From: Nikki <menageri@linkline.com>
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 16:25:28 -0700
Subject: NEW!  Tine Rua - WIP - Part One
Source: xff


TITLE:    Tine Rua (WIP)
AUTHOR:  Menagerie
EMAIL:    menageri@linkline.com
ARCHIVE:  Anywhere except "worst of" lists, I guess.  Just
tell me so I can visit!
SPOILERS:  Everything through Season 7 except the last ep.
Season 8 has not happened, Mulder has not been abducted.
RATIING:  PG through eventual NC-17  Rating will be posted
at the top of each part
CLASSIFICATION:  S, UST, eventual MSR, some H
KEYWORDS:  M,S, Sk, LGM, O
DISCLAIMER:  I don't own Mulder, Scully, Skinner, LGM or any
other X-Files regulars.  They belong to many many lawyers at
Fox, 1013 etc.  I'm not making a profit, just having fun.
Mr. Sevigny, however, is all mine!
SUMMARY:  Phoebe Green is back and Scully isn't having it.
Phoebe tries to enlist Mulder's help with a case and gets
the agents engtangled in an international crime.

PART ONE - Rating - PG-13 for language



    It had been raining for forever.  Or at least that was
how it felt.  She glanced up at the gray sky, blinking as
the spits of rain splashed against her eye lashes.  Time to
gather the animals, she thought sourly.  Right now being
stuck in a wooden tub with two of every wildlife species
available sounded better than going back to her dark, dank
basement office alone.
    She sighed heavily and kept walking, pulling the collar
of her trench coat snugger around her neck.  She had to stop
thinking like that.  Just go get some lunch, get back to
work and try not to look at the clock every two minutes
until five o'clock.  She couldn't remember the last time a
day had taken so long.
***
     She settled into her chair and popped the top off the
steaming cup of coffee.  Normally she preferred tea, but
today was a coffee day if there ever was one.  Maybe the
extra jolt of caffeine would prod her interest in the report
that sat half finished on her computer.  Maybe, if she
finished the report, she could go home early.  It wasn't
like she didn't regularly put in overtime.  Who could
begrudge her a few hours?
     She turned to drop the top of her cup into the garbage
and her eyes fell on his empty chair.  That was the other
thing she had to stop doing.  No looking at the clock and no
looking at his forlorn chair crouched behind his
overburdened desk.  Her fingers itched to attack the stacks
that slid and tumbled over the desktop but she knew he would
be royally pissed if she touched them.  He swore he knew
exactly where everything was, and in truth, he probably did.

     She turned back to her computer and jiggled the mouse
to deactivate the screen saver.  A password prompt popped up
and she keyed in her six letter password.  The report she
had been working on appeared and she looked down at her
notes to begin again when a shadow against the door caught
her attention and she started in her chair.
     "Oh, sorry.  Didn't mean to startle you."  Scully
stared at the impeccably groomed redhead in the doorway and
felt her mouth open.  The other woman smiled and stepped
into the room, her hand outstretched.  "Scully, isn't it?  I
don't know if you remember me.  I'm-"
     "Phoebe Green," Scully breathed.  The other woman's
smile stretched.  Without thinking, Scully stood and reached
her out her hand.  The hand she took in hers was slim and
dry, almost silky to the touch.  Scully all but snatched her
hand back.
     "You do remember me, then?  I hope I haven't come at a
bad time?"
     "No," Scully managed, her eyes darting over the other
woman's designer suit, well coifed hair and obviously
expensive jewelry.  "I was just writing a report.  What
brings you down to our part of the world?"  She did a mental
check of her own appearance. Her hair was probably a little
frizzed from the rain, but her suit was relatively new and
fit her well.  Her gold cross and a pair of gold knot
earrings were her only jewelry.  Not fantastic, but nothing
to be ashamed of either.
     Phoebe smiled again and Scully thought was quite enough
of that.  Don't bother, Honey, she thought grimly.  Your
charm is wasted on me.
     "Well, it's a bit of a long story.  Do you mind?"
Phoebe gestured at the chair in front of Scully's desk and
dimly Scully realized that Phoebe was indicating that Scully
had been rude in not offering her a seat.  Tough, Scully
thought.
     "Please," Scully said, and resumed her own seat.  This
out to be good.  'Ten to one you can't dance to it,' she
heard Mulder say in her head and she suppressed a smile.
For the millionth time she wondered if he had ever fished
the tape out of the garbage when she wasn't looking and
listened to it.  She had almost done so herself, finding
excuses to send Mulder out of the room but never quite
having the courage to dig out the tape.  If he did decide to
listen to it and it was gone, he would know that curiosity
had gotten the better of her, and that wouldn't do.
     "Is Fox at lunch?" Phoebe asked, her eyes drifting to
the barren chair.  Scully crossed her legs and sat back in
her seat.  Time for some fun.
     "No.  He's on vacation."
     Phoebe's eyebrows rose slightly and a sardonic smile
creased her lips.  "He actually took a vacation?  I thought
he was married to his work."
 It was Scully's turn to smile.  He is married to it, you
little bitch, she thought.  And basically to me, so go take
a leap.
     "The bureau only holds over vacation time for so long.
You use it or you lose it."  She shrugged a "what can you
do" at the Englishwoman.
     "You didn't have any time saved up?" Phoebe asked.  Now
we're getting to it, Scully thought.  Subtlety wasn't
getting Phoebe the answers she wanted.
     "I'm joining him later," she said, offering another
smile.  It  wasn't exactly true, but neither was Mulder just
on vacation.  He was on the Vineyard dealing with the less
than joyful task of putting his father's house on the
market.  After that he was going to make his way to his
mother's house and prepare to do the same thing.  She was
supposed to meet him there on Wednesday for follow-up on an
unrelated case.
     "So, are you in the States on a case?" Scully took the
lead.  Let her chew on the vacation thing for a while.
     Phoebe crossed her legs, showing a good deal of
well-toned thigh.  "Hmm, yes and no.  I'm actually here on
holiday with some friends, but there was some research I was
hoping to do in New York when I'm there in a few days.  I
thought Fox might be able to help me."
     I'll just bet you do, Scully mused.  Research, huh?
So, that's what they're calling it in England these days.
     "I'm sorry, but he's out of the office the rest of this
week and all of next.  Can I help you with it?"
     Scully didn't get to savor Phoebe's disappointment for
nearly long enough.  To her surprise and displeasure, the
redhead accepted her offer.
     "Yes, you probably can."  Another smile.  "I need
access to some records at the NYPD.  Of course, there's
professional cooperation between the American police and
Scotland Yard, but I thought Fox - or you - might know
someone on the force that could help me get around the red
tape, as it were."
 Scully shifted in her chair.  Damn, why had she made the
offer? No she was stuck having to help this woman, and there
were few things in life she would rather not do.
     "What kind of records," she stalled, although several
names of NYPD contacts were already clicking through her
brain.  Maybe she could dump Phoebe on one of them and wash
her hands of the pest.
     "Personnel records, actually," Phoebe said, getting an
eyebrow arch from Scully.  "We've had a spate of killings in
Kent, and the chief suspect is an American ex-patriot who
used to work for the New York police.  We're trying to find
out as much about him as possible, and his personnel file
would be a large help to us."
     Now Scully was frowning.
     "Personnel files can only be opened by a court order,
I'm pretty sure," she said. "There are laws to prevent
employers from turning over that sort of information."
     "Right," said Phoebe.  "And that's rather the rub.  By
the time you wade through international laws, preponderance
of proof, not to mention sticky politics in not only
investigating an American but a former cop, the man will
have killed four more people before we get to him."
     "What makes you think he's your killer?"  Scully was
curious, in spite of herself.
     Phoebe sighed and settled back into her chair.
Clearly, she had hoped not to have to justify her request.
She had no doubt thought that a couple of smiles and some
innuendo would get Mulder's immediate cooperation.  Scully
wasn't sure if it would have, but she suspected he might
have caved if for no other reason than to get Phoebe out of
his hair.  And out of wherever else she might try to
insinuate herself.
     "He's got motive and opportunity in all four cases.
Apparently, he's somewhat of a Don Juan. The problem is that
he becomes very possessive and the women get tired of it
rather quickly.  All four of the victims have dated him in
the last year.  That is their only connection."
     "Do you have any forensic evidence?"
     "Not as such.  We have some fibers from two of the
victims, but we as yet, we don't have a search warrant for
his flat.  He's a cop, he knows what he's doing, how to hide
things.  And obviously, he's not cooperating at all."
     Scully chewed her bottom lip for a moment, watching as
Phoebe spoke.  The clipped English, the perfect posture, the
air of sophistication she carried about her, it all struck
her as patently false.  She knew from what little Mulder had
told her that Phoebe was the real thing, a spoiled heiress
with too much money and too few morals.  Her choice of
Scotland Yard was only to better be able to play with
people's lives.  Still, there was something about the woman
that wasn't quite right
     "Agent Scully?" Phoebe prodded after the silence had
stretched to several moments.  Scully snapped back to the
discussion and straightened in her chair.
    "I was justthinking.  I don't know how I can help you,
Phoebe.  If it were a case file, I could probably get you
faster access.  But a personnel file is going to have to go
through proper channels."
     "Yes," Phoebe said, watching her closely.  "Proper
channels is what I am trying to avoid."
     Scully stared right back at her.  "I'm sorry, I can't
help you with that."
     The other woman's lips curled into a small smile and
Scully felt that she had somehow fulfilled the other woman
expectations.  Her obviously low expectations.  Well, fuck
you, Scully thought.  I'm not about to jeopardize my job
just to prove you wrong.
     Phoebe rose to her feet and Scully did the same,
suddenly conscious of how much taller the other woman was.
In heels, she would be able to look into Mulder's eyes
without barely tipping her head.  Scully ground her teeth
together at the thought and stuck out her hand.
 Phoebe grasped her hand firmly and looked down into
Scully's eyes.  "Tell Fox I said hello and I hope he is
having a grand holiday."
     "I will," Scully smiled back at her.  They don't call
me an Ice Queen for nothing, she thought, knowing her eyes
were glacial.  "Sorry I couldn't be of more help."
Phoebe drew her hand away and shrugged as she turned towards
the door.  "No hard feelings."  Scully watched the slim
figure vanish through the door before she slumped into her
seat.  All of the sudden, she was exhausted.

Continued in Part 2...

PART TWO - Rating - PG

 She had just started the bath running when the phone rang.
She glanced at the clock as she entered her bedroom.  It was
Mulder.  He had been calling every day, just to check in and
make sure nothing worth his interest was happening on the
X-Files.
 "Hello," she said, sitting on the side of the bed.
 "Scully, it's me."  He sounded depressed, beaten, and her
heart went out to him.  She had known this would be hard for
him.  Hard to let go of the hope that a young boy had once
held about his father.  Hard to acknowledge the unanswered
questions that would always stay that way.
 "Hi.  How's it going?"
 He sighed, but said nothing.  Then he sighed again.  "I
hate this," he finally muttered.  "Can you pay people to do
this stuff?"  She smiled wanly and found herself stroking
the back of the phone with her finger as if it were his
cheek.
 "Yes, you can, Mulder, but I don't think you want a
stranger poking through your father's belongings."
 "I don't know why not," he countered. "It's like looking
through a stranger's stuff.  I went through all his papers
and things after he died.  There's nothing here."
 She felt her heart constrict as he said 'nothing'.  Nothing
was exactly what his father had offered him over the years.
Only once had he reached out and then he had been killed
before he could offer his son any belated compensation for
the years of bitter silence.  It was the story of Mulder's
life and it was clearly weighing heavily on him today.
 "Then maybe you should hire someone and come home," she
said softly, hoping he would, but knowing he wouldn't.
 "No, I need to do it.  It's my birthright, isn't it?"  The
sarcasm was heavy and it came from an old, dark place.
Abruptly, he changed the topic.  "How are things at the
office?  Anything interesting happen?"
 Oh yeah, she thought.  Your bitch of an ex-girlfriend
sauntered into our office today ready to seduce you into
breaking a half a dozen laws for her, but I threw her out on
her ear.  She didn't even need to consider whether or not to
tell Mulder about Phoebe.  Just knowing she on this side of
the pond would be enough to send Mulder over the edge.
 "It's been a thrill a minute," she said instead.  "I
finished the report on the Rawlings case and sent it up to
Skinner.  Cox and Baines came back from vacation married and
Kersh is threatening to fire both of them.  Oh, and we've
been invited to Kim's birthday party next Friday.  I
regretfully declined for both of us."
 "Married?"
 She laughed.  "Yeah, you should have seen the uproar that
caused."  Suddenly, she remembered her bath.  "Mulder, can
you hang on a minute?"
 "Sure."
 She put down the phone and went into the bathroom.  The tub
was almost full and bubbles covered the surface of the
water.  She turned off the tap and went back into the
bedroom.
 "I'm back."
 "So, what does everyone have to say about Cox and Baines
being married?"
 She settled back against the headboard, twining the cord
around her fingers.  "Oh, what you would expect.  Half of
the people claimed they knew they were seeing each other.
The other half claim is a marriage of convenience.  You
know, standard water cooler stuff."
 "What's Kersh going to do?"
 She shrugged.  "Who knows?  I don't think he can fire them
for getting married, but he is probably going to reassign
them to different partners."
 "In the cafeteria and the parking garage," Mulder snorted
and Scully laughed.
 "Probably.  Kersh doesn't like not knowing what's going on
with 'his' agents, so I'm sure they're going to pay the
price."
 "Too bad," Mulder said.  "They're actually both pretty
decent at their jobs."
 Scully snuggled down into her bed and stifled a yawn.  Hmm,
the bed felt very good and very soft.  Maybe she would forgo
the bath and just slip under the covers after she got off
the phone with Mulder.
 "Actually, " yawn, "Kim was telling me that Cox is probably
going to quit as soon as she gets pregnant anyway."
 "Marriage and kids?" she heard Mulder's surprise and she
couldn't help but grimace.  Yes, Mulder, there are still
people that do that old fashioned thing of having a life.
 "Married FBI agents with kids.  How wrong is that, huh
Scully?"
 She stifled another yawn.  "No Mulder, not wrong.  More
power to them, I say.  If they can be happy and piss off
Kersch at the same time, I'm all for it."
 Mulder laughed then and she felt an absurd burst of
pleasure knowing she had made him smile.  She snuggled
deeper into her pillows.
 "Hey, you've got a point.  Let's buy them a really nice
wedding gift, okay?"
 "Okay," she was smiling now, too.
 "And," his voice was lower now, and dangerous.  "Let's sign
the card Mr. and Mrs. Spooky and see if that starts any
rumors."
 She chuckled.  "Starts any rumors?  Mulder, get a clue.
Everyone there thinks we're a couple as it is.  I don't get
called Mrs. Spooky for nothing, you know."
 "So, what you're saying is that if they're expecting anyone
to come back from vacation married it's us?"  There was
laughter in his tone and she was still smiling.
 "Yeah, that's pretty much it."
 "I guess we wouldn't want to do anything predictable, would
we?"
 "Hmm, no, I guess not," she murmured, reaching over to tug
the far edge of the quilt up over her.
 "It would be funny, though.  To seethe looks on their
faces."
 "You want to get married just to shock the typing pool?"
she shook her head at the idea.
 "Well, no.  There would be other advantages."  She laughed
at his suggestive tone.  "What do you say, Scully?"
 She was warm and sleepy now, the quilt under her chin, the
pillow under her head.
 "Uh uh, Mulder.  You don't get off that easy.  If you want
to ask me to marry you, you have to do it right.  I want the
ring, the roses, and you down on one knee."
 "You forgot the string quartet in the background," he
teased and she smiled against the phone.
 "That too."
 "Scully?"
 "Yeah?"  For some reason, she felt her stomach do a flip.
He wouldn't.  He couldn't.  Not even as a joke.
 "I think you're half asleep.  I better let you go to bed
now."
 "I am in bed," she murmured.
 "You are?"
 "Sort of.  I pulled the quilt over me.  I was going to take
a bath, but I'm comfy now."
 "Okay, you go to sleep.  I'll call you tomorrow."
 "Okay.  Mulder, are you okay?  Are you sure you don't want
me to come up for the weekend?  I could help you go through
stuff."
 "No, Scully.  I would love to have you come up here, but I
need to do this.  I'll talk to you tomorrow."
 "Okay."
 "G'night."
 "G'night."
 She hung up the phone and snuggled back under the quilt.
Sweet dreams, Mulder, she thought, as she drifted off.  I
hope I helped you think about something else, if only for a
little while.

***

 Phoebe Green was standing outside her office door when
Scully got off the elevator.  She couldn't quite suppress a
scowl at the sight of the leggy Inspector lounging against
her door in yet another impeccable suit.  That's a Donna
Karan original or I'll eat my hat, Scully thought sourly,
before shaping her face into a complacent mask.
 "Phoebe.  Did you forget something?"  She unlocked the door
and flipped on the lights, leading the other woman inside.
 "No.  I've come to see if you can put me in touch with
Mulder.  I assume since you're joining him on holiday that
you know how to reach him."
Scully put her laptop on her desk and shed her trench coat.
It was still raining.  Like London, she thought.  Thanks for
bringing the weather with you.
 "If you give me a number where you can be reached, I can
give it to him the next time we talk," Scully said, taking a
seat in her chair, and offering one to Phoebe.  Phoebe chose
to stand.
 "It's rather important that I talk to him soon.  I've only
so many days here and I am moving about a bit."
 "I see.  I should be able to reach him today. If you want
to write down your number."
 "I'd hate to inconvenience you," Phoebe said.  "If you'll
just give me his number, I can contact him myself."
 Scully sat back in her chair, amused at the woman's desire
to tower over her.  Nice intimidating trick, Phoebes, she
thought.  But a little obvious, isn't it?  Getting a little
desperate to get our way, our we?
 "I really can't give you that, Phoebe.  But as I said-"
 "What, is there an official Bureau policy about not giving
out an agent's phone numbers to fellow members of law
enforcement?" Phoebe cocked her head and stared at her.  "Or
is that a Dana Scully policy?"
 Scully matched her stare for stare.
 "I wasn't aware you needed to reach Mulder on official
Bureau business.  You would need to talk to Assistant
Director Skinner if you want Mulder and I to work on a
Scotland Yard case."
 Phoebe smiled like a Cheshire cat, crossing her arms across
her chest.
 "It isn't officially Bureau business.  I was just hoping to
talk to Fox.  Is that a crime?"
 "No.  Neither is it a crime to not give you his phone
number."
 Phoebe sighed expressively and looked pointedly at the
ceiling.  Three pencils, Mulder's latest victims, hung from
the pock-marked ceiling above his desk.  A small smile
traced Phoebe's lips.
 "He still gets bored easily, I see," Phoebe said.  "It was
always a challenge to keep him entertained."  She looked at
Scully.  "Made me stretch my repertoire quite a bit, he
did."
 Scully felt bile rise in her throat and wondered what it
would feel like to punch those smug, perfectly outlined
lips.
 "How fascinating," Scully said in a tone that belied her
words.  "So, do you want to leave a phone number?"
 "Sure."  Phoebe took the paper and pen Scully handed her
and scribbled a local number before handing them back.  "I'm
staying at a friend's house.  He should be able to reach me
there today and tonight."
 "Fine."
 Phoebe turned on her heel and headed for the door.  She
paused and smiled down at Scully.  "Thank you, Agent
Scully.  I look forward to hearing from Mulder."

Continued in Part 3...

PART THREE - Rating - PG-13 for sexual innuendo

    Scully sank back against the warming porcelain and
willed herself to relax.  She had been a ball of tension all
day following her 'run-in' with Phoebe Green.  Run-in was
the way she thought of it, like a fight that didn't quite
happen.  All the tension and none of the pay off.
     She had frankly been a basketcase all day as a result.
Skinner had arched an eyebrow at her flip comments about a
recent case that the higher ups were asking questions
about.  They don't really want answers, she told Skinner.
They just want to ride our asses.  The AD had obviously
realized that he wasn't going to get the cooperation he
needed and had dismissed her.
     She had even sniped at Teresa Cox, now Teresa
Cox-Baines as they rode the elevator together.
Congratulations, she had said at the still beaming bride.
Way to shake up the office.  Teresa hadn't known how to take
the second comment and Scully had belatedly smiled at her,
trying to take the edge off.  She hadn't meant to hurt the
other woman's feelings or rain on her parade.  She had every
right to be happy.  Everyone had a right to be happy.
Scully was just starting to wonder when the hell it was
going to be her turn.
     The cordless phone rang beside her and Scully's eyes
popped open.  Mulder.  Shit.  Now she had to tell him about
Phoebe and it was the last thing she wanted to do.  She had
intentionally not called him earlier. Phoebe had said she
would be at that number today and tonight, but not
tomorrow.  It was a Friday night.  If Mulder did call,
Phoebe would likely be out on the town, and he would miss
her.
     The phone trilled again and Scully briefly dabbed her
fingers on a towel before pressing the talk button.
 "Hello," she said.
 "It's me," Mulder said, and she was relieved to hear that
he sounded better than the night before.
 "Hey, Me," she said teasingly back.  "How are you?"
 "I'm fine," he said.  "And you?"
 "I'm in the bath," she said with uncharacteristic
frankness.  "I'm doing very fine."  She heard him chuckle.
 "So, I guess I don't need to ask what you're wearing,
huh?"  She smiled widely.
 "Bubbles.  Lots and lots of bubbles."
 "Ooh, sexy," he breathed heavily into the phone and she
laughed.
 "Mulder, you're way too good at this.  Just how much of
your paycheck goes to those 900 numbers anyway?"
 "You're reaping the reward, so why complain?" he bantered
right back.
 "Ok, you've got me there.  How did today go?"
 She could hear the sound of fabrics rubbing against one
another.  He was probably settling into his father's couch.
All of the sudden, she felt wicked.
 "Before you answer that, Mulder, you haven't said what
you're wearing."  She heard his sharp intake of breath and
stabbed her other fist into the air.  Score one for Scully.
 "Uh, nothing as sexy as bubbles, Scully.  Just sweats and a
t-shirt."
 "Mhm," she made a sexy sound in her voice and bit her lip
to keep from laughing.  It was so easy to tease Mulder on
the phone.  In person she didn't usually have this much
moxie, but with a safe distance between them, the redhead
part of her came out.
 "Back to your earlier question."  Scully grinned.  Oh, he
was definitely unsure of how to handle this.  Oh well.
 "Yeah?"
 "The real estate agent came over and took pictures of the
outside of the house.  I hired a moving van to come and get
the heavy stuff on Monday."
 "What heavy stuff?"
 "Furniture, mostly.  Some paintings, stuff like that."
 She frowned. "What are you going to do with it?"
 "Put it in storage, I guess.  There's a local place that
has reasonable rates."
 Scully swirled the bubbles with her left hand and watched
bemusedly as she painted a smiley face with her finger.
 "Why?"
 "Why what?"
 "Why are you putting the furniture in storage?  Why not
sell it with the house?"
 He sighed and she could hear him settling into the couch
(bed?) more.  "I don't know.  Some of it is antique.  Some
of it belonged to my grandmother and great grandmother.  I
guess I feel weird just selling it."
 "Oh. That makes sense."
 "Does it?"  He sighed again.  "I mean, why should I keep
it?  It's not like there's some grand Mulder tradition to
keep alive.  Why lock it in a steel box so I can sell it
later?"
 Scully sat up a little.
 "No, Mulder.  You should keep it.  They're family
heirlooms.  If your first instinct was to keep it, then I
think you should."
 "But why?  What am I going to do with it?  It's not like
I'm going to need to buy a big house some day and fill it
with furniture."
 "You can't live in your apartment forever, Mulder.  You
might want to move out to the Vineyard some day, or to the
Cape."
 "Even if I did, Scully, this furniture needs a big house.
It's heavy oak and mahogany stuff.  Some of it's pretty
ornate.  The headboard on the bed alone is six feet tall."
 Scully closed her eyes.  She could imagine the furniture.
Dark, stately, elegant.  Her mother had several pieces
passed down to her that were the same.  Scully would inherit
some of it someday.  She could already image the house that
it would go in.  I wonder if his furniture and mine would go
together, she found herself thinking, and sat up straighter
in the bath.  My God, what was she thinking?  She was way
ahead of the game here.  But there it was.  She didn't want
Mulder to sell that furniture.  It might have a place to go
one day.
 "Mulder, I think you should hang on to it.  Really.  I
don't know why I even questioned you."
 "No, you're right. I-"
 "Mulder," she said softly, "It's your family's.  I really
think you should keep it.  You're already making some big
decisions, just let this one go."
 She knew he was confused over her about-face and her sudden
insistence that he not sell the furniture.  Don't question
it, she silently pleaded.  Just trust me.
 "Okay," he said sounding unsure.  "I'll just have them put
it in storage."
 "Good," she said, hoping she didn't sound too relieved.
She was pretty sure their furniture would blend together
nicely.  I can't believe I'm thinking this.
 "So, how was your Friday?" he asked.
 "Um, it was okay."  Shit.  Back to Phoebe Green.  "I had an
unexpected visitor.  Actually, she was there to see you, but
had to settle for talking to me."
 "Oh?"  He was curious.  She pursed her lips and frowned.
Damn, she didn't want to tell him.  She sighed.  No help for
it now.
 "Phoebe Green is in town."
 Silence.  Not even a breath.
 "She wants you to help her do some research on a case
involving an ex-NYPD cop living in England.  They like him
for the murder of four women, former girlfriends."
 "Why does she need my help?"  His voice was perfectly
neutral.  She hoped hers was as well.
 "She wants access to his personnel files, and of course,
that takes a lot of time and red tape.  She was hoping you
could help her circumnavigate that."
 "Uh huh."  Still no hint of what he was feeling, so she
plowed on.
 "I told her you were on vacation. She asked me to help but
I refused.  She wanted a number where to reach you, but I
wouldn't give it to her."
 Nothing.  Not even a grunt.  Scully sighed.
 "She gave me a local number where you can reach her.  Let
me go get it."  Scully put a hand on the edge of the tub to
pull herself up.
 "No.  Don't bother."  Scully sat back against the tub.
 "You don't want the number?"
 "No."  His voice was tight, his words clipped.  "Let her
dig up her own information.  I'm not getting my ass in a
sling for it."
 Scully let out a long, slow breath.  Thank God, he wasn't
going to fall for it.
 "Scully?"
 "Yeah?"
 "I'm sorry you had to deal with her.  I didn't know she was
in town."
 "I know.  It's okay."
 "Did she give you a hard time?"  Scully smiled.
 "She tried, but she failed."
 "I'm glad."  She could hear the smile in his voice and
smiled back.  She heard him shift the phone and wondered if
he really was wearing sweats and a t-shirt.  A black
t-shirt.  Or a gray one.  She liked them both.
 "So, what are you doing with your weekend?" he asked.
Phoebe Green was apparently forgotten, and Scully felt ten
years younger, knowing it.
 "Um.  Nothing, truth be told.  I need to do laundry and
clean, but that's about it.  Can't contain my excitement."
It was true.  With Mulder out of town, life was far too
mundane.  Granted, she was always bitching that she didn't
have a normal life, but normal wasn't all it was cracked up
to be.  At least with him in the same vicinity there was the
chance that something interesting would happen.
 "Sounds tedious.  I'm tackling the attic tomorrow.  Can't
wait to see what awaits me there."
 "Come on, Mulder.  Attics are fun.  You find all sorts of
bizarre and ancient things that you A) can't imagine anyone
using and B) can't figure out why anyone would save."
 He chuckled. "Yes, and knowing my father, there will be
even more bizarre things than in a normal house.  Maybe I'll
find an old alien probe or a box of Roswell photos."
 "You wish," she grinned at him.  "I'd hear the shout of joy
from here."
 "Hmm," Mulder muttered.  "I'm not so sure.  I'll settle for
a fantastically expensive coin collection and my old Indian
Guide uniform."
 She laughed.  Just the idea of Mulder as an Indian Guide
made her smile.  Of a young Mulder in the khaki shirt and
shorts, knobby knees sticking out, cowlick whipped by the
wind.  Suddenly there was a lump in her throat.
 "I don't think the uniform will still fit," she said,
wincing as her voice cracked a little.  He couldn't know
what the image of him as a boy did to her heart.
 "No, I'm pretty sure not," he said amiably.  "I guess I
just want proof that I didn't dream that part of my life."
 Oh Mulder.  She closed her eyes and felt her heart
constrict.  There was so much in that simple statement.
There was a time when his life had seemed normal, when he
had been the All-American boy.  It had been a lie, but at
least he had been able to believe it for a while.  She
thought of him in the dusty attic, facing lie after lie as
he stuffed the proof into endless garbage bags for the
workers to haul away.  Was there no end to his pain?
 "Mulder," her voice was firm again.  She had a plan.  No,
just a thought.  But it felt right and she was going with
it.
 "Yeah?"
 "I'm going to come up early.  I'm going to come up there
tomorrow."
 "No.  Scully, you don't need to baby-sit--"
 "I'm not, Mulder.  I wasn't kidding when I said I love
attics.  I really do.  It's like going through a time
machine.  And I'm bored stupid sitting around here."
 "Bored stupid, Scully?"  she heard the amusement in his
voice.
 "Yes.  I'm going to email Skinner and request the time
off.  I'm sure it won't be a problem."
 "Scully-"  A thousand warning bells rang in her head.  He
doesn't want you there.  He wants to be alone.  He doesn't
want your pity.  You don't know what you're walking into.
You don't know what could happen.  She ignored them all.
 "I'll be there by noon.  One o'clock at the latest."
 "Are you sure?"  She felt a wave of relief wash over her.
He did want her there.  He was just afraid to ask.
 "I'm positive.  I need to go pack, Mulder."
 "Okay.  I'll see you..tomorrow."  He sounded happy and she
knew she was.
 "Tomorrow, then."

Continued in Part 4 when things get really interesting....

PART FOUR - Rating - PG-13 for sexual situation


Oh, it was stupid.  It was childish and immature and she was
pretty damn sure she had stepped through a time machine
sometime during the night because she felt more like a
lovesick teenager than a middle aged woman.
 A lovesick teenager on her way to meet with the man of her
dreams.  Not her partner.  Not her friend.  A man. The one
that made her stomach roil and her pulse beat faster.
 She glanced at herself in the rearview mirror and saw the
flush on her cheeks, the sparkle in her eyes.  She had told
herself that she was being ridiculous.  It was just Mulder.
It was just a few days out of town together.  It wasn't like
they didn't do this all the time.
 But there was no case.  No conspiracy.  No board of shadowy
figures to elude.  She was just helping someone she cared
about go through the painful process of sorting through his
father's things.  Then they would go to his mother's house
and repeat the process.  She was just going to help.
 But what made the difference was that he wanted her help.
Hers.  In all the world, there was only one person he would
share this with, and it was her.  And she was determined to
be there for him.  In all their years together, there was
too much that they had both still faced alone.  Often by
choice.  More often by habit.  She wanted to change that.
 It was 12:16 when she pulled into the driveway behind
Mulder's car.  She stilled the urge to check herself in the
mirror again and climbed out of the car.  She tugged her
blue sweater down and locked the car door.  Emotions,
thoughts, and fears flashed through her as she walked to the
front door.  Don't think, Dana.  Just do.
 She knocked on the door, eschewing the doorbell and
waited.  In moments, she heard his footsteps inside the
house and the door opened.  He was wearing a black t-shirt
and jeans.  A strand of hair hung in his hazel eyes and he
hadn't shaved that morning.  He smiled at her.
*I love him*
"Hi," he said and stepped back to let her enter.
"Hi," she replied and crossed the thresh hold, her shoulder
brushing against his arm.  She suppressed a shiver.
 "How was the drive?"  He lead her into the living room.
There were boxes and garbage bags everywhere.  The shelves
had already been cleared off, the pictures stripped from the
wall.  She turned and smiled at him.
 "Not bad.  I made pretty good time."
 "Can I get you a drink?"  He gestured for her to sit on the
couch.
 "Thanks, no.  I just finished a soda."  She shifted a
little.  "I'd like to stand for a while, if you don't mind."

 He smiled easily.  "Butt numb?"  She grinned back.
 "Yeah.  A little."
 "Want me to rub it?"  He leered suggestively and she
laughed outright.
 "How did I know you would offer, Mulder?"  Her insides did
a flip flop.  "One of these days I'm going to say yes and
then what will you do?"  she prodded him teasingly.  He
cocked his head to the side and a lazy smile drifted across
his face.
 "I'd die a happy man."  She laughed again and rolled her
eyes.  And Scully's stomach does a lay out double back and
the crowd goes wild.
 "I'll just bet," she murmured.  "So, let's see the attic."
 She followed him up the stairs to the second floor.  On the
landing she stopped to look out the window at the gorgeous
view.  It was really too bad this place had such awful
memories for him. It would make a great summer house.  And
she had to check out the furniture while she was here
 He led her to a narrow door in the hallway and pulled it
open.  Appropriately, it creaked and they grinned at each
other.  He reached inside and fumbled for the string
suspended from the lightbulb.  The bare bulb glowed,
revealing a set of steep stairs.  Mulder bowed low and
gestured for her to proceed him.
 "Ladies first."  She arched an eyebrow at him and started
up the stairs.  Despite the relative gloom, she was sure
Mulder had a very good view of her ass.  She chanced a
glance over her shoulder and sure enough, that was where his
eyes were focused.
 "You're staring at my ass, Mulder," she said dryly. Or she
hoped that was how she sounded.
 "Just wondering if it was still numb," he countered, as
they continued to climb.  She paused, one foot on the top
step, and slowly wiggled her hips from side to side.
 "Nope.  Feels fine."  She climbed the last step and walked
into the attic.  She didn't need to turn around to know
Mulder's mouth was hanging open.  Special Agent Scully did
not do those things.  Not in front of her partner.
 Scully turned all the way around in the attic, peering into
the dark reaches under the eaves.  A dirty window to the
north and another to the east supplemented the meager
artificial light.  Dust motes danced in the air and she drew
in a breath of dry, musty air.
 "Ah, the smell of an attic.  It's universal."
 She turned to find Mulder looking at her, a small smile
playing along the corners of his mouth.  He was clearly
wondering what had gotten into her and she had every
intention of letting him wonder.
 "Where should we start?"

Scully did love attics.  She loved opening old boxes and
discovering bits and pieces of the past.  That it was not
her past made no difference.  History was elemental, no
matter whose it was.
 Scully did not like dust, however, and it was all over
her.  In her hair, on her sweater, and at least a pound of
it was up her nose.  Every time she blew her nose the
tissues got blacker.  And despite Mulder un-sticking and
propping open both windows, it was hot in the attic, making
them both sweat.
 She glanced over at Mulder as he sorted through yet another
box of books.  Rivulets of sweat had streaked through the
coating of dust on the side of his face and she had the
strongest urge to paint Indian war stripes there.  They
hadn't found his Indian Guide uniform, but as Mulder had
explained, if it had been kept anywhere, it would be at his
mother's house.  Scully was disappointed, but maintained
hope that his mother had kept it in a fit of sentimentality.

 She sneezed for the upteempth time and felt her throat
constrict tightly.  It was time for a rest and a cold drink.

 "I vote we break for a cold drink," she offered, and pulled
herself to her feet.  She winced as her back twinged from
hunching over boxes.  Mulder's eyes focused on her and put
the book in his hands back into the box.
 "Sounds like a plan to me."  She reached out a hand and
hauled him to his feet. If her back hurt, she could only
imagine what his must be like after five days of similar
work.  His hand was warm as it clasped hers and now on his
feet, he towered over her as he usually did.  She tilted her
face up to his and his eyes caressed it.  He hadn't said
anything, but she knew how much he appreciated her being
there.  She smiled and to her delight, he did the same.  She
turned and led him to the stairs, their fingers still
entwined.
 Mulder had clearly gone to the store since they had talked
on the phone the night before.  The fridge was stocked with
her favorite soda, water, and yogurt.  She handed him a can
of iced tea and took a soda for herself before sitting at
the kitchen table opposite him.
 She cracked open her can and took a long drink.
 "You went shopping."
 "Least I could do for helping me clean out this mausoleum."

 Scully looked around the kitchen.  It hadn't been updated
in a while and the lack of care it had received was
evident.  Still, it had possibilities.  It could serve a
family well, if so called upon.
 "I don't know.  I kind of like this house, Mulder."  She
looked at him as he gulped his tea.  "I know it has bad
memories for you.  But it's a nice house."
 He shrugged and finished off his can.  He pivoted in his
chair and shot it into the garbage can by the counter.
Mulder pumped both hands into the air.
 "And the crowd goes wild."  Scully felt a twinge in her gut
at the familiar phrase.  At least one member of the crowd
was going wild, she mused.
 He had pivoted back in his chair and was looking at her
intently.  She tried to meet his eyes evenly, sipping her
drink.
 "So, Scully," he said, drawing out her name slightly.
"Wish you were back in DC doing your laundry, yet?"
 She took another sip and returned his gaze.
 "Nope."
 "Wishing you were cleaning your apartment rather than a
dusty, dirty old attic?"
 Sip.  "Nope."  He cocked his head slightly.
 "Wish you had a partner who wasn't such a headcase?"
 Sip.  Sip.  "Nope."  His eyes were shining at her and she
knew hers were twinkling right back.  No regrets, she
thought to herself.  I hope he can see that.
 He must have because he reached out and took her hand in
his and squeezed it gently.  His hazel eyes were soft and
warm and she wanted to just sink into them and forget about
everything else.  Trade him for someone normal?  Nope.
 She squeezed his fingers back and put down her can.  Was
this the moment?  The one that she had wanted and feared and
dreamed about?  Was this the way it would happen?  That she
would finally turn off the alarm bells, climb over her own
walls, and just let her heart have its way?  She had come so
close once.  In the hallway.  And then the opportunity had
been stolen, and she had never gotten the nerve back.  But
maybe now, maybe here, they could try again.  Maybe they
could build some good memories in this house before it was
gone.
 She caressed the back of his hand with her thumb and then
slowly raised his hand to her lips.  Softly, she kissed the
back of his hand, her lips rubbing against the warm skin and
the wiry hair, her eyes never leaving his.  She heard his
sharp intake of breath and saw his pupils dilate slightly.
He turned his hand and one finger stroked the side of her
face.  He was drinking her in with his eyes and she felt
herself leaning forward, willing him to pull her in, make
her his.  Mulder leaned forward, his other hand coming to
rest on the other side of her face.  He was cupping her face
now, rising up out of his chair and she knew in a moment
their lips were going to touch
 A loud bang on the door startled both of them and they
jerked apart.  Scully blinked and licked her lips, her eyes
casting about wildly for a moment, wondering where the noise
had come from.  Mulder was on his feet, frowning as he
ducked his head slightly to look out the window.  Without a
word, he went to the front door.
 After a moment, Scully followed him.  She was in the
hallway when he opened the door and was rocked back by a
woman throwing herself into his arms.  Mulder took a step
back, his arms automatically encircling the woman to steady
her against him.  Scully's mouth dropped open as the woman
threw back her head and planted a kiss firmly on Mulder's
lips.  Phoebe Green.


Continued in Part 5.....

PART FIVE - Rating - PG-13 for language

 Mulder yanked his lips away from Phoebe and pushed her off
him.  Phoebe grinned up at him and pressed her body against
his again.
 "Hello, Mulder.  Aren't you going to say hi to an old
friend?"
 He pushed her away completely this time, stepping back and
putting his hands on his hips.  The frown on his face echoed
in his eyes, which were hooded and dark.
 "Phoebe, what the hell are you doing here?"
 "Looking for you," she purred, putting her hands on her own
hips.  "I heard you were taking holiday."
 "How did you find me?"
 She smiled dazzlingly up at him and reached out and stroked
a well manicured finger down his chest.  "I have my
sources."  He batted her finger away.
 "And the fact that I didn't want to be found meant nothing
to you?"
 She gave him an appraising look and folded her arms across
her chest.  "How was I to know you didn't want to be found?"

 "I thought I made that pretty clear," Scully said coldly.
She was leaning against the doorway into the kitchen, her
arms folded across her chest, her fists clenched.
 Phoebe slowly turned her head and looked Scully up and
down.  Scully knew how she had to look. Sweaty, dirty,
disheveled.  And almost kissed, damnit.  She glared at
Phoebe, who responded by looking back at Mulder.
 "I asked her to give you my number.  When I didn't hear
from you, I took matters into my own hands."
 "I got your number," Mulder said stiffly.  "I didn't call."

 Phoebe shot a look at Scully and smiled back at Mulder.
 "But how was I to know that?  Agent Scully not very
forthcoming.  She's rather protective of you, you know."
This seemed to amuse Phoebe and she arched an eyebrow at
him.
 "The feeling is mutual.  So now that you know I got your
message and didnt call, you can leave."
 "Mulder!"  Phoebe pouted.  "Is that the way to treat an old
friend?  After I came all this way to see you?"
 Mulder leaned forward until his face was almost touching
hers.  When he spoke, his voice was low and soft, and Scully
felt a chill zip down her spine.  Mulder was no one to mess
with when he spoke in that tone.
 "You are not my friend.  You never were.  You were not
invited here.  You are not welcome here. Now leave."
 Phoebe's eyes widened and she blanched.  She's not used to
being talked to like that, Scully realized.  I wonder if
anyone has ever dared speak to her like that?  She hoped
not.  She wanted Mulder to get some pound of flesh for what
Phoebe had put him through.
 "Fox!"  Phoebe said, and Scully was pleased to hear that
her voice was higher than usual.  "You're just going to
throw me out?"
 "Yes," he said, still softly, though he had drawn back from
her.
 "Just like that?  You don't even want to know why I came
here?"
 He shook his head.  "I don't care."
 "What if I told you-"
 He held up his hand.  "Which part of 'I don't care' don't
you get, Phoebe?  I don't care why you're here, why you say
you're here, what you want, what you think you can get, or
what lies you are prepared to tell to get what you want.  I
just want you to leave."
 She was staring at him open mouthed now, and clearly Phoebe
had no idea just how badly she had burned her bridges with
this man.  She had no clue, Scully thought bitterly, just
how badly she had hurt him.  But she did know, whether she
wanted to admit it or not, just what she had thrown away.
 "Fox, I can't just turn around and leave.  It's almost four
o'clock.  It will be dark soon.  I don't have anywhere to
stay."
 He shrugged.  "Not my problem.  Go into the village.  I'm
sure someone there can point you to an inn or something."
 "You don't care?  If I stumble around in the darkness, in a
foreign country?  Just like that?"
 Mulder cocked his head to the side and Scully could see the
beginnings of a smile curling his lips.  Mulder brought up
his hand and snapped his fingers in Phoebe's face.
 "Just like that, Phoebes.  Don't let the door hit you on
the way out."
 Phoebe had gone pale at Mulder's earlier pronouncements,
but now a dark flush was stealing across her cheeks.
 "But--"
 "Phoebe, if you don't walk out that door in the next five
seconds, I am going to bodily throw you out it," Mulder
drawled.  "I think you know I'll do it."
 "I just don't-"  Phoebe stopped.  She saw the glint in his
eye and closed her mouth.  Without another word, she turned
and walked through the door, pulling it closed behind her
with a bang.
 Mulder stared at the door for a moment, his hands still on
his hips.
 "Bitch," he said to the door and turned and looked at
Scully.  Scully met his eyes with her own round ones and
couldn't help it.  She whooped with laughter!
 "Mulder!" she said gleefully.  "You were incredible!"  He
smiled ruefully and shrugged, half embarrassed.  Scully
couldn't believe what she had just seen.  Mulder had given
Phoebe Green her comeuppance and she, Dana Scully, had been
there to witness it!  All of the sudden she felt like
dancing.  She crossed the foyer quickly and swept Mulder
into a hug.  She felt his surprise and then he was hugging
her back.  She squeezed him hard and then pulled back to
grin up at him.
 "Remind me to never, ever piss you off that badly!"
 Mulder grinned down at her and reached up to brush back an
errant strand of red hair.
 "You could never piss me off that badly, Scully."

 They showered and drove into town for dinner.  She watched
as Mulder's eyes flicked over every car on the road, back
and forth to the rearview mirror and the side mirror.  He
was expected Phoebe to pop up at any moment, and the muscle
throbbing in his jaw suggested that he was going to have a
lot more to say about it if she did.
 Scully sank back into the upholstery and let her own gaze
fall on the passing scenery.  She was no longer worried
about Phoebe Green.  Mulder had made it very clear, in word
and deed, that he wanted no part of her.  She could spin her
tales and drop innuendoes until the cows came home.  He
wasn't interested.  Scully knew he had never listened to
that tape.  It had wound up as landfill, unheard.
 The small Italian restaurant hadn't been redecorated in
twenty years and Scully had her doubts about Mulder's choice
until the first bite of gnocchi passed her lips.  She closed
her eyes and almost moaned.
 "Good, huh?"  She opened her eyes to find Mulder smiling at
her.  He'd been doing a lot of that today, and so had she.
It was a good habit to develop.
 "Delicious.  I would have never guessed."
 "I know."  He paused to take a bite of his lasagna.  "The
locals are the only ones that know about this place.  I
think the owners purposefully don't fix it up so that the
tourists don't stop here."
 "Still," Scully said, after swallowing another bite.  How
did they make the gnocchi so light?  Hers were always a
little heavy.  "I'm surprised word of mouth doesn't get
around."
 "I think telling a non-local about this place is grounds
for being barred from the restaurant," Mulder said.  "I'm
not taking any chances.  How about you?"
 "But I'm not a local, Mulder.  Aren't you going to get into
trouble?"  Her eyes danced at him.  His twinkled back.
 "No.  They'll just assume you're my wife or girlfriend.
That's allowed."
 "So, we're undercover, then?"
 "Mhm," he murmured around another bite of lasagna, followed
by a sip of wine.
 "So, which is it?  Wife or girlfriend?"  She took a sip of
wine.  "We should be on the same page if we don't want to
get caught."
 Mulder chewed for a moment, looking thoughtful.
 "Fiancie," he said finally.  Scully wagged her empty ring
finger.  "I just popped the question.  We're going to
Sevigny's tomorrow to pick out the ring."
 "Sevigny?"
 "A jeweler in the village.  Does first rate, custom
designs.  People come from all over to buy from him.  He and
my dad used to golf together occasionally."
 "I see.  So I can expect a nice fat diamond on my finger
then?"
 Mulder grinned wolfishly.
 "But of course.  Sevigny wouldn't let me give you anything
less.  So, yellow gold or platinum?"
 "Platinum."
 "Solitaire, emerald cut or marquise?"
 Scully arched an eyebrow.  How did he know so much about
jewels?  Apparently, Sevigny had passed along the tricks of
his trade.
 "Hmm, that's tough.  I like solitaire, but that's what
everyone has. Emerald cut, I think."
 Mulder nodded, pretending to take this seriously.  Scully
couldn't help but smile.  This banter was fun.  They
definitely needed to do more of this.  Mulder leaned forward
and looked at her hand as it held her fork.
 "About a carat, I'd say.  Something not too overpowering
for your hand, but still big enough to let everyone know
you're taken."
 She arched an eyebrow at that.  "No arguments there.  So,
an emerald cut diamond set in platinum."
 "High quality, of course."
 "Oh, of course."  She sat back from her plate and tucked an
errant strand of hair back into place.  "That ought to cost
you at least two months pay, Mulder.  You're very serious
about protecting this restaurant."
 "Above and beyond the call of duty," he said solemnly and
raised his glass in a toast.  She did the same and the
crystal clinked together.  They both took a sip.
 "So," Scully said, digging into her dinner again.  "What
about you?  Yellow gold or platinum?"
 "Platinum to match yours, of course."
 "Diamonds, or no diamonds?"
 He shrugged.  "Maybe a couple of small ones.  Nothing too
pretentious."
 "No," she said solemnly.  "But just enough to show that
you're taken."
 A smile quirked his lips.
 "Exactly."

Continued in Part 6...

PART SIX - Rating - R for strong sexual content

They had returned to his father's house in companionable
silence.  She had eaten too much, but after the wonderful
pasta there was no way she was not trying the tiramisu.  If
possible, it had been better than the pasta and she had
savored every bite.  She had been conscious of Mulder of
watching her enjoy the dessert, his eyes lit with
happiness.  He was happy to have found a place she liked and
enjoyed watching her.  She had licked the last bite off the
spoon very slowly, just for good measure.
 They had walked hand in hand to the car and he had opened
the door for her and helped her in.  To any observer, they
looked like a newly engaged couple.  The woman sparkling and
giggly from wine, the man content and pleased to have
pleased her.  The grizzled sixtysomething hostess had
recognized Mulder's name on the credit card and although
years had passed, offered condolences on his father's
passing.  Damn shame, she had said.  Nice man, always said
thank you, always treated people right.  It didn't hurt that
Mulder had left an outrageous tip.
 They pulled into the driveway and Scully released her
seatbelt.  She was tired, pleasantly so, from the day's
exertions.  Phoebe Green was a thing of the past, and Scully
didn't even think of her when Mulder opened the screen door
and a slip of paper fell out.  He, apparently, was thinking
of Phoebe, as his jaw tightened when the paper fell to the
ground.  He stooped to pick it up and unfolded it with one
hand.
 Scully felt her stomach clench.  That bitch just doesn't
give up, Scully thought.  What the hell does it take for her
to get a clue?
 "What is it?"  she asked, dreading the answer.
 "It's from the local police.  It appears they have a
'friend' of mind in custody who is asking for me."  He
flicked her a glance over the note.  "Guess who that would
be."
 "Why is she in custody?"
 He shrugged and crumpled the paper in his hand.  "Who
knows?  Who cares?  She probably got stopped for speeding
and flipped off the cop.  Not my problem."  He unlocked the
door and they went inside.  Scully pulled off her coat and
hung it on the halltree in the corner.  Mulder had shrugged
off his jacket and let it fall over the staircase railing.
Automatically, Scully picked it up and hung it up.  She
turned around to find Mulder watching her, a half smile
playing on his lips.
 "Once a slob, always a slob," he said.  She shrugged.
 "My neat-knickness is ingrained.  The navy pounded it into
my father's head and he pounded it into ours."  She smiled
at a memory.  "Melissa never did get it, though.  Used to
drive Dad crazy.  Didn't matter how many times he yelled at
her or grounded her or gave her more chores, she just
couldn't remember to put things back where they belonged."
 "I'd have been dead meat, huh?"  They moved to the couch
and sat down.  Scully folded her legs underneath her.
 "I don't think so.  He didn't demand perfection from
everyone.  Just his children."
 Mulder rolled his eyes.
 "Ouch."  She shrugged.
 "You know, it wasn't always fun.  I mean, when Dad got mad
that military training came out.  We did drills, no joke.
But you know, it taught me discipline.  And it taught me
that my father cared.  He really cared about what happened
to me.  About what kind of person I was.  I didn't realize
that until later, but that was probably the best part of his
rules and regulations."
 Mulder nodded and his eyes were sad.  No doubt wondering
what it would have been like to have a father who cared so
much.  She reached for his hand, draped along the back of
the couch, and took it in his own.
 "Your father did care, Mulder.  He just got tangled up with
the wrong people."
 Slowly, Mulder shook his head, but his hand stayed in hers.

 "No, Scully.  He was the wrong people."
 "He tried to make it right, Mulder.  At the end.  When he
called and needed to talk to you."
 Mulder looked at her, his hazel eyes sad and weary.  He
doesn't even try to believe, she realized.  This is one
battle he really and truly has given up.  Now the question
was, did she dare try to rekindle the hope?  Was that fair?
Was it wise?
 "He was drunk, Scully.  And scared.  I was out of it on
those drugs in my water, but I knew that even then.
Something had spooked him and that's why he called me.  I
don't know if I believe he was going to even tell me
anything.  I think he just wanted my reassurance."
 "Reassurance about what?"  She shifted closer to him on the
couch, their legs almost touching.  His fingers were warm in
hers.  She could feel the sadness in him.
 "That I was still there.  That I didn't know anything."  He
paused.  "Maybe that I didn't hate him."
 "Did you?" she asked softly.
 He rubbed the pad of her thumb with his own, painting slow
circles around it.  He stared at their enjoined fingers,
watched as he traced her skin.
 "No," he said at last.  "I didn't hate him.  Not then.  I
didn't know enough. I didn't realize that he was a
perpetrator, not a victim.  I didn't know that he had
willingly handed Samantha over."
 "And now?"
 He sighed and squeezed her hand.  He looked at her, his
eyes trailing over her face, searching for something.
 "You can't really understand that can you, Scully?  Hating
one of your parents?  Hating someone in your family?"
 "I've come pretty close with Bill a couple of times,"
Scully muttered.  Mulder laughed.
 "Okay, I'll grant you that.  He can be maddening, for
sure.  But, deep down, you know you love him.  You know that
he loves you.  He may drive you crazy, but he's never
betrayed you."
 She nodded and dropped her head.  He was right.  She really
didn't have a frame of reference.  She hated the men that
had taken her.  Hated the men who had left her sterile and
wondering how many hybrid children they had brought into the
world using her stolen eggs.  She hated the men who
continued to taunt and torture Mulder with the truth.  But
it was not the same as being sold out by your own flesh and
blood.
 She felt his finger under her chin and raised her eyes to
his. Tears burned in hers and she saw a glimmer in his.
 "I'm sorry, Mulder.  I don't have anything to cry about."
 "It's okay. We'll talk about something else."
 She blinked hard a couple of times and shook her head to
clear her thoughts.  There was something that she wanted to
say.  Had wanted to say to him for a long time.
 "Mulder, I want you to think about something."  She pulled
his hand into her lap and wrapped her other hand around it.
She really wanted him to hear this.  She needed to reach
him.  She saw that she had his full attention, his eyes warm
and open.   But the sadness still lurked.
 "I know that I don't have a real point of reference for how
you feel.  I don't know what it is like to be betrayed by a
family member.  I don't know what it is like to be the child
chosen to stay and live with the guilt.  I don't know what
it is like to discover that my father was a traitor.  But I
do know two things."
 She paused and collected her thoughts.
 "One, is that despite everything that he did, I know that
your father did care about you.  Mulder, he may have been
scared and drunk when he called you, but he still called
you.  He reached out to you.  He was out of the work for a
long time before that.  Cancer Man told us that.  That he
had turned his back on the work.  I don't think he was
trying to protect it, or the Consortium.  He was reaching
out to you, to protect you.  It doesn't make up for what he
did, but it shows--I think it clearly shows--that he did
love you."
 She bit her lip, watching his reaction.  His eyes were
glossy with tears, but his face was composed.  He was
listening to her, taking it in, turning it over in his mind.

 "The other thing I know is this.  After all that you went
through, Mulder.  Losing Samantha, the guilt, the shame, the
fear.  Working so hard all these years, throwing away chance
after chance to improve your own life in favor of finding
the truth.  Suffering the things that have been done to
you.  After ALL that, Mulder.   To find out that your father
was part of it.  That he contributed to that.  Mulder, there
is no shame in hating your father for that.  Whether that
hate lasts a minute or a lifetime, there's nothing wrong
with that.  It doesn't make you a lesser person."
 The tears were brimming in his eyes now and she could see
that he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.  He
wasn't the only one.  She leaned forward.
 "Mulder, you need to forgive yourself for your feelings
about your father.  You need to allow yourself to be human."

 "What about turning the other cheek, Scully?" Mulder said
hoarsely.  "What about forgive thy neighbor?"
 "Mulder," she said softly.  "Even God has his limits.  He
struck down Babylon.  He brought the flood.  Even he could
turn the cheek only so many times."
 Mulder ducked his head and she saw his chest heave.  He was
trying to keep it together , but she wasn't going to let
him.  She pulled him into her arms and he grasped her, his
arms sliding around her waist.  She hugged him to her,
slowly rocking as his tears fell.  Heal, she prayed
fervently.  Let some of the sadness drain away.  Let some of
the guilt fall to dust.
They stayed that way for several minutes before he turned
his head to the side and cleared his throat.
 "I don't still hate him, Scully," he whispered.  "Sometimes
I want to, but I just can't.  I just feelsad."
 She nodded and stroked his hair.  "Yes, he was a sad
person.  He had everything in life and then he lost it."
 "I don't think I could do that.  I know I couldn't."  He
sat back, wiping at his eyes and she reached up and stroked
away the wetness he had missed.  He grabbed her hand.  "I
can't ever lose you, Scully.  It would kill me."
 "You're not ever going to lose me, Mulder.  I'm stuck on
you like white on rice."
 Mulder's eyebrows rose at that and she couldn't help but
smile sheepishly. Okay, it was a silly saying, but it was
true.  Nothing he could do would dislodge her from his
life.  And the same was true vice versa, she knew that as
well.
 "Scully," he was massaging her hand with his thumb again,
and it was creating a very nice feeling in the pit of her
stomach.  He glanced up at her and then back down again,
almost shyly.  "We got interrupted again, this afternoon."
 She nodded, but couldn't get words to come out of her
mouth.
 "It seems like we always get to a moment and then something
happens."
 She nodded again, never taking her eyes from his.  His
thumb was painting patterns on her skin and dizzily she try
to follow them and his voice at the same time. He looked up
at her then, his eyes serious and hesitant.
 "I'd like to try that moment again."
 "Third time's a charm," she said, and her voice cracked.
Please please please just let it happen this time.
 He was leaning forward, looking straight into her eyes, and
she couldn't remember how to breathe.  Her lips parted
slightly and she swallowed.  His eyes were so soft, the
greens and browns swirling.  His lips were parted slightly
too and she wanted to taste them so badly.  I'll never eat
gnocchi again if it means I get to kiss those lips right
now, she thought inanely.  I will offer any sacrifice to any
god if it means we can finally have this moment.
 Mulder's lips were almost touching hers and she could feel
his warmth breath on her face.  Her heart was thudding in
her chest, or was that her throat? and dimly she realized
that he had stopped stroking her hand and was now just
holding it.
 He rubbed the end of her nose softly with his own and oh
God it was so sensual the way he did that.  Eskimo kiss,
Mulder?  Somebody kick start my breathing again, okay?
 "Scully," his lips were so close, it was hard not to close
her eyes and press her mouth against his.  "No matter what
happens If the house falls down, if aliens materialize in
this living room, if Elvis comes down the stairs singing
"Walking in Memphis", I am going to kiss you.  Okay?"
 She licked her lips.  "Okay."
 Her eyes flickered shut and then his mouth covered hers and
she felt her heart surge.  Their mouths pressed against one
another, their lips rubbing, tasting.  His hand came up
under her chin and he pressed her to him.  His tongue darted
forward, first tasting her lips, then pushing past them into
her mouth, stroking her tongue.  Their mouths opened wider,
the kiss deepening, their tongues twining and dancing as
they explored each other.
 One of her hands was on his chest and the other on his
thigh.  She leaned in and stretched up, willing their mouths
to merge completely.  My God, she had been kissed, or
thought she had.  But never like this.  Never with such
passion, such tenderness.
 Never with such love.
 His fingers were tangled in her hair and he was sucking on
her bottom lip, nibbling on it and it sent a jolt straight
through her.  Oh God, if the first kiss was this good, what
was the rest of it going to be like?  She shivered, because
she had every intention of finding out.  Soon.
 Finally, they broke apart, breathing heavy and staring into
each other's eyes.
 "Was it worth the wait?" he asked breathlessly.
 "Yes," she said, just as breathless.  "But I think we need
to do it again.  Immediately."
 He smiled then, a full-out beautiful smile that reached his
eyes and it filled her heart to overflowing.  Then he
lowered his mouth and captured her lips again and Scully
wrapped her arms around his neck.  She wanted to be closer
to him, wanted to touch every inch of him.  Only when they
were inside each other would she be sated.  She pressed
herself against him and felt Mulder pull her back against
him as he leaned back against the couch. Scully threw her
leg over his hips and straddled him, capturing his lower lip
at the same time, nipping it with her teeth.
 She felt Mulder gasp as she nipped him and again as her
thighs settled around him.  His hands tightened on her waist
and then one hand slipped down to caress her bottom through
her cotton pants and she felt a jolt of molten heat sear her
to the core.  She arched back against his caress and felt
Mulder's fingers tighten in response.  They were both
breathing heavily now and she broke their kiss to dip down
and run her lips along his jaw and under his chin.
 "Scully," he whispered fiercely.  His mouth was on her
neck, nipping at her collarbone, licking along her
clavicle.  She sucked his ear lobe into her mouth and his
hips bucked involuntarily, throwing him up against her.
Pure heat suffused her as she felt his hardness through his
black jeans and she thrust back just as involuntarily.
 "Scully," his voice was ragged.  "Scully, are you sure?"
 She kissed him fiercely, her teeth pressing against his.
 "Yes," she said into his mouth.  He kissed her back just as
fiercely and then his hands were on her hips and he was
pressing her down against him and he was thrusting up and
she tossed her head back and moaned.  Oh God that felt so
good.  Oh, she had to have more.  More.
 Mulder's mouth attacked her neck, her jaw, her shoulder as
they ground against each other.  He was rock hard, thrusting
up against her, the heat from their bodies making their
clothing damp.  She ran her hands along his chest, seeking
out his nipples to roll and pinch them.  He bucked up
against her harder, knocking the breath out of her lungs.
It was time to get the clothes off.  Now.
 She bunched handfuls of his t-shirt in her hands and tugged
upwards.  Mulder let go of her long enough to raise his arms
and let the t-shirt slip off.  She tossed it over the couch
and looked at him.  His eyes were dark with desire and his
lips were full and bruised from their kisses.  His chest,
lightly covered with dark hair, was heaving from their
exertions.  His tight hard stomach quivered as she stroked
her fingers over his six pack.
 He was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
She smiled slowly, triumphantly, lovingly. He returned her
smile and reached forward to kiss her softly, with exquisite
tenderness. Where their first kiss of a few moments ago was
a beginning, so too, was this one.  There were no questions,
no fears now.  They knew the future. They were going to be
lovers.
Scully's fingers went to his waistband.  She fumbled for the
button and finally grasping it, tugged it open.  Mulder's
breath caught in his throat as she grabbed the tab of his
zipper and slid it down.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The pounding on the front door made them both jump for the
second time that day.  Their eyes met and the same thought
shuttled through both of their minds at once.  Phoebe.
Scully stared into Mulder's eyes, watching as the anger
battled for a place with the pure lust that had darkened his
hazel eyes to green.
"Ignore it," he said, his voice husky with desire.  He
reached for her again but she stilled his advance with a
light brush of fingertips on his forearm.
"I can't, Mulder.  Knowing her, she'll just break in a
window or pick the lock."
Mulder hissed in frustration and nodded jerkily, knowing she
was right.  Wordlessly, Scully slid off his lap and he rose
to his feet.  He glanced around and spying his t-shirt on
the floor behind the couch, he bent to retrieve it.  Scully
sat back against the couch, watching with barely cooled
desire as he tugged the shirt back over his head and down
across his torso.  They had been so damn close.  New hatred
for Phoebe burned in her veins as she watched Mulder walk to
the front door.
Mulder twisted the deadbolt and threw open the door without
even trying to see who was on the doorstep first.  Every
line of his body betrayed the seething fury that was now the
source of his boiling blood.  Phoebe was going to get it
like she had never had it before.

Continued in Part 7....

PART SEVEN - Rating - PG-13 for language, sexual innuendo




Mulder stared dumbstruck at the diminutive sheriff that
stood in the doorway.  Mulder took in the woman's liquid
brown eyes, her pixie haircut, and the Glock 9mm strapped to
her hip.
"Fox Mulder?" she asked.  He looked past her, his eyes
searching the darkness for the familiar form and saw only
the outline of trees.
"Yes."
"I'm Deputy Sanger.  I'm sorry to bother you so late, sir,
but I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time."
Mulder pursed his lips and hesitated for a moment.  Throwing
Phoebe out on her ear was one thing.  Tossing a sheriff's
deputy off the front porch was another.  He stepped aside
and gestured for her to enter.
Scully rose to her feet as the female sheriff stepped into
the room.  Even in boots the woman was just Scully's height,
and more petite.  She looked like a stiff wind could knock
her flat and Scully realized this was the way people thought
when they looked at her.  Not big enough to carry that
badge.  Not strong enough to wield that gun.  Scully had no
problem with either idea.  She had the distinct feeling that
the cover of this book hid a spine of steel.
"Deputy Sanger, this is my partner, Special Agent Dana
Scully.  Scully, this is Deputy Sanger."  He looked down at
the deputy.  "I assume you know that I am an FBI agent?"
The deputy nodded.  "Yes, sir.  It's common knowledge."
Deputy Sanger looked back at Scully and she felt herself
being coolly appraised and categorized.  What the hell was
this about?
Mulder gestured for the deputy to sit but she shook her head
and looked back and forth between the two of them.
"What can we do for you, Deputy?" Scully asked, in what she
hoped was a neutral tone.  Her nerves were still jangling
from Mulder's touch, his kisses.  Had they really just been
about to do the wild thing on his father's couch?  Had it
really only been three minutes ago that she had been
unzipping his jeans?
"There was an incident earlier involving a woman who claims
to be a friend of yours."
"Phoebe Green," Mulder said.  The deputy arched an eyebrow.
"Yes.  You knew she was in town?"
"She stopped by unexpectedly this afternoon.  I didn't know
if she was staying in town or not."
"So, she's not staying with you?"
Mulder shook his head.  "No."
The deputy waited for him to elaborate. When the silence
stretched she nodded, as if she was understanding something.

"Would you care to describe the nature of your relationship
with Ms. Green?"
Mulder shifted and his eyes shot to Scully quickly before he
looked back down at Sanger.
"I wouldn't say we have a relationship.  I went to college
with her in England.  I haven't heard from her in years.
She showed up here this afternoon, totally out of the blue."

"Did she say why she was here?"
"She started to and I cut her off.  I didn't want to hear
it."
"Did you ask her to leave?"
"Yes."
Scully frowned as she listened to the question and answer
exchange.  Something was funny here.  If Phoebe was trying
to get Mulder to bail her out why the twenty questions?
"I'm sorry, Deputy Sanger, but I'm a little confused,"
Scully said quietly.  "Why are you interested in Agent
Mulder's relationship with Phoebe Green?  What has
happened?"
The other woman's eyes met hers and her curiosity was
frank.  Clearly Phoebe had not mentioned that Scully was
here with Mulder.  Just as clearly, Phoebe had suggested
that her relationship with Mulder was far more intimate than
Mulder was explaining.
"Ms. Green was stopped just outside village limits for
excessive speeding.  When she protested, the officer asked
her to exit the vehicle.  There was an altercation and she
was arrested.  Ms. Green is claiming to be a member of
Scotland Yard."  The deputy's eyes returned to Mulder.  "She
is also claiming to be a guest of Mr. Mulder's."
Scully saw Mulder's jaw tighten and knew he was about to
blast away at Phoebe's lies.  But Scully wanted the rest of
the story.
"I see.  But that still doesn't explain why you are out here
late on a Saturday night questioning Agent Mulder."
"Ms. Green says that she is here on official business.
That's she investigating a case involving an string of
international murders and that holding her in custody is
impeding the investigation.  She assured me that Agent
Mulder could corroborate her story."
"It's a lie," Mulder sat flatly.  "I am not involved in any
case with Phoebe, international or otherwise."
Deputy Sanger was studying him closely, taking the muscle
twitching in his jaw and his blazing eyes.  The anger fairly
rolled off of Mulder.
"You don't know what she's talking about?"
"No."
"Is she a member of Scotland Yard?"
Mulder shrugged.  "I don't know. She was when I last saw
her, several years ago.  I have no idea if that's still
true."
"Do you have any other idea as to why she would be in
Tisbury?"
He shrugged again.  "She claimed to have come here to see
me, but I don't put a lot of stock in that."
The deputy frowned.  "You don't have any idea why she is
here?  It doesn't strike you as strange that after many
years she would appear at a house you happen to be visiting
in a town you don't live in?"
"I gave up trying to understand Phobe's motives a long time
ago," Mulder said firmly, indicating that he was done
answering questions.  He shifted his weight again and met
the deputy's frank look of disbelief with a bland
nonchalance.  Scully knew that look.  He was done being
congenial to his fellow law enforcement officer.  Scully
also knew the determined look on Deputy Sanger's face meant
the questions were far from over.
"Phoebe came to our office in DC," Scully said.  She saw
Mulder's frown, but plunged ahead.  They could do this now
or later, and it might as well be now.  "She wanted to see
Agent Mulder.  When I explained that he was out of town on
vacation, she asked for my help regarding a case she said
that Scotland Yard was investigating.  A murder case. Their
main suspect is an American ex-patriot who is also ex-NYPD.
She wanted access to his personnel records and was hoping
that either Agent Mulder or I could facilitate that.  I
assured her that she was going to have to go through
official channels. She left a phone number for Agent Mulder
to reach her at in Washington.  Then she showed up here
unannounced this afternoon."
Sanger eyed Mulder.  "You call her?"
"No."
Sanger's eyes switched to Scully's.  "Is there a case with
Scotland Yard?"
"I have no idea," Scully said.  "I never bothered to check.
We couldn't help her and she didn't want the Bureau's
official involvement."
"I see."  The deputy was processing all this information and
it was clear that there was a lot more she wanted to know.
She looked back up at Mulder.  "Agent Mulder, I'm going to
stretch here a little bit, but bear with me, if you would."
She paused and waited for his nod.  "Despite having a mouth
that would make a sailor proud, Ms. Green seems to be a
pretty intelligent woman.  Educated.  She's well dressed,
driving a nice car.  From what I can tell, she's not
delusional or demented.  You agree with me so far?"
Mulder nodded and Scully found herself doing the same.
Sanger went on.
"So, you're telling me that she shows up unannounced,
obviously not welcome.  You told her to take a hike. She
leaves."  Sanger was looking back and forth between them.
"So, why would she tell such a stupid lie?  Why would she
ask us to contact you to vouch for her when you're not going
to?"
Mulder shrugged and his face remained blank, but Scully
could see the unease in his eyes.  He had been wondering the
same thing and it bothered him.  Scully felt Sanger's gaze
and met the other woman's eyes as openly as she could.
"I don't know, either," Scully said honestly.  "It does seem
stupid."
Sanger nodded.  "Okay, so we're on the same page about
that."  She sighed.  "Well, I don't see that there's much
else I can do tonight.  Thank you for your time and
assistance."
"What are you going to do?" Mulder asked suddenly, and
Scully could see him wanting to snatch back the question.
Sanger was moving toward the door and Mulder and Scully
trailed her.  She stopped and waited for Mulder to open it
for her and she stepped out onto the porch.
"We'll continue to hold her on the assaulting an officer
charge and check her story with Scotland Yard.  Then, we'll
go from there."
"I'm sorry we couldn't be of more assistance," Scully said,
and actually meant it.  The deputy clearly had an unpleasant
task ahead of her.
 Sanger nodded.  "If I have any more questions, I'll be in
touch.  How long will be you be here, Mr. Mulder?"
"Until Tuesday."
"Fine.  Thanks again.  Have a good evening."
"You, too," Mulder said, closing the door on the retreating
deputy's back.  He clicked the lock and turned to face
Scully.
"What the fuck?" he said slowly, shaking his head.  "That
woman's audacity knows no bounds. Vouch for her, my ass."

Continued in Part 8...


PART EIGHT - Rating - PG-13 for language & sexual innuendo


Scully frowned and wandered back to the couch where she
plopped down on the site of their former passion.  "I don't
know, Mulder.  Sanger is right.  It doesn't make sense.
Phoebe had to know one phone call would blow her story
apart.  Why bother?"
Mulder plopped down next to her and rested his head against
the cushions.  "Who knows?  Maybe she was just buying some
time.  It worked, if she did.  Since I don't have the phone
turned on, they had to come out here twice just to talk to
me."
"She couldn't have known that," Scully countered, turning it
over in her mind.  She was sure there was something more
sinister behind Phoebe's bizarre behavior.
"Actually, she could have surmised it.  Once she found out
where I was, I'm sure she tried to call and found out that
there was no phone number, unlisted or otherwise."
Scully sat forward.  "That's another thing, Mulder.  How did
she know you were here?  I certainly didn't tell her.  The
only other people who knew were Skinner and Kim, and I can't
see either one of them giving Phoebe the time of day, much
less your location."
Mulder shrugged and rolled his neck.  "She can be pretty
damn persuasive when she wants to be.  She might have been
able to wiggle it out of Kim."
"Uh uh," Scully said, firmly.  "Kim didn't get her job by
having a pretty face.  She's been squeezed by the best of
them.  She knows a snake when she sees one.  Phoebe'd have
better luck with Skinner."
"No," Mulder said.  "Skinner wouldn't fall for any of
Phoebe's tricks.  He'd see right through her."
"So," Scully said slowly.  "Where did she get the
information?"
"Maybe she followed you," Mulder said and grinned as Scully
glared at him.  Scully felt a flush steal up her cheeks at
the very thought of Phoebe staking out her apartment and
trailing her all the way from the city.
"And then she waited three-four hours to knock on your
door?  I don't think so, Mulder.  She was a woman with a
mission, and I don't see her parked down the street while we
spend the afternoon together."
Mulder arched an eyebrow.  "You mean, 'together' together,
Scully?  You think Phoebe thinks we're doing the wild
thing?"
The flush darkened on Scully's cheeks and her eyes snapped
at him with anger.  "I have no fucking idea what Phoebe
Green thinks," she said coldly.  "And I don't care."
Mulder was still grinning.  He clasped his hands behind his
head and his eyes were sparkling right back at her.  They
were full of amusement and affectionand desire.
"Do you suppose it pisses her off?  Thinking about us
together?  Do you suppose it makes her want to claw your
eyes out?"
Scully pursed her lips and willed her anger to cool.  He was
clearly enjoying this, and why not?  It was more than time
for him to have some fun at Phoebe's expense.  And it was
Phoebe he was laughing at, not Scully.  She tipped her head
to one side, considering his questions.
"I imagine it amuses her, Mulder.  She makes it very clear
that she doesn't consider me much of a rival, much less her
equal.  She probably thinks I only do the missionary
position in the dark with my nightgown on."
Mulder's eyebrows rose as the sarcasm dripped from Scully's
words.
"I take that to mean that you would find such a scenario
boring, Scully?"
Scully smiled archly.  "It works on a cold night when you're
half asleep and don't really want to do more than scratch an
itch.  Otherwise, no, it doesn't really do it for me."
Mulder's eyebrows had all put disappeared under his hair and
his mouth was slightly open.  Desire was winning the battle
over amusement and affection in his eyes and Scully felt a
thrill of pride.  Just talking about sex with her was enough
to get him started.
"Phoebe made a point of telling me that you get bored
easily, Mulder.  Said that she had to expand her repertoire
just for you.  Given what you've said about her sexual
appetite, I'd say that's a pretty big compliment, wouldn't
you?"
"I guess," Mulder said blandly, though she could see the
surprise on his face.  Bitch, Scully thought.  We'll see
about expanding repertoires.  "I think the fact that she
made a reference to our past sexual relationship suggests
that she does find you a worthwhile opponent.  She was
trying to intimidate you."
"She did."
Mulder sat forward quickly, his eyes boring into hers.
"Don't let her, Scully.  Phoebe's got nothing over you.  You
know that."
"Yes, she does," Scully said, softly.  "Experience.  She
knows a side of you that I don't."
Mulder reached out and clasped her hand in his own.  "Not
for long."  He wiggled his eyebrows at her.  "And we can
take care of that oversight right now."
Scully rolled her eyes. "I don't think so.  Somehow, talking
about your sexual adventures with Phoebe doesn't put me in
the mood, Mulder."
Mulder swore under his breath and tugged at her hand.
"C'mere," he said softly and slid his arms around her and
she put her head on his chest.  Scully sighed and relaxed
against him.  God, he felt so good.  If only the deputy
hadn't come knocking on the door
Mulder kissed the top of her head and tipped her face back
with a finger under his chin.  Slowly he lowered his mouth
and kissed her gently before pulling back to look into her
eyes.
"Phoebe has nothing on you," he repeated, emphasizing each
word.  "I hope you know that what I feel for you is
something I have never felt for anyone else and certainly
not for her.  I was a kid, then.  I was naove and gullible
and bowled over by her airs and her lies.  I was in awe of
her, I was mesmerized by her, but I never loved her.  My
feelings for you are--"
Scully placed a finger over his lips.
"No. Not now.  Not in this context, Mulder.  I very much
want to hear what you have to say.  I have wanted us to talk
about this, to have this, for a long time.  But not with the
ghost of Phoebe's name on your lips.  I don't want any bad
memories with this.  This is ours, and I don't want to share
it."
He smiled then, at her heartfelt words, and bent and kissed
her very softly again.  She kissed him back harder,
frustration masking her tenderness.  She wanted to wrap
herself inside this man and lose herself in their feelings
for each other.  She wanted the whole fucking world to go
away from just one night, one hour even.  She didn't want
anyone's specter hanging over them when they finally opened
themselves to each other.
Mulder kissed her chin, her nose, her eyelids and finally
her hair.  She felt him sigh and saw his eyes close as he
rested his forehead against hers.  "I guess this means I'm
not getting lucky tonight?"
She laughed at the mournful tone and kissed him fiercely.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise."
He opened his eyes and tilted his head.  "Yeah?"
She gave him her best Cheshire cat smile.  "Oh, yeah."

Continued in part 9...

PART NINE - Rated R for sexual situations and language


The morning sun filtered through the gauzy blue curtains and
Scully cracked open an eye.  It took a moment for her to
remember where she was.  The guest room in Mulder's father's
house.  Attic.  Kissing.  Restaurant.  Couch.  Phoebe.
Fuck.
Scully groaned and buried her head in the pillow.  God damn
Phoebe Green to the deepest, hottest pits of hell.  May she
have to roast on the spit for all eternity while the hounds
of Hades snapped at her burning entrails.  Scully groaned
again.  If the nuns from Catholic school only knew what she
did with the imagery they had terrified her with as a child.

Scully rolled over and scrubbed at her face with her hands.
What to do?  There was still the rest of the attic to sort
and pack, and Mulder had said something about a storage
locker in the village that he hadn't opened yet.  How to get
through the day with Mulder without it being awkward or
strained?  It was like going on the third date.  Would they
or wouldn't they?  Sex or no sex?
Scully lay on her back and let the gauntlet of thoughts and
emotions run through her.  The passion between her and
Mulder.  His anger at Phoebe.  The tenderness when he tried
to tell Scully how he felt about her.  The way the desire in
his eyes made her melt and strain for him at the same time.
The way his bare chest felt under her fingers.  The taste of
his mouth.  It was all there.  And there was no shame, no
regret, no fear in her.  Just a resolute anticipation.
I should just go into the other room and fuck his brains
out.
Even as she thought it, Scully chuckled.  She couldn't do
that.  Just march into his bedroom, pull down the covers and
straddle him.  What would he be wearing?  Boxers? Pajamas?
Nothing?  She shivered at the idea of Mulder naked.  Mulder
naked and sleepy, tangled in the sheets, his hair mussed,
his skin warm and soft. She threw back the covers.
Scully plucked her robe off the back of the chair and then
threw it back down.  Why put it on if you're going to take
it off?  She glanced at the bathroom and thought about
brushing her teeth.  Nope.  If he didn't have a chance to
kill the morning breath, then she wouldn't either.  They'd
just be au natural all the way.
She felt a buzzing in her stomach as she opened the door and
went down the hallway to Mulder's bedroom.  It had been his
father's room and she had insisted that he keep it as his
own.  She would start in the guest room and work her way up,
so to speak.  She swallowed and put her hand on her stomach
as she stood in front of the bedroom door.  It was slightly
ajar, but she couldn't see the bed.  Ten steps, and she
would be there.  Ten steps, seven years, and it was a whole
new day.
Scully took a deep breath, exhaled, and pushed open the
door.  The bed was empty.
Forget the hounds of hell, she was going to rip Phoebe's
guts out with her own hands.
Scully listened for sounds from the bathroom, but heard
nothing.  He wasn't there.  She turned and padded down the
hall to her own room, seething.  So much for impulsiveness.
Just as she reached her own doorway she heard a sound below
and stepped closer to the stairwell.  It was the sound of
metal on metal.  She sniffed.  Mulder was making breakfast!
She hurried through her morning routine, opting for a quick
suds and rinse in the shower, although her teeth were
scrubbed within an inch of their enamel.  She pondered what
to wear and opted for a simple t-shirt and jeans.  It had
gotten rather warm in the attic yesterday and besides, the
hem of the t-shirt just brushed her waistband.  A little
stretching or lifting and it would ride up to show her
nicely toned stomach.  She might not be Miss America, but
Scully knew she had nice abs.  Time to let Mulder get a
gander.
She heard the clinking of crockery as she made her way down
the stairs.  The smells were wonderful and she couldn't help
but smile.  All these years he had insisted that he couldn't
cook.  She could smell eggs and bacon, and maybe even,
pancakes?  Not bad for a confirmed bachelor.
She strode into the kitchen and stopped short as Mulder
expertly flipped two pancakes on the griddle.  He pressed
down on them with the spatula and turned to smile at her.
"Good morning," he said and a tingle zipped along her spine
at his gravelly voice.  His hazel eyes twinkled at her and
she felt her breath catch.
I have to kiss him this second.
She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He encircled her waist loosely with his arms as she pulled
his head down to hers and kissed him.  Their lips and
tongues danced and she pressed the full length of herself
against him. She smiled against his mouth as she felt him
grow hard under his jeans.
Mulder pulled his mouth away from hers, his breath coming in
short, quick pants and stared down into her eyes.
"Good morning," she said huskily.
"It sure the hell is," he said just as huskily.  "Do that
again and we won't make it to the couch."
She grinned.  "You gotta problem with the kitchen table?"
Mulder's eyes got wide and she saw that he had no problem
with it at all.  She laughed and then sniffed the air.
"Mulder, your pancakes are burning."
He leaned down and kissed her hard and quick and then let
her go to save their breakfast.
She retreated behind the kitchen table and sipped her orange
juice while her eyes wandered over his jean clad ass.  It
wasn't the first time she had indulged herself, but it was
the first time that she didnt care if he turned around and
caught her looking.  In fact, she wanted him to.  It was
time to melt her Ice Queen reputation once and for all.  It
had been her refuge and her defense for too long, and it
couldn't be there if she and Mulder were going to make this
work.
Her turned from the stove carrying two heavily laden
plates.  Their eyes met and she was lost all over again in
their soft depths.  >From the look on his face, he was
feeling the same way.  Oh, they weren't going to get much
housework done today.  She was pretty sure of that.
He sat down and she looked at her plate for the first time.
It was heaped with scrambled eggs, several slices of bacon
and three perfectly round pancakes.
"Mulder, I'm never going to be able to eat all this!" she
protested as she picked up a fork.  Not that she wouldn't
give it a good try.  Her stomach was rumbling in
expectation.
Mulder took a long drink of his orange juice and licked his
lips.  "I figured you might need the fuel.  We're going to
work off a lot of calories today."
Her breath caught at his double entendre and she couldn't
think of anything witty to say in response.  Yes, they were
going to work some calories off, and it wasn't going to be
by chasing dust bunnies around the attic, either.
They ate in silence and the room fairly shimmered with
anticipation.  When they were done, Mulder cleared the table
and wiped down the stove and counters while she rinsed the
plates and stacked them in the dishwasher.
She had just turned the dishwasher on when a sound outside
caught her attention.  She went to the kitchen window and
her spirits sank as Sheriff Sanger stepped out of her
cruiser.
"Mulder," Scully said, turning to him.  "The sheriff is
back."
 They looked at each other silently, acknowledging with
their grim faces the lost opportunity of the morning and all
that it could have been.  They walked to the foyer and
Mulder unlocked and opened the door.
 "Good morning Deputy Sanger."
 The diminutive officer stepped through the door without a
word.  Mulder closed the door and the three stood staring at
each other.  Sanger eyed Mulder cautiously, her narrowed
eyes sweeping over him speculatively.  Scully knew that
look.  It was the look you gave a possible suspect.
 "Agents, again, I'm sorry to bother you.  But we have a new
situation and I thought you might like to be appraised of
it."
 Mulder nodded.
 "It seems," the deputy continued.  "That Inspector Green
has escaped."

Continued in part 10...

PART TEN- Rated PG


Mulder crossed his arms against his chest and titled his
head.
 "Escaped?  From the jail?"
 "No, she was being transported.  We don't have the
facilities to hold prisoners
long term and she was being held until her arraignment on
Monday.  So we were
transferring her to the main county jail when she
disappeared.  A pedestrian called 911
and reported an injured sheriff on the side of the road.
He'd been struck in the back of the
head and he's in the hospital.  His cruiser and Ms. Green
are both missing."
 Scully felt her mouth "O" in surprise.  Not even she could
imagine Phoebe doing
something like this, and she didn't think there were too
many things Phoebe wouldn't do.
But assaulting a police officer and stealing his car?  It
was one thing to lose your temper
over a speeding ticket and another to crack a cop over the
head.
 "How is the other deputy?" Scully asked.  Sanger's eyes now
appraised her.
 "He's unconscious.  There's some swelling in the brain.
It's critical. We don't
know what's going to happen to him."
 "Did you find anything at the scene to suggest what might
have happened?"
Mulder asked quietly.
 "Not really.  We found a pair of handcuffs with some blood
on them.  It's been
sent to the lab, but we're guessing it's Ms. Green's. Of
course, we don't have anything to
match it against."
 "What about a weapon?" Mulder asked.
 Sanger shook her head.
 "No, but we're still searching the area.  My guess is she
took it with her."
 Mulder chewed on his bottom lip and regarded the deputy
thoughtfully.  He shot a
quick look at Scully under his lashes and she tensed,
knowing what he was going to say.
 "Have you considered that maybe Phoebe was taken by force?"

 Sanger shook her head vehemently.
 "There's nothing to suggest that."
 "But there's nothing to rule it out, either," Mulder said
firmly.  "Look, Deputy, I
don't pretend to know Phoebe Green well.  I wasn't
exaggerating when I said I have not
talked to her in years.  Probably five years.  But I did
know her once upon a time and I
have trouble believing that she would do something like
this.  It isn't her way of doing
things.  Phoebe plays mind games. She manipulates.  She
doesn't bang people over the
head."
 Sanger tilted her head as she looked up at Mulder and
Scully could see the doubt
in her eyes.  She really thinks he's involved, Scully
realized.  She doesn't know how or
why, but she clearly thinks he's not telling the whole
truth.
 "Why would someone want to abduct Phoebe Green?"
 Mulder shrugged.  "I have no idea.  Maybe it has something
to do with this case
she was working on."
 "She's not working on a case.  At least not officially,"
Sanger said.  "We contacted
Scotland Yard. There is a case involving a former NYPD
officer, but Inspector Green
was taken off the case.  She's officially on vacation and is
not acting on behalf of
Scotland Yard."
 "Why was she pulled off of the case?" Mulder asked.
 Before Sanger could answer, a trilling noise drifted in
from the living room.
Scully couldn't tell if it was Mulder's cell or hers.
 "I'll get it," she told him.  "Excuse me."  She went into
the living room.  Their
cells lay side by side on top of the mantle.  She picked up
Mulder's phone.  The LCD read
"AD Skinner".  She pressed talk.
 "Hello."
 "Agent Scully?"
 "Yes, Sir."
 "I did call Agent Mulder's phone, didn't I?"
 "Yes, Sir.  He can't come to the phone right now."
 "I see.  I've been contacted by Scotland Yard regarding a
case they say Agent
Mulder is working on.  Are you familiar with this?"
 Scully turned to watch Mulder and Sanger talking in the
foyer.  Clearly, the
sheriff's department had felt their suspicions strongly
enough to repeat them to Scotland
Yard.
 "Yes, Sir, I am aware of the case you're talking about.
But Agent Mulder is not
involved in it, per say."
 "Per say?  Would you like to elaborate, Agent Scully?"
 Scully walked to the back of the house and went into the
four season room
overlooking the back yard.
 "An Inspector by the name of Phoebe Green showed up at our
office earlier this
week looking for Mulder.  She told me she was investigating
a former NYPD officer and
wanted Mulder's assistance.  I told her he was on vacation
and that I couldn't help her.
She came back the following day and asked that Mulder call
her at a local number.  I
gave the message to Agent Mulder but I don't believe that
called her."
 "So how does this equal Inspector Green being in jail for
assaulting an officer and
saying that Agent Mulder is working with her on a case?"
 "We're a little confused about that as well, Sir.  She
showed up here yesterday
unannounced.  Agent Mulder asked her to leave and she did.
When we returned from
dinner, a sheriff's deputy arrived and said that Inspector
Green was asking Mulder to
vouch for her.  He explained the situation and the deputy
left."
 "Scotland Yard is royally pissed about this, Agent Scully,"
Skinner said tersely.
"The Tisbury police seem to think that Agent Mulder is
involved. Inspector Green is not
assigned to this case, and my sources tell me she is
actually on administrative leave from
the Yard pending disciplinary action.  The mucky-mucks at
Scotland Yard are
complaining to the Bureau brass that we're overstepping our
bounds and it's all become a
big political mess."
 "I understand, Sir."
 "Does Agent Mulder have any idea why Inspector Green is
trying to draw him
into this?"
 Scully swallowed.  How much history did Skinner already
know?  How much did
he need to know?  She knew Mulder had a theory, and she knew
that Skinner wasn't
going to like it.
 "I don't think he does, Sir.  He hasn't spoken to her in
over five years.  They knew
each other at Oxford."
 "Yes, I remember her asking for help on a case several
years ago.  Is this a
personal thing between Mulder and her?"
 "It may be, Sir."
 "And I assume, from what you've told me, that Agent Mulder
plans to stay out of
this?  I can tell the brass and the Yard that they've been
misinformed?"
 "Well, yes," Scully hesitated.  Apparently Skinner didn't
have the latest
information.
 "You're hesitating Agent Scully."
 "Well, Sir, a sheriff's deputy is here now.  Phoebe Green
and a police cruiser are
missing and they have an unconscious deputy in the
hospital."
 "She escaped?"
 "It's possible," she paused and sighed.  "Agent Mulder
thinks she may have been
abducted."
 The silence was deafening and Scully closed her eyes.  The
longer the AD was
quiet, the worse the explosion would be.  Several more
moments went by.
 "And on what does he base that hypothesis?" Skinner asked
in a careful, clipped
tone and Scully winced.  Oh, this was going to be bad.
 "Based on his knowledge of her character.  It's Agent
Mulder's opinion that hitting
a sheriff over the head and stealing a police car is not in
keeping with her character."
Scully paused.  "I'd have to say I agree with him, Sir.
Phoebe doesn't strike me as the
violent type, and she has a great deal of confidence in her
ability to get her way."
"Which was considerably thwarted by being bounced into a
jail cell," Skinner snapped.
She could imagine him fingers rubbing the bridge of his
nose, his glasses pushed up
against his forehead.
 "Yes, Sir," she said quietly.
 "Does the local PD think that Agent Mulder is involved?"
 Scully shot a look over her shoulder.  She couldn't see
Mulder and the deputy, but
she could hear the hum of their voices.
 "I think they believe that he knows something more than he
is saying."
 "Is he?" Skinner was almost snarling now and she was
grateful they were not face
to face.
 "I don't believe so, Sir.  Im the one that told him Phoebe
was in the country, that
she wanted to talk to him.  He never took the number where
she was staying, so he
wouldn't have known how to contact her.  I don't think he
knows what she's up to, and he
doesn't seem to care."
 "The local police care, and as long as they care, then we
have to."  Scully could
almost hear the wheels turning in Skinner's head.  "Agent
Scully, I want you to tell Agent
Mulder to give his complete cooperation to the Tisbury
police.  If they want the Bureau
involved officially, call me immediately.  Otherwise, I
don't want either one of you doing
any more than answering questions.  No snooping around, no
riling up the locals.  Are we
clear, Agent Scully?"  Skinner's voice was like polished
steel.  He was not pulling
punches this time.
 "Yes, Sir."
 "Now is not a good time for an international incident.
There's clearly more to this
case than what Yard officials are willing to say.  I'm
working on finding out why
Inspector Green is being disciplined but it's going to take
me a while to get the answers.
In the meantime, I want you two to stay clear of this."
 "Yes, Sir.
 "And, Agent Scully?" His voice softened.
 "Sir?"
 "I received your request for a week's vacation.  I've
approved it.  I hope you can
actually have a vacation.  You've earned it."
 Scully smiled, not only at the words, but at the hint of
warmth behind them.
 "Thank you, Sir. I appreciate it."
 "I'll be in touch."

Continued in Part 11...

PART ELEVEN- Rated R for language and sexual imagery

Mulder was closing the door behind the departing Deputy when
Scully stepped
into the foyer.
 "Well?" she asked.  He turned and shrugged.
 "They're convinced that she escaped, and Sanger's made it
pretty clear that she
thinks I'm involved."
 Scully crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe.
 "They've made that part official, I'm afraid.  That was
Skinner. He's being called
on the carpet by Scotland Yard and Bureau brass for you
being involved in this case."
She reiterated her conversation with Skinner and finished up
with "He's not kidding,
Mulder.  He wants us to stay out of it."
 Mulder shrugged again.
 "Fine by me.  I'd be happy to not ever see Deputy Sanger
again.  Even if she does
fill out that uniform pretty well."  He leered at Scully and
she rolled her eyes.
 Scully eyed him, her teeth tugging at her lip.  She wanted
to believe that Mulder
would walk away from this, but she couldn't quite go there.
Past history with Phoebe or
not, Mulder the investigator was convinced something was
wrong with the picture, and
she had never known him to walk away from that.
"You really think she was taken?"
He gestured for them to go into the living room and they
plopped on the couch.
 "I think it's possible.  First of all, how did she get out
of the cuffs?  Secondly, how
did she get the deputy to pull off the road and let her out
of the car?  Sanger verified that
there's a metal barrier between the front and back seats of
the car, so they had to be
outside the vehicle when he was struck.  Third, what did she
hit him with?  It's not like
they give prisoners large, heavy objects to carry with
them.  It doesn't add up."
 "I agree," Scully said.  "But I also know that we can't get
any more involved than
we are."
 Mulder picked up a throw pillow and plucked at a stray
thread. He twined the
thread around a finger and tugged at it.  They both watched
him for a moment, then
Mulder tossed the pillow aside and looked up at her.
 "I don't want to get involved.  I meant it when I threw
Phoebe out of here.  I don't
care what she's up to.  But I think the sheriff's department
is handling this all wrong."
 "Either way, they are looking for her, Mulder.  With one of
their own injured,
local law enforcement isn't going to leave a stone
unturned."
 He gave her a sheepish smile and she realized he hadn't
thought of it that way.
"You're right, Scully."
 She smiled back at him then and felt a glimmer of hope that
he would leave it
alone.
 "So, what's next?"  Mulder frowned and she swept an arm at
the boxes in the
corner.  "Back to the attic?"
 "Um, no.  Actually, I have to go to a storage unit that my
father had.  I don't think
there's much in it, but I need to clear it out."
 "Okay, storage unit it is," she said brightly.   It didn't
sound all that fun, but it was
better than beating the bushes for Phoebe.
 "Actually, Scully, it isn't going to take both of us.  I
think most of it is old tax
records and winter clothes from ten years ago, that sort of
thing.  I could probably just
run over there and be back in an hour."
 Now it was Scully's turn to frown.  "Mulder, are you trying
to ditch me so you can
go look for Phoebe?"
 Mulder's eyebrows rose.  "No, it's not."  He saw that she
was not convinced and
sat forward.  "Really, Scully.  I'm not going to go looking
for trouble.  I just don't see the
point of both of us going over there."  He looked around.
"The truth is, I'm behind and if
Im going to have things ready for when the truck comes
tomorrow, I could use you here
finishing the attic."
 She grinned at him.  "All by myself?  I might get scared."
 He snorted.  "Yeah.  There might be bats or mice or
something.  You'll just have
to stand on a box and scream until I get back."
 She laughed.  "Bats and mice, no problem. Spiders?  I'm on
the box."
 They got up from the couch and she tilted her head up to
receive the kiss she
somehow knew was coming.  His lips closed over hers, warm
and soft and she felt a
corresponding surge of warmth in his chest.  Why, oh why,
did we wait seven years to do
this? She wondered.  How can it be so easy to do when it was
so hard to get here?
 He broke the kiss and smiled down at her and she smiled
right back.
 "I'm getting very used to doing that," he said softly.
 "That's good," she said.  "Because I expect you to do it
often."
 He grinned then and leaned down for a quick, firm kiss.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
 She watched as he scooped up his keys and strode to the
door.  He turned back to
her.
 "I'll be back in an hour."
 "I'll be here."

 Scully blew a strand of hair out of her face and sat back
on her heels to survey her
work.  Four open boxes crowded around her.  She had gone
through quite a bit of stuff
and there were two huge garbage bags full of what she had
tossed.  But there were so
many things she didn't know what to do with. On her own, she
would chuck most of it,
but it wasn't her decision to make.
 She looked around the attic and was pleased with what she
saw.  Except for some
furniture, it was pretty much cleared.  There was actually
quite a bit of room up here and
with a little work it could be used as an office or a rec
room.  As a kid she had always
wanted an attic room to herself.  It was mysterious and cool
and private.  Unfortunately,
her parents had thought it was too much seclusion for a
young girl.  Especially for a
young girl who had three other siblings loudly insisting
that they should get the attic.
 A damp strand of hair flopped in her eyes again and she
shoved it back behind her
ear.  It slipped forward again and she scowled.  Time to
break out the barrettes.  Scully
climbed to her feet and brushed off her jeans as she walked
to the stairs.  She could use a
drink too, now that she thought about it.
 She was digging through her cosmetic case when she heard a
swishing sound in
the hallway.  She stopped and looked up, a frown creasing
her face.  One remarkable
thing about this house that she had noticed was how quiet it
was.  As if the house itself
were afraid to call attention to itself.  Fitting,
considering the man who had owned it.
 She listened for a moment more, and hearing nothing, went
back to her search.
She was sure she had brought them.  Maybe in the pocket of
her carryonScully froze as
she looked into the empty side pocket.  Her gun was
missing.  She checked the other side
and found both extra clips missing as well.  A cold
heaviness settled in her gut and she
swallowed against the bile it had displaced.  Where the fuck
was her gun?
 Even before she turned to the door, she could feel the eyes
on her, boring into her
back.  Slowly, her hands loose at her sides, Scully pivoted
to face the door. Nothing that
had flashed through her mind prepared her for the sight
before her eyes.
 Perfect, elegant Phoebe was covered in dirt and blood.  Her
hair was stuck to her
head, her face streaked with dirt.  The casual, but
oh-so-well-cut white top of yesterday
was smeared with rust.  Her wrists wore circlets of dried
blood. Her jeans and shoes were
caked with mud.  Scully's gun rested in Phoebe's right
hand.  It was cocked.
 Scully looked into Phoebe's eyes and felt a finger of fear
press at the back of her
neck.  There was madness in the other woman's gaze.  Madness
and fury.
 "Agent Scully," Phoebe snarled at her.  "We meet again."
 "Phoebe," Scully said, trying to keep her voice calm.  She
was trapped.  Phoebe
blocked the only feasible exit from the room and there was
no way she could miss a shot
at such close range.
 "Surprised to see me, are you?"  The other woman pulled her
lips into an
exaggerated pout and Scully mentally added up the minutes
spent in the attic.  If Mulder
were back within the hour he said, he would be at the house
in 10-15 minutes.  Keep her
talking.  That was the best she could do.
 "Yes, I am, " Scully said.  "Why are you here?"
 Phoebe waved the gun at Scully and gestured for Scully to
sit on the bed.  Scully
sat down heavily, her eyes noting the tremble in Phoebe's
hand as she trained the gun on
Scully's face.
 "You ask too many questions, Agent Scully.  You need to
listen more.  That's part
of the game, " Phoebe said and laughed harshly.  "A good
investigator must listen as well
as they question.  They taught me that in academy at the
Yard, you know.  Righteous
crap, but true after all."
 "I'm listening," Scully said.
 Phoebe laughed again, showing her still perfectly white
teeth.  "Damn straight
you are.  Guns do have a way of garnering one's attention."
 Scully nodded slightly, but said nothing.  She had no idea
what was going to
trigger this woman, so better to err on the side of
caution.  Phoebe looked around the
room, and again Scully saw her trembling.  She wanted to ask
what had happened, but
mindful of Phoebe's complaint, she didn't.
 "Nice house, hmm?"  Phoebe said.  "Fox owns this now,
doesn't he?"
 "Yes."
 "His dad used to live here.  I remember him talking about
it at Oxford."  She
made to roll her eyes, but it seemed to throw her off
balance and she staggered before
pulling herself up.  "He used to prattle on and on about how
his dad ignored him, didn't
want him for a son.  It was quite boring, actually."
 Scully felt a surge of fury sweep through her.  You
ignorant cow, she thought.  Do
you have any idea what you did to him?  You're probably the
last person he ever
spontaneously opened himself up to. He took a chance with
you and you squashed his
feelings like a bug.
 "Yes, poor Mulder.  Unhappy childhood.  Mum and Dad didn't
love him, they
loved his sister."  Phoebe trained her eyes on Scully.  "He
never did find her, did he?
Poor sot."
 "She's dead," Scully said between her teeth.  Bitch!  Just
let me get that gun and
we'll talk about who's a poor sot.  I'll have you slapped in
the back of a sheriff's car so
fast you won't know what hit you.
 "No.  Really?"  The sarcasm oozed over Phoebe's words.  "I
could've told you
that.  Does he believe it?"
 "Yes."
 "Well done, Agent Scully.  So now Mulder is single,
well-to-do, and
unencumbered with the quest to find his long lost sister.
Sounds like you've snagged
yourself a live one."
 "Whatever," Scully snapped.  Phoebe laughed.
 "Oh, stop pretending you don't give a damn, Dana.  He's not
here. It's just us girls
and you can count on me to keep mum.  You love him.  You've
loved him for years.
What're you waiting for?  A sign from heaven?"
 Scully ground her teeth and mentally checked the time.
Five to ten minutes.  She
was halfway home.  Crazed as she was, Phoebe wasn't going to
shoot Mulder.  She
needed him, for some reason.
 "What?  Nothing to say?  The famous Agent Scully is
speechless?"  Phoebe was
smirking at her, one hand cocked on her hip, though Scully
saw her wince as the joints
bent.  "Trust me, he's worth a ride. Or two."  Scully glared
up at Phoebe and the British
woman laughed.  "God, and they say the British are
reserved.  You do have ice in your
veins."
 Phoebe wandered to the window and looked out it, keeping
her wavering gun
pointed at Scully.  Scully assessed the distance to the door
and from the doorway down
the stairs.  It was too close. Phoebe could still get off
several shots.
 Phoebe faced her, leaning slightly against the window
sill.  "I don't know how you
do it," she said in a pleasant tone.  "I couldn't keep my
hands off him.  He walked into
that pysch class and I was stuck to the chair.  Stuck, I
tell you."  She laughed again.  "All
I could think about was dragging him off to some empty
classroom and fucking his brains
out.  And then, later, when I finally got the chance.
Well!"
 Scully clenched her jaw and stared at the carpet.  I will
not rise to the bait.  I will
not give her the satisfaction of making me do something
stupid. Scully raised her head
and twisted around to look at Phoebe. Bring it on.  You
can't hurt me with this.
 Phoebe seemed to sense the challenge and proffered one of
her trademark
Cheshire cat smiles.  She looked for all the world like a
cat with a bowl of cream.  Well,
she does have the gun, Scully thought.  That makes the bowl
hers.
 "The first time I fucked Fox I thought I had died and gone
to heaven.  I was young
then, but I'd had a few."  She giggled.  "Actually, I'd had
quite a few, and none of them
that spectacular.  But Mulder.  Oh, Mulder had what it
takes, if you get my meaning."
Scully glared wordlessly back at her and Phoebe whooped with
laughter.
 "He's hung!  Not too much, you know.  Just enough.  And
knows how to use it.
He's a very intuitive lover, Dana.  It's like he knows what
you want before you do.  And
adventuresome!  You thought I was just being a bitch when I
told you I had to expand my
repertoire, but I was telling the truth.  He'll try
anything, Dana.  Anything."
 Five minutes.  Five minutes and he'll walk through that
door, catch her off guard,
and I am going to shove that gun barrel where the sun don't
shine.  I'll give you a new act
to include in your repertoire, Scully seethed.
 "You haven't fucked him, have you?"  Phoebe shook first her
head and then the
gun at Scully's face.  "You're out of your fucking mind, you
know that?  Probably don't
want to jeopardize your partnership.  Your friendship."
Phoebe sneered at her.  "Men and
women can't be friends, Dana Sweetheart.  They can fuck and
they can fight.  The rest is
a put on."
 "Thank you for your advice," Scully ground out, no longer
bothering to hide her
anger.  Relationship advice from this slut?  What was next;
recipes?
 "You're welcome.  I'm being nice here and I don't have to
be."  She waved the gun
again.  "You haven't been nice to me since I arrived in your
office.  Very bad manners."
 "So sorry," Scully said sarcastically.  "Why don't you put
down my gun and we'll
start again."
 Phoebe snorted.  "No, I don't think so.  Once I've talked
to Mulder, I'll be on my
way, so don't worry your pretty head about that."
 Through the open window, both women heard the sound of a
car in the driveway.

Continued in Part 12...

PART TWELVE - Rated R for violent images and language


Phoebe jerked her head to look out the window and Scully's
heart leapt.  Mulder!
 "Fuck!" Phoebe hissed and pulled back from the window.
"Fucking sheriff."
 Scully stared at Phoebe, ideas racing through her head.
Should she call out to the
officer?  What was Phoebe going to do?  Had someone seen
Phoebe breaking into the
house?
 Phoebe jabbed the barrel of the gun into Scully's chest.
 "Get up.  You're going downstairs.  We're going to see if
they go away.  If they
start snooping around, you're going to tell them everything
is fine.  I'm going to be
standing right behind you and if you do or say anything to
tip them off, I'll shoot both of
you.  Are we clear, then?"
 Scully nodded and went out into the hall.  Carefully,
quietly she went down the
stairs with Phoebe next to her, the cold metal of the gun
pressed against the back of her
neck.
 "Stay here," Phoebe hissed, as they stood near the inside
wall halfway through the
living room.
 Several knocks sounded on the front door.  Scully forced
herself to breathe
evenly, her eyes darting to the glass at the top of the door
to the windows on either side.
Several knocks rang out again.
 "Agent Scully?  Are you in there?  Agent Scully?"  Deputy
Sanger's voice was
muffled through the door.
 "Piss," Phoebe hissed.  "She's not going to leave.  You're
going to have to answer
the door."  Phoebe shoved her forward with the gun.
"Remember what I said, Agent
Scully.  Mess up and I'll kill both of you."
 "I remember," Scully said, walking towards the door.  At
this point, she didn't
know if Phoebe would really follow through with her threat
or not, but it wasn't a risk she
was willing to take.  As she reached the door she glanced
over her shoulder to see Phoebe
hiding in the doorway between the living room and the dining
room.  She had a clean
shot to Scully's back.
 Scully went to unlock the front door and found it already
unlocked.  She pulled
the door open.
 "Deputy Sanger.   Sorry, I was in the attic."
 The other woman stared at her, and it seemed that all
pretense of civility had gone
by the wayside.
 "Agent Scully, have you seen Phoebe Green in the last
hour?"
 Scully shook her head and licked her parched lips.  She had
never gotten that
drink and the inside of her mouth felt like a wool blanket.
 "No.  Why?  Have they tracked her to this area?"
 "Not exactly.  We found the deputy's car about three
quarters of a mile from here
on a back road.  She could have gone any direction from
there, but I thought she might be
headed here."
 "I haven't seen her," Scully repeated.  "After Mulder threw
her out yesterday, I
really doubt that she would come here again."
 "Uh huh," the other woman's eyes drilled into hers and
Scully held her gaze
evenly.  "I saw Agent Mulder in town.  He seems to agree
with you."
 "Agent Mulder is one of the best profilers the Bureau has
ever produced," Scully
said stiffly.  "Chances are, he's right."
 Sanger nodded, but her eyes remained cold.  "Well, I just
wanted to give you a
heads up.  If she does show up, you need to call us right
away.  This is not an FBI
matter."
 Scully nodded.  "We understand that.  We will turn Phoebe
over to you
immediately if she comes here."
 "You do have cell phones, right?  I know there's no land
line here."
 "Yes, we both have phones."
 "Good.  Why don't you give me one of the numbers, so I can
reach you if there's
any more information."
 Scully gave her the number and Sanger snapped her notebook
closed before
pinning Scully with her eyes again.
 "Deputy Vaughn is in the ICU.  He's in a coma."  She
paused.  "He's got an
elderly mother and two kids to take care of.  There is no
way Phoebe Green is going to
walk away from this."
 "I understand," Scully said and wondered just how many
times today she was
going to have to say that.  At least this time she meant it.

 Sanger went down the steps and Scully watched her climb
into her car and pull
out of the driveway.  Her eyes searched the street.  Where
the hell was Mulder?
 Mindful of Phoebe's instability, Scully hurried and closed
the door.  Slowly she
turned around.
 Phoebe was gone.


 Seven minutes later Mulder pulled into the driveway.  Even
from the front porch, she could see the concern on his
face.  No less than five sheriffs cruisers surrounded the
front of the house, their lights swirling red and blue
patterns into the bright morning sky.
 Scully watched as he jumped from the car and jogged up to
the porch.  He could see that she was uninjured, but she
could feel his concern nonetheless.  He took the steps in
twos until he stood in front of her, crowding Deputy Sanger
aside, his long fingers reaching out to brush her forearm.
 "Scully," he said urgently.  "What happened?  Are you
okay?"
 She smiled at him, even knowing that Sanger's eagle eyes
weren't missing anything.  So what if his concern touched
her?  Sanger could think it was because they were partners
or because she thought they were more.  Either way, he was
worried about her, for her, and she appreciated it.
 "I'm fine.  Phoebe was here.  She broke into the house
while I was in the attic.  When I came down to get a drink
and put my hair up, she cornered me in my room."  Scully
sighed and pushed back the same errant strand of hair.  "She
has my gun and both of my extra clips."
 "Damnit!" Mulder swore.  "What happened?  Where is she?"
 "When Deputy Sanger showed up and started pounding on the
door, she pushed me downstairs and told me to get rid of
her.  She warned me that if I said anything she would shoot
both of us."  Scully paused.  "I believed her, Mulder.  I
never really thought Phoebe was capable of physical
violence.  Like you said, it's not her style.  But I think
she would have shot me in the back if I had tried to get
away."
 Mulder's brows lowered in a frown, and his hand reached out
to grasp her arm.  She unbent her arms from around her chest
and squeezed his fingers back.  This wasn't easy for him.
Even without knowing why Phoebe was there, he was blaming
himself for this.  She knew the guilt was building in him,
and with in, an insurmountable desire to do something about
the situation.
 "She wants to talk to you, Mulder.  That's what she kept
saying. She just wants to talk to you and then she's going
to leave."
 "So she got away?"
 Scully nodded.  "Yes.  After I convinced Deputy Sanger that
I hadn't seen Phoebe, I closed the door and turned around to
find her gone.  I have no idea when she took off.  I called
Deputy Sanger right away, but Phoebe was already gone."
 "If you had given me some clue that she was there, we would
have captured her," Sanger said, her tone bitter and
accusing.
 Mulder whipped around to glare at the deputy.
 "That's pure bullshit and you know it.  I don't care how
Podunk the local sheriff's training academy is, any green
recruit knows you don't mess with a person with a loaded
gun, much less someone you know has been trained to use it."

 Sanger's face blossomed into vermilion and she matched
Mulder glare for glare.
 "What I know is that there's some crazy Brit running around
with a loaded gun and a whole lot of ammo. She put my friend
into a coma and we just missed an opportunity to stop her.
I also know there's more here than what you're saying and I
am not convinced that you aren't involved in this whole
charade. That's what I know, Agent Mulder."
 "Really?  Well, Deputy Sanger," Mulder's voice was dripping
with venom.  "I have a few questions, myself.  For example,
IF Phoebe did escape, why didn't she take the deputy's gun
when she appears to have wanted one?  Why did she abandon
the car in the middle of the countryside where it would be
difficult, if not impossible, to find other means of
transportation?  Why, if she is in cahoots with me, would
she show up at the one place you would expect her to run?
As you said yourself last night, Deputy Sanger, Phoebe Green
is an intelligent woman.  These are not intelligent
decisions."
 "She's running," Scully said, her voice low.  She saw the
surprise in Mulder's eyes and went on.  "She's a mess.
Covered in blood and dirt.  Her wrists are mangled.  And
she's scared, Mulder.  She was trembling the whole time."
 "You think she was kidnapped out of that car?' Sanger said
in disbelief.  "What is it with you two?  Little green men
from Mars come and snatch her?"  She curled her lip.  "Oh
yeah, I've done my research on the two of you as well.
Crackpots, that's what I heard."
 Mulder had pulled himself up to his full height and the
impenetrable mask on his face was one that Scully knew
well.  If people didn't treat Mulder seriously, he would
return the favor.
 "Thank you for that expert opinion, Deputy Sanger.  Now if
you'll excuse us, we've got things to do."
 "My forensics team isn't even here yet," Sanger snapped.
"We have to dust for prints and gather evidence."
 "Fine, go ahead."  He leaned forward, putting his face in
hers.  Scully saw her stiffen, but she didn't budge.  "But
don't step over the line, Deputy Sanger.  I find you or your
people snooping where they have no business being and I will
come down on you like a load of rocks.  I may be a
"crackpot" but I'm a crackpot with connections."
 With that, Mulder put his hand on Scully's arm and guided
her inside the house, leaving Sanger to steam on the porch.
They walked in silence to the four season room at the back
of the house.  Mulder shut the door behind them and turned
to her.
 "Did you mean what you said?  You think Phoebe is in
trouble?"
 Scully chewed her lip, indecision warring inside her.  If
she said yes, and told him everything about the way Phoebe
had acted, there would be no way to stop him from getting
involved.  If she lied, not only did she betray his trust,
but was possibly putting him in danger by encouraging him to
look the other way.  She looked out the window at the
rolling blue ocean and then back at his troubled hazel eyes.

 "Yes," she said.  "I think she's in trouble.  I don't know
why or how, but she's in over her head."
 "You think it has something to do with this case she's
trying to get information on?"
 Scully shrugged.  "It follows.  She was adamant about not
wanting official Bureau involvement.  And we know she's been
bounced off the case in London.  There's more to this case
than what she told me."
 Mulder ran his fingers through his hair.  "We have to find
out about the case.  Skinner give you anything?"
 "No, but he's working  on it.  He thinks it's significant
that she was taken off the case as well.  He's also
suspicious that the Yard officials are so rabid about the
FBI staying away from this case."
 "I don't think we can wait for Skinner's diplomatic
channels, do you Scully?"
 Here we go, she thought.  Into the wild blue yonder to
parts unknown.
 "No."
 She saw the relief in his eyes.  He wanted her to support
this, to sanction his involvement.  It made her stomach feel
warm, knowing how much her approval meant to him.
 "I'm going to call the Gunmen, see what they can turn up."
 "I better call Skinner and give him an update," she said as
they both moved towards the door.  "We need to keep him in
the loop on this one."
 "I agree."  His hand was on the doorknob and she stopped
him with a touch.  She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed
him gently on the mouth.  His arm encircled her waist and he
deepened the kiss.  She swayed against him, her hand falling
against his chest.  The tip of his tongue touched her lips
and she smiled against his mouth.
 He pulled back to look at her.
 "You are so beautiful," he said simply and she blushed.
"You are.  I've wanted to tell you that, so many times."
 "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," she said.  "It
means a lot to me that you see me that way."
 He smiled and lifted her hand to his lips.  He brushed
against the skin lightly, making her shiver.
 "I always will, Scully."

Continue in part 13...

Next sections may take a while longer to post.  I've posted
everything previously written and am now forging ahead.
And, unfortunately, life has a way of interfering.  But I
will try to post in a timely manner and I WILL finish
this!!!