated by despair, his vision was suddenly filled with the most precious
sight in the world:  His red-headed partner, impatiently demanding that his
captors "Get off him.  Now!"  And he could breathe again.

Scully exhibited her FBI badge, but it was her authoritative attitude which
accomplished his semi-release.  They removed the handcuffs when she pointed
out his obvious pain from the dislocated shoulder.  One look at his pinched,
graying complexion told Scully that his injury needed immediate care.
Enlisting the aid of the two strongest-looking cops, they managed to pop the
shoulder back in place.  Mulder fainted at that point.

During this time the professional training of the precinct station's
inhabitants had kicked into gear.  Someone had called for an ambulance, and in
the following twenty minutes, someone else bagged Lassiter's gun, photographs
of the area were taken, and the incident was generally over-analyzed by way
too many officials on the scene.

Scully was able to check on Angel and Lassiter, noting with relief that they
would be all right.  Lassiter might have a mild concussion, and Angel needed
care for the bullet hole in his shoulder.  Finding a large gauze bandage in a
first aid kit, she pressed it against the bullet wound to help slow down the
bleeding.   Her own wound was no more than a scratch.  At the arrival of the
ambulance, she left the technicians to care for her friends and resigned
herself to making more statements to the seemingly endless number of police
officials demanding answers.



Five days later
Scully's Apartment
2:09 PM

Glancing around the room, Scully realized that it looked as if she had decided
to work at a second job by turning her living room into a clinic.  Angel's
shoulder was bandaged and his arm was in a sling to hold it immobile.  Mulder
didn't appear to be wounded, but winced when he sat down in a chair.  The
movement had irritated his sore shoulder and the denim over his knees had
pulled tight over the scabs.  Joe Lassiter had a good-sized bandage on one
side of his head, with his left arm in a cast and a sling.

It had been a long five days, Scully was thinking, as she took a couple of
aspirin in the relative privacy of her kitchen.  Mulder *had* to flip out in a
*police station*, didn't he? she was thinking.  He couldn't have picked a nice
remote park somewhere.  No, not him.  And then to assault a detective right in
front of all his buddies...It was almost worse than his shooting Culverson
earlier.

They had insisted on a psych evaluation, naturally.  And the Bureau's lawyers
were obviously reluctant to take on "Spooky" Mulder's case, having had run-ins
with him before.  But after all the evidence and testimony had been gathered,
they efficiently did their job, finally winning a release for her partner.  He
wasn't cleared yet, however.  Next week a judge would be making the decision
as to whether there was a case or not, and whether Mulder would be prosecuted.

Things were looking better, though, once Detective Lassiter had recovered
enough from his concussion to make a statement.  He wasn't pressing charges
for the assault, under the circumstances; in fact, he made a great case for
Mulder as a character witness.  Neither Angel nor Scully were pressing
charges, either, but they both were teasing Mulder that one wrong move on his
part would change their decision.

Their normally tight-ass boss, AD Skinner, had continued to show surprisingly
strong support for his agents, backing them up against everyone, even the
Director at one point.  They kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, to find
themselves doing wiretap detail for the rest of their careers.

As she turned to go back into the living room, she heard Lassiter asking
Mulder, "But how do you know it's over?  What if there's more of that shit
buried in your brain?"

The familiar voice of her partner answered, "I'm sure everything's back to
normal.  Culverson's influence is gone for good.  Of course, that doesn't mean
I won't decide to beat up on you again, Joe, just for the hell of it."

Scully smiled as she entered the room, seeing that her presence had
forestalled Joe's no doubt blasphemous response.

Angel scooted over on the sofa slightly to make room for her, and she
gratefully sat down, giving his good arm a pat.  He planned to fly back home
that evening, but would return if the judge wanted him there for next week's
hearing.  Scully hated to see him leave.  They hadn't really had much
opportunity to visit with each other, given all that had been going on this
past week.  She and Angel had always had a comfortable friendship and she
dreaded his imminent departure.

She caught Mulder's speculative eye.  He was no doubt seeing a very handsome,
virile man sitting close to "his" Scully, probably wondering if Angel were bi-
sexual.  Damn, she wished he didn't have such a one-track mind.  After seeing
her with Angel on the sofa bed the other morning, no wonder he still had his
doubts.  Maybe it *was* time to see whether she and Mulder could make a more
physical relationship work.  She did her own speculative eyeing, causing
Mulder to fidget, then to surreptitiously glance down to see if his fly was
open.

Lassiter soon left, wanting to get home to his family.  "Besides, Mulder,
associating with you isn't exactly going to speed my career along in the
department.  And I'm still embarrassed that a wimp like you could take me down
so easily."

Mulder smirked at him, saying boastfully, "Any time you want another shot at
me, I'm ready."

"Yeah, right.  I'll need binoculars five minutes after I hint at a re-match,
in order to be able to spot you running like hell down the road."

Once the detective had departed, Scully announced that she was going to make
some more iced tea and headed into the kitchen.

Angel said to Mulder, "Well, I'm going to pack a few things.  I don't like to
leave everything until the last minute.  It won't take long, though, since I
didn't bring much with me."  He awkwardly got to his feet and walked toward
the hallway.

"Need a hand?" Mulder offered, thinking that it was bad enough trying to pack
with two useable hands, much less with one.

"Sure," came the reply as Angel disappeared into the hall.

Mulder came steaming around the corner a few seconds later, and ran solidly
into Angel.

"Oof!" came out of Mulder, as he grabbed the man to keep from falling.  It had
been like running into a huge punching bag.  That man is *solid*, he thought.

To his surprise, Angel didn't move away or continue down the hall.  In fact,
he had his good arm around the agent's shoulders in a vise-like grip.  Their
faces were inches apart in the dimness of the hall.

Angel whispered, "I didn't instigate this, but now that we're here, I have to
do this or I'll regret it all my life."  Mulder made no move or sound, seeming
to be transfixed by the situation, which was taken by Angel as permission to
proceed.

And he finally captured those delicious lips with his.  They had been driving
him mad since he had first seen them.   Mulder's eyes had widened with alarm,
but he didn't struggle, Angel noticed.  Interesting.  On the other hand, he
didn't move or respond in any way, either.

The ceiling light flared into brightness as Scully entered the hall, saying,
"Where on earth did..."

Unable to do anything but stare at her two friends in a lip lock, now hastily
broken, she finally found her voice and said, "Oh."

Mulder's face was flushed and he wouldn't make eye contact with her.  He
quickly brushed past Scully, on his way to the living room.

Angel looked like the cat that had eaten the canary.  He was leaning against
the wall with a lazy smile on his face.

"I had to know what he was like, Dana.  That's all.  I'll be good now and get
packed.  Mulder is all yours."  Angel stood up straight and went to Dana's
room for his bag.

Still taken aback at what she had seen, Scully returned to the living room.
Mulder was standing in the middle of the room, and he turned toward her at the
sound of her footsteps.

"You bastard!" Scully hotly declared.  "One minute you're pushing me to change
everything by committing to you, and the next, you're making out with a guy.
Really smooth, Mulder."  Tears welled up despite her efforts to hold
everything inside.

His hand reached out to her as he said, "I'm sorry if what you saw hurt you,
but it didn't mean anything.  Angel was being impetuous and I didn't expect
it."

She backed up slightly, avoiding his hand, and the answering flare of pain and
anger was clearly visible in his darkening hazel eyes.  He made a dismissive
gesture and turned toward the front door as if to leave.

"Do you really love me?"  The quiet, wistful voice stopped him dead in his
tracks.

Without turning, he answered, "Yes.  But that doesn't mean I can't get pissed
off at you."

"The sentiment is mutual, believe me."

He turned to her again, clearly not sure about where she was going with this.
"What?  The love part or the pissed off part?"  His eyes had that slightly
amused sparkle to them.

Scully's eyes blazed at him as she asked, "Are you interested in men?"

"God, no!  I used to wonder about what it might be like, but after Angel, um,
kissed me, I knew without a doubt that it wasn't for me.  My damned curiosity
has just been satisfied."

"Good."  She moved closer to him and placed a hand on his chest.  Holding his
gaze with her own, she said what Mulder had longed to hear for a very long
time.

"I'd like our relationship to be closer, Mulder."

Fighting the urge to grab this beautiful woman and make mad, passionate love
to her, feeling that it would frighten her off at this stage, he said in a
voice that quavered slightly, "Closer, as in intimate?"

In answer, she stood on tiptoes, brushing her lips against his neck, igniting
an electrical charge through his body from the point of contact.

"Scully," he sighed.  Gathering her in his arms, Mulder gently kissed her full
lips for the first time, and found it to be incredibly arousing.  To his
surprise, she returned the kiss aggressively, her tongue pushing against his
mouth for entrance.  He thought she would be tentative, but he should have
known that once Scully had decided on a course, there were no half measures.

"Ahem."  They jumped apart, startled at the reminder that someone else was
present in the apartment.

Angel was smiling and had his bag and jacket with him.

"I'm taking a taxi to Walt Skinner's.  He told me that I could catch a ride to
the airport with him in a few hours since he had to go out in that direction
anyway.  I'm going over there for a drink first.  You were invited, too, but
from the looks of things, I doubt you want to leave right now."

"*Walt* Skinner's?" they both asked in unison.

"Yeah.  He's a nice guy.  We got to talking in the hospital and we have a lot
in common.  Why?"

Mulder just shook his head, with an amazed look on his face, while Scully's
eyebrows spoke volumes.  Then she walked up to Angel and gave him a hug.

"I'll miss you.  When we get back to the office I'm going to try and find
something paranormal going on in the San Antonio area so we can investigate
it.  Be prepared to show us around your clinic."  She smiled fondly at him.

 Mulder settled for shaking his hand, looking like a skittish colt ready to
shy away at the slightest move from the man.

Angel prolonged the handshake, increasing Mulder's unease.

"It's awfully hard for me to leave, now that I've found you.  But I know how
*that* story would turn out, so I'll leave while I still have my dignity."

And he was gone.

"C'mon Mulder," Scully said, as she took his hand.  "You've never shown me
your Alien
Invader, and I've heard that it's quite impressive."

Looking shocked, Mulder exclaimed, "Scully!  I'm surprised at you!  And
besides, where would you have heard something like that?"  He fought to keep a
straight face.

"I have my sources, G-Man."

Thinking of his relative celibacy over the past year, he suspected that she
had peeked at some point during their travels or when he was injured and
unconscious.

He saw that the pause had given her time to think, and he didn't like the
slight nervousness displayed by her fidgeting.  She might decide against all
this...

Hoping it wasn't a wrong move, Mulder took her hand and solemnly led her into
the bedroom.  They stood by the bed, but she wouldn't look at him.  Again
making the first move, he tilted her head with a finger under her chin and
lowered his lips to hers.  There was that surge of feeling as they connected,
and soon they were lost in the sensations.

With a lot of stroking and kissing, they slowly undressed each other, until
they were completely nude.  Mulder felt like a real shit when he saw the black
and blue area on her collarbone caused by his bullet and kissed it thoroughly.
When Scully pulled back for a moment, she startled her partner when she
laughed out loud and said, "Oh, my God, Mulder!  It's true!"  He saw that she
was staring at his bobbing erection, and smirked.

With one swift move, he swept Scully up and landed on the bed with her in his
arms.  Then she sort of took over, nuzzling, kissing and licking his body,
driving him mad.

Finally, he managed to say to the top of her head, "If you keep...doing
that...ah!...blast-off is...going to happen...*really* soon...mmmm!!  Come
here!"

Scully complied, pulling the sheet over them as she moved up his body.  Sounds
came from beneath the sheet, then a moan was heard from a female throat,
followed by a deeper moan from her partner.  The sheet became quite active as
the moans were repeated with growing intensity, punctuated with a few "Oh, my
Gods!"

Some while later, Scully's voice sleepily commented, "Remember, now, Mulder.
This was a one-time-only thing, to relieve tension and our curiosity."

A muffled "What!??"sounded from somewhere under the sheet, and Mulder's head
popped out to stare at his bed-mate, his hair standing out every which-way
from his head.

"Just kidding," she snickered.  This was answered with a growl, and they went
back to what they were doing with undiminished enthusiasm.

THE END