Title: Long Journey Home
Date: March 12, 1999
From: CorrineLS@earthlink.net
Author: Lakota
Categories: S MSR, M&S Anguish
Rating: NC-17 (adult and disturbing situation, language)
Spoilers: Up to 6th season

Summary: Mulder's life should be getting better after getting good news,
but his constant nightmares can't keep him from reliving his abduction and
rape over and over again.

Disclaimer: I'm only borrowing Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Walter Skinner and
CSM for my own enjoyment. They are the property of Chris Carter, Fox
Broadcasting and 1013 Productions. Promise not to infringe.

Note: This is my first attempt of any kind of fanfic. So forgive the bad
writing. I have never been to a therapist (not that I don't need a
therapist), so I'm not sure what a therapist would say to a client in that
situation, oh well, this is fiction, so don't take it to heart. Remember I
just made all this up.

Thanks: To my best cyber buddies, Francina, Haskell and Susan who helped me
tremendously on sections of the story when I couldn't think of which
direction to go. And can't forget Bri, Tara, Glaubt, Hiding and the rest of
the group. Their constant encouragement helped me write my thoughts on
paper.

Long Journey Home


Monday

Watching the Cigarette Smoking Man walking out the door, Mulder's knees
buckled and fell to his knees. Placing his hands over his eyes, he started
laughing, and the laughter turned into sobs. Sobs of joy that he just
couldn't control. Scully came over to him as did Skinner and knelt along
side their fallen friend. The three embraced and held each other close.
They had been through so much this last year, and it all seemed to end with
a visit from the man they feared most. Skinner took the young agent in his
arms and held him close.

"Mulder, you and Agent Scully have taught me so much in this last year. I
have always been scared to show any kind of emotion. Maybe that's why I
always seemed so harsh with both of you during your assignments. Maybe part
of it was jealousy. I didn't understand how two people could work so well
together, have complete trust in one another and always be there for each
other. Both of you taught me that I could love again. Mulder, I will tell
you when I walked in the room with Agent Scully and saw Crawley attacking
you in that way, I froze. I couldn't handle it. With all the years in the
Bureau, I froze. If it wasn't for Scully, and what she did, I don't know
what I would have done. All I know is that you have taught me so much. I'm
glad that I was able to be there for you in your time of need and know that
I always will be there. I know that now that both of you are under my
command and back with the X-Files, we will have to work as professionals,
but know that outside the office, both of you are my friends, my family".
Skinner said as he pulled Mulder close to him and placed his head under his
chin. "And if you ever tell anyone that I showed any kind of affection
towards you Agent Mulder, you will be assigned the worst possible case,
cleaning toilets".

Mulder and Scully both looked at Skinner as he straightened Mulder and got
up from the floor. "Now, I think both of you need time for yourselves. Both
of you take the rest of the day off and I expect both of you in my office
at 9:00am tomorrow morning. I'll lock the door to give you some privacy and
when you're ready, go home and enjoy your new life."

Skinner rose from the floor and walked to the door locking it as he walked
out.

Scully still sitting on the floor brought Mulder to her breast and cradled
him while Mulder still wept silently. Too many things to digest in such a
short time. CSM telling him the test he had taken was manipulated to have
it show positive. The results were indeed negative and he did not have a
death sentence after all. Also, the words that came out of Skinner's mouth
were a little too much to comprehend.

"I'm sorry Scully, a little childish aren't I?" said Mulder embarrassed of
his reaction.

"Mulder, how can you even say that. I don't know how anyone could go
through everything you have been through" responded Scully brushing his
hair from his forehead.

"Scully, I had already set my mind that I was going to die. I wasn't going
to let the HIV positive brings me down. I was going to try to live as
normal life as I could. I wanted you so much in my life but I wasn't sure
if you would follow me. What would you do if during an assignment, I would
get injured or cut? Would you shy away from me? Would the fear of being
contaminated by Aids be a factor in getting near me? And heaven knows that
the hospital is my home away from home." Mulder stated trying to make light
of the situation. "I know you're in the medical field and I know that it's
not that easy to pass Aids, but I think it would still frighten you.
Scully, I was so scared; I wanted to be brave for both of us. I didn't want
you to think that I was going to give up. Not after all both of you had
done for me. The patience both of you had when I tried to take my life. But
both of you and Skinner stayed and I will always thank you for it". Mulder
said as he lay in Scully's arms.

"Mulder, you have a new beginning, we both do. I know I'm being hopeful
that everything is behind you, and I know it's still going to be some time
before the rape is totally out of your mind, but you know that both Skinner
and I will be there for you. Now partner, hows about you and I go have some
lunch and just do some walking in the park. Let's take in some of this new
life of yours" Scully said as she gently kissed Mulder on his forehead and
started to get up. "Now if you tell anyone in the Bureau that I kissed you,
it's toilet cleaning for you", she said smiling as she got up stretching
her hand out to him as he took it and stood up. She went to open the door
when he pulled her close to him and embraced her. "Scully, how can I ever
thank you?" he asked holding her tightly.

"You just did", she replied

Mulder went to the bathroom hoping that it was empty. He didn't need any
peering eyes on him. He turned on the faucet and filled his hands with
water. Bending over the sink he splashed the cold water on his face. He
stayed there for a couple of seconds letting the cold water wash the tears
that were there. He stood up looking at the mirror and froze. On the
reflection of the mirror Crawley was standing. He was grinning at him.

"Hey, Foxy, I don't care if the test came back negative, you're still mine.
You always will be sweetie. When you're alone, feel me, Foxy, feel my hands
all over you. Foxy, I didn't know you were so sensitive. I'll make you feel
better, come over here".

"NO it can't be" Mulder shouted as he pulled his gun from his holster and
turned quickly around only to find an empty room. <Please help. When is
this going to stop, when?> Mulder asked himself silently. There was a
slight tapping on the door.

"Mulder, are you ok?" Scully asked standing by the door hearing Mulder's shout. 

"Scully, I'm o.k. can't I even go to the bathroom without you
babysitting me?" Mulder said in annoyance opening the bathroom door and
walking past her. Scully looked at him, knowing that something had happened
for such a drastic change in him. "Mulder I'm sorry, I wasn't spying on
you, honest. I was just passing by and heard you say 'no', that's all." She
responded to him.

Mulder looking guilty stopped and turned around facing Scully. "I'm the one
that's sorry. I just saw Crawley in the bathroom. Scully, when is it going
to end for me? When can I be alone and not be afraid that he's not standing
behind me. When am I going to stop feeling the punches and jabs? The
humiliation that I wasn't strong enough to hold him back. When am I going
to stop feeling him go in me over and over again, tearing me over and over
again, when?" Mulder asked holding Scully's shoulders.

"Soon Mulder, soon" she said as she placed her arms around his waist and
brought him close to her.

Mulder leaned down nudging his face on her shoulder, "Am I going to be
afraid every time I'm in a room alone. Do I have to sleep with the lights
on like a five year old child? How are you suppose to have a partner like
me protecting your back when I can't even protect mine?" Mulder continued
speaking very softly close to her ear.

"Do you think that if we were in a situation and my life was in danger that
you would freeze?" she asked.

"No, not if your life was in danger"

"Do you think Skinner would take a chance and put both our lives in
jeopardy by letting you back in the Bureau just because he felt sorry for
you or because he had that special bond with you?"

"No, of course not"

"Then stop doubting yourself. He brought you back to the X-Files because he
knows your ready. But do you think you're ready?" she asked.

"Yes, I am"

Mulder pulled back from her embrace, "Scully, why don't you go to Skinner
and ask him if we could still have the meeting today. I don't want to
postpone the start of my new life. After all, I'm supposed to be happy,
right. Let me just go to our office for about 10 minutes. I have a phone
call to make. I'll be up in a little bit. If his schedule is already full,
then we'll go home" Mulder stated.

Scully let go of him and watched Mulder head towards their office. She
headed towards the elevator, pressing the up button to the 5th floor.
Mulder walked pensively to the basement and sat down. He put his elbows on
the desk and covered his eyes with his hands. Took a big sigh and reached
for his wallet in his back pocket. He found the business card to his
therapist and picked up the phone to dial. The secretary answered on the
third ring. "Hello, Mr. Raker's office, may I help you?"

"Uh, yes, is he in? This is Fox Mulder. I really need to see him today, if
it's possible." Mulder spoke quickly knowing that if these words weren't
said he would change his mind.

"Yes he is, but he's with a client. Would you like for him to call you
back? Or would you like to make an appointment?" the secretary asked.

"No, I need to see him today, please, can you just interrupt him. I'm sure
he'll want to see me," Mulder said as his voice started sounding in distress.

Linda picked up on the panicked voice, put Mulder on hold and called the
therapist. "Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you but a Mr. Mulder is on the phone.
He said he needs to see you today." She said.

"Fox Mulder, yes, yes, definitely, look why don't you schedule him around
7:00pm. Tell him the office is closed at that time, but I will be waiting
for him. I will leave notice to the guard downstairs to let him in" Daniel
Raker responded.

"In fact, let me talk to him, I'll tell him" he said concerned that Mulder
had a set back. Daniel was transferred over to the call. "Fox, what's the
matter?" Daniel Raker asked as he walked away from his client sitting on
the couch.

"Daniel can I see you today, please. Actually, you wouldn't know it, but I
had really good news but then something happened. Can I just see you for a
little while?"

"Sure, let me transfer you back to Linda and she'll tell you at what time
you can come. Now Mulder, will you be alright until then?"

"Yes, thank you Daniel" Mulder answered feeling better.

At A.D. Skinner's office, Scully sat in the familiar chair in front of his
desk. Skinner picked up the handset and called his secretary. "Kim, when
Agent Mulder comes upstairs, could you call me before you let him in".
Skinner ordered.

"Yes sir" she responded.

Skinner put the handset back on the cradle and looked at Scully. "So, what
happened, I thought both of you were going home and start tomorrow. Has
something happened?" asked Skinner.

"Sir, Mulder is adamant to start today. He doesn't want to waste any time.
But..." she started saying.

"But what, Agent Scully?"

"Sir, after you left, we talked for awhile and then he went to the bathroom
to wash up. I know I shouldn't have been spying but I thought I'd wait
outside the bathroom. He was in there for a short while when I heard him
shout 'No'. I didn't want him to know that I was checking up on him, but I
did anyway. I tapped on the door. He came out white as a sheet. He told me
he had seen Crawley in the reflection of the mirror. At first he questioned
his capability but as we spoke he seemed better and insisted we start
working as soon as possible" she informed.

"So where is he now?" Skinner asked.

"He said he needed to call someone but he'll be right up." She responded.

"Do you think he's capable to do his job?" Skinner asked.

"Yes sir. I do. We need to give him a chance. He's been through so much."
Scully told.

"I do too Agent Scully, I know he's ready" Skinner confirmed.

Mulder hung up the phone after speaking to his therapist. He took a deep
breath and walked to the door. He turned around looking at their office and
he smiled. "I'm going to make it, Crawley, do you hear me?" Mulder said to
himself as he walked towards the elevator and stepped in. He looked around
and debated whether he should press the button. <He's not here, he's not>
Mulder said to himself as he pressed the button. <Breathe Mulder, Breathe>
he said to himself as the doors closed. The doors opened, not soon enough
for his liking and started towards Skinner's office.

"Agent Mulder, it's so nice to see you" stated Kim.

"It's nice to see you too. Can I see A.D. Skinner?" Mulder asked as he sat
on the chair.

"Let me announce your arrival" she responded picking up the phone and
pressing the button to her boss's office. "Sir, Agent Mulder is here to 
see you".

"Let him in" Skinner responded.

Mulder opened the door, trying to remember how long ago it had been since
he walked through these doors. "Agent Mulder, please have a seat", Skinner
announced as he motioned to the familiar chair next to Scully. "Agent
Scully informed me that you didn't want to wait until tomorrow. That's good
because there is a lot of work waiting for both of you. I've been
collecting files of different cases in the last couple of months. None of
them were cases that needed immediate attention. You'll find them on the in
basket on top of the file cabinet. Now, I know that both of you have been
away for awhile. I don't think I have to remind both of you that I will
need your expense reports on time. Also, I will need a full report on a
weekly basis. Not when both of you decide to give it to me. Is this
understood?" Skinner said looking at Scully and then facing to Mulder.

"Yes sir, of course sir, we always do, sir" stated Mulder in a mocking
tone. Scully turned to Mulder thinking 'Mulder you will never change' as
she then turned to face Skinner. "Then if everything is clear, that will be
all. Agent Scully, will you give me a couple of minutes with your partner?"
Skinner asked as he got off his chair and walked around, then proceeded to
lean up against his desk. Scully took that as a clue and got up, walking
towards the door.

Skinner looked at Mulder without saying a word and wondered if he would
confide in him regarding the incident in the bathroom.

"Agent Mulder, it's just you and me now. I want to make this perfectly
clear. I know that you have been through a lot. I want you to make me
believe that you are ready to come back to work. I feel that you are ready,
but I am concerned what would happen if you and Agent Scully get in a
situation. Are you going to be able to defend your partner? Do you think
that you will be able to do your job and not freeze?" Skinner asked
sternly, not showing how much it was hurting him to say these words to his
agent whom he cared so much for. He had to say this for everyone's safety.
He didn't want to put Mulder in a situation that would jeopardize both he
and his partner. If anything were to happen to Scully, it would definitely
be the end of Mulder. Mulder would never be able to forgive himself. That
would definitely throw him over the edge.

"Sir, after you left, Scully and I stayed talking for awhile. I then went
to the bathroom to freshen up. I saw Crawley's reflection on the mirror. I
over reacted and Scully must have overheard. It only took me a second to
realize it was my imagination. Sir, if I thought that I would put Agent
Scully in danger, I would pull back immediately. You know that. If anything
were to happen to her because of me, I would never forgive myself. You have
to trust me. When I left the bathroom, I was a bit harsh on Scully. I know
I did wrong. So I sent her up here first so I can make an appointment with
Daniel. Sir, I know I'm ready to get back to work. I have to for my own
sanity. I'm ready. Please give me a chance." Mulder stated as he nervously
intertwined his fingers.

"I know you're ready Mulder. I wanted to hear it from your own mouth,"
Skinner said as he walked back around his desk and sat down, picking up his
pen. "Mulder, you're excused, get to work"

"Thank you sir," Mulder said getting up from his seat and walking over to
the door. Placing his hand on the knob...

"Mulder, welcome back". Skinner said signing some paperwork not looking up
from his work. Mulder looked back, grinning and walked out of his office.

"Kim, did Agent Scully go back to our office?" Mulder asked.

"Yes, she said she'd meet you there".

Mulder walked towards the elevator, pressing the button and waiting
impatiently for the door to open. He walked in hearing the familiar ping
sound as he pressed the button with a B for basement on it.

Thinking at his conversation he just had with Skinner brought a smile to
his face. I guess that's why he's an A.D. He can separate his professional
and personal feelings like the switch of a light. Anyone listening to the
conversation he just had, would not have any idea that Skinner was with him
day and night for weeks. Protecting him and cradling him during the times
he was so close at ending it all. Nah, nobody would believe that Skinner
had a soft heart. People only saw the straight and narrow, the iron clad
boss who only expects the best from his agents. Mulder smiled and thought
that he could be the same with Scully. He could keep it on a professional
level with her. But yet, he wanted so much to take it one step further and
have her in his personal life. But would she let him. The doors opened and
he headed towards their office.

Scully already had two piles on her desk. She was thumbing through them
trying to separate the more urgent ones and the ones that could wait.

"So Mulder, did Skinner chew you a new one?" asked Scully not looking up.

"You know Skinner. Doesn't hold any punches. Told me like it is or else.
Play it by the book. And you know how I play by the book". Mulder said as
he walked towards Scully's desk and took a pile of folders.

They worked very diligently for hours separating the files in order of
importance. They put them in 3 piles. The first pile, which they labeled
category, A was for all the cases that definitely needed their attention.
The second file category B was for the cases that were important but could
wait and category C were for the cases that even the X-Files wouldn't
touch. When the top priority file was complete, they then separated them in
order of importance. Scully was trying to see if she could get a case that
was closer to home. She really didn't want to go too far, at least not just
yet. But she didn't want Mulder to know that.

"Mulder, I'm starving. Don't you think this is a good place to stop? Why
don't we go have lunch or something? I mean it's already 3:00pm." Told
Scully as she pulled her hair back out of her face.

"Yea, I guess you're right. I'm hungry too. Look why don't we call it a
day? Why don't you decide which case we're going to work on first? Let's
take that file with us, stop and get something to eat and then go to my
place to see what's our next step." Mulder suggested. "Or better yet, you
take the file, go to my place and I'll stop and pickup lunch"

"Sounds good to me. We'll follow-up on this one" Scully answered picking up
the one she thought was only a couple of hours flight away.

"Are you going to tell me which one it is, or surprise me at home?" Mulder
asked as he got off his seat and started to get his coat from the hanger.

She got up as well grabbing her briefcase and her coat. "It's a surprise,
she answered.

Scully walked in Mulder's apartment smiling at the mess that was scattered
all over the floor. She immediately started straightening up for him.
Picking up his clothes, socks and shoes from the living room.

"Oh Mulder, you need a woman", Scully said smiling. She then went to the
bathroom to clean it when the front door opened.

"Wow, is this my place. I should give my maid a raise" Mulder snickered.
Scully walked out of the bathroom with a towel on her hand and threw it at 
him.

"Very funny, where's lunch?" she asked as Mulder started putting the bags
of food on the center table. "No, we're not eating here, not after I
cleaned it. Let's go to the kitchen," stated Scully as she picked up the
bags and headed to the kitchen.

They ate their lunch while Scully informed Mulder of the case that she had picked. 

"Oh some case of ghost murders in a small community in Tennessee," she said. 

"Scully, you picked that one? I'm surprised, but I like" he responded. She didn't 
dare tell him the reason for picking that case. Not because she believed in his 
constant ghost busting but because it was the nearest case from home. 

"Why don't I make travel and hotel reservations for tomorrow while you pack your 
bags. We'll see what will be the best course of action," suggested Scully. 

Mulder agreeing went to his bedroom and started packing for a week. It had been a 
long time since he had done this. With all the traveling they did, they usually 
always kept a bag of clothes in the trunk of the car just in case something 
unexpected happened, and they were prolonged in a certain city. She called the D.C. 
Airport and then made reservations in a small hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee, from 
there they need to travel by jeep to Cokercreek not too far from the Appalachian
Mountains. 

"O.K. Mulder, I made the reservations. Unfortunately the only
time available was at 7:00am tomorrow morning. So as not to make it harder
on either of us, why don't you take your bags to my place, you can stay the
night. We can leave early in the morning from my place." Scully shouted to
Mulder from the living room. 

Mulder poked his head from the bedroom "Sounds good Scully, do you want to help me. 
It's been a long time"

"Sure," she answered walking to the bedroom.

They fed the fish and Mulder went to his young 10-year-old neighbor next
door giving him his usual instructions in feeding his fishes. Then they
both got in Scully's car and left for her apartment.

Arriving at her apartment, Scully went straight to her bedroom to start
packing while Mulder dropped his luggage by the front door. Her thoughts
were the same as his. How nice it felt to be doing this again. It was so
long ago. She wondered where Mulder was; he was right behind her. She
looked out the bedroom door to find him lying on the couch. She smiled as
she went back in the bedroom to finish packing.

Mulder felt the tight binds on his hands and legs. He was being dragged but
where. He couldn't see, the room was so very dark. He tried to feel for his
eyes realizing that his hands were tied behind his back. He had a blindfold
on. How did he get there? Where is there? He remembers being at Scully and
waiting for her to pack. They were going to go to their first assignment
after many months. Gosh was it maybe a year? He felt very cold. He felt so
cold; did he have any clothes on? From what he could feel, his shirt was
unbuttoned. Yes, he still had his clothes on. He felt something on him.
What was it? Someone was near him but he couldn't see. He wanted to say
something but he felt something in his mouth. A gag. He had some kind of
material in his mouth and he couldn't yell. He couldn't move. This is not
happening; it's not going to happen. He didn't remember anyone coming in
Scully's apartment. Scully, where is Scully? He thought to himself as he
started to squirm and try desperately to loosen the binds. 

Hands, somebody's hands were on him. They were unbuttoning his shirt; they
obviously couldn't take his shirt off with his hands tied. He'll wait for
that opportunity to punch him, grab him, and do something to get out of
there. He felt something cold on his arms, wait, a pair of scissors. They
were starting to cut through the material of his shirt. <No, not again,
please not again>Mulder thought to himself. He felt the cold hands again,
buttoning and unzipping his pants. < I can't go through this again. I won't
survive it again> Mulder thought as he started to squirm furiously. The
pants and boxers were being pulled off of him down to his ankles. He could
feel the breeze on his naked body. The sound of the scissors again, cutting
though the pant legs and boxers and completely exposing him. Then the
hands, the cold hands again started touching his chest. The familiar hands
started caressing down, down to his waist, then to the side of his hips.
Rubbing him all over, down, further down the hands were going. <No, no,
please... I won't survive this again> he thought hoping that if he thought
long enough, he could wish it away. There, his hands were their now.
Holding firmly, moving up and down, up and down. <Oh God, please, what have
I done so bad to be punished in the same way again> he thought again as the
tears started to fall from his eyes. Warm, wet, warm on his penis, wet.
Someone's mouth on him moving up and down. But then the hands started
moving gently, so very gently. <Scully, my Scully is that you?> The thought
of Scully's gentle hands on him started stirring feelings in him. He
started getting aroused. His cock hardening as the movement of the hands
manipulating him up and down. Then one of the hands started caressing his
face, so softly. <Umm Scully, oh Scully> he thought in his mind as he was
reaching the point of release. "I knew you still enjoy me Foxy, look at
you, hard as a rock, but no, I'm not letting you come this time, maybe next
time, it's my turn this time", said the voice laughing and with one strong
hold, forcefully turned Mulder on his stomach. As Mulder was forced around,
the gag that was wrapped around his mouth slipped off <NO, NO, Crawley,
you're dead. Scully said you were dead>. His hips were raised. Forcing him
in a kneeling position. He then felt it, felt it again. Deep inside him,
hard so very painful, tearing him. <No, please, please> Mulder started
yelling gasping for the little air that he could take into his lungs. "NO"
he yelled again feeling Crawley deeper in him.

"Mulder, wake up Mulder, you're having a nightmare. Take deep breaths,
breathe slowly, and let the air fill your lungs. Mulder you're
hyperventilating" Scully tried to comfort Mulder as she tried to control
his thrashing on the couch. She had past the living room earlier and found
Mulder asleep. She thought she'd let him rest while she finished packing.
But 45 minutes later she was jarred out of her skin with Mulder's scream.

She ran to him. He was sweating profusely. His face looked so anguished and
in pain. "Mulder, come on, take it slowly, wake up, it's just a bad dream".

His eyes popped opened thrashing his arms trying to hit Scully, "It hurts,
it hurts so bad" Mulder yelled as he started looking all around the room,
slowly getting his barring back at to where he was. "He's here Scully,
Crawley was here. He tried, he did it again", he said as his voice started
quivering. "No Mulder, no one is here. You were just having a bad dream"

"No, I don't believe you. You lied to me. You didn't really kill him. You
just said that so I wouldn't be afraid," Mulder said shaking uncontrollably.

"Look Mulder, if you want we'll look around the apartment. Come follow me"
she said as she took his hand and led him off the couch. They walked to the
kitchen, to the bathroom, to her bedroom. "See Mulder the front door is
locked. It's just you and me. No one else. And I didn't lie to you. Crawley
is dead. He can't ever, won't ever hurt you again." Scully said as she led
him to her bed making him sit and then gently forcing him to lie down. She
sat on the bed and started caressing his face, pushing his damp sweaty hair
back. At the touch of her hand on his face, he pulled back until he
realized that it was only Scully, his Scully. 

"I'll be right back," she said as she went to the bathroom, wetting a washcloth 
and came back to the bedroom as quickly as she could. She again sat next to him 
and started wiping his face and his neck. She held his hand trying to feel his pulse
without making it obvious. It was raising. His breathing was still very fast. 

"Mulder relax, come on, slow your breathing down. You're going to
hyperventilate" Scully said looking at him. He closed his eyes and
concentrated. <Sow, breath slow> he thought to himself. Mulder took a hold
of her hand and pulled her in bed with him. She didn't protest because she
knew he needed her so badly at that time. She put her arms around him and
held him close to her body. Their bodies were as close as they had ever
been in the six years that they had known each other.

"Shhhh," is all she said to him as she rocked him gently? At that moment
she felt it wasn't an opportune time to ask him what got him in this state
of mind. All she wanted was to comfort him and take care of him. She didn't
want to see him hurt anymore. His head was cradled under her chin. Very
quietly they both snuggled, embracing each other tightly. He raised his
head just a bit and started kissing her gently on her neck, once, twice,
three times. He kissed gently on her ear giving her chills up and down her spine.

<What's happening here> Scully thought nervously. <I want you more than
life itself, but not this way, not when you're so vulnerable, not for the
wrong reasons> she continued thinking. But her mind said one thing and her
body said another. Her insides started stirring as she felt his breathing
on her neck. His gentle movement of his body up against hers brought a
feeling that she hadn't felt in a very long time. She felt him harden up
against her. His arousal stronger as each slight movement brushed against her. 

"Scully, I need you " he whispered so softly into her ear.

Her better judgement wanted to stop, but she couldn't. She waited so long
for this moment. With one hand she went for the button on his jeans while
she caressed his face with the other. She slowly unzipped his pants and
slid her hand in his boxers. She had seen him nude before but those were
times of injury or illness, not like this. She took hold of his erection
that felt so hard. <Was this really happening>, she kept on asking herself.

He lay on his back as she slightly moved above him not letting go of his
hardness. He opened his eyes, and... "Foxy", he gasped and took a deep
breath of air. "Mulder what's wrong?" she asked. His whole body limped. He
immediately softened in her hand. He turned his head in embarrassment at
his instant impotence.

"Mulder, that's o.k. I understand. You don't have to worry. Maybe we were
taking it too fast".

He pushed her aside and got out of the bed and went to the bathroom. She
didn't know what to do, should she follow him. Would he be ok? In there.
Maybe it was best for him to deal with it in his own way. She heard the
water turn on and the shower door open. She went to the bathroom door and
sat on the floor, knees bent with her arms wrapped around them in silent
vigil. She could hear him pound on the wall of the shower, over and over
again. Then his sobbing, quiet sobbing. Her heart ached for him. She wanted
so badly to go in there and comfort him but decided against it. Not because
of the uncomfortableness of his nakedness, but she thought he needed to be
alone and work things out in his head.

After about 20 minutes the water stopped. Scully quickly got off the floor
and went to sit on the bed. The shower door opened and about 5 minutes
later, Mulder walked out with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Scully, I forgot to tell you that I have an appointment with Daniel at
7:00pm." Mulder said avoiding everything that had just happened.

"Mulder, you can borrow my car, or if you want I could take you. I'll wait
for you in the waiting room" she answered.

"That's fine with me" he replied as we walked to the hall to get his
suitcase and brought it back into her bedroom. <Good thing he packed more
clothes than he needed> he thought to himself and he rummaged through the
suitcase for boxers, sox, a gray T-shirt and jeans.

Scully got off the bed, "Let me go freshen up so we can leave. We have
about 25 minutes to get there"

Scully gave the keys to Mulder, "No you drive, I don't feel like it" he
said as he raised his hand up protesting the offer. They drove in silence.
Arriving at the therapist office about 5 minutes before 7:00pm. They walked
to the guard where they identified themselves.

"Oh yes, Mr. Raker is expecting you. I'll announce your arrival. Please
sign the log," the guard said as he picked up the phone to call Daniel
Mulder and Scully got on the elevator and reached the office. 

Daniel already had the door open. "Fox, you look good. And Dana, I didn't realize
you were coming with him. Come on in." he said as he shook Mulder's hand
and then held Scully's hand with both of his.

"I brought a book to read while both of you talk" Scully said. 

"You can go to my private office. I have a comfortable couch and a television set"
Daniel stated showing her the door. Daniel put his hand on Mulder's back
and showed him in. He pointed to the recliner asking him to take a seat.

"Fox, what do I owe the pleasure. You sounded stressed earlier today,"
Daniel said getting right to the point.

"Daniel, I had quite a day today. I have good news and bad news," Mulder
said getting himself comfortable.

"Well, which one do you want to tell me first," Daniel replied sitting on
the chair opposite to him.

"Good news I guess. My biggest enemy of my life gave me a gift today. He
brought proof that I was not HIV positive. They had purposely changed the
results to make me believe that I was infected. I guess he felt a bit
guilty and chose to tell me the truth" he explained.

"That is wonderful news, Fox. You should be very happy," Daniel answered
getting up and placing his hands on Mulder's shoulders.

"Thank you, I am very happy. I now have my life back. Sort to speak",
Mulder sarcastically said. "Such good news I didn't know how to digest it.
Everything was spinning. I had my life back. And everything should have
ended like that, happy."

"But?..." Daniel asked sitting back down.

"Crawley made an appearance," Mulder said nonchalantly, looking at Daniel's
instant wondered look.

"I saw him in the bathroom, rather in the reflection of the mirror. He was
daunting me. He called me Foxy and proceeded to tell me that I wasn't free
from him. I would never be free. He said he would always be with me. I
panicked; he seemed so real that I pulled my gun out. Daniel, do you
understand how dangerous that could have been. What if there was an
innocent person in the bathroom," he continued. "As soon as I turned around
I realized it was my imagination. Scully was outside the bathroom door and
wondered why I shouted. I then took it out on her, telling her I didn't
need a babysitter, which later I felt like scum." 

Daniel let him keep on talking. "At that moment I decided to call you. We had 
a meeting with Skinner and then worked the rest of the afternoon. We plan on leaving on
our first case tomorrow to Tennessee. Everything was just going great. Our
flight leaves really early in the morning so we decided that I stay at her
place and get an early start. I was laying on the couch while she was
packing and I fell asleep." Mulder kept on telling his story. Daniel
noticed that as Mulder got further in the story, he noted his restlessness.

"Daniel, I had a horrible nightmare. It was so very real. I dreamt that I
was tied up again, gagged and blindfolded. I felt cold hands all over my
body. No sound, just touching. The clothes were ripped off of me. I was
totally nude on the couch. But then the touching became very soft. I was
confused. It was a tender touch. I was being held everywhere and I started
getting aroused. I was confused because I thought it was Scully. I thought
she was the one holding my erection. I felt so warm and I couldn't hold it,
but right before I released I heard that same voice saying 'Foxy', and was
brutally turned on my stomach. I immediately felt the pressure in me; in
and out again, the pain was there again. I must have shouted because an
instant later I felt a soft hand on my face calling me. It was Scully. I
woke up drenched in sweat and shaking out of my skin," he told

"It was a horrible nightmare, but that's all it was, Mulder. Look how long
you've had nightmares of Samantha." Daniel stated.

"So now I have to deal with two horrifying nightmares," he protested.

"No, of course not" Daniel replied, "What happened next?"

"I was shaking so bad and so cold that Scully led me to her bed. She forced
me to lie down. I felt her hands on me. She started taking my pulse and
wiping my face with a washcloth. I know she kept on telling me to take it
easy and to breathe slowly. I was so scared. I pulled her in bed with me,
Daniel. I wanted her close to me and feel safe with near me. I just wanted
to be held by her. We were holding each other and... and... I started
kissing her. It was wonderful. I felt that maybe it was finally going to
happen. After 6 years loving this woman and not ever telling her. I had
asked her before if we were ever going to make love but at that time she
turned me down. She felt that if we did get together at that time, it would
have been for the wrong reasons. And maybe today was another wrong reason.
But she didn't stop me. We held each other so tightly that I felt that we
were one. I started getting hard. I needed her at that very second. I was
afraid that she'd step away when she felt my arousal, but she didn't. As a
matter of fact she held me. She took a hold of me. I thought I was going to
explode. I brought her closer to me, if it was any way possible, and then I
heard him Daniel, Foxy, I quickly opened my eyes and it was... It was him,
not Scully that was touching me. I unconsciously pushed her instantly and
my body just instantly limped, including my dick. I was never so
humiliated. Right on her hand it went limp, in a matter of seconds. She
didn't say anything. She just kept trying to hold me but I pushed her away.
I hurried into the bathroom to wash away my embarrassment" he explained.

"Daniel, not only do I have to worry of Crawley, but now I have to worry of
making love with the one I can't live without. Am I going to worry that if
I ever get the chance again that my dick doesn't decide to limp on me."
Mulder said agitated.

"Mulder do you think that she thought of you any less. She knows that you
had a nightmare. She knows everything that has been happening to you. Do
you think she loves you any less? Personally, I noticed right away that
both of you were deeply in love with each other. I'm amazed that both of
you won't admit it. And now that you got closer than you ever have and you
couldn't perform, do you think she will hold that against you?" Daniel
asked him bluntly.

Mulder wouldn't look up at him, almost ashamed at his story.

"Mulder, I know this is your session, but I would like Dana to come and
join us. She was in the therapy with you after the rape. I would like for
you two to talk about each other's feelings. I think today you took your
relationship one step further and that has to be discussed" Daniel suggested.

All Mulder did was nod his head as Daniel went to the other room to get
Dana. Walking into the office, Scully sat on a chair next to Mulder,
sitting nervously wondering why she was called to this meeting.

Daniel turned to Scully and said, "Mulder has explained to me everything
that has happened in these last 24 hours. Both of you have been very busy
with your emotions. If I were either of you, I'd be exhausted. Dana, I
think Mulder needs to tell you something. It won't be easy for him, but
today you took one step further in this insecure relationship that both of
you carry in your hearts"

Mulder just looked down at his lap, not wanting to begin. "Scully, I.. I..
I'm so sorry", is all he was able to say.

"And why are you sorry, Fox. From what you explained to me, there is
nothing to be sorry about. You carry your guilt of the world on your
shoulders. Do you think you can give some of that guilt to other people?"
Daniel told.

"Sorry for what?" Scully asked as she got off her chair and went up to the
recliner Mulder was sitting on and knelt by his feet, holding his hands
that were on his lap.

"I already told you what happened in the bathroom at work. I felt that I
exploded for no reason at all. Then at your apartment, Scully, I had a
nightmare about Crawley. He was abusing me again. I felt him all over
again. It was so real, I felt him in me again, " and he stated as he took
his hands away from hers and put them over his eyes. 

She kept her hands on his knees, "Mulder, I figured that's what happened. 
Why would you apologize for that? I know you have restless nights. I've always 
been there during your nightmares of Samantha. You didn't think I'd understand?" 
she asked.

"That's not all Scully. I'm sorry for trying to make love to you at that time."

"You didn't want to make love to me, Mulder?" she asked hurt.

"Oh God, of course I did. Scully, do you know how long I've been wanting to
hold you in my arms and love you all over? I can't even remember the day
that my feelings changed towards you. It just happened. Remember when I
propositioned you and you said that sex wasn't the answer at that time. To
listen to my heart. Well, I've listened to my heart for so long that I
don't know when to believe it anymore. I wanted you a couple of hours ago,
but when we were in the act, I saw Crawley again. Scully, your face turned
into his and when you were holding me, I felt his hands on me" he stated in
a soft whisper as his eyes welled up with tears.

"Mulder, when you first brought the subject up months ago, it wasn't the
right time. You were desperate to get everything you thought you were going
to miss. You thought you had a death wish. And today, do you think I would
have let you get as far as we did if I didn't want you. I will confess that
you scared the shit out of me. And I scared the shit out of myself, but I
would not have continued with the advance if I didn't want you." She told
him as she got up and lifted his head with her hands.

"But Scully, I couldn't even perform. My mind seems to overpower my stupid
ass dick. How do you think I feel when I limped in your hands. I've dreamt
of that moment for years. I've wanted you for so long that even if I did
perform I probably would have taken a total of a couple of minutes" he said
trying to lighten the subject.

"And I would have enjoyed that minute. I probably would have beaten you on
the timeclock" she answered trying to keep the humor.

"Scully, I have never been so humiliated in my life. Not only do I have two
types of nightmares to live with, but also now I have my impotence to worry
about. Am I always going to be afraid to get near you because if we try..."
he was saying when she interrupted him?

"Mulder, do you think that's all I want between us. I won't lie to you that
it's a plus, and I've been wanting to jump you for years. But right now
there are parts of your life that we need to overcome. This is just another
part that we will deal with. A part that we both need to work on. This is
too big for just you to handle. Daniel, Skinner and I have been with you
and will always be with you. But you have to trust us and not carry that
burden on your own" she said with concern

"Well, it doesn't seem that I'm really needed here," Daniel joked. "I want
to try something before this session is over. I want both of you to sit on
the couch", Daniel ordered. They both stood up and walked to the couch,
sitting very close together and holding each other's hand.

"Fox, when you were a little boy, what did you and Samantha do to have fun.
Or rather, what do you remember best of your good times with her?" Daniel asked.

Mulder smiled and thought, "She loved when I read to her, Green Eggs and
Ham. She would giggle when I read that book. I remember that we lived in a
small house, just 2 bedrooms. We shared a bedroom when she was 4 and I was
8. Mom and Dad would put us to bed but not even 5 minutes would pass when
Sam would crawl in bed with me. I had a flashlight under the bed and I
would turn it on. We would get under the covers and I would read her a book
every night. We'd giggle and giggle at the stories. Sometimes we would make
up our own stories. We traveled the world with our stories, well the city
anyway, at our ages; the city was our world. One night I would make up the
story and the next night she would," he mused.

"So your bedroom was your haven. That little corner of your bed with
Samantha was your safe place?" Daniel asked.

"Safe place. I like that. Yes, that was my safe place. A place where I
could be with Samantha and dream of the world, put ourselves in the books
that I would read to her" he pondered.

"So Fox, do you think that when you're at an anxious moment. When you think
you see Crawley, or you're in deep despair, do you think you can go to that
safe place?" Daniel questioned. "Dana, your assignment is when you see Fox
start going on a downward spiral, you pull him back into his safe place.
His place where he and Samantha hid from all the bad people of the world"
Daniel commanded. Scully smiled and shook her head in agreement.

"Mulder, what do you think? Would you be willing to let Dana help you?"

He also shook his head. "Well, I think we accomplished something this
evening. Now you said that both of you are going on a business trip
tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, we fly out tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. to Knoxville, Tennessee" Scully said.

"Well, then both of you have a busy day tomorrow. It's already 8:00pm, and
I think both of you need a good nights rest. You know that if either of you
need to call me, you can page me. I will call you as soon as I could" he
informed as he got up from his chair as Mulder and Scully did the same.

"Mulder, are you hungry? We haven't had anything to eat since lunch," she
said turning to Mulder.

"Umm, actually I am" he answered. Scully drove to a small Mexican café that
was near her apartment. They ordered their food and went back to her place
to eat. At her apartment they had dinner then started getting ready for
bed. "Mulder I'll set the alarm for 5:00am. Do you think that will give us
enough time to get to the airport? Or do you need longer than an hour to
beautify yourself" Scully tried to jokingly say.

"Five will give me plenty of time" he responded.

They took turns getting ready for bed trying to avoid anything that would
bring the subject of this very long day. Mulder put on his pajama bottoms
and took off his T-shirt and headed for the couch.

"Mulder, we can share the bed if you want. It will be much more comfortable
then that couch. We won't do anything, I promise. We can put our pillows in
between us if you want," she said with a smile. "Maybe by me being near
you, you'll be able to have a restful sleep. And then again, maybe it's me
that needs to be near you." Scully said as she went to him and took a hold
of his hand. He looked up at her with such deep concern, but a speck of a
smile came out of him and got up following her to the bedroom.

A little uncomfortable, but they both laid on their prospective sides, both
facing the outside of the beds. Lights turned off and they both quickly
fell asleep. It was about 1:00am when Scully heard a slight whimper. She
turned around to see Mulder in a fetal position. A slight sound of
discomfort was coming from him. He looked restless. Scully didn't want to
wake him so she moved close to him. She gently brought him near her and
started whispering to him. "Sami" he said in his sleep, snuggling to her
without waking.

"Fox, we're in our safe place, sleep now" she whispered.



Tuesday

The alarm clock went off as Scully quickly turned it off. She decided to
set it off around 4:30am to get ready first and let Mulder get a little
more sleep. She got up, showered and started breakfast. Around 5:00 she
went to Mulder and woke him up.

"Mulder, it's time to get up. Come on, we don't want to miss our flight",
she said as she gently shook him.

"Not now, I want to sleep a little longer"

"Mulder, get up or I'm leaving you behind," she announced.

"Geez, o.k." he responded getting up rubbing his eyes.

Half asleep, he dragged himself to the bathroom to do all his necessities.
Shower, shave and whatever else he needed to do. She walked in and smiled
as she remembered how handsome he looked dressed up in his suit.

"You know, I never realized all the paraphernalia that we have to wear on
our persons, holster, gun, badge, flashlight, handcuffs. I'm exhausted
putting everything on" he mused.

"Breakfast is on the table. You better hurry so we can get going" Scully
instructed.

"Yes Ma'am"

The flight went smoothly as they landed in Knoxville. They took the shuttle
to their motel where they unpacked and changed to something a lot more
comfortable than their usual suits. Mulder knocked on their adjoining room.

"Yea Mulder, are you ready?" she asked opening the door.

"Yes I am, when did the driver say he was coming to pick us up?"

"Not until 10. He thought we should take a rest since it's going to be a
rough drive through the mountains. I don't think there's any kind of law
enforcement in that area. The town is very small. A very poor community," she stated.

They picked up a small ice chest and filled it with food and bottled water
at a nearby convenient store. The driver showed up promptly at 10:00am. It
was a rough 2-hour drive to the small community. The driver warned them of
the backward living and the stories that were told by the hillbillies that
lived near the Appalachian Mountains.

"When did you say you wanted me to pick you up? Trust me, you do not want
to spend the night here" told the driver.

"I think we should be done around 6:00pm. Would that be o.k. With you?"
Scully asked.

"Hey, no problem with me. But I wouldn't stay here any longer than I'd have
to" answered the driver and started the jeep.

They took their ice chest and a backpack with a small first aide kit and
jackets. They walked through the small town filled with wooden framed
houses. The doors were either blankets or broken down wooden doors.
Children playing in the streets barefooted with torn T-shirts, ripped pants
or filthy little dresses. Scully felt a little tug on her shirt. She turned
around and found a little girl about 4 years old. Her hair appeared to be
blond but was dirty and matted. She had deep blue eyes and her face was streaked.

"Hi lady. What's your name?" She asked.

"Hi, my name is Dana and yours?" she replied looking at the little girl and
then at Mulder.

"My name is Emily and this is my brother Frankie" she replied pointing at a
little boy that looked no older than 6 years old.

Mulder turned his head rapidly looking at Scully's expression as he heard
the little girl's name. Scully bent down to the little girl's level.

"That's a beautiful name. I used to have a daughter named Emily"

"Where she go? Did the boogy man take her?" the little girl asked.

"She's in heaven" Scully answered pushing the little girls matted hair out
of her face. "She had big blue eyes just like you. Emily, where is your
mommy or daddy?"

"My daddy no more here, boogy man took him. My mommy is by the river
washing clothes" she replied nonchalantly. "Frankie say we be careful or
boogy man take us too. Mommy afraid of boogy man. She say stay here, no go
by trees. Lady, I don't want to be gone. I get very scared. I miss my daddy"

Scully stood up as Mulder took her hand looking to see if Scully was ok.

"I'm fine Mulder. Let's go find her mother." Scully reassured Mulder taking
his hand.

"Frankie, do you think you can show us where your mommy is? Mulder asked.

He shook his head saying yes and grabbed Mulder's hand. They walked through
broken down houses. A good rainfall would surely destroy these homes. They
reached the river to find women by the banks washing and hanging their
clothes on the bushes.

"Mommy, this pretty lady and this big man wants to talk to you" told the
boy looking up at Mulder.

"Ma'am, we are agents with the F.B.I. My name is Special Agent Fox Mulder
and this is my partner Agent Dana Scully. We came across some files of
missing men around this area. Your children told us that your husband is
missing. Do you have any idea what happened to your husband and the other
missing men?" Mulder asked.

"Please, just leave us alone. We don't want to make trouble. We are afraid
that if we talk more men will turn up missing," she said as she got up
grabbing her clothes and pail of water.

"We just want to see if we can help. We want to see if there's foul play.
If they were kidnapped" explained Scully.

"Kidnapped, no they weren't kidnapped. It was the Ghost of the Trees. The
old lady calls them Devil Trees, she told us to be careful or we would
start disappearing. We laughed at her and now my husband is lost."

"Where does this lady live?" Scully asked.

"Follow this dirt road up the hill, when you get to the top, it will be the
very last one. My children will show you part of the way. Do not let them
get near her house" she demanded.

Emily ran and held Scully's hand as Frankie went running to hold onto Mulder's.

"What's in the box?" Frankie asked Mulder.

"It's an ice chest. Are you hungry?" Both Emily and Frankie shook their
heads. Mulder smiled looking at Scully and placed the ice chest on the ground.

"Let's see what we have in here," he said as he opened the ice chest. "How
about an apple. Would both of you like an apple?" Their little eyes opened wide.

"It's so shiny and red. Do they grow shiny where you're from?" asked Frankie.

"You know, I always wondered that" Mulder laughed handing each child an
apple and closing the ice chest, then proceeding on with their walk. When
they were about 4 houses from the top of the hill the children both stopped
dead in their tracks.

"We not go no more. Old lady will kill us," Emily said frightened.

"O.k. you can go home now, we'll take it the rest of the way. Thank you
very much for your help" Scully said.

They walked towards the run down house with a blanket used as a door.

"Where do we knock?" Mulder whispered.

"AH, Come on in young people, I was expecting both of you" the toothless
wrinkled old lady pushed open the blanket making both Mulder and Scully
jump. Mulder placed the ice chest on the ground, 

"What do you mean you were expecting us?" Mulder asked in surprise.

"I know all, come on in" she snorted holding the blanket as they both
walked in the run down one room shack that was called a home. It smelled
old and musty. They sat on what used to be called a bed. The mattress
yellowed with age and springs sticking everywhere.

"We are..." Mulder started introducing himself

"Foxy, I know who both of you are" she responded as Mulder's face paled as
she called him that name.

"Why did you call me that. How do you know my name" he remarked standing up
in shock.

"Sit down young man" she snorted pushing him down with her hand. An instant
wave of nausea and pain in his lower abdomen hit him at the touch of her
hand. He held his stomach, hoping that he wouldn't loose his breakfast at
that very second.

"No need to worry. I told you I know all. And you young lady, your name
is Diana," she smirked. "Oh, I'm so sorry, that name is a thorn in you're
heart, isn't it" the old lady smugly stated. "This young man of yours
refuses to believe her true intentions. But someday he will find out. Let's
hope Red, that you are patient enough to wait for him, You know Red, you
are right about her, and you Foxy..."

"Don't call me that, please not that name, not that way" he announced
feeling his stomach turn.

"Well then, handsome, your wish is my command. But young man, the ghost
you're afraid of, he's not going to let you go that easily. He's right in
there," she said pressing her finger in his forehead. Again the wave of
nausea hit. Scully noticed his quick expression and stretched her hand to
hold his.

The old lady smiled and walked away.

"Both of you do not belong here. Leave us alone. I told those three men
that if they got near me I would make them vanish. They thought I was going
to put my hex, on their children" she mused as she waved her fingers at
Mulder. "Ah, if I found a young handsome man like you. No, all men are the
same. I told them that I love children" she continued then turned to Scully.

"Don't you Red. Yes, but you're sad aren't you. They gave you a daughter
and then took her away. Emily was her name. Why don't you ask you're young
man where she is? Why didn't you ask him that day? The day of the funeral"

"How do you know about us? How do you know our lives?" Scully asked
starting to get very nervous.

"I told you I know all. I also know you love this young man but his demons
won't let him be. Too many demons young man. You hold the world on your
shoulders. From the young age of,... what let me guess 12" she announced
giving an irritating laugh?

"You mentioned those three men. What have you done to them?" Mulder asked
trying to get back to the business at hand and hoping that this old lady
would stop bringing up their lives.

"I didn't do anything, The Tree Ghost got them. That's what the people call
it anyway, it's the Devil Tree's" she chuckled. "Even the law won't come
here. But if you insist, look, you might find something," she continued
letting out a hacking sound.

"I have something to tell you handsome, you better understand just what you
have sitting next to you" she said as she got up and went to touch him again.

"Don't, don't touch me" he groaned, too late as she again held his shoulder
and the pain struck in his gut.

"It's best that both of you get out of here, go back home, and Red, you
just might lose your young man. He's got a long road ahead of him" she
continued turning to Scully. "Now leave," she shouted as she pointed to the
door. They both got up and walked out of her house. Chills hit both of them
up and down their spine. They took a couple of steps out of her house when
Mulder doubled in pain. He held his lower abdomen with his hands trying
desperately to stop the crashing pain that was hitting him like knifes in his gut.

"Mulder what is happening to you?" Scully asked trying to hold him near.

"Scu..." is all he could muster, then ran to the side of the house and bent
over losing everything he had eaten that day. Scully ran to him holding
her partner trying to control him. He couldn't stop, kept on throwing up
until there was nothing left. Then the dry heaves came.

"Scully, my stomach..." is all he could say as another wave of nausea hit him.

"Mulder, sit over here" she said pulling him away from the area he was
throwing up. Sit" she demanded as she quickly opened the ice chest she
retrieved when they left the old ladies house. She took some ice and rubbed
it on his forehead, then gave him a chip of ice to chew.

"Scully, everytime she touched me, I got nauseous, a sharp pain hit my
stomach" he explained.

"Let's get out of here," she instructed closing the ice chest and taking
his hand.

"How do you feel?" she asked him as they got further away from the old
lady's house.

"Green" he replied.

"Mulder, do you want to go to the trees by the river?" she asked stumbling
in her words wondering whether he would be up to the walk.

"Let's go, I feel better. The lady gave me the creeps. How did she know so
much about us? Scully, can you give me a scientific explanation", he smirked.

"You know Mulder, even between your puking you have to jab your little
insults" she retorted.

They walked down the hill and came upon Emily and Frankie.

"Frankie, have you ever heard of the Ghost Trees?" Scully asked.

"Yes, mommy told me never to go there because the boogy man will get us.
The boogy man got daddy" he sadly said.

"We take you to river only and show you where, o.k." Emily excitedly offered.

"That sounds good," Mulder responded taking a hold of Emily's hand while
Scully took Frankie's. They walked through the bushes till they reached the river.

"Dana, what is that thing on your hair?" Emily asked walking behind her
still holding on to Mulder.

"It's called a scrunchy"

"Scwunchy, that's a funny name" she giggled.

"Do you want it?" Scully asked stopping. Emily just raised her shoulders.

"Mulder, we're at the river, why don't we take a little break" she
announced sitting by the rock. "Mulder, do you have a handkerchief? And
also, let me see the backpack that you've been carrying. I think I might
have a comb in there" Scully stated.

Mulder took off the backpack and placed it on the ground. He sat next to
her while the children sat in front of them. Mulder took his handkerchief
from his pocket and gave it to Scully. She soaked it in the river and
started wiping all the grime that was on Emily's face.

"My, look at this pretty little face. You have beautiful eyes. As blue as
my Emily's was" Scully said. She started with the harder task by trying to
comb all the tangles out of her hair. Mulder just sat there looking at her,
thinking that this is what she would have been doing with her own daughter if...

"Mulder, I'm O.K." she said as she faced him, knowing what he was thinking
about. He gave a smile back. "Mulder, here's the comb and handkerchief. How
about you doing the same with Frankie" Scully took Emily's hair and pulled
it back in a ponytail and put the scrunchy on.

"Well look at both of you" Mulder said as he finished with Frankie. Scully
took the small compact she had in the backpack and had both children look
at themselves in the mirror.

"WOW, I'm beautiful" giggled Emily.

"Am I beautiful too?" asked Frankie.

"Son, you're handsome, men are handsome" Mulder said grinning.

"Now, show us where those trees are at. We have to get to work. We'll leave
the ice chest here. If you two get hungry, help yourselves. I'm just going
to take a sandwich for Mulder. He hasn't been feeling very well" explained
Scully as she pulled out a sandwich.

"Scully, don't bother. I don't know if I can keep it in" he said a bit green.

"You have to try to eat. You lost everything" she answered ignoring his request.

Mulder put the backpack back on and they both started walking by the riverbank.

"Mulder, eat this sandwich" she ordered.

"Scully, I told you I'm not hungry. You eat it"

"I'll take a bite, but you have to eat the rest" she said as she took the
bite and then handed it over to him. He did as he was told and was
surprised that it went down easily. They started with their walk again.
Mulder's stomach started aching again. The more they walked up the
riverbank the more he hurt. Scully, walking behind him was noticing his
constant rubbing.

"Mulder, stop," she ordered as she walked closer to him. "You're hurting
aren't you?" she asked.

"Ah, huh" he replied.

"Where?"

"Right here, actually all over my stomach" he answered as he motioned his
hand on his lower abdomen.

"Unsnap your jeans" Scully ordered.

"Here Scully, by the Ghost Trees" he chuckled.

"I'm not in the mood, just do as I say" she sternly told him as she didn't
wait for him and went for the snaps on his jeans. She unsnapped all of them
and lowered his jeans to the crease where his abdomen ended and lifted his
shirt as well. She gasped at what she saw.

"Mulder, look at your stomach. Did you lean on a poisonous plant? Have you
seen any poison oak around here? You're filled with welts"

Mulder looked down and was shocked at what he saw. "No, I told you, that
old lady did something to me. I was fine, and no, I didn't lean up against
anything. I haven't seen any poison oak or poison ivy, or poison anything
for that matter"

"Then how did you get these?" Scully asked, putting his shirt back down,

"Well, what do you want to do? You obviously are in great pain. Right now
it's only 3:00pm, three hours from our drive back to the motel."

"Let's keep on going. I'll be all right. We didn't come all this way to
give up. And Scully remind me to never let you pick an assignment again"
Scully took the lead and started walking, Mulder right behind. They walked
up the steep hill keeping close to the river. They walked around a narrow
bend when Scully stopped dead on her tracks. Mulder nearing crashing into her.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he looked at her and saw her frightened look on
her face. He looked at her and then turned to see what she was looking at.
They're in front about 50 yards away were two trees side by side.

"Oh my God" is all Scully could say.

"God is right, and I really hope that he is watching us right now. Scully,
how do you do the sign of the cross?" Mulder asked.

"Is it my imagination or do those trees look like..." Scully started saying
as Mulder finished her sentence, "Two devils next to each other"

The trees were formed to look like the devil itself. The branches were
raised on each side to look like arms spread over a wide area. Scully took
a panorama look at the area when she saw a house, an old beaten down house
about 25 yards from the trees. The makeshift curtain on the window was
slightly open and she could barely see a figure looking out the window.

"OH GOD!!!!!" Mulder yelled and he fell to the ground holding his lower
abdomen as tight as he could. "Scully, I can't take it. It feels like
knives stabbing me again, Oh God; I'm going to pu..." is all he could say
as he started heaving again and again. Scully bent down to hold her partner
and then looking at the window of the house.

"Mulder, come on Mulder, try not to throw up anymore. You're making it
worse. Mulder, can you look up for a second. Look at that house next to the
trees. Doesn't it look familiar?" she asked trying to hold Mulder's head.
He barely looked up and realized what was in front of them.

"Scuuullll... it's her house. It's the ooollllddd... laaadddiiees.
Hooouussse" he said in great excruciating pain. The curtain closed from the
house as his pain started subsiding.

"Scully, we've been walking in circles. We were at the front of her house
earlier. We went down the hill only to go back up the hill on the backside
of her house. The trees are behind her house," he commented.

"Look, doesn't it look like a small hill between the house and the trees.
Doesn't it appear to have an opening, maybe like a cave?" Scully asked as
she peered in that area a little harder. "Mulder, do you think that maybe
she killed those men and then she buried them in the cave?"

"I don't like this at all" he responded, still holding onto his stomach.

"Before we do anything I want to take another look at you. This last cramp
you had was a little too strong for my liking. Let's get closer to the
river and away from the view of the house" she ordered. She helped him on
his feet as he put his arm around her shoulder. She took off the backpack
and helped him lean up against a rock.

"I suppose you want to unsnap my pants again. Scully, I'm thinking you're
enjoying this", Mulder tried to make light of the situation and starting to
unsnap the jeans.

"No, actually, I want to lift your shirt up. She lifted the shirt and
grimaced at the site of his welted stomach. The welts were deep red and
started to advance to his chest. She motioned for him to turn around and
lifted the shirt. "Mulder they're spreading all over you. Your back is
filled with them. But what does the welts have to do with your stomach is
beyond me. Does this hurt?" she asked as she pressed on his stomach.

"Yes it does"

"I have got to get you out of here" she ordered.

"Not now, we're too close. Let's just walk around the circumference of the
river. I think it's when the old lady sees me is when I get these sharp
pains" he explained.

"Then lets hurry toward the cave" she told as she again picked up the
backpack and continued walking close to the edge of the river. They came
upon the cave and both of them pulled out their guns and their flashlights.

"I don't like this Scully. I don't care if I'm suppose to be a man and
fearless. I'm not ashamed to say that I am scarred shitless"

"I'm shitless right next to you" she answered as they both started walking
in the cave. In the cave they came across three passages.

"Don't even think that we are separating," exclaimed Scully.

"Not a chance, we're walking hip to hip on this one. Let's take the artery
on the right first," Mulder suggested. They both walked as close as two
people could be both with their guns and flashlights in front of them. They
walked as far in to the artery as possible not finding anything. They came
back out and then went in the middle passageway. Again nothing. "One more
and then let's get out of here", Mulder said.

As they got to beginning of the third passageway a rancid smell hit them.

"Oh man, I don't need this smell the way I'm feeling" he announced. They
both lifted up the collar of their shirts to cover their noses.

"It smells like feces, sewer, I can't place it but it's a putrid smell"
Scully said. They kept on walking in and at the end of the last section,
they thought they saw movement. They both looked at each other and turned
their flashlights to the farthest corner. Three men lay on the ground
chained to a rock.

"My God, it's the three missing men" Scully said as she ran towards them.

The three were frail, and filthy. "Help us", is all that one man could whisper.

Scully quickly took out her first aid kit to see what she could do to help
these men that were so close to death.

"We have to hurry, the old lady will be coming soon. Please, I'm so hungry
and so cold", the other man said. Scully did a very quick examination and
found that all three men were going to be alright..

"How are we going to take these chains off of them?" Mulder asked.

"I LOVE COMPANY. Well, looky here, handsome has joined my love slaves,"
came a voice from the edge of the cave. They both turned around quickly
seeing the outline of the old lady.

"Well, now I'm going to have to do something drastic. And I had such big
plans for you," she hackles raising her hand and pointing to Mulder.

"OH my God!!!" Mulder yelled, falling to the ground in a fetal position.

"Stop, stop hurting him. Please, he didn't do anything to you. Why don't
you just let us go? We'll take the men back to their homes and they won't
bother you again. Please don't hurt my partner anymore, please" Scully
begged. Scully walked towards the old lady trying in vain to make her see
that it was all over. "Look, the men are found and you'll be in more
trouble by keeping them there."

Ignoring her request completely, she proceeded by saying, "Oh Red, young
love. You know, I had a love once, but he was taken away. For so many, many
years I suffered, but not anymore. I'm determined to find me a man. See I
have three now, but yours is much cuter than the other three. They are of
no use for me anymore. They're too skinny. So, Red you can take your three
men but leave me yours. After all, he is too stubborn to realize what he
has in front of him. He is plagued by too many nightmares. Leave him with
me and I will cure him from all his demons." she screeched as she raised
her hands and pointed them towards Scully. It was like an electrical bolt
that hit her head. She screamed an excruciating pain and fell to the ground
wrapping her arms around her head. She curled in a tight ball hoping that
the position she was in would protect her from the pain that was hitting her.

"What have you done to her?" Mulder asked as he tried standing up, his
whole body shaking with pain.

"I've done nothing to her right now, but not for long" she laughed hysterically 
as she walked past him and raised her arms again then lowering them towards Scully.

Scully's body started shaking uncontrollably as she felt the bolt again,

"STOP," Mulder yelled as he took the little strength he had left and jumped
in between the old lady and Scully. The lightening bolt that was aimed for
Scully hit him with a pain that hit him even harder. He fell on top of
Scully trying desperately to protect her from anymore pain. He felt himself
going into darkness, but he knew that if he past out, there would be no
survival for them. He realized he still has the gun in his hand and with
his last bit of energy, he started firing rounds towards her. Bullets seem
to be flying all around. The loudest yowl of a wild animal was echoed
through the cave, then darkness.

She could hardly open her eyes as she tried to stretch her body. <Where am
I> Scully thought as she felt the leftovers of what must have been a
massive migraine. She felt something heavy on top of her and realized that
Mulder was lying on top of her with his arms outstretched over her. She
pushed him out of the way and quickly started doing a quick check over. All
she could remember was the old lady coming in and laughing, her hacking
laughter and then the pain, the horrible pain, then nothing. She walked
over to the three men still holding the gun in one hand and the flashlight
in the other. The cave was dark with a cloudy haze all around.

"Where did the old lady go?" she asked as she got near the three men.

"The young man shot her. Your friend jumped in between you and the old lady
so she would stop hurting you. He pulled out his gun and started shooting
at her. We think he might have hit her, but all we could see was a flash of
red light that filled the cave. Then smoke, then nothing, explained that
bearded frail man, that looked so much like Emily, <Umm, she wondered>

"Excuse me, but do you have a daughter named Emily and a son named
Frankie?" she asked as she knelt by the man. 

"Yes, they're my children, are they ok? My wife, is she doing well, have you seen 
them?" the man started asking question after question as his eyes started getting misty.

"Yes, they're all fine. And your children are beautiful. What is your name sir?"

"Karl, and these two other men are Louis and Joe, please ma'am, can we get
out of here"

"Yes, definitely, we have to leave before the old lady comes back. Now, I'm
going to stretch the chains as far away from your body as I can and shoot
the links apart" she explained as she pulled the gun and positioned it just
right, then fired. The chain links separated as the men were finally free
after what seemed like an eternity. She then hurried back to Mulder. She
bent down trying to bring him back. 

"Mulder, come on partner, open your eyes. We have to get out of here"

He tried moving but the pain was still there. He grabbed his stomach and moaned. 

"Mulder, I'll be right back," she said as she got up and headed for
the opening of the cave being very careful that the old lady didn't come
back for a visit. Even though it was already about 4:30, she brightness of
the day made her eyes squint. She took a couple of steps out and looked at
her right trying to see if the old lady was in the house. <The house, my
gone, where is the house? > She thought to herself. <The house was missing,
but it was there, I know it was there just a couple of hours ago> but all
she could see was a rubble of ashes. She took a couple of steps towards the
house, trying to make sense of what was in front of her. She turned around
heading back to the cave when she looked at the direction of the trees.
Those ominous trees that appeared to be a likeness of the devil himself.

<My God, where did the trees go. They were about 25 yards away from the
cave and the trees were burnt to the ground. How can the trees and the
house both be burned, and yet the cave which was in between both of the
objects was not touched at all. She hurried back in the cave to get Mulder
and the three men. It was time to get out of there, and now was not soon enough.

"Mulder, come on, let's get out of here" she ordered as she helped him get
to his feet. The three men walked out arm in arm trying to support each
other. The old lady kept them fed, but they were still weak from being in a
small confined area. Mulder's aching body slumped over Scully as they
walked out of the cave.

"Mulder, remind me to never, and I mean never let me pick a case again" she
stated as they staggered out of the cave. "Mulder take a look at the house
and the trees"

He lifted his head and was shocked to see nothing.

"Scully, where are the...?" he started saying as he tried to focus his
sight to the house and then to the trees.

"You tell me, Mr. X-files man"

"Science, Scully, give me a science explanation. Where is the Wicked Witch
of the West?" he asked

"Last I know is that she wanted you for her sex toy," Scully chuckled as
they started down the hill with the men following close behind. "Then
everything went dark. When I awoke, she was gone along with her house and trees"

About 20 yards in front of them, Emily and Frankie were playing. They
looked up and saw the agents walking towards them. "Look they're coming
back. We afraid old lady got you" said Emily running towards them and
grabbing onto Scully's leg. Frankie came up to Mulder and asked, "What's
wrong with you. Do you have a booboo"

"I have a major booboo" he responded trying to force a smile as he held his
stomach feeling the stabbing pain in the pit of his stomach.

"Emily, Frankie, we have a wonderful surprise for both of you, look whose
behind us" Scully said as she turned facing the three men and letting the
children focus on them.

"DADDY, DADDY" they both yelled as they ran as fast as their little legs
could take them. They're father bent to their level and opened his arms.
Tears streaming down his eyes. The children were hugging and kissing him all over.

"Mulder, why does it seem that all this was worth it?" Scully asked.

"Mulder it's almost 5:30 and there's some finalizing we need to do before
we meet our driver. Why don't you stay here and I'll escort the men back to
their homes. Then I'll take a quick walk to the old lady's house and see if
there's anything left.

"No way Scully, you're not leaving me behind. I'll crawl if I have to, but
I'm going with you," he quickly replied.

"Stubborn should be your middle name. All right then, but first, let me do
a quick look at you. You look terrible" she stated.

"Come on Scully, you'll do anything to have me strip. What do you want me
to take off? But don't you think we need some privacy. I mean, right here
in front of the children"

"Never mind Mulder, you want privacy. Just wait till we get back to the
motel. You'll get a check over alright"

They took each man to their prospective homes and was taken back by the
very emotional reunion that each family had. They said their good-byes to
the families and then proceeded to take one last look at the burned down
house at the top of the hill. They couldn't find anything, all there was
left was ashes, no sign that anyone even lived there.

"Mulder, do you think she's gone?"

"I don't know Scully, but can we go now? I mean I know I'm suppose to be
macho and all that but you'll have to carry me if I get one more bolt of
pain in my stomach."

They turned around and started heading down the hill hopefully for the last
time, when they heard a faint laugh in the distance of the burned trees.
They both looked at each other and paced themselves a little faster down the hill.

It wasn't until 6:30pm when the driver finally arrived. Emily and Frankie
had joined them to say their last good-byes.

"Frankie, you take good care of your little sister. You won't realize how
important she is to you until your older. Don't ever let anyone take her
away from you. Promise me?" Mulder said as he slowly bent down to their
level and gave Frankie a hug and then turned to Emily and gave her a kiss.

"Sama..., sorry Emily, be good"

Scully's heart sank when she heard Mulder speak to the children. Scully
then approached the kids and kissed them both trying to hold back her
tears. They got in the jeep and started their 2-hour drive back into town.


----------------------------------------------------

In the motel they both staggered into their prospective rooms. Scully took
the backpack and started to empty it's contents, taking out the first aide
kit which she knew was going to be used very soon. She didn't know whether
to shower first or go attend to Mulder. A nice bath sounded so good. But
that would have to wait, knowing Mulder she needed to take care of business
as soon as possible. She tapped on the adjoining room and walked in before
being acknowledged. Mulder was sitting on the bed, just staring into space.

"How are you doing?" she asked carrying her little bag of medicines.

"Scully, not now, I'm so tired. Can't I just have a long toilet break? I am
dying to sit on a comfortable commode, rather than the bushes I've been
using all day. And a shower, oh that sounds so good" he said as he plotted
down on the bed realizing that he still wasn't pain free.

"You can sit on the thrown for as long as you want, but for now you are
going to be my patient. Do you hear, now you know the routine" she demanded
as she took the thermometer out.

"Pants or shirt?" he asked.

"Shirt first, then keep on going if you must" she answered. After 6 years,
she didn't miss a beat with his little wry remarks.

He started stripping until all he had was his boxers on. "These too" he joked.

"No, that's quite alright," she replied ignoring the insinuation.

"Mulder the welts have almost vanished. There's still some redness but
they're almost all gone. Lie on the bed so I can examine your stomach" she
ordered, putting the thermometer in his mouth so she could see whether he
had a temperature. He still felt warm but not nearly as feverish as earlier that day.

She pressed around his lower abdomen as he winced at every pressure she
made. "Does it hurt as much as it did earlier?" she asked as she took the
thermometer out of his mouth.

"No, it's subsiding. Whatever she did to me, it seems to be going away" he responded.

"Well, you have 100.2 degrees. Your temperature is slightly elevated. I'll
just keep a close eye that it doesn't get any higher."

"Scully, when we were in the old lady's house, she said something that I
haven't stopped thinking about. She said and I can paraphrase it 'I also
know you love this young man but his demons won't let him be'. Are my
constant nightmares and demons stopping you from getting close to me?" he
asked sadly.

"Mulder, first of all, I wish that I could take your nightmares away, and
as for demons, the only demons you have is the one track mind you have.
Mulder, I won't lie that you have been difficult at times. The ditching is
not one of my favorites, but I know you do it sometimes for my benefit.
Although it infuriates me because I'm suppose to be your partner. I
sometimes wonder whether you'd be ditching me if I was a male partner. It
didn't take long for me to understand what a driven man you are. Not just
because you want to find your sister, but because your determined to save
the world. But in doing that, you put yourself in danger and yes sometimes
mine. You neglect your health and sometimes are too bullheaded to hear
anyone's views, including mine. If you remember so well what the old lady
said, do you also remember what she said about Diana. Do you think she
accidentally called me Diana, no? She knew exactly what she was saying. She
also said that you refuse to believe her true intentions and yes, she is a
thorn in my heart. But Mulder, what can I do to makes you believe me
instead of her. Remember what you told me the day the X-Files was taken
away from us after the Texas bombing ordeal, you asked me if I expected you
to make a choice. Do you know how that hurt me from the pit of my stomach?
I, who have been your sole supporter for 6 years. I, who would give up my
life for you. I, who knew in my heart that you had not died in the Arizona
desert in the box train. You expect me to believe every whim that pops in
that head of yours but your bullheadedness will not believe in me or no one
else for that matter. Mulder, I will continue following you as I've always
done and I will help you get over those nightmares" She expressed with such
conviction. "Now, go take a shower, I'm going to my room" she continued
exhausted with the whole days events and the truth that she had just told
her only friend. She got up from the bed and headed for her room, leaving
the adjoining room ajar.

<All I did was ask a question> he thought to himself, but he knew that
everything she had lectured him on was true in all accounts. He was a
self-centered s.o.b. He got out of his bed and went to the bathroom to do
as he said he was going to do. Sit on that commode and then shower and
drain his sorrows. <The old lady was a wicked witch, but she said a lot of
truths, one being that he had the guilt of the world on his shoulders. He
had the nightmares to haunt him, Crawley who would not escape his memories
and the impotent episode that he so thankfully had forgotten for at least
24 hours. What was the words that Bill Scully had called him that day when
he was sitting on the hallway, scared that he would loose his Scully,

'You're one sorry son of a bitch'. Yes, that's what he was. He turned on
the hot shower and stripped his boxers off. He stood in the shower, hoping
that the water would not only clean the grime out of his body but cleanse
his soul as well.

Scully had walked in her room wondering whether she had done the right
thing in talking to him so strongly at a moment like this. He was still
very vulnerable. And it had only been 48 hours since he had learned that he
was medically free from any worries. But yet Crawley was still in his mind.

<How can I have been so inconsiderate, so heartless> she thought. <The guy
has a fever, he has hives all over his body and he's thrown up the whole
day and I'm yelling at him. I'll make it up to him> She pulled out the
telephone book from the drawer and called the restaurant that she had seen
driving into the motel. She ordered two large bowls of chicken soups,
crackers and 7-Ups. Was told by the counter clerk that they would deliver
in 20 minutes. Just enough time to take a quick shower. She grabbed her
pajamas from the suitcase and went in the shower. She could hear the shower
running in Mulder's room. In 15 minutes she was out, dressed in her light
blue satin pajamas. She brushed her teeth and combed her hair. Put some
vanilla lotion all over her body and night cream on her face. There was a
knock on the door, <not a moment too soon> she thought as she opened the
door. Paid the delivery boy and tipped him fairly. She took the food and
proceeded to walk into Mulder's room. <Strange, 20 minutes had past and the
shower was still going. He must be relaxing> she thought as she went back
in her bedroom to retrieve her first aid kit. She really didn't check
Mulder out completely because of the slight conversation that she seemed to
have gotten into with him.

Mulder was standing in the shower with his back towards the nozzle. The
warm water massaging his chest. He had his arms wrapped around his body and
his eyes closed trying to relax. He shampooed his hair and washed his body.
It was too soon to get out. There was a lot of dirty to remove. Not
physical dirt but mental dirt he thought. He turned his back on the nozzle
and let the water massage his back. He rubbed his face and pulled his head
back so the water could spray on his head. He pushed his wet hair
completely back so that the water would massage his scalp. He just stood
there wondering what was going to become of him. Maybe if he just stayed in
the shower everything would be o.k. This was such a peaceful place. A place
where no one could do anything to him, not Crawley, not his dad, no one.

His eyes started tearing at the thought of his childhood and his adulthood
and Scully. He bent down on the tub and decided to just sit there. Let the
water pound on him all over his back. He pulled his knees up to his chest
and wrapped his arms around his knees. He bent his head down and laid his
chin on top of his knees. He curled his body in a little ball and let the
water massage him. He started to get cold, so very cold. He started shaking
and couldn't control his body. He turned around to turn the knob of the hot
water, hotter and hotter till the he couldn't bare it any longer. He went
back to his little ball. Flashbacks of his childhood came to him, <Safe
place, what safe place> he mumbled. <Crawley, all over me, touching me all
over my body> he thought. <Why am I doing this to myself? I just had a
perfectly normal day, well, as normal as Mulder and Scully on an X-file> he
thought. <What did Scully say, 'I expected you to make a choice. Do you
know how that hurt me from the pit of my stomach? I supported you for 6
years, would give up my life for you, all this she told me> Mulder kept on
pondering as the tears started coming down his face as he sobbed louder and
louder. <Maybe the tub would fill with water and he could disappear down
the drain, that way he wouldn't feel anymore, no more Samantha, no more
Crawley, no more Scully. I can't live without Scully>

Scully had everything ready in Mulder's room. She had set the bowls of soup
out on the table and filled the bucket with ice. She took two plastic
glasses from her room and filled them with ice and poured the 7-ups. She
knew that 7-up was not going to be liked by him but with his stomach as
weak as it had been all day, it would be soothing for him. <Gosh, what is
going on, it's been 35 minutes now> She waited longer, started pacing in
his room, 40 minutes, 45 minutes and the shower was still on. <Mulder there
is nowhere to go in this little town; there is no way you could have
ditched me. Our case is closed. Oh God what if something happened to him. I
don't want to just walk in the bathroom> she thought as she walked towards
the bathroom. She stood there for 5 more minutes wanting to hear something
from the bathroom. She thought she heard whimpering but she wasn't sure
with the sound of the water. She tried the knob hoping that Mulder would
not have locked the door. It turned; she opened it just as slowly and
quietly as she could. The room was filled with steam that was so thick she
couldn't even see the mirror. 

"My God Mulder, are you alright. You have a fever; you shouldn't be bathing 
in hot water. Mulder I'm going to open the curtain" she announced as she opened 
the curtain with one hand and noticed Mulder in a little ball on the floor of 
the tub shaking uncontrollably. His skin as red as a lobster, the hot water 
splashing on him. She quickly turned off the water and shook him a little. He didn't stir. 

"Mulder, what's wrong, your scaring me" she said as she knelt on the floor. She
picked up his chin and saw his blank stare. "You have got to get out.
Your fever has probably spiked with this temperature of water you've been
in" she said worriedly as she pulled the towel out of the rack and placed
it over him. She kept on shaking him until he finally came out of his
reverie. He looked up blanked face with sadness on his face that ached her
heart to the core.

"Come on Mulder, help me help you get up" she said as she put the towel
over his shoulders draping him as much as you could to give him his
privacy. "I'm closing the curtain while you get up, O.K." she asked. His
slight movement of his head gave her his acknowledgment.

"Scuuullllyyy... I'm ready" he announced as his voice quivered from the
chill. She opened the curtain and held his arm while he stepped out of the tub.

"Mulder, did you fall asleep, what in the world happened?" she asked
grabbing another towel and patting him dry. "Look Mulder hold on to the
sink while I get you some clothes" she explained as she ran to the bedroom
and pulled a pair of boxers from his suitcase. She came back seeing him,
head bent and shaking even more.

"Mulder I'm going to help you with your boxers, keep on holding onto the
sink and lift one foot up" she instructed as she bent to the floor trying
to help him raise his foot. He barely moved up his foot high enough for her
to put on one leg into the boxers, "Good, now the next" he did the same.
She started raising them just above his knees. "O.K., Mulder the rest is yours." 

She went behind him to try and hold him up while he bent down to
grab them. He raised them just over his person as the towel fell from his
waist. She helped him the rest of the way.. She patted the rest of his body dry. 

"Good, now lets take you to bed" she said as she walked him to the
bedroom and quickly placed a sheet and light blanket on him. "Mulder I
don't want to cover you too much or the fever will rise even higher. He
lied down as she took the towel and dried his hair as best she could.

"You are burning up. What in the world possessed you to do that?" she
asked. His silence started to bother her. He hadn't said but a couple of
words since she went into the bathroom. She went to the first aid kit and
pulled out the thermometer and placed it under his tongue. "Mulder you have
103 degree temperature. We have to lower it," she said as he started
sweating profusely.

"Scully, I'm hot, I'm really hot, take the cover off of me" he said
frantically as he started tearing the covers off of him.

"Mulder let me look at you and see if you still have the welts on your
body" she said as she pulled the sheet low enough to see his chest and
stomach. "You don't have them anymore. Look they're all gone. This is so
strange" she reported "Mulder I'm going to get you some Tylenol and water.
That should start lowering the fever and you have to drink a lot of
liquids. I also brought some soup that you are going to eat. With all the
vomiting you did today, it's amazing you're not dehydrated."

"I don't want to eat," he said.

"And who says I'm asking you" she responded going to the table and bringing
the soup. In between his shaking body, she fed him until the soup was all
gone and had him drink the 7-up. 

"Mulder your fever is not going down," she told him as she put her hand over 
his forehead. I'm going to have to lower it another way. I'll be right back," 
she said as she went to her bedroom and took the pillowcases off of the two 
extra pillows that were in her closet. She grabbed the extra pillow on her bed 
and stripped the pillowcase off of that one as well. She grabbed her ice bucket 
and went to his room with pillowcases and ice bucket. 

"I'll be right back," she quickly said to him as she took his ice bucket as well 
as hers to the ice machine on the front of the motel. She filled the buckets with 
ice and went back to the room. She filled the three pillowcases with ice and tied 
the ends to make them into ice packs. 

"You're not going to like this but you have no choice. I'm placing these on your 
lymph areas to cool you down" she told him as she uncovered him placing a pillowcase 
on his neck. "Mulder raise your arm a little," she told him as she lifted up his 
arm and placed the other pillowcase with ice on his armpit. 

"O.K., this one you're going to like even less" she stated as she uncovered him and 
placed the third pillowcase on his groin area. "I have to leave the ice packs on for 
15 minutes. You'll start cooling down by me doing this" she announced. 

"Scully I'm freezing and may I ask why you're icing me down there, it will shrink 
before your eyes" is all he said as he started shaking again. Scully ignored his
constant complaining as she held the pillowcases in place. 

"Mulder, sick and all, and you still have to say your little wry remarks" she responded.
The soup seemed to have stayed in his stomach and the stomach pains were
becoming less intense. After 15 minutes she took the pillowcases off and
then the sweating began. 

"Mulder, I have to get you out of this wet bed or you'll get a chill and make it 
worse. Let's move you over to my bed. I'll have to take the sheets off of this bed. 
Come on, can you make it to my room?" she asked as she helped him out of his bed. 

Scully walked him over to her bedroom and pulled the covers off the bed. 

"Wait, before you sit down, you have to take those wet boxers off" she stated as 
she ran back in his room and retrieved another pair. "Look, why don't you lay down, 
I'll cover you and I can help you take your wet boxers off, and then we'll slip
on the dry ones" she explained as she helped him on the bed. She covered
him with the sheet as she put her hands under the sheet and pulled his
boxers off. At this point he was so exhausted and cold that he didn't care
what was happening to him. She pulled them off completely and uncovered his
feet so she could put the dry ones over his feet then started moving them
up under the covers. 

"Mulder, you'll have to help me here, lift up your hips a little," she said. 

He lifted his hips just high enough for her to slip them completely on. 

"Good, now let me cover you up with this blanket. You actually feel a little cooler. 
Let me take the sheets off your bed so they'll dry or the maid is going to think that 
you wet the bed" she said as she went back to his room to strip the bed. She went back 
to her room with the thermometer in hand along with the plastic glass from the bathroom.

"One more time, let's see if your temp is down. And also, you're going to
be drinking a lot of fluids" she demanded as the thermometer went under the
tongue again. <100 degrees> she thought. <Much better>. She went to the
other side of the bed and sat, leaning her back against the bedpost. He was
lying on his side with the blanket under his chin trying to keep himself as
comfortable as he could.

"Scully, I was thinking of what you told me when I was in the shower" he
explained with a voice just above a whisper.

"That's what happened, isn't it. Is that why you were in the shower for so
long?" she asked.

"Scully, I just don't know what to do anymore. If I focus completely on my
job then I don't worry about anything in my poor sorry life. Sometimes I
want to go back to the night of the abduction" he started to say as he
turned around on his other side so he could face her. She brought him
closer and led his head on her lap. He continued, "I wanted to be strong
enough to stop the abductors of my sister. I want to remember just what
happened that night. Ironic isn't it, I who have a photographic memory and
I can't remember what happened that night" he told.

"Mulder, you were only 12. You were still a boy," she said as she combed
his hair with her fingers.

"I would think that 12 years old is still a kid, but my dad didn't seem to
think that. I felt that he blamed me for the rest of my life. Do you know
how I hungered for his love, his hugs? His kudos when I excelled in school
and then entering the F.B.I. Nothing, never a word of encouragement. Phoebe
was a very bad experience, my first love, so I thought, that was a joke in
itself, so we won't discuss her. Then Diana came at a time that I was most
vulnerable. She had my ideas, she believed in what I believed in. We were
young and ready to make a difference in the world" he said as he chuckled,
"She agreed with my believes"

"Mulder, I wouldn't feel right if I agreed with you on everything just to
pacify you," she said

"I'm not asking you to believe in everything I say, but Scully, you've seen
things like I have, but you just won't admit to it. How frustrating do you
think it is for me? Diana and I moved in together for a couple of months
until one day she left, didn't say why or where she was going. I came home
from work and the apartment was empty. No words, no letters, no
explanations, just an empty apartment and an empty bed. I vowed never to
fall for someone I worked with again. Well, of course if I was partnered
with another female" he smiled. "When they assigned you to me, I tried very
hard to keep my distance. I knew they put you with me to debunk my work. I
really didn't care, but as days, months and assignments went by, I found
you to be different. I started feeling a sense of tranquility for the first
time. But I was afraid that you'd be another Diana so I kept you at a
distance. When you got cancer, Scully, I would have traded places with you
in a second," he told as his words were barely a whisper.

"Mulder, I want you to go to sleep now. Let's take this conversation for
another day. You're very tired and you aren't well" she instructed as she
combed his hair with her fingers which seemed to lull him to sleep. She
waited for about 15 minutes to make sure that he had fallen asleep. She
snaked out of the bed as quietly as she could. It was only 10:00pm too
early and too wound up. She went to Mulder's bedroom and turned on the
heater in hopes that the heat would dry the sheets. Good thing the bed had
a plastic cover under the sheets. As she picked up the towels from the room
she decided that she didn't want to go back to D.C., at least not just yet.

They didn't expect them back for another 3 days, which would take them to
the weekend. <If Mulder wants to talk, we'll talk> she thought as she
decided to make a couple of changes. She picked up the phone and called the
airlines. She cancelled their flight that was scheduled for Friday. <Let me
see, today is Tuesday, if we rent a car and drive, we can make it in plenty
of time> she contemplated. She then called the rental agency and ordered a
car. They had agreed to bring the car to the motel within an hour and she
also asked for maps from Knoxville to D.C. She was still too energized to
go to bed. <What should I do now to take time before they bring the car?
Umm, I'll wash clothes. I saw the laundry room next the ice machine> she
thought to herself as she started picking up Mulder's dirty clothes. They
had been on the road only one day but he had already accumulated quite a
bit of dirty clothes, what with him changing at her place before they even
left, quite a bit of boxer changes. She took his dirty clothes along with
hers and went to the laundry room. Within an hour she had finished with the
laundry, folded the clothes and returned them to their prospective suitcases.

<Quite the little Suzy homemaker I am all of a sudden. Could I get used to
this instead of Mutant Monsters, Black Oil, Aliens, nah, I'll take the
Flukeman over laundry> she mused to herself.

The two cars drove up to the motel room, leaving one rental car. She tipped
the driver as he went back to the second car and they drove off. <Airlines
- cancelled, rental car - check, clothes- cleaned and packed, Mulder - will
kill me> she mused. It was now midnight and the energy started fading. She
turned off the heater from his room, hoping that the warm air would finish
drying the sheets. She went back to her room and carefully crawled in bed.
She stopped for a second as Mulder stirred and turned to his other side.
She lay down and within minutes was off to sleep.


Wednesday

Morning came much too quickly as she hurriedly turned off the alarm when it
went off at 7:00am. Mulder was still sleeping so she thought she'd take her
turn to the shower first. She took her underwear and her robe to the
bathroom. Brushed her teeth, went to the restroom, and turned on the
shower. She didn't want to take too long in case Mulder woke up. She dried
her hair and wrapped the towel around her head. She slipped on her
underpants and put on her satin robe. She went to the bedroom and sat in
front of the mirrored dresser as she started combing her hair and then put
her makeup on. She felt eyes on her as she turned around and was startled
to see Mulder very quietly admiring her.

"Mulder, how long have you been up?"

"Not long, just watching you" he responded, "Scully, how did I get to your
bed. I didn't walk in my sleep, or did I?"

"No Mulder, you don't remember?" she asked.

He thought for a couple of seconds and then said, "No, last I remember, I
was freezing in the shower. Wait, I remember you helping me get my boxers
on, I remember going to bed and freezing, I remember you putting that Ice
bag on my groin. That wasn't nice," he said.

"Is that all you remember. Do you remember what you were telling me about you?"

"No, what did I say?" he asked.

"Not important" she said, a little disappointed that he opened up to her
and he didn't even remember. "How do you feel?"

"I don't know. I think pretty good," he said as he started to get up.

"Oh no you don't. Lay down. I'm going to check you out first," she stated
as she took the thermometer. "You know the routine" she demanded as she
waited till the mouth opened and the tongue went up. "I'm going to check to
see if you have any more welts. Actually they were almost gone yesterday"
She uncovered him and started looking at his body, his legs, and his chest.
She motioned for him to move to the side as she checked his back. "Very
good, but very strange" she said. "Mulder does your stomach still hurt?"

"Umm no it doesn't" he mumbled.

"What did you say?" she said as she took out the thermometer.

"Why do all doctors ask questions with the thermometers in their mouth. I
never seemed to understand that" he mused.

"Very funny" she smirked putting the thermometer back in his mouth to get a
better reading. A few minutes later she took it out. "99.8 degrees, not
bad. O.K, before you get up I'm going to press your stomach to see if it's
still sore" she explained as she softly finger tipped her hands all around
his stomach. Trying to see if she could detect any soreness, hardness,
tenderness. She pressed a little too hard as he grimaced and raised his
legs a little.

"Mulder, does your stomach still hurt?" she asked.

"No not at all, it's just that you pressed my bladder and I have to go take
a leak somewhat fierce" he said.

"Oh, sorry, go ahead, you can go to the bathroom. Mulder this is so
strange. Your welts are all gone, your fever is almost gone, and your
stomach doesn't hurt anymore. I can't make out what happened to you. You
were in excruciating pain for it to suddenly stop," she said a little
loudly so he could hear her as he was in the bathroom.

He walked out of the bathroom saying, "Scully, I told you the wicked witch
gave me a voodoo hex - you know X-Files."

"Scully, do you think you'll give me permission to take a shower. I
promise, no hot water, and only 10 minutes", he said as he walked to his room.

"Hey Scully, did I wet the bed?" he asked as he peaked his head into her room.

"What, oh the bed. Mulder you were sweating so much that you soaked the
sheets. That's why I had to move you to my bed."

"Oh, I thought you wanted to sleep with me."

"Scully, who washed my clothes?" he asked as he opened his suitcase seeing
everything neatly folded and all his dirty clothes put away.

"I didn't have anything to do last night" she told him.

"Umm, thanks I appreciate it," he responded taking a pair of boxers, jeans
and his black T-shirt then walked into the bathroom. While he was taking a
shower, Scully slipped on a pair of jeans, and put on a loosely buttoned
gray shirt. <No bra today> she smiled as she put on some socks and her
black boots. She walked into his room and started placing the sheets back
on the bed.

He walked out of the bathroom, shaved and dressed looking like Mulder. He
walked over to the table and took his labtop and sat on the bed.

"Wait a minute, what are you going to do?" she asked.

"Remember, Skinner wants our reports pronto, right away"

"And since when did you ever listen to him. No, first we are going for
breakfast and then we'll come back and do the proper paperwork".

"But Scully, I'm not hungry" he protested.

"Sorry, doctor's orders. There is no way you're not hungry. You've had only
soup in the last 48 hours. Come on, get your jacket and let's go." She demanded.

They walked to the little café she had ordered her soup from the night
before. They ate and read the daily paper for that town. They walked back
to the motel and started doing their paperwork trying to make heads or
tails of what happened the prior day.

"Scully, don't you think we better call the airlines and change our flight
for either this evening or tomorrow?" he asked not looking up from his laptop.

"Well, actually, since you were very sick with a fever and you were out
cold, I took it upon myself to be appointed Senior Agent. At which time, I
made an executive decision to change our plans. So I cancelled the airline
reservations and rented a car that's parked outside. We are going to drive
home to D.C. I know this was our first case after being away and I know you
want to get right back to work. But I think we need the time together, just
driving and maybe bringing up the subject that you initiated last night."
she told him.

"What subject. I really can't remember what I said. And Scully, you want us
do drive back."

"Mulder, we don't have to be back in the office until Monday"

"I guess it doesn't sound too bad. Did you check how many miles and hours
it's going to take?"

"Of course, I have it all written. Are you almost done with your part of
the paperwork?"

He responded by shaking his head. Alright, then why don't we start heading
back home?" she said as she went to her room and started putting all her
toiletries from the bathroom into her carry-on bag.

They didn't take very long packing their car. Scully took the wheel first
as they proceeded their drive back to D.C.

The drive was quiet and they just seemed to relax with the open air. The
radio was on with soft music. Mulder read the paper as they drove through
the different towns. It was already about 2:00 and they had been driving
for a couple of hours.

"Mulder there's a rest stop about 5 miles away. I think I'm going to stop
to stretch my legs and go to the bathroom" she suggested.

"Sounds good" he replied.

They got to the rest stop in about 10 minutes and pulled over. There was
only one car in the parking spaces.

"Sure is quiet. Have you noticed that the last car we past was about 30
minutes ago?" Scully asked as they got out of the car and both stretched.

"It is pretty quiet. I sometimes wonder whether I want to live in a quiet
place like this. Not a care in the world" Mulder responded as they both
walked towards the bathroom, separating to the men's and women's room.

Mulder went in seeing three men, two standing by the urinals and one
washing his hands. He walked towards the empty urinal as he proceeded to
take care of nature. The man washing his hands, which seemed to be the
eldest turned to face Mulder and gave him a polite grin.

"Boys, I'm going to get the lunch out of the car. Let's have lunch here
before we head on," said the older man.

"Sure, good time to eat" responded the dirty blond younger man that
appeared to be around 25. The other two men finished and proceeded to wash
their hands then walked out of the bathroom. Mulder finished as he also
washed his hands and then went outside and met Scully walking out at the
same time. They met at the sidewalk as Mulder put his hand on the small of
her back and headed towards their car. The three men were sitting at the
picnic table engrossed in their lunch.

"Scully, are you hungry?" Mulder asked.

"Not yet, are you? She answered.

"I can wait. Maybe when we get to the next town" They got in the car as
Mulder took his turn to drive. Scully was wondering whether she should
bring up the conversation that Mulder seemed to initiate the evening
before. <I want so much to talk to him, make him tell me what's actually on
his mind. But if I do it might sadden him again and it's been almost 3 days
without him mentioning Crawley, the rape or anything. Maybe if I delicately
bring up the subject> she thought.

"Mulder, do you remember anything at all that you were telling me last
night?" she asked.

Mulder turned to face her and smiled. "Yes Scully, I do remember. I meant
what I said. I guess it's just easy for me to talk and loosen up when I'm
in the midst of a fever" he responded but not proceeding with any more
conversation. They drove for 15 miles and found a small little town.

"How about if we stop here and eat an early dinner. That looks like a
little ma and pop café. Want to stop here?" he asked facing her and seeing
her slight nod of her head in agreement. He knew that she was disappointed
because he didn't offer to continue the conversation. He knew he would have
to eventually, since this was going to be a long drive. They both walked in
to a cute little café with old country curtains and eight little tables
with their red and white checkered table cloths. They both took the booth
instead and were handed the menu.

"Well hello, young'uns, driving through?" the elderly woman spoke as she
gave them two glasses of water.

"Yes, we're heading back to Washington." Scully responded.

"Long way still, well enjoy the scenery. It's beautiful country around
these parts. A lot of farms." The man that seemed to be the woman's husband
responded from the kitchen.

"Where is the next town?" Mulder asked

"Oh, from here probably another 40 miles due East. Keep on this road. The
farmhouses are scattered, but you won't find them by the main road. They're
about 10 miles from the main road. There's a schoolhouse about 15 miles. We
have one church, one post office, and one doctor for all of us. We like it.
We've been here for 35 years," rambled the elderly man. After looking at
the menu, Mulder chose the special as did Scully and continued having small
talk with the couple.

Outside of the café an old station wagon drove by with the three men.

"Um, look who's in the diner. That couple we saw at the rest stop. Hey,
Duke, did you get a load of the guy? Good looking. I tried not to look at
him when he was in the urinal but, oh my", giggled the younger of the three
which looked to be about 22 years old.

"Now boys, what is on your mind?" asked the older man that seemed to be the
older brother, maybe about 30 years old. Come on, we can't get in any more
trouble than we already are," he continued.

"So who's going to tell" replied the youngest.

"So have you two been married long?" the proprietor asked.

"We're not married, we work together, we're partners," Mulder corrected him.

"You two can't fool an old fogy like me. I see the sparkles in your eyes,"
the elderly man teased. We are the McManns, my wife Betty and I'm Sam.
We've been married for 35 years, and I think we know pretty well when we
see a couple whom cares very much about each other. Even in the couple of
minutes you've been here," told Betty as she placed the two specials of
hamburger fries and ice tea in front of them. Nervously the two ate in
silence afraid to speak and give them more ammunition to the old couple,
even though Scully was quite amused to see Mulder shift restlessly in his
seat. The McManns continued with their conversation as Mulder and Scully
finished their lunch.

"Sir, I need to fill the tank with gas. Do I pay now?" Mulder asked as he
got off his seat.

"No, just go ahead and pump the gas. I'll add the cost of the gas onto the
meal bill," Sam told, as Mulder left the diner leaving Scully to finish the
last of her hamburger.

"Are you two on vacation?" asked Betty picking up Mulder's dish and wiping
off the counter.

"No, we were on assignment in Tennessee and we are on our way back to
Washington D.C. We decided to cancel our flight and drive back. We wanted
just to relax and take in the scenery."

"That's nice, this is pretty country, very green. You'll enjoy the drive.
When we moved here, we were impressed how nice and decent the residence
were that lived here. That's what made us choose this place to retire.
Although, as you can see, we can't seem to retire. We are probably the few
towns in this country that can still leave our doors unlocked.

Mulder came back in with his wallet in his hand pulling out the money to
pay for the gas and their meal. Scully stood up from the stool and followed
her partner to the door.

"Drive carefully, young'un, and don't be stubborn and fight the feeling.
Life is too short" laughed Sam.

"Characters" Mulder said opening the door for Scully, "I'll drive to the
next town. I think they said it was 40 miles away. They got back to the
interstate and started driving. They past mailboxes and along side of the
boxes were the orange newspaper boxes with Sun Tribune written on them. In
these small towns, the mail and newspapers were left in these boxes that
were quite a distance from the actual farm. Along side of the mailboxes
were the long roads that connected far in the distances to the farmhouses.
They past cows grazing along the road. In the distance they saw the
schoolhouse the McManns mentioned.

"Scully, do you feel that we're driving in the past?" Mulder said looking
at the sites as he drove.

"It's so peaceful. Could you live in a place like this?" she asked him.

"I don't know. Probably for maybe a month, maybe two weeks, but I think I'd
go crazy with all this quietness", Mulder replied. They were so involved in
their conversation that they didn't notice in the distance a brown station
wagon pull out of a dirt road behind the trees. Mulder looked up at the
rearview mirror and smiled. "Gosh, there's a car behind us in the distance.
What is that, the first vehicle that we've seen since the rest stop?" asked
Mulder, "Yup, solitude, I don't know, I'd go stir crazy".

"There they are Duke, it's that couple. Well, are we going for it? That car
sure would be fun to drive," laughed the middle of the three men.

"Forget the car, I want my hands on that gorgeous hunk of a man. I couldn't
take my eyes off of him in the restroom. I wanted so bad to take a peak,
but I think he would have caught me," explained the youngest.

"Now Harry, he's not all yours. You're going to have to share him with us
too" answered the eldest.

"George, what did our mommy tell us, 'share boys, share.' And that girl of
his, well she is awfully pretty, too bad she's not our style," laughed
Duke, "Lucky for her we aren't crazy for the opposite sex."

"So what are we going to do?" asked Harry.

"We'll drive up next to them and pull out our rifles. We don't want to
damage the car if we want to have some fun driving it. If they don't stop
then we'll shoot the back of the window. Don't want to hurt them right
away. Got to first have our fun," instructed George.

"Duke and I will get in the car with them and take them to that abandoned
old farmhouse that's 10 miles from here. You know the old shack that is in
between all those trees. Harry, you follow us with our car. Then, its fun
time" he said as they all started to laugh at their great plans. They drove
a little faster trying to catch up with the rental car in front of them.

Mulder and Scully were so enthralled in the driving and viewing of the
beautiful sites that they didn't realize that the station wagon had pulled
up right next to them. Harry in the back seat, opened his window and stuck
out the rifle pointing it at Scully. Scully turned around feeling a
presence on her side.

"Oh my God, Mulder" she excitedly said.

"What Scully?" he asked as he turned to face her and immediately noticed
the three men that he had seen at the rest stop.

"Pull over or we'll shoot," yelled Harry from the car driving too close for
their comfort. Scully tried to carefully go for the glove compartment where
they had their guns and handcuffs stored.

"Put your hands up," yelled Harry. Scully did as she was instructed. "Pull
the car over by the side of the road or your girlfriend gets her head blown off"

Mulder turned the steering wheel slowly to maneuver the car to the shoulder
of the road as the station wagon with the three men stopped and then jumped
out of the car all carrying rifles. Duke opened the passenger's door and
grabbed Scully by the arm and pulled her out while George went to the
driver's side and pulled Mulder out shoving him towards the car. George was
about 6'5" and towered over Mulder.

"Don't touch her" yelled Mulder.

"How sweet, we'll do what we want, now Harry take the two ropes from the
back of the car" he instructed. Harry did as he was told, retrieved the
ropes and brought it over to Duke.

"Now put your arms behind your back," Duke demanded as he roughly grabbed
her arms together and tied her arms together. "Now let's check you out and
see if you have anything in your person" he laughed as he started groping
at her. He started frisking her on her sides, her hips, then went to touch
her breasts as Mulder nearly charged over the car. George grabbed his hair
and pushed him against the car. 

"Now, now, you behave" he chuckled. "Harry, you know where to meet us. We'll 
be there in a short while" George told Harry as he got on the station wagon and drove off.

"Now, lets go for a ride," Duke said as she shoved Scully on the back seat
and Duke scooted next to her. George put the second rope around Mulder's
neck and forced him in the driver seat. He gave the end of the rope to Duke
to hold. "If you try anything, I'm afraid, my brother here will have to do
a little pull" George laughed.

George went to the passenger's side and sat down. "O.K., drive straight on
this road until I tell you when to turn. "You know, this is a really nice
car. I think we're going to have fun driving this" Duke commented.

"Look, why don't you just take the car and let us go" suggested Mulder.

"Oh sure, that's a great idea. I don't think so. Now, lets see what there's
in the glove compartment?" he asked as he started for the glove compartment
as Mulder's face froze knowing what they would find.

"Oh my, hey little brother, look what we have here. Either these two are
very kinky or we got ourselves the police" he said taking out the two
handcuffs. Then he proceeded to take out the two flashlights that they
usually carry and then the two guns.

"Big bro, this isn't good." Duke responded a little nervous facing the
rifle towards Scully.

"Now, Now, don't worry, I have it all under control. How are they ever
going to find them? Besides by the time they find them, we would have
gotten what we want" George continued. "We're almost there, about 20 yards
away there's a dirt road, turn right and then keep on driving until you get
to the group of trees"

Mulder did as he was told and took the turn, then drove towards the trees.

"Park the car in between all the trees away from site" George told as he
grabbed the guns, handcuffs and flashlights. The car stopped and he got off
the car and went around to grab Mulder from the car. He got the rope and
tied his arms behind him with the opposite end of the rope. Duke came out
and dragged Scully out. Near the trees, there was an old abandoned
farmhouse. The walls were chipped and wooden planks covered windows. The
two brothers walked their prisoners in the farmhouse where the youngest
brother was sitting on the chair waiting for them.

"Let's take them down to the basement. Is the stairs still there?" asked George.

"Yup, wait, before we take them down, I need for you to go shopping before
the stores close. He whispered to Duke and instructed him on what to buy.
The biggest smile was produced on his face. "Umm that sounds like fun" Duke
responded as he looked at both of the prisoners. "Take the wagon, we don't
want anyone recognizing the car" George said.

Both Harry and George helped the two agents down the broken down ladder
onto the basement. In the basement was an old dirty bed with blankets
filled with holes. There was a wooden table and an old furnace against the
wall. George took a hold of Scully and threw her onto the bed. "Sit back
against the bed post" he ordered as he helped her on the bed.

"Where are the keys to the handcuffs?" George asked. At first they both
didn't say a word but when there was complete silence, George swung at
Scully and slapped her face. 

"Don't, don't, it's in my pants pocket" replied Mulder. Harry put his hands 
in his pocket and retrieved his keys, then got the idea of pulling his wallet 
out of his back pocket.

"Big bro, looky here, he's a Fed. Now we're really going to get it," Harry
said sounding a little unsure of this whole idea. "Don't worry, I've got
everything under control. So if he's a fed, are you too sweetie?" he asked
as he put his hand in the pocket of her jacket. Yep, here's her badge as
well. Dana Scully. Well, Dana, nice to meet you. Now what's you're friends
name?" he asked.

"The badge says Fox Mulder." Harry responded.

George untied Scully's roped hands, "Dana, I want you to take off your
pants", he instructed pointing the rifle on her"

Hearing this, Mulder again tried to dart towards George, but Harry held him
back from the ropes. "Scully" Mulder said trying to console her.

Scully did as she was told and slipped her jeans off. 

"Ok, take off your jacket" George continued, "Don't worry, you don't have to 
take anything else off. Besides, I noticed you weren't wearing a bra, so I won't be that
mean in making you strip completely. Now sit back against the bedpost" he demanded. 

George took the handcuffs and had her put her arms back on the rails of the bedpost. 
He put each wrist through the rail and then handcuffed her.

"Now you're next" Harry said as he waved the rifle on Mulder's chest.
George came over and started taking the rope off of Mulder's arms and then
his neck. "Take off your T-shirt" he demanded. Mulder, not thinking too
much did as he was told. George took the long rope and threw it over a beam
on the ceiling and let it hang. He tied Mulder's right wrist with one side
of the rope and then stretched the rope so as Mulder's arm was completely
stretched over his head, but not so much to make it uncomfortable. George
grabbed the other side of the rope and proceeded to tie Mulder's other
wrist. Both George and Harry then sat down waiting for their little
brother. About 45 minutes later, they heard the station wagon drive up.
Duke came out carrying two bags of groceries. He placed them on the table
and proceeded to take out the groceries. "Bottles of water, cookies, beer,
lots of beer, Vaseline, and condoms, lots and lots of condoms" Duke said
with a ferocious laugh. Mulder and Scully looked at each other with panic
in their faces. Scully knew what was about to happen to her and there was
nothing neither of them could do. <Why did I cancel the airfare? God,
Mulder will never forgive me> she thought.

<Scully, oh my god Scully, what are they going to do to you> Mulder thought
as well.

"It's show time!" Harry said rubbing his two hands together. "Can I start?"
asked Duke as he turned to George asking his big brother for permission.

The two agents looked at each other knowing that they were on their way
towards Scully, but no, he didn't go towards Scully, he started towards
Mulder. Duke walked towards Mulder and put his hands on Mulder's belt
buckle. Mulder did all he could to kick his feet and try to fend him off.

"Now, now, this won't do," Harry said walking in the back of Mulder and
holding his legs. "O.K. Bro, go for it". The belt buckle came off and then
the zipper went down, then the jeans were slid off his lean body. Mulder's
face turned pale as this man was stripping him. <No, no, nothing is going
to happen> he started saying to himself.

Scully's eyes started tearing fearing the worst. <It's almost like she
would let these men do whatever they had planned, but not Mulder. Not
again, Mulder would not be able to handle this. It had been a year, since
his attack. Mulder would surely loose it, > Scully thought.

George slipped off Mulder's tennis shoes and then his socks as Duke said,

"Who gets the honors first?" Duke went for the waistband of his boxers,
then proceeding to lower them. Mulder standing with his arms tied above
head, totally nude in front of these 3 men and Scully. He closed his eyes
and as his eyes started tearing. He didn't say a word, he couldn't. Nothing
would come out. <God, please help me. Nothing is going to happen, they are
just trying to scare me, that's all> Mulder thought as his mind was
raising. Harry started touching Mulder on his chest, his sides, his face,
he started caressing him all over, but avoiding any part under his waist.
Just kept on caressing. Then started gently touching Mulder's inner thighs,
brought him close to him and caressed his butt. Mulder kept his eyes
closed, hoping to erase in his mind what was happening.

"Stop, you son of a bitches, leave him alone, take me for gods sake, I'll
give you want you want" Scully yelled at them.

"Well, isn't this a twist?" laughed George.

Harry bent down on his knees and very softly took a hold of Mulder's
person, so softly he started playing with it, rubbing the tip, and
caressing it. Mulder buckled as Harry invaded him, feeling the stroking
motion. Harry marveled at the texture of the warm flesh he was fondling and
then placed it in his mouth. Mulder whimpered as his hips gave an
involuntary thrust against the man's mouth. He took a deep breath and held
it for a second, then yelled, "LEAVE ME ALONE, PLEASE STOP!" George and
Duke started laughing watching Harry have the best time.

"Hurry Harry, lets get down to business," Duke said anxiously.

"Sami, Sami, let me read you our story, 'Green Eggs and Ham'. Mommy has
already left, come here Sami" Mulder started saying.

Scully was startled listening to Mulder go into a daze and talking to Sami.
At first she thought he was loosing it, but then realized he was going to
his 'safe place'

That Sam-I-am!
That Sam-I-am!
I do not like
That Sam-I-am!
Do you like?
Green eggs and ham?
I do not like them,
Sam-I-am.
I do not like
Green eggs and ham.

Scully couldn't stand the pain in her heart to see Mulder this way. He was
trying so hard to be strong. To go away from what was happening to him.

"Mulder, go to your safe place, you'll be alright. Sami is with you," she
said trying to soothe him with her words.

Harry was starting to get frustrated as Mulder started showing some form of
arousal and then quickly lost it, even with the manipulation that was being
done from him. "What the hell is wrong with you, doesn't your dick work,"
yelled Harry.

"I've got a better idea- this way we all enjoy it" told George as he
started uniting the ropes from Mulder's hands. As the rope slipped out of
the beam, George hurriedly grabbed his arms and pulled them behind Mulder's
back. "Don't think of trying anything or it will be worse for you. Now get
on your knees" he demanded. Mulder refusing his orders was forcefully
pushed down. George stood behind him holding him close with one hand on
Mulder's shoulder and the other hand he had a hold of Mulder's hair.

"It's my turn," Duke said excitedly.

Duke stood in front of him and unzipped his pants pulling his cock out
holding in front of Mulder.

"You're going to have to kill me first" Mulder screamed as he turned his
head away from Duke.

"Oh, we'll see about that. See it wouldn't be you we would kill. You're too
cute for that, but now your girlfriend, that's a whole different story."
Duke said as he motioned to Harry to get the gun on Scully. Harry took the
gun and sat on the bed next to Scully.

Mulder looked at Scully as her frightened expression told him everything.

"Open your mouth," demanded George as he pulled his hair back. Mulder
refused and felt the strong force of a fist upon his jaw. His head jerked
back and still refused to open his mouth. Again another blow across his
face as blood started oozing out of his mouth. George forced Mulder's head
down to Duke's cock but he still wouldn't open his mouth. "I'm loosing my
patience. If you want to make it hard on yourself by not cooperating, then
that's your problem. George once again pulled him by the hair, but this
time pinched his nose to force him to open his mouth.

"Open your mouth, and if you bite, I swear you girlfriend dies" George
demanded. Mulder's mouth opened, gasping for air as the cock was shoved in
his mouth. Tears started flowing down his face, but he had no choice, no
choice at all. He didn't want to see Scully's shot, so he cooperated.

"Suck", yelled Duke, "suck!" he once again, yelled as he orgasms in
Mulder's mouth. Mulder started gagging and without notice, heaved all over
the floor, but the attack didn't stop there. Both Duke and George grabbed
Mulder and yanked him over the table where he had his stomach pressed on
the edge of the table.

"Spread your legs," Duke hollered as he took each foot and tied a rope on
his ankle and then on the leg of the table. Then did the same with the
other leg. Harry took some more ropes and tied Mulder's hands and stretched
the roped on the opposite side of the table. Mulder was stretched spread
eagle over the table. Mulder was struggling to control the nausea that he
was getting in the back of his throat. He was loosing his strength trying
to fight them off that he just couldn't move anymore. His face was to the
side and he was able to see the men take the box of condoms and unroll them
and place them on their cocks. He was clamping down on every muscle of his
body in attempts to avoid the inevitable. He could see the middle brother,
Harry get the Vaseline and rub it on his hand, when he felt the plunge in
him. First one finger and then two, once his rectum managed to accommodate
two fingers a third was roughly added. He felt himself on fire. Duke went
on the floor and took a hold of his scrotum and pinched the tender sac as
Mulder yelped in pain. Scully was screaming to let him go she was trying to
loosen herself from the handcuffs when she felt warm liquid of blood coming
out of her wrists. She couldn't help him. She was witnessing Mulder's rape,
a vicious rape that she wanted to stop; she wanted to kill those bastards but how. 

Mulder tried to relax and prepare his body but he couldn't, he
felt the cock go in him, the man's penis buried in his rectum as he began
to sob, he couldn't control his tears any longer, he couldn't breathe
anymore, he just wanted to die. Duke then grabbed Mulder's penis and began
to gently stroke it and tease at his balls until Mulder was fully erect. He
knew that when a man's Prostate Gland is stimulated he will get an
involuntary hard on, but it was very confusing to him.

"Spread your legs wider," yelled George pumping furiously into Mulder,
while Duke was under the table manipulating him. Harry wanted to get in the
action as well and went down and opened his mouth on him as well, taking
turns with Duke. Mulder's involuntary thrusts began with the movement of
George on top of him. Mulder's voice was barely a whisper as he felt
himself closer to climax. Then a scream came out of his mouth as he
released himself in Harry's mouth; simultaneously George did the same in him.

"Fox, read to me, Fox please mommy's asleep"; Mulder's voice was a whisper.

I do not like them in a box.
I do not like them with a fox
I do not like them in a house
I do not like them with a mouse
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

Mulder's mantra was constant, between the tears as Scully was repeating the
words along with Mulder,

I do not like them with a fox
I do not like them in a mouse
I do not like them here or there
I do not like them anywhere.

"Mulder, go to your safe place, please Mulder, please," Scully pleaded.

When George was done, Duke and then Harry took their turn on him.

"Well, our job here is done," laughed George, "We better get going. Let's go for a ride.
Duke; empty the car of what is not needed. We don't need their suitcases,
throw them in the living room. We can leave their guns here, clean them for
prints and take the clips out. Try to wipe anything that you remembered you touched.

"If there's any humanity left in you, please untie him, please bring him to
the bed, please," Scully kept on begging her throat raw of yelling and crying.

"Humanity, us, sure why not," George said as he untied Mulder's arms and
then legs. Mulder slithered off the table and fell to the floor. George
6'5" frame picked Mulder up like a bag of potatoes and threw him over his
shoulder. He threw him on the bed.

"Harry, give me the extra handcuffs" he demanded. The handcuffs were handed
to him and were placed on Mulder's wrist and attached to the bedpost with Scully.

"Can you please take one handcuff off of me, please. Look you can handcuff
me like you did to Mulder" Scully pleaded.

"Hey, why not, who says we're not human" responded Duke and took the key
and unlocked her wrists. Her hand on the side where they put Mulder was
free, which she felt was the best thing that could happen, that way she
could try to hold him.

The ropes were taken, the Vaseline, condoms, the legs of the tables were
broken off so as not to make anything easier for the pair to escape. The
cell phones, which they discovered later on, were left with them but the
batteries were taken out.

"Tell your boyfriend that we enjoyed him tremendously. Hope to never see
both of you again. Foxy, you give a good fuck" laughed Harry.

Hearing the word Foxy, Mulder became enraged, his screams could echo the room.

"Crawley!!!" Mulder started saying over and over again.

"Shhh Mulder, Crawley is not here" Scully tried to soothe him with her
words. After retrieving everything in the farmhouse they went to the rental
car and took the suitcases and laptops out and threw them in the house.
George took the rental car and drove it to a secluded place, hiding it from
view. He was met by his two brothers and headed North to Kentucky.

"Crawley is back Scully" Mulder whimpered, "He's never going to leave me.
You should have let me kill him. He'll never leave me alone, never" 

He started rocking himself, laying on his side trying to make himself into a
ball as little as he could possibly become. Scully tried soothing him but
she knew he was a million miles away. She was able to stretch her body as
far as she could from the twin bed she was on; to try and reach her jacket
that was on the floor. With her toes she managed to lift it onto the bed.
She pulled it close to her and took it to cover Mulder. She tried curling
up next to him but his blank stare to her was frightening. She couldn't get
him out of that daze that he put himself in.

<Scully, try to remember, how does the story he reads to Samantha go? > She
thought to herself then tried to recite it.

"Would you eat, eat, uh, in a house, box,
Would you eat them for a fox...
Would you eat blue eggs and bacon?

From a distance, Mulder could hear the storybook rhyme, but it made no
sense, <Samantha, you silly girl> he grinned.

"Sami, that's not how it goes" he chuckled.
Would you eat them in a box?
Would you eat them with a fox?
Not in a box
Not with a fox
Not in a house
Not with a mouse
I would not eat them here or there
I would not eat them anywhere
I would not eat green eggs and ham
I do not like them Sam-I-am

Instead of worrying, Scully decided to go with his thought of the past.

"Fox, I'm here. Mommy and Daddy has gone to bed"

"Sami, my body hurts. I hurt all over. I can't move Sami. Did daddy hit me?
My bottom hurts so much" he whispered.

"Shhh Fox, lets go to sleep. O.K., I'll stay close to you. No one will hurt
you Fox. Not anymore" Scully said as she snuggled next to her injured
partner and held him as close as she could.


Thursday

She kept on waking up in the middle of the night, sometimes shaking
uncontrollably of the cold air. At times she'd wake up to Mulder's tears,
sometimes feeling his arms hitting her, trying to protect him. Morning
finally came. If she didn't have her watch she would not have any idea what
time it was. She looked at it, <8:00 in the morning. She had to go to the
bathroom, but how would she manage. Gosh, who knows a long they'll be
handcuffed to this bed? Maybe till death took over." She tried scooting
away from Mulder trying to look around; maybe she could stretch again out
of the bed and, well, not very lady like but urinate on the floor. <Hey all
dignity gone here> she thought. She wiggled herself out of the bed and
found the paper bag that the brothers left behind, and an old bowl on the
floor. <Whatever it takes, I can't very well pee on the bed and as for the
paper bag; not 3 ply soft but oh well>

She took care of nature and went back to bed. Mulder felt movement on the
bed and opened his eyes wide, then realized it was Scully getting back in bed.

"Scully, is he still here?" he whispered.

"No Mulder, they left yesterday. I really don't think they'll be back," she
said wondering why he said he instead of they, "I think we have to think of
something to get out of here. Mulder, how are you feeling?" she asked very
delicately.

"I hurt all over. I think every inch of me as seen better days."

"Mulder, we just have to get us out of here and get you to the hospital"

"NO!!!!, No doctor, no hospital" he quickly responded.

"Mulder, there's some cookies at the end of this room. Over there where the
broken table is. If we both get up, we can maybe move this bed towards the
end of the room" she suggested. He shook his head in approval and tried to
scoot out of the bed. He grabbed Scully's jacket trying to cover him, to
keep the last little dignity he might have.

"Scully, I have to take a leak" he said, "Where am I going to go?"

She smiled at him, "Been there, done that. It's a little easier for you.
You don't have to find a place to squat" she tried to make it light.

He finished scooting himself out from his side of the bed and turned his
back on Scully, taking the jacket out from his front. Then proceeded to try
to urinate, when the tremendous burning hit him and he noticed a bloody
tinge to the flow. He stopped the flow so that the burning would stop as well. 

"Scully, I can't. It burns" he told her.

"Try Mulder, it will just burn a little. If you don't you'll end up worse"

He tried again, chills all over his body from the pain he was feeling until
he finished.

They both tried to move the bed to the opposite side of the room and got
the cookies and ate them knowing that this might be their last meal.

<Mulder, are you doing ok? You seem fine right now. Are you putting the
attack in the back of your mind? Are you dealing with it? Are you walking
on eggshells? Talk to me> she thought to herself.

They both got back into bed and didn't say anything to each other. <Mulder,
I'm not a therapist and I don't know if I bring up the subject if it will
be worse for you. Do you even remember what happened last night? Why did
you say if he? Do you think it was Crawley? What if I ask you and you get
worse? > Scully was thinking to herself.

"Scully, why am I naked in bed with you and why are we handcuffed?" he
asked innocently.

"You don't remember anything, Mulder"

"No I don't. Also, when I got out of the bed, I noticed some blood. It's my
blood isn't it?" he kept on asking, then he put his hand under the jacket
and felt himself and winced with pain. Scully... Scu.." he started to say.

"Tell me what you remember. What's the last thing you remember?" she
prodded with her questions. He bit his lower lip and creased his forehead
trying to think.

"We were car jacked by..., it wasn't Crawley wasn't it? No, wait there were
3 men, they took us to...this place" he was saying looking around at the
room. I... They tied me up. My arms hurt, they stretched my arms on, over
there..." he told looking at the beams on the ceiling where they had put
him then looked at his wrists with rope burns on them. "Ah, they... my
clothes, they took them off... And... uh, they made me..., they, all three
of them, one at a time... they..." he started remembering everything.

Scully noticed his change immediately, he started having a shortness of
breath, and he started shaking. She placed her hand on his heart and felt
the heart palpitations, his heart was racing, and it was the beginning of
an anxiety attack. "Scully, I think I'm going to throw up" he told holding
his mouth. "Mulder, control you're breathing, come on relax. You'll be
alright," she tried to console him as she rubbed his stomach trying to take
the nausea away. He turned to his side and curled up again, as she stroked
his hair and then his back, until he fell asleep. She curled up next to him
hoping that sleep will pass the time and someone will find them before it
was too late.

"Hey Joey, where did you tell your mom you were at?" asked the 11-year old
boy riding his bicycle towards the abandoned farmhouse.

"Where do you think. I told her I was with you, what did you tell your
mom?" asked Scottie.

"Same thing you did, I'm at your house," Joey responded laughing.

"Mom says I could play with you as long as I get home before sundown"
explained Joey.

"Yea, me too... Hey, Scottie, look over there. There are two suitcases on
the ground. They weren't here yesterday when we came by here. Do you
remember seeing them" Joey asked as he jumped off his bike and ran to the
suitcases. One was opened and clothes were scattered on the ground. "It's
women clothes, Scottie. Look it says Dana Scully on the suitcase tag. What
does yours say?"

"Fox Mulder, strange name" Scottie responded opening the suitcase. "Hey,
look, Wow, look what I found"

Scottie found the laptop and opened it up. "Wow, lets play with it. Do you
know how to use it?" he asked.

"No, but let's take it in the house. Just in case someone comes by" Joey
told as he grabbed the other laptop and both walked in the house. They
placed the laptops on the table and started pressing buttons. "Wow, this is
so cool. Do you think we can keep them?" Joey squealed

Scully eye's popped open at the sound of children. <Am I dreaming? > She
asked herself as she tried to keep really still to see if she could hear
the noise again. She thought of waking Mulder but thought differently in
case it was just a dream. She would prefer him sleeping than being awake
and remembering what had happened to him.

"YES!!! This is fun," yelled Scottie.

"HELP!! Please Help, is someone up there?" Scully yelled as she heard the
boys playing.

The two boys were startled at the sound of a voice near the end of the house.

"Did you hear that?" asked Joey, "It sounded like a woman"

"Help us please, we're in the basement" Scully kept on hollering as Mulder
started stirring and woke up. "Mulder, I'm sorry to wake you. I think
there's someone up there"

The boys got close to the basement opening and lay on their stomachs trying
to look in the basement.

"Hello, is someone down there?" Joey asked.

"Yes, Yes, thank God, yes there's two of us down here. Can you help us get
out of here? Is there a latter up there?" asked Scully. The boys looked
around and found the broken down ladder scattered all over the top floor.

"Well, it was a ladder" answered Scottie, "I don't think we can help you.
We'll have to go get help. Are you Dana?" asked Joey.

"Yes, how did you know that?" she inquired.

"There are suitcases up here. We found two suitcases. Is there a Fox Mulder
down there too?" Scottie asked.

"Yes, there is. He's badly hurt. Can you please hurry up and get help. Oh
and one more thing, we have handcuffs on. See if you dad has something to
take these handcuffs off of us." she pleaded.

"But what if you are bad guys?" Scottie asked a little worried.

"No, no we're not. We actually work for the Government. We're FBI agents.
Please hurry, my partner is badly hurt" she reinforced.

"It will take us about 20 minutes but we'll hurry" yelled Joey as they both
got off the floor and scurried to their bikes and rode as fast as they
could to the nearest house.

"Mulder, we're going to be rescued. We're getting out of here really soon.
Can you hear me Mulder?" she asked.

"Yes, how can I not with all the yelling your doing" he said trying to make
light of the situation. Mulder was still laying in a fetal position, not
wanting to move a muscle because he knew if he did, he would hurt all over.

"Mom, mom, is dad still in the field working?" asked Joey running out of
breath and talking a hundred miles an hour.

"Yes, he is, what's wrong Joey?" she asked nervously seeing her son red
faced and sweaty.

"Mom, don't get mad at us, but on the way home from school we past by the
old farmhouse by all those trees. We found some suitcases and computers so
we went inside and heard a woman yelling from the basement. Mom, there's a
man and woman trapped in the basement. We couldn't get them out. We have to
hurry and help them. The lady said that her friend is badly hurt. Mom, they
work for the FBI," he excitedly explained.

"Your father along with Scottie's father are still working but let's go
get them. Hop on the car so we can get there faster" she retorted as she
took off her apron and grabbed her keys. They drove to the field and
explained to the two men about the two people in the abandoned house. They
went back to their house to gather ropes, a ladder hoping that it would be
long enough to get them out. Joey's mom got some water and juice for them
and grabbed some blankets.

Scottie's and Joey's dad each took their separate trucks with Joey's mom
following them with their car. They arrived at the old farmhouse in about
10 minutes and hurriedly ran inside.

"Hello, are both of you okay down there?" asked Joey's dad.

"Yes, we're okay. But please can you please hurry" Scully said.

"We brought a ladder but I don't think it's going to be long enough to
reach to the floor. My name is Steve and this is my neighbor Donald is here
to help you, what are your names?" he asked trying to keep them talking.

"I'm Special Agent Dana Scully and my partner here is Special Agent Fox
Mulder. We're with the FBI" she responded.

"What happened?" asked Donald.

"We were hijacked yesterday late in the afternoon, maybe early evening.
They brought us here and hurt my partner. They left sometime this morning."
She explained as the two men were trying to figure out the best way
possible to get them out.

"I'm afraid that the only way we're going to get you out is by throwing a
rope down to you and one of us going down to get you. The ladder is too
short and we don't have anything else around here to get you out" explained Steve.

"Sir, if you don't mind, when you come down here. Can you please bring us
some clothes? They took our clothes. The boys said that our suitcases are
up there. Can you just get me a pair of jeans and please for my partner,
can you look in his suitcase and bring down a pair of sweats and a T-shirt,
please" instructed Scully.

The two men looked at each other and then to Joey's mom, wondering what
could have happened to these two poor souls.

"Yes of course," said Donald as he got the clothing from Joey's mom and
threw it to the basement. He then was lowered to the basement with Steve,
Joey's mom and the boys holding the top end of the rope. Donald reached the
floor and grabbed the clothes from the floor. He tried to look away to give
Scully some dignity.

"Thank you so much" Dana said as she grabbed the jeans and tried to slide
her pants on with one hand.

"Did your boys tell you about our handcuffs?" she asked.

"Yes, they did. I think this might help" he responded as he took out of his
pocket some tools where he was able to jimmy the lock off. She looked
puzzled at him.

"You never know when you might need these things. And I must say, it sure
came in handy right now" Donald said with a slight smile. The handcuffs
were removed from both Mulder and Scully. She got up a little shaken and
grabbed the sweats and T-shirt.

"Can you help me put these on him?" she asked.

"Of course," Donald replied as he walked toward the injured man lying in a
ball not saying a word through this whole ordeal. Scully slipped his sweats
on and slid them up his legs.

"Mulder, you're going to have to help me. You have to lift up a little,"
she said softly to him.

"Donald, is that your name? Can you help him up a little?" she asked as she
tried to slide the sweats past his hips, "We really shouldn't be putting
anything on you till we run some tests"

Mulder looked up with frightened eyes as she slipped the T-shirt over his
head. Once he was dressed, Scully grabbed their belongings scattered on the
floor. Their cell phones, their badges, Mulder's wallet and their empty
guns. Mulder was held by both Donald and Scully and was practically dragged
to the rope. They tied the rope securely around his waist and the rope was
tugged for the others to pull him up.

"O.K., Steve, take it easy now, bring him up" he instructed. The rope was
pulled until they were able to get Mulder just over the opening and Joey's
mom along with the boys pulled him out the rest of the way. The rope was
thrown again and Scully was next and then Donald.

"Thank you so very much. We would have died if it weren't for your two
boys. Thank you so much. What are your names?" Scully asked.

"Um, my name is Scottie and this is Joey and my mom Sandra" Scottie said proudly.

They placed Mulder in the back seat of Sandra's car with Scully sitting in
the front seat. They all drove to Joey's house. The two men carried Mulder
to the guest bedroom. On the drive home, Scully informed Sandra of what
happened to them, not telling them the torture that Mulder was put through.

"Ma'am, is it possible to use your phone so I can call my Superior?" asked Scully.

"Yes of course, I'll make some dinner. How long has it been since both of
you ate?" she asked walking towards the kitchen.

"Since yesterday around 4pm I believe. Ma'am, can you call a doctor as
well?" she questioned.

"Please, call me Sandra. And as for a doctor. I don't know if he's even
home. He was going fishing today with the Sheriff. I'll try calling him
when you get off the phone" Sandra offered.

<It was Thursday around 4:00pm, Skinner might still be in his office> she
thought as she dialed his office.

"AD Skinner's office, this is Kim speaking, may I help you?" Kim said
answering the phone.

"Kim, has AD Skinner left for the day?" Scully asked.

"No, he's still here, let me pass you to him" she answered transferring the
call immediately.

"Skinner," he answered.

"Sir, this is Scully. We were on our way home from our assignment and we
were hijacked near North Carolina. Sir we were handcuffed and left to die.
Mulder is badly injured and there is no way for us to get him to D.C. at
this time" she explained.

"What, what do you mean hijacked. Wasn't the case going to last all week
and if it didn't why were you driving" he demanded.

"Sir, with all do respect, it's a long story and sir, my main concern is
Mulder," she responded, then cuffed the mouth piece of the phone and
whispered so no one would here in the house, "Sir, Mulder was raped by
three men" she choked out the last information.

"Oh my God no, not again. How is he Scully?" he asked standing up from his
chair slapping his hand on his forehead and looking up.

"Not good Sir. He thinks it was Crawley again. Although sometimes he
remembers his ordeal and then he goes back to Crawley." She said sadly.

"Tell me where you're at. I'll get the next flight out there" Skinner said
already grabbing his coat from the coat rack.

"Let me pass you to Sandra, she can explain better. I think you might have
to drive from the airport. It's probably a distance from here. In the
meantime, I'm going to call the town doctor to see if we could take care of
Mulder in the meantime." She said.

Sandra took the phone and gave the needed information to Skinner, then
dialed the doctor's office. "Oh good, Stan, it's Sandra, I have a couple of
FBI Agents here that were hijacked close to the abandoned farmhouse. My boy
found them and they are here at the house. One of them is hurt. Let me pass
the phone to Dana Scully so she can explain better" Sandra said.

"Hello doctor, my name is Dana Scully, I'm an agent with the FBI Sir, can
you come over as soon as you could and bring all your medical equipment.
And Sir, can you bring a Rape Kit," she said slowly.

"Oh Miss, I'm so sorry. Are you o.k." he asked concerned.

"Actually doctor, the kit is for my partner," she said.

"Ms Scully, a rape kit. This is a little town and we have never had the use
of the kit. Sure I'll bring it."

Scully hung up the phone and went to the bedroom, "Mulder, Joey's mom is
making us dinner. It shouldn't be too much longer and then we can eat."

"Scully, I'm really not hungry, he said.

"Mulder, the doctor is coming over in a little while to check you out. And
Mulder, you know what we have to do, right" she delicately said to him.

"What, what are you trying to say?" he asked nervously.

"Mulder, you were raped. You know we have to take samples. The doctor is
bringing a rape kit and either he or I are going to take some samples," she
firmly said knowing that if she said it any other way, Mulder would talk
her out of it.

"No, I won't go through that....again," he said as he emphasized again.

"I want to take a shower, right now," he demanded.

"Sorry, you know you can't do that until we get samples," she came right
back, "You'll take one after.

"I told you, they wore condoms," he said very agitated.

"And you know that we still need to go through procedures. It will be over
soon, I promise" she tried to console him.

"Over? when will this be over? I'm tired of being the target for..." he
started to say and giving up on the rest of his sentence and closed his
eyes trying to ignore her.

The doctor arrived non-too soon and met Scully at the door.

"Miss, I came as soon as I could and I brought the kit with me. Now let's
see your partner. How is she doing?" the doctor asked with concern.

"Doctor, please call me Dana, and my partner is a male. His name is Fox
Mulder. He's not taking it very well, as you can imagine. Physically and
mentally he's very unstable right now. He has very bad memories as this
happened to him about 1-1/2 years ago. He's a terrible patient, and I don't
guarantee you his full cooperation. But ignore him, he's a wonderful
person, it's just the circumstances. I am also a doctor, although not a
practicing doctor and I'll be in there with you. I don't know how Mulder
will react with you doing the testing. He might want me to do it, or then
again, he'll probably kick both of us out" she explained to the doctor
going towards the bedroom. The door was opened and found Mulder sleeping.

"Mulder, are you playing opossum, wake up, the doctor is here" Scully said
as she took the sheet from over his face.

"Ok young man, Fox," said the 65-year-old doctor walking near the side of
the bed being very empathetic in his voice. "My name is Dr. Stan, that's
what everyone calls me" Mulder didn't say anything but let Scully pull the
sheet off of his face.

"Fox, I'm going to tell you step by step what I'm going to do. When I start
the procedure and when the procedure is almost over. I want you to signal
to me when to begin the procedure and tell me when to stop if it gets to
uncomfortable or you're in pain" said the doctor in a quiet and soothing
voice. Scully was impressed and now knew why this doctor was still
practicing. <He must be well liked> she thought.

"Before the actual examination begins, I have to collect some health
history. Is that ok, Fox" the doctor asked as he gave Scully a notebook to
write down the answers to the questions the doctor was going to ask.

"And if I said I cared, would it make any difference?" Mulder asked angrily.

"No, young man, no it wouldn't, now let's begin"

"Do you have any medical illnesses?"

"No"

"Any recent surgery?"

"No"

"Are there any medications that you're currently taking?"

"No"

"Any food or medication allergies?"

"No"

"Last tetanus immunization booster?"

"About 3 years ago"

"Are you being treated for any sexually transmissible diseases?"

"No"

"What method contraception do you use?"

"Condoms"

"When was your last consensual sexual experience?"

"To long ago to remember" he said looking at Scully

"Did you take voluntarily any drug(s) and/or alcohol before the attack?"

"No"

"Now for evidentiary purposes, since the assault, have you taken any
prescription medications, street drugs, or alcohol?"

"No"

"Have you urinated, defecated, or been given an enema?"

"I peed, alright"

"Bathed, washed your hands or face, brush your teeth, gargled, changed your clothes?

"Scully wouldn't let me shower and they left me naked, Scully helped me
with these clothes"

"Smoked, drunk any fluids, eaten anything?"

"Water, juice and cookies"

"Now Fox, I'm going to ask you about the actual Sexual Assault" the doctor
proceeded looking at Scully as she acknowledged his careful questions.
"I'm going to ask you specific questions about what the attackers did. This
might be hard for you to talk, so I'll ask you in a manner that will permit
you to answer. Fox, if it gets too difficult to answer, tell me and we'll
stop and take a break, then tell me when we can continue. Are you ready?"
Doctor Stan asked carefully, and Mulder nodded a confirmation

"At any point during the assault did you lose consciousness?"

"I think so, I don't know"

"When did the sexual assault occur?"

"Right away when they took us to the basement"

"Where did the assault take place?"

"In a basement of a farmhouse"

"How many attackers had sexual contact with you?"

"Three," Mulder said as the questions started getting harder to answer and
it took a little longer for him to come back with a response.

"Do you want to take a break?" the doctor asked.

"No, let's get it over with" he replied as Scully laid a hand on his arm
for comfort.

"How many attackers had physical contact with you?"

"I said three" his voice getting more agitated.

"Did the sexual assault include any of the following acts:

Fondling

"Yes"

"Attempted anal penetration?"

"Yes"

"Kissing?"

"No"

"Attempted oral penetration/oral penetration, ejaculation and if so, in or
on what parts of the body?"

"Yes, yes, yes, my ass, ok, my aassss", he started talking louder starting
to breathe a little heavier. Scully put her pencil and pad down and walked
closer to him.

"Mulder, do you want to stop for awhile," she asked very tenderly placing
her hand on his forehead brushing his hair back.

Mulder's eyes closed his eyes for a couple of seconds and started to
control his breathing, then started softly saying "Safe place, safe place, Sami,"

The doctor looked puzzled, but Scully turned and gave him a look of
acknowledgement, and mouthed, "He's o.k."

Mulder's eyes opened and told the doctor to continue.

"Did the perpetrator:

Use a condom?

"Yes, all three of them"

Use a lubricant or contraceptive? If so, what kind?

"It think I saw Vaseline"

Use restraints?

"They first tied me with ropes and then handcuffed me"

Use violence? What kind?

"When I wouldn't cooperate with giving them a bl..." he started to say then
swallowed hard, "They slugged me twice"

Use forces or threaten violence?

"I just told you"

Use a weapon? What kind?

"Their fist, and feet"

Used an object to penetrate? By what, and how?

"Fingers, for Gods sake it felt like their whole hand", he said starting to
hold back tears.

"Ok, Fox, the questioning is over. Let's take a breather. Why don't you
relax and then we'll continue" the doctor said as he motioned to Scully to
go outside with him.

"I'll be right back Mulder. Are you ok?" she asked.

He just shook his head in acknowledgement.

Outside the bedroom, the doctor took a hold of Scully's hand, "Your partner
has been through a lot in his life." He said.

"How do you know that?" she asked him.

"I'm not an old timer for nothing. He's in a lot of pain and not just physically."

"You're right doctor, he has been through a lot," she replied.

"Well, Doctor Scully, you know what's next. Do you think he'll be able to
handle the physical part of this?"

"I don't know doctor. This is too much to happen to a human being one time
in their life, but twice, I can't even imagine. We better hurry up, the
more time we wait the more anxious he's going to get" she suggested.

They both went back in the bedroom and the doctor went to the kit to pull
out a piece of cloth and laid it on the floor. He took out two paper bags.

"Fox, I want you to stand on this cloth and disrobe, fold the clothing you
have on and place it in this one brown bag. When you are done, I want you
to fold the cloth from the floor, fold it and place it in the other brown
bag. This will allow the collection of particle evidence from the location
where the assault occurred as well as physical evidence as hairs or fibers
from the assailant," he explained.

"I know the routine doctor. I'm getting good at this," he angrily said as
he got out of the bed.

"Here is a gown so you can put on when you're dressed. Would you like Dana
to stay with you or do you want her outside with me while you do this?" he asked

"I'm a grown man, I think I could handle this"

They left the room and waited in the hall while Mulder reluctantly started
to get his sweat pants and T-shirt off. He stood on the cloth like he was
told. He folded his clothes and placed them in the bag, then did the same
with the cloth. He put on his gown, almost smiling on how many times this
thing had been on him through the years. He climbed back in bed and called
them to come in.

The doctor promptly sealed and labeled each bag accordingly.

Blood samples were taken using the equipment in the kit. Blood test was
taken for DNA analysis. The doctor continued with the next procedure, which
was an oral examination for injuries and collection of saliva for secretor
status. He took a cotton-tipped swab to collect saliva samples to collect
any semen and sperm that might have accumulated in areas where gums meet
the teeth or between the lower wisdom teeth. He then took scrapings under
Mulder's fingers for any evidence. This was done to reveal any skin, blood
and other secretions as well as hair or fiber traces that may identify the
assailant. Mulder was fairly cooperative while all this was going on, while
Scully stood next to him. All the time this was happening the kind doctor
would explain step by step not leaving anything out. He then started
documenting any physical injuries. He wrote down the injuries on his wrists
from the ropes and then the handcuffs. He noted the bruises on each side of
his jaw, when Mulder protested from doing what the assailants wanted him to
do to them. The doctor picked up his arms and noted the bruises on his
upper arms as he was pulled back holding him down. Then the doctor picked
up the gown and noted the bruises on his upper thighs,

"Now Fox, you might think how a small town like this has a hold of a Wood's
light. Well I guess we're not so backwards, are we. Do you know what this
is for?" he asked. Mulder shook his head and whispered yes.

"O.K., I want you to stand up for a minute and take off the gown while I
move the light around your body. You know this is to locate any dried semen
on your body. As I pass the light over you, dried ejaculation will
fluoresce." Mulder reluctantly did as he was asked as Scully turned her
back towards him for the couple of minutes that he had to disrobe. The
doctor quickly placed the light around him and noted the areas still shown
on his thighs and his backside.

"You said they wore condoms?" the doctor asked as he gave him back the gown
and Mulder quickly put it back on.

"Yes, they did. But I suppose some leaked out on me?" Mulder asked, "But
none got in me, right?" he nervously asked.

The doctor didn't respond, as he still had not done the final testing,
which he didn't really want to do, but was most necessarily to do.

"Fox, you know what's next, right?" the doctor quietly asked, "I have to
perform a rectal exam. Fox, you know this has to be done. We will take it
very slowly and if you have any flashbacks or attack, we will discontinue
for awhile and let you relax. Once your stabilized we will continue" Doctor
Stan said softly but firmly.

"Mulder, if you want I can stay here with you while this is being done, but
if you choose I can leave." Scully said as she walked close to the bed. She
stood facing him with her back towards the lower part of his body. She took
his both hands in hers and held him letting him know that she was there for
him. He didn't answer right away so she started to let go of his hands and
move away when he gripped them and said very audible, "I'd like you to stay."

The doctor took a large paper towel and had Mulder raise his hips so he
could place the towel under him. "Fox, I'm going to use a special comb and
comb around your pubic area for any foreign hairs. Are you ready?" the
doctor asked and saw Mulder's head shake yes. The doctor did what he had to
as quick and carefully as possible. He placed the combings, together with
the towel and comb in an envelope. "Forensic testing can be used to
differentiate your older telogen and catagen hairs from those of your
assailant," explained the doctor. Mulder kept looking at Scully's face
while this part was going on but then closed his eyes. It was starting to
get too hard for him to face her. She leaned close to him and whispered,
"Mulder, relax, I'm here, I won't leave you."

He let go of one of his arms and put it over his eyes, as the doctor
continued. Scully took hold of his hand with both of her hands.

"Fox, I'm going to lift your gown up now and inspect your penis for
physical trauma and particulate evidence." The doctor explained as he
walked on the side where Scully stood and went ahead and lifted the gown.
Mulder took a deep breath as he felt the gown go up and clutched Scully's
hand a little tighter. Doctor Stan took hold of him and moved it around
looking for abrasions or bruising. With his gloved hand he very gently
examined his scrotum. He shook his head and lightly tapped Scully's arm
with his arm to get her attention. He motioned for her to look to see how
bruised he was. "There appears to be an abrasion right on the side of his
penis. Young man; did your attacker bite you? It looks like they were very
rough with you. You are very bruised" he stated as he lowered his gown back down.

"Fox, we have one more test to do and this will be the hardest for you." He
started to say.

"And you don't think all of this hasn't been hard" Mulder spoke very loudly
and upset.

"I'm not making light of any of this testing. I merely wanted to tell you
that we are not done and this will be the most difficult. Now, I do need a
urine specimen, but I would prefer if you give me the specimen after the
internal exam. Do you think you can wait?" he asked him ignoring the last outbreak.

"Doctor, get this damn testing over with!" he hollered

"Alright then, scoot your bottom to the end of the bed. As close to the end
as possible and bring your knees up then." The doctor said still being
gentle with him. He scooted to the end of the bed. Scully held on to
Mulder's gown when he scooted down so the gown wouldn't rise on him. Once
he was at the end, he brought his knees up and again placed his arm over his eyes.

"Fox I'm going to first use a speculum to view the interior of the
passageway to your rectum. I'm going to put a saline solution. Are you
ready?" he asked as he got the instrument ready. Mulder shook his head and
tensed his hips. The doctor started to insert the instrument when Mulder
went to lower his legs. "Son, you have to stay still, I'll go slower" the
doctor said stopping while Mulder got a hold of himself and brought his
knees up again. Scully bent down and held him in her arms trying to comfort
him as best she could.

"We're almost done, now I'm going to do a Digital rectal exam. I'm going to
put saline as a lubricant on my gloved finger. Fox this is going to be very
uncomfortable but I am doing this to preserve evidence," he said as he
started the procedure. Mulder held his breath and took his raised arm and
grabbed the sheet of the bed. He clenched the sheet so hard that his
knuckles became white. He started breathing heavy and he started
whispering, then the whispering started getting louder and more excitedly.

"Crawley, No, please no Crawley, God it hurts so badly, stop, please" he
started shouting, pulling the arm that was holding Scully and grabbed the
other side of the bed as well.

"Doctor, please stop, wait a minute, give him a moment" Scully pleaded as
she turned to look at the doctor and then back at Mulder.

"Mulder, we're almost done, just a couple of more seconds. Crawley is dead,
you know that. He's not here anymore, remember I killed him. Mulder, you'll
be ok, I'm here with you" she kept on saying over and over again whispering
in his ear. Mulder started whimpering and the tears started coming down his
eyes uncontrollably. He tried so hard, to be strong. "Crawley is dead, then
why am I here Scully, who did this to me again, who did this." asked Mulder in tears.

"Come on Mulder, go to your safe place, just for awhile. Let me recite you
your story. Samantha will be happy if I tell it to you.

I would not, could not, in the rain.
Not in the dark. Not on a train.
Not in a car. Not in a tree.
I do not like them, Sam, you see" 

Scully started reciting to Mulder close to his ear as she turned to face the doctor 
and shook her head to continue. At that time he finished the section of the story,

"Not in a house. Not in a box.
Not with a mouse. Not with a fox.
I will not eat them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere!" 

Mulder finished as he relaxed his body and let the doctor finish with the examination. 
The doctor took a swab and collected any specimens in his rectum for sperm and semen 
evidence.

"OK son, I'm finished" he told as he lowered his gown, placed the swabs in
an envelope and took off his gloves. The doctor walked to the head of the
bed to be near Mulder.

"I'm very sorry that I had to do all this, but we want to catch the men
that did this to you. And I'm sure they will be caught" he continued
placing his hand over Mulder's forehead.

"I said this was the last part, but you have to do one more thing for me. I
need a urine specimen from you" he told as he retrieved the container.

"I'm going to help you out of the bed so you can go to the bathroom. I'll
be outside." The doctor said as he took a hold of his hands and helped him
up into a sitting position.

"Doctor, I can do it" Mulder said choking back the tears and placed his
hands on the bed trying to push himself up but the pain on his backside was
tremendous. Scully walked to the end of the bed and held his hands. "Come
on partner, I'll help you"

The doctor went outside as Mulder scooted to his feet and bit his lower lip
trying to control his pain. He took small steps being guided by Scully as
they reached the bathroom. Scully had the container in her hand and handed
to him.

"I'll wait outside of the bathroom" she suggested.

"No, Scully, please stay here, just turn around" he shyly told her. She
turned around as he lifted up his gown and put the container under his
penis. The burning was painful and he would start and then stop the flow.

"Scully, I can't it hurts" he said to her.

"Mulder take is slowly" she responded still turned around. He finally gave
a little more urine and then handed it to Scully. He lifted the toilet seat
and then finished with the rest.

"Mulder, hold on to the sink while I take the sample and label it, we want
to secure the evidence that we collected. "Hold on and I'll bring you some
clean clothes so you can take a shower. Does this sound like a workable
compromise?" she asked.

He shook his head bending down holding on to the sink.

She hurried and took the container to the doctor.

"Thank you so very much. Now I can see why you are well loved in this town.
You were very patient, and gentle with him. This is the best I've ever seen
him with any medical person." She said to him.

"You mean he's intolerable with you?" he asked smiling.

"He doesn't dare, he knows what will happen to him." She smiled back, then
continued by telling him to place everything together and that her boss,
Assistant Director Skinner will take this back to D.C.

"Let me see, it's around 5 or 6pm. I'll be back around 8:30pm or 9:00pm to
check him out. Do you think you'll still be awake?" he asked her then
turned to ask Sandra as she walked into the hall.

"Oh yes, we'll be up. We'll wait for you." Sandra said.

Scully shook his hand and then went back to the bedroom and took a pair of
boxers; sweat pants, sweats shirt and sox and walked to the bathroom. She
knocked on the door then opened it and walked in. She found Mulder leaning
over the sink, with his head over the sink. She put the clothing on top of
the hamper that was in the bathroom and then went to him and placed her
hand on his shoulders.

"Ready for that long awaited shower?" she asked. He shook his head and
looked up at her with those big hazel eyes that tore her heart to see the
pain in them. She went to the shower and turned water on to regulates it to
a warm temperature. She opened the shower curtain and outstretched her hand
to take his. He took her hand and started slowly to the shower.

"I'll be outside" she said

"Scully, don't leave me. There's nothing I can hide from you anymore. Stay
here with me, I don't want to be alone" he said as he raised his arms to
undo the tie on the back of his gown. She turned her back on him as he
dropped the gown on the floor and took a step into the shower. She sat on
the toilet seat waiting for him to finish.

"Are you doing o.k.?" she asked, as she heard him whimpering in the shower.

"Uh huh" is all he responded. He was there for about 15 minutes just
letting the water spray on him. Trying to take all the filth out of him. He
got the washcloth and started rubbing and rubbing and rubbing until he
couldn't rub himself anymore without tearing the skin off of him. Once he
felt that he couldn't cry anymore and he couldn't rub the filth out of him
anymore, he turned of the water and called for her to give him a towel. She
gave him the towel as he dried himself off and wrapped the towel around his
waist, pulled the shower curtain and very carefully picked up his foot from
the shower.

He finished drying himself off and was helped by Scully to get dressed as
she still tried to give him his dignity. She walked him back to the bedroom
and was surprised to see Sandra standing by the bed, with nice clean
bedding already on the bed.

"The doctor said that this would be better for you. I hope you don't mind?"
she asked shyly.

"No, of course not, that was very nice of you", Scully replied as she took
a hold of his hand and helped him back to the bed. He lay down and she
pulled the sheet and covers over him and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm going to bring dinner, both of you should be very hungry" Sandra said
as she walked out of the bedroom. Sandra filled their plates with roasted
chicken, mash potatoes, corn and homemade biscuits with lemonade. She took
the dinners to the room and placed the plates on dinner trays for them.
Mulder just stared at the food. "Mulder, you're eating even if I have to
spoon feed you," Scully said as she saw his expression. The doctor had
given some antibiotics for Mulder to take and some painkillers which he
never really liked taking but anything to stop this horrible pain that he had.

"You know Harry, if George finds out that we came back here, he's not going
to be very happy, Duke told Harry as they were hiding behind the bushes
from the farmhouse where Mulder and Scully were at.

"Whatever George doesn't know, won't hurt him. Just as long as we make sure
we meet him in Kentucky in a week. He was smart in having us separate for a
week till this blows over," Harry said.

"I don't think he meant for us to be together though. I think he wanted us
to go our separate ways, make it harder for anyone to find us," replied Duke.

"We will, as soon as we do this one last thing. We were just suppose to
have fun, but I don't know, Duke, FBI and all. If they catch us, it's all
over for us. That's why we need to get rid of them two. We were so
careless," Harry said with a look of worry.

"What did you overhear when the doctor left?" Duke asked.

"I heard him tell the lady FBI that he'd be back around 9:00 p.m. So I was
thinking that maybe around 11:00 p.m. or midnight we can go in and continue
our fun. Everyone should be asleep by then. And then we can continue with
gorgeous. He'll be too sore to put up a fight. Want to do him again, he was
so, so, so warm..., man I can't think of him, or I'll have an orgasm right
now" Harry continued.

"We better leave before we get caught, we'll be back later," instructed
Duke as they started to get up and then quickly crouched down and they saw
a car drive in to the driveway. A tall 6'1", well-dressed distinguished man
came out of the car and walked towards the front door.

"Mmmm, who is he? Hey, you can have gorgeous, I'll have him," teased Harry.

Skinner knocked on the door a couple of times and was welcomed by an
11-year old boy.

"Hi, are you Dana and Fox's boss?" Joey forwardly asked.

"Yes, I am and who may I ask are you?" he answered smiling.

"I'm Joey and my friend Scottie we're the ones that found your friends,"
Joey said very proudly as Scottie ran to join Joey in front of the door.

"Come in, I'll get mom and dad", Joey told as he opened the door further
and showed him to the living room. Both Sandra and Steve came in and
introduced themselves as the Dales.

"So this is the boys that saved my agents lives. You don't know how
appreciative I am. Not only are they my best agents, but also very good
friends of mine. You know, I think this deserves an official thank you. Why
don't both of you bring your parents to D.C., and you will all get a
special tour to the FBI Hoover Building," suggested Skinner.

"Really, wow, that's awesome," shouted Scottie and Joey.

"Thank you very much that sounds very special for them. I'm just happy that
we were there in time," Steve responded, "Now you probably want to see
them, boys why don't you knock on the door and get Dana," The boys ran in
excitement to the bedroom and tapped on it. Scully got up from the chair
next to Mulder and opened it.

"Dana, your boss is here," Joey whispered not wanting to wake Mulder up.

"He's here already, thanks boys. You don't have to whisper Mulder isn't
asleep. But why don't you do me a favor and go in with him. I don't really
want to leave him alone" she suggested. The boys went into the bedroom all
excited telling Mulder what Skinner had just told them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sir, I'm so happy to see you," Scully said as she walked into the bedroom.

"Well, we'll leave both of you alone. We'll be in our bedroom watching
television. If you need anything, please feel free to come to us. I think
the doctor said he'd be back around 9:00 p.m.," Sandra said as she and
Steve got up and headed for their bedroom.

"Agent Scully, what in the world happened?" Skinner asked sternly.

"Sir, I think trouble seems to follow us. Our assignment went fairly quick,
quite x-files I might say, which made Mulder very happy. I'm afraid the
rest is my fault and I don't think I'll be able to feel good about my poor
decision. I chose to drive back to D.C., instead of flying back right after
the assignment was complete. I just wanted to let Mulder take a time to
relax and see the scenery and hopefully go away from all that had happened
in the last year and a half and then look what happened. He gets assaulted
again, all because of me. Sir, I'm so afraid he's going to snap at this
last incident," she explained.

"Agent Scully, do you think he's getting to that point?" Skinner asked.

"No, actually, I think he's taking it better than before. He's quieter than
before. I just hope that it's not building up inside him and will explode
eventually. He has flashbacks of Crawley and sometimes he's acting like it
was Crawley who did the last assault, and then another second he's talking
about the three men. I don't know what to make of it. He's very sensitive
right now, as it's very common in cases like this" she told Skinner.

"Have you called Daniel, his therapist?"

"Actually, no I haven't. I really don't even know why. Everything has been
happening so fast. As soon as we got here, the doctor came and did a very
thorough examination. He took complete test results and hopefully we'll get
the results as soon as possible. He's showered and now he's in bed"

"Agent Scully, before I see him, can you tell me everything that happened.
What I'll do is probably drive into town. I think the next big town is
about an hour away. I'll get with the local law enforcement with the
information you both give me and put an A.P.B on the assailants. I'll stay
in town over night and see how far we can go. If possible, hopefully we'll
be able to take him home tomorrow afternoon or evening. The faster we get
him to his known surroundings, the better" explained Skinner

"I completely agree, we need to get him home." Scully replied and then
started to explain everything in detail in what happened to them. She gave
him a full description of the three men, since she got a good eye view of
everything that happened.

"Sir it was so strange, they didn't do anything to hide who they were. They
called each other by name. They didn't blindfold us. Except for the car,
they didn't take absolutely anything. I think they just wanted to joy ride
and Mulder was the extra benefit for them." She said as she got up and
Skinner followed to go to the bedroom.

She opened the door and the boys came out, "How is he?" Scully asked.

"Quiet. He looks so sad," said Scottie as they both left the room.

Mulder was lying on his side as Skinner walked to that side of the bed. He
placed his hand over Mulder's shoulder when Mulder jerked and opened his eyes.

"Sir, I must have been dozing off. I didn't hear you come in," Mulder explained.

"I won't ask the ridiculous by asking the obvious, so I'll skip that part.
Scully was telling me everything that happened. Could you tell me your
part?" Skinner asked.

"Seems like I keep on getting fucked" Mulder said sarcastically.

Skinner ignored his comment knowing that it was his anger talking.

"Agent Mulder, can you please tell me what happened," he asked again.

Mulder took a deep breath and told him as much as he could remember. Once
he got to the actual act, his body started tensing and his voice quivered.
He described them as best he could.

"Okay, both of your descriptions are almost identical. I told Agent Scully
that I'm going into town this evening to see how much work I can get
started. I'll call you first, but hopefully tomorrow we can all go home."
Skinner informed as he again put his hand on Mulder's shoulder and left the
room. But before he crossed the door, Mulder tried to straighten up and
said, "Sir, I'm sorry. I'm glad you're here"

"Mulder, there's nothing to apologize for" he responded and Skinner left.

It was around 8:45 when the doctor did his visit. "How's our boy?" he asked.

"As the boys said, quiet," Scully answered sadly.

"Well, it's to be expected. I'd like to give him an injection of
antibiotics and then I'll give you the rest of the meds to get him through
this ordeal. This will last him until he sees his own doctor. Now lets take
a look at him" the fine doctor said as they both walked to the bedroom.

"Son, how are you doing?" the doctor asked.

"Better I think, but I'm still in pain." Mulder said, thinking that his
sarcasm was not hurting anyone but himself.

"As if you're not hurting enough, I'm going to hurt you one more time.
Hopefully, you'll start healing soon." Said Doctor Stan; "I'm going to give
you an injection. And I see you're in perfect formation here," he smiled
looking at Mulder lay on his side. "I'm going to pull the covers and lower
your sweats just a little."

Scully admired the doctor for being so gentle and always making sure that
everything he did was explained to the patient. The doctor cleaned the area
with a cotton swab and then proceeded to inject him. He checked his blood
pressure, his temperature and then told the two that he was going to come
back in the morning to check on him again. Scully walked him out and to the
front door.

Scully walked back to the bedroom to find Mulder trying to get out of bed.

"Wow, where do you think you're going?" she asked as she quickly got close
to him.

"Bathroom. Just help me get there and I can do the rest myself," he said as
he slid off the bed and walked to the bathroom. After a couple of minutes
he walked out again and walked back to the bed. "Scully, it didn't burn as
much this time," he said very happy.

"That's good, you will get better Mulder," she told him as she opened her
suitcase and took out her gun; she retrieved the extra clip that was in her
case. As she pulled it out, she stopped and quickly looked at Mulder with
panic in her face.

"Scully; I promise you, I'll swear to you on the memory of Samantha if I
have to, I won't use the gun on me. I know I tried before and I saw what I
put you through. I don't ever want to do that to you again. I promise" he
reassured her as she took the clip out and put the gun and clip on the end table.

"I trust you Mulder. I trust you"

She helped him back in bed and then went to the suitcase and took her clean
underwear and her bathrobe.

"Mulder, if you will be okay I would love to take a very long hot bath,"
she said to him, "Now will you be alright if you're alone for awhile. I'll
jus be down the hall. I'm going to give you some sleeping pills to help you
sleep," she said as she handed the pills to him and went to the bathroom to
get him a glass of water.

"Scully, can you please stay here with me until I fall asleep, then you can
take a shower," he suggested. 

"All right, if you want me to, I'll stay. Why don't I read you something to help 
you sleep? This seems like a good book, why don't I read you a poem" she suggested 
as she found a little book of poems.

"Messages of Love"

Have you stood atop a mountain?
Beneath a starlit sky,
And felt so close to Heaven
It almost made you cry?
Have you walked along the seashore?
With someone that you love
To watch the sleepy morning sun
Rise triumphantly above?
Have you strolled beside a babbling brook?
To purify your soul,
And left a catfish on your hook
To pet a passing foal?
Have you walked through fields of daisies?
To pick a bright bouquet,
And lingered there 'til twilight
Turned shadows bluish-gray?
Have you learned from God's creation?
His message of love?
For it makes one stop and wonder
What's in store for us above!

By: Clay Harrison (The Peace He Brings)

When Scully stopped reading she looked up to see Mulder fast asleep. She
tiptoed out of the bedroom with her clothes and went to the bathroom to
take a very long needed bath. She filled the tub with hot water, the hotter
the better she thought. She found some vanilla bubble soap and poured it
in. The tub filled with bubbles as she walked to the window and closed the
window and also the curtain. She took the book of poems that she was
reading to Mulder and stripped of her clothing then took a step in the tub.
She took a deep breath and felt the warm water seep through every inch of
her body. She laid back and took the book and started reading it. <Yes, I'm
staying here for a long while> she smiled.

It was about 11:00 p.m. by this time and Harry and Duke were waiting
outside the window.

"Look, lady FBI, is on the other side of the house. It looks like gorgeous
might be alone. From what I can see, he's in the bedroom on the left by the
living room." Duke was telling Harry as they were looking to the farmhouse.

"It sure does. Let's go have some fun." Harry answered as they both started
walking carefully towards the house. They went to the bedroom where they
believed Mulder was at. 

"Look he's in this bedroom. Looks like he's asleep" Duke told Harry. 
The window was opened because of the warm air outside.

They took a Swiss army knife and cut the window screen. They climbed in the
bedroom as quietly as they could. They walked over to Mulder where he was
laying on his back fast asleep. He had been given some sleeping pills so
that he could have a restful sleep. Harry and Duke walked along side of the
bed and they both looked at each other and both shook their head of
confirmation. They already had their plan on what they were going to do.
Harry held out his hand and motioned his fingers, 1, 2, 3 and at the second
where he showed his third finger, Harry jumped on Mulder's straddling his
chest and instantly placing his hands over Mulder's mouth. Mulder's eyes
opened widely with a face of panic. At this same time Duke jumped on his
legs and straddled them so that Mulder would be pinned and unable to move.

In seconds, Duke grabbed the side of his sweats and pulled them down with
such ferocity that his fingernails dug into Mulder's hips and sides and
scraped the skin as his sweat pants were being lowered. Mulder was still in
a daze from the sleeping pill but inside of him he knew what was happening.
Duke grabbed his person and instantly put it in his mouth and started
playing roughly with Mulder's scrotum.

<Crawley, this is not going to happen again, never again will this happen,"
Mulder thought trying to get his wits. What Harry neglected to do was pin
Mulder's arms as they were still out of his straddling chest. Harry bent
down to Mulder and whispered in his ear. 

"Hey gorgeous, you're going to give us some pleasure again. You were too good 
last time not to have you again," he said with a teasing sounding voice. Mulder 
raised his hands and with the little strength he had, grabbed a hold of Harry's 
neck and started tightening his hands, tighter and tighter. Harry's started struggling 
to get some air in his lungs. He didn't want to take his hands out of Mulder's
mouth, as he knew he would scream. Harry took one hand and fisted Mulder on
his jaw. It knocked his head to the side but Mulder would not let go of the
grip around Harry's neck. Duke started nibbling harder knowing something
was going on, but still not letting go. Harry started struggling for air
even more and fell off of him bringing Duke with him. They both fell on the
floor while Mulder held his breath and tried moving every sore muscle in
him and rolled out of bed, picking up his sweats at the same time. Harry
was gasping for air as Duke went to him to try to see if he could help him.
Mulder went to the dresser to retrieve Scully's weapon, remembering that
Scully had left it on the dresser. He found the clip to the gun and
nervously tried putting the clip in. 

In a whispering sound, Harry took as much air as he could and told Duke to get away, 
"run, get out of here, go get George." Duke didn't want to leave him but when he raised 
his head and saw Mulder putting the clip on, he ran for the opened window and escaped,
running as fast as he could to the waiting car.

Mulder picked up the gun and aimed at Harry. "Crawley, you will never do
this to me or anyone else again. Never again," he said as he shot a round,
then another and another.

The shots sounded like cannons in the household. Sandra and Steve jumped
out of the bed, running to Joey's bedroom. Joey and his friend Scottie who
had spent the night were also jumping out of their beds trying to hide from
the sound of the shots.

Scully's heart dropped as she gasped with freight at where that sound was
coming from.

"Oh my dear God, please Mulder, don't try to take your life" she felt
herself screaming as just sprang out of the tub and grabbed her bathrobe
and through it on her without caring who was around her. She was still
soaked with water and filled with soapsuds from her bath. They all met in
the hall not knowing what to find on the other side of the door. Scully
tried very hard to become professional and not let her feelings take her
away. She had the family stay outside as she stood on the side of the
bedroom door, not standing directly in front and shouted, "Mulder, please
answer me, I'm coming in, put the gun down"

She opened the door slightly and saw Mulder standing by the dresser with
the gun pointing to the ceiling still pressing the trigger, over and over
and over, but the rounds were done, there wasn't any more bullets, but he
still kept on pressing the trigger. She went inside and found the intruder
on the floor still trying to catch his breath.

"Steve, I need help", Scully shouted as she went to the dresser and grabbed
the handcuffs and ran to the intruder. She went to the assailant and
handcuffed him first and then took a quick look to see if he was able to
breathe. He saw the purple bruises on his neck that Mulder must have given
him. Steve went to Harry and yelled for the boys to find some rope. They
went running to find some rope and came back to the bedroom to give it to
Joey's dad. Steve picked Harry up and took him out of the bedroom.

"I'll take care of him Dana, you take care of Fox" he said as he picked
Harry up off the floor and took him to the living room where he sat him on
a chair and tied him up.

Sandra went in the bedroom to help Dana with Mulder.

Scully went to Mulder and tried to take the gun out of his tight grip, but
he kept on pressing the trigger, over and over again.

"Mulder, let the weapon go"

"Scully, I'm killing Crawley, he tried coming back tonight, but he's gone,
I killed him Scully, he's dead, I shot him over and over again" he said
breathing heavily.

"Shhhh, give me the gun" she instructed as Mulder dropped his hand and gave
the gun to her. He bent his head down and put his head on her shoulder and
took a big breath of air. He wouldn't cry, he didn't want to because he was
happy. He was freed from his nightmares because he had killed him. But it
was hard to keep the tears back, so he started whimpering.

"Let me take you back to bed, come on" she said as she took his hand and
led him to the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and dropped his head to
his chest, not saying a word, just sat there in silence.

"Mulder, you won't be alone, I'll be close by" Scully said as she walked
towards Sandra and said, "Sandra could you do me a favor and stay with him
while I wash all this soap off of me. I don't want to leave him alone. I'll
hurry as fast as I could"

"Take your time Dana, I'll be here with him. He'll be alright," Sandra said
as she sat next to him on the bed and started rubbing Mulder's back. Mulder
still kept his head down, taking deep breaths. Steve sent the boys to bed
after he tied Harry up. He called the police and told him that there was an
intruder in the house. He then went back to the bedroom where he saw Sandra
sitting next to Mulder trying to comfort him. Sandra smiled at Steve and
placed her finger by her lips trying to let Steve know to keep silence.

Scully ran to the bathroom, turned on the hot water and went inside to
finish washing herself off. She quickly dried herself and put on her
pajamas on, and went back to the bedroom. She saw Mulder sit between Steve
and Sandra as they both had their arms around Mulder. She walked in and
smiled at them, mouthing the word "Thank you". Donald got up and whispered
in her ear that the police were on their way to pickup the intruder. Sandra
got up and told her to be sure to wake them if they needed anything and not
to worry about the guy, they would take care of him and that Scully needed
to be with Mulder. They both left the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

Scully walked towards Mulder, and bent down to pick up his long legs and
picked them up, placing them on the bed. Mulder tried moving to his side
when his face grimaced.

"Mulder, what's the matter. What happened?" she asked.

"My legs, Scully, my hips, they burn, I feel them wet," he whispered.

"Can I pull your sweats down to see why you feel that way?" she asked as he
nodded. She took a hold of the side of his sweats and pulled them down.

Along side of his leg were the raw scratch marks that Duke had done when he
lowered Mulder's pants. She picked up the waistband of his boxers and saw
that the deep scratch was from his upper hips all the way down to his
thigh. She turned him on his back to look at his other side and he had the
same thing. The gash was deep and bleeding.

"Mulder, was their only one man in here?"

"Yes, Crawley, I told you I killed Crawley" Mulder said.

"Was anything else done to you?" she kept on repeating.

"He socked me on my jaw," he smiled, "It hurt"

"No, I don't mean that, was there any sexual assault on you?" she asked
persistently.

"I told you he socked me!" ignoring her question.

"Alright then, Mulder I'm going to pull your boxers down so I can check
something. Are you okay with that?" she asked. He didn't respond, so she
pulled his underpants and saw the newly cuts and bruises on his person.
There seemed to be fresh abrasions on him. She took a big sigh and pulled
his boxers and sweatpants back up.

"I'll have to put some medication on those cuts you have on your thighs."
She told him, "Mulder I asked you before, did anything happen to you?" He
just shook his head no.

She walked towards the head of the bed and pulled a chair next to him.

"Look at me Mulder, turn your head" she said as she took a hold of his chin
and forced him to face her.

"I killed Crawley. He's not going to hurt me again." He insisted.

"Mulder, I want you to listen to me very carefully. It was not Crawley.
Crawley has been dead for over 1-1/2 years. I know this because I was the
one to take his life. I did it for you. To protect you but I think I did
more damage to you than good. The only Crawley that's here is the one you
have here" she told him as she took her finger and tapped it on his
forehead. "I'm sorry for what has happened to you, and I wish I could make
it better and I don't know how. You've been through so much in your
lifetime and I don't see how you bounce back all the time. Mulder, I need
for you to bounce back again. You need to tell me what happened tonight.
Skinner and I need you to come back to us. I was a witness to what happened
to you in the abandoned farmhouse and I could testify on that, but you have
to tell us about today. I'm asking you again. I want you to think
carefully, what happened?"

Mulder looked at her with those big hazel eyes as they started tearing, but
he wouldn't let the tears drop. Not any more, at least not in front of her.
He took a big breath of air and started saying, "I know it wasn't Crawley.
I was asleep and I felt something very heavy on my chest then something
over my mouth. When I opened my eyes, I saw one of them on top of me. I
couldn't move, I was hurting too much. There was another one in the room, I
believe it was the younger brother. The other one got on top of my legs and
pulled my sweats off. He's the one that scratched me and then he grabbed
me, he grabbed my b..." he was saying with a shaky voice, "then he put me
in his mouth and I felt such anger that I was able to grab the guy by his
throat. I kept on squeezing his neck Scully, I would have killed him, but,
I don't know, I think I almost did. He belted me but I wouldn't let go. I
kept on tightening my hands on his neck. That's when he fell off of me and
the other brother went to him. It gave me a chance to get out of bed and go
get the weapon you left on the dresser. When I lifted the gun, the younger
one was jumping out of the window and then I aimed, I..., Scully I couldn't
do it. Then I saw Crawley, I heard him, I saw him laughing at me, but I
couldn't do it. I lifted the gun in towards the ceiling and... and.. I'm so
sorry I scared you Scully, I'm so sorry," he said as the tears flowed
freely. He couldn't stop them. He tried, but he couldn't.

"Mulder, I'm going to leave you for just a couple of minutes, but I'll be
right outside. Do you think you'll be all right?" she asked him as she got
off her chair. When she said that he quickly moved his head towards the window.

"The window is locked. No one will be able to get in here, I promise," she
said as she started walking towards the door. She walked down the hall and
saw Joey coming out of the bathroom.

"Joey, could you do me a favor and keep Fox company while I call my boss,"
explained Mulder. Joey smiled and walked in the bedroom.

Scully walked towards the living room to see Steve still keeping an eye on
Harry. Steve had placed a gag on Harry's mouth. Scully gave a bewildered look.

"Dana, he kept on being very vulgar and I didn't want the boys to hear him."

"Thanks, do you know if the local law enforcement is coming soon?" she asked him.

"He should be here at any time." He responded.

"Donald, is it all right to use your phone. I'd like to call my boss," she asked.

"Absolutely, but why don't you take it in the kitchen. You'll get privacy there."

The phone rang about 3 times until it was answered, "Hello," said Skinner
getting out from a deep sleep.

"Sir, its Scully. I'm sorry to wake you but I need to give you an update.
Two of the assailants came back to the office to finish Mulder off. They
didn't succeed, but they did some damage. Physically, they didn't do too
much harm, but emotionally, I'm worried." She told him as he sat from his
bed with a very worried look.

"Agent Scully, how did that happen?" he asked.

"The night is so warm that the window was left open. I was in the bath so I
wasn't near him. Mulder was able to apprehend him and we have him
handcuffed, but the younger brother was able to escape," she explained,

"Law enforcement is on their way. What time should we expect you?" she
asked Skinner.

"I think it won't be until around 2:00 p.m. I still have to continue with
the paperwork and then I'll head to interrogate the assailant" he said.

"Sir, he kept on calling the assailant Crawley. He kept on thinking it was
him. It was really bad, but I made him face his demons. I hope he
understands why I was pressuring him in speaking to me." She said concerned.

"Well, Agent Scully, it's time for you to get to bed, you've had a very
long day," He demanded.

She said her good-byes and then picked up the phone again. The phone was
picked up with a sleeping sounding man.

"Daniel, it's Dana Scully," she greeted the therapist.

"Dana, is Mulder all right?" he asked.

"Right now he is. Daniel, we have had the worst 48 hours. We're in North
Carolina right now and hopefully if everything goes as planned, we'll be
heading for D.C. late tomorrow. We need to see you as soon as possible,"
she began to say.

"Something happened on your assignment?" he asked getting out of bed so as
not to disturb his wife.

"The assignment went well, well as well as an X-file can be. We solved the
case within a day, which was very unusual and decided to drive back to D.C.
since it was early in the week. To make a long story short, we were car
jacked. We were kidnapped and Mulder was sexually assaulted by three men,"
she said

"What? Oh my God, how is he. This can't happen, it will throw him back at
everything we've worked so hard at." He responded with an agitated voice.

"The three assailants obviously had a thing for men, because they didn't
touch me at all. A very nice family rescued Mulder and me, where we've been
since yesterday. We had Mulder examined by the town's doctor. Everything
would have been fine if two of the assailants didn't come back to repay
Mulder a visit. Mulder was able to apprehend one of the assailants but not
before he was victimized again. They didn't sexually assault him again, but
close to it. Daniel, he kept on calling them Crawley. He keeps on thinking
it's him all over again. I was afraid to confront him as I felt I might
make it worse. I wanted to call you but I couldn't take it anymore so I
confronted him. I made him talk and he then was able to tell me that it
wasn't Crawley. He knew who it was and was able to tell me what happened to
him," she went on with her story.

"Dana, he might just be telling you what you want to hear. He knows you're
not going to accept him thinking it's Crawley," he responded to her.

"...And that's not what I wanted to hear," she added. "I'm lost at what I
should do Daniel"

"Just stay with him. Call me when both of you are in town and I'll see him
right away. Take care Dana and I don't have to tell you to take care of
him," he said as he said his good-byes and hung up.

As she was walking out of the kitchen, she heard a knock on the door.

Sandra went to open it and found that it was the police. They introduced
him to Dana and followed both of them to where they had Harry bound and
gagged on the chair. Dana proceeded to explain the whole details of the
attack and said that her Superior would be contacting him the following day
to interrogate the suspect.

"Dana, you have got to get to bed. You looked absolutely drained," Sandra
said as she walked her down the hall after the police had left with Harry.

"I know, I will, I just need to dress his new wounds. Were you able to
retrieve my first aide kit. Was that found along with our suitcases?" she asked.

"No, all there was were the suitcases and the laptops. But I have a fairly
good supply of bandages, gauze's and antiseptics. You need all that
paraphernalia when you have a 11-year old boy," she mused as she went to
the hall bathroom and took the kit from the cabinet drawer.

"Thanks Sandra. Your family has been such a help to Mulder and I. I really
don't know what would have happened to us if the boys had found us. Well,
actually I know what would have happened," Scully said as she retrieved the
kit and headed for the bedroom door. She opened the door to find Joey and
Mulder laughing. What a beautiful site that was. <How long has it been
since I've seen you smile, let alone laugh? > she thought to herself.

"Say, what's so funny?" she asked as she came close to Mulder and Joey.

"Can't tell, it's a secret, you know man stuff," Joey responded as he got
up and went to the door.

"Thanks Joey for staying here with him," Scully said as she gave him a wink
and Joey smiled.

"Mulder, you're not going to let me in on the joke?"

"No, you heard Joey, it's man stuff," he responded.

"Well Mulder, it's time for a little doctoring in my part and then it's
beddy bye for you. She proceeded to clean the wounds that he had on his
legs with antiseptics and bandaged them as best she could.

"Mulder, do you want some painkillers?" she asked as she covered him up
with the blanket.

"I'm doing fine, I'm just really tired," he responded. She put the kit away
and started taking the extra blankets and placing them on the floor near
the bed.

"Scully, what are you doing?" he asked her.

"Making my bed, what does it look like I'm doing"

"There's room for both of us on the bed," he said shyly.

"Mulder, you're sore all over, what if I.." she started to say.

"Are you saying that you're a crazy sleeper. That's okay, I don't think
I'll wake up since you keep on doping me up with sleeping pills," he
responded.

She walked towards him and climbed in bed with him. Within seconds they
were both fast asleep.


Friday

She felt her face warm as she opened her eyes and felt the warmth of the
sun on her face from the window. For a second she tried to remember where
she was and then it came to her. It seemed she and Mulder had been through
a nightmare that neither of them could wake up from. <Mulder, where is
Mulder? > she thought as she quickly sat up from the bed. She turned around
and saw him standing by the window looking at the outside.

"Mulder, how long have you been awake?" she asked as she got out of bed and
walked towards him.

"Not long, I didn't want to wake you. I just was looking at the scenery
outside, so peaceful," he responded.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"As well as to be expected," he said to her as he started walking very
slowly back to the bed.

"I wonder what time it is?" she asked looking around for a clock. "Smells
like breakfast is being served. Let me go to the bathroom and I'll go see
if there's any breakfast for us," she commented to him. Minutes later she
came out and started for the door.

"Scully, let me go with you. I don't want to be cooped up in here," he said
as he took each step with delicate care.

They both went to the living room where they saw the two boys watching
their morning cartoons.

"Fox, Dana you guys are up? Mom is making breakfast, let me go get her."
Joey said springing up from the floor and running to the kitchen. Sandra
came out wiping her hands on her apron and was surprised to see Mulder up
and around.

"Breakfast is ready. You should have stayed in bed. I would have brought it
to you," she said looking at Mulder.

"No, I wanted to walk around," Mulder quickly responded. He went to sit
down and then thought twice about it, looking at the chair and then Scully.

"Sandra, do you happen to have a cushion or a pillow that you can bring for
Mulder to sit on?" she asked seeing Mulder's panic face knowing that
sitting was not going to be an easy task. The pillow was quickly brought to
him and they both sat to a country style breakfast with all the fixins.

The doorbell rang at 9:00 a.m. "The doctor is prompt as always," Donald
said as he got up from the kitchen table and went to open the door.

"Fox, I'm surprised to see you up and around," the doctor mused.

"I didn't think that sitting was going to be such a hard thing to do,"
Mulder responded back to him.

"Would you like to join us?" Sandra offered.

"No thanks, the wife made a special breakfast for me this morning. But
thanks for you offer." He replied. Breakfast was finished and some idle
chitchat was exchanged. Doctor Stan looked at Mulder and said, "No more
stallin, let me see how you're doing today, to the bedroom," he ordered as
he took Mulder's arm and helped him out of the chair. Scully followed them
informing the doctor of the new injuries that Mulder sustained the late hours.

"You poor boy, do you have a black cloud over your head?" the doctor tried
to lighten the situation as he had Mulder sit on the bed and started the
examination from head to toe. He checked the bandaged area for any
infection and then the new bruises on his person. Other than the new
injuries, Mulder seemed to be doing as well as to be expected. The doctor
left after giving some medical orders to Scully and leaving more medication
for Mulder during his trip back to D.C.

"Scully, I'd like to go outside, can you help me?" he asked.

She took his arm and they both took a very slow walk around the farmhouse.

A car was pulling up in the driveway when they noticed that it was Skinner.

"Sir, you're a little earlier than expected. How did everything go?" she
asked as Skinner walked toward them.

"All right. I went to interrogate the prisoner at the cell, which I found
out his name is Harry and the other two were definitely his brothers. I
left him with the local law enforcement for the time being. They are going
to search for the other two. They will let us know as soon as there is a
lead. Mulder, you look better, do you feel better?" he asked him.

"No, on both accounts. I don't feel well, and I know I look like hell," he responded.

"Well, then lets get you back home and we can start putting all this behind
us. The flight leaves in 3 hours," Skinner said as he took Mulder's arm and
helped him walk back towards the house. They took about an hour to shower,
dress and get all their belongings in order and were saying their good-byes
to the family.

"Here's my card, I expect a call as soon as possible so we can show you
around the Bureau," Skinner said as he handed Joey his business card.

"Thank you very much," Joey's eyes gleamed.

"I don't know how to even start thanking all of you for your hospitality.
But remember, you have all our numbers. Call us when you're in town,
please," Scully said as she gave a hug to the boys, Sandra and then Steve.

"I want to thank you too, I just wish we had met in different
circumstances, and uh, sorry for all the bullet holes in your ceiling. I'll
be sure to send you the money for all the damages," Mulder said as he
carefully hugged Sandra and then shook hands with the boys and then Steve.

The three got in the car and headed towards the airport. They arrived in
D.C. where Skinner had left his car at the overnight parking lot. He
started driving them home when Scully whispered to him to take her home
first so she can pick up some changes of clothing. "Sir, I don't want to
leave Mulder alone for awhile"

Mulder was in the backseat staring out the window, oblivious to any
conversation that was going on. Skinner drove her home and about 20 minutes
later she came out with some more suitcases with clean clothes to last her
a week. Skinner drove them back to Mulder's apartment, parked the car and
then helped Mulder to his apartment by holding him by his arm. Both Scully
and Skinner went back to the car to retrieve the suitcases, "Scully, call
me if you need me."

"I will Sir," she responded as they both walked in and saw Mulder sit on
his couch with a blank stare into nothingness.

"Relax, Mulder, and get well, you're not getting out of work this easy,"
Skinner said as he walked out.

Scully walked toward the kitchen to see what she could cook up for dinner.

<Nothing, Mulder what in the world do you eat? > she thought. <I need to go
to the store, but how do I leave you alone> She thought heading towards the
living room.

"Scully, would you mind if I go take a nap. I'm really tired." Mulder said
as he got up off the couch and started walking towards his bedroom.

"No, of course not. Listen, while you take a nap, I'm going to go to the
store and get us some dinner for later on. Do you think you'll be alright?"
she asked.

"I told you before, I'm a big boy"

She took Mulder's keys and headed out the door, but not before peaking in
the bedroom to see Mulder lying down. She didn't know if he was napping or
just thinking.

"Fox, wake up, are you asleep?" asked an unseen voice.

"Mmm?" Mulder answered drogy in his sleep He opened his eyes but the room
was dark. He couldn't judge where the voice was coming from.

"I didn't mean to wake you. Fox, are you still sore? Where does it hurt?
can I be of any help? Let me kiss it better," the voice came softly and
then with a giggle at the end.

"Where are you? Who are you?" he asked as he sat up rubbing the sleep from
his eyes.

"Foxy, I'm hurt. How can you forget me already? After all we've been to
each other. We were so close, so very deliciously close. But I see 3 have
taken my place others. Hey Foxy, how in the world are you going to get
Scully to fall in love with you if the only humans you plan on being
intimate with are men. Do you like the feeling of them hard on you?" told
the sound of a voice from the far end of the darkened room. The room filled
with laugher. At these words Mulder sat straight up and scooted as close to
the headboard as he could, grabbing the blanket close to him.

"It's me Foxy, it's Crawley. I have told you before; you will never get rid
of me, never. You will forget the other three because they're still alive,
but me, no, you can't get rid of me because I'm already gone, six feet
under but still in your head," the voice continued.

Mulder put his arms over his head, bending his head down to his knees,
hoping that this would take the sound away from his mind, but it didn't. He
still heard him, no matter what he did, he was still there with him.

"Mulder wake up, you're having a bad dream," Scully said as she tugged at
him trying to wake him from the tossing and turning that he was doing.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted as his eyes popped open and grabbed the
blanket close to him.

"Shhh Mulder, you're dreaming that's all it was, just a dream. I tried to
hurry as fast as I could but traffic was bad. I'm sorry," she said to him
pushing his sweat-drenched hair back, "What were you dreaming about. Do you
remember?"

Mulder shook his head with frightened eyes, "Crawley, I dreamt of Crawley.
It seemed so real. He was standing right over there," he said pointing his
finger towards the end of the room.

"Why don't you come in the kitchen with me while I make us some dinner?"
she asked trying to change the subject of his ghost. They both went to the
kitchen and both worked quietly making small talk as they made dinner.

Night came too soon for Mulder's liking. <If I stay awake I won't see him,
or think of him> he thought to himself. Scully grabbed the extra blanket
and pillow and started for the couch as Mulder looked nervously towards her.

"Scully, you're not sleeping on the couch are you?"

"Well yes, I was thinking about it," she responded.

"Please..." is all he started to say with a look of embarrassment. A grown
man and he couldn't stay in the room by himself.

"Do you want me to stay with you in the bedroom?" she asked, before he
finished his sentence. She knew he was having difficulty having to show her
how vulnerable he really was. He shook his head in agreement. She followed
him to the bedroom and without another word slipped in bed with him. He
tossed and turned most of the night, waking her up at his constant nightmares.


Saturday

Early in the morning, Scully snuck out of bed to call Mulder's doctor.
Doctor Stan had given her strict orders to have Mulder checked out when he
got back in town. His own personal doctor needed to continue the check up
to see if he had been healing properly. She new it was Saturday but she
thought she'd take a chance to see if she could take him to the clinic.

Next she called Mulder's therapist, Daniel and set the appointment to see
him later that afternoon. She needed for all this to be over for him.
Someway, somehow, someone had to get Mulder away from those nightmares. She
went back to the bedroom after the phone call, hoping that maybe she could
try talking to him. Maybe he'll let his guard down and talk to her.

She crawled back in bed trying not to wake him, at least, not just yet. But
with the movement of the bed, Mulder turned to face her and in his sleep
put his arm around her, snuggling up next to her. She didn't dare move. If
this was going to give him a peaceful sleep, then so be it. Although, it
really didn't bother her at all. In fact, it felt quite natural. She
cuddled up next to him as close as she could.

"Scully, if you had one wish, what would you wish for?" he whispered in her ear.

"Mulder, I thought you were asleep?" she asked startled and a little
embarrassed at how close she was to him.

"I was, but your constant tossing and turning woke me. Who did you call a
minute ago?" he asked her.

"So you were awake the whole time and not only that but snooping on me?"

"I wasn't snooping, I just kind of overheard you going to the phone," he smiled.

"I made two phones calls, one to your doctor, he has to check you out to
see how you're doing and Mulder, I called Daniel. I'm sorry, I should have
asked you first. I want you to get better, and we can't do it ourselves.
You need help with this, as well as I need help, helping you," she
responded, "Daniel said he could see you later on today."

"Ummm, Scully, you didn't answer my question. What would your wish be?"

"I don't know if I have one right now. I'd have to think about it. Besides,
I've heard if you tell someone your wish, it won't come true," she answered
feeling proud of herself that she was able to wiggle out of that one.

"Do you want to know what my wish is?" he said.

She responded by smiling at him and shaking her head, "I wish that all my
nightmares would be gone. You know the things that have happened to me in
my life, I would have done anything for them not to happen, but they did.
And maybe I'm a better person for that. Kind of sadistic wouldn't you say.
Maybe my views in life wouldn't be what they are now. Sure I wish with all
my heart that my sister was never abducted, sure I wish that mom would have
been more affectionate towards me, sure I wished that dad would have been
like all the other dads and... and," he explained but having to stop to
catch his breath.

"Mulder you don't have to continue," she told him touching his cheek with
the back of her fingers.

"I want to Scully, I want to talk to you like I should have years ago. I
wished dad had been proud of me. I tried so hard with everything I did. I
excelled in school, Violet Crimes, and with the F.B.I., but well there was
always a but for him. I know he would have preferred that they would have
taken me instead of Sami, but it was Sami and not I. Instead of loving me
and holding me close to them, they distanced themselves. Scully, I tried so
hard, so hard to be the best for them. But now it's too late for dad to...
well, maybe it's too late for me to get his approval. And the rapes, almost
unbelievable, what are the statistics on that? Not once, but twice and the
second a triple wammy," he said trying to make humor of the situation and
the whole conversation. Scully, I said one wish, didn't I, and it seems
like I made many. Pick one, hummm, no more nightmares. I'm tired of waking
in cold sweat seeing Sami call me to help her and I can't because I'm
paralyzed. I'm tired of waking up in a cold sweat because I see Crawley
digging himself in me over and over again. Feeling me tear open every time
I think of him. I'm tired of waking up in a cold sweat and gagging because
of what I had to do with those three bastards. I want to be able to dream
of birds, of the ocean, of the hillsides, of you," he said softly.

She tried to hold back her tears as she saw the sadness in his face and the
sadness in his voice, but she couldn't'. She was also tired of being
strong. She needed just as much help as he needed. "You'll get those dreams
Mulder, you have to believe that you will."

"What about the dream about you?" he asked shyly.

"You'll get that dream too, because it's my dream too."

He moved closer to her, snuggling as close as he could.

"Scully, I need you. I want you so badly," he said as his hands started
caressing her face. He took her in his arms and slowly and gently moved his
hands from her shoulders down to the middle of her back, then the roundness
of her bottom. She could feel his erection through their clothing against
her thigh as he started moving his hips slowly, rubbing up against her.

"Mulder..." she started to say.

"Scully, please say yes. Please don't turn me away, please don't say no,"
he pleaded in her ear as he started kissing her neck. She didn't respond to
him, she didn't know what to say or do at this time. <God I want this, I
want this more than life itself, but is this a good time? > She thought to
herself. <We got this far just a week ago, what happens if? >

The feeling in her loins were getting to the point of no return, she knew
that. How long had she wanted this, wanted him? He took her hand and
lowered it down to him. Placed it on his arousal as it pulsated in her
hand. She took her hand off just long enough to start taking his pajama
bottoms off. She took her hands and lowered them towards his knees,
exposing himself to her, in all his glory. They held each other close, so
close. She took a hold of him again, admiring the feel, rubbing the tip and
feeling the slight moisture that had escaped. He held her close to him,
kept his eyes closed, kissing her, and then slowly opened them to get the
full view of her beauty. But there, in the far side of the room, he stood,
looking at him, grinning from ear to ear, shaking his finger in
disapproval. 'Now, now Foxy, you won't be able to do your manly thing.
Because that thing of yours in mine. You won't be able to perform. She
won't want you after you've been taking by us'

"God no, not now, leave me alone," he said as he closed his eyes and buried
his head on her shoulders. "Scully, I can't even be a man to you. I want
you but he won't let me make love to you, he won't leave me alone," he said
as he started to weep. His arousal was gone; he went soft again on her, a
second time. <What kind of man am I? Am I even a man? >. His weeping became
stronger, coming from the pit of his stomach. He felt like he was cleansing
his soul, he couldn't stop, the tears would not stop. 

"Scully, I need help. I can't do this on my own anymore and I'm afraid if this 
happens again, I will lose you, and if I do, then I don't want to live anymore."

"Mulder, you will never lose me, heck I didn't leave you when the flukeman
was after us. Do you think you'll lose me now? Don't think that you are
less than a man because this is happening to you. You have been through a
lot, too much for a man to take, in fact, for anyone to take," she consoled
him as she helped him pull his pajama bottoms back on.

"Why don't we start our day Mulder, you have a doctor's appointment at
11:00 in the morning and then an appointment with Daniel at 2:00," she
announced as she got out of bed and went to retrieve her clothes and headed
for the bathroom.

"I'm fine Scully, I really don't want to go to the doctor. One, you are my
doctor and you can be the one to examine me, two I was examined by the good
Doctor Stan and you know he was very thorough," he said suppressing a yawn.

"Well one, you know you have to see the doctor. Two, I know I'm your doctor
but I'll feel more comfortable if you see a male doctor to examine you. And
three, stop pretending your still sleepy," she smirked, "so hurry and get
dressed, doctor's orders and if that doesn't work, I can always call Skinner."

Unfortunately for Mulder, traffic was light and they were able to get to
the doctor's office in record time. He was immediately escorted in while
Scully stayed in the waiting room.

Scully kept on fidgeting in her seat, reading all the year old magazines
that were scattered all over the table in the waiting room. Thirty minutes
had past when Mulder finally appeared, walking a little slower.

"You know, I'm beginning to think everyone is getting more of a thrill
examining me," Mulder snorted as he joined her in the waiting room, "Let's
get out of here before they remember they have to do something else to me."

It was nearly lunchtime so they decided to stop at a nearby restaurant to
have a quick lunch.

"Why don't you take me back to your apartment while you go see Daniel?" she
asked as they walked back to their car from the restaurant.

"You don't want to go with me?" he asked a little hurt.

"It's not that I don't want to. Besides I can wait for you at the apartment
as well as the waiting room. Of course if you want me too," she quickly responded.

"I'd like for you to come. I guess if I know you're outside the office,
I'll feel better. I'm just a little nervous."

"Dana, it's good to see you again, how is Fox?" Daniel asked as he looked
at Mulder.

"Fox is doing just fine," she responded smiling at Mulder knowing she would
get a reaction from his first name.

"If Fox was fine, I wouldn't be here, would I," Mulder responded to both of
them.

Scully was escorted to Daniel's personal office while Mulder went to the,
well too known office that he'd visited more times than he'd like to admit.

"Dana, how is Fox, really?" Daniel asked her.

"I don't know Daniel. When we were in Tennessee he was back to his old
form. Then the car jacking happened and it through him back. It seemed that
everything we all worked for was thrown all away. Ask him what he did in
the family's home that we stayed. I'll let him tell you. And Daniel, if he
doesn't tell you, I will. I don't know if he told you a week ago that we
almost made love and he froze. Well, it happened again. He's very confused
right now. He's hurt to the core," Scully said sadly.

"We'll get him back Scully, we might have a long road ahead of us, but
he'll find his way home," Daniel replied placing his hand on her shoulder
trying to soothe her worried mind.

"Mulder, I see you found your favorite seat, care for some water?" Daniel
asked as he walked in the office closing the door behind him. Mulder shook
his head.

"Where do you want to start. Or do you want me to start," Daniel said as he
filled the dixie cup with water from the water cooler. He walked towards
Mulder and handed him the cup of water then went to his desk and picked up
a file.

"This was faxed to me from the doctor that examined you in North Carolina
and I just got the report from the doctor you saw earlier today. It states
here that you are going through PostTraumatic Stress. What do you think
Mulder, do you think you have PTSD?" he asked as he flipped through the pages.

"PTSD, that's silly," he responded.

"Well let me see Fox, let me name you some symptoms and you tell me. Do you
have intrusive recollections of the assault? Mulder looked at him with no
expression.

"How about waking flashbacks, feeling experiences with an intense sense of reality?"

Still no response, but this time he turned his head facing away from Daniel.

"Well then, do you dream of the assault?"

Mulder's fingers started tightening on the seat cushions of the recliner he
was sitting on. Knuckles, starting to whiten with the lack of blood.

"Physiological over-reactivity, including exaggerated startle response?
Mulder started breathing a little deeper, fidgeting in his chair, but no response.

"Fox, I think you might fit the next one, avoidance of discussing the
attack," the doctor kept on pushing.

"Feeling of being apart from Scully?"

Mulder turned towards Daniel with eyes that were set deep, glaring.

"Insomnia, irritability, trouble concentrating, impotence, " Daniel kept on
pushing adding the last symptom with emphasis. Mulder's face paled as he
jumped out of the recliner and looked around in panic, grabbing the trash
can on the side of the desk and retching all his lunch. He fell to his
knees still holding the can as he continued. Daniel went to get Scully from
the other room so she can come and help Mulder. She ran to him, kneeling
alongside of him.

"Oh, Mulder..." is all she said as she held his forehead trying to control
his jerking motion. Daniel went to get a wet washcloth and a wet paper
towel. He handed the paper towel to Mulder so he could wipe his mouth while
Scully took the washcloth and wiped his forehead then the back of his neck.
She waited until Mulder stopped and helped him up. Daniel took the trashcan
and took it to the bathroom to wash it out.

"I want to go home," he told her.

"Not yet Fox, you haven't said a word. Let's talk a little more," Daniel
said as he walked back in the office. He motioned to Scully to walk Fox
back to the recliner. She walked him over and told him to sit.

"You'll be o.k. Mulder, I'll be in the next room," she said to him as she
tried to let loose of the grip that Mulder had on her hand.

"Please stay," he pleaded. Scully turned to look at Daniel as he shook his
head in approval. "I'll stay then," as she sat on the couch that was right
next to the recliner, not letting go of his hand.

Daniel brought Mulder some more water and then leaned back on his desk
focusing on Mulder.

"Talk to me Fox, tell me what you feel when you think of Crawley. Do you
want to kill him again?" he asked. Mulder's did a quick look at Daniel with
anger in his face that brought a chill to Scully's spine. He let go of her
hand and grabbed the armrest of the recliner, again tightening his hands,
scratching the leather on the chair.

"He won't ever die, I have to kill him, I want him to pay for what he did
to me, but I never will get the chance because of, of..." Mulder
reproached, then turned his head to Scully and said, "...because of YOU!!"

Scully's eyes widened, felt hurt, not understanding his words of hate.

"Mulder, I killed him for you, I told you that," she responded sadly.

"I want to leave now!!" he angrily said as he got off the chair. "Here's my
keys to my car, I'll find a way home"

"Mulder, don't do this," she pleaded with him but he had already walked out
of the office.

"Daniel, I don't want him going home alone, I'm afraid," she said uneasily.

"Don't leave him alone, go after him. Force him to go home with you. Tell
him if he doesn't go with you, I'll call 911 and tell them to pick him up,"
he responded as she ran out the office.

She caught up with him and got him by the elbow, "Mulder I'll leave, but I
am going to take you home first, do you hear me, and if you don't, I'll
have Daniel call 911. I don't think you want that, do you?" she said with
power in her voice, but inside she was shaking hoping that he wouldn't
notice. He wasn't happy, but he did as she told and complied with her
orders. The drive home was in complete silence. The intensity in the
confined space of the car was uncomfortable. She parked the car in the
apartment parking structure when Mulder opened the door, barely letting her
stop the car. He hurried to the elevator not waiting for her. She froze in
her steps not knowing whether he would let her in. She didn't want to leave
him alone, but maybe he needed the time by himself to release his anger.

She sat in her car, wrapping the steering wheel with her arms and burying
her head on the wheel. She waited what she felt was an eternity, looking at
her watch every minute thinking if she should go up.

Mulder unlocked his apartment, slamming the door behind him. He threw his
jacket on the couch and started pacing walking back and forth from room to room.

"Where are you Crawley, show your fuckin face. I dare you coming to me
again, come and fuck me again, just try fucking me again," he shouted as he
started throwing things around, hitting the lamp over, throwing the
cushions from the couch, throwing his desk chair on the floor. "Scully, why
did you, why did..." he yelled as he was ready to punch the wall, when
Scully appeared right in view, inches away from his fist. He gasped in
alarm knowing that he almost hit her, he almost hit the only person that
always was by his side. She gasped in fear for a split second, but then
realized that he wasn't himself. She knew that if he had connected with
her, he would have yet another guilt to bare. Mulder grabbed her shoulders
and started shaking her, "Why did you kill him Scully, why? He was fucking
me, not you?" he said as his trembling body took over and he bent his head.

"I'm loosing it Scully, I can't handle this anymore. I don't want to see
him anymore; I don't want to blame you anymore. I don't want to live.." he
started to say when she gasped and then her anger took over. She pushed his
hands away from her shoulders and grabbed on his arm digging her
fingernails into him. She picked up his chin with such force that she took
him by surprise. "Don't you fucking say that, don't you ever fucking say
that again. Just who do you think you are? You think you're the only person
that has gotten raped. Do you think you're the only victim in this world? I
have been walking in pins and needles with you. I walked in that room
seeing that bastard fucking you. Yes, I killed him, I didn't want him to
hurt you anymore," she yelled as she shoved him against the wall, knocking
the back of his head on the door jam. "What if the bastard was fucking me,
would you have let him fuck me. Would you not have wanted to kill him, to
save me? I don't want to say that I know how you feel. Because I don't, but
damn it Mulder, you're not the only victim here. Have you stopped to think
for one moment what you've put me through? What you've put Skinner through.
All we want is to get you out of this hellhole that you're in, but
goddamit, you have to help yourself. Now if you want to keep on blaming me,
then there's nothing I can do for you. If you want me to say I'm sorry I
killed him, then I'll say it. I'm sorry, I'm fucking, goddamn fucking
sorry, but I'm only saying it to appease you. But not because I mean it,
because Mulder, I'm not sorry and I never will be," she hollered as she
dropped her hands from her grasp on him and rushed to the bedroom, slamming
the door shut.

She threw herself on his bed and swore she wasn't going to cry. She was
strong. Her father was always proud of his little girl, because she was his
strong one. <Dammit, I'm tired of being strong. I want to be taken care of.
I want to be taken care of, just for one day> Her thoughts overtook her
when it happened, she lost it. She wasn't strong anymore and her father
would be ashamed of her. She started to cry. She cried for Mulder's
loveless youth, all his misfortunes that had befallen him. She also cried
for herself, because she couldn't help him anymore. She was lost at what
else to do for him.

The phone rang to interrupt her tears. She picked up the phone and the
second ring, forgetting that she wasn't at her place. Too late to think
that she should have let Mulder pick up the call.

"Hello," she said on the receiver as she stifled her tears.

"Dana, Agent Scully," Skinner responded realizing the tone of her voice.
Something was not quite right.

"Sir, let me get Mulder," she replied with Skinner interrupting.

"What's wrong Agent Scully, what's going on?" he asked with concern.

"Nothing, Mulder and I just had an argument."

"I won't accept nothing as an answer. Wasn't Mulder going to see Daniel,
did he go?" Skinner asked.

"Yes, he did. It wasn't a good visit Sir. Daniel was a little hard on him
and brought the whole subject up again about his anger towards me for
killing Crawley. Mulder couldn't take it anymore so when we got back to his
apartment, he exploded. His living room took the brunt of his anger," she
explained, "I'm in his bedroom, giving him time to cool off. Did you want
me to call him?"

"Well, the reason for my call is to tell both of you that the other two
brothers were apprehended this morning. They have them at the local police
station. I'm heading down there tomorrow morning. I'll let both of you know
if there's anything that both of you need to do in the next couple of
days." He told.

"That's wonderful Sir, it really is. Maybe we can put a closure to this
part of his terror. Let me get him on the phone," she said as she got out
of the bed walking towards the door. She stepped in the hallway, watching
Mulder pick up the pieces of plaster on the floor from the broken lamp. The
cushions on the couch were back in place and the chair was upright again.

"Mulder, Skinner is on the phone, he wants to talk to you," she said as she
handed the phone to him and walked back in the bedroom.

"Did Scully call you to tell on me?" Mulder asked childishly.

"What are you talking about? I called you to give you good news, although
maybe you should talk to me first," he ordered.

"Nothings wrong, nothing at all," he answered sarcastically.

"I called to inform both you and Agent Scully that they apprehended your
assailants. They are in jail and I'll be flying there tomorrow to
interrogate them. I'll let you know later when or if you need to meet me.
Mulder, before I hang up, I want you to think of what your doing to
yourself and to Scully. I'm now talking as your friend, the friend that was
with you those months of recovery. I also want you to remember who was also
in that time of recovery, the one person that has never abandoned you. I
want you also to remember that even when she was hired to debunk your work,
she believed in you and has followed you, so it's time to get yourself
together," the older man said, "I'll call you later."

Mulder didn't have time to say anything to Skinner when he heard the click
of the phone. He hung up the phone and decided that it was time to make
some apologies. He heard the sound of the bedroom door and saw Scully go to
the hall bathroom. "Scully, I..." he started to say but was ignored by her.

She went in the bathroom, clicking the lock to the door.

She thought of leaving, she had picked up her cell phone a couple of times
ready to call a taxi so she can go home, let him alone to his
self-destruction. But she was worried that he would do something to
himself. He had mentioned something, a slight little sentence that scared
her to the core. She'll just stay in the same apartment to watch him, but
not necessarily together. He had to come out of this on his own. She turned
the faucet to the tub and filled it with hot water and poured some bubble
bath in it. She brought her book with her and she was going to be there for
awhile. Every once in awhile she'd hear noises outside. It sounded like he
was still picking up after his tantrum. After about 30 minutes in the tub,
she got out dressed and headed back into the bedroom. Without a word she
took some of his clothes out of the bedroom. She felt bad, after all it was
his apartment and it was his bedroom, but she didn't care. He wanted her
there; she'd stay, but not necessarily in the same space. She took his
sweatpants and underclothes along with some blankets and a pillow and left
it on his couch. He just looked at her with saddened eyes, but didn't force
the issue. She walked back into the bedroom without saying a word.

He stayed in the living room watching television while she stayed in the
bedroom reading. She failed to think of eating dinner, <Okay Dana, I'm
hungry and what am I going to do now? > She picked up the phone and ordered
a pizza, a small individual pizza and a salad. <Let him figure out what
he's eating> The doorbell rang, which surprised Mulder, but before he got
to the door, Scully walked out with her wallet, paid the delivery boy and
went back into the bedroom. Her heart ached for what she was doing to him,
but she kept on reminding herself, <He needs his space>

It was about 9:00 p.m. and Mulder couldn't stand the silence he was getting
from her. <Now who's being childish? > He thought to himself, <Me, I'm
being childish. I could have hit her because of my problems> He sat on his
couch with the lights off and felt a tap on his shoulder. It felt good,
thinking it was Scully, he quickly turned around to find no one, nothing.

He thought that maybe it would be better if he just fell asleep, loose
himself in his sleep, maybe he could get a full night sleep.

He felt warmth close to him, a nibble on his ear. He felt a soft hand on
his body, rubbing his chest, his abdomen, right under his navel, his inner
thighs, his scrotum cupped by those soft hands, his penis. He felt his
erection as he felt kissed all over him.

It felt good, as he smiled and opened his eyes. "Scully" he whispered. But
there was nobody there. All he heard was laughter in his head, a voice that
he couldn't get rid of. He moved his hand down on him and realized what was
happening to him. He felt embarrassed because in his dream he thought it
was Scully, but he knew it was he, Crawley. He got up from the couch and
walked over to the bedroom. He didn't want to be alone. He tried to turn
the knob but it was locked. Not only was she locking him out of his own
room but out of her heart. "Scully, please open the door," he pleaded but
there was only silence.

He paced the floor thinking of the conversation that he and Daniel had
earlier that evening. Well, it wasn't really a conversation but a
well-known fact of the problem that Mulder had. Yes he did have PTSD; yes
he was ruining his life as well as the only person he ever loved. He gave
up knocking on the door and walked back to the couch. Scully wasn't
sleeping, she was wide awake worrying herself thinking of what was
happening to him outside the bedroom door. She heard the tapping and the
pleading, but she wasn't going to open it. He needed to get help for
himself and until that happened, she was going to stay away.

It was 10:00 p.m. and it was harder to breathe. He could go for a run, but
he didn't want to go alone. He could watch a movie, read a book, take a
bath, loose his sanity. He picked up the phone and dialed a much too
familiar number.

"Hello, Mrs. Raker, is Daniel there. I didn't wake you did I?" Mulder asked nervously.

"No he's not, may I tell him whose calling?" she politely asked. She knew
it must be someone that Daniel was worried about since he only gave his
home number to those he was very worried about.

"Fox, can you tell him its Fox."

"Fox, what's the matter?" Daniel asked with concern.

"I'm sorry I'm calling you so late, but I need to talk to you now. I can go
to your office or you can come here. I'll pay double, whatever I need to
do. Daniel, Scully won't talk to me. I almost hit her after we came back
from your office. It wasn't intentionally, she just happened to walk in
front of me when I..." he explained nervously. Daniel could tell the stress
that sounded on Mulder's voice.

"Where is Dana now?" he asked.

"In my bedroom. She locked herself in there and she won't come out to talk
to me"

"Fox, will you be all right for the next 15 minutes. I'll go down to your
place. Fox, I want you to relax, do some deep muscle relaxation breathing.
I'll hurry." Daniel said a little worried at the sound of Fox's voice. When
Daniel hung up, he called Scale's cell phone hoping that the cell was close
to her.

"Scully," is all the Dana answered when she picked up her phone.

"Dana, what in the world is happening over there? I just hung up the phone
with Fox and I'm very worried about him. He sounds like he's about to have
an anxiety attack. He told me you wouldn't let him in the bedroom so he can
talk to you. He told me he almost hit you. Is this true?" Daniel asked,
kissing his wife, grabbing his car keys and heading to his car.

"Daniel, all I can say is that it wasn't pretty. He destroyed his
apartment, and I just happened to walk in on his line of fire. He didn't
mean it, but I felt he needed to vent his anger, and I wasn't going to be
part of it. I told him what I felt and I told him I wasn't going to
apologize for what I did to Crawley. Do you want me to go and see if I can
do something?" she asked as she turned the television off and turned the
light from the lamp on.

"No, I need to get to him and do something about this as soon as possible.
Just keep an ear open in case he can't handle it anymore. I told him to do
some breathing excercises, I'm hoping he follows my orders until I get
there. I think I want to put him under hypnosis and let him experience the
attack one last time. I think I want him to bring it out in the open and
have him kill Crawley one last time. I will need you there at that time,
but just wait till I call you. I'm about 10 minutes away now. Dana, just
listen that he doesn't do anything," Daniel explained as he drove a little faster.

"Come in, I'm still in one piece," Mulder joked opening the door. Daniel
saw how pale Mulder looked, his sweat beading on his forehead.

"Fox, I don't know if you're going to approve of the decision I'm making on
the form of treatment I want to give you. But at this point, I think that
you are just going to have to trust me. I want you as relaxed as possible.
Go use the bathroom if you need to, get a drink of water and go sit on the
couch. Now, where is Dana?" he ordered.

"She's in there," Mulder pointed to his room and then went on his way
following Daniel's orders.

Daniel knocked on the bedroom door and announced himself. Dana opened the
door and was told by Daniel that he wanted her to be out there with him.

"I want you to sit next to him. He's going to need you near him." She went
to the couch and sat in one corner of it. Mulder came out of the bathroom
and a quick smile shown on his face. They looked at each other with a
little uneasiness. He didn't want to bother Scully so he headed for his
chair near his desk.

"No, go sit on the couch with Dana," Daniel demanded.

"Fox, I know you've been under hypnosis before, and I don't know how you
feel about it now, but we're going to try this form of therapy right now.
He sat down next to Scully but still not looking at her.

"Fox, shall we start?" he asked as Mulder reluctantly said yes. "Close your
eyes and relax, breathe in and breathe out. Fill your lungs with air, hold
it for a second and then release it." Daniel started. He started relaxing
him from the top of his head, his face, his jaw, his shoulders, his chest,
and he continued until he felt that Mulder was completely relaxed. "Fox, I
want you to keep your eyes closed and remember the event that upset you. I
want you to see Crawley, feel the experience again, bring it to the open so
we can put it away from your mind forever." Daniel said a monotone soothing
sounding voice that put Mulder is a light state of relaxation.

"I was coming home in the early morning from my daily jog. I remember the
coldness in the air, the grass was still wet and it started to sprinkle. I
went in the elevator to get to my floor and was thinking that I was running
late. I knew I had to hurry, shower and get to work. I knew that Scully
would get angry with me if I got to work late that morning. The elevator
door opened and I didn't think of getting my keys from my jacket until I
had gotten in front of my door. I took the keys out and they slipped out of
my hand. When I bent down, I felt a sharp pain on my head and everything
went dark. The next thing I remember, I was tied up in this old building it
reminded me of an old warehouse. It was very cold, I could feel a breeze on
me and I wondered why I felt so cold. I could feel someone breathing close
to me but I couldn't see. I realized I was blindfolded and gagged. My head
was pulled back by my hair and then I heard him laugh, that laugh I keep on
hearing till this day. My blindfold was taken off and the old dirty cloth
that was shoved in my mouth was removed. He told me I could yell all I want
since we were far from civilization and there would be no one to hear me.
When I heard his voice, I then realized it was Crawley, but he was locked
up in jail or at least I thought he was. I was lying on an old rollaway
bed. My shirt was off and my shoes and socks. I was on my side with my
hands tied behind my back. He then, then..., took his... his hands on the
waistband of my sweat pants and started pulling them off. I tried
desperately to get away but every movement I made he would put his knee on
my chest and I... couldn't breathe. He.... Umm, started laughing. A
laughter that I won't ever forget. He, uh, he then started rubbing my penis
with the palm of his hand, I kept on squirming but he would press on my
chest tighter. I couldn't breathe. When I would stop, he would pick up his
knee. He then took off my boxers and I was naked in front of him. He,
he..." Mulder started slowing down on his explanation as the events started
getting harder to explain. He stretched his hand out on the couch hoping
that he could... and she did. Scully stretched her hand out taking a hold
of his hand and his body seemed to relax again. 

"Fox, do you want to take a breather, come on, breathe in, breathe out, slowly, 
take a deep breath and then slowly let it out" Daniel said.

"He, um he took a knife and started playing with it, rubbing it from my
neck down to my chest. He would barely touch my skin with the blade,
taunting me with it. If I so much as took air in my lungs, the knife would
cut me. I had to almost stop breathing as he lowered the knife to my navel
and then... he... put the knife on my cock. I was so scared that he was...
he moved it around me. He told me to sit up and to look at him see what he
was doing to me. I obeyed him because I was so afraid. He kept on moving
the knife around the tip of my penis... and he would press a little deeper
and..." he said as his breathing got deeper.

"Slow your breathing, deep breaths, in and out" Daniel would mention again.

"He told me he would stop if I would cooperate. I said I would but I didn't
have any idea what he was going to do. He... Um, he had me suck his, um,
dick and I couldn't I was going to gag but he hit me in the pit of my
stomach and I bent over in pain. He hit me again and again until I couldn't
breathe anymore. He would stop long enough for me to catch my breath. He
would take the knife out again and each time he would press a little
deeper. I had to do what he said I had to.... I sucked him and sucked him
until he came in my mouth. I.. I.. felt so sick that I threw up all over
him. He got so angry that he hit me again. He grabbed me by the hair.. And
he threw me on my stomach and... made me kneel with my shoulders on the
bed. I wouldn't, I couldn't.." he said as the tears started sliding down his face. 

"I felt something go in me, with such force that I felt him cut
me, felt something wet later realizing it was my own blood. He kept on
putting finger after finger until I thought he had... his... his whole hand
in me, but I knew it was impossible. Every time I felt pressure I couldn't
breathe. He.. Um, he then stopped. I thought that was all he was going to
do. But it was just a break time for him to strip off his clothes. I
thought it was over when I felt him.. I pleaded with him, I begged, I cried
and he kept on jamming himself in me, over and over again. He then started
touching me. With every thrust he would stroke me, over and over until I
started... Oh my God, I started getting hard. I can't, why, why was I
getting hard. I didn't like it. I swear, I didn't want him but I started
getting an erection and he started laughing. He said I wanted him.. I
didn't, I swear. I don't know why I started getting hard. I.. Um, I was
getting excited. I wanted to come so bad but he told me if I did I would be
punished a way I would never forget, so I... I was so afraid I was going to
come. I had to think of other things, but with every thrust I was helpless,
I..." he cried out. "He pulled out and I thought it was over until he pulls
me up by my hair and made me kneel on the bed. He went down on me and he
sucked and sucked and he... I needed to come; I started pleading with him
not to stop. Oh God, I wanted to come and I was so excited and a man was
sucking my dick and I couldn't stop. I... I.., I wanted to come" as his
sobbed uncontrollably. Scully wanted Daniel to stop and he mouthed the
words to him, "Stop, please make it stop". All Daniel did was shake his
head no; "Trust me" Daniel whispered.

"He said if I came I would get it worse and I couldn't stop, I tried but I
couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't stop thrusting and I came all over
him. I got so scared and I kept on apologizing over and over and over." He
started laughing and then started sucking me again. It felt so
uncomfortable I couldn't take it. He made me get on all fours again and
told me to resume the position... as... he said before and I felt him again
and again. He would go slow and then deep. He.. um, took a hold of my cock
and I got aroused again. I was so confused. I wanted it.. But it hurt so
badly. I felt that I was being spread open. Until I knew what was going to
happen, he came at the same time I came again. I... God, he made me come
again. I felt the semen pour all over my ass and my own semen all over
me. When he had finished he left me there naked and bloody. I was so cold
and I hurt so badly. He had gone to wash up and came back in the room when,
when Scully and... Skin....Skinner came in. I remember Crawley grabbing me
and putting me in between Scully and him, I could barely see the gun in
Scully's hand and I wanted her to shoot me instead of him. But she didn't,
she, she shot the bastard. She stopped him. Damn you Scully.. You killed
him.." he finished as he was in he midst of another anxiety attack.

"Fox, is that why you won't forgive Dana, because she killed Crawley and
you didn't?" Daniel asked him, still talking in the low monotone voice.

Mulder nodded his head in agreement. "Fox, relax your body. When you awake,
you are going to remember everything that we've discussed. Are you in
agreement?" Daniel asked, Mulder nodded again. "Fox, I want you to trade
places with Scully. Can you see Scully as you were in that cold murky room?
She's been stripped naked and raped by Crawley. She is bleeding and she's
huddled in that bed. Can you see her?" Daniel asked as Scully looked at him
in disapproval. Mulder nodded in agreement, but started fidgeting on the recliner.

"You come in weapons drawn, you see Scully and Crawley over her, what do
you want to do?' he asks.

"KILL HIM," he shouts, "I want to kill him, he's hurting her, she's my
Scully, he's hurting her, I... I have to kill him,"

"But Fox, you can't kill him, why do you have to be the one to kill him?"

"Because he's hurting her, and I lo..." he started to say but didn't finish
the sentence as his tears start pouring down his face.

"Then Mulder, why are you angry with Scully if all she wanted to do was
protect you as you would protect her. Isn't this what partnership is all
about? Isn't this what both of you would do for each other?" Daniel asked
the confused Mulder.

"Tell me then Fox, why are you so angry with her?"

"I don't know, I... she just wanted to protect me, she wanted him to stop
hurting me and I got angry with her for that. I've been so mean to her and
all she wanted to do was protect me," he sorrowfully said slouching on the recliner.

"Fox, I want you to visualize Crawley on you, do you see him?" he asked him
and Mulder nodded.

"I want you to push him away, I want you to get every bit of strength you
can muster and push him off, because you are in control. Scully comes in
and she shoots him and he's dead. Fox, he can never hurt you again. Look at
him, he's dead on the floor. You won't ever be able to see him, hear him or
feel him. He is dead," Daniel said with strongly emphasized.

"Fox, I want you to relax again, breath in slowly, breathe out slowly,
relax your forehead, your eyes, your mouth, your jaw, your shoulder, your
pelvic, relax,"

"Fox, I'm going to wake you now, you will remember everything that we've
spoken about. I want you to remember your rape but with the attack I want
you to remember that you were the victim but you aren't any more. You'll
remember that Scully killed the bastard, but she killed him to help you.
I'm still not done with this therapy. I am going to take you out of the
hypnosis, but I want you to still keep calm and we're going to talk about
another issue that is bothering you. Do you understand?" he asks and Mulder
responded by nodding his head. "Okay, then on the count of three, you are
going to wake up, completely calm and relaxed, but we are still going to
continue our conversation in another form of relaxation, one... two...
three, you're awake and relaxed.

Mulder opened his eyes, and looked quickly at Scully where she was still
holding his hand. She took her hand away and sat on her side of the couch.

"How do you feel?" asked the therapist.

"Tired," he responded.

"Remember what I told you about our continued conversation, are you ready?"
Mulder nodded yes.

"Fox, define me the word rape" Daniel said.

Mulder fidgeted on the chair and looked puzzled at Daniel, "Uh, its sexual
intercourse without consent, by force, with violence."

"Fox, were you raped?"

"Yes," Mulder whispered.

"Let me tell you what rape is," the doctor started to say, "Rape is a
method to gain control over a victim, whether it be a female or a male.
Sexual assault is often entrapment, intimidation, and physical force. The
perpetrator could use physical attack, including sudden striking or
overpowering. Threats of physical harm and exhibition of a weapon. Did this
happen to you Fox?" Mulder bent his him ashamed.

"Fox, did you enjoy the sexual experience you had with Crawley?" he asked
boldly. Scully looked at him with horror. Mulder looked up with his eyes
filling with tears.

"NO, NO, I DIDN'T ENJOY IT, but, but I... I came, I got a hard on, I don't
know if I did. Oh God, I swear it wasn't my fault. He kept on touching me
and stroking me and I couldn't help it, I had no control," Mulder started
saying his breathing racing.

"Fox, it is very common for a man who experiences erection and/or
ejaculation during a sexual assault may be concerned, thinking that these
phenomena are not possible. Did you know that some perpetrator's ability to
elicit ejaculation means that they derived unexpected sexual pleasure from
the experience? Fox, did you know that when your prostate gland is
stimulated you will get an involuntary hard on. You were stimulated, Fox,
you had no control. You do not have to be confused. There is nothing wrong
with you. Crawley and those three men in the farmhouse did a horrible thing
to you, they raped you," Daniel continued.

"Fox, since the rape, you have been having problems sexually, haven't you?"
he boldly asked. Mulder did not answer. "Did you know that the most common
cause of sexual problems with men is FEAR, fear that it won't come up? The
fear you have is you comprehension wondering what sex you prefer, because
you were able to orgasm during the attack, but now do you understand why.
Their manipulation on your penis involuntarily aroused you, not because you
wanted it. Mulder I'm going to have you close your eyes right now and
Scully is going to help you with something. Are you willing to try?" Daniel
asked, and Mulder nodded in agreement.

"Fox, I want you to remember something very upsetting that you experienced,
the rape, Crawley, your impotence because of the rape. Feel the feelings
you had while they were attacking you, the fear you have not being able to
perform. Nod your head when you are feeling it" Mulder nodded face white
with fear.

Daniel whispered to Scully to hold Mulder's hand, "Scully will hold your
hand, and she's going to say something to you. Listen to her Fox," Daniel
whispered the phrase in her ear and she repeated it, "When I squeeze your
hand and say DISCONNECT! It will disconnect you from the cause of those
upsetting feeling you're feeling now at all levels of your mind," Daniel
whispered her to say it again.

Daniel continued, "Squeeze his hand 3 times, each time saying forcefully
"disconnect!" simultaneously to produce a slight startle. Then say, 'Now
try to get those feelings back and you'll find you can't do it.' Scully
you can let go of his hand now, and Fox, keep your eyes close, relax"
Daniel said as he motioned Scully to come with him. She got up reluctantly
and walked towards Daniel.

"I think we're done now. I want you to leave him alone for awhile. He's
going to be very tired. Let him come to you. Go to your room, go to sleep,
you have to relax too. He's going to wake up remembering everything but
he's going to be very confused and a lot on his mind. Do you understand?"
Daniel asked.

"Yes Daniel, but he needs me right now," she quickly said. "Yes he does, so
let him go to you." She agreed and went to the room, leaving the door ajar.
Daniel went back to Mulder and counted to 3 again and Mulder opened his eyes.

"How do you feel?" Daniel asked.

"Very tired, I'm completely exhausted," Mulder said.

"Good, this should give you a good night sleep. I'm going now; my wife is
going to burn me at the stake if I don't get home. You're going to sleep
late tomorrow, so enjoy it. If you need me call me tomorrow, but if not,
let's see you on Monday." Daniel said as he walked to the front door.

Mulder followed him locking the door as Daniel left. He looked around for
Scully and peaked at the open bedroom door. She was there in bed, beautiful
as always. He stretched his arms above his head, feeling every muscle tight
and sore. He decided that a warm bath might relax him before sleeping in
the hard cold couch. Funny how that was his bed for the longest time and
now he didn't want to be on the couch but in bed with Scully. He tiptoed in
the bedroom and grabbed a pair of boxers and some sweats then headed
towards the hall bathroom. He filled the tub with hot water and poured the
bubble bath soap in the tub, smiling at what he was about to do. Take a
woman's bubble bath, <if it relaxes them why can't it relax me. Oh well, no
ones looking> he thought has he stripped naked and went in the hot bath.

Scully heard the water running and she decided to go to Mulder. She needed
him as much as he needed her. She opened the bathroom door and felt the hot
steam hit her. She closed the lid to the toilet seat and sat down.

"Mulder," she whispered.

"Shit, you scared me," was his quick response.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Like I've been run over by a very large truck. How are you feeling? Were
you with me the whole time Daniel was here?" he asked he a soft voice.

"Ah huh, I was," was her reply? "Mulder would you like for me to massage
your back, get all those tense muscles loosened?"

"That sounds good. But Scully doesn't think less of me when you see the tub
is filled with your bubble bath. I didn't know I was going to have a
witness to this. You can't tell Skinner," he mused.

"Promise," she said as she pulled the shower curtain and knelt on the floor
next to the tub. He was lying on the tub with his head on the side of the
faucet resting it against that end of the tub. His body was too long for
the tub so he had his feet up against him with his knees raised above the
bubbles. She placed her hands on his shoulders and started massaging them
very tenderly.

"Do you want your hair shampooed?" Scully asked.

"Scully are you turning into Donnie Phaster?" he asked with his eyes wide open.

"Yes Mulder, do you have your scissors around so I could trim your hair," she teased.

She poured the shampoo on his head and massaged it in, tenderly stroking
his head with her fingertips and then massaging his temples. He closed his
eyes starting to relax his whole body. She turned on the water to the
shower nozzle and washed the shampoo away. Then continued massaging his
temples, she slid her hands down just a little to the back of his ears and
slowly massaged with a circular motion.

"Scully this feels wonderful. I could stay here for hours. Scully I want to
apolo..." he started to say but she quickly put her finger to his lips
quieting him down.

"No talking, just enjoy" is all she replied to him.

Her hands moved back to his shoulders, "Mulder, sit up and lower you head,"
she instructed. He sat up as she started rubbing the back of his neck,
right under the base of his head. She took the washcloth and filled it with
body soap and started rubbing his back, up and down, circular motion, very
gently she kept on washing. "Okay, lie back down, the way you were before,"
she said barely above a whisper. She put more soap on the washcloth and did
the same with his chest. The hairs on his chest filled with soap and she
moved her hands in a circular motion. She lowered her hand washing his
abdomen, then moving lower under his navel. He took a slight breath and
felt a little uncomfortable. 

"Shhhh, enjoy Mulder, relax" she said as she continued. She stopped there and 
he quickly opened his eyes. "Close your eyes Mulder, I'm only beginning," she smiled.
She took the bottom of his right foot and washed his foot, his ankles, up to the calf 
of his leg and then to his thigh, washing the inner thigh getting close to his genitals
but not quite there, just very close. She repeated the same thing with his
left leg. She felt him twinge and his hips move but nothing was happening,
nothing at all. She took her hand for a second and touched his hand that
was resting on top of his stomach, "Disconnect Mulder, remember what Daniel
said, Disconnect," after saying those words, his shoulders slouched down.
She went back to his thighs and massaged them with her bare hands, then
moved up to his scrotum and gently kneaded them, so very lightly as not to
hurt him. She washed them, rubbing them gently as his hips became tensed.
She then took a hold of his penis, she felt long and semi-hard. She took
her hand filled with the bubbles and rubbed the tip, rolling her fingers on
it. She took the whole cock in her hand and started an up and down motion,
sliding his fore skin up and down. 

"Scully, I'm afr.." he said breathing heavily. 

"Shh, disconnect Mulder, relax, think of pleasing me, relax," she
whispered in an erotic voice. His hips started convulsing as he started
thrusting. She bent down and barely put the tip of his penis in her mouth
as he groaned and moved his hips off the water. His cock was completely
aroused, he was fully hard, and a feeling he had not felt in a long time.
He opened his eyes and placed his hands on the top of her head. "More," he
whispered. She lifted her head and smiled but that was not her plan.

"Scully, let's go to bed," he whispered. She shook her head no, and said,

"Later, this is for you. This will be for you only,"

She held his penis a little tighter and started pumping it as she felt the
palpitations. It turned dark with the blood flow reaching the tip and
then.., it happened, he climaxed, his release was furious as he held his
head back and moaned as loud as he could. The cum spurted all over her
hands, and all over the soapy water. "Scully, it went all over the water,
is this body lotion on me," he said between deep breaths. She smiled and
stood up, bending over and placing a kiss on his forehead. She closed the
shower curtain and left the bathroom.

As she walked out, she heard the shower turn on, smiling she went to the
bedroom and crawled back to bed. About ten minutes had past when she heard
the door creak open and saw Mulder walk softly in the bedroom, opening the
dresser drawer and retrieving his T-shirt and a pair of socks. He turned to
see if she was asleep and then started walking out of the room.

"Mulder, I don't want to be alone tonight," she whispered. He turned around
and answered, "Me neither" He walked towards her as she patted the opposite
side of the bed. He sat on the bed, leaning his back on the headboard and
tossing his T-shirt on the floor.

"Scully, do you think I'll ever see him again?" he asked pensively.

"I hope not. You took a big step today in trying to erase that part of your
life. You'll get there," she said turning on her side facing him.

"I want to thank you for being patient and staying after I nearly tore your
head off. I am so sorry about that. I was at my wits end."

"I know you were. I thought of leaving but I knew you were in dire
straight." She responded.

"Scully, umm, what happened in the bathroom a little while ago. Thank you.
If you only knew how much that meant to me. I needed to know that I was
able to... to get an erection and..." he stammered

"You don't have to explain, it was my pleasure" she smiled.

"But Scully, I now know I could do it that way, but what if when the time
comes, I can't" he said nervously.

"When the time comes, we'll handle it," she teased as she turned to her
other side with her back towards him.

"We'll handle it? You mean, there still might be a we?" he answered quickly.

"Might be," she whispered, "Go to sleep Mulder"

He scooted himself down to the bed and covered himself facing the opposite
direction.

The sky was filled with cotton ball clouds sprayed through the blue sky.
Mulder was walking through green hills with a breeze hitting against his
face, his hair barely moving in the wind. He looked up seeing a flock of
birds flying from tree limb to tree limb. The beautiful sound of their
chirping. As he walked over the last hill he could see the ocean as far as
his eyes could see. The foamy white waves splashing and hitting against the
rocks, children playing, throwing beach balls to their dogs. He climbed
down the rocky cliff and got to the sand. He took off his shoes and felt
the cool sand through his toes. He walked closer to the ocean, passing
children running towards the water and as the waves got closer the children
running back in hopes that the waves would not get them. He started walking
in the water feeling the coldness of the waves hitting against his legs,
his body feeling a cold chill. He turned around and from a distance he
could see this beautiful woman, a woman with red hair blowing in the wind.
She wore a long white gauze dress that clung to her perfect body in the
breeze. The top of her dress was peasant style with her shoulders bare and
the familiar necklace around her neck with the small cross that she always
worn. Waves splashing on her, wetting her dress as she walked near the
shoreline oblivious to the world with a smile that radiated the world. She
looked up seeing the man that she trusted the man she would do anything
for, her partner, her friend. She outstretched her arms welcoming him to
her bosom. Mulder smiled as he got near her and put his arms around her
waist, picking her up and turning her around and around until they both
fell onto the sand and laughed as the waves hit them soaking them
completely.

"Mulder, it's been a long journey home," she whispered in his ear.

"Scully," Mulder said next to her ear.

"Mulder, are you talking in your sleep?" Scully asked as she opened her
eyes, noticing that Mulder had his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Mmmm Scully," he responded stifling a yawn, "I had the most beautiful
dream. I had my wish come true. I dreamt of the birds, hills, the ocean,
and Scully, I dreamt of you, No Crawley, just you," he said as he snuggled
a little closer. "Scully, you had a beautiful white dress on, and the wind
was blowing it against you," he whispered in her ear as he started nibbling
at it. He started kissing gently under her ear, her neck and continued
holding her near him.

"Scully, can we try? You told me a long time ago that some day this would
happen. I want it to happen this evening," he pleaded in her ear still
kissing at her earlobe.

"Mulder, you know I've been wanting this as much as you. But I'm scared for
both of us. This will change a lot of things. Actually it sounds silly
since other than the actual sex, we pretty much have been one. Mulder, are
you sure?" she asked afraid of what had happened the last two times. He
didn't answer but put his left hand on her neck, placing it between her
skin and her satin top. He started massaging her shoulder, and then lightly
started moving it around the front of her neck and started down her chest,
stopping where the top button was. She put her arms around him gently
rubbing his back from the base of his neck down to the waistband of his
sweats, every once in a while moving her hand a little lower under the
pants. He nervously started unbuttoning the top button, but his big clumsy
hand couldn't maneuver the button, but finally success. Then on to the
second and finally unbuttoning the last one, but not opening her shirt. He
raised his hand and held her face with both hands. 

"Scully, I tried this a while back and a blasted bee got on the way, you haven't 
seen a bee in here, have you?" he asked smiling.

"I surely hope not," she responded. He got closer and closer as the shirt
opened and he could feel her bare chest against his. He could feel the
warmth of her breast, but wouldn't look down, didn't want to miss the blue
of her eyes. He barely touched her lips and took his tongue to lightly
outline her lips, then moved her face to his cheek, moving his mouth next
to her ear. "I love you Scully," he whispered.

She held her breath when those words were said. She didn't think she would
ever hear him say it. Two prior times they were in the midst of making
love, but the words weren't mentioned. She wanted him to say it, but was he
ever able to, and now he did. Before she was able to return the phrase he
kissed her, with so much fury. His tongue forced her mouth open as he
started to explore the warmth of her tongue. He gently lowered his hands on
the shoulders of her shirt and slipped it off. His kisses were intense as
he lowered himself kissing her neck and lowering himself. His hands went
for her breast, barely touching them with a little shyness, but Scully took
his hand and placed it on her. She could feel his erection through his
sweatpants and was nervous for him. This had happened before, but both
ended frustrated and his shame was more than he could handle. He lowered
his head and with his tongue went down the middle of her breasts and then
softly outlined the tip of her breast, and then his mouth on her breast,
sucking her erect nipple. She didn't realize she was holding her breath and
slightly gasped when she felt his mouth on her. She was holding the top of
his head as she intertwined her fingers through his hair. He started taking
off her pants and her underwear. He had seen her nude before, in Antarctica
in fact, but it was a life and death situation at that time. He doesn't
even remember him dressing her in his outer clothing, but here, in front of
him she was completely naked for him. Such a perfect body, he thought. He
picked up his head and went back to her lips. 

"Mulder, I love you," she responded whispering in his ear. His hazel eyes changed 
colors as they filled with tears. She slipped her hands on his waistband and started to
lower his pants and boxers off when he finished helping her. They were both
lying there, naked, holding each other in one another's arms. She sat up
and started massaging his chest, around his nipples and down to his navel.
She lowered herself and outlined his navel, then with her tongue went
further down and then outlined his arousal. Very softly and tenderly she
teased him by outlining the tip of his penis, as a slight pre cum seeped
out, then she gently sucked it and then outlining it again. His hips
raising, in hopes to pursue her in taking him in her mouth. But she teased
some more until she did. He took a deep breath as his hips thrusted. She
pulled out and moved up back to him kissing him, tongues tangled. He moved
her on her back and it was his turn to touch her, gently admiring her
beauty, kissing her gently lowering himself lower and lower until he
reached her. Her breathing erratic as he moved his tongue gently on her and
then raising back up to her lips, kissing her ear, her eyes. Both teasing
each other, wanting each other but they wanted to prolong the lovemaking as
long as they could. Six years was too long to end it in a short time. "Now
she whispered to him, "Now Mulder."

He positioned himself trying to maneuver the opening but his excitement was
too much for him, as she placed her hand on his penis and guided it in.

Very gently, very slowly he entered her, finally entered her, 6 years of
wanting this, Scully and Mulder were one. They both moaned as they both
started moving in unison, hips barely moving. <Stay up, Mulder, stay up> he
thought to himself. In the back of his mind was still a slight fear. Scully
could read his mind, she always did as she whispered in his ear,

"Disconnect, Mulder disconnect"

The body became music as they moved together in beautiful harmony,
thrusting hips in unison. As one felt almost there, the other would stop
just a bit to let the moment prolong even longer, until it couldn't be held
any longer. She could feel his penis throbbing in her, pulsating with such
vigor until he couldn't hold it any longer and he released in her
simultaneously as she did, not realizing the moaning that both did. He
dropped on her exhausted as she put her arms around him, holding his face
and giving him little kisses all over his face. "I love you, Fox Mulder, I
love you," she said as she picked up his face and saw the tear filled eyes
of her lover.

"I love you too, Dana Scully," he responded. They thought of getting up and
washing up but didn't want to ruin the moment, besides a second round was
eminent. They just held each other for a long time, smiling and kissing,
not believing what had finally happened. "Scully, I didn't think of him,
he's gone, Scully I made love to you, and I was okay," he smiled.

"Oh yea, Mulder, you were okay, so can you show me how okay you were, just
one more time," she teased as she held his very sensitive penis as he tried
to wiggle away from her.

"Oh no you don't, you're not wiggling away from me, one more time," she
laughed.

"Scully, give me a moment, it tickles, it has a mind of it's own, give it a
chance to recover," he told her. They started kissing again until his penis
started hardening again. "I think he's ready again," Scully teased as she
searched for his open mouth and tongues connecting.

"So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox." 

Scully giggled reciting his old time story.

Mulder smiled and continued the poem, 

"And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here and there," he said and Scully joined in,
"Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!
I do so like
Green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-Am"

"Mulder, we finally made it. It's been a long journey home," she said to him.

"We're home," he replied as he entered her again.


The End...