Chapter 3: Unseen
Tuesday. 11:20 PM
Fox Mulder stepped out of the car and looked around him, his sharp eyes missed none of the grim surroundings. Dana Scully, climbed out of the passenger side.
“I don’t think we’re gonna find anything here, Mulder.” She said sceptically. Mulder did not answer, choosing instead to move towards the open warehouse door – switching his high-powered torch on as he did so. Scully sighed and followed him, knowing from long experience that when he was in one of these moods it was better just to follow him without question. She didn’t need Mulder on a mystical quest right now – not when she was still trying to get over the death of her uncle and her cousin Amanda’s disappearance.
The warehouse was in a grim part of town, the buildings around it were dilapidated but the warehouse they had come to look at appeared to have been recently refurbished. The beams of their torches cut a bright swathe through the dark interior of the building. Mulder gestured that Scully should investigate the small office, just to one side of the entrance. She changed direction obligingly. Mulder carried on into the murky shadows of the main storage area.
Scully entered the small office. It was empty, no people, no office equipment, no papers – no nothing. She flicked the light switch and turned off her torch. The room was painted an unappealing metallic gray and was claustrophobically small. Scully shivered from the intense cold in the room. Looking around she found no signs that anyone had *ever* worked in here. Damn – this was going to be one of *those* cases. It was too much coming after what happened to Amanda. They still didn’t know for sure, but a woman in Mulder’s building had seen someone she thought was Scully leave in a red Ford Taurus on the morning Amanda disappeared. A red Taurus had been found west of Washington DC – burnt out in a ditch. No body had been found. Mulder claimed that there had been multiple sightings of a UFO in that area on that night. Scully wasn’t sure what to think. She took a shaky breath – determined not to let Mulder see how badly she was affected. She was also trying not to let him see how affected she was by his sudden declaration of love – he had said nothing since but it the subject was, by no means, closed.
Mulder walked cautiously through the patches of light and shadow. Inside the main storage area he found hundreds upon hundreds of bottles of mineral water. Not what he had been expecting to find. He paused to examine one pile of bottles. Nothing out of the ordinary, just plain mineral water. He almost felt disappointed. All of the evidence in this case – although as usual there was precious little of that – led to this warehouse but he was not looking for a mineral water distributor. Mulder lapsed into a moment of feeling sorry for himself and, with his usual elegant timing, picked the wrong moment. The assailant crept silently up behind him and hit him across the back of the head. Mulder crashed to the floor, unable to even offer the cry of pain which would have alerted Scully.
The assailant pointed his gun at the half unconscious man. Nobody was allowed to know of their operation and he saw it as his job – one which he relished – to tidy up the loose ends.
“Sanders?” The female voice questioned. “What are you doing?” Leo Sanders turned to observe the woman now walking in his direction. He felt a frisson of fear creep through him.
“Just doing my job. ” He answered quickly. The woman walked into the pool of light.
Mulder stared up through a fog of pain and saw, towering over him, two figures. With the light behind them he could not make out any features in their faces but he recognised one male and one female. The man was tall and lithe, dressed in jeans and a black jacket. The woman was dressed in a smart green suit, cut similar to the ones Scully wore. The woman seemed to peer closely at him. She sucked in an angry breath.
“You’re a fool Sanders!” She spat out. “Don’t you know that this is *Fox Mulder*.” The man seemed instantly repentant.
“Jesus, and I nearly killed him.”
“Just go and load the bottles. I’ll take care of Agent Mulder.”
“But . . . ” The man, Sanders, began but the woman cut him off with a sharp note of authority.
“Just do it.” Sanders lowered his gun and slunk off.
The woman sank to her knees before Mulder and he raised bleary eyes to her. Closer now Mulder could make out some facial features. She was quite pretty but in no way could she be called beautiful. Her hair was a deep brown and scraped back into a long braid, although stray hairs curled around her face and neck in riotous ringlets. Her eyes were an intense azure blue. She smiled at him.
“Fox Mulder.” She repeated in an almost reverent fashion. “This is an unexpected complication.” She sighed. “You have no idea what you’ve stepped into.” Reaching into a pocket she pulled out what – had Mulder looked – would have appeared to be a small gun, but Mulder’s eyes were fixed on her face. It tugged at him with a familiarity he could not place.
“You should sleep now Mulder.” She said softly, her voice taking on a dream-like quality in his head as she spoke the words. Her right hand crept up to his head. Even her hand sweeping aside his hair did not draw his attention from her face. “When you wake this will all seem like a dream” Her smile was mirrored in her eyes. Cold metal touched his skull and Mulder screwed his eyes up against the screaming pain making itself known his in head. The woman lowered her hand and Mulder collapsed like a balloon with all the air taken out of it, but he did not lose consciousness. He was aware of the woman standing up and looking down at him.
The warehouse was suddenly filled with a bright light and a pair of shoes walked into Mulder’s vision.
“How’s it going?” An achingly familiar voice asked.
“Fine.” Mulder tried to look up at the new arrival. The man was very tall. From Mulder’s position on the floor he looked like a giant, topping the girl by a good five inches. Mulder could not make out a face, the light behind him was too strong. He wore what appeared to be an expensive suit, but something about the cut was strange. The pain in Mulder’s head was too strong for him to think clearly.
“We do have one, er, interesting complication.” The woman told the man.
“What?” He demanded. The woman gestured towards Mulder.
“Have you met FBI special agent Fox Mulder?” The woman asked with a strange smile in her voice. The man laughed.
“We haven’t been formally introduced.” He returned sardonically. “Is he going to be okay?” He asked, his voice totally serious now.
“He’ll think that all this was a dream.”
“Good.” The man answered firmly. “I’d better go. No one’s supposed to know that I’m here. I slipped over on The Wave.” The man walked away towards the light.
The woman took one last look at the collapsed body.
“Sweet dreams Mulder”. She said on a whisper. She walked off and the last thing Mulder heard was her heels clicking on the concrete floor.
XXXXXX***
Monday.
Mulder surfaced through layers of cotton wool. The lights, although muted, seemed blinding in those first moments of consciousness.
“Good Morning.” Despite his sleep fogged brain Mulder knew that voice could only belong to Dana Scully.
“Where am I, Scully?” He asked, his voice thick with sleep. He coughed to clear his throat and looked about him.
“I had you admitted to hospital Mulder. Although there was no real reason for you to be here.”
The mention of hospital woke him up completely and his took note of the IV drip running to his arm and the sterile surroundings of the hospital room.
“What do you mean?” He asked perplexed, he did not remember being ill.
“You were asleep Mulder. For five days.” She paused to look at his confused face.
“Five days?” he repeated and she nodded.
“I had them run every test I could think of. You weren’t hurt – apart from a few bruises – you weren’t comatose. You were just asleep. The doctors tried all they could to wake you up, but nothing worked.” Her laugh was a bright sound – he liked it. “You wouldn’t believe the time I had trying to explain it to Skinner. He thinks you’re running an medical expenses scam.”
The pain in his head was intense and Mulder could hardly take in what Scully was saying.
“Asleep?” He questioned.
“Are you alright?” Scully asked, concern etched into her face.
“Yeah, just a headache.”
“That’ll go in a few minutes.” Scully assured him and he nodded, hoping that her statement was based on her medical knowledge and not just one of those things that people say to make you feel better.
“What happened Scully? I remember going into the warehouse but the rest is a haze . . . apart from. . .” He tailed off, fighting to remember.
” *Apart from* what Mulder? What do you remember?” Mulder just shook his head. “I found you on the floor of the warehouse – right out in the middle of the building. There was a bright light for a second, but by the time I got there it was gone. The warehouse was totally empty.”
“Wait there Scully.” Mulder interjected suddenly. “What about the mineral water? There were hundreds of bottles stacked in that warehouse.”
“Mulder…” Scully began, with a concerned expression on her face. “…I went in there minutes after you did and the warehouse was *empty*.”
XXXXXX***
Tuesday.
“Samantha Mulder” The security guard said. “That was her name. She said she was an FBI agent too – she had the same badge as you guys.”
Scully looked across at Mulder in shock. His face froze, then he gathered himself together and he walked away from the man in the direction of the warehouse. In the daylight the building looked less scary but to Mulder it still didn’t seem real. The events of the week before were still hidden in the thick soup in his mind – he could not disconnect reality from fantasy – but *this* was too weird. Samantha Mulder – a name he had *never* expected to hear spoken so casually. He couldn’t help but think about the woman in his dream. He hadn’t told Scully about that yet. The woman’s face was so clear in his mind and her voice was still ringing in his ears.
“Sweet Dreams Mulder”.
Mulder jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder and turned around to see Scully standing behind him.
“Are you okay? When he said Samantha Mulder you looked . . .” He shook his head to end the subject, instead he gestured up at the building.
“I’ve had weird dreams about this place.” A sudden pain in his head brought his hand up to touch the spot. Scully stepped forward in concern but the pain receded and Mulder waved her back. She complied but the concern remained.
“Maybe you’re not up to this Mulder. You should go home and rest.”
“I’m fine Scully.”
Finally she accepted his affirmation and he asked what else she had learnt from the security guard.
“He insists that the woman who was in charge here claimed she was FBI, but that’s impossible. There is no such person in the FBI as Samantha Mulder. I checked it out.” She looked at him a little sheepishly. “Just to make sure.”
“Did he give a description?” Mulder questioned, his mind still on the woman in his dream. And the man.
“Yeah. Young, about twenty-five. Long dark brown hair, always in a braid. She always wore smart cut business suits. Not very specific.”
Mulder stood staring into space and Scully breathed a deep sigh. He was wearing that expression again. The expression that meant his mind had stopped thinking along normal rational routes and had dived off onto a weird tangent.
“There’s nothing weird here Mulder. Just a woman with a fake FBI badge. I don’t know – possibly someone wanting to use your sister’s name to spook you.”
“She’s in my dreams Scully. *That* woman is in my dreams.” He walked back to his car, leaving Scully more puzzled than ever. She followed him reluctantly and with a deep sigh.
XXXXXX****
Wednesday.
Mulder sat in his office in the basement of the FBI building – his feet propped casually on the desk. He felt at home here in his bolt hole. Most people did not come down here – he was too ‘Spooky’ for them. It was a theme he played up to keep people at a distance. For some reason it had never worked with Scully.
A sharp pain came on suddenly in his head. He threw his feet from the desk and curled his head down, clutching his skull. His vision seemed to crackle with shooting sparks of light. Then as suddenly as the pain arrived, it had gone and Mulder sat back up gasping. This had been going on ever since he had woken up and he was positive that this connected somehow with this case.
The case had come to his attention a couple of weeks ago. He and Scully had been sent out to a strange crime scene. The victim – a woman named Magdaline Szabi – was found dead in her bathroom. The room was flooded with a thin layer of water; explained simply enough by an over filled sink and a tap which had still been running when the body was found. The body had been found laying on it’s back on the water soaked floor with bottles and bathroom items scattered around her. It had been assumed by the coroner that the woman had had a heart attack. He had assumed that the marks and bruises on the body were the result of the woman struggling and thrashing before she died. He had not tried to explain the broken and bloodied state of her nails and the blood stains on the door and door handle. Then there was the single word written in lipstick on the tiled wall. “Dreams”. He’d taken on the case as a favour to a friend.
Scully had performed an autopsy on the body and, in her opinion, she found that the woman had drowned.
“In two inches of water?” Mulder had argued.
“You can drown in that much.” Scully argued back.
“But the body was found *face up*.” He had returned and Scully had shaken her head.
“That’s the problem Mulder. She could not have drowned unless she was face down and choking on the water. There are no other causes of death. She wasn’t strangled, she wasn’t hit over the head, she *didn’t* have a heart attack. There is no reason for her to be dead.”
“What about the blood on the door?”
“As far as I can make out, she must’ve been clawing at the door. Trying to get out.”
“But the door locks from the inside. She should have been able to get out.” He had paused to take a deep breath. “What was she trying to get away from?” Mulder had questioned rhetorically and Scully had shaken her head.
Sitting comfortably again – with his feet once more propped on the desk – Mulder still pondered the question. There had been no answers so far in this case. He had suggested a possible hypothesis to Scully. She had reacted to his hypothesis with her usual reaction – she had given a half-laugh and torn it to shreds.
His hypothesis was that Magdaline had turned on the tap in the bathroom and some how the room had begun to fill up with water. She had gotten afraid and had tried to get out. Somehow the door had gotten jammed and would not open so she had desperately tried to get out and had scratched at the door. In some kind of moment of revelation she had scrawled the word “Dreams” on the wall as a message to whoever found her. Then the water had filled the room and she had drowned. The water had gone (somewhere – where ever it had come from) and she had been left lying on the floor on her back.
While Scully could accept the reasoning behind some parts of this hypothesis she did point out the problems; like where did the water come from and where did it go. For this Mulder had no answer.
“The walls of the room and the drapes on the window were dry.” Scully had also pointed out.
Nothing had changed, Mulder still had no idea where the water had come from. It was the word “Dreams” that worried him in light of his own weird dreams. If it *was* a moment of revelation then dreams had to be the key.
His first suspicion was that Magdaline Szabi might have been murdered somehow – maybe some form of thought transference, which might explain non-existent water. Looking into her life he had discovered that she worked for the company which owned the warehouse. He had learnt that she had spoken often to her colleagues and friends about her concern that something strange was going on there. A daytime visit to the warehouse had revealed little. He and Scully had been greeted by a young man dressed in jeans, who had told them that the warehouse was empty and not being used at the moment. His manner had been evasive and he had informed them that he did not have a key to the warehouse – that they should come back tomorrow. This had, of course, made them instantly suspicious and that was why they had returned that night.
The pain in his head began again, but as a dull ache.
“Dreams” He muttered. “Dreams”
Then there was the more difficult question of the woman calling herself Samantha Mulder. That was one problem that he wasn’t even prepared to *start* thinking about.
The door flew open shattering the peace of the office. Scully strode into the room and, without any formalities, flew into speech.
“Mulder, there’s been another death.” Scully was professional and business-like, a manner which Mulder knew she used to protect herself from the horrors she.
“Anyone we know?” Mulder questioned and Scully nodded her head.
“Eric Fitzgerald, the man we met at the warehouse. He was mauled to death in his apartment, but the only animal he has is a small black cat.”
Mulder was on his feet before she had finished speaking and was on his way out the door before she had a chance to say anything else – she was left with no choice but to follow.
XXXXXX*****
Eric Fitzgerald’s apartment looked like a fierce fight had taken place. The body itself was lying amid the broken glass of a coffee table, garish claw marks were easily visible on the chest. Scully looked down at the body with what she hoped looked like professionalism – to be true the sight of any dead body turned her stomach. As she distracted herself by donning her gloves she felt Mulder walk up behind her.
“What do you think?” He asked. He avid eyes took in every detail of the room. She crouched down by the body.
“From the angle of the body he might have broken his spine, probably he crashed through the table and the ‘animal’ fell on top of him.” She looked up at him. “Has any animal been found?”
“No.” Mulder replied nonchalantly – he popped a sunflower seed into his mouth and deftly removed the shell. “The door was locked from the inside, all the windows are shut.” He moved to crouch down across the body from Scully. “If there was an animal in here, there’s no way it could have got out.” He smiled at Scully, with just that light in his eyes.
“Oh no Mulder, don’t say anything.” Scully cautioned him. Mulder’s smile grew – his hand carrying another seed stopped on it’s way to his mouth.
“It could be some kind of psycho-kenesis, someone projecting their thoughts and those thoughts appearing and doing real harm to people.” He knew that Scully was not buying this, so he pushed it. “Have you seen ‘Forbidden Planet’?” Scully said nothing. She stood up and moved away, ripping off the gloves as she did so. Mulder smiled and followed her as she strode out of the apartment.
He caught up with her on the stairs.
“That was a joke – but I was suggesting it as a serious hypothesis. Scully?” She stopped and looked at him. He looked serious.
“Mulder.” She began, patiently. “You want me to believe that these two people were killed by some else’s thoughts.” Mulder’s serious face cracked into a smile.
“I’ll never think bad thoughts about anyone again.” He joked and Scully could not help but smile. “The answer is in that warehouse.” Mulder insisted.
***********
As Mulder got out of the car and looked up at the building a shiver slid down his spine. He was quickly developing a phobia about this place. The grim building rose tall and imposing against the bland skyline – it seemed to dominate the area making all the other buildings look tiny by comparison.
Scully saw none of this – she saw that her partner was jumpy. He was practically shaking as he looked up at the building.
“Mulder.” She called softly. He did not respond. “Mulder.” She repeated more forcefully, and he turned as if startled. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He responded with unnecessary anger and pushed himself violently away from the car. “Stop mothering me.”
“Sorry I breathed.” Scully murmured as she climbed out of the car.
The door to the warehouse was not locked and they entered cautiously. Inside it was dark – and empty. They switched on their torches and skimmed them over the vast interior of the building. Nothing and no one. They glanced at each other and advanced through the building. Mulder suddenly froze. Scully continued on, but stopped when she realised that he had. Mulder’s face was a set mask of horror. Glancing around Scully could not see what had caused him to stop, or what had scared her usually so cool and collected partner into such a state of frozen terror.
“What’s happening Mulder?” She demanded frantically.
“Run Scully.” He told her. “They’ve come for me this time – not for you.” He did not move. Scully looked about her – there was no one.
“Who’s come for you Mulder?” Mulder finally turned to look at her, incredulous.
“Them.” He said gesturing off into the darkness. Scully followed his eyes. There was no one.
“Mulder.” She said walking towards him. “There’s no one there.” Mulder turned terrified eyes to her.
“The aliens.” Mulder said simply.
The aliens came towards them. Mulder glanced at Scully. Why didn’t she run? They had come for him but they’d hurt her too.
“You’re hallucinating Mulder.” Scully said, from a long way away. “There’s no one there.” Mulder shook his head. He could see them.
“Run Scully.” He told her again.
“There’s no one there.” Scully said again, desperate now.
“You wont reach him like that.” A voice said out of the darkness. A woman stepped out from the shadows. She had long brown hair tied back into a braid and was wearing a burgundy red light weight suit. She had an FBI badge pinned to her lapel. “I’m Samantha Mulder.” Scully jumped up and stood facing her.
“What’s wrong with him?” She demanded.
“His worst nightmare is coming to get him. You have to snap him out of it, or he’ll die. Just like the others.” The woman said, trying to appear calm but there was an edge of tension to her voice and her eyes kept skipping off to look at Mulder.
“How do we save him?” Scully demanded. There were questions to be asked and answered but they could wait as time appeared to be of the essence.
“Get him angry – it’ll drag him back to reality. I’ll switch on the lights.” The woman strode off without saying another word. Scully looked down at Mulder. He was still staring into the darkness, struck dumb. Scully knelt beside him.
“What do you see?” She demanded. Mulder turned tortured eyes back to her.
“Hundreds of them. They’ve come for me.” His eyes skittered about. He sounded like a little boy and not the grown man that he was.
“Fox.” She said in a calm and measured tone.
“Scully. Please. I don’t want them to hurt you. Run.” He begged her. Their eyes locked and he appeared to forget about the aliens for a moment, then he remembered and retreated back to staring into space. Scully lost her temper.
“Stand up.” She ordered. “Get on your feet.” Shocked, Mulder did as she said. Grabbing his arm she dragged him away. He fought her – protesting about the aliens. They struggled and Scully knew that they would both carry bruises from this. Mulder was violently angry and struck Scully so hard that she fell to the floor. The lights came on.
Mulder blinked against the blinding light. For a second he remembered the aliens and thought that this was it, but then his eyes got used to the light and he saw Scully lying on the floor. His mind took a moment to realise that he had struck her. When it did the awful truth was overwhelming.
“Scully!.” He cried as he dropped to his knees next to her. “I don’t know why . .” He tailed off unable to find the words.
Scully smiled slightly – as much as her bruised jaw allowed. She struggled to sit up and Mulder helped her.
“I should have just shot you again Mulder.” She said, her voice full of sardonic laughter. Mulder was too aghast to smile back.
“I hit you.” He said with disbelief. A shadow fell across him.
“Don’t feel too bad Mulder.” A familiar voice said. “Hitting Scully was all that saved your life.”
Mulder looked up at the woman from his dream. She was not smiling.
“I’m afraid it’s my fault that you’re in danger. ” Scully scrambled to her feet and Mulder followed suit. They stood watching the woman warily.
“Who are you?” Mulder asked.
“My name is Samantha Mulder and I need your help, although I have no right to ask for it. But if you don’t help me, you’re going to die.”
XXXXXX****
Mulder drew into the parking lot of the Kingswood Motel following the silver-grey car which he knew belonged to this mysterious woman calling herself Samantha Mulder. From her tone and attitude it was apparent that she did not claim to be his sister – but who they hell did that make her?
“What do you think of her Scully?” Mulder said, turning just slightly to glance at his partner in the passenger seat. The bruise on her cheek had become a purple stain. Mulder looked away quickly, pretending to concentrate on his driving.
“I don’t know Mulder.” Scully answered in measured tones. “But, there’s no Samantha Mulder in the FBI. That much I’m sure of. There’s something very wrong here Mulder.”
“I know what you mean Scully.” Mulder drew a deep breath. “What happened in the warehouse before I hit you?”
“You mean you don’t remember?” Scully was incredulous. Mulder shook his head. Scully was unsure of what to tell him. “You claimed you saw aliens.” She finally said quietly. Mulder drew the car into a free space and stopped. He turned awkwardly in his seat to face her.
“Aliens?” Scully nodded, noting the way his eyes flicked to the livid bruise which she knew was developing on her face. Her mouth twisted into a wry smile.
“Oh yeah, for future reference Mulder. If we have to get out of somewhere – we go together. You don’t play macho and try to take the fall alone.” Mulder smiled a 1000-watt smile at her.
“Oh right, you don’t need protecting.”
“Sometimes I think that you’re the one who needs protecting Mulder.” Scully got out of the car leaving Mulder considering her remark.
XXXXXX*
Samantha Mulder’s motel room was like a million others. There were no personal effects beyond a make-up bag on the bedside table. Mulder stepped aside to allow Scully to walk past him into the room. Samantha closed the door behind them.
“I know that this is strange but I can’t tell you much.” She began.
“How about starting with who you are and why you’re calling yourself Samantha Mulder?” Mulder said in what might have appeared a casual tone to anyone but Scully.
“I’m not your sister – if that’s what you mean. My name *is* Samantha Mulder and I do work for the FBI.”
“That’s impossible.” Scully interjected.
“No – it’s just difficult to explain. My name wouldn’t be freely available to you. Just as you would find no record of an Alex Krycek.” Mulder stiffened at the name.
“You work for Cancer Man.” Mulder said flatly.
“Yes and no.” She said with a wry laugh. “I was assigned to assist a Dr. Peter Fenegold. Fenegold had developed an implant which would alter brain waves.”
“With what purpose?” Scully asked.
“Altering perceptions.” Samantha returned simply.
“Wouldn’t LSD have done the job just as well?” Mulder joked.
“The implants were given to all who were affected but did not *need* full details of the project.”
“Magdaline Szabi and Eric Fitzgerald.” Scully said.
“Amongst others. I was not made aware of the side-effects until recently – until after I had given you,” she gestured to Mulder “the implant.”
Mulder touched a hand to the spot where the dull ache in his head was strongest.
“The problem is that Dr. Fenegold has disappeared and he is the only one who can remove that implant from your skull.” She paused to take a ragged breath. “I was told that it would distort reality and confuse – but would do no lasting harm. However since Fitzgerald’s death I have been made aware that what it does is to project brainwaves into a real enough manifestations to kill. The aliens you saw in your hallucination Mulder were a real danger to your life. If Scully hadn’t snapped you out of it – they would have killed you.”
“I can’t remember what I saw.” Mulder said quietly.
“Will it happen again?” Scully demanded and Samantha turned sad eyes to her.
“It will continue to happen until the implant is removed or until he is dead.”
XXXXXX*
Thursday.
Mulder was the one who wanted to return to the warehouse. Scully couldn’t see that there was any reason to. They parked the car in front and Scully walked in the direction of the entrance – it was not until she turned to talk to Mulder that she realised he had not followed her. He was standing some distance away looking into an alleyway. She went over to him.
“Mulder? What’s wrong?”
“The aliens.” Mulder whispered, pausing and staring at a spot a few metres ahead of them. Scully’s glance in that direction was a reflex action. The alleyway was empty.
“Come on Mulder.” She said and attempted to drag him away from where he saw the aliens. His tortured eyes turned to look at her.
“You run, then at least you’ll get away.”
“We’ve been through this before.” Scully said trying to sound patient. “We run together or not at all.” Mulder reluctantly agreed and they ran out of the alleyway the same way that they had entered it.
“In here.” Scully said, flinging open the door of one of units. She and Mulder dived inside and slammed the door. Looking around Scully realised that they had ended up in one of the small offices that each unit was equipped with. Mulder locked the door and double checked that it could not be opened.
“Mulder, we’re safe.” Scully told him, in what she fervently hoped was a reassuring manner. Mulder shook his head and carried on pacing the confined space of the unit office.
“No. They’ll find us.” He stopped pacing and walked over to Scully, who had sat herself on the edge of a desk. Leaning close to her, as if confiding, he told her. “They plan to kill us Scully.”
Scully could not keep her horror from her face. Mulder assumed the expression to be one of fright at the thought of the aliens. Her mind ticking over rapidly she desperately searched for a way to snap him out of this psychosis. Watching him pace back and forth across the small room she did not know weather she wanted to hit him over the head with a heavy object or hug him like a mother would if her child had nightmares. Scully stopped. She knew how to distract him.
Scully stood up and stepped into pace with Mulder. Touching his arm she gently stopped him. He turned to look at her, his pained eyes held hers and Scully stepped closer. This has to work, Scully told herself. Mulder jumped and froze staring at the door.
“They broke down the door.” He said helpfully. To Scully the door was still intact. Mulder started to back away from his invisible demons but Scully stopped him. Please let this work, she begged whatever force was out there. Placing both her arms around his neck, she closed her eyes and kissed him.
At first he did not respond and Scully thought that it wasn’t going to work. She took her mouth away.
“Come on Mulder. Come back to me.” She said softly and let her mouth move over his. His body was still and solid as a block of ice, but then his right hand crept around her waist and his left moved to her shoulder. Scully felt a moment of triumph and was about to pull away but then something changed and she did not have another rational thought. His mouth came to life under hers and they clung to each other.
The kiss ended by mutual consent but they still held each other. Scully rested her head on his shoulder and collected her scattered wits. Setting her spine straight and stiff she moved away a fraction so that she could look into his face.
“Are the aliens gone?” She asked.
“What aliens?” He returned genuinely confused. “Are you alright?” He asked when he saw her puzzled expression.
“I’m fine.” she told him. “Are *you* okay?” He smiled down into her eyes. His eyes – which had been so tortured only minutes ago – were bright as stars.
“I’m good.” He said in that teasing tone she adored. He moved to kiss her again. Scully knew that one of them had to act rationally and – since Mulder had universally abdicated that responsibility – then it would have to be her. Dodging his mouth, she slipped out his arms to the other side of the room. Mulder stood looking lost and she almost wanted to go back to him. Setting her resolve, she began talking.
“Good. We better get moving. Hopefully Samantha’ll have the answer to getting that implant out and then you’ll be perfectly fine again.” Scully did not wait for his reply and did not look at his face again. She practically ran out of the building – leaving a bewildered Mulder to follow her.