Chapter 4 Mulder's hand hesitated at the switch for the bedside lamp as he watched his partner writhe and cry in terror on the bed. He was surprised her movements and sounds hadn't woken her. He quickly decided to dispense with light, not wanting to shock her too much when he woke her up. "Scully," he said quietly into the darkness. "Wake up, Scully. It's okay. You're safe. You're with me, Mulder," Mulder leaned over and began to caress her hair back from her face. A few seconds later Scully opened her eyes and clamped onto his arm. "What are you doing in here?" Scully demanded, obviously trying to tamp down her still turbulent emotions. The fact that she still had a death grip on Mulder's arm undermined her efforts. Mulder placed his hand over hers. "You were calling for me. I thought something had happened," Mulder explained in a neutral tone. Scully glanced at their entwined hands and started to sit up and pull away. "Don't do this Scully," Mulder pleaded quietly. "Do what?" Scully looked away. "You had a bad dream. You are not fine. You were calling my name. I'm a psychologist. I'm your partner. I hope I'm your friend. Tell me what's going on? Is this about Antarctica?" Mulder held his breath waiting for her response. Usually he backed off when she put up her walls, this time he couldn't find the energy to pretend. Scully looked over at him with a confused expression on her face. Usually Mulder backed away at her more obvious "get lost" hints. She knew that sometimes he tried to profile her and her feelings, but usually he was discreet about it. That, however, was not her only source of confusion. What also confused her was the fact that she wasn't angry. In fact she had to admit she felt relieved. She leaned her head back against the headboard. "Yeah, I'm tired of pretending too," she told him in a spurt of honesty. For two people who searched for the "Truth" together, she noticed that they spent a lot of time and energy being dishonest with each other, and themselves. "Yeah, the ending there was about that, being in that tank. Except this time you didn't get there in time," Scully opened her eyes and looked at him. She reached her hand back over and grasped his. "Did I ever thank you for coming to the ends of the earth for me?" Mulder looked down at their clasped hands trying to compose himself. Scully had just opened up to him! Despite everything he had said to her in the hallway this past summer, somehow they had fallen back into their old pattern of not communicating. He had even gone so far in his resentment as to make her think that he didn't trust her, that he trusted Diana Fowley over her. Once again Dana Scully was showing him how he could be a better person. "Thank you, thank you for telling me about your dream. Like I've said before, you owe me nothing and I owe you everything," Mulder looked into her blue-gray eyes. "It's not like you haven't gone to the ends of the earth to save my sorry ass," he quipped, referring to his jaunt to the Arctic Circle some years ago. "How about next time someplace tropical?" Scully asked, falling into Mulder's deflection. "I'll bring the Speedo," Mulder smiled tenderly. Scully winked and leered at him. "You do that stud!" She laughed at Mulder's look of surprise. "Let me go wash up," she swung out of the bed and headed to the bathroom. "Then back to sleep?" Mulder said, sounding like a mother hen. "How about you? Forget it, neither of us are going to sleep," Scully stopped speaking and began to brush her teeth. Mulder gave his first genuine smile since the case began. This was the Scully he knew. "So, since we're both awake and want to go to bed...," Mulder trailed off provocatively. Scully decided to let him get away with that one and merely rolled her eyes and spit her toothpaste into the sink. ***************** Trevor left his room with a quick glance at the doors of the Agents' rooms before heading down the hall to pick up some breakfast. As he walked to his car he, against his better judgment, once again savored the feel of sleeping besides Dana Scully. It had been so many years and yet it had been like second nature. As he walked down the street to the nearby bakery he let the feelings wash over him for the first time in years. Dana was undoubtedly one of the most amazing persons he ever had the privilege to know. That he had her for so many years, and then lost her, never ceased to haunt him - no matter how happy and satisfied he was in life. It wasn't an ache or a gaping whole in his heart, but more of a underlying question of "what if?" "What if we had spent the rest of our life together?" and "What if we got back together someday?" were familiar refrains. "Morning Trevor, what can I do ya for this morning?" Mr. Quackenbush asked with a friendly smile on his face as he emerged from the delightfully aromatic kitchen. "Morning Fred, I'll take the usual, for three," Trevor smiled warmly at his parents' next door neighbor. "No wait, make one a mocha cappuccino, try out your new machine." "Is Claire here with you?" Fred asked as he put the hot muffins in a bag and his assistant made the coffees. "No Fred, I'm here on business," Trevor answered shortly. "Them murders, yeah, it's got the whole town freaked out. Things like that just don't happen up here. Mothers are afraid to let their children or their husbands out alone," Fred commented as he rung up the order. Trevor passed some cash over the bakery counter. "The FBI is involved now, they should get this matter cleared up fast," Trevor tried to reassure the older man. "We heard there were some suits here," Fred nodded. "Don't be a stranger. If you get a chance Sherry and I would love to have you over for dinner, bring those FBI Agents with you for a meal." "One of those Agents is Dana, I'm sure she'd love to say hello sometime if she has a chance," Trevor said looking intently at his coffee cups. Fred Quackenbush raised an eyebrow. "You don't say. Well, you tell Dana that we send our regards. So she's an FBI Agent now, what do ya know. Always knew that girl would go places." Trevor looked up, a sad smile on his face. "Yeah, she was always a determined woman. See ya later Fred," Trevor called as he headed out the door. "And you, Trevor Patrick Riley, were afraid to stand by her side as she went there. Poor fool," Fred Quackenbush shook his head and headed back to his kitchen. And to call his wife at her office. **************** Scully walked into Mulder's room and saw him sitting once again at the room's overloaded table. She couldn't help the smile of relief that crossed her face as she noticed that he too had taken a shower. Sometimes when Mulder was immersed in a case hygiene went by the wayside. She sat down in the chair across from him and put the files she had brought back in on the floor. She picked up the first one and began to reread what the police had put together regarding the first victim's activities in the days preceding the murder. Mulder glanced up a few minutes later and noticed for the first time that his partner was sitting there. He had been so focused on the profile he was trying to modify that he hadn't noticed her silent entry. He watched her for a few moments before looking back down at his laptop. "I've been thinking about what you said, about it being a woman," he said. Scully looked up from the file in front of her startled out of her concentration. "And?" "Despite the fact that 99% of serial killers are men, and that most women serial killers kill their own children and that does not appear to be the case as of yet, I think you're right. Good call," Mulder gave her the rare praise. "Are you sure?" Scully asked, still uncertain about second-guessing Mulder's profiling genius. "No, you're right. With the factor of the drugs it makes sense. We didn't have that evidence when I wrote the preliminary profile. No, you found the forensic evidence that was missing," Mulder assured his partner. "Deductive profiling," Scully stated as she looked back down at the file and began taking notes. Mulder smiled briefly before turning his attention back to the profile. The facts his partner knew always amazed him. 'And I'm the one with the photographic memory, maybe I should take reading suggestions from her sometimes?' He smiled to himself as he imagined what she would say about his normal reading material should he pose the question. "I think we should visit the scenes today," Scully broke into the silence of the room a few minutes later. "You're right. I've gone about as far as I with this profile without seeing the sights of this lovely one horse town," Mulder's acerbic commentary was interrupted by a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Scully put her file down and walked toward the door. "Who is it?" "Dana, it's me. I brought breakfast!" Trevor called through the door, precariously balancing the three coffee cups and a bag of food. "You're not coming in unless there's a mocha in there," Scully teased as she opened the door and took two of the coffees from him. "Of course I brought Madame a mocha expresso. Hey, we even have a cappuccino machines in this town now. Heck there's even a Starbuck's, this however is from Quack's. Fred sends his regards. I also brought some hot muffins for us," he put the goodies down on the dresser. "I'm not hungry," Mulder didn't glance up from the computer screen. "You are hungry Mulder, and you can't turn down coffee," Scully moved some photos and put his repast in front of him. "You get cranky when you don't eat." She turned her attention to her cappuccino. She slowly breathed in the aroma with an expression of rapture on her face, oblivious to the stares of the two men in the room. "Can I just inhale the caffeine?" she asked rhetorically, her eyes still closed. "Thanks," Mulder mumbled as he looked away and took a sip of the hot coffee. "We plan on visiting the crime scenes today," he finished as wincing down the searing hot liquid. "You'll be coming along I take it?" Mulder continued once he could speak again. 'Yes," Trevor answered shortly, waiting for Mulder to finish what was on his mind. When Mulder hesitated he continued. "I won't get in your way, I'll stand back and be ready to answer your questions," he assured the wary agent. Mulder nodded and turned back to his profile. Trevor and Scully looked at each other over their coffee cups. Scully suddenly noticed that he was looking at her and she hurriedly looked away, remembering his touch earlier that morning. **************** The trio arrived at the fifth crime scene at dusk. They had spent hours walking around and studying the previous crime scenes. The agents trying to reconstruct the murders, while the attorney sat on the car and watched. Mulder sat in the car as the other got out. "Mulder, are you coming?" Scully asked. "Yea, give me a minute," Mulder turned his face away from her penetrating gaze. He was so damn frustrated! He couldn't get a hold of this killer. There was something he was either missing or something blocking him. He clenched his hands in his lap. 'Maybe "Spooky" Mulder's legacy is over,' he thought, torn between bitterness and relief. Mulder had never wanted to do another profile after Patterson's fall. What had once been exhilaration when he started profiling and then turned to exhaustion, had then turned to fear. He had seen what could happen, what he could become capable of, if he made one wrong move and crossed the fine line between sanity and insanity that a profiler had to traverse. Despite the fear, however, he couldn't turn down an assignment. If he turned it down and more people died he could never forgive himself. More painful still if it was children. So now, if his talents were slipping away, he would forever carry the images of the victims in his heart. He had to get this killer. Mulder was startled from his self-flagellation by a movement by his window. "I'll be right there Scully," Mulder said without turning around. Trevor cleared his throat. "Sorry, but I don't look as good in a skirt. "Uh, sorry," Mulder mumbled getting out of the car. "Agent Mulder," Trevor placed a hand on Mulder's arm to prevent him from moving away. Mulder looked at the hand and the owner of the appendage, obviously not feeling very patient at the intrusion into his personal space. "It's Dana, I mean Scully," Trevor gave a lopsided grin at the slip. "She looks like she's onto something?" Mulder looked over to where the other man was pointing. Scully was crouched down where the police had marked off the finding of the fifth victim, a little girl. A little girl with red hair and blue eyes. Visions of Emily danced before his eyes. Mulder shrugged off the attorney's arm and strode towards his partner. He was afraid that rather than on the trail of a clue that his partner was going through her own personal nightmare triggered by this last victim. "Scully," he whispered and crouched down behind her, careful not to startle her out of her reverie. She seemed so absorbed in her thoughts that his heart broke. He could see the pain in her eyes and the lone tear that trailed down her cheek. "Scully, it's Mulder. Are you all right?" "It hurts so much. She left me. She died," Scully gasped out. Mulder felt tears come to his eyes. "I know, Dana. I know," he reached out and put his hand on her arm. "It's their fault. I have to punish them. They took her from me," Scully continued in a voice raw with pain. Suddenly Mulder realized that Scully wasn't talking to about Emily. She didn't even seem to be talking about herself. Scully talked about justice, not revenge. Once again she seemed to be succeeding where he could not on this case.. "Who did they take from you?" "You know who she is," Scully turned and looked at Mulder for the first time. He sucked his breath at the sight of her face. Her eyes were a dark gray, much darker than Mulder had ever seen them. In place of the earlier pain, he face was now twisted with rage. Mulder felt his heart begin to pound as he realized that Scully was precariously perched on that line he himself feared so much. If he said the wrong thing he could push her over. "Yes, you're right. I do. But I don't understand what all these people did to her. How are they responsible?" Mulder tried to backtrack and get some more details. "They let it happen!" Scully hissed and turned away. She reached out and put her hand on the ground in front of her. "All of them deserve to die for letting my sister die," she screamed in rage. Mulder saw Trevor's shadow approach them and waved the other man away. Meanwhile, he had kept his hand on her arm which Scully was trying to shake off. This had to end now! "Scully, Scully, it's me, Mulder. Come back to me." "No!" Scully screamed and tried to pull away. Mulder threw his arms around Scully's struggling form. He tried to stop her writhing and talk her back from her trance. "Dana, Dana!" Next thing Mulder knew they were lying prone, with Scully underneath him breathing raggedly. "Get off me Mulder," Scully said, obviously back to her senses. Mulder let out a sigh of relief and moved off of her, giving her a hand to help her stand as well. "You okay?" he leaned over to ask her quietly. Scully wouldn't look at him as she brushed dirt and leaves from her suit. "I'm fine," she said shortly. "Do you remember what happened? What you said?" Mulder refused to move out of Scully's personal space, despite her obvious discomfiture. Scully nodded and took a deep breath before turning to look up at him. Mulder was relieved to see her eyes back to a less turbulent shade of blue-green. Her next words jolted him out of his reverie. "Is this what you go through? Is this what they made you do?" Without conscious thought Mulder pulled Scully into his arms. For once she didn't stiffen and attempt to pull away after a few seconds. "Yeah, that's what I do. Or what I did." "No wonder you ran for the X-Files as soon as you could. I really don't like doing this Mulder," she said in a small voice. Mulder was the first to pull away. "You have to, I can't." "I know," she nodded gravely. "Come on G-Man, I think I need a change of clothes," she motioned at her mud streaked suit. "Can I watch?" Mulder asked with his leer back in place. Scully rolled her eyes and turned away. The smile of her face told him she was relieved they were back to normal. Well, normal for them. ~~~~~~~~~ In Car en route to motel Scully kept her gaze firmly on the scenery passing by. Of course it was dark and they didn't believe in lights in upstate New York, but it was better than having to watch the worried glances Trevor kept shooting her in the rearview mirror. "I'm fine Trev," Scully sighed as she saw him make his twentieth turn of the head out of the corner of her eye. "Sorry Dana, I'm just not used to all this," Trevor flushed and turned away. "Neither am I," Scully said gently. "But this is how it works and I'd feel a lot better if we just moved past it." Mulder reached over and turned on the radio, effectively ending the conversation, much to Scully's relief. Scully leaned back and closed her eyes and tried to put together what she had said. She didn't believe her statements to be anything more than her mind putting the clues together. It certainly wasn't some type of psychic channel to the killer, as she was sure her X-File partner would suggest when they were alone, but she did have to take whatever her mind was telling her seriously. She had already deduced the killer was a woman. Somehow the Town Park seemed to be the epicenter of events, the victims had all lived further and further from the park. The motive seemed to be personal based on the violence of the killings of the adults and the "care" given the children. So something had happened in the park to set this killer in motion. Now they just had to find out. "Do we have any incident reports from the park?" she asked the men in the front seat. "The Park?" Trevor asked. "The killings may center around it, the victims all lived further and further from the center of Town. Since there are children involved," Mulder shrugged. "I didn't see anything in the piles. We need to call the police station and get some records. How far back do you think we should go?" "Maybe as far back as the older victims childhood," she answered. Mulder pulled out his phone and dialed the police station. While he was talking Scully sent Trevor an apologetic glance through the rearview mirror. His answering smile took her breath away. She had forgotten how he could fill a room with joy with just a dimple and the sparkle in his eye. She couldn't hold back her answering smile. "Scul...," Mulder broke off as he saw his partner gazing dreamily at her ex-lover. He cleared his throat to get her attention. "They're going to have the records brought to the hotel as soon as they can find them. The older records are going to take time to find in the murky dungeon. They only computerized in the late '80's." Mulder turned forward and shifted uncomfortably, suddenly feeling like the third wheel of someone else's date. "That's no surprise," Trevor answered. "We should also request any relevant records from the other law enforcement agencies that operate here, FBI, State Police and the County Sheriff." "That's a lot of police for such a small place," Mulder observed, keeping his gaze firmly on the passing scenery. "Well, there's a lot of cow attacks around here," Trevor observed. "What?" Mulder turned his head in surprise, then he saw the meaningful glance Riley was sharing with his partner. "I take it that was a joke," he grumbled. "As you probably know Dana is less than taken by rural settings," Trevor started to explain. "What he means is that I often commented on the dangers of cow attacks whenever people would warn us not to take walks or whatever in the dark around here," Scully finished for him. "Oh," Mulder answered. He knew he didn't want to know what the "whatever" was she, they were referring to. And probably thinking of if the way their eyes had held each other in the mirror was any indication. Mulder wasn't one for wishing for things, but if he had he knew he would wish to be anywhere but there. He and Scully had never talked much about their lives before the X-Files. Not unless it was related to their work, which if truth be told, was only his life. He had never asked her about her old boyfriends or crazy college days. It was a policy he believed in more firmly than ever now. He wonder briefly why Scully and this Riley guy had broken up, the chemistry between them was, to him, more than obviously still brewing. Mulder pushed back his uncomfortable thoughts and turned his mind back to the case. Scully, for some reason, seemed to have a better instinct for what was going on here. Maybe it was her connection to the area or maybe it was the loss of Emily. Maybe it allowed her to empathize more closely with a killer who seemed to be seeking revenge for a loss. "Maybe the killer lost a child?" he spoke his last thought out loud. "I think you're right," Scully answered him. "Maybe in a twisted way she's trying to exact revenge on the killer? Maybe all of these men are the killers to her." "And the children?" Trevor asked. "Maybe they represent the lost child? Maybe she's taking the children from their families as her child was taken from her," Scully mused out loud. "So we think the killer is the mother?" Trevor asked. "Or a sibling," Scully said slowly. "Parents aren't the only ones who feel the loss of a child deeply." Suddenly Mulder realized that maybe the loss of Emily wasn't the connection, maybe it was the murder of her sister. Scully looked out her side window. She was referring to the losses of their sisters, Samantha and Melissa. Both of them had come close to killing those they believed responsible for the loss of their sisters. Both had precariously pulled back from the edge of insanity. Obviously, whoever the killer was, she had not. "It's probably a mixture of revenge and guilt. Perhaps she believes she was also responsible? That she could have done something to prevent it." "Or maybe she denies that responsibility," Mulder said gently. "Maybe she's too twisted to accept and go through the normal grieving process." "That's pretty evident," Scully agreed. How close was she to this killer? How close had come to doing such despicable acts out of a need for revenge? Was it her guilt that prevented her from crossing that line? Scully felt a shudder pass through her body at her frightening and dark thoughts. Trevor listened to the exchange of the two agents and couldn't help but feel that he was missing something. There was clearly some subtext going on that he wasn't privy to. 'Did this have to do with Melissa's death?' he thought that had to be a part of it, but not entirely it. It was as if he suddenly wasn't there, all that existed were these two people who were saying more to each other than the words indicated. Trevor had known Dana for most of her life, but she seemed to have changed more in the years since they had been a part of each other's life than in the two plus decades before. Trevor wasn't sure if this woman intrigued him or frightened him. Trevor pulled the car into the lit parking lot of the hotel and parked. "Is anyone interested in dinner?" he asked as they gathered their belongings to get out of the car. Scully was about to refuse but stopped herself. She clearly wasn't hungry at the moment, but none of them had eaten all day. After a hot shower and a change of clothes she probably would be ready for some food. She had no desire, however, to go to a restaurant and "make nice" as her partner would say. "I think I go do with some take out." "Sounds good to me," Mulder agreed. "Is there any Italian around here?" "Yeah, I can go pick something up and bring it back," Trevor offered. The agents consented to the offer and placed their orders and got out of the car and watched Trevor drive away. They stood there awkwardly for a few minutes. "Are you okay Scully?" "I just need a shower and a change of clothes," she answered as they began to walk towards the hotel entrance. "That's not what I meant," Mulder said meaningfully. Scully nodded as they walked to their rooms. She knew what he meant, she had worried enough about his performing profiles. Now that she had made the connection in this case she could imagine how odd it must be for Mulder to be the one watching. And how frustrating it must be for him, the former golden boy of the VCS, not to be able to get a handle on it. "I'll be fine, let's work up the new profile tonight." "I don't think you need my help to do that," Mulder said with a trace of bitterness in his voice. Scully placed a hand on his arm to stop him from his frantic search for his room key. "I've never done this alone. You're the one with the psychology degree and the experience." Mulder looked down at his partner. He suspected that she was just trying to make him feel better, but he couldn't turn down what was probably the closest to asking for his help that he would ever hear from her. This way, he figured, he could keep watch over her. He knew how inviting the darkness of a criminal's mind could be, Scully really didn't have the experience to pull herself back from it. No matter how strong she thought she was. "Come by when you're done changing," he agreed. "And what if you're not done Agent Mulder?" she asked suggestively. Mulder triumphantly pulled his key out of his pocket and inserted it into the lock. "You can help me get dressed," he winked and entered his room. "What a hardship," Scully mumbled to herself as she entered her own room. ~~~~~~~ Room 11 Scully pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt and socks. She toyed with the idea of blow drying her hair, but it just didn't seem worth the effort tonight. She sat down on the bed and looked around her room. It was a lot nicer than most of the others she had stayed in over the years. The comparative luxury was almost surreal. 'It's sad when paranormal phenomena in your life is a decent hotel room.' Before she could laugh at her own sentiment she felt the air of the room change. For a second she thought maybe someone had broken in but quickly dismissed the idea. The room was completely dark, if someone had entered she would have seen the light from the hallway or the window. She realized it was the case taking over her thoughts again. She was pretty certain, although she couldn't prove it with any facts, that the killer was a woman who had lost a sibling. Probably a sister. She was also pretty certain that she wasn't projecting her or Mulder's losses onto the killer. She didn't feel like those emotions were clouding her judgment, in fact they seemed to be clarifying it. Scully lay back on the bed and watched the scenes unfold before her eyes. As she lay there each killing was performed. The vengeful anger and blood purging of the murders of the helpless and drugged men. The tender, yet twisted, murders of the children were strangely peaceful. She could hear lullabies sung, as if the children were merely nodding off to sleep. Eternal sleep. The candy wrappers fluttering in the wind as if they were flower petals. She felt the rage and the perverse tenderness the killer put into the kills. One emotion constantly replacing the other as she moved from one murder to another. A man. A child. A man. And on and on. Scully's blood pumped through her veins faster and faster. "Scully," a whisper invaded her images. "Scully, come back to me," the voice said. Wait. She knew that voice. It was Mulder. Her Mulder. "Mulder," she heard her weak voice as if from far off. "Come back," she felt him stroking her head. "It's okay." Scully blinked and the images and emotions receded. She suddenly noticed that Mulder had turned the lights on in the room and was laying on his side next to her. She struggled to regain her composure just as she struggled to sit up. She didn't want to lose what she had just been thinking entirely. She needed to write this down, to work it into a profile before it slipped away. She jumped off the bed almost frantically and began to look for her laptop, she didn't even want to expend the mental energy to try and remember where she had last seen it. "Here," Mulder handed her the laptop and guided her back to the bed. While she had jumped up and looked around, he had sped back to his room and brought it to her. He knew better than she to be prepared at a time like this. She opened it and began to frantically type everything she could remember from the last, well she didn't know how long it was. Her hair was almost dry, she noted absently with a free hand. Scully didn't even notice when Mulder left and went back next door to get the food from Trevor. When he reentered the room Scully was still busily typing away. Mulder began to spread the food out on the table so she could eat when she was finished. Mulder suspected she wouldn't feel like eating, he had been there, but like Scully did for him he was going to make sure that she took care of herself. As frustrated and guilty as he felt not being able to get inside the killer's head, he realized this was an opportunity to repay Scully for some of the care that she had given him over the years. As he had said once before, he owed her everything and she owed him nothing. He still believed that. Mulder sat down and began to eat. He wanted to be completely free was she was done. He wasn't going to let her write the profile, he was determined to take her notes and write the profile himself. He didn't want her immersing herself in this more than she absolutely had to. He smiled as he remembered the times Scully had tried to insist upon the same thing the tables were turned. She had never won the argument. But Scully was imminently more sensible than he was. He expected to win the argument. It was another hour, Mulder had long finished his meal and had brought the papers he wanted to work on into her room. Her cold, while wrapped in foil was undoubtedly cold. Luckily they had a microwave oven available down the hall. Mulder was attempting to map out a pattern for the killings when he heard Scully groan and put the laptop down on the bed. By the time he turned around she had stood up and was attempting to stretch out the kinks in her back and shoulders. Mulder stood and walked over to her. He placed his hands gently on her shoulders, awaiting her consent before beginning the proffered massage. At her nod he began to work out the worst of the kinks. "Oh God Mulder, that feels so good," she moaned as he worked out the knots in her neck. Mulder felt his own kinks beginning as the vibrations in her voice sent a chill down his spine. Or was it fire? After a few minutes Scully signaled that she didn't need the massage anymore and she turned and faced him. "Thanks," she whispered and glanced over at the food on the table. "Hungry?" he asked, surprised. "Yeah," she nodded shyly. She had seen Mulder eschew food during profiles. She knew her behavior had to be a surprise to him. But damn, she was starving. "Let me get something to eat then I'll start the profile." "I'll warm up the food for you, go clean up," Mulder decided to lull her into relaxation before hitting her with his plans. "You can do the profile Mulder," she smiled at him as she headed towards the bathroom. Mulder stood stunned in the middle of the room. "Go heat that food!" Scully admonished him. "I remember urging you enough times to know what you had in mind. It makes as much sense now as it did when I _tried_ to insist. Besides, you are the psychologist," she explained before she closed the door. Mulder shook his head. 'That woman is truly amazing,' he thought before he began to put Scully's meal into plates and bring it down the hall. ~~~~~~ Trevor opened his door as Mulder passed by with a plate of food in his hand. Mulder had told him that they were in the middle of the breakthrough and didn't have time for a social meal. Trevor had momentarily suspected that Mulder was trying to keep him away from Dana, he just couldn't call her Scully, for personal reasons but quickly realized that whatever his personal feelings, Mulder had a great deal of respect for her and wouldn't be underhanded with her. Obviously, Scully had finished what she was doing and he wanted to make sure she was all right. Her behavior at the last crime scene had frightened him more than he had let show at the time. He knocked on Scully's door and waited. She opened the door, a towel in her hand. "Hi, come in. We're getting back to work when Mulder comes back." He followed her into the room and closed the door. "I know, I just wanted to see how you are." "I'm fine, tired and hungry, but still fine," she answered from the bathroom where she was putting the towel away. She walked back out and walked up to him. "Yeah, Dana Kat is always fine," Trevor nodded, a nostalgic smile on his face. Dana gave him an answering smile and walked into his embrace. Trevor put his head down on top of hers and gave her one of his famous cure-all Riley hugs. "Oh, there's been so many times over the past few years I could have used this," Scully said from somewhere down in his embrace. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry," Trevor let go and backed away. "Trev, I didn't mean it like that," Scully tried to reach a hand out and stop him from leaving. "No, I know you didn't, but that's how it has been. I know it, I see it," he answered sadly. "It's your life, Trevor. I'm not passing judgment." "But I am, finally," Trevor said sadly. "What do you mean?" Scully asked curiously. "We're separated. We'll probably get a divorce. I know, it's not Catholic, but Dana I can't take it anymore. She tries to rule every part of my life. I couldn't come to Melissa's funeral, I couldn't come see you in the hospital. I couldn't come to your Ahab's funeral. My God, what kind of life is that? I'm not allowed to go to reunions because she's jealous of every friend I had before I met her. A man can't live like that Dana. Maybe in the beginning I was flattered by it," Trevor shook his head, obviously perplexed by his own behavior. Scully was stunned. It was not news to her that Trevor's wife, Claire, had cut him off from all his friends. What was surprising was that after all these years he was standing up to it. It had infuriated her in the beginning, but had ceased to do anything but sadden her in the last few years. It was something she had come to expect. She, personally, had never liked Claire. She had to be the one of the most unfriendly persons she had ever met. Even when she and Trevor were still a couple she wouldn't even say hello to Dana if they were in the same room. That her sights were set on him came as no surprise. What surprised her was that Trevor didn't seem to mind her impolite and manipulative behavior. Actually, it made it easier to let him go, because if that's the kind of woman he wanted, well then Dana wasn't even close. "I'm sorry, I truly am," Scully told him gently. "No, it's sad and painful to see a marriage end. I may not have walked that path myself, but well, I can imagine," she approached him and pulled him into his arms. "It's so weird to be free after all this time and back in your arms," Trevor mumbled against her hair. Mulder walked back into Scully's and found her in the arms of their DOJ watchdog. He was about to put the plate of food on the table and leave when Scully spotted him. "Mulder," she called to him just as he had almost made his escape. "Please come back here." Mulder turned back around, hoping that Scully had extricated herself, and him, from her awkward position. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when he saw that she had. "I was just stopping in to check on Dana, Scully, I'll be heading back to my room. Call me if you need anything," Trevor hurried out of the room. Mulder sat back down at the table and picked up the files he had been looking at previously. There were a few things he wanted to compare to Scully's notes before he began the profile in earnest. As he tried to ignore her Scully sat down and began to eat. After a few minutes Scully put her fork down. "I know I've been rather vague about Trevor," she began. 'Sort of like you were about Phoebe and Diana,' she reminded herself, but she couldn't stand to see Mulder pulling himself away from her whenever she and Trevor happened to be communicating with each other on a personal level. She certainly wasn't vindictive enough to try and get back at him for his deliberate vagueness about Diana. "Trevor's parents and mine are old friends. Our mothers grew up together. So basically I've known him my whole life. We ended up at Berkley together and I had just broken up with my high school boyfriend and he was single and we began to spend time together. I think my mom asked his mom to ask him to watch out for me, although he won't admit it," she shrugged. "We fell in love and when he came to D.C. for law school I transferred to Maryland and we eventually moved in together." Mulder nodded and looked down at the table. He tried to take it in stride, but he had to ask. "Why didn't you two get married?" "I'm not really sure Mulder. We loved each other. I was certain we were soul mates," Scully smiled, imaging Mulder's reaction to those words. "Dana Scully a romantic? Soul mates, huh," Mulder teased. Scully suddenly remembered Melissa Ephesian and Mulder's conviction that she was his soul mate. That was definitely something she didn't want to dredge up again. "Yeah, I was young and in love. We planned to marry when I graduated college and he graduated law school. Then I put it off because I didn't think I would be ready before I finished med school. Then my internship. Then my residency. I guess I just kept putting it off, in his mind, too much. He didn't want to wait. Not even for me. I was always wiser than I should have been, I didn't want any man to hold me back from my goals. I figured I would have ended up, I don't know, having kids or doing something to prevent me from finishing what I had to do and be a bitter old woman. Maybe it just meant I wasn't enough in love. Or maybe I've always thought if the love is true time doesn't matter, finish the things you have to do first. Anyway, that's the story." "So how come he's not married and with tons of kids by now if he didn't want to wait?" Mulder asked curiously. Scully looked at the table and gathered her wits about her before answering. The news of a few minutes ago was still shaking the foundations of her world. "He is married, separated I just found out. Oh believe me, he didn't wait. He was engaged not a year later. No kids though, although I'm not sure about why. Trevor hasn't been allowed to associate with any of his old friends, including and especially me." Mulder shook his head. "Yeah, I've known women like that. In fact...," he stopped short. "In fact what Mulder?" she falls asleep and he takes the words and writes a new profile. He stays in her room and watches her sleep in case of nightmares. ~~~~~~~~ MYTH ARGUMENT "Who is he to you?" Mulder asked into the silence of the room. Scully turned away and wouldn't look at him. "Tell me," Mulder said quietly. Scully turned to look at Mulder. She looked him in the eye from her position on the bed. "Why? Why should I tell you? What business is it of yours?" she asked, her voice calm and controlled. Mulder opened his mouth to speak. He couldn't think of anything he wanted to say out loud. "I should know," he said lamely. "It's affecting the case." "How? How is it having any effect on this case?" Scully asked, her voice tightening perceptibly. Mulder waved his right arm around. "Like, like. It's affecting you. It's affecting us, how we're operating on this case." Scully snorted and stood up from the bed. "Sure, fine, whatever," she said with a smirk and started walking toward the connecting door to her room. "Don't walk away from me Scully," Mulder warned. Scully let loose a bitter laugh and turned around. "Are you threatening me Mulder? That's rich. You who ditches me constantly, has the gall to tell me not to walk away from a discussion wherein you're prying into my personal business? My forthcoming and open demanding answers from me on something is none of his business," Scully paused, a thoughtful look passing over her face. "You know what Mulder, I'll give you a chance. But first why don't you answer me something. I'm a little tired right now, so why don't you tell me what myth you are operating under which entitles you to an answer." Scully saw Mulder motion to speak and stopped him with a glare. Athena13@ixpres.com http://www.ixpres.com/mitiori/