Title:  Paradigm
Author:  Vickie Moseley
Summary:  When given her heart's desire, will Scully be 
able to give it back?
Category:  MA, SA, MT, ST
Rating:  no really bad words or sex, some violence
Archive:  Two weeks exclusive VS 14, then anywhere
Dedication:  Tracy, this is the one I promised you.
Comments and feedback (please):  
vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com 

Paradigm part 1 of 2

Tara Scully's Residence
Fairland, MD
6:15 pm

"Police report another murder in Fairfax County believed to 
be connected to the 'Ripper' killings.  The fourth victim, 
whose identity was not released, was found in an alley . . ."

"Hey, Buddy, let's turn this off while we finish your math 
problems," Mulder said affably as he clicked off the blaring 
television set in the family room.  "What have you got 
here?"  

Mathew Scully, third grader, looked up at his 'uncle' and 
sighed.  "We're starting division," he said glumly.  "Mom 
says she was a domestic science major and can only divide 
using a calculator."

Mulder winced while trying to hold back a grin.  "Well, 
you're in luck.  I was pretty good at division back in school.  
Let me look at the homework."

The young boy handed over the workbook and crossed his 
arms.  "I can't believe I got the teacher who gives 
homework on Fridays," he bemoaned his fate.

"Oh, this isn't that bad!  Look, Matty, you're dividing by 
twos.  You can do this.  It's just half.  Remember how easy 
it was when you had to learn the two times tables?  You 
were a whiz!  C'mon, let's give this a go, I bet we're done 
before Auntie Dana has dinner on the table."

Mathew's eyes brightened at Mulder's encouraging words.  
"OK," he agreed with a grin.  "First one is 12 divided by 2 
. . ."

Tara stood at the top of the stairs leading down to the 
family room from the kitchen.  "He's so good with Matty," 
she said, not for the first time.

"He's always been good with kids," Scully agreed, stirring 
the pot of macaroni boiling on the stove, making sure to 
avoid stepping on Claire, who was 'cooking' at her play 
kitchen nearby.  "So, tell me about Ben," she prodded.

Tara blushed.  "He's a neighbor," she said.  "That's a 
blessing that could turn out to be a curse if tonight doesn't 
go well.  But he's recently divorced -- I guess that's the best 
I can hope for at my age, huh?"

"Tara," Dana said firmly.  "You have to stop putting 
yourself down!  You are a beautiful person, you have done 
a tremendous job with these kids, alone -- it's time for you 
to have some fun in your life."

Tara dropped her gaze.  "I guess -- I'm not really expecting 
much.  I mean, Dana, you know I miss Billy.  Not a day 
goes by that I don't think about him -- "

"Tara, he would want you to be happy," Dana interjected.  
"I really don't think he would expect you to be alone for the 
rest of your life."

The doorbell rang and Tara ran to get the door.  In a minute 
she came back into the kitchen with a tall, well-toned sandy 
haired man with a ready smile.  "Dana, this is Ben Nelson.  
Ben, this is my sister-in-law, Dana."

Ben held out his hand.  "Dana, nice to meet you."

Hearing the commotion, Matty raced up the stairs, almost 
tackling Ben.  "Hi, Ben!" he said, before grabbing Mulder's 
hand and bringing him closer.  "This is Uncle Mulder!"

Ben shook hands with Mulder.  "Matt has mentioned you a 
time or two," Ben said with a nod.  "Certainly nice to meet 
you both."

"You live nearby?" Mulder asked.  Scully could almost see 
him mentally reviewing the Top Ten Most Wanted list just 
to see if he could match the face.

"Yeah, our back yards touch," Ben said motioning out the 
kitchen window.  "I just moved in last spring and Matt's 
ball found its way onto my patio.  We met and we've been 
watering each other's crabgrass ever since."

Tara blushed and drew in a breath.  "Well, we better get 
going.  Dana, I have my cell phone, if you need to reach 
me.  And we won't be out too late, right Ben?"

"Early tee time in the morning.  I'll have you home by 
curfew," he vowed, holding up his right hand.  "Mulder, do 
you play golf?"

Mulder shook his head slowly.  "I'm not much of a golfer.  
More into basketball."

Ben looked slightly uncomfortable in the silence, but 
finally clapped his hands and turned to Tara.  "Hey, the 
movie starts at 7:10, we should probably get a move on."

At that moment, Claire looked up and must have realized 
something was going on.  She dropped the play pot and 
spoon she was holding and ran to her mother, clinging to 
her legs.  "Mommy!  Mommy, I go toooo," she wailed.

Mulder scooped her up in his arms and bounced her on her 
hip.  "Claire-bear, you promised me a cake, remember?  
You don't want Uncle Mulder to miss out on his cake, do 
you?  You promised I could pick and I want a chocolate 
cake with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting and 
chocolate sprinkles and chocolate roses . . . "  With great 
stealth he turned and moved the child away from the 
doorway and her departing mother.

"Quick, make your move now -- he's running out of 
chocolate," Scully advised them with a wink.

Tara looked hesitant, but Scully gave her a gentle shove 
toward the door.  "They're fine, Tara.  Go, have a good 
time."

With one weak smile back, Tara hurried out the door with 
Ben trailing after her.

Tara Scully Residence
11:35 pm

"Repeating the story from the top of the hour, Tyson 
Corner's police are requesting that anyone with information 
on the brutal attack and murder of a 34 year old 
businessman in this  . . ."

"Mulder," Scully whispered, muting the sound of the 
television.  "Mulder, wake up."  

She almost hated to wake him, but knew he had to be 
developing a crick in his neck from the way he was sitting.  
Matty was sprawled on his lap, the thumb on his left hand 
sitting against his slack lower lip.

Mulder opened his eyes slowly.  "I'm not really asleep," he 
said but a yawn contradicted him.  

"Do you want me to take him up?" Scully asked, moving to 
take the child from his arms.

"Nah, I've got him.  Besides, he's almost as tall as you 
now," he teased quietly.  He shifted the gangly boy more 
firmly in his grip and started up the stairs.  A left u turn at 
the kitchen and he was headed up the next flight to Matty's 
room.  

"Unc'a Mulller?" the boy murmured.

"Movie's over, Matty.  Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones 
saved the planet.  Time for bed."

"Okay," the child agreed, snuggling into his covers.  
"'Night Uncle Mulder.  I love you."

Mulder's breath caught in his chest, and he could hear his 
heart pounding in his ears.  He leaned over the small boy.  
"Good night, Matty.  I love you, too."  Gently, he placed a 
kiss on the child's forehead.

Scully was waiting for him in the hallway.  "Claire asleep?" 
he asked, guiding her down the steps.

"She went down about 10.  I had to read A Very Hungry 
Caterpillar three times, but we got the job done," she 
grinned.

"At least it's not Dr. Seuss," he shot back.

"You just hold a grudge because he named a book after 
you," she teased.

"Yeah, well, want to hear what we can do with 'Dana'?" he 
returned.

They ended up in the family room.  Mulder had snatched a 
bottle of Snapple Iced Tea on the way through the kitchen 
and settled in on the sofa, next to his partner.  She 
immediately scooted over and drew his arm around her 
shoulder.

"You OK?" he asked, noticing her need for contact.

She nodded yes, but he could still feel the tension in her 
shoulders.  "So what do you think about Ben?" she asked, 
seemingly interested in the rerun of Last Comic Standing 
he'd found on Comedy Central.

Mulder shrugged.  "He's OK, I guess."

"He's divorced," Scully said with a sigh.

"People get divorced, Scully.  Doesn't make him a bad 
person."

"I'm not saying that," she said defensively.  "I just . . . "

"She's not betraying Bill, you know that, right?" Mulder 
asked, looking down at her upturned face.

"I know that.  I told her that myself.  I'm not even thinking 
that."  She was quiet for a few minutes.  "I guess it means 
she won't be needing us as much now."

"Scully, this is a first date," Mulder chuckled.  "Let's not 
get the rice out yet."

"No, I just mean, well, Matty seems to like him.  It just 
means . . ."

Mulder nodded slowly, taking another drink of his tea and 
setting it down on the coffee table in front of them.  "I 
know.  Probably won't need me to coach tee ball," he said 
casually.

"I know they're just my niece and nephew, but sometimes, 
when they're with us -- "

Mulder turned his head to look at her.  He rubbed his 
thumb across her cheek and was surprised at the dampness 
he found there.  "It makes you wish we could have our 
own," he whispered.  

"Mulder, I know I shouldn't feel that way.  I know what we 
have is special and I'm blessed, truly blessed.  I could have 
lost you -- I thought I did lose you last summer.  But 
sometimes, when I'm holding Claire or I see you playing 
with Mathew -- I just can't help but think -- "

"Scully, we could adopt.  I've told you that before.  Say the 
word -- "

"Mulder, it's impossible," she said, shaking her head.  "One 
look at our lives . . . Good grief, the judge in California 
denied my petition to adopt my own child!"

"That was different, Scully," he crooned.  "We're together 
now.  You wouldn't be raising the child by yourself."

"You think any judge would look at the last 24 months, 
hell, the last 10 years of our lives and allow us to take care 
of a child?" she asked flatly.  "You were kidnapped, I was 
left to believe you were dead -- how many times have we 
been in dangerous situations, Mulder?  How many times 
has one or both of us almost died?"  She threw her head 
back against the cushions and stared at the ceiling.  "It's not 
possible."

"Do you want it to be possible?  Scully, we could -- "

"Leave everything behind?" she snorted.  "We tried that 
once and look where it got us."

"Look, I know it hurts.  I see Mathew and Claire and I can't 
help but wonder if our kids would have red hair like you or 
brown hair like me.  I can't help but picture us together, 
going to the zoo, putting together a two-wheeler at three in 
the morning on Christmas.  I told you once that I never saw 
you as a mother.  Well, Scully, I didn't think of myself as a 
father -- until I realized how much I love you.  Every time 
we make love, I think . . . I hope . . . "  He sighed and 
pulled her to him, kissing the crown of her head.  "I would 
do anything to give you a child, to give us a family.  You 
know that."

"I do know that, Mulder.  And you have no idea how much 
that helps me deal with this heartache."  She kissed him 
then, gently, tenderly, allowing her fingers to touch his 
cheek for several minutes while she breathed in unison to 
him.  No more words were spoken and after a while, 
Mulder flipped the channels and found something neither 
of them cared about yet they didn't care enough to change 
it.  Together they waited for Tara to return.

Act 1

FBI Headquarters
Monday
8:15 am

"So, you want to write up the report from Friday?" Mulder 
asked.  He was juggling his briefcase, his travel mug of 
coffee, the morning newspaper and his keys.  It was 
anyone's guess which would fall to the floor first.  It was 
the keys.

Scully stooped to pick them up.  "I could.  But then I'd have 
to kill you," she said sweetly, unlocking the door.

"What?  That was open and shut!  Scully, that report 
practically writes itself!" he declared, accepting his keys 
from her.  

"Good.  Then you won't have any trouble with it," she 
answered, this time a little less sweet than before.

"You're still mad about the laundry," he said with a sigh.

"Mulder, I told you, I'm not mad.  A little peeved, but not 
mad.  Besides, you said on Friday that you were going to 
do this report because, and I quote 'it's pretty easy so I'll 
knock it out on Monday'.  Well, I'm holding you to it."

"You're still mad about the laundry," he muttered.

"Am not," she said evenly.  "But keep bringing it up and I 
might have to rethink my position."

Scully booted up her computer, over her partner's pathetic 
attempts at sympathy by sighing heavily at his desk.  An 
email caught her attention.  "Mulder, didn't you say there'd 
been another animal attack during the night?"

He looked over at her and frowned.  "Yeah, it was in the 
morning paper.  Homeless guy in Rock Creek -- it was 
pretty gruesome according to the account.  And I told you, I 
don't think they're animal attacks."

Scully rolled her eyes.  "Mulder, a werewolf -- in DC?  I 
thought most self-respecting modern werewolves preferred 
London," she said dryly.

"Scully, have you been sneaking downstairs to watch Sci Fi 
after I've gone to sleep?" he teased back at her.  "No, I'm 
serious here.  The wounds are consistent with -- "

The ringing of the phone cut off the rest of his lecture.  
Mulder grabbed it and after a few 'yes sirs', returned the 
receiver to its cradle.  "That was Skinner.  Three guesses 
why he wants to see us."

She sighed.  "Fine.  But I refuse to listen to Warren Zevon 
at any time during the course of this investigation," she said 
firmly and followed him out the door.

Rock Creek Park
Tuesday
9:35 pm

It was cold and clear, a full moon hanging over the tops of 
the trees.  From the driver's seat of the car, Mulder cracked 
another seed between his teeth, bringing his hand to his 
mouth to take the hull and toss it out the partially open 
window.

"What time is it?" Scully asked, stretching as much as she 
could in the tight confines of the passenger seat next to 
him.

It had already been a long day.  Skinner had given them the 
assignment.  Three murders with similar M.O.s had 
happened in the last week.  All three men had been torn to 
shreds.  The DC Medical Examiner determined that the 
killer had animal-like claws and teeth, but DNA traces left 
on the second victim showed human markers.  The case 
was shuffled over to the FBI and labeled an X file, but with 
a difference.  This time, Mulder and Scully headed a team 
of agents staking out Rock Creek Park.

"Just after 9:30," he answered, after glancing at his watch.  
"When did the watch repair place say your watch will be 
fixed?"

She sighed and turned toward him.  "Guess what I want for 
my birthday," she said dourly.

"Can't fix it, huh?"

"Apparently it's only water resistant if it's not put through 
the washer," she replied dryly.

"Scully, I said I was sorry about forty million times 
already," he retorted.  "But I think this should teach you a 
lesson."

"Never put my watch in my pants pocket, even if I get 
called in to do an autopsy at 4 in the morning?"

"No."  He shook his head solemnly.  "Never trust me to do 
laundry again."

She snorted, shaking her head vehemently.  "Oh, no, 
laundry boy!  You are not getting out of that chore so 
easily."

The radio on the dashboard crackled to life.  "Rocky.  
Report in, Rocky."

Mulder rolled his eyes and reached for the radio.  He 
clicked it on with an air of exasperation.  "Nothing to 
report, Bullwinkle," he said as Scully tried to stifle a laugh 
next to him.

"That's Balboa -- not 'Bullwinkle', Mulder," came a deeper 
voice over the radio.  Even though there was no way for 
Skinner to see him, Mulder sat up straighter in the seat.

"Sorry, sir.  My bad.  But nothing is happening -- "

"Mulder," Scully said, grabbing his arm.  She pointed out 
the windshield.  "I just saw something -- over by those 
bushes."

"We have an UNSUB just spotted at position 6 in Rock 
Creek Park, requesting back up," Mulder said into the radio 
and tossed it in to the dash as soon as he heard Skinner's 
'copy' reply.

Scully spared him a glance.  "Back up?  We don't know for 
sure -- "

"This thing has torn apart three grown men, Scully.  I don't 
want to take any chances."

As they got out the car quietly, Mulder tilted his head and 
Scully took off to the right, gun muzzle pointed to the sky, 
moving slowly.  Mulder headed left, his gun in his hand.  
He kept sight of Scully as they approached the trees and 
gave her a nod, then moved into the forested area.

The underbrush was thick and hard to walk through 
because vines tangled around his feet.  He heard something 
moving ahead of him and he licked his lips, wondering 
where the hell the troops were.  The sectors weren't that far 
apart, he should have heard other cars pulling up.  As he 
pushed aside a particularly tall shrub, he caught sight of 
something.  It was a creature, more wolf-like than anything 
he could have imagined.  It's elongated snout lifted as it 
sniffed the air.  It turned its head and moved quickly and 
near-silently forward.  The moon cast a silvery glow on the 
fur-covered body, the toned muscles rippled as it moved.  
At full standing height, the creature was at least inches 
taller than Mulder.  The agent followed the creature, 
looking around for Scully, their back up, or a good angle to 
shoot, whichever came first.

As he was lining up his gun site, he saw Scully suddenly 
appear through the trees.  She stepped into an opening in 
the thicket and looked around.  Mulder was a few yards 
away and tried to wave her back, conscious that the 
creature was close by.  She didn't see him.  But the creature 
saw her.  

Letting out a blood-curdling howl, the beast bounded 
forward on strong back legs and was on Scully in a 
heartbeat.  Mulder shouted and raised his gun again, but 
couldn't risk a shot for fear that he would hit his partner.  
He ran forward as the monster wrapped its massive arms 
around Scully's shoulders.  Mulder turned the gun in his 
hand and tried using it to bludgeon the creature with it, but 
the thing swiped out with one arm, catching Mulder in the 
upper chest with rapier sharp claws.  Mulder dropped the 
gun, but tried once more to pry his partner away from the 
monster.  

The next swipe tore the flesh at his neck and shoulder and 
one foot thrust out, catching the hapless agent in the 
stomach and launching him several yards through the air.  
By the time Mulder had picked himself off the forest floor, 
the creature and Scully were gone.

Mulder stood, dazed, with blood dripping from a dozen 
slash wounds, when Skinner arrived just moments later.

"Mulder, oh, God -- call for an ambulance," Skinner 
shouted to one of the men following him into the clearing.  
"Mulder, here, let's get you sitting down."

"It took her," Mulder whispered.  He looked at his superior 
with soul crushing sadness.  "The thing -- it took her."

"Mulder, we have to get you to the hospital," Skinner said 
slowly, as if talking to a child.  Over his shoulder, he 
directed the other men.  "Scour this area.  Cut off all access 
points.  They have to be here."  Looking back to Mulder, he 
took the man's arm.  "We'll find her.  I promise."  He 
watched helplessly as Mulder's eyes rolled back in his head 
and the agent collapsed unconscious into Skinner's arms.

George Washington University Medical Center
Emergency Department
12:47 am

Skinner was paging through a year old copy of the New 
England Journal of Medicine when Mulder appeared from 
behind a set of double doors.

"I thought the nurse said they wanted to keep you for 
observation," the Assistant Director said gruffly.

"They wanted to.  I didn't.  Any word from the park?"  

Even wearing a borrowed scrub shirt didn't hide the 
bandages on Mulder's torso.  His left arm was in a sling and 
his neck was covered in enough gauze to appear that he 
was wearing a white turtleneck.  Skinner wondered how 
much painkiller his underling was carrying because his 
eyes were dilated, but his gaze was focused.  The older man 
decided to be upfront with him.

"Richards is heading up the team.  They've gone over the 
area with a fine-toothed comb.  All exits are blocked.  They 
couldn't have gotten out of the park.  I'm going back out 
there after I drop you off home."

"I'm not going home," Mulder growled.  He took a few 
steps and swayed but caught himself and glared back at 
Skinner.  "I'm going with you to the park."

"Mulder, you aren't going to help her if you pass out again.  
Go home, let us handle this.  We have all the Bureau's man 
power -- "

"Hell of a lot of good that's ever done us," Mulder spat out 
angrily.  "I'm going to find her."

Skinner glared off at nothing, not wanting to risk a 
showdown with an injured man.  Finally he turned back to 
gaze at his agent.  "I don't want to make this an order."

"Don't push me, Walter.  You don't like me when I'm 
angry," Mulder said in low even tones.  

"Listen to reason!" Skinner exclaimed.  "Look at you.  You 
can barely stand.  The nurse said they had to put in over 
two-dozen stitches.  You lost a lot of blood, you need to 
rest -- "

"I.  Can't.  Go.  Home."  The younger man closed his eyes 
and shook his head.  "Please.  Don't make me go back to 
that empty house," he begged.  "Not with Scully still out 
there with that thing.  Not 'til we find her."

Skinner shook his head slowly.  "OK, but I want you to 
stay in the car until we find something -- do you think you 
can do that much?"

Mulder nodded, trying to hide his weariness.  "Let's go." 

Location unknown
time unknown

Scully awoke with a blinding headache.  After a few 
seconds of just lying still, she realized she wasn't injured 
seriously anywhere that she could assess -- just sore 
everywhere.  It felt as if she's been dragged through the 
woods and dumped down a flight of stairs.  She groaned 
and rolled over, trying to get her eyes to open.  With eyes 
opened and mind fully engaged, it was still black as pitch.  
She pulled herself to a sitting position and allowed her eyes 
to adjust to the darkness.  

There was light, if you could call it that, coming from a 
grimy set of glass blocks that replaced a window.  From the 
cement floor beneath her to the rough wood stud at her 
back, she surmised that she was in a basement.  

Standing was a bit more of a feat, with her head and her 
bones screaming at her to stop.  She persevered and only 
swayed slightly when fully upright.  At least the ceiling 
wasn't so low that she had to stoop over.  She had to smile 
at that thought -- there weren't many basements where she 
had to watch her head.  That was Mulder's department.

Mulder!  The last she'd seen of him, he was bleeding from 
slashes all across his upper body.  And then, in the blink of 
an eye, he was gone.  What had happened?  She couldn't 
remember anything, even how she got hit on the head.  Not 
surprising, head injuries were notorious for leaving a 
person dazed and confused.  She sometimes thought all the 
head injuries had left her partner in a permanent state of 
daze and confusion.

But she did remember who, or what had caused her to be in 
this basement.  The creature, and she now accepted that it 
was a creature, not just an animal running rampant through 
DC, had brought her here.  But why didn't it kill her?

As she paced the small basement room, she soon found her 
answer, or at least another piece of the puzzle.  On a double 
bed in the corner of the room lay a sleeping child, a little 
girl, no more than three or four years old.  At first glance, 
Scully was afraid the child wasn't just sleeping, but then the 
little one rolled over and cuddled the thin pillow in her 
arms.  Scully breathed a sigh of relief.  Moving closer, she 
tried to see if the girl was injured in any way.  The tiny face 
appeared unconcerned, innocent in slumber.  The breathing 
was near silent, just the rise and fall of the small mound of 
covers to indicate respiration.  Once more, Scully let out a 
relieved exhale.  She moved to look around at the rest of 
the room.

It was just one room, a door in one wall leading into the 
rest of the basement, Scully assumed.  A closet served as a 
half bath, with sink and toilet.  There was a light switch 
near the bathroom door and Scully tried it, illuminating the 
alcove with a less than 60-watt bulb.  She quickly turned 
the light out in difference to the child.  A table and two 
chairs sat across from the bed and a child's desk and toy 
box were tucked in a corner opposite the table.  Next to the 
bed was a white rocking chair with a blanket tossed across 
the back.  Were it not for the mode of transport, and the 
fact that the door appeared to be padlocked from the 
outside, Scully could easily imagine the room to be 
decorated specifically for the little girl asleep on the bed. 

With no way out and not wanting to disturb the child, 
Scully pulled the blanket from the back of the rocker and 
settled in.  Despite her best effort to keep watch, she soon 
drifted off to sleep.

Rock Creek Park
1:15 am

The floodlights set up in the area gave the park a circus 
feel.  Mulder let his head fall back against the seat, 
alternately trying to remember every detail of his encounter 
with the creature and yet pushing those images away in an 
effort to retain any shred of sanity he had left.  One thought 
kept repeating itself in his mind -- that thing had Scully.

"I'm going to check in with Richards," Skinner said, pulling 
in between a DC squad car and a tactical van.  "You'll stay 
here."  It was probably intended to be a question, but there 
was no indication of that in his voice.

"If something comes up, all bets are off," Mulder said with 
an abbreviated shrug.  He watched Skinner go off toward 
the floodlights, shaking his head.

It was stuffy in the car, even with the window rolled down.  
Mulder got out and leaned against the hood.  He wanted to 
be out there, searching.  They could easily miss some clue.  
If Scully had a chance, she would have indicated something 
-- anything.  She would have left something for him to find.  
How would they know what to look for?  He was ready to 
go over to the highly lit area and start looking with 
something tugged his sleeve.  He turned around and came 
face to face with his worst nightmare.

Alex Krycek.

Without thinking, Mulder pulled back his right fist and 
rifled it toward the other man's head.  Only the fact that he 
was on heavy meds and was still weak from blood loss kept 
that fist from breaking bone.  In a second Krycek 
responded, grabbing Mulder's arm, turning and slamming 
the agent face first against the door of the car.

"Listen, we don't have time for this.  I need to tell you 
something," Krycek hissed in Mulder's ear.

"Did you have something to do with this?" Mulder 
demanded.  "Do you know where she is?"

"I'm not who you think I am," Krycek replied, letting go of 
Mulder long enough to pull something out of his jacket.  It 
was an identification wallet, similar to the one Mulder 
carried.  Krycek flipped it open, holding it so that Mulder 
could read.

"Detective Alex Krycek, Washington PD?" Mulder read 
skeptically.  "You have to be kidding.  Where did you get 
that made up -- Kinkos?"

"Look, you held me at gunpoint once before but a certain 
mutual acquaintance saved my life.  Does the name Glas-
glo Industries ring a bell?  How about Brad Kensworth?"

Mulder relaxed, sagging against the door.  "You're trying to 
tell me -- you're from . . ."

"We can't talk here.  C'mon, I'll explain everything."

Mulder glared at the man for a full minute.  "If you're 
trying to pull something, so help me God -- "

"You'll kill me, yeah, I figured that out last time we met.  
Look, as much as I love the romantic atmosphere here, we 
have work to do and the sooner I explain everything, the 
quicker we can get started.  I'd liked to get out of here 
before the Captain gets back."  Krycek nodded to the group 
of men talking not more than fifty feet away.

"Captain?"  Mulder looked where Krycek was glaring.  
"Skinner?  He's not a Captain, he's -- "

"I don't care what his job description is here, just from the 
looks of him I can tell he's still a hard ass and we don't time 
to deal with that.  Are you interested in finding Bunnykins 
or not?"

Mulder's eyes grew to pinpoints, but this time he didn't 
telegraph his punch.  His right fist caught Krycek's left 
cheek, splitting the lip.  "I remember you now.  If you want 
to live through this, don't ever call her that again."

All Night McDonald's
Wisconsin Avenue NW
2 am

Mulder stared at the man across the table.  "So you're 
telling me you're from another dimension, an alternate 
version of this world.  This thing has been killing in your 
world and somehow it found a vortex to travel between the 
two worlds.  And I'm also supposed to believe that you 
followed it here through that same vortex.  I'm waiting for 
the punch line."

Krycek dabbed his lip with a napkin, stirred his coffee and 
ignored Mulder's snide comment.  "OK, I've been tracking 
this thing for a couple of months.  It kills when the moon is 
full.  We've found 6 bodies -- or at least what's left of them.  
It's been sighted a couple of times, but the witnesses say it 
disappears into thin air."

"Is it a werewolf?" Mulder interrupted.

"Are you on crack?" Krycek shot back sarcastically.  
"Nobody believes in werewolves!  We don't know what it 
is, just that it usually kills its victims, until this week."

"What happened this week?"  Mulder asked, nursing his 
coffee.

"It took a child, a little girl.  But we haven't found a body.  I 
think it still has her.  I believe she's still alive." 

Something about the way Krycek's eyes changed caused 
Mulder's mind to kick into high gear.  "This child -- who is 
she?"

Krycek closed his eyes and leaned back.  "Her name is 
Sarah.  She's three years old.  She's . . . aw, hell."  He 
reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a different 
wallet.  Fingering through the contents, he pulled out a 
small picture and handed it to Mulder.

He took it, looking first at the child.  She had strawberry 
blond hair and a huge grin on her face.  Her eyes twinkled 
at the cameraman and she held a worn bunny rabbit firmly 
in her tiny arms.  It wasn't until he'd memorized her 
features that Mulder looked at the other two people in the 
photo.  His head shot up and he pinned Krycek in his angry 
gaze.

"What is her name -- her full name," Mulder demanded.

"Sarah Katherine Mulder," Krycek said softly, taking the 
picture back and putting it carefully in his wallet.  "She's, in 
our world she is . . . Fox and Dana Mulder's only daughter."

Mulder dropped the picture and jumped up from his chair.  
"You son of a bitch!  How dare you try to pull this on me!  
I'll send you straight to hell -- "

Alex grabbed his arm and pulled him down to his seat.  
"Would you shut up!" he seethed.  "Look, I'm sorry if this 
doesn't fit into your idea of reality, but it is the truth!  Sarah 
is your, or rather your twin's daughter.  And Dana's.  She is 
. . ."  Alex turned his head, biting his lip.  When he faced 
Mulder again, the agent saw tears glisten on the man's 
lashed.  "She means everything to them -- and to me.  
Look, I promised Dana, I promised both of them that I 
would find her . . . or die trying.  And that is exactly what I 
intend to do!"

"Why?"

"What?" Alex asked, startled by the impertinent question.

"Why did it take her?  If it's killed 6 people, plus three in 
our world, why take a child?  Why take this child?  What 
did they do, leave her unprotected?" Mulder sneered.

That got the man's hackles up.  "Look, asshole, she WAS 
protected.  As protected as she needed to be!  Dana's been 
working half days since Sarah was born and the Professor 
worked it out to move his classroom hours so that one 
parent or the other is with her 24 hours a day.  She has 
never been out of their sight!"

"Then how -- "

Krycek looked aside and swallowed hard.  "I fucked up," 
he said simply.

"You?  How did you -- "

"I was watching her, goddamn it!  I was . . . I was watching 
her while Fox and Dana went out to a fucking charity 
dinner-auction at the university.  I was sitting in the living 
room drinking a beer and watching the game when I heard 
something.  By the time I got to her bedroom, the window 
was busted in and she was gone."  He wiped angrily at his 
chin, catching the fallen tears on his sleeve.  "It was a 
fucking rookie mistake and I made it and I lost her and I 
have to get her back!" he shouted.  "Do you understand 
now, Mr. FBI???  Do you get it???  Huh???"

Silence descended on the two.  Alex wiped his face a few 
times and Mulder sat back, looking at the picture.  "How do 
you know it was the creature?" he asked quietly.

"Fur.  In the window casing.  We found similar fur on the 
victims' bodies."

"No other -- evidence?" Mulder prodded, keeping his voice 
even.

Alex glared at him.  "There was no blood found at the 
scene.  Footprints were right at the window, a first floor 
window, they led a few feet away and then vanished.  No 
one saw anything, no one heard anything."

"How did you follow it?"

"I was staking out the previous crime scenes.  It appeared 
again, in Rock Creek Park, very near where you saw it 
tonight.  I think that's the vortex, the portal."

"Rock Creek Park?  In the middle of one of the most 
'secure' cities on the planet?" Mulder pointed out with 
disdain.

"I didn't put it there," Alex shot back.  "I've seen the 
creature there twice but I can't get it, it disappears on me.  I 
think there might be another portal or vortex that comes out 
nearby."

"Or in Arizona.  Or Hong Kong," Mulder warned.

"No.  I think it's nearby."

Mulder looked dubious.  "Based on what?"

Alex dropped his eyes to the coffee cup in his hands.  "A 
hunch.  16 years on the Force.  How the hell should I know, 
maybe it's just wishful thinking."  He raised his eyes to 
look at Mulder again.  "Maybe it's the only hope I have."  
He stared at Mulder.  "But you don't give a damn about her, 
do you?" he snarled.

"I . . . I have to find Scully.  I'm sorry, I'm sorry about this 
little girl, but you have to understand -- here, Scully is my 
world.  I have to get her back."

Alex licked his lips.  "But see, I think the creature has them 
both.  Together."

Mulder shook his head.  "I can't -- I can't risk that you 
might be wrong."

Alex thought for a moment.  "Look, we're both after the 
same thing.  You need to find the creature to find your 
Dana; I need to find the creature to find Sarah.  We _need_ 
each other."

Mulder sighed and looked away.  After a moment's 
contemplation, he looked back at Alex.  "Where do we 
start?"

Alex looked around the McDonald's and shrugged.  "We 
need to go somewhere we can plan."

Mulder and Scully's duplex
Georgetown
2:45 am

"Gimme a minute, I want to change out of this thing," 
Mulder said with a wave toward the borrowed scrub top.  
"There's iced tea in the fridge, make yourself -- "  He 
stopped in mid-sentence as he saw Alex pick up each of the 
three picture frames Scully had arranged with the flowers 
she kept on the bay window.

Mulder walked up and took the picture of Samantha and 
him leaning against a tree out of Alex's hands.  "Well, not 
that much at home," he said dryly, putting the picture back 
where it had been.

"She's a neat lady, your sister.  If she hadn't gone and 
hooked up with that architect, I might have stood a chance -
- "

"The woman you're talking about is not my sister," Mulder 
said quietly.  "That's -- his sister."

"Yeah, I know that.  It's just -- "

"Let's get one thing straight, Krycek, before this goes any 
further.  I'm really sorry they lost the little girl -- I think I 
can sympathize more than the next guy.  But I want to be 
totally clear on this:  that little girl is no one to me.  She's 
an innocent victim, but beyond that I feel nothing for her.  I 
know you care for her, and I understand that, but my 
priority is Scully.  That's why I'm helping you.  She is the 
only thing that matters to me.  Understand?"

Alex nodded, his expression guarded.  "Sure.  Got it.  Now, 
can we get started?"

Mulder sighed.  "Yeah, right after I change."  He moved 
toward the stairs again.  When he started up the steps, he 
leaned over and glared at Alex.  "And this time, just watch 
TV or something.  Don't go nosing around."

Alex frowned, but plopped down on the sofa.  "Sure thing, 
Ace.  Wouldn't want to disturb the 'happy family' memories 
all over this place."

Mulder gritted his teeth and took the steps two at a time.  In 
minutes he was back downstairs with maps of the DC 
metro area.


Act 2

Location unknown
early morning

Scully awoke to find herself stretched out on the bed, 
cuddling the child.  Sunlight battled to make it through the 
grim on the glass blocks, but enough light was now in the 
room that she could see around her.  

The smell of coffee and cinnamon toast caused her to look 
over at the small table.  Breakfast was laid out, complete 
with small glasses of orange juice and bowls of cereal.  As 
Scully was mulling over who brought the food, the little 
girl in her arms woke up.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," the child said drowsily, stretching 
her tiny arms over her head and then giving Scully a big 
hug.

Scully's breath caught in her throat.  The child's eyes were 
open; surely the little girl could see that Scully was not her 
mother.  

"Sweetie, ah, I'm not -- "

"Gotta go bathroom," the girl said with a grin.  "I know 
where it is.  I can go by myself, Mommy -- watch!"  With 
that the child scampered off the bed and headed straight for 
the bathroom that Scully had discovered the night before.  
Totally at ease, the girl went about her business, humming 
a tune Scully couldn't recognize.  When she was finished, 
she stood on tiptoe at the sink to laboriously wash her 
hands, drying them haphazardly on the towel before 
running back to Scully, hands raised for inspection.  "All 
clean!  Let's eat!"

"Wait," Scully said abruptly.  There was no telling what 
was in the food.

"Oh, right," the child said.  She sat at the table, made the 
sign of the Cross, folded her hands and bowed her head.  
"Bless us oh Lord, and these your gifts -- "

"No, I meant, um, I wanted to see if the milk was sour," 
Scully said, coming up with the only thing she could think 
of that wouldn't scare the child.  "Let me take a taste first, 
OK."

"OK," the girl said with a bright grin.  

Scully first smelled then tasted the bowl of cereal.  It 
appeared to be fine.  Of course, there were any number of 
substances that could have been hidden because the lacked 
both taste and smell.  But her own stomach was growling 
and the food did look normal.  "OK, I think it's fine," she 
said.

The child dug into her breakfast with a ravishing appetite.  
Scully sipped her coffee, drank her juice and nibbled on her 
toast, all the time watching the child.  

She was a pretty little thing with strawberry blond hair and 
the most amazing green eyes.  She smiled readily, which 
told Scully that she hadn't been traumatized too much by 
her ordeal.  Her little short-sleeved shirt and cropped jeans 
exposed plenty of creamy white skin without a hint of 
bruising.  Scully let out a relieved breath.

"All done!" the child announced, showing Scully the empty 
bowl.  "Mommy, can I help wash the dishes?"

"Um, I'm not sure where we would do that, sweetheart.  
How about if we just rinse them in the sink in the bathroom 
and leave them on the table to dry?"

"OK," the little one said and happily gathered her bowl, 
spoon, juice cup and milk cup to take it into the bathroom.  
Scully gathered her own dishes and followed, rinsing each 
item and then giving them back to the girl to take the to 
table.  It kept them occupied for all of ten minutes.

"Mommy, I'm bored," the child announced with her hands 
on her hips.

Scully swallowed.  It was really beginning to wear on her 
nerves the way the child kept calling her 'mommy', but the 
girl seemed comfortable enough with using the title 
whenever it suited her.  "OK, let's play a game, how about 
that?"

"Yeah, a game!" the girl exclaimed excitedly.  "Let's play 
Candyland!"

"Um, no, I don't think I see Candyland on the bookcase 
there.  Let's play another game.  I'll ask you a question and 
then you answer it.  Then you ask me a question and I'll 
answer it."

"Mommy, that's not a game," the girl said, scrunching up 
her little forehead.  "I want to play a real game."

"Let's play this one and then we'll see what we can find to 
play, OK?  My turn first.  What is your name?"

The girl broke into giggles.  "Oh, Mommy, that's easy.  My 
name is Sarah Katherine Mulder.  I got that one right.  
Now, my turn.  What's my bunny's name?"

Scully's heart stopped beating the second the child had said 
her last name.  She looked at the girl closely -- she could 
see the resemblance.  The eyes were the same eyes Mulder 
had, just more green than hazel.  The chin was definitely 
Mulder's.  But the nose and the mouth . . .

"Mommy, c'mon, that's an easy one."

"Um, Peter?" Scully suggested, for lack of anything else to 
say.

The girl giggled happily.  "No, silly!  Bunnikins!  Unc'a 
Alex said he was named that when he gave him to me when 
I was a baby, 'member?"

"OK, Sarah, you won that one, too.  It's two to nothing.  
The first person to five wins."  Scully closed her eyes and 
thought hard about what she was going to do.  It was a risk, 
but one she needed to take, she had to know.  "OK, Sarah.  
What is MY name.  Not Mommy, what is my real name?"

Sarah laughed and clapped her hands.  "Oh, I'm gonna win!  
That is so easy, Mommy!  Your grown up name is Dana 
Katherine Mulder!  We have the same names -- Katherine 
and Mulder.  Daddy told me he wanted to name me after 
you and you said no but he did anyway when you were 
sleeping.  I'm right! I'm right!  I'm right!" she cried, 
dancing around the room.  "OK, my turn again.  What is 
YOUR mommy's name?"

Scully bit her lip.  "My mother's name is Margaret Scully.  
Most people call her Maggie."

Sarah clapped happily again.  "Mommy, you win that one!  
Your turn again."

Scully decided she'd had enough of the game for one day.  
"OK, Sarah, umm, what color is the sun?"

After Sarah named the color of the sun, Scully had to name 
the color of grass.  She guessed blue, much to Sarah's 
delight.

"I win, I win!  Mommy, call Daddy and tell him I won!" 
Sarah said, skipping around the room.

Scully jerked and stared at Sarah in wonder.  "That's a 
wonderful idea, sweetheart."  She reached into her pocket 
and was thrilled to find her phone.  The signal wasn't very 
strong, but she pulled the rocking chair over to the glass 
block window and stood on it, hoping to boost the 
reception.  After two rings, someone picked up.

"Scully?  God, Scully is that you?"

She almost laughed with relief at hearing her partner's 
voice.  "Mulder, yes, it's me."

"Scully, where are you?  Are you hurt?  Did you get 
away?"

"Mulder, I'm fine -- really.  A little bruised.  I'm in a 
basement.  The door is padlocked, there isn't any way out."

"Is there a window?  Can you give me something to go on?  
I'm running to the car right now, stay on the phone."

"I can't see anything out the window -- it's made of glass 
blocks.  I think we're in the country, I can't hear any traffic 
noises and it was very dark last night."

She was trying to think of some way to help Mulder locate 
them when the door to the room opened and a middle-aged 
man entered.  He wore a pleasant expression and smiled at 
Sarah as he gathered the breakfast dishes.  When he looked 
over and saw Scully, though, he screamed and dropped the 
dishes, running from the room without closing the door and 
hurrying up the steps.

"Mulder, someone was just here.  He left the door open!  
I'm going to try and go up."  She motioned for Sarah to stay 
behind her as she made her way to the basements steps.  

Suddenly, in the doorway at the top of the stairs appeared 
the creature.  Sarah screamed and grabbed Scully's legs, 
almost tumbling them both to the ground.

The creature launched itself down the stairs, grabbing the 
cell phone out of Scully's nerveless fingers and crushing it 
against the far wall.  It then advanced again on Scully and 
the girl, forcing them to run into the room and cower in the 
corner.  Scully was certain the thing would go after them, 
but instead of entering the room it slammed the door.  
Scully heard the padlock engaging and footsteps on the 
stairs.  Realizing that her only link to Mulder was now in 
pieces, she enfolded Sarah in her arms and let the tears fall.

Mulder and Scully's duplex
7:13 am

"Scully!  Scully, can you hear me?  Scully, keep the line 
open, I'll get the guys to track you!  Scully, answer me!"  
Mulder could hear the dead air that signaled a broken 
connection.  "FUCK!" he shouted and slammed the phone 
down on the hood of the car.

"What happened?" Alex demanded.  "Did she say anything 
about Sarah?"

"No, she didn't mention the girl, but I think I heard a little 
girl scream," Mulder said, letting his head fall on his arms 
braced against the car.  "Oh, god, I heard this awful howl 
and then the screams -- "

"It won't hurt them," Alex insisted.

Mulder spun on the man.  "How the hell do you know that?  
They could be dying right now!  We have to find them!"

"I know it because . . . because I have to believe that!  It's 
kept them alive, kept Sarah alive all this time.  It took her 
three days ago and you said you heard a little girl scream.  
She's still alive!"

Mulder stared at Alex for several minutes.  "We still don't 
know where they are," he said with barely contained fury.

"You're FBI -- don't you have cell phones with GPS 
systems in this world?"

Mulder's eyes lit up.  "Yeah.  Yeah, we do.  But we aren't 
going to the FBI.  I know some guys who will move heaven 
and earth to find Scully."

Offices of the Lone Gunmen
Anacostia
9:03 am

After repeated hammering on the door, Mulder finally 
heard the telltale click of a dozen locks and deadbolts being 
thrown open.  Finally, Frohike's gnome-like visage 
appeared in a crack of the door.

"This better be good," he growled, opening the door a little 
farther to allow entry to his guests.  "Hey, what the hell -- "

"It's OK.  This isn't who you think it is," Mulder didn't 
quite explain.  "I need your help.  Or rather, Scully needs 
your help."

"I'll get the others," Frohike said, casting an evil glare at 
Alex.

A pot of coffee and some of Byers whole grain banana 
muffins later, Mulder summed up the problem.  "So we 
need to track her cell phone.  She was close enough to a 
cell that we got iffy reception, but we got cut off."

"Well," Byers said, pulling up his computer screen, "if she 
left the phone on, it should be an easy matter of contacting 
the GPS system.  The last time you and Scully upgraded 
your phones, you'll remember we played with them for a 
day."

"I remember.  You also erased all my saved numbers," 
Mulder said dryly.

Byers looked flustered and contrite.  "Um, sorry.  It 
couldn't be helped.  But anyway, one of the features we 
activated is currently being marketed to parents with 
teenaged children.  If the program is activated and the 
phone is on, someone with similar software can track the 
cell phone to anywhere on the planet.  If Suzy says she's 
going to the library, Mom and Dad can track her when she 
skips out and goes to the Mall."

"How close can you get us?" Mulder asked.

"This software is hooked up directly to the orbital tracking 
station used by trucking companies.  We can get you to 
within 10 feet of Agent Scully, or rather her phone, 
assuming she has it with her."

Mulder nodded, satisfied.  "Close enough.  She was holding 
it when we got cut off.  OK, let's fire this baby up.  
Daylight's burning."

Byers' fingers flew over the keys.  He waited a few seconds 
and then hit more keys.  He frowned and Mulder leaned 
over his shoulder, staring at the computer monitor.  

"So . . . where is she?"

The tidy Gunmen sighed in exasperation.  "Her cell phone 
must be off."

"She was talking to me, Byers.  She wouldn't turn it off -- I 
told her to keep it on!"

The other man licked his lips and looked over at his 
companions.  "Well, then, it may have run out of power -- 
or it could have been broken.  There is no signal.  There's 
nothing to track."

Mulder slammed his fist into the nearest metal table, 
making everyone flinch.  His phone rang and he grabbed 
for it with his other hand, checking the number.  With a 
frown, he pocketed it without answering.

"Who was that?" Alex asked.  

"Skinner.  He's tracking me down.  Guys, you know the 
routine."

"If he calls, we claim complete ignorance," Frohike said 
brightly.  "We got you covered.  But Mulder, what are you 
going to do next?"

He looked over at Alex.  "You said there were six other 
attacks.  Do you remember where?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Then we start with those places," Mulder said and headed 
for the door.
   
Location unknown
late morning

Sarah's cries finally came to a stop when the little girl fell 
asleep in Scully's arms.  Gently, she settled the child on the 
bed, pulling the covers up to keep her warm in her slumber.  
When she was positive she hadn't woken Sarah, Scully got 
off the bed and began to explore the room.

The door was padlocked again and the hinges were on the 
outside, so that escape was negligible at best.  She climbed 
the rocker to examine the glass blocks of the window, 
hoping to find the age of the house in her favor.  
Unfortunately, the blocks appeared to be a recent addition 
and were set in mortar with no cracks or weaknesses that 
she could find after a thorough search of the seams.  There 
was one heating duct, set high in the ceiling of the wall 
with the door, but the dimensions of the grill would have 
given Eugene Victor Tooms food for thought.  After 
several minutes, she sat down on the rocker and sighed in 
defeat.  

It was then she noticed the lunch sat out on the table.  
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks and a quart 
of milk.  She fought hard to tamp down the hysterical 
giggle that threaten to form.  Surely the largesse wasn't 
from the creature!  Who had brought the food in and when?  
She hadn't fallen asleep; at least she couldn't remember 
falling asleep.  Her head still hurt from the struggles the 
night before and there was a lump that was tender to the 
touch above her left ear.  Maybe she had fallen asleep. 

Her thoughts went back to the strange little man who had 
come down with breakfast -- was he still in the house?  She 
went to the door and listened closely.  She heard no sounds, 
not even footsteps on the floor above her.  Wasn't he a 
captive, too?  Or maybe he was an accomplice and that was 
why he alerted the creature to her cell phone.  She turned 
away from the door just as Sarah awoke from her nap.

"Mommy, I want to go home now," Sarah said plaintively 
as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.  

"I know, sweetheart, but, um, just a little longer.  It's not 
time yet," Scully said, grasping at any reason for the delay 
that might make sense to the child.

"I'm hungry," Sarah replied, eyeing the table.  "Oh goodie!  
Peanut butter and jelly!  My favorite!"  She scrambled over 
to the table and sat down.  "Mommy, you forgot," she said, 
frowning up at Scully.

"Forgot what, sweetie?  There's your milk and look, carrot 
sticks," she pointed out.

"No, Mommy, the cruts is still on.  I don't like cruts and 
you always cut it off.  Remember?" the child 
mispronounced.

Cruts?  "Oh, the _crust_," Scully corrected.  She looked at 
the table and found only a plastic knife and fork set.  "I'll 
have it fixed in a jiffy."

After lunch, Sarah was once again bored.  If Scully had any 
doubt of the child's paternity, her boundless energy and 
impatience with being confined to a small place erased 
those doubts.  The agent looked around for something to 
occupy the small child.  Her eyes fell on the little desk in 
the corner.

"How about we draw some pictures?" Scully suggested, 
extracting paper and crayons from inside the desk and 
taking them to the table.

"Oh yes," Sarah exclaimed, clapping.  "I like to color!  I'll 
color you a picture, Mommy!"  She set about her work 
happily, choosing one of the crayons, a bright yellow one.

"Mommy, where's Daddy?" the child asked without lifting 
her gaze from the paper.

"He's, uh, he's working," Scully answered.  She was sure of 
that statement.  She'd been so worried when she woke up, 
but at least she'd had a chance to hear his voice.  When the 
creature had attacked him, she'd had no time to see how 
badly he was injured.  She knew, however, that if Mulder 
were conscious, he was searching for her.  Maybe the 
phone call had given him some clue.  She realized they 
were needles in a haystack, but if any one could find them, 
it was Mulder.

"Sometimes Daddy takes me to work with him," the child 
rambled along happily.

"Do you like that?" Scully asked.  It was difficult, she 
didn't want to frighten the child but at the same time she 
was still confused.  Could this child really be their child -- 
just in another place another time?  

"Oh yes.  The grown up kids are nice to me.  I get to draw 
on the chalkboard while Daddy grades papers.  Mommy, 
what's a grades?"

Scully shook her head and held back a laugh.  "It's called a 
grade and it tells you how you did on your work.  An A is a 
very good grade."

"Like a star?  Meemaw Mulder gave me a star one time for 
a picture I made her.  It was gold and she stuck it on my 
paper and put it on the 'fridgerator."

Scully's heart clenched at the thought that Mulder's mother, 
in another place, would have been a loving grandmother.  
The child was watching her expectantly.  "Yes, sweetheart.  
A star is like a grade.  A very good grade, in fact."

"I'm going to make you a picture that you can put a star 
on!" Sarah declared and went back to work, her tiny pink 
tongue peeking out between her lips as she concentrated.

Scully nodded, fighting back tears.

Mulder and Scully's duplex
Georgetown
3:45 pm

They were pouring over the maps of DC and the 
surrounding suburbs when the house phone rang.  Mulder 
started to ignore it but Alex checked the caller ID.  "It's 
your mother-in-law," he said.

Mulder sighed and reached over to retrieve the phone.  
"She's not my mother-in-law," he said tersely.  "We aren't 
married."

"Then you really are a dumbass in this world," Alex said 
with a smirk.

"Hi, Mom," Mulder said, clearing his throat and shooting 
Alex a glare.  After a few seconds he closed his eyes.  "I'm 
sorry, I should have called you.  We've been searching all 
night . . . Yes, I believe -- there's every reason to believe 
that she's all right. . . No, I'm fine. . . Well, Skinner has a 
big mouth, it was just some scratches -- I'm fine.  Sleep?  
Well, um, I've been busy -- I know, I'll try.  I will try to get 
some sleep, but right now, well, you know.  I'll find her, 
Mom.  I promise.  What?  Yes, there's someone else here --  
"  Wordlessly he handed the phone over to Alex.

"Mrs. Scully, hello, my name is Alex. . . No, ma'am, I'm a 
DC policeman.  Yes, ma'am, I'm helping your, um, Fox.  
Yes.  Well, about 36 hours by my watch.  Yes, I can do 
that.  Yes, I'll make sure.  I will, ma'am.  We will find her.  
I know how much Dana means to her family.  Yes, ma'am.  
You, too.  Good bye."  He placed the phone in its cradle.  
"Three guesses what I'm supposed to do," he said, crossing 
his arms.

Mulder glared at him.  "I know you would have no way of 
knowing this, but in _this_ dimension, I kick your ass on a 
regular basis," Mulder sneered.

"Yeah, well, we can test that little theory later, friend.  But 
right now, I'm under orders from a woman I happen to 
think of as a very dear friend in my world and she wants 
your ass in bed.  Or on that god-awful couch I helped move 
three times.  Where is it?"

"It burned up in an apartment fire," Mulder said tiredly.

"Good riddance, I say.  Now, go stretch out for a couple of 
hours.  I swear, I'll wake you if I hear anything."  He took 
the agent's arm and started to lead him toward the stairs.

"No!" Mulder objected.  "Not up there.  Not alone.  I'll 
stretch out on the couch down here."  Sighing in defeat, he 
lay down on the sofa and closed his eyes.  In minutes he 
was dead to the world.  Alex breathed a sigh of relief and 
went back to looking at the maps. 

end of part 1 of 2

Paradigm part 2 of 2
by Vickie Moseley
vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com

Act 3

Location unknown
mid afternoon

They'd colored pictures, played a few of the games 
on the shelves.  At one point Sarah found a tea set 
in the toy box and they had a tea party on the table 
with make believe strawberry sandwiches (Sarah's 
own recipe, she confided) and make believe 
chocolate 'tea'.  When Sarah grew restless, Scully 
found a jump rope and they moved the table to the 
wall to make room for a jumping lesson, something 
Sarah found very amusing.  After a few hours of 
play, Sarah grew tired and fussy.  Scully found the 
Winnie the Pooh series on the bookshelf and pulled 
Sarah on her lap.  They settled in and Scully began 
to read.  When her little head started to nod, Scully 
put the book aside and picked her up.

"Sing to me, Momma," Sarah said sleepily when 
Scully attempted to put the child down on the bed.

"Oh, Sarah -- "

"The Bullfrog song, Mommy.  I like the Bullfrog 
song."

With a catch in her voice, Scully began to sing, 
stroking the little girl's back as she finally drifted 
off to sleep.  "Jeremiah was a bullfrog . . . "  To her 
relief, Sarah smiled, stuck her thumb in her mouth 
and was soon sound asleep.

It was only mid afternoon, but Scully found herself 
drawn to the double bed.  She wondered briefly if 
there might be something in the food, a sedative or 
something that would cause her to sleep so much.  
Then, it was kind of tiring, keeping an active three 
year old from going stir-crazy.  Not sure what she 
could do besides not eat any food left in the future, 
she joined Sarah in her slumber.

Mulder and Scully's duplex
7:45 pm

Alex had raided the refrigerator and made himself a 
sandwich; all the while marking out the best 
possible places for them to stake out as soon as 
'sleeping beauty' arose.  He leaned against the table 
and watched the agent sawing logs on the sofa.

What a life they had here, he thought sadly.  They 
weren't even married, no sign of kids.  So many 
sore subjects -- Fox's sister, hell, the subject of his 
whole family was like one raw nerve.  And from 
what he could gather, most of Dana's family was 
dead and gone, too.  It was so different from the 
happy bunch of people who had unofficially 
adopted Alex in his own world.  He shook his head 
and went back to the maps.

The ringing of the phone woke Mulder.  He lunged 
off the sofa, grabbing for the phone.  "Scully?" he 
all but shouted into the receiver.  When the caller 
identified himself, Mulder's face fell.  "No, sir.  No, 
I haven't heard from her except for the one time.  
You're kidding!  No, I'll be right over there.  Oh, 
and sir, um, be prepared to accept another extreme 
possibility, OK?"  He hung up the phone and went 
to the coat tree by the door to pull on his jacket.  
"C'mon, Skinner says there's been another attack 
and they think they have it cornered in a parking 
garage in Falls Church."

"Wait!" Alex objected.  "Maybe I should stay here.  
Or go to one of the other sites.  You know, just in 
case."

"Are you on crack?" Mulder responded, using the 
detective's own words.  "They have it cornered.  If 
we get there in time, we might be able to -- "

"To what?  Get it to tell us where Sarah and Dana 
are?  Now who's on crack?" he laughed bitterly.  
"And besides, I don't see why we have to drag the 
Captain -- "

Mulder looked at the man closely.  "Hold on a 
minute.  You went AWOL, didn't you?"

Alex dropped his head.  "I had vacation time 
coming," he said defensively.

"You didn't tell your Captain where you were 
going, did you?"  Mulder accused.

His head jerked up and Alex pinned Mulder with a 
defiant glare.  "Do you know how much paperwork 
and crap the old man put me through over that 
fiasco at Glass-glo the last time our path's crossed?  
I was in shit for months!  And the son of a bitch 
never did buy my explanation of an alternate world, 
even when Dana came back from San Francisco 
with a tan, showing us pictures of the New Bay 
Bridge!  So yeah, I went AWOL -- because I knew 
it was the only way!  And I would do it again, 
anytime, for that little girl!"

Mulder licked his lips and then nodded, before 
breaking out in a smile.  "Alex, I think I'm 
beginning to . . . understand you."

"Geez, don't get all mushy on me," Alex sneered.

"C'mon, you can stay in the car until we know for 
certain they have the creature."

1013 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, Virginia
8:30 pm

Mulder cringed as they pulled up to the address 
Skinner had given him.  The place was a circus.  
There were at least a dozen squad cars from various 
jurisdictions, including a familiar Bureau HRT van 
parked along the road.  Mulder pulled his car behind 
several of the other vehicles, rolling his eyes as 
Alex folded himself down in the seat to remain 
unnoticed.  A Virginia State Trooper was directing 
traffic and required Mulder to his identification 
before he could cross the barricade set up in the 
driveway to the parking garage.  Mulder set off at a 
trot to the van.

"When the hell is the chopper getting here," Skinner 
was barking into a cell phone as Mulder stepped 
into the van.  Agents manning the equipment turned 
to him and nodded in acknowledgement.  One 
agent, a woman Mulder had seen Scully talking to 
in the cafeteria just the week before made a point to 
get him a cup of coffee and gave him a pat on the 
shoulder.  One of their own was missing and 
regardless of what the bullpen thought of him, 
Scully was well liked.  

"Where is it?" Mulder asked, looking at the tiny 
surveillance monitors that showed each of the 
twelve floors of the garage.

"We think it's hiding here -- an equipment locker on 
the roof," Skinner said, pointing to one of the 
monitors.  "We have all elevators locked down and 
all stairs blocked.  There is no way in hell this guy 
is getting away this time."

"It's not a guy, sir," Mulder corrected.  "It's a 
creature.  Possibly a werewolf."

"Whatever it is, I want it down," Skinner growled.

"But we still haven't found Scully," Mulder pointed 
out.  "We need it alive."

"Why?  So it can lead us to her?  Mulder, if this 
thing took her -- I know how hard this is -- "

"She was alive!" Mulder shouted.  When all heads 
turned toward him, he lowered his voice and pulled 
his superior out of the van so that only Skinner 
could hear him.  "I talked to her this morning.  She 
called me on her cell phone but something 
happened and we were cut off.  The creature took 
her somewhere, has her locked up in a basement.  
She thought they were in the country because there 
were no city noises and it was very dark at night."

"Mulder, you're saying this animal took your 
partner -- to hold her captive?  For what possible 
purpose?"

Mulder licked his lips.  "Remember when I told you 
to be ready for another extreme possibility?"

Skinner clamped his jaw shut so tight Mulder 
thought he head a molar crack.  

"Sir, this creature, werewolf, what ever you want to 
call it, it's not from -- our world."

"Mulder, if you're going to tell me this thing is alien 
-- "

"Not exactly 'alien', sir," Mulder interrupted.  "I 
said, not of this world."

"You've lost me."

"Sir, remember when we investigated the deaths at 
Glass-glo Industries?"

Skinner's eyes went wide and he started shaking his 
head.  "Mulder, that whole parallel universe bullshit 
-- "

"Sir, I have proof," he said, grabbing his superior's 
sleeve and leading him back to his car.  "But I want 
you to keep in mind, this is NOT who you think it 
is."  Mulder opened the passenger side door, 
revealing Alex Krycek, huddled in the front seat.

Skinner immediately reached for his weapon, but 
Mulder caught his hand.  

"I seem to get that same reaction back home," Alex 
joked.

"What is he doing here?" Skinner demanded.

"See, that's just it.  He's not the Alex Krycek from 
our world.  In his world, he's a police detective -- "

Alex stepped out of the car, flipping out his badge.  
"DC homicide.  I've been working this case for two 
months."

"How did you get here?" Skinner grilled.

"I followed the creature through a rip in space or 
vortex.  He's killed six people where I'm from -- and 
taken a hostage."

"A hostage?" Skinner prodded.

Alex looked over at Mulder, hesitant to answer.  
Mulder stepped in for him.  "The creature 
kidnapped a three-year old little girl," Mulder said, 
not bothering to reveal the child's background.

Skinner frowned.  "So you're thinking it has both 
Scully and this child?"

"Her name is Sarah," Alex interjected.  "Yes sir, 
Captain, um I mean -- "

Skinner shot him a confused look but turned back to 
Mulder.  "Are you sure about this?"

"When I heard from Scully this morning, I distinctly 
heard a child's scream just before we were cut off.  I 
believe they were together at that time."

"And what makes you think they aren't -- "  Skinner 
couldn't bring himself to say the word.

"We haven't found their bodies," Alex said with a 
shrug.  "The creature never bothered to conceal its 
kills before.  Why start now?"

"Well, it certainly didn't conceal this one," Skinner 
mused.  "Pulled the guy out of his car and ripped 
him to shreds right on the floor of the garage."

"We need this thing alive.  We have to use tranqs to 
bring it down," Mulder said firmly.

"Mulder, I understand -- "  Just then a helicopter 
arrived at the scene, landing in a vacant lot across 
from the parking garage.  Skinner jogged to it, 
Mulder and Alex bringing up the rear.

Location Unknown
night

When Scully woke up, she noticed more food on the 
table.  Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese along 
with the ever-present milk.  Whoever was feeding 
them seemed attuned to the tastes of a three-year 
old, but Scully would have killed for a nice Cobb 
salad.  She sighed and decided to once again check 
her surroundings.

On a bad day, Mulder would have told her the 
definition of insanity was repeatedly taking the 
same action and expecting a different result, but she 
persevered.  The window was just as impassable as 
it had been.  The door, however, was a different 
matter.  Whoever had brought down the food -- 
probably the little man, had left the padlock off.  
The door was still closed, but a little jiggling on her 
part and she was able to get it open.

"Mommy!  Don't let the monster in!" Sarah 
screamed from the bed.  Scully turned to see the 
child, trembling in fear at the sight of the open door.  

"Sarah, it's OK.  I don't see the monster.  I don't 
think it's here."

"No, Mommy, please, close the door!  Don't let the 
monster in!"  The child pulled her knees to her chin 
and started to cry.

Scully reluctantly closed the door and went over to 
the little girl, gathering her in her arms.  "It's OK, 
baby.  Mommy closed the door.  It's OK."  As soon 
as the words were out of her mouth she realized 
what she'd said.  Her heart seemed to stop beating 
for a moment and tears threatened to choke her.  
She sat on the bed, stroking Sarah's hair until the 
child finally settled down.

"I don't like the monster.  He's scary!" Sarah said, 
still a little shaky.

"Yes, he is.  But he's not here, so we're OK.  I'll 
protect you, Sarah.  I promise."  She forced herself 
to use the personal pronoun as opposed to the name 
Mommy.  She had to watch herself.  This wasn't her 
little girl, no matter how much she might want that 
to be.

"Let's do something.  What would you like to do?"

"Can we play school?  I'll be the teacher first," 
Sarah declared and scampered off the bed to get out 
paper and crayons again.

Scully gathered her tattered emotions and pasted on 
a smile, ready to go to 'school'.

1013 Leesburg Pike
11:21 pm

It had taken some time to exchange the normal 
rounds for tranquilizers, but finally everything was 
in place.  Mulder requested that he and Alex be 
allowed to go with the team making their way up 
the parking ramps to the top level, just in case the 
creature decided to run that direction.  Skinner 
wasn't happy about it, but agreed.

The parking ramp echoed every footstep as they 
made their way up the twelve stories.  On some 
levels there were still cars, but most of the levels 
were vacant, all the workers having left the 
structure for their homes hours ago.  Alex glanced 
over at Mulder as they walked, a few steps back 
from the rest of the team. 

"How do we communicate with it, once we have 
it?" he asked.

Mulder blew out a breath.  "Well, it's been my 
experience that once incapacitated, the creature -- if 
it is a lycanthrope -- will return to its human form.  
Then it's just a matter of interrogation."

Alex raised one eyebrow.  "You really are on crack, 
aren't you?"

"Look, Scully and I deal with this shit every day of 
the week.  If you didn't want my answer, why did 
you ask me the question?"

"Sorry!" Alex said contritely, holding his hands up 
in surrender.  "It's just -- I'm a little freaked out 
here, is all.  I mean, most of the time, you're this 
stuffed shirt intellectual who's lecturing me on the 
psychological ramifications of police brutality on a 
civilized society, or some shit like that.  I'm just not 
used to you totin' a gun and spoutin' off weird shit 
theories like they were straight out of the Journal of 
American Psychology." 

Mulder looked over at the man.  His first reaction 
was to deck the guy, but he held himself in check.  
"I guess . . . I guess it would be hard.  I mean 
everything around you is the same yet it's all 
different."

"Yeah, something like that.  I don't know how your 
Dana did it when she was there with us.  She was 
incredible."

Mulder smiled at that.  "She's _always_ incredible," 
he replied.

"She had you fooled, well, at least, your twin.  And 
the Captain, although he thought she was acting 
kinda funny.  And me -- whoa, I was totally fooled.  
But she was different.  Harder around the edges.  
When she held that gun -- that was . . . it was the 
sexiest damn thing I've ever seen!"

"Watch it," Mulder glowered at him.

"Oh, yeah, sorry.  I need to find the parallel 
universe where Dana Scully thinks you're a twit, or 
you're an axe murderer -- that's what I need to do," 
Alex said with a firm shake of his head.  "I'm just 
stuck in the wrong dimension."

"You keep tellin' yourself that, chum," Mulder 
returned with a fake smile.  "Now, maybe we 
should get back to the lesson?"  He nodded to the 
rest of the team as they made the final turn to 
scramble to cover on the rooftop.

"Yeah, down to business," Alex agreed, following 
Mulder to crouch behind a cement support for a 
lamppost.

The HRT members were in position, the helicopter 
was circling overhead.  The FBI had arranged for 
the garage superintendent to put a tear gas canister 
in the ventilation system, flooding the storage closet 
with the painful gas.  In a matter of seconds, the 
creature burst through the door of the closet, 
howling in pain.  

Mulder watched breathless as the sharpshooter took 
aim.  He fired, hitting the mark on the right flank.  
The creature bellowed its anger and to everyone's 
astonishment, ran as hard as it could toward the 
chopper and the sharpshooter.  In a haze of drugs 
and fury, the beast leaped over the short retaining 
wall in an attempt to catch the aircraft.  It fell the 
twelve stories to the cement driveway below.

Mulder and Alex found themselves running all the 
way down the parking ramp.  When they got to the 
ground floor, a crowd of law enforcement from 
various jurisdictions stopped them from getting to 
the creature.  

"Holy shit!" Alex exclaimed, having reached the 
monster's body before Mulder.  Mulder broke 
through the crowd and stared down at the body.

In the darkened alley, illuminated only by the 
searchlights of the helicopter, lay a naked man.  The 
commander of the HRT members ordered an 
immediate search of the grounds for any trace of the 
creature.  It was Alex who knelt down next to the 
body that was lying face down, and pulled the 
tranquilizer dart out of the man's shoulder.

"This is the . . . perpetrator," he said, not really 
believing his own eyes.  He looked up at Mulder 
and shook his head.  They exchanged a knowing 
look.  Without the creature, their hopes of finding 
Sarah and Scully were looking very dim.

Location unknown
night

As darkness fell, Sarah grew tired.  Finally Scully 
was able to convince the girl it was time for bed.  
After several minutes of teeth brushing and face 
washing, Sarah climbed into the big bed.  Just as 
Scully was pulling the covers up over her, Sarah 
ducked under her arm and knelt down next to the 
bed.  

"Prayers, Mommy!  You forgot!" Sarah accused 
with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Oh, of course, how silly of me," Scully replied, 
kneeling down next to the little girl.  Together, they 
made the sign of the cross and bowed their heads.  
Sarah waited, not saying anything.  Finally, she 
darted a glance over at Scully.

"Mommy.  You start, 'member?"

Scully drew in a breath.  She thought back to her 
own childhood prayers, so different from the 
desperate pleadings she whispered as an adult -- 
'keep him safe', 'let him find us'.  "Now I lay me 
down to sleep," she uttered in a cadence reminiscent 
of her youth.

"I pray the Lord my soul to keep," Sarah responded.

The next part was tricky.  In her childhood, the 
prayer went 'if I should die before I wake', but 
Scully had learned from putting Matty and Claire to 
bed that there was a newer version less likely to 
cause nightmares.  "Bless me Jesus, through the 
night," Scully said, hoping she was right.

"And wake me with the morning light," Sarah 
completed, much to Scully's relief.  Scully started to 
cross herself, but Sarah wasn't finished.  "God bless 
Mommy and Daddy and Grandpa Ahab and 
Grandma Maggie, Uncle Bill and Aunt Tara, Uncle 
Charlie and Aunt Missy.  And Paw paw and 
Meemaw Mulder and Aunt Sam and that boy she 
likes Kevin and God bless Uncle Alex and find him 
a keeper.  Amen."

Scully couldn't help the chuckle that came as she 
heard the last part of the prayer.  Sarah looked 
concerned.  "That's what Daddy says, isn't it, 
Mommy?  Uncle Alex needs a keeper."

"What is a keeper, Sarah?" Scully asked, because it 
was just too good to resist.

Sarah scrunched up her little face and thought for a 
moment.  "I think it's a dog," she said confidently.  
Scully had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out 
loud.

"OK, munchkin, enough," she said playfully.  "In to 
bed you go."  Dutifully, Sarah scurried under the 
covers and snuggled into the pillow.  

"Mommy, I want Bunnikins," she said plaintively.

Scully frowned.  She had no idea where, or for that 
matter _what_ Bunnikins was.  "I'm sorry, sweetie.  
We'll find Bunnikins in the morning."

"But I left him at home, Mommy!  We have to go 
home to find him!" Sarah insisted.

"We will, sweetheart.  I promise.  We will be home 
before you know it.  Now go to sleep.  I'm going to 
clean up a little bit and then I'll hold you all night so 
you won't miss Bunnikins -- will that work?"

Sarah thought about it for a minute and reluctantly 
nodded.  "OK, Mommy.  But tomorrow, I want to 
go home.  I want to see Daddy."

Scully stroked the child's baby fine hair.  "I know, 
sweetheart.  I want to see him, too," she said, 
holding back her own tears.  After a few minutes, 
Sarah had fallen asleep and Scully began her 
exploration of the rest of the basement.

1013 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA
1:15 am

The coroner had declared the body dead at the 
scene, cause of death a broken neck and severe head 
trauma.  While the combined Virginia state troopers 
and Fairfax County Sheriff's deputies continued to 
search the area for the creature, most of the officers 
at the scene were struggling with the incredible 
truth that the dead naked man in the alley was the 
monster they'd been chasing for days.

As the coroner's people loaded the body into a bag 
and prepared to take it to the county morgue, Alex 
stood, staring into space.

"We'll find them.  We should go back to all the 
previous scenes.  There has to be a clue there 
somewhere.  Maybe someone saw something -- 
someone who works nights -- " Mulder was 
rambling, laboring with his own sense of impending 
doom at this most recent failure.

Suddenly, Alex jerked his head over toward the 
coroner's wagon, where an attendant was slamming 
the door.  "Wait!  Wait a minute!" Alex shouted, 
running flat out to grab the guy's arm and swing 
him around.  "I need to take another look at the 
body!"

"Sure, buddy," the attendant said, wide eyed.  "No 
problem.  Hey, Hank!  Wait up a minute."  The 
attendant then pulled the gurney forward and waved 
his hand.  "Be my guest.  Just be careful not to get 
any on ya," he said with a casual shrug.

Alex pulled the tab of the zipper down, revealing 
just the face.  Impact had not been kind, it was hard 
at first but then . . .  "Oh my god," Alex muttered.  
As the picture became clearer, he stepped back and 
threw his hands in the air.  "Oh my GOD!"

"What?  What'd you find?" Mulder demanded.

"I know this guy!" Alex shouted.  "I know him!  
Dana knows him!  YOU know him, for God's 
sakes," he said, poking Mulder in the chest.

"Alex, I don't -- "  Mulder realized what the 
detective was saying so he took him by the elbow 
and steered him to an area without an audience.  
"You're saying it's someone you know from . . . 
back there?" Mulder asked again.

"Yes, of course!  Oh, this is incredible!  I had no 
idea!  I thought they had clearances, but then, 
maybe since he's been around a while -- "

"Krycek!  Focus!  Tell me what the hell you're 
talking about!" Mulder insisted adamantly.  

Alex beamed.  "The dead guy, our 'werewolf' for 
lack of a better description, is the denier that works 
the night shift at the morgue.  My God, he has 
access to everything about you and Dana -- your 
phone number, your address -- that's why there was 
no forced entry!  He could have taken an impression 
of Dana's keys, then had one made.  Then all he 
would have had to do was sneak in at any time 
when you were away, stayed hidden and waited for 
the right time to take Sarah out through the 
window!"

"Alex, you keep saying 'you'," Mulder reminded the 
detective with a tired sigh.  "So, who is this guy?  
What's his name?"

Alex shook his head, lost in thought but coming 
back to the present.  "Oh, his name is . . . uh, let me 
think a minute.  Carter.  No, Carver!  That's it!  
Terry Carver!  I think maybe it's Terrance Carver."

Mulder was writing the name down in his notebook.  
"So we look up this Terrance Carver."

"Wait," Alex said, taking hold of his companion's 
sleeve.  "Just because he's a wolfman in my world 
doesn't mean he's a wolfman in your world," he 
reasoned.

"True.  But what was the first thing you did when 
you arrived?" Mulder asked.

Alex bit his lip.  "I went to my apartment, but 
someone else was living there.  Then I headed for 
the last crime scene, but I got there too late -- you 
were being loaded into an ambulance."

"You went to your house.  Let's see if we can find 
out if maybe Terrance Carver visited his twin.  
Chances are we might find another dead body."

FBI Headquarters
5:45 am

There were fourteen Terrance Carvers in the greater 
DC metro area.  Only two of them were matches for 
age.  Of the two, one was in the Guard, serving in 
Iraq and the other had been killed in a multi-car 
pile-up on the I-95 just four days after New Years 
2006.

"Well, that's a wash," Alex said, laying his head in 
his arms.

"No, wait," Mulder countered, turning the computer 
monitor so that Alex could view it.  "Mr. Carver, 
the one who is in Iraq, had an apartment in 
Bethesda, but it also lists him as owner of a farm 
out near Sharpsburg.  He pays property taxes on it."  
A few more clicks and Mulder smiled.  "It was the 
family homestead.  He still owns the house."

"Dana said she was out in the country," Alex 
remembered.  "You think this could be where 
they're being held?"

Mulder checked his watch.  "It's almost sunup.  It's 
definitely worth a look, don't you think?"

"We could call the Sheriff up that way, have his 
men go check it out."  

"We can do that one the way.  Our werewolf isn't 
going anywhere," Mulder said with a smile.

Location unknown
night

She found light switches, but only one very dull 
bulb hung in the far corner of the basement.   It was 
barely enough light for her to see to the top of the 
stairs.  The door at the top of the steps was barred; 
there would be no escape that way.  Scully sat on 
the top step for a few minutes, willing away her 
depression.

She tried to remember how light it was outside 
when she'd smelled breakfast the day before.  She 
knew it had been early, which meant she had little 
time to find an escape.

She crawled down the steps, feeling apprehensive.  
She was aware the hostages were sometimes kept 
for years, just as Carl Wade had kept Lucy 
Householder for eight long years.  She didn't want 
to think what it would do to Mulder if they weren't 
found soon.  For that matter, somewhere in another 
place her exact twin was living a mother's worst 
nightmare.  She had to find a way out for both of 
them.

It was a long abandoned basement; she soon 
discovered mice nests and spider webs everywhere 
she turned.  She examined every nook and cranny.  
At some point someone had replaced all the 
windows with the same glass blocks she'd found in 
the small bedroom.  She did find a sledgehammer 
and was in the process of trying to devise a way to 
break the glass bricks when another possibility 
presented itself.  There was an old coal door set in 
the side of the wall.  Once used to send coal into a 
long dismantled coal bin, the hatch-like door was 
rusted completely shut.  Scully eyed the 
sledgehammer, then eyed the coal door.  Wrapping 
rags she'd found on the floor around her hands to 
prevent blisters, she picked up the sledgehammer 
and went to work. 


Act 4

Location Unknown
Daybreak

It had been exhausting work, and at times she had 
almost given up, but finally she felt the latch move 
and she was able to pry the door open using a small 
pry bar.  She wiped the sweat from her face and 
went to wake Sarah.

It was a testament to the sleeping abilities of the 
young that Sarah hadn't awoken during Scully's 
assault on the rusted latch.  Scully went to the 
bathroom and washed the grime and rust from her 
hands and face before going to the bed to wake the 
child.  

Sarah smiled up at her.  "Mommy, I'm hungry," she 
said as she stretched.  She looked over at the table.  
"Where's breakfast?"

"Sarah, it's time to go home now.  We'll have 
breakfast later, OK?"

"We're going to see Daddy?" the girl squealed.  
Then she noticed the open door and jumped back 
into the bed, cowering under the covers.  "The door, 
Mommy!  The monster will get us!"

"No, sweetheart, the monster isn't here.  Come with 
me.  We can leave now."  Finally, Scully was able 
to coax the child out of the tangle of blankets.  She 
wrapped the girl up in a threadbare quilt from the 
bed and carried her to the coal door that she had 
propped open with the handle of the sledgehammer.  
"Sarah, you go through that little door and wait for 
me.  I'll climb out right after you."

"NO!" the child screamed.  "No Mommy!  The 
monster, it'll eat me!"

"Sarah, listen to me.  The monster isn't here.  It's 
gone.  But we have to leave, now."

"No, Mommy!  Daddy will come find us!" Sarah 
insisted.

"Sweetheart, Daddy doesn't know where we are," 
Scully reasoned.  "We have to go find him.  Daddy 
is probably worried about us.  It will be all right.  
Mommy will protect you," she promised.  Once 
again, the ease of using that title was not lost on 
Scully.  She tamped down her guilt by rationalizing 
the need to comfort the child.  "This is a very scary 
thing, Sarah, but Mommy is right here with you.  I 
would never let anything hurt you.  You believe 
that, don't you?"

Sarah was far from totally convinced, but slowly 
she nodded her head.  

"OK, you keep hold of my hand after I get you up 
there.  You can pull me up, OK?"

"OK, Mommy.  But hurry!" the child pleaded.

The coal door was only 4 feet off the floor, so 
getting Sarah through it proved a simple task.  
Scully was a bit more encumbered getting out 
because of Sarah's 'help', but finally the two were 
standing on the ground outside the old farm house.  
A cold wind blew through the bare trees nearby and 
Scully considered going back into the house to grab 
some more of the blankets from the bed.  

"Mommy, go!" Sarah urged.

Scully nodded.  Picking the child up and wrapping 
the quilt around both of them, she started off 
through the trees. 

Miller's Sawmill Road
Sharpsburg, Maryland
8:06 am

Mulder gripped the cell phone harder, wishing he 
could crush it with his bare hands.  "Deputy, what 
do you mean there's no one there?  Did you check 
everywhere?" he demanded.  "Well, we're almost 
there.  I'll look around for myself, thank you!"  He 
snapped the phone shut with an audible crack from 
the casing.

"Could it be the wrong house?" Alex asked meekly 
from the driver's seat.

"No," Mulder defended.  "It's the right house.  It's 
abandoned and they found a room in the basement 
where someone has been recently.  But there's no 
one there now."

"Where could they have gone?" Alex wondered 
aloud.  "You don't think -- "  His face went white as 
he considered the awful possibility.

"No, I don't think he killed them," Mulder said 
firmly.  

"Just like you knew where he took them?" Alex 
jeered, staring out at the highway.

"We'll find them.  At least we know he'd dead and 
they're safe."

"Assuming that really was the beast back there, and 
not some poor victim it tossed over to hide its 
escape," Alex replied glumly.

Mulder glared at the detective.  "Just drive," he 
ordered.

The farmhouse was at the end of a long, overgrown 
gravel drive, now sporting two county squad cars.  
Mulder pulled in behind one of the cars and parked, 
getting out without waiting for Alex.  He went up to 
one of the deputies.

"I'm Special Agent Mulder, are you Deputy Allen?" 
he asked, flipping out his badge.

"Yes sir, that'd be me," the young deputy said with a 
nod.  "Let's go inside, I can show you what we 
found."

The first floor of the house was completely bare, not 
even a forgotten mattress.  Mulder noticed the Alex 
had joined them and was looking around the 
kitchen. 

"Electricity is on.  The refrigerator has food in it," 
Allen noted.  

Alex opened the fridge and pulled out a gallon jug 
of milk, reading the label.  "Expires next week," he 
said, opening the lid and sniffing the contents.  
"This is fresh."

Mulder looked around the kitchen, finding plates 
and cups in the dishwasher.  

"We found the room down here," Allen explained, 
holding open the basement door.

Mulder caught his breath as he looked at the room.  
The child's desk and table, the rocking chair.  He 
leaned over the bed, picking up one of the pillows 
and bringing it to his nose.  "Scully was here," he 
told Alex.

Alex went over to the child's desk and picked up a 
piece of paper.  He brought it over to Mulder, 
showing him.  It was a stick-figure drawing of a 
house with three people out front, a woman with red 
hair, a man with brown hair and glasses and a little 
girl with red hair.  At the bottom of the page was 
scrawled the name 'Sarah'.

"Dana told me she learned to write her name last 
week.  She was going to have her draw me a picture 
for my desk at the station," he said, carefully 
folding the picture and putting it in his back pocket.  
"So where are they now?"

"There's no blood anywhere.  No signs of a 
struggle," Mulder recited as he paced the room.  
"The door was barred when you arrived, Deputy 
Allen?"

"Yes sir, and it sure didn't look like any body could 
have gotten out that way."

"There has to be another way out," Mulder said, 
striding purposefully from the room.  He searched 
the basement, finally calling to Alex.

"Here," he said, pointing to the closed coal door.

"There was a sledgehammer leaning against the 
house out back," Allen offered.  "Didn't think much 
about it, but they could have propped the door open, 
made their escape that way."

"They're on foot and it's getting colder," Mulder 
said, taking the stairs two at a time.  "Deputy, put 
out an ABP on a woman and a child, I gave you the 
descriptions.  They shouldn't be that far from here!  
Alex, you have shotgun," he added as he hurried off 
to the car.

Unknown State Highway
two hours later

Scully had never been so happy to see cement 
adorned with white and yellow lines in her life as 
she was when she and Sarah broke through the trees 
and saw the highway.  Sarah had been a trooper, 
walking almost half the way.  It was slow going, but 
Scully couldn't have made it if she'd had to carry the 
child.  Two days of inactivity had done a number on 
her bruised muscles, leaving her sore and stiff.  The 
wind hadn't been kind, either, kicking up a pile of 
dark clouds that seemed to be threatening either 
sleet or snow.

"Sarah, I think we should wait here a while, see if a 
car goes by," Scully suggested.  

"But Mommy, I gotta go potty," Sarah announced 
with a grimace.

Scully sighed, trying to figure out where a good 
impromptu 'potty' might be among the trees and 
dense underbrush when she heard a rumble coming 
from down around a corner in the road.  There, 
before her very eyes, was a Sheriff's Department 
squad car, pulling to a stop.  

The deputy all but ran over to Scully and the child.  
"Ma'am, you wouldn't happen to be an FBI agent, 
would you?" the deputy asked, breathless.

"As a matter of face, I am," Scully said with a grin.  

"Hot damn, uh, excuse the language, ma'am.  Um, 
we been looking for you two for quite a while.  
Here let's get you in the patrol car and warm you up 
a bit.  I have a car seat in the trunk for the little 
one."  

"Thank you, Deputy . . . "

"Webb, ma'am.  Andy Webb.  Boy, I don't know 
how I rate.  You two are the biggest thing to hit 
these parts in a while!  And here it is, only my first 
day on the job!  Whoooo Hoo!" the young man 
whistled.  

They were quickly buckled in the very warm and 
comfortable back seat of the patrol car and on their 
way.  As Scully listened to Deputy Webb calling in 
his 'discovery', she stroked Sarah's hair as the child 
fell asleep.

Washington County Maryland Sheriff's Department
11:15 am

Mulder was near frantic as he plowed his way into 
the small brick building.  He scanned the half dozen 
people until his eyes fell on the one red head in all 
the room.  He was at her side in a heartbeat, pulling 
her into a fierce embrace, his face buried in her hair.

"Mulder, I'm a mess.  I'm dirty, I haven't showered 
in days," she protested, but he couldn't stop himself.

"You're alive.  I don't care if you just crawled out of 
a New Jersey sewer, you're alive," he chanted, 
hugging her close again.  

"Munchkin!" Alex shouted and scooped up the little 
girl who was trying her best to get in on the 'family 
hug' taken place right next to her.  "Oh Sweet Sarah, 
Uncle Alex has been so worried about you!" he 
said, showering her with kisses.  Suddenly, he held 
her at arms length.  "You weren't hurt, were you?  
Did a doctor look you over?  Are you OK?"

"I looked her over, Alex," Scully said quietly, when 
she finally broke Mulder's bear hug.  "She's fine."

"Thank god," Alex sighed, holding the little girl 
tight.

"Daddy!  Daddy, I want my Daddy!" Sarah cried 
out and lunged for Mulder.  Alex tried to keep her 
in his arms, but the little girl launched herself in 
mid air and only Mulder's quick reaction time 
prevented her from falling to the floor.

"Daddy, I missed you so much!" the child 
exclaimed, kissing Mulder's face repeatedly.  
"Mommy said you'd find us and you did!"

Mulder held the girl stiffly and looked 
uncomfortably over at his partner.  Scully frowned 
and nodded to the little girl.  "Mulder, she doesn't 
understand," she hissed in a low voice.  

Mulder licked his lips and looked down at Sarah.  
Scully's pert nose and mouth were on that face, but 
it was Samantha's eyes that stared back at him.  His 
throat tightened and he struggled to hold back his 
tears.  Like a floodgate opening, he crushed the 
child to him, burying his face in her baby fine hair.  
"Oh, Sarah, I'm so very glad we found you," he said 
softly.

As the emotion of the reunion finally slipped away, 
Alex caught Scully's eye.  "Hi, long time no see," he 
said in a whisper.  

"Hello again.  I'm not sure how -- "

"Long story," he said tilting his head toward Sarah, 
who had climbed out of Mulder's arms and was 
busy rearranging the pencil holder and stapler on 
the desk sergeant's counter.

"You two have been working together?" she asked, 
looking at Mulder for confirmation.

"It took a little getting used to," Mulder admitted.

"Say what, G-man?" Alex countered.  "It took a 
LOT of getting used to.  But in the end -- "

"Mulder, there was a man, I think he was another 
captive.  We didn't find him after the creature left 
the door open.  I think he might have been another 
victim."

"Scully, believe me, this report is going to kill a 
forest of trees before we get it documented.  Right 
now, I think we have bigger items to consider," he 
told her, nodding toward Sarah who was now 
tugging on her arm.

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" the child declared.  "Can 
we go to McBurgers?"

"Um, how about we try something different, 
Munchkin?" Alex suggested.  "It's called 
McDonald's and it's almost exactly like 
McBurgers."

"OK, Unc'a Alex!  Let's go!"

"Fast thinking, but how did you know?" Mulder 
asked quietly as they headed for the car.

"I saw the arches.  The name is different, but I'm 
betting they still have the best fried zucchini you 
can find," Alex said with a wink.

"Um, about that -- " Mulder countered.

"Gotcha," Alex replied with an evil grin.

Homewood Inn and Suites
off the I-70

Scully closed the door to the bedroom quietly, so as 
not to wake the sleeping little girl.  Lunch and 45 
minutes in McDonald's playland had exhausted the 
tiny girl once again.

Mulder had suggested not going back to the city 
immediately.  From what Alex had told him, Dana 
and Fox lived in Prince Georges County, Maryland, 
in a two-story colonial with a half-acre yard.   
Going to Scully and Mulder's duplex in Georgetown 
would only serve to confuse the child.  Even so, the 
three adults needed time to talk and plan.

"So, basically, we go back to the vortex and hope 
it's still open," Alex said, sipping coffee that Scully 
had prepared in the hotel room's kitchen. 

"What if it's not open?" Scully countered, sitting 
forward on the sofa next to Mulder.  "Alex, you 
can't assume that it's going to be there now.  If this 
vortex has always been around, why haven't more 
people gone though it?"

"Dana, I don't know what to tell you," Alex 
admitted.  "I just know that's the only way we can 
get back home."

"Alex," Mulder broke in.  "Do you think you could 
give us a few minutes to talk -- privately?"

The detective looked at Mulder and then at Scully, 
whose face was hidden because she was staring at 
the floor.  He ran his hand through his hair and 
sighed.  "Sure.  I'll just go out to the courtyard and 
um, talk to the ducks."

When he was gone, Scully stood up and went to the 
window.  "Mulder, I know what you're going to 
say," she said, crossing her arms.

"Good.  Maybe you can tell me," he quipped.  He 
got up from the sofa and stood behind her, pulling 
him to him, her back to his front.  "Scully, I don't 
know what to tell you.  I went through hell the last 
couple of days, but I think what you went through 
was worse."

She shook her head vehemently.  "No, Mulder.  It 
wasn't.  After destroying my cell phone we never 
saw the monster again.  We were warm, we were 
well fed.  Aside from being trapped, we were fine -- 
better than fine."

He kissed the top of her head lightly.  "That's what 
I'm saying.  Scully, you had 48 hours -- a taste of 
motherhood.  Just like before, when you found 
Emily.  And now, just as before, you're having to 
give that up -- to walk away.  I can't think of 
anything worse than that."  He turned her around 
and she buried her face in his chest.

"Mulder, she calls me Mommy.  And she has your 
eyes and your chin and she draws pictures and she 
loves Tigger and thinks Rabbit is mean to Pooh and 
I want that -- I want all of that!" she said, breaking 
down into sobs.

He wanted to be strong for her, but his own eyes 
were cloudy with unshed tears.  "And I want that for 
you.  Scully, do you think I was unaffected when 
she hugged me and called me Daddy?  When she 
told me she'd missed me?"  He stopped, grasping 
for some control over his emotions.  "But Scully, 
we aren't who she thinks we are.  We aren't Mommy 
and Daddy -- not to that little girl."

She pushed away from him with a gentle shove and 
paced the sitting room.  "Don't you think I know 
that, Mulder?  Don't you think I kept thinking that 
every time I looked at her?  But now, I'm afraid for 
her, too.  Mulder, we're talking a vortex!  There is 
no scientific basis for this 'passageway' between two 
dimensions!"

"Brad Kensworth got the idea somewhere, Scully," 
Mulder said evenly.  "Maybe his 'glass' invention 
was based on a vortex of some kind.  And just 
because we haven't studied it doesn't mean it can't 
exist.  You of all people should know that.  Scully, 
look at all the things we've seen in the last dozen or 
more years that your science could not explain."

"But Mulder, we are talking about a little girl's life," 
she countered.  "A little girl who is made up of 
_our_ DNA!"  She toyed with the small decorative 
arrangement on the table in the dining room area.  
"Who would know that she wasn't ours?" she asked 
hesitantly.

Mulder closed his eyes and then opened them 
slowly.  He walked the few paces to take her in his 
arms again.  "We would know, Scully.  We would 
know."  He stroked her hair, dropping kisses.   "Not 
like this, sweetheart.  You know I want to give you 
this one thing more than I could ever say, but not 
like this.  Not when it means stealing something that 
isn't ours to take."

Against his chest he felt her nod and then they both 
held each other and cried.

Homewood Inn and Suites courtyard
2:30 pm

Alex looked up when he saw Mulder at the door.  
Mulder motioned for him to stay seated and walked 
over to join him.

"How's Dana doing?" Alex asked, not mentioning 
the tearstains he could see Mulder's cheeks.

"She'll be fine.  Sarah's awake.  They're watching 
television.  Toon Disney."

"That should make her happy.  Dana and Fox only 
let her watch Omni Kids and Crazy Animals."

Mulder cleared his throat and leaned back, letting 
the fading sun warm his face.  "Scully suggested we 
have a picnic supper, in Rock Creek Park tonight."

Alex nodded.  "Sounds like a plan.  I can tell Sarah 
I'm taking her for ice cream.  I do that from time to 
time."

Mulder looked over at his companion.  "You really 
do love her, don't you?"

Alex refused to look at him.  He toyed with a twig 
he'd found on the ground.  "I don't see myself as the 
marrying kind, if you know what I mean.  That little 
girl -- she's all the family I've got.  Her mother, even 
that tight assed dad of hers -- "   He stopped and 
looked sheepishly at Mulder.  "Sorry, but he is a 
tight-ass -- no offense," he confided guiltily.

"None taken" Mulder said with a smirk.

"Anyway, they let me . . . borrow her from time to 
time.  Let me pretend that I'm normal, I have a 
normal job and a little girl who loves me -- "

"She does love you, Alex.  I could see that when 
you held her," Mulder interrupted.

"Well, I like to think she does," the other man said 
with a sigh.

"Going through this vortex -- it didn't . . . hurt at all, 
did it?" Mulder asked with a worried expression.

"To be honest, I didn't know I'd gone through it 
until I saw a stop sign," Alex said with a shrug.  
"We have the green on the top," he informed 
Mulder.  "So I figured I wasn't in Toledo anymore."

Mulder looked at him with confusion on his face.  

"Sorry, bad joke," Alex said with a wink.  "C'mon.  
I know a Mom and Dad who are worried sick and a 
Captain who is waiting to chew me a new asshole."

"Well, with a welcoming party like that, we don't 
want to keep you any longer," Mulder replied with a 
smile.

Rock Creek Park
Washington DC
5:00 pm

It was a testament to Scully's acting abilities that 
she didn't break down into tears when they got to 
the park.  She sat in the front seat with Mulder, 
Alex and Sarah sat in the back seat with a sack of 
Subway sandwiches and drinks between them.

Mulder found a little picnic area near the creek near 
a big tree that Alex pointed out to Sarah, the 
prearranged clue for Mulder to follow.  The sun had 
dropped below the rooftops of the surrounding 
apartment buildings long before, but on the floor of 
the little gorge it was dusk with streetlights 
illuminating the scene.  It looked tranquil, inviting.

They talked of little things, whatever Sarah wanted 
to discuss.  They spoke of going to the zoo and the 
last time Uncle Alex came for dinner.  She told 
them what she wanted to do when she grew up -- 
teaching doctors, like Mommy and Daddy.  Finally, 
Alex glanced at his watch and Mulder nodded.

"Sarah, how about I take you for an ice cream.  
We'll meet your Mom and Dad back at the house?  
How does that sound?" Alex asked with forced 
excitement.  

"Oh yes, Unc'a Alex, yes!" she replied, happily 
clapping her hands.  "I want chocolate ice cream on 
a big cone!"

"I think I can handle that," he said lifting her up off 
the picnic table seat and hoisting her onto his hip.

"We'll see you two later," he said, his eyes 
twinkling in the dim light.

"Yeah, see you at home," Mulder said.  Scully stood 
up and both men held their breath.  She walked over 
and kissed Sarah on the forehead.  

"Be good for Uncle Alex, Sweetie," she said evenly.

"I will, Mommy," Sarah said and hugged Alex's 
neck tightly.

"Good girl," Scully responded.  "Take care of her, 
Alex."

"I will, Dana.  I promise."

They turned and walked away, Sarah finally 
begging to get down and walk, the independent 
young lady of two very independent people.  They'd 
only gone a few yards along the path when Alex 
leaned over and whispered something in Sarah's ear.  
She stood very still and nodded.  Alex jogged back 
to Mulder, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.  
When he got to Mulder, he pressed something into 
his hand.  Mulder looked down and saw the portrait 
of Sarah and her mother and father.  

"Alex, this is yours," Mulder protested.

"You keep it.  I can get another one in the next card 
she sends me," he assured Mulder.

"Thank you," Mulder said.  "For everything."

"Back at you," Alex said, shaking Mulder's hand.  
"I, uh, gotta go."

"Yeah, you better."

He walked back to Sarah; they stepped beneath a 
big oak tree and vanished from sight.

Scully sat there for several minutes, not daring to 
look at Mulder.  Finally, she picked up the wrappers 
from the sandwiches and tossed them in a nearby 
trash barrel.  "It's time to go home," she said quietly 
and they walked back to Mulder's car.

Epilogue

Mulder and Scully's Residence
two days later

"When are these damned things coming out?" 
Mulder whined as he attempted to shave around the 
stitches at his neck.  Showering was a distant 
memory and even Scully had commented that she 
thought they could take the stitches out themselves -
- as soon as the area looked healed.

"One more day," came the reply from under the 
shower spray.  "Did you finish the report?"

"It's on the computer.  It was a lot harder than I 
thought since I can't substantiate anything Alex told 
me.  But it does appear that the man we found in the 
alley worked with the Dana Scully Mulder from the 
other dimension and he took the child, perhaps as a 
way to get closer to Dana.  When he saw you, he 
probably thought you'd be the next best thing.  It's 
rough and dirty but it's all there.  Take a look at it 
when you get out," Mulder replied, wiping wisps of 
shaving cream from his face.  

They hadn't said a word upon returning to the 
duplex after watching Sarah and Alex depart.  
Scully had refused to go to the Emergency Room, 
and Mulder didn't have the courage to force her.  
Instead, she acted like it was a Sunday night, she 
gathered and laundered work clothes, tidied up the 
kitchen and didn't speak a word.  When it was time 
for bed he was almost afraid she would relegate him 
to the sofa for some unknown and unintentional 
crime.  Instead, she clung to him the minute their 
bodies hit the mattress.  They made tender love and 
he resolved not to mention the tears creasing her 
cheeks and staining her pillow.  In the morning, 
they went to work.

Her fortitude in the face of adversity was one of the 
things that most endeared her to him.  It also drove 
him stark raving mad when he knew she was 
shutting off her feelings, from herself, from him.  
They were past that, long past that, or so he had 
thought.  

He had decided, half out of cowardice, to give her 
some time.  But it was Friday and they had a whole 
weekend stretching out before them.  He was 
terrified she would go on another cleaning spree.  
He couldn't handle that.  He would have to draw her 
out, one way or another.

He grabbed his car keys and followed her out to the 
car.  He had all day to devise a plan.

5:00 pm

Scully parked the car in the alley driveway and sat 
for a moment.  Images of Sarah would flit through 
her mind, superimposed on images of Emily.  Both 
girls were about the same age, but Sarah seemed 
more advanced.  Sarah was definitely the happier of 
the two girls, always ready to play, to color, to be 
read to or rocked.  Her heart ached when she 
thought of Emily, long gone.  But the tears burned 
her eyes when she remembered the feel of Sarah in 
her arms, calling her Mommy in a way that Emily 
never did.  

She shook herself and reached for the door handle.  
Mulder had left the office early, claiming to go see 
a 'real' doctor about his stitches.  She didn't believe 
him for a minute, he was up to something -- but she 
was too tired and heartsick to figure it out.  She 
trudged up the walkway to the back door.

"I'm home," she called as she stepped into the 
kitchen.  She could smell something in the oven -- 
something Italian.  Peeking in the door, she saw 
Mulder's famous lasagna -- as he had deemed the 
recipe he'd seen on the Food Network during his 
convalescence of a few months back.  A bottle of 
wine was uncorked and 'breathing' on the kitchen 
counter.  She sighed and shook her head.  She really 
wasn't in the mood for romance or seduction and it 
looked like Mulder had pulled out all the stops.

"Hey," he said, leaning against the kitchen doorway 
in jeans and a grey tee shirt.  The fact that he looked 
delectable seemed to make her more depressed. 

"Did you get the stitches out?" she asked, peering at 
his neck.

"All gone," he said, pulling his collar aside for her 
inspection.

"I better not find little black catgut threads in the 
sink upstairs," she warned him as she moved past.  

"I left the receipt from the co-pay on the desk in the 
office.  I knew you'd be suspicious."

"Not suspicious, Mulder.  Skeptical," she countered.  
"Do I have time to take a quick shower?"

"Real quick.  Dinner's on the table in 15 minutes," 
he answered.

"OK, no shower.  But I am changing my clothes," 
she replied.  With heavy footfalls she went up to 
their bedroom.

When she came back downstairs, now enfolded in a 
downy blue sweater and her oldest jeans, he had the 
table set with the 'good' dishes (ones her mother had 
given them) and candles were on the table.  He'd 
even folded napkins.  She had to smile ruefully at 
his endeavors.  The man did nothing halfway.  

He gallantly pulled out her chair.  "Would the lady 
care to sample the wine?" he asked as he scooted 
her close to the table.  

"I'll take my chances," she replied and he went 
about filling first her wine glass and then his.  She 
picked up her napkin and discovered it had 
concealed to small packages, both wrapped in white 
tissue paper and tied with white silk ribbon.  
"Mulder, what are these?" she asked, holding them 
up.

"Gee, I guess I need to get the guys to check the 
security alarm, huh?" he said with a boyish grin, but 
she detected a subtle air of nervousness about him.  

What had he gone and done this time?

"Dare I open them now, or should I wait so I don't 
spoil dinner?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.  

He seemed a bit hurt at her words and tone, but 
resolutely shook it off.  "Let's eat while the garlic 
bread is still hot," he suggested.  

The dinner was perfect.  She even managed to taste 
both the entree and the salad he'd prepared, with 
fresh mushrooms she had noted.  Finally, the wine 
glass was near empty and her plate was mostly 
clean.  She daintily wiped her mouth on the napkin 
and looked up at him with a smile.  "My 
compliments to the chef," she said graciously.

"The chef accepts all compliments, it was his 
pleasure," he assured her.

"Now?" she asked, picking up the small packages.

"Let's go into the living room," he countered, 
refilling their glasses and taking her hand to help 
her up.  He guided her from the room with his hand 
on the small of her back.

Once seated on the sofa with their glasses on the 
coffee table, Mulder nodded that she could open the 
smaller of the two presents.  It was the picture of 
Sarah with her parents that was now encased in a 
tasteful silver and mother of pearl frame.  She 
looked up at him with tears on her lashes.  "It's 
beautiful," she said, and leaned over to give him a 
kiss.  

"Open the other one," he encouraged.

She removed the tape and paper from the slightly 
thicker box and pried off the lid.  A small metal vial 
was revealed along with a business card.  A frown 
creased her brow as she held up the vial.  There was 
a serial number on it.  The card, she discovered was 
for a fertility specialist at Georgetown University 
Medical Center.  She shot him a hard look.  
"Mulder, what is this?"

"First, I want you to know that everything I did, 
everything I do, I do with the absolute best of 
intentions," he prefaced.

She drew in a breath and nodded slowly.

"When we had first found out about your cancer, I 
broke into a medical clinic of a Dr. Scanlon," he 
said, licking his lips.  "You know that part."

"Yes, and you found out that they had harvested my 
ova for their experiments," she said, swallowing 
thickly.  "One of those ova was later used to . . . 
create Emily.  You told the judge that at my 
adoption hearing."

He nodded at her timeline.  "What I didn't tell you 
at the time was that I stole a couple of the vials from 
the storage unit," he said quietly.

"You . . . what?" she asked, her voice catching in 
her throat.  "Mulder -- why didn't you tell me?"  Her 
expression was a mixture of anger and deep 
betrayal.

"Scully, when I first found them, you were dying.  
Or so we thought.  I took the vials and I had them 
placed in a fertility clinic here at Georgetown under 
an alias.  I thought they would be safe.  They've 
been there, well, for six years now."

"That still doesn't explain why you kept it a secret," 
she hissed.

"When was I supposed to tell you?  After you lost 
Emily?  'Oh, don't worry, Scully -- you can make 
your own baby'.  To be honest, there were times 
when I completely forgot they were there.  And 
further, I was hoping that Scanlon was wrong and 
we'd find out the old fashioned way," he said 
sheepishly.  He took her hand and was gratified that 
she didn't pull away.  "What I'm telling you is that 
you have a choice.  If you really want a child, we 
can have a child.  We can start the procedures 
tomorrow or next week.  But if we have a child, I 
want that child to be as safe as Sarah is with her 
parents."

"Sarah was kidnapped from her bed while a police 
detective sat in their living room," Scully pointed 
out bitterly.

He tilted his head and frowned at her.

"OK," she relented.  "I see your point.  So what are 
you saying -- that we just go on?  That we never just 
stop the car . . .  Mulder, we have so much to do!  
We have the laptop to decipher, we have Strughold 
and Charlie to defeat and that's not even considering 
Spender and Krycek and -- "

"I'm saying right here, right now, it's your decision, 
Scully.  When you want a child, I'm there. It doesn't 
have to be this week.  It can be in a few years.  I, 
uh, I left a deposit last spring, when I arranged for 
you to have full access to the family finances.  A 
little mixing, a little time in a warm place and 'voila' 
-- instant parents."

She shook her head and a sad smile formed on her 
lips.  "God forbid we do anything the conventional 
way," she muttered.  "So, what's this?" she asked, 
holding up the vial.  "It's not in a cooler, so it's 
probably not viable."

"It doesn't have anything in it.  It's just a container 
with the number your ova are stored under.  
Consider it a Swiss Bank Account."

"So, it's all up to me?" she asked.

"Isn't that what all that ruckus outside the Supreme 
Court is about?" he asked with a grin.  "I want you 
to be happy, Scully.  I will move heaven and earth 
to ensure that."

She wiped the tears from her chin and cheek and 
then looked at the vial in her hand.  "Someday, 
Mulder.  Not now, not when there is so much at 
stake.  But someday . . . someday . . . voila."

He took her hand and led her up to their bedroom.  
As they readied for bed she looked at the small 
portrait in the silver and shell frame.  She traced the 
tiny face with her fingertip.  Carefully she placed it 
on the nightstand by her side of the bed.  

the end.