Music City Blues (1\?) Chapter One Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Rating: Ranging from a PG-13 to NC-17 Warnings will be placed on any explicit chapters. CHAPTER ONE RATING: NC-17 for sex ******beware******* Category: Story/Adventure/X-File Keywords: UST/Romance, Angst, MulderTorture, Mulder/other, MSR (eventually) Spoilers: Patient X/The Red and the Black, Redux, Redux II Time frame: Set immediately after PX and TratB. The Garden District Murders took place a few weeks before Patient X. Archive: Gossamer- yes. Anywhere else, just let me know. Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, Skinner and the Lone Gunmen belong to 1013 Productions and FOX. No infringement is intended. This was written strictly for the author's entertainment, no money has changed hands. You can use it on the show if you like. Authors Notes: Yes, this is a sequel, of sorts, to The Garden District Murders. You won't have a good idea of what is going on in this story without having read that one. You may also have a difficult time if you haven't seen Season 5 mytharc episodes. And yes, this story is finished (except for the very last chapter which needs to be tweaked a bit) but I didn't want to give away when the end would be happening. Big, Huge Thanks To: Patricia, without whom the first 6 chapters would have sucked canal water (If they still do, it's all my fault); Cynthia and Joann, both of whom read this with a critical eye and gave me encouragement and valuble advice, even if I didn't take it (Joann, I took your advice on the gun thing.....sorta ); Donna, Amy, lynx, hoops, hoffy and taycey, all of whom gave me encouragement and, finally; Angie, who screamed at me for every cliffhanger chapter which clued me in that she was enjoying the story. Timeline notes: Watch the first couple of chapters closely, the story goes back and forth in time as noted. Summary: Mulder tracks down Clarice and, once again, finds trouble. But is it Clarice who's causing all the problems? ********CHAPTER ONE******* Apartment 42 Hegal Place Alexandria, Virginia May 1, 1998, 11:15 p.m. Mulder moaned. She straddled his naked body and raked her fingernails down his chest. He looked up at her and she was so very beautiful, red hair hanging like a curtain across her face. Her sculpted and lightly muscled body glistening with sweat from her exertions. He thrust up into her and she threw her head back revealing pouty lips, eyes closed in passion. "Oh god, Mulder! Harder, harder, please.....god!" She gave a short, little scream as she came, digging her nails into his chest. "I love you! God, I love you!" A few more hard thrusts combined with the nails digging into his flesh and he came with a shout. "Sc..Scully....." he sighed. He lay there, eyes closed, as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss A bolt of pain gripped him in the chest. She had drawn blood. She started licking it and his eyes popped open. Straddling his chest was a deceptively beautiful blond with blood on her lips. The same woman who had brutally attacked him in New Orleans. "Get off me! Where is Scully, what have you done to her?" He started struggling wildly, trying to throw her off. Clarice laughed merrily as Mulder tried to buck her off. She just rode him, stroking her fingers through his hair, pulling his head toward her with a greater strength than he would have imagined. She bared her teeth and sank them into Mulder's neck. He screamed........ .........and sat bolt upright on his couch, heart racing and sweating profusely. Breathe, Breathe, Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream. He jumped again as the phone rang. Inhaling deeply, he answered. "Mulder." His voice was raspy and shaking. The urge to vomit coming over him with an oppressive force. "Mulder, you o.k. man?" No, no I'm not. "Yeah, Frohike, what's up?" "We've got something we think you should see." "I may as well come over." Lord knows he wouldn't be sleeping again tonight.....nothing new. "You sure you're o.k., Mulder?" asked Frohike. "I'm on my way." he said just before disconnecting. ********************** Third and Lindsley Bar and Grill Parking Lot Nashville, Tennessee April 30, 1998, 11:30 p.m. He followed the mesmerizing, willowy blond quietly, unobtrusively across the street and into the parking lot. She rounded the corner of the building bordering the parking lot, walking toward her car. She heard him behind her and turned as she reached her car. "Are you following me?" she asked calmly, not a trace of fear in her voice. "I......yes" was the confused reply from the tall, dark, handsome man. "Why? Why are you following me?" she asked, now with a trace of amusement, a smile quirking one side of her mouth. "I d-don't know.......I want, I want...." he stammered and stuttered. "Oh poor baby," she cooed. "I know what you want.....what you need." She grinned and reached for him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. She stepped back and he nearly fell, unsteady. The sight brought a smile to her face. She leaned back against her car, studying him, his size, his.....strength. Practice makes perfect, she thought. Time to flex the muscles. "Why don't you kneel, darling" she said, pointing her finger to the asphalt in front of her. Her grin widened as he complied without hesitation. She looked around, making sure that the lot was deserted. It was, as usual.......just like she had planned. "Now. What would I like for you to do next. Hmmmm......" She thought about it for a minute, becoming more aroused as the man looked up at her from his place on the ground. His place. On the ground. Her grin widened as the idea came to her. Without her saying a word, he complied with her wishes yet again. He ran one hand up the smooth skin of her leg, skimming his palm over the inside of her thigh, nudging her legs apart gently. He moved forward and, after delicately kissing the inside of her thigh, buried his head between her legs. She sprawled back against her car, moaning as he licked and sucked. She widened her stance, allowing him better, deeper, access. When he pushed two fingers into her, she bit her lip to keep from screaming as she came. Blood dotted her lip, the scent of it making her ferociously hungry. She growled low in her throat and heaved him up by the hair. She couldn't stop to think of the danger and she ripped into his throat, overcome with blood lust. She drank deeply, not hearing the large blond man that walked up, a look of despair on his face. "Clarice.......what are you doing...." he whispered, heartbroken. *************************** Apartment 42 Hegal Place Alexandria, Virginia May 2, 1998, 12:30 a.m. As Fox Mulder dressed to visit the Gunmen, he realized he was depressed. Seriously depressed. If he were to mention this condition to anyone who knew him, he would likely be met with laughter. You're always depressed, Mulder. He could hear it now. This time was different. Earlier, lying on his couch in a dark and silent apartment he concluded that he didn't know which end was up..........again. He had been lying there for several hours trying to make sense of IT......his life. Then that dream. His thoughts were chaotic, skipping around randomly. The Chip. It all went back to the Chip. He thought of it with a capital *C*. It's significance in his life was immense. A story told to Scully, one that she believed in a heartbeat, led him to the Chip. After much heartache, of course. The Chip proved that his life was a lie, he had thought. The Chip had most likely sent her into remission. The other day, the Chip had nearly caused her death. A lemming. It had turned her into a mindless lemming. The strongest, most in control woman he knew, a lemming. A woman who could hold her own against various freaks, mutants, and psychopaths. It terrified him. Called to a dam with several hundred other people where she had nearly been incinerated. He had blamed himself. He had nearly lost her again. And he couldn't take it anymore. He *wouldn't*. It was too close this time. And for what? For his beliefs, erroneous or not? He realized again that it may not be a problem anymore. It was bound to happen sooner or later, he realized. He couldn't have so many feelings bottled up inside without them exploding at some point. Something had to give. He had believed. With his whole being he had believed. She was the skeptic. Yin and yang. The Chip. It, and she, had convinced him that perhaps he had been wrong. His whole life a lie. She had blamed him and, in doing so, had nearly destroyed him. She was everything to him. That she was unaware of this, and the power of her words, astounded him. They gave me this disease to make you believe. His heart turned over in his chest remembering how those words had taken his breath away. He struggled to breathe even now, remembering. Then the Incident. Another capital letter. She started to believe. She experienced something amazing. Something not unlike the things he had experienced in the past. Things which she had never believed. She might not agree but she respected the journey, the work. This time he was the skeptic. And he was doubted. No matter which way he turned, he was never believed. Even fucking Skinner believed that aliens were the more likely of the two explanations. The rage he had felt in Skinner's office that day had been disturbing, even to him. Never go the right way, Mulder. Maybe people just think I am so nuts that they disagree with everything I say automatically. By the time the Incident had come to an uneasy conclusion, he and Scully, with *nothing* in the way of evidence or an explanation, had reached an uneasy middle ground. No longer polar opposites. For now anyway. Then he made an error. A minor error, in retrospect, but an error that had started a chain reaction. A simple expression of doubt on his part....... ******************* F.B.I. Headquarters Washington, D.C. May 1, 1998, 9:13 a.m. "Scully, I just don't know what I saw. I don't know what's real and what is made up, what may have been implanted." For a reason that was inexplicable to him, her temper flared. "Why can't you support me on this? For years you believed this and now, suddenly, you doubt me? You've changed your mind?" Her flash of temper and frigid tone of voice ignited something that had been smoldering quietly. "Doubt you? Doubt you, Scully? I fucking doubt my last fucking name! Months ago you convinced me that my entire life was a lie. My entire life! I had seen evidence of this lie. I had thought you would be happy. I had come around to *your* way of thinking." He pointed at her angrily. "Now, you have one experience that is unexplainable, one that I am not sure how to explain and you're pissed off that I am skeptical? That I am not *sure* what I believe? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" "I just want you to *listen* to me, Mulder!! Keep an *open* mind about this, not dismiss it outright!" she yelled, tears starting in her eyes. Mulder nearly screamed in frustration. "You do it ALL the TIME!! Listen to you?! The woman who will do anything to avoid telling me how she is? The woman who freezes me out every time I try to help. Don't you mean listen to you when it is convenient for you? Don't you mean go back to my old way of thinking? *You* of *all* people want *me* to keep an open mind? I am tired of being *mind* fucked, Scully. Including by my own partner!" He took a deep breath as he continued. "Jesus, Scully can't you believe me, *in* me, just once? Just one fucking time?" He looked at her then and she was standing with her mouth open, tears in her eyes. She clamped her mouth shut and walked out the door. "Scully, wait! Scully......" he yelled as he ran to the office door. She kept walking as he stared after her, despair sinking like a lead weight in his stomach. "Scully.......you're running away again......" he whispered, with tears in his eyes. He collapsed against the door frame, hand to his mouth. "I'm sorry, Scully. I'm so sorry." ********************* Apartment 42 Hegal Place Alexandria, Virginia May 2, 1998, 12:45 a.m. Mulder stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, remembering the horrible argument. He hadn't meant to get so angry, but he hadn't said anything he didn't feel. It just came out wrong. And loudly. She had e-mailed him earlier saying that she was taking a week's vacation, that she needed a break. She had been direct, to the point, distant. He didn't know what to think. She is leaving you, Mulder. He had wanted to talk to her, figure out what had happened, how it had gone so wrong. Apparently she didn't want the same thing. Mulder braced himself on the sink, head hanging, chin on his chest. He felt the tears welling behind his eyes. Why can't we talk to each other, Scully? When I finally say what has been bothering me.....okay, yell it......you walk away. I know it was a long time coming. I'm sorry I yelled. I didn't mean all of it..... I wanted to tell her *that*......given half a chance. What the hell had happened? He had thought, after New Orleans, that they wanted the same things. In spite of what had happened to them there, they had become closer than ever before. One kiss. That was all that had transpired but it had become immensely significant in his life. He had found that he had no follow through for that kiss and it was killing him. The psychologist part of him knew that after Clarice had abused him, it would take some time before he could open up. It would also take time to believe in anything again. If he ever could. It is too much. I don't think I can take any more. Nothing I do is right. Nothing. He tried to push thoughts of Clarice down rapidly, before he vomited. It didn't work with nothing to take its place and he sank to the floor of the bathroom, heaving into the toilet. He grabbed a wash cloth off the sink, wiped his mouth and sat there thinking, watching as a tear splashed into the commode. His psychologist's brain had figured himself out about three hours ago. Of course, it was too late to explain it to Scully. In the massive rush that had accompanied their return to Washington, their case load, and the onset of the Incident, he had not had a chance to reflect on what the hell his problem was. He was overwhelmed. He loved Scully. But she scared the hell out of him. It wasn't actually *her*. It was who he was afraid he would see when he opened his eyes. When he had kissed her, he had felt that he was on fire. A wonderful sensation that had rapidly turned into dread. She had smiled at him. That smile had sparked an irrational terror in his soul. He waited for her to turn into Clarice. That was it. Every time she touched him, he waited for the horror to start again. The abuse to start again. That's part of what he had to tell her, if he had the chance. He composed a speech in his head. Scully, I am afraid. I am afraid that if I believe I will be used again and you will get hurt. I don't want *them* to make a fool of me again....especially in your eyes. I am afraid that if I touch you, you won't be you. Do you know that when Clarice first started kissing me I thought she was you? I hallucinated you. I wanted it to be you. I prayed it was you. But it wasn't. And she hurt me. God, Scully, I love you so much but I am afraid that if I kiss you again, I will open my eyes and....it will be *her*. And I will be lost. For good, this time. Hell, maybe I already am. Tears rolled down Mulder's cheeks. He felt despair on so many levels of his life that he didn't know if he could go on. It was a physical pain in his chest that was becoming unbearable. Mulder sighed and his breath hitched again. He shook his head as if to clear it and got up to wash his face. He brushed the last drops of water from his face with a towel then stared, disgusted, at his reflection. He strode through the apartment, yanking on a black tee shirt and clipping on his holster. Grabbing his leather jacket, he walked out the door to visit the gunmen, slamming the door behind him. *************END OF CHAPTER ONE******* Music City Blues (2/?) Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: PG-13 SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER TWO******** Granville Island Hotel Granville Island Vancouver, British Columbia Same time.(May 2, 1998, 9:45 p.m. Pacific Standard Time) Scully thrashed in her sleep, legs getting twisted in the sheets. "Mulder, I have to quit, I can't take this anymore. We do nothing but argue. We've both been through so much, lost so much.......and we're not getting anything out of it." She took a deep breath. "I need time away...." "It's not the job, Scully. It's me. You want to leave me." "Mulder, I care about you. I do." Tell him you love him.....open up.....trust him. I can't. "But we are both so self absorbed right now, we can't be good for each other." She watched him closely as he processed the words. He looked so cold, distant.....angry. She wanted him so badly. If he would just open up to her, ask her to stay.....convince her. "You are right, Scully. Goodbye." She blinked her eyes and she was alone with the words ringing loudly in her ears. She whirled around quickly, looking for him. "Mulder? Mulder....wait! I didn't mean it! Mulder.........." She woke with a start, heart pounding. She inhaled and then exhaled sharply. "Oh God," she whispered softly in the dark room. She thought about what had caused that particular dream. At least it wasn't the one where Emily is calling for me this time. I yelled at him and he yelled back. It was bound to happen. Sooner or later. It was probably the most honest communicating they had done in a long time. Then I ran away. I had too. Before I yelled again.....before I totally lost control...ruined it......lost my sanity. Cancer. Fear of death. Cure. Cure from Mulder? The real Samantha or not? Loss of belief. Regaining of faith. Emily. Loss of Emily. Clarice. Attack on Mulder. Aliens? What happened to me? Her thoughts crowded in on her making her claustrophobic. I can't just ditch him, he needs me. Does he? You need to get a grip on your own mind, before you lose it, and stop focusing on Mulder. God, when he kissed me I thought my lips would catch fire. She tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. Mulder was brutally attacked, I am deserting him. What good are you doing by yelling at each other? Get your shit together Dana. He will be fine for a week while you try to regain your sanity. But I love him. But you are very close to hating him right now. She gave up on sleep and got out of bed. Walking over to the windows and throwing open the curtains covering the balcony door, she stared out over False Creek toward the sparkling lights of Vancouver. A town never visited before. A town with no memories. *********************** Offices of the Lone Gunmen Location Unknown Same Day, 1:55 a.m. "Man, Mulder, you look like shit." were the first words out of Frohike's mouth when Mulder walked into their office a short time later. Mulder simply looked at them, eyebrow arched. "O.K., guys, lay it on me." Mulder said, deciding to ignore the comment on his appearance. The gunmen exchanged uncomfortable glances. "Guys, you said you had something for me? Would you like to tell me what it is or do I have to guess?" Frohike had been nominated to tell Mulder their discovery. "We think we may have located your wacko vampire chick, Mulder." Langley snorted. "Nice, Doohike." "What? Where? How do you know it's her?" Mulder's heart had started hammering in his chest. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead and he tried to control his breathing. Frohike continued. "You know that after Clarice got away in New Orleans we kept an eye on all the law enforcement agencies looking out for murders with a similar M.O., right?" Mulder nodded. "Well, we figured that she wouldn't get too far from New Orleans since her, or Alex's or whoever's, bank accounts were frozen and everybody was looking for her. When she got away, as far as we know, she had nothing." "Well, last night in Nashville, Tennessee they found a male, age 25 dead in the parking lot for a bar." Langley continued. "He was missing a *lot* of blood." "That's it? That's all you have?" Mulder was skeptical.....and relieved. "There was some evidence of......uh.....sexual activity.....oral....but sexual." Byers replied, uncomfortable. He stepped forward with a map and spread it on the table in front of him. As Mulder remained silent, he continued. "This woman was obsessed with you, correct?" he asked. Mulder nodded, wordlessly, the tightness in his chest increasing. "Well, we figured that she wouldn't give up so easily and that she would try again. You are the psychologist, are we right about this?" Mulder chewed his bottom lip, thinking. "Yeah, most likely she would keep trying. Being a vampire, she would see me as a failed conquest. Not to mention that she is probably pissed as hell at Scully. But what makes you so sure this is her? Were there.....bite marks?" he asked as he rubbed his throat. "Well, Mulder," replied Byers, "if you look at this map, you will see that if Clarice were to follow you to D.C., she would pass through this area of the country." He ran his hand over the mid south portion of the United States. "We assume that she is hitchhiking, taking whatever rides that will carry her towards D.C. so, we concentrated our efforts on this area. We have hacked into state and local law enforcement agencies and inserted a bulletin that asks we be notified in the event that they have a crime similar to those in New Orleans. We know that the Bureau did something similar after the assault on you, but we made ours a little more general in the event she changed her M.O. slightly. She has done it before, after all. This was our hit. There were no bite marks, per se, just a slashed throat, extreme blood loss and that.....sexual.....activity had occurred." "If you get your throat cut, you are going to lose a lot of blood, Byers." said Mulder. "Yeah, Mulder, but it should be on the *ground* all around you." replied Frohike. "There was very little blood in or on the ground around this dude. Very strange, wouldn't you say?" "Yeah, a real X-File" he replied sarcastically. "Well maybe he was murdered somewhere else." he continued, knowing he was grasping at straws. The gunmen wouldn't have called him unless they were fairly sure. "Unlikely Mulder." said Langley. "This guy was murdered outside a nightclub not very far from his own car. He had been in the nightclub less than an hour before his body was found." Mulder was pulling on his lower lip, thinking. It could very well be her. It had been a little over a month, she would be getting thirsty and tired of laying low. She would get sloppy and careless. It was outside a bar, which was similar to her old M.O. And there was sex involved. He shivered. He knew he had to check it out and it scared the shit out of him. He pulled out his cell phone. "Mulder, you are taking Scully with you, aren't you?" asked Frohike, uncertainly. "Scully is on vacation." he said as he walked to the other side of the room. Frohike followed him. "Mulder, listen to me. You should not do this alone. You are too close to it. Call her, man, you know she will come." "Frohike, I don't want to ruin her vacation. I can handle this." "If you don't call her she will be seriously pissed off." Mulder just looked at him. "If you aren't going to call her......then I am going with you." "What? Did you find a Junior G-man badge in your Cracker Jacks? Frohike, thank you for the offer, but it is not necessary," "Promise me you will call Scully." Frohike insisted. "Man, you can't fuck this up. Not only did Clarice do serious damage to you, but by not telling Scully you are hurting her." Is it possible for me to hurt her any more? Still, Mulder knew he was right. Besides, he didn't look forward to facing Clarice alone. "Frohike, I never knew you were such a softie." Frohike growled in frustration. "O.K., O.K., I'll call her first thing in the morning.....after I call Skinner for a week's vacation." ****************** Apartment 42 Hegel Place Alexandria, Virginia May 2, 1998, 7:00 a.m. Mulder had not slept since talking to the gunmen. He had paced, waiting for it to be late enough to start making phone calls. He found movement, and focus on his destination instead of his target, allowed him to breathe freely. He had thought about what to tell Skinner. Ultimately, he decided that he would simply take vacation time and not tell Skinner a thing. He had no business going after Clarice himself, with or without Scully. He knew this, but he also knew that the best way to get past it was to confront it. I have to try. I have to deal with it. He could not and would not emulate Scully in this respect. It wasn't his nature. Scully. I will call her. I will. He had already secured two seats on a early afternoon flight to Nashville. He was pretty sure, no matter how she felt about their partnership at this point, that she would not let him confront Clarice alone. She had a score to settle as much as he did. Please don't let me be wrong, please. Mulder looked pensively at his watch. Seven fifteen in the morning. Surely Skinner would be up by now. He grabbed the phone and dialed Walter Skinner's home number. It rang five times before being picked up. By a woman. "Hello?" said the distinctly feminine voice, sounding rather groggy. Mulder was caught off guard. "Uh.....uh, is this A.D. Skinner's residence?" "Why, yes it is. One moment please." There was some rustling and mumbling in the background before Skinner came on the line. "Mulder, what the hell is it?" Skinner growled into the phone. "Sir, how did you know......" "Who the hell else would call me at seven in the morning on a Saturday, Mulder? Now what do you want?" Shit. It's Saturday. Skinner had a date? Mulder sighed, resigned to being on the shit list once again. "Sir, I was just calling to request a week's vacation. I have some personal business that I need to take care of." Silence. "Sir, are you there?" The silence on the other end of the phone while Skinner thought about it was unnerving, to say the least. "Yes, you can have this week. I do expect to see an improvement in your disposition when you return, Agent Mulder." "Thank you, sir. I hope you will." Mulder disconnected. He sincerely did hope that this week would help. It had to, he didn't know what else to do. Next on the list, Scully. Mulder was suddenly scared. He sat down on his couch, phone in hand. He didn't want to go without her, but he was afraid to ask her. The rejection would be a nightmare. She wouldn't do that, would she? Let me go after Clarice alone? Not Scully. No matter what. Nothing seemed the same about Scully. His anchor. He felt like he was at sea, adrift, alone. ********************** Granville Island Hotel, Room 302 Granville Island Vancouver, British Columbia Same Day, Same time. (4:00 a.m. Pacific Time) I am tired of being mind fucked, including by my own partner, was what he had said. Her hand shook and she spilled water on her pajamas. She whirled around and threw the glass at the far wall, feeling a measure of satisfaction as it exploded. That feeling was rapidly replaced by shame. She had given up on sleep hours ago. Her mind wouldn't stop working. Now she needed activity. It was after 7 in the morning Washington time and she was, despite the lack of sleep, wide awake. So, she decided to make good use of the workout room down the hall from her room. She picked up the phone and dialed. "Hello, this is Dana Scully in 302.....could you send someone up to my room? "Now? It's four in the morning." The woman's voice was incredulous. "I....uh.....broke some water glasses and there is glass in the carpet." "I'm sorry, we don't have a large staff after 2 a.m. The earliest someone can come up is seven. That's when the regular staff gets here." "Okay, that's fine. Also, I noticed a punching bag in the workout room? Do you have gloves for it?" "Yes, we have several sizes. You can pick them up at the front desk." "Great, I'll be right down." She hung up and headed out the door, eager to abuse her body and lose herself on every piece of machinery in that room. As the door closed behind her, the cell phone in her suitcase pocket began to ring. ************END CHAPTER TWO******** Heidi Music City Blues (3a/?) Chapter Three Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Rating: PG-13 SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER THREE************ Dulles International Airport Washington, D.C. May 2, 1998, 12:15 p.m. Mulder paced back and forth near the gate that would put him on a plane to Nashville. They would be giving the final boarding call for his flight any second and he still hadn't been able to reach Scully. Not at her apartment. Not at her mother's. Not on her cell. I should call again. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number. "Scully." She sounded afraid that it was him. "Scully....it's me." Mulder's chest started to hurt. He was panicking. "Mulder. What do you want?" Scully asked, coldly. "Um, Scully, there's something we need to check out....." "No." "But, Scully......" he started, hating the whine that crept into his voice. "I am on vacation, I need this time badly Mulder. I don't want to go running off chasing mutants, freaks or some other ridiculous thing you have cooked up." "Scully, I know.........." he started, trying to say he was sorry and that he needed her. "Goodbye, Mulder." And then she hung up the phone. And with that simple statement, Fox Mulder's heart shattered into a million pieces. She won't help me. She hates me. I guess it is over. His blinked back tears as he hung up the phone. He then shouldered his bag and slowly walked onto the plane bound for Nashville, more alone than he had ever been in his entire life. ******************** Granville Island Hotel Granville Island Vancouver, British Columbia Same Day, Same Time (9:15 a.m. Pacific Standard Time) Scully had just gotten back to her room from a brisk walk along the sea wall to Kitsilano Beach and back when her cell phone rang in the pocket of her suitcase. Damn, Mulder. She had tried not to think about him or anything work related since she had gone to the gym this morning and pounded the punching bag into oblivion. She knew she had to sooner or later, but she was avoiding it. She had just felt so good after the strenuous workout and during the leisurely walk along the water. The phone rang a second time. She stood, stock still, staring at her suitcase. Debating. It could be mom. You know it isn't. She sighed heavily and walked over to her suitcase to retrieve her phone before it quit ringing. "Scully" she said cautiously. "Scully, it's me." Scully groaned inwardly. "Mulder, what do you want?" she asked, rather hesitantly, hating herself for it. "There's something we need......" "No." "But Scully......" "I am on vacation, I need this time badly Mulder. I don't want to go running off chasing mutants, freaks or some other ridiculous thing you have cooked up." She was getting more angry at him by the second for interrupting her vacation. Most likely for a reason she was certain had more to do with their relationship than any real *case*. And that was something she wasn't ready to deal with just yet. "Scully, I know......." "Goodbye, Mulder." and with that she hung up on him and turned off the phone. And then threw it across the room. *********************** Flight 1687 Somewhere over the Mid-South Same Day, 3:00 p.m. The flight, fortunately for Mulder, was less than half full. He grabbed a row for himself and stretched out with a pillow. He was trying to sleep, but it was impossible, his conversation with Scully ringing in his head. He had graduated from deep despair to general malaise. He had to pull himself out of this funk. It was a matter of life......or his death. It would be so easy. So easy after the cancer, when she blamed him towards the end, after the complete annihilation of everything he believed in, her most recent rejection of him, right up to the fact that it was his own fault. Why do I keep going? My sister doesn't need me. Scully doesn't need me. I can't solve this big fucking nightmare by myself. Do I even want to? I am the only one? What the fuck was that about? Because I believe? Do I believe anymore? Me thinks I doth protest too much. I am a chickenshit. Scared to admit I may still believe because I can't handle being used again. Yeah, Scully is gonna think you are hot shit. More like Scully just thinks you're shit. She doesn't *love* you Mulder. You blew it big time and you don't even know for sure *how* you did it. Fucking swift, pal. Mulder's heart started twisting again, he felt tears welling and the accompanying tightness in his throat. Yeah, now you need to fucking cry in front of the flight attendants. He got up and moved quickly to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. Anything to derail the painful thoughts, if only for a moment. Fox Mulder spent the remainder of the flight burying all of his emotions as deeply as he could, where no one could get to them. Where they would be safe. So he would be safe. ***************************** Police Headquarters 306 First Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee May 2, 1998, 5:30 p.m. "Look, Agent Mulder, I don't know what you are looking for here but this is all we have. No suspects, no motive, no witnesses, *nothing*." Detective Baker looked at the F.B.I. agent curiously. "What is really going on here, Agent Mulder? Why are you so interested in this case?" Detective John Baker had been a cop for 20 years and this was a first for him.....an F.B.I. Agent showing up on his own, unrequested and with no apparent jurisdiction. Mulder looked at the short, somewhat round Detective in front of him, reddish brown hair thinning on top, and weighed carefully how much he should say. He decided he had no choice but to play nice and take the cooperative approach. "The M.O. for this murder resembles that of a series of murders that my partner and I investigated in New Orleans. The suspect attacked and shot me before she got away." Mulder paused. "If this is her, she is very dangerous. She believes she is a vampire." He watched the detective's eyes go wide with disbelief. "Agent Mulder, *you* don't believe she is a vampire, do you?" "I.....I don't know. All that I know is that she bites like one and that she believes she is one. In my book, that makes her damn dangerous." Mulder was leaning toward actual vampire, but he didn't have the conviction that he may have had a year ago. Hell, even six months ago I would have been sure. But now? "That's all you have? A 'similar' M.O.? You don't seem to have enough evidence that this is your perp to have jurisdiction in this case, Agent Mulder. Why are you here?" "Hey," said Mulder, spreading his hands open in a placating gesture, "I am just here on a hunch that this is my perp. I am on my own time. If it is her, and I find her, it is a federal case. Otherwise, it's all yours. Either way, you can have the collar, it makes no difference to me." Detective Baker looked at the impassive, good looking man in front of him. The possibility of a collar without the leg work was sounding attractive. "Okay, Agent Mulder, but watch your step. I can show you where the body was found but I am afraid that after that you're on your own. I'll help you out as much as I can, what with my case load and all, but you know........" Mulder did know. "That's fine, detective. I work better alone anyway." Mulder's stomach ached with those words and he locked the pain away, his calm mask firmly in place. ********************** Corner of Third Avenue South and Lindsley Avenue Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 5:45 p.m. Mulder and Detective Baker walked across Third Avenue to the bank parking lot that served as additional parking for the bar. The police crime scene tape was still in place, fluttering in the light breeze. It was a big lot, bordered on the end, directly across from the bar, by a two story office building and on the far end by a small bank. Mulder gazed around and took in the area surrounding the location. The body had been found near his car which had been parked up against the outside wall of the office building. From where the body had been found he could not see the entrance to the bar. Convenient. When he stepped toward the center of the parking lot, he could see the bar, which was located in a newer, one story strip mall type building on the other side of Third Avenue. It was located on the corner of the building at the intersection of Third and Lindsley....hence the name. It had windows all along the front which were tinted. The area was fairly deserted at night because the interstate passed by overhead, with no thoroughfare under it and the bar was the only establishment open after six. "If it is her, she was probably in the bar prior to the attack, saw the victim there. That was part of her M.O. I need to check it out and you are welcome to join me." "If you like, but we have already questioned them and got nothing....." There was a sudden squawking from the detectives radio which he got in his car to answer. "Baker, here, over." "We have a multiple homicide on First and Main, detective. You are needed on the scene. Over." "I'm on my way, over." "Big emergency, Mulder. Can't stay," Baker yelled, over the roof of the car. Mulder waved him off. "Don't worry Detective. I will probably end up sitting in this bar all night looking for this woman for nothing. You don't need to babysit me." Mulder said with a sardonic grin. Baker heaved a sigh of relief, wondering if Mulder was a mind reader. He still felt bad, but there was nothing he could do. They were incredibly short on staff right now. "Well, Mulder, call us if you need us." "Thanks. I appreciate it." With that, Mulder turned and strolled across the street and into the bar. *********************** Third and Lindsley Bar and Grill 1300 Third Avenue South Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 6:15 p.m. Allison Matthews stood on the small stage putting her mike stand together. The rest of the band had put their equipment together an hour ago and were waiting patiently for her to get her act together. She was moving rather slowly, still tired from the previous day's activities. In a twenty four hour period she had a fight with her father, a second fight with her recently dumped boyfriend, had worked a double shift as a waitress at this very bar and then played a gig last night at the Ace of Clubs. She was exhausted and strung out. To top it off her throat hurt a bit. Not good. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Sandy, her best friend and one of her backup singers, looking at her with a concerned expression on her face. "You okay, Alli? I heard you finally told that jerk Brian where to go." Sandy and the other members of the band had referred to Brian as 'FuckheadBrian' ever since they had first met him but Allison, having a generous streak a mile wide, gave him the benefit of the doubt. She had originally accepted a date with him at the request of her father. They had gone out a couple of times over a two week period, then it took her another two weeks to dump him. Her friends were right. He was a total ass hole. Surprise, surprise. "I'm fine, Sandy. I'm just tired. I had a run in with my father yesterday, too." Sandy's eyes widened. "Two fights, a double shift and then the gig downtown? Geez, girl, you need a day off." "Well, I can no longer afford days off, if you know what I mean." Allison said, tiredly. "Well, once we do sound check maybe you can catch a nap in the back. We ought to have two hours before we play." Sandy was worried about her friend. Lord knows, the girl needed some help. She just wasn't used to this type of grind. Allison Matthews was the epitome of the poor little rich girl with the controlling father and the self absorbed mother. Sandy certainly didn't understand how Allison had turned out as well as she did. Allison was one of the nicest women she had ever known. She couldn't even hate her for being absolutely gorgeous. Sandy surreptitiously studied Allison while helping her with her equipment. She was about 5' 5" and very slender. Her blue-black hair fell in soft corkscrew curls just below her shoulders. The darkness of her hair set off the fair, clear complexion and the wide blue eyes. Add in the slightly pouty lips and the overall effect was stunning. Men. Allison's main flaw was attracting men like flies and not being able to tell the ass holes from the princes.....at least not at first glance. She could walk into a room and five men would ask her to dance. She would invariably dance with the alcoholic or the married guy who wasn't wearing a ring. At least she gets out of it quickly. No doormat, my buddy Allison. Brian, however, was a whole different story...... **************** Allison Matthews Residence 501 Music Square West Nashville, Tennessee March 31, 1998, 6:15 p.m. Sandy ran up the stairs to Allison's apartment to the sound of shouting. She had noticed Mr. Matthew's car out in front of the duplex in which she and Allison shared, Alli upstairs and herself downstairs. It was a convenient arrangement. Especially at times like this. She sneaked quietly into Allison's bedroom to eavesdrop, knowing Allison wouldn't care. It would just save her the trouble of repeating everything. "*Father*, this is what I want." Allison sounded pissed off. "Allison, I don't like you living here. It is beneath you. Your mother and I raised you to live in proper society as a doctor or a lawyer....not as some Bohemian. Musicians are the wrong type of people for you to be associated with. Do you know how embarrassing this is for your mother and I?" The hairs on the back of Sandy's neck as she heard his scathing tone of voice clear as day in her hiding place in the bedroom. She continued to hide, not wanting to interrupt but feeling that Allison would need moral support after this latest argument. "My friends are much nicer than any of the spoiled children that my so called 'privileged upbringing' allowed me to associate with!" She sighed, trying to calm down. "I'm sorry, daddy, but I want to sing. I am good at it, really, I am. If you would just come and listen to me......"she pleaded. "Absolutely not. I will not condone this behavior and you had better not expect any financial support from me." He replied scornfully. "I haven't taken money from you in years!" Sandy could hear the beginnings of tears in Allison's voice and wanted to help her. But it was too late for that, the damage to Allison and her fathers relationship had begun a few years ago when Allison decided on a degree in Geology over pre-med or pre-law. She settled in to wait for the argument to end. "Well you have been using the interest from your trust fund, haven't you?" He paused threateningly and Sandy wondered what he was up to. She heard him sigh. "Allison, at least give me some hope that you will marry well. I am ready to give up on your choice of career and I can't do anything about your college degree, but will you at least start seeing people that are more up to your level?" "Christ, Daddy, you are such a snob." "Don't you use that tone of voice with me, young lady. Brian Williamson is very interested in you and our families have been friends for many years. Start spending some time with him, Allison......and I won't be forced into cutting you off completely." Sandy barely heard Allison's gasp and reply from the blood pounding in her ears from anger. "I can't believe that you are blackmailing me!" "That's not true, I just want what's best for you, Allison, and you know that Brian comes from a very good family. Please do this one thing for me." His tone was cajoling now. "Can I tell him to call you?" "Alright, alright.....tell him to give me a call. But if we don't get along, I am dumping him. I don't give a shit about the damn trust fund. It doesn't make me happy." "Allison!" He was getting angry again. "I will not continue to go out with someone I don't like, Daddy." She softened her tone. "But I will give him a chance." "This discussion is not over by a long shot, but I suppose that will have to do for now," he said with a smug smile. "I am going home now.....we have a big dinner at the country club and then I have to meet with some members of the board of director's afterward." "Okay, Dad. Give mom my love and I'll see you later," Allison replied as she walked her father to the stairs leading down to the front door. Sandy heard Allison coming back up the stairs and came out of the bedroom. Allison looked at her with a look of total resignation. "You heard?" she asked. "God, yes. How did you fuck up this time?" Sandy asked, with a wry smile on her face. "I am *still* a singer....I haven't gotten tired of it yet. Not to mention that I am twenty-eight and there is no sign of the perfect, rich bachelor on my doorstep. Same fuck ups as the last time he came over here in his 'concern for my welfare'." She walked into the living room and threw herself down on the sofa. "I really want him to be happy with me and his approval would be nice, but I have to do things my way. I am not going to date one of those spoiled brats from Vandy just for him and I am not going to quit singing." "But you *did* say you would go out with this Brian character," Sandy reminded her as she sat next to her on the sofa. Allison sighed again. "I was just trying to placate him. He's my father, Sandy. I want him to be proud of me. I guess I made a concession partly in order to get rid of him, though, and I will not keep dating Brian if he is an ass hole." "Well, if you are going to date him, he probably will be an ass hole." Sandy teased her, knowing Allison's luck with the opposite sex. Allison snickered. "You know, I think that you and I need to trade lives for awhile. I will be the one who picks mister wonderful out of a crowd and dates him for five years, taking him home to my kind mother and fun father with their complete approval. And you can go live in the mansion on the hill and pick the one ass hole out the crowd." She paused and then added, "And while we're at it, I want the red hair and about two inches in height as well." She paused. "Do forgive me for whining," she said with a smile. "No thank you, no deal. I like my life just as it is. Money would be nice, but having been your friend for a few years taught me a few things. I wish that I could do something to help you out, though. Maybe I should pick the guys you go out with....my track record is pretty good. Good radar, and all." "Well, I may take you up on that if Brian doesn't work out." She looked sidelong at Sandy and they both started laughing. "Let me get my date book, Alli." ******************** End Part 3a Music City Blues (3b/??) Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Rating: PG-13 SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO ******************** Sandy thought that Allison's experience with her father would have taught her to be cynical. But that did not appear to be the case. That argument that Sandy witnessed a month ago made it pretty clear that Allison's father did not approve of her desire to be a singer....talent or no. From what Sandy had been able to ascertain, you got a degree in political science or physics or English literature.....something that you could turn into a great, prestigious career, such as politics, medicine or a professorship at a university. All this before you married well and lived in the proper house with the proper husband. Preferably before the age of twenty-five. Not only did Allison get the wrong degree, wait tables and sing, she was nearly thirty years old with no desire to get married. She wanted to *live*. She was incredibly talented, well educated and now, presumably, flat broke. She lived in a duplex with Sandy as a neighbor instead of the cozy twenty five room mansion in Belle Meade with the pool and the sauna. From Belle Meade to Music Square. From wealthy to poor as a church mouse. From miserable under her father's thumb to happy and free. It showed in her attitude and in her singing. Which brought Sandy right back to where she started. Men. Thank god she had dumped Brian. "Hello? Sandy, are you in there?" Allison waved her hand in front of her friends face. "What? Oh, yeah, just day dreamin' kid. I take it you are *officially* disowned now that you dumped Brian?" "Yep, not that it matters. I have been preparing for this tactic." "Tactic?" Sandy asked, confused. "The tactic where my father disowns me so that I will be forced to come crawling back into the lap of luxury," she replied with a grin. "Ooohhhh, *the* tactic. Well, at least you have a positive attitude about it." "I have to....no choice. It's my nature," she said, still grinning. "I think we are done here. You ready for that nap?" Just as the words left her mouth, Sandy saw *him*. A tall, dark and oddly handsome man that had just strolled in the door.....in a suit. A very expensive suit, from the looks of it. "Alli, your father isn't sending gorgeous hunks to lure you from the dark side, is he?" "What are you talking about?" Allison asked, confused. Sandy pointed towards the door to the tall man in the well cut suit. "Oh god, dessert just walked in. And you noticed him first so he probably isn't an ass hole." Both women got a laugh out of that one. "My oh my, Sandy! If he works for my father I am gonna be pissed off. I may have to leave the dark side." Both women laughed again and the man in the suit looked directly at them. It was then that Sandy realized that some idiot in the band had turned the microphones on and she blushed to the roots of her hair. She grabbed Allison's arm and pulled her off the stage to a table down front. "Alli, the mics were on, he heard us." "So what? If he works for my father he may get his hopes up for just a minute, but then I will squash him like a bug. If he doesn't work for my father, well, he knows we think he's hot which will take care of the initial feeling around to determine if someone is attracted to you or not. So maybe one of us will get lucky." Alli smiled and held her hands up. "Alli, that is what I love about you. Your infinite common sense and supreme confidence. Maybe that upbringing was good for something." Both women giggled together as *the hunk* approached them. ********************** Third and Lindsley Bar and Grill 1300 Third Avenue South Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 6:35 p.m. Mulder strolled over to the two laughing females with no little trepidation. He had heard their comments and thought it best to ignore them. The only question in his mind was how much information to give out in order to find out what he needed. "Hello, ladies. I am Special Agent Fox Mulder with the F.B.I. I am investigating the murder that took place outside the other night and I was hoping that you could help me." Mulder held up his badge and both women scrutinized it closely. "Wow. Your name really is Fox. Cool." Sandy liked him on the spot. Allison noticed the pained expression that flashed momentarily on Mulder's face and gave her an elbow to the ribs. Sandy continued, "Ow. Well, Agent Mulder, I was not here the night that occurred. But Allison here, was working, I believe. Right, Alli?" "Yep. I work here as a waitress when I am not singing. We can sit down and you can ask me anything you like. Just tell me you don't know my father." She grinned at him. "Allison!" Sandy was surprised to say the least. She was being a tad more forward than Sandy would like. The woman needed to learn a little caution. Allison, for her part, just grinned at Mulder. An all teeth grin designed to lighten the poor guy up. The man had sad eyes, kind of like a puppy. And Allison always picked up strays. Where she got the need to nurture was a mystery. Maybe she was adopted. Mulder, despite himself, smiled back at her. It was not a big smile and it didn't quite reach his eyes, but it was a smile. He gestured over to a booth along the wall, just in front of a partition dividing the bar area from the pool tables area. Allison walked over and sat facing away from the stage, with Mulder sliding in opposite her. "So what is your full name, Allison?" "Allison Matthews." "You were working the night of the murder." Alli nodded. "How long have you worked here?" Allison appeared to think for a minute. "I guess it has been about two months. I played gigs here before that though. But, being a musician in Nashville......well, let's just say that every waitress and bartender in this town is either a musician or an actor." Mulder considered his next question carefully. I have to get my fucking mind on this case, he thought. I have no backup. I can't afford to screw up. He pulled a picture out of his jacket pocket. He handed the picture to Allison. As she looked at it her eyes widened. "Do you recognize her, Allison?" he asked, as he held his breath. "I think so. I think it's Alex. She looks a bit different here, though. What has she got to do with this?" Mulder's mind was reeled, making him dizzy. A light sweat broke out on his forehead. No fucking way did she just say that. No way is it that easy. Alex again? Jesus. "Agent Mulder? Are you alright?" Allison reached across the table and touched Mulder's hand. He jerked his hand away and looked up at her, startled. "Are you sure? You recognize her? When did she start working here?" Mulder took a deep breath, realizing he needed to calm down rapidly. "I am fairly sure that is Alex, she started working here about 3 weeks ago," Allison replied, watching Mulder pale, a trickle of sweat running down the side of his face. "Are you friends with her?" "No, I am *not* friends with her. She is, quite frankly, a bitch. What did she do?" At that moment Sandy came back and sat down next to Allison, wondering why the F.B.I. agent looked ill. "This woman," he said, pointing to the picture, "is believed responsible for a series of murders in New Orleans. There is a warrant out for her arrest." Allison and Sandy both stared at him, open mouthed. "Is your manager here right now? I need to find out where she lives." Mulder's heart was pounding. Things just did not go this easily. There had to be a catch. "Yes, he's here. I'll go find him right now." said Allison, nudged Sandy out of the booth so she could get out. As she walked towards the back room, Sandy looked enquiringly at Mulder. "Agent Mulder, I love Allison like a little sister. Promise me you won't let her get hurt. I am not worried about me, I am not here all the time the way Allison is." "Don't worry, this case is in the hands of the proper authorities and she will be caught. It is very unlikely that anyone will get hurt." Mulder looked up as Allison came back to the table. "How can you be sure? You said she was a murderer." Sandy wanted more reassurance than his word. "The manager will be out as soon as he gets done dealing with a problem," she said as she sat back down next to Sandy. "What is going on here?" Mulder looked at Allison as she slid into the booth next to Sandy. She looked worried. He reached across the table and covered her hand with his own and gave Sandy a steady look. "Try not to worry. This woman's M.O. isn't one that will cause you any harm. Besides that, I am either going to her house to arrest her as soon as I can get backup or we will arrest her when she comes in here. I will camp out here with some officers if I have to." Mulder removed his coat. "There is no need for you to have any contact with her." "Agent Mulder,......" Sandy started, eyeing the rather large gun strapped to his side. "Please, both of you, call me Mulder." "Mulder, chances are that you are going to stick out like a sore thumb. That is a very expensive suit, if I know anything about fashion and that gun.......well, this is a nice place but nobody wears suits or guns here. You need to blend in a little better." Mulder smiled slightly, surprising both of them. These women were sharp. Reminded him of.........and he clamped that thought off immediately and sobered. Allison saw the rapid change in expression. If he was going to be hanging around for awhile and she was going to find out what his story was. She had the urge to wrap her arms around him and take care of him. Between the sad eyes, the pouty lower lip and the cool exterior that kept cracking she was enamored. Trying so hard to be a tough guy, she thought. You are all mushy on the inside, Agent Mulder. Somebody poked through your hard crust and then twisted the knife. Recently. Mulder got up and pulled out his badge as the manager of the bar walked over to the table. The two women watched as Mulder filled the manager in on the information he needed. The two men started walking back toward the office. Allison slid out of the booth and took Mulder's place across the table from Sandy. She stared after Mulder's retreating form with longing. "Interesting guy, eh Sandy?" Sandy knew that look and tone of voice. "Alli, I can list several reasons why you should *not* try to get involved with this guy. One, you just dumped Brian who was a real ass hole. Two, he lives in a different state and probably has a wife. Three, he seems very sad or troubled about something. Did you see his reaction when you told him you recognized Alex? Geez, Allison, he acted freaky." "Oh give me a break! You liked him, I could tell." "I think he's hot, sure. But........" "Hey, like you said, he'll be leaving soon and going home. Don't worry about me." Allison paused, considering. "He is incredibly gorgeous, though, don't you think?" Sandy just dropped her head into her hands and sighed. *********************** 1125 21st Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 7:50 pm. Mulder strolled up the walk leading to the house, his calm exterior covering a roiling stomach. After the manager of the bar had given him Alex's address and, coincidentally, agreed with Allison that the picture strongly resembled Clarice, Mulder had called Detective Baker to accompany him to this house. He was, quite frankly, terrified. And this feeling disturbed him. Detective Baker had met him in front of the house with a uniformed cop and the three of them approached the house, Mulder lagging behind slightly so as to not scare Alex away immediately. As Detective Baker reached up to ring the bell, Mulder's stomach heaved. He struggled to choke it back down as the three of them heard the door handle turn from the inside. ************END OF CHAPTER THREE*********** Music City Blues (4/?) Chapter Four Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: R Authors Note: The song lyrics quoted in this chapter were written by the wonderful Townes Van Zant and are used without permission. Again, no profit is being made from their usage. SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER FOUR******* 1125 21st Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee May 2, 1998, 7:50 pm. Mulder found himself holding his breath as the door to the house swung open. Then he exhaled slowly through his mouth when an older woman appeared on the doorstep. "Yes, officers? Can I help you?" she asked, nervously. "Are you the owner of this house, ma'am?" asked Detective Baker. "Yes, this is my house. What's wrong?" "What is your name, ma'am?" "Connie Weaver. Mrs. Harold Weaver." "Do you recognize this woman, Mrs. Weaver?" Detective Baker held out the picture of Clarice that Mulder had given him. "Oh, yes, this is Alex. Why are you looking for her?" she asked inquisitively. "Does she live here, ma'am? We need to talk to her." Mulder kept back, watching Mrs. Weaver closely. He saw no sign of fear or dislike in her with regard to Alex.....Clarice. "She moved out about a week ago. She got her own place. Truth be told, I kind of miss her....even though we didn't see each other much." She looked at the three of them suspiciously. "Why did you say you were looking for her?" "Ma'am, do you know where she moved to?" asked Mulder, agitated and choosing to ignore her question. "Yes." She frowned at him. "Hold on a second and I will get you her address." She disappeared into the house and Detective Baker turned to look at Mulder. "You okay, Mulder? You seem......tense." "I'm fine." His lips twisted grimly at the words. "Just fine." ************************* Third and Lindsley Bar and Grill 1300 Third Avenue South Nashville, Tennessee May 2, 1998, 9:15 p.m. Mulder walked back into the bar looking much less conspicuous than he had when he left. The place was packed with young, middle-class people partying on a Saturday night. Allison saw him from the table they had occupied earlier and her heart started pounding. He looked gorgeous in faded blue jeans and a short sleeved blue shirt, open at the neck. He was wearing glasses that somehow, inexplicably, added to his appeal. He looked like a graduate student at Vanderbilt from a distance. As he approached the table, the slight lines around his eyes became more obvious, but made him no less attractive. He seemed very cool and smooth. "Mulder, I saved your table for you." God, he moves like a cat, she thought. "This place gets packed and I thought you would like a place to sit if you made it back." She smiled at him, thinking that a big grin from him would be beautiful. He slid into the booth across from her and smiled only slightly. "Thanks, but you didn't have to do that." "It was no trouble. I take it you didn't have any luck finding Alex?" "Nope." He fidgeted with his hands in front of him on the table, looking around the bar distractedly. Well. I guess that is all I am getting....unless I pry, she thought. "So, are you going to wait here for her? All by yourself?" "Actually, there are a couple of plainclothes cops in here." He sighed. "Her last known address was a fake. We have to stake this place out so I may be here for a while. You don't need to keep me company." "Hey, you are protecting me from unwanted advances." She grinned at him again. "As I am you. The women will be on you like flies.....unless *I* protect you." Allison said with a deepened voice, placing her fist over her heart in a mocking, macho salute. "Flies are drawn to *lots* of things. None of them good," he said with a self depreciating smile. "What about......sugar?" she said with little smile, flirting gently. ********* Mulder's smile widened slightly at her flirtaceous jibe. She was a breath of fresh air with a frightening ability to cheer him up. So light and breezy and open. Not a care in the world......how I wish..... He looked at her clearly for the first time and realized that she was quite beautiful. She was so unaware of it and unaffected by it as to be utterly charming. So different from other women he had known. Very different from Scully.........and he slammed the door on those thoughts again. I know nothing about her......it could be an act. But he didn't really think so. His instincts told him she was genuine. But how are my instincts working lately? ********* Again, Allison saw the smile fade from his face and a look of what appeared to be melancholy take its place. The curiosity was killing her. As were his lips and eyes. "So, Mulder. Fox. Where did you go to school? Or should I ask, what do you have to do to be an FBI agent?" His eyebrow rose at her use of his first name. "Oookaayyy. Why don't you like your first name? Or is it just the fact that *I* am using it?" She was genuinely curious about this. "I just don't. Long story." "Well, I think it suits you.......Reynard." She smiled as Mulder nearly choked. "And I can't imagine anyone being upset at being called Foxy Mulder." And with that body it was bound to happen, was what she wanted to add. "Oxford. And a ton of paperwork and ass kissing," he said, quickly changing the subject. "Oxford?" she was puzzled. She actually was still fixated on his body. "I got a degree in psychology from Oxford. Then I was recruited by the bureau." "Don't most agents have partners? And is chasing killers what you usually do?" Allison watched as he paled slightly and appeared to struggle for control. She wasn't sure which question upset him so and she regretted asking. "Yes, we usually have partners. As for my division, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. What type of music do you sing?" Mulder was desperately avoiding any thoughts of Scully or the X-Files. If he didn't think about it maybe it would stop hurting. He still had a hard time catching his breath when he *did* think about it and the pain in his chest came back. Allison could take a hint. Besides, she didn't want to upset him, she was trying to make him laugh. "Well, I have what you may call eclectic taste in music. I do lots of covers of Jewel, Sarah Mclaughlin, Shawn Colvin, stuff like that. But I also dabble in Alanis Morrisette and, believe it or not, Townes Van Zandt. So, I go from folk to rock to the blues. I do a little country now and then as well. Weird, huh?" "Not really. It sounds interesting. Do you write?" Mulder was genuinely curious. He had never known a musician before. They were very different from what he was used to. "Yep. I write with our guitarist but right now we don't have enough songs to play for the 2 plus hours I spend on stage. I only seem to write the folk stuff right now. Maybe it is just a phase. We used to listen to the Stones and the Beatles constantly in school so I don't know where it comes from." "Vanderbilt?" "Yeah, I got my degree in Geology before I realized that I wanted to sing full time. So not only did I disappoint my father with my choice in discipline, I didn't even practice it and went into the undesirable music business." A note of bitterness crept into Allison's voice as she recalled the arguments that had followed her choice to sing. Mulder could relate all too well. He didn't want to go there either. "On the Discovery Channel, the geologists are these older guys with horn rimmed glasses carrying walking sticks." Allison laughed. "Hey, that is *not* far off. You have no idea how many times I have heard that. I love geology, I just love my music more. It makes me happy. Why do something if it doesn't make you happy?" "Why indeed." Mulder's depression deepened. He tried to ignore it, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The pain in his chest sharpened slightly. He took a deep breath and tried to forget. Allison realized that, yet again, she had said the wrong thing. Maybe not the *wrong* thing. Perhaps he was so depressed that nothing would be right. "Well, I have to get up there and sing. I hope you like it. You are staying the whole night, right?" "I'll be here. Try not to worry." "I'm glad you're here, Fox." She smiled at him gently and touched his hand before walking up on the stage to join the band. ********************** Kitsilano Beach Vancouver, British Columbia Same Day, Same Time <6:15 p.m. Pacific Time> Scully strolled out of the Starbucks, coffee in hand, and crossed the street to the beach. Early May in Vancouver was very cool, but the beach was still well populated on a day like today. It had been sunny and beautiful, which was apparently rare judging by the number of people on the beach. They weren't in the water, but dressed warmly and throwing various objects for their dogs to retrieve. There was a large group of young people playing a loud game of beach volleyball. On the whole, the scene made her feel more alone than ever. She moved between the various groups of people and found a seat on one of the huge driftwood logs that littered the beach. The sun was getting ready to set and, although it was not visible behind the hills of Kits Beach, it cast a beautiful orange glow on the skyscrapers of downtown and the bay. The ships anchored out in the bay looked eerie in the twilight and made her think longingly of her father. Couples strolled hand in hand, dogs frolicked in the surf and the tall man spiked the ball over the net. And Scully just watched. ********************** Third and Lindsley Bar and Grill 1300 Third Avenue South Nashville, Tennessee May 4, 1998, 1:15 a.m. Mulder was on his second night in the bar, but alone for now. The other two officers had left abruptly about three hours ago, saying something about a restaurant robbery with gunfire. He was again zoning out into the music, watchful but not thinking. He couldn't allow himself to think. He was *tired* of thinking. He could not afford to get caught up in the maelstrom that thoughts of the past year and a half brought on. He was anchor-less. He had managed, in the past twenty-four plus hours, to avoid thinking so much and the pain in his chest had eased. Allison chose that moment to delve into her blues repertoire. Mulder clamped his eyes shut and his jaw tightened. The lyrics hit too close to home. Allison had a beautiful voice and her singing, combined with the mournful sound of the guitar, made his heart ache again. There's nowhere left In this whole world to go My arms and my legs they are tremblin' Thoughts both clouded and blue as the sky Not even worth the rememberin' Now as I stumble and reel to my bed All that I've done And all that I've said Means nothin' to me I'd soon as be dead All of this world be forgotten Every emotion was so close to the surface that he had to block out the lyrics to avoid losing himself. To avoid taking them literally. He grasped for something, anything, to remove the pain in his heart. He came up with Allison and Sandy. Think about last night, Mulder. Think about this afternoon. You had fun. You laughed. You forgot. For a little while you were normal. As normal as *you* can get. Last night........ He had breakfast with the band at 2 a.m. What had followed was in depth discussions of a guitar riff or a drum solo. The crumbling of Mick Jagger and the shallowness of the Spice Girls. Out and out disgust of the Spice Girls. Discussion of Spice Girls body parts resulting in flying waffles from Alli and Sandy. Alli and Sandy in defense of Alanis, Jewel and Shawn. David the guitarist in need of *louder* solos. Alli's claim that he is deaf and that the guitar is plenty loud. Outrageous claims of bleeding ears in the audience by Sandy. A conversational first for Fox Mulder......damn, that was a good time.....even if I did puke waffles when I got back to my room. I have to remember to stay away from blueberry syrup. His stomach rumbled. I really should eat something. Mulder signaled a waitress, only to be informed that the kitchen was closed. Oh well, what's another 12 hours without food? It's not like it would *stay* in my stomach. He had been up the previous night until 4 a.m. at which time he was so tired he collapsed into a dreamless sleep. Then, at 10 a.m, a pounding on his door announced the arrival of Alli and Sandy, tour guides extraordinare. Mulder smiled as he reviewed the events of the late morning and early afternoon. He was staying at the Holiday Inn Crown Plaza downtown, so when Allison and Sandy appeared at his door they dragged him down the hill five blocks to the historic district. They ogled the tourists in levis and cowboy hats and informed him that *nobody* who lives in Nashville dresses like that. They had *tried* to talk him into participating in a line dancing lesson with them and 100 other women. The unfortunate men who had been coerced into the Wildhorse Saloon by their wives and girlfriends had managed to avoid that particular humiliation.....as did he. He enviously watched them attempt line dancing with a rather carefree abandon. They walked off the floor after one song, both laughing hysterically. They all played Laser Quest, Mulder handily beating both of them and Allison and Sandy insisting that he had an unfair advantage. He drew the line at the river boat cruise up the river. It was too romantic. He couldn't be thinking about romance. And river boat cruises reminded him of New Orleans. They settled for a bar crawl through the district. One beer at every bar. Mulder insisted he had a two beer limit. You never know when you might run into a wacko vampire chick. So his new lady friends got pleasantly smashed and required a two hour nap prior to getting to the bar to perform this evening. Such is the life of a musician. They had thoroughly entertained and distracted him, thankfully. Mulder swam back into the present and looked up at the stage as Allison bopped all over the stage to the utter delight of the audience......male *and* female. She *was* talented. If only she would stick to rock and folk. The blues were too.....blue. Mulder sighed and gazed around the room. Suddenly, his eyes fixed on a familiar figure at the door and a chill ran up his spine. Clarice......Alex. He started to sweat and his heart started to pound. He couldn't quite believe that he was seeing her again. Alex was standing near the door with her back to him, talking to a young, blond, well-built man. He got up and walked over to her. She turned towards him when he was about twenty five feet away and their gazes locked. Mulder watched, heart pounding, as her lips curled into a feral smile. Then she was gone, sprinting out the door and into the night. Mulder, without thought, sprinted after her. Allison, just stepping off the stage, saw Mulder run out the door after Alex and her heart constricted in fear. Then she watched as a large young man stared after Mulder and Alex in consternation for a moment or two, and then ran out the door after them. Allison ran to the bar and told the bartender to call the police. She started for the door when Sandy grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you are going? Do you want to get killed?" Sandy was worried about Mulder, too, but she couldn't let Allison go after him. Allison yanked her arm away and ran out the door. ********************* Mulder paused outside the door to pull his gun from his ankle holster. He saw Clarice run around the far corner of the building and ran in that direction. As he rounded the corner, he realized his mistake. She was waiting for him. What happened next, happened so fast that he was dizzy. She grabbed his arms and used his own momentum to propel him into the wall. As his back hit the wall, her arms went around his neck. Her hands in his hair she pulled him into a deep kiss. She pulled his lower lip into her mouth and bit it, drawing blood. The kiss and the bite made Mulder's head swim. It felt like it was stuffed with cotton suddenly and he felt himself losing control. "Fox, I've missed you. Can you tell I have been practicing?" She licked the blood from his lip as he tried to raise his gun. She had her body pressed too close to him for him to get a shot. His eyes rolled back in his head as he tried to pull away. She's stronger. He shook his head, trying to clear it. The world swam around him as his lungs locked up in the throes of a panic attack. He flashed back to the last time he had seen her..... nails raking down, blood pouring. A firm, controlling hand on his cock. I can't stop her, I can't. Clarice was thrilled. She *had* been practicing her talents and Fox was going to be hers. She reached between their bodies and stroked him through his pants. She groaned aloud. He was better than she remembered. Mulder felt her touch and something snapped. "NO!" he screamed as he pushed her away and raised his gun. At that moment, Clarice's escort came barreling around the corner, just missing Mulder's gun hand and knocking Clarice to the ground. "Freeze, F.B.I.! Get your hands up! Now!" Clarice's escort backed away with his hands in the air. Mulder grabbed Clarice's arm and twisted it behind her back, turning her on her stomach. Holding her pinned to the ground, and training his gun on her companion, didn't leave Mulder any free hands. Allison peered around the corner of the building and saw Mulder's predicament. She didn't want to startle him. She need not have worried. "Alli, go back inside, now." he said firmly, without looking at her. "Call the police." "I already had the bartender call them. Can I do something to help?" "Just go back inside, please." Mulder heard the sirens in the distance as Allison's head disappeared from view. "Got a new girlfriend, Fox? That's not good. We can't have that." Clarice purred from her place on the ground. "Shut up, Clarice.....Alex.....whoever you are tonight. You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, we will get you one. Take my advice, and shut up." "I am not done with you, Fox. I know you still want me." she purred. "You won't be able to hold me, darling." Allison's eyes widened as she eavesdropped from around the corner of the building. "I never wanted you Clarice. You gave me a concussion, tied me up and drugged me. Then you shot me. At no time did I "want" you." Even as Mulder spoke the words, he felt the tingling sensation in his mind. It was telling him to let her up. He shook his head, dizzy again. Allison heard the catch in his voice and was scared for him. She stepped around the corner again and gripped his shoulder. He glanced at her with a grateful look on his face as two police cars screamed up to the curb. The policemen jumped out of their vehicles screaming at him to drop the gun. "I am an F.B.I. agent, my badge is in my back pocket." As he said the words he lowered the gun. One officer checked his badge and nodded to the other. They took Clarice off of his hands as he told them that she was wanted for murder and assault on a federal officer in New Orleans. They shoved her and her companion into the back of the patrol car. "Agent Mulder, can you come with us to the station and give us a statement?" "Sure. I'll ride in the other car." He turned to Allison and swept her into a quick hug. "Thanks." he whispered as he pulled away and ran his thumb over her cheek. "You're bleeding, Fox." She reached up and wiped the blood off of his chin with her fingertips and then wiped them on her jeans. "Give me your keys and I'll bring your car down to the station." Allison held out her hand which was trembling slightly from the close contact with him. She was still worried about him. He looked pale and slightly ill. If she knew him better, she would have realized that he was barely holding it together. As it was, she merely sensed that he was having a rough time based on what she had overheard. "You don't have to. It'll be awhile before I'm done." "Hey, the band has to load out. It will be more than an hour before I leave here." she said, hand still out for the keys. "Come on, Mulder, let me be your friend." She smiled at him, slightly. Her smile widened as he dug in the front pocket of his jeans for the keys. She glanced at the patrol car and saw Alex glaring at her from the back window. Allison shivered as she took the keys from Mulder. "See you in an hour or so." Mulder gave her a small smile as he got in the front seat of the other patrol car. ************************ Police Headquarters 306 First Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 3:45 a.m. Allison walked up to the door of the police station. Just as she was getting ready to open it, Mulder flew out at a dead run. He knocked her over in his haste and didn't even see her as he ran full tilt up First Avenue towards the historic district of downtown. Allison looked up from her spot on the ground, stunned, as Mulder didn't slow. He didn't appear to be chasing anyone. She picked herself up and started running after him. Mulder wasn't chasing anyone, but something was chasing him. He was running blindly, in terror, as his memories and feelings crashed in around him. Clarice's voice echoed in his head. Oh Fox, you felt so good, naked in my arms. I needed you so badly....I still do. Fox, where is Dana? Once you were with me, you couldn't get it up for her anymore? Or did she just leave you when she realized that all you thought of was me? You know I can love you better than she can, Fox. You need me. The channel changed and he was walking on the bridge, the smell of burnt flesh in his nostrils and certain that he had failed her again. That this time she had paid with her life. Is she here? She's alive, she' hurt. Mulder, I can't follow you anymore. Mulder, why can't you believe? I am afraid. I am afraid to believe, Scully. Scully's face as she stared at him in anger shifted into Clarice's leer. She opened her mouth and she had bloody fangs. Mulder, there are no such thing as vampires. Why can't you believe, Mulder? There are no vampires, but I saw alien spacecraft. Frankly, Mulder, alien involvement is the more plausible of the two scenarios. You were deceived and used. Made a fool of. A fool. Fool. Fool. Fool. Capital F, Mulder, F. Mulder, where the F stands for Fool. Tears streaming down his face and panting, Mulder ran. Luckily, the river was on his right so he wasn't running through cross traffic. Unfortunately, he hit Riverfront Park after a half mile and veered to the right. The park was terraced, with 4 foot drops between levels, all the way down to river level. He hit the first drop at full speed and had nothing but air under his feet for a second or two before the jarring impact with the next lower level caused him to loose his footing and tumble down three more levels where he crumpled into a heap. Face down, he grabbed two fist fulls of grass and sobbed. A sharp pain in his wrist registered briefly in his brain before the emotional pain took over once again. A small, soft hand stroking his hair brought him up short. Scully? He looked up into Allison's beautiful, but un-Scully like face. "Oh, sweetheart, the pain in your face breaks my heart." she said as she continued stroking his hair. She smiled sadly at him. "Tell me about the woman in the alley, Fox." "No. I don't want to.....not now. It doesn't matter." The tears continued, unabated, but her stroking his hair had a calming effect. Even as he said the words, he realized that he did want to talk about it. With someone who didn't know him, wouldn't judge him and might actually believe him. The question was, did he want to tell someone who actually seemed to *like* him? Because she certainly wouldn't after he told her. Then again, maybe that was for the best. Allison pulled on his shoulders until he was lying on the ground with his head in her lap. He cradled his left wrist with his right hand and she rubbed his arm. "Anything that hurts you this much certainly does matter. But you don't have to talk about her. Not right now. Just relax." She paused for a moment. "Why did you run out of the police station? What happened?" "To explain that, I have to explain......a *lot*. And you will never believe me." "Try me, Fox." ********************** Mulder stood impassively, arms folded across his chest, staring through the one-way glass into the interrogation room. Having Clarice in custody was a load off of his mind, but still he felt a gnawing sensation in the pit of his stomach. He continued to watch as the police detectives questioned her about the most recent murder here in Nashville. She was very good at evasion and she bore a passing resemblance in ability to one Robert Modell. Thankfully, she was not strong when she was outnumbered. Thanks to his statement, she was under arrest for what she had done to him in New Orleans. The other charges would have to be addressed there. Detective Baker and his partner got up and left the interrogation room and entered the viewing room where Mulder stood staring through the glass. As they left, Clarice seemed to stare right back at him and grin. The bright light in the room glinted off her, seemingly normal, teeth. Mulder sucked in a shaky breath. "Agent Mulder, we aren't getting anything from her and we have no witnesses. If it wasn't for your statement we wouldn't be able to hold her for more than twenty four hours. As it is, she will be extradited to New Orleans in a few days for federal prosecution. Whenever the arrangements can be made. We are going to question her boyfriend right now, see if he has anything to say. Odds are he is clueless. We will still be looking at all the evidence we do have to try to tie her to the murder over on Lindsley, but I believe the federal case has precedence." "I want to talk to her." "But Mulder, you said that......" "I know I said that it was your collar and it is. But maybe I can get a confession out of her for the murder outside the bar the other night." He didn't want to, but he felt he had to try. Detective Baker gazed at him, uncertain if it was wise for a past victim to be allowed into the room with the attacker.....even if he was a federal agent. "Okay, Mulder," he said. "But we'll be watching." Mulder nodded and walked into the interrogation room. He strolled over to the table, a picture of cool professionalism, and stood in front of Clarice. "Sit down, Fox." She said with a seductive smile. He remained standing, staring at her in contempt. He felt a tingling sensation in the back of his mind and flicked it away, ready for it. A small expression of......annoyance?....flickered over her features at his immobility. "So Fox. How's Dana?" she asked casually. She smiled when she saw the grimace that passed over his face before he could stop it. "Clarice, I know you are responsible for the murder of that young man the other night. Why don't you tell me about it?" he asked, effectively masking his discomfort. Clarice just sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'd much rather talk about *you*, Fox. Much more interesting. I've missed you terribly, you know." He clenched his jaw in anger and no small amount of fear. "If you don't want to talk about the other night, then let's talk about Chris or one of the other young men you murdered in New Orleans." His stomach started to ache. "Did Dana come with you? Or did she dump you when she realized that you only wanted me. Could only get it up for me." She giggled. "That has to be it. She couldn't handle what she saw. You were a beautiful sight, naked and hard. Hard for *me*, Fox." Mulder's heart started to pound and sweat tricked down the side of his face as he struggled to remain in control. He remained standing in front of her, speechless. Terrified. Clarice sighed again. "You felt so wonderful, naked in my arms. She had to have left you when she realized all you thought of was me. And she *did* leave you, didn't she. Otherwise she would be in here glaring at me. *I* would never leave you, Fox. I needed you so badly.....I still do." "Shut up." Mulder was trembling, breaking. Everything was coming to the surface. "You *want* me, Fox, you know you do. And *I* want to feel your cock deep inside me." She stood up, abruptly. Mulder jerked backwards as she stood, a tingling sensation back in his mind as a dart of arousal shot to his groin. "No! Shut up!" As she smiled, he turned and ran, nearly running over the two detectives as they charged back into the room. ***********END CHAPTER FOUR************ Music City Blues (5/?) Chapter Five Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Rating: Strong R SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO ********CHAPTER FIVE********* Granville Island Hotel Granville Island Vancouver, British Columbia May 4, 1998, 12:45 a.m. Once again she was sleeping restlessly, tossing and turning. "Mulder? Where are you?" Dana looked and looked and she didn't see him. "Mulder?" Suddenly, two arms were around her waist, squeezing her tightly from behind. "Scully." said a soft, deep voice in her ear. She shivered. "Where have you been? I have been looking for you. I was worried." she turned as she spoke. He pulled her tight again and kissed her. His mouth caressed and opened against hers. His tongue flicked at her lips. She opened her mouth in a moan and his tongue invaded. "I love you, so much." she said as she started tearing at his clothes. She jerked open the collar of his shirt and gasped, startled by the gash in his neck that was bleeding. "What happened, Mulder?" "You bit me, Scully. Don't you remember?" "Mulder, I never........." "Fox, what do you think you are doing?" Scully's head jerked up at the sound of another woman's voice. Clarice. Mulder turned towards her and then looked back at Scully, confused. He moved towards Clarice and took her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Scully. I was confused. I thought you were her." He took Clarice in his arms and hugged her. Clarice smiled at Scully over Mulder's shoulder. "Mulder! *I* am Scully, not her! Mulder!" She ran over to the two of them and started pulling on his arm, trying to get him away from her. "Why can't you tell us apart, Mulder?" She started shaking him. "Mulder, snap out of it! Wake up." Despite Scully's shaking, Clarice sank her teeth into Mulder's neck. Blood ran down Mulder's chest and his head fell back, mouth open. He groaned, getting paler and paler. "No! Stop it, you bitch! Mulder, fight her. Please, Mulder, I am begging you, please." She yanked on his arm again and Clarice let him go, blood running out of her mouth and down her chin. Mulder collapsed on the ground, dying. "Scully. Why?" he gasped, before closing his eyes. "Mulder, no! Noooooo!" In the background Clarice started laughing maniacally. "No!" Scully sat up in bed, crying. Nightmare, just a nightmare. Instinctively, she reached for the phone and punched in Mulder's number. The phone rang 8 times before she gave up. Three forty-five in the morning, Washington time. Where is he? "What am I doing?" she asked herself angrily. It was just a nightmare. But too many of her nightmares were revolving around Mulder recently. She knew that she had to deal with this and she wasn't doing a good job of it by herself, judging by the amount of time she had just sat on the beach over the past two days, thinking about nothing. She really hadn't had any time to deal with any of it before now. Her cancer. Her cure. Sister found, sister lost. Loss of faith, faith found. Belief weakened. Belief strengthened. An attack on Mulder at one of his weakest moments. And, as always, ridicule. Could I have done more? Have I failed him? She thought back to that horrible night in New Orleans as she held him, naked and bleeding, in her arms. Just after he had been assaulted and shot by Clarice. The return to Washington had begun a cycle of events that had been as hard on Mulder as they had on her. She had begun to believe, which threw her into turmoil, but Mulder had lost faith months before. Beliefs that he had held for years. Beliefs that explained so many of the events in his life.....gone. "Oh god, Mulder. What did that do to you?" What did it do to me, those memories retrieved? How did I feel? She thought about it, and her anger at Mulder for not believing her. Not only did she change her mind, but she felt guilty about it. She had been preaching science for years and changing her tune made her feel stupid, like a fool. That's why she had gotten mad at Mulder. She was really mad at herself. Now she didn't know what to believe. She was totally confused and exhausted. And she was alone. Completely alone. ********************** Granville Island Hotel Granville Island Vancouver, British Columbia May 4, 1998, 6:30 a.m. Scully slammed down the phone for the tenth time. Where is he? I just need to hear his voice, make sure he is okay. She paced in front of the phone. Her dream last night and her subsequent inability to locate him had worried her. She couldn't explain it, she just felt very uneasy. Maybe I just need to talk to someone, deal with my feelings. Then this wouldn't be driving me crazy. Scully sighed sadly, looking at her watch. Perhaps it is for the best that I don't talk to him now......not yet. It was 9:30 in the morning in Washington. Office hours had begun. She picked up the phone and dialed. "Dr. Kosseff's office." "Hello, this is Dana Scully. May I speak with Karen please?" "One moment please," the receptionist replied, putting Scully on hold. "Dana? What can I do for you today?" "Karen, I really need your help. I need to talk to someone." Scully's stomach fluttered as she admitted that. "Do you need an appointment? Is it an emergency?" "Well, Karen, I am in Vancouver. I was hoping you could refer me. It is kind of important." "Oh you are far from home. I will have to look into this, can I call you back?" "Sure, sure," Scully replied, and then rattled off the hotel number. As she hung up the phone, she took a deep shaky breath. Going to a psychologist's office was always a difficult thing for her. But she knew, without a doubt, that it was necessary. If she wanted to regain her relationship, such as it was, with Mulder. She needed to. She needed him Mulder was her rock.....her strength. She was his. They were like a perfectly balanced scale. Shift too far in one direction and it throws everything out of wack. That was happening. She had to stop it, before it was too late. ****************************** Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Room 1201 7th and Deadrick Nashville, Tennessee May 4, 1998, 11:00 a.m. Allison Mathews was in trouble. In spite of her all morning conversation with Fox Mulder, she wanted him. Hell, she wanted him more. I need my head examined. First, I pick a complete asshole.....the disastrous Brian.....and then I fall for a man who is in love with someone else. Way to go dipshit. She was not, surprisingly, put off or frightened by his story of the past several years. And what a tragic story it was. As she looked across at him, sleeping in the other bed, she couldn't believe that he was still alive. If it had been her, she wasn't sure she could have held it together and persevered the way he and Scully had. Scully. Dana Katherine Scully. Allison was puzzled by her. How could she let someone that she obviously cared about come here to face Clarice alone? And she obviously cared for Fox. Not that Fox believed it for an instant. She thought back over their conversation in the early morning hours. I am telling you, Alli, that she doesn't care anymore. I asked her to come with me and she said no, that she needed time. She didn't even give me a chance to tell her it was Clarice. Fox, how could she? You could have been killed. You are tied up in knots over this. Depressed. I haven't seen you eat much. You don't look like you've slept. I just can't believe that she would let you do this alone. Are you sure...... She didn't know it was Clarice. It has just been too much. Too much has happened. I was such an idiot all these years, a fool. Gullible. I caused all this for a lie. I don't believe that, Fox. You saw too much, too much happened. It can't *all* be a lie. And what about Scully? Now she has seen things. She is backing you up. Are you afraid to believe again? Afraid that if you do they will make a fool of you again? Because you are not a fool Fox Mulder. When she had made that statement, Fox had laughed through his tears. Oh yes, I am. I go chasing after every little crumb they throw at me. They use Scully to manipulate me or they throw Samantha in my face. Not anymore. Never again. I don't think I want to go back. Scully is through with me. She has never *needed* me, let alone loved me. I.....I thought she did, once. But I was wrong. Like I was wrong about a lot of things. Samantha has her own life, doesn't need me. My career is in ruins and, as it turns out, for no good reason. Fuck the aliens. Or the lack thereof. Fuck everything. Scully is not through with you. And how can you be sure that was Samantha? As for your career, you can do anything you want. You are very intelligent and well educated. If the F.B.I. isn't making you happy, quit. They had talked for hours. He had buried his head in her lap and sobbed as he had told her about almost losing Scully to cancer. Her heart had broken for him. He was angry and hurt, but he was wrong about Scully. She was angry and hurt as well, from the sound of it, but she wasn't done with him. Not by a long shot. Unless she completely screwed it up and left him alone for too long. After he had told her what had happened in the past year, he had told her what had happened to him in the police station. Alex, Clarice, whoever if I ever get my hands on you....... That was how they had ended up in Riverfront Park in the middle of the night. She leaning against the grassy slope, he with his head in her lap, both of them crying as he told his story. When he had finished, she had leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips while running her fingers through his hair, scraping her nails on his scalp in a massage. He had looked at her, surprised, tears drying on his face. Then he threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her back down for another kiss. Soft, gentle and beautiful....Allison's heart twisted as she remembered it. Heat suffused her body as she lay there staring at him. They had walked the seven blocks up hill to his hotel and he had collapsed into bed after she had helped him with his clothes. The catharsis of the talk and the extreme lack of sleep led to the complete shut down of Fox Mulder. He was completely exhausted. He looked edible in his underwear and she had wanted to sleep *with* him. Ultimately, she had decided that she would be taking advantage of a severely wounded man who was desperately in love with someone else. She had subsequently collapsed into the other bed. Which is how she came to be staring at a mostly naked Fox who looked extremely young and beautiful as he slept on. Her eyes wandered over the long eyelashes, the pouty lower lip, the well developed abs, the narrow hips, and........well, he was *impressive*. She got out of bed and crept over to where he lay sleeping. As she sat down next to him and brushed the hair from his forehead, he opened his eyes and smiled at her sleepily. "Hi." he said softly. "What are you doing up?" "Hi yourself. I have to go to work. Do you mind if I wear this?" she asked as she tugged at the Washington Redskins t-shirt she had pilfered from his bag. "I don't have time to run home." "You can wear it for a price." he said as he smiled shyly at her. "Oh really? What did you have in mind?" Mulder reached up and, putting his hand behind her head, pulled her into a deep kiss. He pulled her across his body onto the bed, rolling over to pin her partially under him. She moaned and threaded her fingers into his hair, opening her mouth to him. She felt him, hard, against her thigh. He pushed her legs apart and shifted to lay between them, his hardness pressing urgently against her panties. A hand skimmed up her stomach under the t-shirt and teased her nipples. A morning erection. In love with someone else. Trying to make the hurt stop. These thoughts flitted through Allison's mind just as Mulder thrust against her. She moaned and nearly came right then. But she couldn't allow this to continue. She wanted him, but she wanted him to want *her*. It's just sex, Alli. Go for it. It will be sooooo good, that much is apparent. No. I am already half in love with him. I will get hurt, and badly, when he leaves. Allison pushed him away, regretfully. "Fox, I want you but......we......you......" she stuttered and paused, thinking for a moment. Which was difficult with a mostly naked and erect Fox Mulder lying between her legs. "I want you. I think you are incredibly sexy. But, you are just trying to dull the pain and this won't make you feel better for very long. And I will fall in love with you. And then you will leave. I can't do a one night stand. I'm so sorry........" she stopped as he put a finger over her lips. "I know. A definite rebound situation. You are right, it is too soon. I'm sorry I practically attacked you like that." he said softly, looking down into her flushed face. She was very beautiful and he wished that they had met at some point in the future when he wasn't a hopeless case. If that time ever came. She slid out from under him and sat next to him on the bed. "Are you going to stick around for the rest of your vacation? Can you come the club later? I get off at eight and we could talk some more. I can make you a late dinner." Allison felt like she was pleading and she hated herself for it. But she didn't want to make the mistake of letting him think she didn't care. She knew from Scully's experience that could happen easily. She wanted him desperately, but she would not be a consolation prize. All the same she didn't want to see him go. Talk about conflicted. "I am so tired still. I feel like I have been run over by a truck. It felt good to talk to someone, especially someone who listened to the whole thing without telling me I'm crazy. Even if you think it." "I don't think you are crazy. Depressed and lost, but not crazy." "Gee, thanks. I will try to come by tonight. I'm not ready to go back to D.C. yet. I don't know if I ever will be." He sighed heavily. "I am so tired." Allison ran her hand down the side of his face, down his neck to his shoulder. She squeezed lightly. "Go back to sleep. I'll see you tonight, okay?" Mulder nodded and closed his eyes, asleep in an instant. ************************ End of 5a Music City Blues (5b/??) SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR INFO ************************ Doctor Rosalind Stern's Office 650 Granville Street, Suite 1050 Vancouver, British Columbia May 4, 1998, 4:30 p.m. "The doctor is ready for you now, Ms. Scully." Scully put aside her magazine and stood up slowly, hesitantly. The nurse motioned for her to go into the doctors office. After an additional moment of hesitation, she complied. ******************** <1 hour later> "So, I don't know what to believe. I only know that I am at a loss. I don't know what to do." Scully sighed. "You haven't had time to grieve, Dana. You have been through a horrible ordeal.....several horrible ordeals, and you are understandably overwhelmed." Scully wrung her hands in her lap. "I need Mulder." She laughed bitterly. "I can't believe that I can admit that here. To you. Not to him. That's what he wants." "Why can't you talk to him?" "I'm afraid." "Of what?" "I.....I'm not sure," she replied. "You respect him." "Yes." "You love him." "Yes. I....think so." "Are you afraid that if you let yourself need him that he will not respect you? Not love you?" "Maybe.....possibly. He might think I'm weak." "Is your way working?" Scully's breath huffed out in a laugh. "It doesn't appear to be. I wouldn't be here, would I?" "What did Mulder do when you found Emily?" "He......he came. He helped me." "How did that make you feel?" "I.....didn't want to ask him. I wanted him to leave me alone." Scully hiccuped slightly. "I pushed him away." "What did he do?" the doctor asked carefully. "Exactly what I needed him to do," she said, remembering. "Did he want to?" "He said.....he said that if he wanted to protect me from ever being hurt, he wouldn't do it. But he did." "Why do you suppose he did that?" "Because I asked him." "What does that mean to you?" Scully didn't answer. She didn't have an answer. "Okay. When Mulder gets into trouble, who does he call?" asked the doctor. "Me. At all hours of the day or night." "You resent that?" "No. No. He just.....gets in trouble a lot." "Do you think he's weak when he needs you?" "Of course not." "Why do you think he turns to you all the time?" "Because I'm his partner. Because I'll help him." "So, he trusts you implicitly. Like you do him." "I guess so. He used to." "What is different now?" "He doesn't believe me now. He changed his whole belief system and won't believe me even though I told him what I thought I saw." "And that made you angry?" "Yes. He never believes me." "Do you ever believe him?" "Not right away.....sometimes never." "Then why are you angry at him?" "Because he believed this before and now he won't listen to it at all." "Okay, let me ask you something else. How did *you* feel when you realized that Mulder may have been right all along?" "Like I was insane. Like I had been an idiot for not being open minded. Guilty, I guess. Kind of angry." "Did you feel foolish?" "God, yes. Both for believing it and not believing is sooner." "You told me about your argument with Mulder a few days ago. Why don't you run that argument through in your head and listen carefully to what Mulder says. Exactly what he says." Scully closed her eyes, replaying the argument in her mind. After a moment her eyes popped open and she looked at the therapist. "You are saying that Mulder is feeling the same way?" she asked. "Do you think so? He had a belief system that he was led to believe was totally wrong. He was manipulated. He is well known in that community so when he is proven wrong, in his eyes, he is made a public fool." "He is not a fool! He was deceived and used. Taken advantage of and manipulated. It's only because he is open......." she stopped. "He's afraid it will happen again. He's afraid that *they* will use him again." "It sounds like he is having the same, or very similar problems to what you are having." "I am such a blind idiot. Why didn't I see the signs? I can see them now. The way he talked to Skinner. The way he walked away from me on Skyland Mountain. He was defacing a picture of himself in the office and I ignored it....all of it." "Dana, don't start castigating yourself. You have had your own problems to deal with. It is time to deal with them. Then perhaps you can help him deal with his. It is perfectly understandable how you would both be unable to see what the other was going through." Scully sighed. "I still feel like I failed him in a very important way." "How's that?" "Do therapist's ever give answers?" ************************ Riverfront Park Nashville, Tennessee May 4, 1998, 7:30 p.m. The sun was setting behind the office towers behind him, casting tall shadows over the river. The lights illuminating the Bell South Tower were coming on and, from where he was sitting, the building gave the optical illusion of falling towards him when he turned to look up at it. He gazed out over the Cumberland River, it water muddy from recent heavy rains, and towards the skeleton structure of the NFL football stadium being constructed on the other bank. It looked like a overturned spider lying there in the twilight. Mulder sat there, staring out over the river, his mind nearly blank. Thinking of nothing in particular, just watching. He heard snatches of music from countless bars along Broadway and Second Avenue. Tourists wandered down towards the river to gaze over at the stadium and to hop on river taxis for a ride to Opryland. He suddenly heard a calliope. He looked up river and saw it coming around the bend, stacks smoking and music blaring. A huge paddlewheel river boat with the words "General Jackson" painted on the side came steaming down the river towards him, music playing and brightly lit. It was beautiful in the near darkness. It made him feel like sobbing. He was alone with the beauty of a sight that should be shared by lovers on the grass of the park. Alone. Always alone. And it reminded him, painfully, of New Orleans and.........Scully. He put his head on his knees and tried to stop the thoughts that overwhelmed him, causing pain and deepening depression. Scully. She must really despise me to leave a case to me. Hell, she didn't even believe there was a case. Well why wouldn't she despise me? She has been through hell. Even if it *isn't* my fault, directly, I am still a painful reminder of everything. It'll keep happening, if I go on. She has to be as tired of it all as I am, doesn't she? She would certainly be better off without me around. Do I have *any* reason to go back? What is it? To fight *them*? Why me? Everyone seemed to think I am important in this equation. Even Krycek thinks I am important to this fight. Resist or serve, he said. I can't trust Krycek, that's for sure. I don't have Scully and I can't do it alone. I don't want to do it at all anymore. I am too tired. So tired of it all. In the back of his mind, Mulder admitted to anger.....directed at Scully. She didn't trust him at all, not really. The constant "I'm fine". It's no fucking wonder that I only half listen to her sometimes. She never *says* anything. Then Mulder considered the possibility that was his fault as well. Am I untrustworthy? Unlovable? Hopeless? Well, that has been proven time and again. Gullible? Most certainly. Easy to manipulate? Without a doubt. Perhaps if I just take myself out of the game it will do more damage to *them* than I could possibly do by staying in. It would keep Scully safe. She could have a family. I may regain my sanity. Or maybe I'll just die. Mulder considered all the times that he could have just rolled over and died. He always had a good reason *not* to before. He didn't want to give some nutjob the satisfaction of taking out "Spooky" Mulder. He couldn't kill himself because of what it would do to Scully. He wanted justice. He had a strong will to live and persevere. He realized as he sat there that he didn't have any of those reasons at this moment. He would never get justice or Scully. And all his personal wacko's were in jail or dead. Including the vampire chick as not-so-affectionately nicknamed by Frohike. Clarice/Alex/whomever was sitting in a jail cell not more than four blocks from where he sat. As for his will to live, it was damaged, quite possibly beyond repair. He thought of the three women currently impacting his life. They were all so different. Scully. He was damned tired of thinking about her. It made his chest hurt too much. He wondered if he was getting an ulcer or something, or if this was pure heartache. He longed for her. She would be able to tell him what was wrong. Hell, if she was here there would be nothing wrong. Clarice. The main reason that his personal relationship with Scully had stalled completely. She had fucked with his mind....and his body. Well, at least *somebody* wanted him. Make that two somebodies, he realized as he thought of Allison. The beautiful, open book, caring Allison. She was, for some unknown reason, falling in love with him. Well her friend Sandy did say that she had lousy taste in men. He could love Allison if he weren't already in love with Scully. If only. If only we had met at a different time. Shit! Allison. He looked at his watch and realized he was going to be late. Maybe he could *not* fail one of the women in his life....if he hurried. ******************** Granville Island Hotel Granville Island Vancouver, British Columbia May 4, 1998, 5:30 p.m. Just as Scully was putting the finishing touches on her makeup so she could go out for another solitary dinner, her phone rang. Who could that be? Nobody knows where I am. Then she rolled her eyes at that thought. People......*they* probably always knew where she was. The phone rang for the third time when she realized that she better answer it. "Scully." "Oh man. What are you doing in Vancouver? I was hoping this was a horrible mistake." "Frohike?" she asked curiously. "How could you do it? How could you let him go by himself? Damn Scully, the least you coulda done was call me so I could go with him." Frohike was, for the very first time, extremely angry with Dana Scully, redhead of his dreams. Scully suddenly got a very sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Frohike, what are you talking about?" "Mulder. Jesus, I hope he's okay." He started mumbling to the other gunmen in the background, leaving her hanging. "Frohike! Frohike, why wouldn't he be okay? I have no idea what you are talking about." "You two are way more dysfunctional than any of us could ever dream of being." "FROHIKE! Tell me what you are talking about this instant." "You really have no idea? Mulder went to Nashville to check on a lead about Clarice." "Oh my god," she whispered. "I had no idea." "He didn't call you? He promised he would." "He.....he called me.....I didn't give him a chance to tell me.....oh shit." The sick feeling in Scully's stomach increased exponentially and two tears ran down her face. "Frohike, tell me everything you know. Everything." "The guys and I got a hit on our little search for Clarice style murders. We told Mulder about it and he was going to call you so the two of you could go to Nashville to see if it was her and put a lock on her. Earlier today we hacked NPD and found that Mulder caught her, but there was no sign of you in the records. So, on a hunch we called NPD and asked for Mulder. They said he hared out during the interrogation and that they hadn't seen him since. They also said that he had been alone. They gave us his hotel number and we tried him there. He is still registered, as of three hours ago anyway, and we left several messages. We checked for a room for you but, as you are aware, you weren't there. I had been hoping that the name Dana Scully on a flight to Vancouver had been a horrible mistake and that you were finally sharing a room with Mulder." "So you have no idea where he is." "Well, odds are he is still somewhere in Nashville. Neither his name or any of his known aliases were on the flight manifests out of Nashville and his rental car has not been turned in. We looked for him Scully, best we could, and he is no where to be found." Frohike paused. "I suppose it is possible that he is line dancing and too busy to return our calls." "When was the last time you tried him?" "We tried him at about noon, our time, and then again at about 6. Nadda, Scully." Ohgodohgodohgod......... "Is......is Clarice still in jail?" she asked as the tears started falling faster. "Yep. Thanks to Mulder identifying her as the person who attacked him in New Orleans. They are still working on definitively tying her to the murder there in Nashville." So all I have to worry about is a mental breakdown. All? Jesus. After she had been silent for a few moments, trying to think of everything she had to do to get to Nashville, Frohike reminded her of his presence on the other end of the phone. "You okay, Scully?" "No. I'm not. If anything happens to him because of me......" "Hey Scully, it would have been good of you to be there, but if anything happens it won't be your fault. Not completely anyway." he added grudgingly. "Mulder is pretty resilient and he could have tried harder to let you know why he needed you." But he wouldn't because of the fight. The fight that I started. And I ridiculed him and our usual cases. I hung up on him. She shook her head, trying to clear it so she could focus on Mulder. "Frohike, you don't happen to know when the next flight out of here is, do you?" "Hey! Remember who you are talking to, young lady." ********************* Third and Lindsley Bar and Grill Outside the Bar Nashville, Tennessee May 4, 1998, 8:30 p.m. Allison was near tears. She had been off of work for a half hour and there was no sign of Fox. Well, just imagine how you would be feeling if you had slept with him. Yeah, but at least I *would* have slept with him. She walked around the near corner of the building towards her car, parked on Lindsley Avenue. A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek as she inserted the key into the door lock. "What's wrong, Alli? New boyfriend desert you?" Allison jumped a foot and squeaked in surprise. She turned around fast and found herself pressed against her car by her ex-boyfriend, Brian. "B-brian! You scared the crap outta me. Do you mind? I am trying to get in my car to leave." She attempted to turn around to get in her car. Brian put one arm on either side of her and pressed her harder against the car. When Allison felt evidence of his arousal pressing into her, she got extremely frightened. She reflexively pulled down her skirt and then tried to push him away again. "I can't believe that you fucked that F.B.I. agent after knowing him for a few days when you wouldn't give me any after a month. A *month*, Allison! I took you out to dinner, treated you nice and I got *nothing*. You owe me, Allison." he growled as he grabbed a handful of her hair. "You.....you've been following me?" she whimpered. "I have seen you with that bastard! He isn't going to get away with taking you from me. Once I finish with you I am gonna take care of him." "No! I broke up with you long before I met Fox. You don't own me, Brian. We are finished! Now let go!" As she yelled the last sentence she brought her knee up into his groin and shoved as hard as she could. It wasn't hard enough. ***********End Chapter 5************ Music City Blues (6/?) Chapter Six Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: NC-17 for sex and violence ********beware********* SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER SIX********** Third and Lindsley Bar and Grill Outside the Bar Nashville, Tennessee May 4, 1998, 8:30 p.m. Allison was breathing heavily, making a high pitched keening sound, as she drove her knee into Brian's groin and shoved as hard as she could. It wasn't hard enough. Either she didn't make enough of an impact or he was so crazed he didn't feel it, but he reared back and back handed her hard across the face. Lights exploded behind her eyes and she nearly passed out. Brian pushed whirled her around and pushed her face down over the hood of the car. He grabbed a fist full of hair with one hand and began to stick his hand up her skirt with the other. Brian felt his arm yanked nearly out of it's socket as he was flung around and back into the car. He had barely hit the car when a fist made contact with his jaw, snapping his head around. The next punch caught him square in the stomach and he double over in pain......and his face made contact with a blue jean clad knee. He fell to the ground in agony and looked up into the very angry face of Fox Mulder. He realized that Mulder wasn't done and he tried to roll to get away. "Hey!! What's going on over there!" yelled a voice from the corner of the building. Allison had been stunned and a little frightened by the fury with which Mulder had defended her. All without making a sound. She had to stop him before he made a serious mistake. "Call the police!" Allison yelled back to the man. She turned back to Mulder and grabbed his arm. "Mulder, stop. Mulder, please stop, please." "You sonofabitch. You are going down, hard." panted Mulder. "Well? Don't you have anything to say? Aren't you going to get up and try and hit me? Or can you only beat up on women?" sneered Mulder. "You sucker punched me, you fuck. I am gonna get you for that." Brian snarled as he struggled to get up. Allison was terrified. Mulder was in a rage, but so was Brian and he was significantly bigger than Mulder. She thought fast. Then she took a deep breath, her face hurting like hell, and stepped in front of Mulder. "You do realize that you will be assaulting a federal officer, Brian? That will put you in jail for much longer than simple assault and attempted rape. Your daddy will take away the trust fund if you go to jail." "Allison, stay out of this. I can handle him." said Mulder as he gently moved her to the side. "Jesus, the testosterone." she said shakily as her hand groped in her purse. Brian was advancing on Mulder when Allison's hand locked on what she was searching for. She whipped her hand out of her purse and gave Brian a good dose of pepper spray to the face. She dropped the small canister as Brian screamed and clawed at his eyes. The last of Allison's adrenaline rush left her and she collapsed against the car, falling to the ground in a heap. *********************** She came back slowly. Blue lights flashed behind her eyes and she heard the squawk of police radios. Her legs and rear end were on the ground but her upper body was cradled against a warm, strong chest. She opened her eyes and looked up into Mulder's sad, miserable face. He touched the bruise on her face very lightly with the tips of his fingers. "You okay?" he asked quietly. "Yeah, I guess so. How long was I......" she gestured around herself. "Not long. A few minutes. Long enough for the police to show up and prevent me from killing that bastard." he sighed and looked guiltily at her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for not getting here on time. I'm sorry I went nuts like that." "Stop, Fox. It is not your fault that Brian is an asshole who thinks he can take whatever he wants. I understand about the nuts part. You are under a lot of stress." "You're not mad?" "Of course not."she said softly. She reached up and touched his face gently. "You were here when I needed you. If you hadn't come when you did......." she shuddered. "But if I hadn't been late........" "Stop. You can't take the blame for this." She leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the mouth. "You are a wonderful man, Fox Mulder, but you have to stop taking the blame for other people's actions." She stood slowly and held a hand out to him. He grabbed it and got up. She swayed a little and fingered the bruise on her cheek. Mulder wrapped an arm around her waist and walked her over to a patrol car. "Do you feel up to giving the police a statement?" he asked her as he helped her sit in the car. "Yeah, I wanna get it over with. Can we go now?" "Sure, hold on a sec." Mulder said, before running over to one of the officers. She buried her face in her hands until she felt Mulder nudging her over so he could get in next to her. He hooked his fingers in hers and gently pulled her hand away. She was crying. He tried to pull her into his arms but she resisted a bit. "Hey, talk to me Alli." "I just......I just feel stupid. And weak. And scared." The tears started flowing faster. She let Mulder pull her into his arms. "Allison," he whispered into her hair as the officers got in the front seat of the patrol car, "you are not stupid or weak. You are a strong, intelligent woman. It took a lot of guts to do your own thing and not bow to your father's pressure. That's strong. There is certainly nothing wrong with being scared. I am scared all the time. You were just attacked by someone you trusted, at one time. You are having a normal reaction." "Scully wouldn't..........." Allison's eyes widened as she realized what she had almost said. Mulder looked at his feet but kept his arms around her. When he looked back up at her, she would swear there were tears in his eyes. He reached up and brushed his fingers along her jaw. "You actually remind me of Scully, in a way. Both beautiful, educated, intelligent and strong." he whispered, eyelashes wet. "But just because she may not cry, doesn't mean it's wrong or weak if you do. In fact, I wish......" he stopped and looked away. "What, Mulder?" she knew what he was going to say, but she wanted to hear it and he needed to say it. "I just wish that Scully would let comfort her when she needs it, the way you do. That she would talk to me the way you do." he said quietly. She watched tears spill over onto his cheeks. He wiped them away angrily. "You aren't betraying her by saying that Mulder." "Then why does it feel like I am?" "Because you love her." Allison paused. "Mulder, are you as open with Scully as you have been with me?" Mulder thought about it for a minute. "No. I don't want to burden her. I kinda feel like she doesn't want to hear it. I used to try more often, but........" he stopped as they pulled up to the station. He sighed deeply. "I don't want to talk about Scully anymore." he said quietly as he rubbed his chest. Allison grabbed his hand and squeezed. He helped her out of the car and walked her into the station, followed by a yelling, angry, cuffed Brian. *********************** Mulder stood in a corner of the station, watching as a policewoman took Allison's statement. She looked very pale and the bruise on her cheek stood out in sharp contrast. Mulder felt his stomach burn with anger. A detective walked over to him with a sour look on his face. "Agent Mulder? I am Detective Harris. I presume you have given a statement to one of our officers?" "Yes. Is there a problem?" he asked, frowning slightly. "Several. This guy is an asshole, for one thing. His father is wealthy and quite powerful for another." The detective shook his head slowly. "I figured that out. Why are these things problems?" "His 'Belle Meade Boulevard' attorney is here, already. It is only 9:15 and with your statement and Ms. Matthews, his attorney will demand he be charged. He will then go to night court where the judge will most likely set bail. The creep will probably be out before noon tomorrow." The detective looked apologetic as Mulder glared at him. "Can't you do something? Stall for time so he doesn't make night court?" The detective shook his head. "You don't understand Mulder. We can't play those games with this guy. Too high profile. I suggest that Ms. Matthews file a restraining order, in any case." "Like that will stop this guy." Mulder muttered as the detective looked at his feet, rocking back and forth slightly. "Is there something else?" "Yes. He will most likely file a complaint against you for assault." He raised a hand as Mulder started to protest. "Don't sweat it too much, Agent Mulder. I doubt he will get far with it, at least tonight." Mulder rubbed both his hands over his face tiredly. "Is Detective Baker around?" "No. He left several hours ago. Why?" "I wanted to know what was happening with a pair of suspects I brought in here last night. Actually, it would have been very early this morning. He was working on the case." Mulder couldn't believe it was only this morning. It felt like it had happened years ago. "Yeah, I'm familiar with it. They had to let the guy go. Local guy. It appears he was just a friend of *Clarice's* and had only known her since she moved here. Everything he told us checked out. They were together in the bar the night of the murder. And there are plenty of witnesses to that effect." "She could easily have gone outside at some point......" Mulder began. "We can't get any statements supporting that. It was a very busy night and nobody remembers her leaving during the evening. They do know that she was there, with the boyfriend, at the time the bar closed. Since she works there, they do remember that much. By that time, the murder had already been committed." He paused. "Anyway, the federal case in New Orleans takes precedence. Clarice is just waiting on transport back there. That should happen the day after tomorrow or so. Red tape, you know?" Mulder nodded. He looked over at Allison in time to see her search him out with her eyes. He smiled at her in encouragement. Her return smile was rather weak and tired. "Thanks for the info, detective." The detective nodded at him as he walked away and towards Allison. He put a hand on Allison's shoulder and asked, rather pointedly, if the officer was about done with the statement. She nodded and told Allison she was free to go. Mulder took Allison by the hand and led her out of the station to a patrol car waiting to take them back to Allison's car. ************************* Granville Island Hotel Granville Island Vancouver, British Columbia Same Day, Same Time <7 p.m. Pacific time> Of all the flight combinations that Scully had worked on, the one that would get her to Nashville the earliest was one that didn't leave until 7:15 the following morning. That left her 12 hours to go insane. The gunmen had given her the number of the hotel, so she decided to give that a try. Holiday Inn Crown Plaza, Downtown. Why don't *we* ever stay in nice places, Mulder? As soon as she thought it she closed her eyes tightly, remembering New Orleans. They had stayed somewhere nice. She shook her head quickly. No time for that now, Dana. Focus. Find Mulder. She stood in front of the phone, staring at it in something akin to fear. Abruptly, she grabbed the receiver and dialed. "Holiday Inn Crown Plaza, how may I direct your call?" "Fox Mulder's room please." Scully held her breath. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Four........and Scully heard the clicking sound that indicated that she had been transferred back down to the front desk. "There was no answer in that room, would you like to leave a message?" asked the disembodied female voice. "This is Special Agent Dana Scully with the FBI. I am Agent Mulder's partner. Have you seen him today?" "I have no way of knowing ma'am. I am not familiar with Agent Mulder. I can make sure he gets any message though." Scully paused worriedly. "Please tell him that it is *extremely* urgent that he contact me. I am at......803-299-1030. I will be here until 7 a.m. tomorrow morning. It is extremely important that he get this message." "His message light is on Agent Scully. I'll see that he gets the message." "Thank you." Scully disconnected. Deep in thought, she continued to stand there staring at the phone. ******************************* Allison Matthews Residence 501 Music Square West Nashville, Tennessee May 4, 1998, 10:45 pm Mulder pulled the convertible BMW up to the curb in front of the old, two story brick house that Allison sleepily indicated. He turned the car off and looked over at Allison's bruised, tear streaked face. He laid his arm along the side of her bucket seat, his hand in her hair, stroking. He gave her a gentle smile and tried his best to take her mind off Brian. "Hey, gorgeous, you still with me?" Allison turned slightly towards him, grimacing. "Gorgeous? It will be awhile before anyone could possibly call me that again. I am a total mess." "Not only are you gorgeous, but extremely kind hearted to allow me to drive this fine piece of machinery. It's not every day that a guy gets to drive a beemer.....a two seated convertible one at that." Allison smiled slightly, Mulder's cajoling tone getting the best of her. Just as quickly she looked at him fearfully. "You.......will you stay......with me? Just for tonight? I...I'm scared to......and I don't mean......" She stopped as Mulder grabbed her hand, gently. "Of course I'll stay." he said quietly. He got out of the car and ran around to help Allison out as she was a bit unsteady on her feet due to sheer exhaustion. He helped her up the steps to the small porch. He stopped when he realized there were two doors in front of him. He held up the keys to Allison and she indicated the door on the right. Taking the keys from him, she fit one into the lock and opened the door. Immediately in front of Mulder was a steep staircase leading to a second floor apartment. Allison took the lead and slowly climbed the stairs. The top of the stairwell was enclosed by a carved mahogany balustrade, the stairway itself opening into a hallway. The floors were hardwood, covered in colorful throw rugs. Through an arched doorway immediately in front of Mulder at the top of the stairs, he could see a small, but neat kitchen. To the left of that archway, in the wall perpendicular, was a door to what appeared to be a bathroom. A few feet to the left of that door and opening immediately in front of the top of the staircase, was the bedroom. Inside was a huge bed with an emerald green comforter. The walls were also painted in a deep green, but the beautifully carved molding around the floor to ceiling windows was painted white. Allison walked slowly into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her hands. Mulder paused at the top of the stairs and looked to his left. Along the balustrade and toward the front of the house, the hallway opened into a living room. From where he stood he could see the comfortable couch and love seat. He walked into the bedroom and knelt in front of Allison. Her eyes were closed and her hands were clasped tightly in front of her. He laid his hands on top of hers. "Alli, why don't you get ready for bed. You're exhausted. I'll just sack out on the couch. Do you need anything?" "Would you stay in here with me?" Allison had whispered the words, feeling vaguely ashamed, yet knowing she shouldn't be. Mulder barely heard her and she hadn't looked up when she had spoken. "Allison, I........" "I don't mean like that, Fox. Would you......could you just hold me? I am so frightened. They said he could be out tomorrow. What will I do? I used my best self defense on him and it didn't phase him, he was crazed. He is too big.....I don't have the right moves......or I did it wrong.....and I don't like guns. Even if I did, I don't have enough time to learn." She was talking fast, on the verge of hysteria. Her breath started hitching as she tried not to break into sobs. Mulder wrapped his arms around her and sat on the bed next to her. He reached one hand up and pulled her head to his chest. She was as small as Scully, only a little taller. Holding her against his chest as she cried, Mulder felt something that he hadn't in awhile. Needed. Someone needed him and he wasn't going to let her down. Her hands fisted in his polo shirt and he tightened his hold on her, silently promising that he would not fail her. He quietly murmured in her hair that Brian had taken her by surprise, that she *was* strong and that everything would be okay. He hoped with his whole heart that he wasn't lying to her. *************************** Allison Matthews Residence 501 Music Square West Nashville, Tennessee May 5, 1998, 10:00 a.m. Allison woke slowly to find sun streaming in her bedroom windows and a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She felt someone's, Mulder's, breath in her hair and then she heard him whisper something in his sleep. She registered that she was wearing a tee shirt and panties and that she had a boxer short clad Fox Mulder spooned tightly into her backside. It felt delicious. Suddenly Mulder moaned again and tightened his hold on her. Allison could barely breathe between her arousal and the tight grip of Mulder's arms. "No....no, Scully, don't leave me. Please, I am sorry. Don't leave me. I didn't want to.......no. She made me, Scully." he was whispering in Allison's ear. She turned her head to look at his face. Tears were coursing down his cheeks as he continued to hold on for dear life. Allison's heart wrenched at the look of despair on his sleeping face. She turned carefully in his arms and stroked his hair with both hands, trying to ease him back to the peaceful sleep that he needed so badly. "Shhhh, Mulder. Go back to sleep." She knew that last night was the first full night of sleep that he had in a several days. If he really did sleep last night. She couldn't be certain since she didn't even recall getting undressed last night. Mulder snuffled and moaned quietly into her neck, tightening his arms around her again. She couldn't bear seeing the disappointment flash through his eyes when he woke up and realized that she wasn't Scully. One of his knees slid between her legs and he started kissing her neck. Allison wanted him so badly. But, he was still asleep and to him, she was Scully. So much for letting him sleep. "Mulder, wake up." she whispered, kissing him on the forehead and continuing to stroke his hair. "Mulder, it's Allison, please wake up." She didn't think she could take much more of his sleepy kissing and caressing. He moaned quietly and raised his knee again so that she was straddling his leg, wet panties rocking against his hot skin, his erection rubbing her belly. This time, Allison was the one who moaned. She rocked against his thigh again, biting her lip to keep from screaming. She reached between their bodies and stroked him. He rolled her on to her back and skimmed his fingers down her belly, into her panties. As he touched her, still nipping at her neck, she forgot she was supposed to be stopping him. When he thrust two long, elegant, fingers into her she came, with a shudder and a groan, still stroking him. "Oh Scully...." he whispered to her. It was like being drenched in ice water. She yanked his hand away from her as the tears began slipping down her face. Allison, you fucking idiot. You *knew* he was dreaming of Scully...you *knew* it. ********* Mulder eyes snapped open and he sat up. "Oh my god, Allison," he said, as he looked down and saw the tears on her face. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was dreaming and I thought......." A sharp pain in his chest made him gasp. God, how could I have done such a thing? I'm as bad as...... "Alli, Jesus, I am so sorry. I am a total ass. Please forgive me?" Mulder felt his stomach clench when she didn't say anything. What have I done? What have I done...... At the same time, he couldn't get the woman he loved out of his mind. The woman who didn't love him. The world started spinning. Suddenly, the pain in his chest increased and he gasped. He pulled away from Allison and sat on the edge of the bed, panting. "Mulder? Are you okay?" Allison sat next to him, worried at the whiteness of his face. "I can't.......I am such a fuck up.....I......." he gasped as tears began sliding down his face again. He took a deep breath and the pain eased slightly. "I feel like I have betrayed her, betrayed my feelings for her anyway. And I am taking advantage of you after everything that happened last night. I am no good for anyone right now. You want to feel safe and I want....." He viciously rubbed his eyes. "It hurts......god, it hurts so much. I want it to stop.....I just want it to stop." The last was ground out between tightly clenched teeth. "Mulder......?" she hesitated. He didn't respond. His eyes tightly shut, he began rocking slightly. "Mulder, are you in actual pain? Physical pain? Do I need to take you to the hospital?" she paused, and when he didn't answer she continued. "Mulder, please, you look sick." "It's nothing, really. There is no need to go to a hospital. I am fine, really." He grabbed Allison's hand and squeezed. "Will you forgive me?" he asked through the tears. "Yes," she replied simply. The tears wouldn't stop and the pain was still there, albeit lessened from what it had been moments ago. He had been dreaming of Scully before he had woken up. The disappointment of waking without her and knowing that she would never be there, not even as his friend, was destroying him. He felt like his heart was in a million pieces. It is better this way. She is better off, safer, without me. I cannot allow Allison to fall into the same trap. I have to remove myself from both their lives for good. No Scully. No belief. No Samantha. No point. ******** Allison watched him closely. The tears continued unabated but he was not making a sound. The despair and sorrow flashed across his face, aging him from the very young man he appeared to be in sleep. She watched as he slowly closed the emotions inside. The calm, emotionless facade that took sorrow's place frightened Allison more than anything she had seen from him yet. He had been on an emotional roller coaster since she had met him and probably before. Rage to sorrow to guilt to despair with briefly interspersed moments of ......well, if not pleasure, at least not despair. Now his eyes looked dead. Suddenly he stood up and grabbed his pants, pulling them on with an air of purpose. Perhaps the wrong purpose. I am losing him, Allison thought. If he walks out of here he'll do something stupid. "Mulder, where are you going?" she asked calmly. "I need to walk....I need to clear my head." he said as he pulled on his shirt. "Mulder, you can't leave me here. What about Brian?" Allison paused, not wanting to play the guilt card but having no choice. "You promised me you wouldn't let him hurt me."she whispered. She was terribly afraid of Brian, but she was much more afraid of letting Mulder out of her sight. Mulder paused, looking at Allison. He sat down next to her and gathered her into his arms. "I won't do anything stupid, Allison. I'm sorry if I hurt you." he whispered into her hair. She pulled away and looked him in the eye. "Promise me. Promise me, Fox Mulder, that if you leave this house you will be back to take me to dinner." His mouth quirked and an eyebrow went up. "Now I am buying you dinner? Besides the fact that it is the very least I should do, how can you stand to be around me?" "Mulder, you are a good guy. Honestly. I am as much to blame as you for what happened earlier. Now, I'll let you drive my car all over Nashville, top down, for as long as you like and you buy me dinner. Deal?" She held out her hand which he grasped and shook. "Deal." he said, after a moment of hesitation. Then he picked up her cordless phone and dialed a number. The police station. He talked for a few minutes and then hung up. "Brian is still in jail but they think he will be released by one. I'll try to be back before then. I don't think you have to worry about him, but, just in case, I am leaving you my spare gun." "What? But I don't.....I never.....Isn't there some kind of rule against this?" she sputtered as he held the gun out to her. "What rules?" he grinned crookedly at her. "Look, I don't think he would come here first thing out of jail, but if he does......" he removed and pocketed the clip to be on the safe side and then handed it to her. "Just point it at him." "Okay, I think I can bluff the bastard long enough to call the police," she said hesitantly. "Where is your car? Do you want to take mine right now?" "No. I really do need to take a walk. Maybe if I get some exercise......never mind. I'll just walk to my hotel and get my car and come back here a little later after I have showered." He had moments where he thought he might actually survive this and it was thanks to her. "Mulder, your hotel is at least 18 blocks away from here. Are you sure you're up to it?" she asked and he responded with a vaguely offended look. "I just meant that not even five minutes ago you looked ill, like you were in pain and now......" "I'm fine, Allison. I need this. It'll be okay. Why don't you call Sandy and have her come over, I'll feel better about leaving if you do." "I will, but you better hurry back." "Alli, I promised, didn't I?" ********************** Vancouver International Airport May 5, 1998, 6:05 a.m. Dana Scully looked impatiently at her watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. Less than an hour. Then a six hour flight. Half hour by car from the airport. That will put me at Mulder's door by 5 at the latest....no, wait.....4 p.m. central time. That's better. She sighed and tapped her foot impatiently on the floor. The man sitting across from her scowled and she nearly set him on fire with a look. *************End Chapter 6*********** *******CHAPTER SEVEN********** Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Room 1201 7th and Deadrick Nashville, Tennessee May 5, 1998, 4:30 p.m. Scully stood outside the door to Mulder's room apprehensively, composing what she would say to him. She couldn't recall being this nervous about seeing Mulder since their very first meeting. She raised her hand and knocked on the door before she could chicken out. No answer. She knocked again, harder. Nothing. Of course he wouldn't be here. It is a beautiful day outside, sunny and warm. She read that Nashville had been having lots of rain and flooding, not to mention taking a direct hit from a tornado a couple of weeks ago. As a result, there were people everywhere on the streets outside, tourists and locals alike. He was probably walking or running the streets. Then she started to worry that perhaps he was sick or hurt or in trouble and decided that she would get into his room. She would find him, not wait for him to come to her. *********************** Ten minutes later she was back outside of his room with a key in hand. Having a badge did come in handy from time to time. She knocked again, just in case. Still no answer. She slipped the key card into the slot and opened the door. Once inside the room, she *knew* that Mulder had been there recently. She could smell him. The air near the bathroom was slightly humid. She walked into the bathroom and picked a towel up off the floor. It was still wet. She lifted it to her face and inhaled. She closed her eyes and smiled slightly at the Mulder scent that greeted her. She hung the towel up on the rack and checked out the toiletries. He had shaved, that had to be a good sign didn't it? Tooth brush was still wet, cap off the toothpaste. There was also no cap on the tiny bottle of patchouli......patchouli? So that's what that faint, delicious aroma is every time I get near him after hours. Shaving, brushing teeth and putting on a scent. What, is he going on a date? No way. Well, why not Dana? He is gorgeous and alone, probably lonely. And in need of companionship after everything that........stop. Just find him and quit imagining things. She walked into the main room and looked around. Actually, if she was honest, she searched the place. And found nothing of interest. She did note that both of his guns were gone. Both guns? She checked all of his usual hiding places, hoping to find his spare. Sure, he would carry his regulation sidearm or his spare, but both? She walked over to the phone and dialed his cell. Once again, she got the recording indicating that "the cellular customer you are trying to reach is currently unavailable", meaning his phone was either turned off or broken. She sat on the edge of the bed and pondered what to do next. Clarice, of course. I'll just go to the station and talk to the detectives and see if I can figure out where Mulder is. Maybe he is there. But why? He arrested Clarice well over 36 hours ago. Why do I *still* have a bad feeling about this? He is obviously fine, he was here a short time ago. She sighed heavily, wondering if she was nuts. ******************* Police Headquarters 306 First Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 5:15 p.m. After Scully had gotten a room at the hotel for herself, she had showered and changed into a lightweight, pale blue linen suit. She wanted to stay casual but if she was going to the station she figured she had better look professional. As she pulled up outside the police station she realized that she hadn't checked to see what Mulder was driving and if it was at the hotel. Well, knowing him, he's walking anyway. I can check later if I have to. Scully walked up to the main desk and flashed her badge, asking for Detective Baker. She had spoken to the detective the previous evening during her search for Mulder. The young officer escorted her into the squad room which was bustling with activity. There were desks everywhere, usually pushed face to face in groups of two. She surmised, correctly, that these were occupied by the detectives of the precinct. The officer pointed out a short, rotund man in a rumpled suit. His thinning hair looked like he had been running his hand through it.....a lot. Detective Bakers' desk was in the corner of the room and was overflowing with files and papers. Just as Scully approached, he turned towards her and jumped slightly. "Detective Baker?" she asked as she pulled her badge out for him to inspect. "Yes, how can I help you?" he inquired, pausing to look at the badge. "Oh, Agent Scully! I see you finally made it to Nashville. Still looking for your errant partner?" "Yes I am. I am quite worried about him, with everything that has been going on lately." She wondered how much help she was going to get from the obviously busy man. Probably not much. "Well, I have not seen Agent Mulder since he hightailed it out of here two nights ago.....or actually very early yesterday morning, like I told you on the phone yesterday evening." "I assume you are talking about Special Agent Fox Mulder?" interrupted a detective from a neighboring pair of desks. "Yes, we are. Have you seen him, detective......?" Scully asked, her stomach doing a little flip. "Harris. As a matter of fact, he was in here last night. Turns out that he was going to meet a friend of his at Third and Lindsley Bar and Grill where she was working and interrupted an attempted rape outside the bar. He apprehended the suspect, after doing a bit of damage to the asshole, and brought his friend in to give her statement." Scully was confused. "I wasn't aware Mulder had friends in town." "He may not have, but he does now. A real knockout, too. Name's Allison Matthews. Her father is loaded but she sings and waits tables at that club she got attacked at last night." Oh, Allison Matthews!" said Detective Baker. "She was on the scene when he apprehended Clarice the other night. She's a hell of a singer as I recall. Saw her perform once." "She had quite a shiner last night........" Detective Harris stopped when Scully held up a hand, begging to get a word in edgewise. "How did Agent Mulder seem to you last night Detective? Was he all right?" Scully was starting to think that coming to Nashville was a mistake. "He was quiet, kinda moody actin'. Concerned about Allison. I told him that the guy, whose father is also loaded, would likely be out on the street today and that pissed him off. I explained that there was nothing we could do about it and recommended that Allison get a restraining order, which she did." Scully's stomach twinged with unaccustomed feelings of jealousy and her heart cursed the ability of Fox Mulder to get involved so quickly. "Is this man still being held? And I take it she was acquainted with the suspect?" Scully asked, trying to get a feel for what the current situation was. Mulder had been busy. "The suspect was her ex-boyfriend. He was released at about 1:00. I meant to call Allison.....Ms. Matthews.....and let her know but I got sidetracked." said the detective as he sheepishly ran a hand over his face. "What about Clarice? Is she still in custody here or has she been transported back to New Orleans for the federal case?" "She's still here. We don't expect to move her until tomorrow or the next day." replied Detective Baker. He shrugged. "Paperwork, red tape, you know?" Now what? thought Scully. He is obviously fine. I am worried over nothing. But still she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something was wrong. After everything that has happened, our argument, the misunderstanding, arresting Clarice and then stopping a rape last night, I need to see him for myself. Just because he was with a woman.....this is not the time for me to walk away because of jealousy. We are still friends....well, I need to tell him that we are still friends, that it was a mistake. Granted, a potentially deadly mistake. I refuse to lose him over this. Scully realized that both detectives were staring at her. "What is Allison Matthews' address?" ********************** Allison Matthews Residence 501 Music Square West Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 5:35 p.m. Scully sat in her rental car across the street from the address that Detective Baker had given her. She wondered if she was doing the right thing in tracking Mulder down. He was obviously doing okay. He wasn't injured or in jail. Yeah, but he has to be hurting. Doesn't he? She remembered his tone of voice when she had told him she wasn't going with him. He had sounded bad at the time and she had misunderstood why. She tried his cell phone again. Still no answer. I have to straighten this out as soon as possible, I owe him that. Be honest, Dana. You are afraid he is getting involved with Allison and you want to make up before he does. But what if he already is? What if he is *with* her? Should I interrupt a *date*? Oh what the hell. No guts, no glory. She got out of the car, crossed the street and walked up the steps to the small porch. As she rang the bell, she admired the style of the old restored house. She heard footsteps running down the stairs inside and suddenly the door was flung open. "Fox, thank god........" Allison exclaimed as she pulled the door open. She stopped abruptly as she realized that it was *not* Fox. The petite redhead locked eyes with the not quite as petite blue eyed brunette that opened the door. They just stared at each other for a second. God, she *is* stunning, Scully thought as she took in the very dark hair, fair skin marred by a bruise on her cheek, the large blue eyes and the delicate features. She was slightly taller than Scully and slender. Perfect breasts, figures. Allison was wearing a slip dress with a large, violet flower pattern on a black background that set off her eyes and skin. Scully fumbled for her badge. Allison realized almost immediately that she was looking at Dana Scully. "Agent Scully, am I right?" "How did you.....?" Scully started, surprised. "Fox described you quite accurately. Why don't you come in?" Allison stood aside and motioned Scully in. She then closed and locked the door before preceding her up the stairs. Scully squeezed her eyes closed for a second, heart thumping, at the use of "Fox" and the fact that he had been talking about her. "I take it Mulder isn't here?" asked Scully calmly, remembering Allison's exclamation upon opening the door. "Not yet and I am starting to worry. Would you like a soda? Or some iced tea?" Allison asked with polite cool. "Tea would be nice, thank you," Scully replied. So she was expecting him. She seemed very confident and poised. "If you would like to have a seat in the living room, I'll get us both something to drink." Allison gestured down the hall. "Then you can fill me in on why you are here." Allison walked into the kitchen. Scully grimaced. She wanted to talk to Mulder, not Allison. I suppose there is no getting around it. I am here, in her house, looking for him. Maybe she will be able to help. Or not. As Scully walked past the bedroom, something familiar caught her eye. She walked into the bedroom and saw Mulder's spare weapon and his Redskins tee shirt lying on the unmade bed. Her heart turned over at the implications that the shirt made. She quickly discarded that thought. Scully picked up the gun as Allison walked by and saw her. She entered the bedroom carrying two glassed of iced tea. "Would you care to explain what you are doing with Mulder's gun?" she asked Allison coldly, ignoring the shirt and taking the professional road. She really didn't want to hear why his shirt was on her unmade, very messy bed. "Come sit down and I'll tell you." Allison replied. The two women walked into the living room, Scully still holding Mulders' gun. As she sat down, she placed the gun on the small table beside her and Allison handed her a glass of tea. Both were silent for a moment, wondering where to start. Just as Scully was ready to ask Allison about Mulder, the door downstairs slammed and Allison's calm, cool demeanor cracked slightly. She got up and ran over to the balustrade, leaning over to peer into the stairwell. Scullys' nerves stretched taut at the display. "Hey, Alli, I'm back. Is Mulder here yet?" called a female voice from the stairwell. "No, not yet. But......." started Allison. "Well where the hell is he? Should we go look for him? He's been gone for hours." said the woman coming up the stairs. "Sorry I had to leave you alone but I really had to........" Sandy paused when she entered the living room and saw Scully sitting on the couch. "Special Agent Dana Scully, this is my friend Sandy. Sandy, this is Mulders' partner." said Allison. "His partner? Is he okay? And why weren't you here to help him catch that psycho bitch the other night?" Allison pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed at Sandys' bluntness. "Sandy, please. I believe that Agent Scully is looking for Fox. Isn't that right, Agent Scully?" "Yes it is." Scully paused and both of the other women looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Mulder and I had a......misunderstanding. I am very worried about him.....he's been through a lot recently." "Yes, he certainly has." replied Allison, drily. Scullys' eyebrow raised. A twinge of jealousy coursed through her. "So because of this 'misunderstanding' you couldn't see fit to come with him to catch this woman?" Sandy interjected. "Sandy......" began Allison. Scully's heart shrank at the accuracy of the other woman's statement. "This is really none of your business......." Scully attempted weakly. "I feel like it is my business," interjected Allison calmly. "He left here this morning and I was worried that in his state of mind he would do something crazy. He has been on an emotional roller coaster since I met him four days ago. The fact that he told me he'd be back here by one and it is now well after five scares the hell out of me. Do you understand what I am saying here?" Allisons' voice had gotten progressively louder until she was almost yelling. Sandy and Scully both stared at her for a moment. Sandy went to Allison and put her arm around the other woman's shoulders. "Allison, why don't you sit down and take a deep breath." Scully was miserable. It sounded like he was having a breakdown. And it was her fault. Emotional rollercoaster? Left here this morning? Suddenly, she was even more miserable. She inhaled deeply, trying to calm her racing heart and form a coherent thought. Allison did appear to have some legitimate concerns and she knew an awful lot about Mulder. They had gotten close rather.....quickly. "I.......I didn't know he was coming after Clarice. It was a misunderstanding. The details aren't important." Scully hated having to defend herself, especially since they were essentially right. She had let personal problems interfere with a case. She had dismissed him as if he was making things up to interfere with her time away. And now all she could do was wait and hope he came back. Hope that it wasn't too late. ******************** One Hour Later Between Sandy and Allison, Scully had a fairly clear picture of what had been going on with Mulder since he got here. Almost too clear. Allison had assiduously avoided any detail regarding sleeping arrangements and anything personal Mulder had said in their conversations. Scully didn't quite know what to make of that. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, even though it was killing her. "He scared the hell out of me this morning. He doubled over in pain and he was white as a sheet........I asked him if he was okay and after a minute, he said he was. He then became completely emotionless, like he had put a wall up. That's when I got really scared. He started......grabbing his things. I was afraid that he had given up, that he was going to........." Allison couldn't even say the words. "So, I tried guilt and that is when he gave me the gun.....in case Brian showed up. He *promised* me that he wouldn't do anything stupid.......and that he would try to be here by one and we would go to a late lunch." "Why would you think he would commit suicide?" asked Scully, confused. "We talked.....a lot. He was very.......depressed. I just had a very bad feeling about him leaving so abruptly." Scully could tell there was a lot Allison was leaving out. Part of her wanted to demand that she be told. A larger part was afraid to hear it. "Mulder would not commit suicide." said Scully decisively. She hoped she was right. Please let me be right. He would never do such a thing, would he? He is so strong.....bravado, Dana. He is also very sensitive. God. "He almost did once before." said Allison. Scully's mouth dropped open, only to be snapped shut quickly. "He did, Dana, right after you indicated that *they* gave you cancer to make him believe. He was actually holding his gun in his hand." Scully sank to a new low in misery. She felt tears gathering in her eyes and looked at her hands folded in her lap. Do I even know him? "Excuse me for a moment,"she said as she got up and walked to the bathroom. ********************* Sandy looked at Allison with wide eyes. "Was that a good idea? Would he have wanted her to know that?"she whispered. "I have to make her aware of what the situation is. I am seriously worried about him, Sandy. I didn't tell her anything else that he said.......and I won't unless it becomes necessary for his safety." ********************* Scully closed the bathroom door and leaned against it. It was taking a supreme effort not to burst into tears. What if he does it this time? What if I pushed him over the edge? How did I not realize when I told him what Kritchgau had said what that would do to him? God, why do I have to try to avoid telling him how I feel? If I hadn't avoided talking to him when he called....... She shook herself suddenly and walked over to the mirror hanging over the sink. She gripped the edge of the basin tightly, as she stared at her reflection and regained control. Be an agent, Dana. There is no time to wallow. Beat yourself up later. You figured he was in trouble and now it is time to attempt to repair the damage. To do that you have to do to find him and fast. Think. She thought about what she had seen in the hotel room and it became clear that Allison had gotten through to him. She walked back to the living room. "He didn't do it." she said to Allison. "How can you be so sure?" Allison wasn't nearly so confident. "Because, I was in his room at the hotel and there was evidence that he had been there recently. He had showered, shaved.....he even put on a scent. It looked to me like he was getting ready for a..........date." Scully nearly choked on the word. "He also promised you he would be here. He knew you were afraid of Brian getting out of jail. He would not let you down like that." "But if he is as miserable as he seemed this morning........" "No. If there is one thing I know about Mulder, it's that he is very protective of people he........cares about." No matter how short a time he has known them, she nearly choked out. Her mind flashed back to Lucy Householder and Melissa Ephesian as well as others who got caught in Mulder's protective orbit. "How long ago were you at his hotel?" "About two hours ago." Scully sighed, anticipating the next question. "Well, if he is not off killing himself........where the hell is he?" **************End Chapter 7*********** Music City Blues (8/?) Chapter Eight Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Rating: PG-13 SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER EIGHT********** Allison Matthews Residence 501 Music Square West Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 7:12 p.m. Scully looked at her watch again. I have been here for nearly two hours and still no Mulder. Allison is wearing a hole in the carpet and I am about to catch a chill from Sandy's attitude. Mulder, where ever you are, you have a real talent for making women protective of you. She sighed and looked at Allison sitting pensively next to her on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought. "Allison, would Brian go after Mulder?" she asked. She watched as Allison's eyes got even bigger and her head slowly turned towards Scully. "You mean to tell me that they *did* let Brian out? I thought they were going to call me! Why the hell didn't you say something sooner?" Allison started to panic slightly and resumed pacing. "Oh for Christ's sake! Those idiots......." Sandy jumped up and started pacing in counterpoint to Allison. "When I was at the station earlier they said that he had been released at one and that they kept meaning to call you and let you know. The question is, is he crazy enough to go after a federal agent? Did he threaten Mulder?" "I didn't think he would ever try to rape me and he did. He did threaten to make Mulder pay but I just can't believe......" "He would. He would go after Mulder, I am sure of it." Sandy interjected. "He is a colossal asshole, rich boy who thinks he can have whatever he wants. I am sure that he was the type in college who got together with the frat boys and beat up nerds for fun. You have to do something. Find Brian. I bet he knows where Mulder is." "Maybe Mulder is sitting in the park thinking again. That's why he was late last night." said Allison, hopefully. Scully's eyebrow rose and she shook her head in disbelief. "Not six hours late." replied Scully. "I think I should find Brian, like Sandy suggests. You two can wait here and call me if Mulder turns up." "Nope. I am coming with you." Allison rushed on before Scully could object. "I know where he lives, I know where he hangs out. You will get farther, faster, with me along." Scully looked steadily at Allison. "I'm a federal agent and you aren't. You have no business accompanying me on this." Allison stared back at Scully, very determined. "First of all, you aren't on a case, you are looking for your friend who may be in trouble. Secondly, *I* am a born and raised southern girl who can sweet talk information out of the most backwater red necks that wouldn't give you the time of day once they heard you speak, caught the attitude and saw your clothes. My family is also very close with Brian's and I can get into that mansion with a minimum of trouble." As Allison spoke, she laid on the southern accent, smiled sweetly and nearly convinced Scully that she was the sweetest thing east of the Mississippi, regardless of what came out of her mouth. "If you go alone you will struggle for every scrap of information. Do you *want* to find Mulder quickly?" Scully felt herself weakening. "You can come with me to get me into that house faster.....that's it. After that you are out of it." Allison gave Scully a brilliant smile that told her that this particular fight would be fought again. "You won't be sorry, Dana. We will find him, I am sure of it." ************************** Unknown Location Same Day, Same Time dark, it's dark Scu.....Allison? don't believe me I can't believe oh, god, it's her red hair body bag no, please no burns don't leave me don't touch me dying, she won't let me in must not love me cause pain my fault, cancer never believes fool, fool hurts head everything's a lie life wasted I hate her no trust no love not my friend faceless men saw them? what are they Alex Clarice please just kill me it would be better yes, Scully, yes hard touch me can't move hands you touch me please, please yes, Scully, harder no.....not you, not you Scully......kiss......please I can't I need won't let you die please love me no.......don't stop touching no.......I will die much better......safer for all *************************** Williamson Residence 2401 Belle Meade Boulevard Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 7:45 p.m. Allison pulled her car through two huge, wrought iron gates and up a steep, tree lined driveway. As they passed though the trees, Scully caught sight of a huge mansion constructed of large limestone blocks. The driveway circled in front of the house with a fountain in the center of the circle. Off to the right and to the rear of the mansion was a two story garage with six doors. Allison pulled her car up behind another parked in front of the house. "Oh damn." Allison said, sounding depressed. "Brian's car?" asked Scully. "No. My father's." She rubbed her temples, tiredly, head down. "I don't need this now. I just wanna find Mulder. Why can't we just find him?" Scully was surprised at the despair in Allison's voice. There was something more going on here than just Mulder's disappearance. "Would you rather I go in by myself?" "No. No. I just......my father and I have had a falling out. I didn't really expect to see him here." She sighed. "Well, let's go. He won't get to me." Allison's tone of voice made Scully doubt that. It also made her even more curious. They both got out of the car and walked up to the front door. Almost as soon as Allison rang the bell, an old man in a suit answered the door. He was stereotypical in his attire and manner as the butler. Scully had the sudden urge to exclaim "the butler did it!!" and decided that she was in serious need of sleep. Visions of the game Clue flickered through her head making the need even more apparent. She worked to quell the sudden hysterical laughter that bubble in her throat. Please don't let his name be Jeeves...... "Hiya, Mateson." Allison said softly. "How ya doin'?" "Hello, Missy. And how are you today?" replied "Mateson", as he ushered them into the huge, two story foyer. "Oh, I'm okay. Is Brian around?" "Not right now, Missy. Mr. Mathews and Mr. Williamson are in the study, if you would like to speak to them." "The study, eh? How about if we wait in the lounge? Oh, Mateson, this is my friend Dana Scully. She is visiting from Washington, D.C." "How do you do, Miss." Mateson nodded to Scully formally. "Nice to meet you, Sir." replied Scully. "Has Brian been around at all today, Sir?" Mateson led them toward an archway off the foyer. Through the archway was one of the most beautiful rooms Scully had ever seen. Decorated in pale yellow and white with couches arranged around a big fireplace and vividly colored fresh flowers placed around the room, the "lounge" was a picture of casual elegance. Mateson waited until Allison and Scully were seated before answering. "He was here earlier this afternoon for a short period but then he left. As far as I know he hasn't been back. Mr. Mathews arrived some time ago, Missy." He gave Allison a knowing, sympathetic look that Scully could not interpret. "I will inform the gentlemen that you are here." he said, and walked out of the room. "Allison, I need some background here. What is going on?" asked Scully. "I grew up with Brian's younger sister, Susan. She lives in California now. Our families know each other, but Brian and I never really connected because he was older than Susan and I. My father convinced me to accept Brian's invitations to go out before we had a falling out. Brian had been asking but I had not really been interested. He had been a jerk when we were kids. He still is, of course. But my father approved of his 'background' and since I didn't do anything else he wanted, I humored him on this. Needless to say, I won't be taking my father's dating advice ever again." Just then two older, distinguished looking men walked into the room. Both were in shirt sleeves, with ties loosened around their necks. The taller of the two had black hair, tinged with gray, and piercing blue eyes. He glared at Allison with something akin to extreme disappointment and perhaps, disgust. Based on looks, Allison's father. Scully disliked him on sight. "Allison." "Father. Mr. Williamson. This is Dana Scully. She is an agent with the FBI." "What can we do for you two?" asked Mr. Williamson. "We are looking for Brian, sir. We need to talk to him." said Scully. She watched as both men's faces darkened. "Do you know where we could find him?" "You, Agent Scully, have no business looking for Brian without a warrant or his lawyer being aware of it. He has been released in our custody. Unless of course Allison wishes to apologize for the embarrassment she is causing this family.....and her own." Scully's mouth dropped open in shock and she closed it quickly, not looking at Allison. "Sir, your son attacked and attempted to rape Allison. He threatened a federal agent and now that agent is missing. We have reason to believe that your son may be involved. Therefore, I don't need permission to simply ask him a few questions." "Is this *agent* the man that Allison has been sleeping with? It is my son's contention that *he* is the one who gave Allison the bruise on her face. We also have witnesses that say that this *agent* was beating my son." Mr. Williamson glowered at her, firmly believing everything he said. Scully glanced at Allison and noticed she had gone white. She was looking at her father, as if silently imploring him for support. He simply glared back at her, not saying a word. "Regardless of what your son *may* have told you, he *did* attack Allison and he *did* threaten m....Agent Mulder. We intend to speak to him." Scully was angrier than she remembered being in a long time. Either blaming the victim or trying to shift the blame, what they were implying was horrifying. She prayed that there was no way for them to get away with it. "Agent Scully, you are no longer welcome in my house. Please leave. Allison, when you come to your senses please call us. You will not be welcome here until that time." Mr. Williamson turned on his heel and started to leave the room. "Sir!" called Scully forcefully. Mr. Williamson paused and turned back to her. "Here is my card. Please have Brian call me when he returns," she said as she handed him the card. Anger coiled tight in her stomach as he dropped the card on the table and stalked out of the room. Scully glanced at Allison, who was staring at her father, seemingly frozen in place. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. "Daddy?" she asked in a whispery voice. Scully turned and stepped away slightly to give them some semblance of privacy. Still, she couldn't help but overhear. "How could you do this, Allison? Do you realize what you are doing? You are embarrassing our family! Brian tried to rape you? What are you trying to accomplish here? Do you need money?" her father stormed. Scully heard Allison gasp painfully. She turned back a bit to see tears on Allison's cheeks. Then, her spine straightened and she looked him in the eye, tears still flowing. "Brian snuck up on me and pinned me to my car, trying to force to have sex with him." Allison stated, calmly. She took a deep breath. "When I resisted him, he hit me so hard that I nearly lost consciousness. He *gave* me this bruise on my face. The whole time he was berating me for *not* 'giving him any after he treated me nice.' He had been *following* me! He was planning on hitting me again when Fox showed up and *stopped* him. He *saved* me *father* and because of it he may be in trouble." Allison paused, taking another breath. "I am going to make sure that Brian pays for what he tried to do to me. If Brian has done *anything* to Fox, he will regret the day he met me." With that, Allison picked up her car keys and stormed out of the house. Scully looked Mathews in the eye, thoroughly disgusted. "How in God's name could you treat your own daughter like that? You don't deserve children. And if anything happens to Agent Mulder that *you* could have prevented, you will regret the day you met *me*. How do you think your precious *reputation* will handle the publicity that comes with causing the death of an FBI agent?" She nearly knocked him over in her desire to get away from him. ************************* Scully walked up to Allison's car to find her sitting in the passenger seat, keys dangling in the ignition. I guess I am driving. What the hell do I say to her? I wish Mulder was here, even if......I wish he was here. She got in the car, shut the door and started it up. She glanced over at Allison, as she pulled down the driveway. The doctor in her noted the glazed eyes and the extremely pale skin, she pulled the car over to the side of the driveway. "No, not here, please, keep driving until we are away from here. Please." Allison whispered. Against her better judgement, Scully pulled the car back on the driveway and drove back towards down town. Scully, in full doctor mode, noted the ashen skin tone and the forced respiration from the woman in the passenger seat. She noted a sign for a park and turned in. She parked the car and turned toward Allison, grabbing her wrist to take her pulse. Very slow. She laid the back of her other hand on Allison's forehead. Cool and clammy. Shock. While Scully conducted this brief examination, Allison sat unmoving. Almost on cue, Allison's breath started hitching and great wracking sobs shook her slim frame. After the scene in the mansion, Scully had been expecting the breakdown and was ready, although distinctly uncomfortable with it. She put her arms around Allison hesitantly, and as she sobbed murmured nonsensical, comforting words. She knew how it felt to have a father's disapproval, but certainly not to this extent. She could think of nothing to say that could possibly make it better. The situation reminded her of Mulder's relationship with his own, deceased father. "I'm sorry, Dana." Allison hiccupped. "What? You have nothing to be sorry about," replied Scully as she watched Allison take a deep, yet shakey breath. "Dana, Fox and I.......we......" "You don't owe me any explanations, Allison. Mulder and I are partners, nothing more. Who he sees is his own business." Scully's heart was hammering in her chest. She had no desire to hear the intimate details of Mulder's relationship with Allison and was desperate to put a halt to this conversation. "That's it? You are just turning him over to me? Do you care about him at all? Jesus, Scully! What the hell is wrong with you? What, are you afraid that by loving him you will be too exposed? Too vulnerable? What is it? I can tell you care more for him than that. Are you afraid of being rejected?" Scully flinched at that particular barb. "He *loves* you and you want to cast him aside at the first sign of trouble. Why? Explain to me why you are not willing to fight for him in *this* way? He has told me the lengths you go to in order to protect him as his partner. That tells me that you love him but he is so badly hurt that he doesn't believe it. You just give up? Tell me right now that you don't love him because I will take such good care of him. I will be more than happy to take him off your hands." The sarcasm in Allison's voice stung Scully. She was shocked by the vehement tirade that she had inadvertently unleashed. She still didn't know what to say. She sat, thinking, while Allison glared at her. "Allison, you have been through an awful experience, I can understand why you would be upset......" Scully stopped when Allison sighed heavily. "I give up. Perhaps you don't deserve him." "You know nothing about this situation, Allison, nothing. Half the time he acts like I am not there." "I realize you are both guilty, Dana. And he admitted that he could talk to you more.......he thinks you don't want to hear it. He thinks you *blame* him for the cancer. He said you told him as much. In the midst of that, he begins to think that everything he believes in is a lie. Everything. Then he gets *raped*, for all intents and purposes, by Clarice. When you told him you weren't coming to Nashville with him, it was the final straw. Do you see why I was worried about suicide?" Scully did see. She realized that Mulder was not the only one who was self absorbed. Allison didn't know the whole story, but she knew Mulder's side and hearing her say it out loud made Scully's head pound. She felt guilty. Scully studied her hands laying in her lap. "Why are you doing this?" she asked. "You obviously care a great deal for him yourself." Allison gave a short, caustic laugh. "Because I am an idiot, obviously." she replied. Then she sighed again, sadly this time. "Because that dark, beautiful man......he touched something in me. He makes you want to make him happy, make him smile. And I wouldn't ascribe lofty morals to me, if I were you. A very large part of me is hoping you fuck it up. Because I do want him. For me. But he wants you." She shrugged sadly. "I have to find him." "That's it?" asked Allison, indignantly. "You didn't really expect more, did you?" Scully retorted. "I guess not. Dammit," Allison replied, a sour note in her voice but a bit of a smile on her face. "So, where are we going now?" "We are going nowhere. I am going back to the hotel and you are going home. I'll call you if......when I find him." "Why don't we go to the hotel first, then you can drop me at home." Scully glanced sidelong at her, knowing a stall when she heard one. "I just wanna see if he is there, is all," said Allison to Scully's skeptical look. "Yeah, right." ********************************* Location Unknown Same Day, Same Time They gave me this cancer to make you believe I can't follow you, Mulder A line has to be drawn.... Let me go, Fox.......please, let me go I have a family of my own If I can save you let me you are mine, Fox, mine glittering teeth dripping blood nononononono..NO!! Mulder jerked awake to find himself in darkness, immobile, with a splitting headache. Concussion....again. Nightmares......again. He looked around, trying to make out where he was. Trying to remember what had happened. Apathy settled over Mulder as he realized that he was lying on a narrow bed with his hands cuffed over his head, the chain of the cuff wrapped around one of the thin, metal posts in the head board. It was an old, metal, twin bed with a thin mattress. A child's bed. In a cellar of some sort, he figured, smelling the musty odor. His legs were tied together and they hung over the end of the small bed. Well, well, well, Mulder. Here we are again. Perhaps you will get lucky and they will just kill you this time. He was startled out of his thoughts by a door opening, admitting a pale light. A second later a switch was thrown, illuminating Mulder's surroundings with a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. Fear replaced apathy as Mulder looked at himself, his surroundings and, especially, his captor. It was then that Mulder discovered something that he thought he had lost. The will to live. **************End Chapter 8************** Music City Blues (9/?) Chapter Nine Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Rating: NC-17 SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER NINE********** Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Underground Parking Garage 7th and Deadrick Nashville, Tennessee May 5, 1998, 9:30 p.m. A steady rain had started once Allison and Scully had left the park, making both of them uneasy, worried. They had, however, reached a understanding of sorts, a common desire. After Allison called Sandy to confirm that Mulder still hadn't shown up, Scully had called rental agencies until she found the one he had rented a car from. Allison knew what it looked like and had written down the plate number as Scully read it off. Scully was hoping that it was still at the hotel and that it contained a clue as to Mulder's whereabouts. Scully pulled Allison's car into the subterranean parking garage and they drove slowly, looking for the car. It was a large structure situated under the hotel, connected by a bank of elevators. It was also rather dark and dank from the rain. Allison gasped and pointed at a white Ford Taurus, the most popular of all rental cars. Scully slowly pulled the BMW into the slot next to it. "Is the plate right?" asked Scully. "Yes. It's the right car. Part of me.......part of me hoped we wouldn't find it, that he has just driven off somewhere to think. Maybe he would have called me tomorrow to apologize. I'm......" Allison stopped, glancing at Scully with fear in her eyes. Scully's head was down, eyes squeezed shut, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. "I'm worried too, Allison." she said, finally looking up. "You don't by any chance have a flashlight in your trunk do you? It is so damn dark down here, not enough light to look signs of......" she stopped, not wanting to say the words. Allison released a ragged breath and showed Scully the trunk release lever and got out of the car. She dug around in the trunk while Scully slowly walked in a wide circle around the car. Scully went up to the drivers door and peered in the window. So dark. So quiet. It would be so easy to grab someone. Especially someone distracted and hurting. God Mulder, please turn up. I won't be angry if you simply wandered off. I am so sorry, so sorry. She tried to shut down that train of thought. She couldn't afford to be overwhelmed with guilt right now, she needed to remain calm. Allison walked up and handed her a flashlight. She turned it on and shined the light into the car. She let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding and her shoulders sagged when she saw Mulder's cell phone and badge lying on the front seat. Allison had seen the items too. "He wouldn't just leave his badge in the car, would he Dana." It wasn't a question. "It's not likely." she replied, her voice muted and thoughtful. She moved toward the rear of the car, shining the light on the ground looking for something, anything that would help their situation. And then she found something she didn't want to find. A drop of blood. A large drop near the rear, drivers' side tire. She made sure Allison saw it and didn't step in it. Then she found one on the rear bumper of the car. That's when she realized something else. A faint, fetid smell that was familiar to her. Too familiar. She looked at Allison and saw her nose crinkle as she caught a whiff of it too. Her heart sank. Oh god, no. Please don't do this to me, please. It's not fair. We never had a chance. We never.... Again, she had to regain control before panic overwhelmed her. She felt like screaming and it was extremely difficult to regain her composure. "Scully? What's that smell? Dana?" Allison asked, sounding terrified of the answer. Scully couldn't answer her. She couldn't find the words. Instead she moved over to the trunk and pulled up on it, hoping to find it unlatched. No such luck. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "This is Special Agent Dana Scully again. I need one of your people down here with the spare keys to this car immediately." She listened to the person on the other end of the phone as Allison looked on, eyes wide. "If there isn't someone here in fifteen minutes I am forcibly opening the trunk, now get down here with those keys!" she yelled into the phone and then hung up. She thought for a minute and then dialed again. "Detective Baker, please." she asked when the phone was answered. "This is Detective Baker." "This is Agent Scully. We have found my partner's car in the parking garage at the Holiday Inn Crown Plaza hotel. We also have found some blood. Can you send a forensics team down here?" "Of course Agent Scully. Are there any other signs of foul play?" "Yes. We, ah" she took a breath, chest suddenly tight, "need to get in the trunk. I have reason to believe that we will find a.......someone in the trunk. There is a distinct odor of decay emanating from it." She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the tears away. There was a somber pause on the other end of the phone. "I'll be right there, Agent Scully." They both hung up without saying anything else. Scully noticed that Allison was as white as she herself felt. She grasped her arm and led her away from the back of the car. "I think you better sit down before you fall down." she said to Allison, not unkindly. "What about you, Dana? How are you doing this? How do you hold it together without cracking?" "Years of practice. Mulder and I......" she choked on the words and a tear escaped. She almost lost control but wrestled it back again after a moment. "It's not him. It's not. It can't be, I would know. Wouldn't I? Wouldn't I feel it? Scully's stomach knotted with tension. I can't take this waiting. I can't. I won't. She strode purposefully over to Allison's trunk and started rummaging through it. She grimaced in a sort of triumph when she found the small tool box. Opening it she found a screwdriver and a hammer. Everything she needed. Scully walked over to the car and started pounding the screwdriver into the lock with the hammer, trying to open the trunk. When the lock popped into the trunk, freeing the latch, Allison came over to stand next to her to give her moral support. And receive some. Scully opened the trunk. Allison fainted. ************************** One Half Hour Later Pulling off latex gloves, Scully walked over to where Allison was sitting on the trunk of her car. Her doctor instincts noticed Allison's condition. She couldn't stop crying and her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't even drink the coffee that an officer had given her. "How are you, Allison?" Scully asked, genuinely concerned. Allison was in shock and that, combined with a lack of sleep and food, was pushing her perilously close to the edge. So close that Scully was afraid that she would end up in the hospital. "I'm........I'm okay. I'm relieved." Her voice caught on the last word and she sobbed, the tears coming faster. "How.....how are you?" "I am used to this sort of thing. I *am* worried about Mulder. And I am worried about you. I realize that you and Brian dated and seeing his dead body is very shocking....." "That's not the problem, Dana. I just feel so damn guilty." Scully cocked her head. "This isn't your fault." "I feel awful because.........because I don't care. I don't care that the bastard is dead. I feel awful because a part of me feels like Brian deserved to die. I feel awful knowing that he must have come after Mulder.....and something has happened to Mulder too. Maybe something as bad as this......and it is my fault." Scully sat down next to Allison and laid her hand on the younger woman's arm. "That is not your fault." she said again, softly. "I can hardly blame you for apathy regarding Brian's death. As far as Mulder is concerned, we are going to find him." A detective called out to Scully and she got up and walked back over to Mulder's car. She looked into the trunk and could see much more clearly now that they had set up better lighting. Brian Williamson laid face down in the trunk and it was very clear that he had been dead for several hours. The technicians had finished the photographing of the body and others had moved in to collect evidence. One man dusted for prints over the entire car and another collected fibers and other trace evidence in the trunk. It wasn't until they went to move the body so that it could be wrapped to be shipped to the morgue for autopsy, that Scully saw what killed him. "Lay him on the ground for a moment please." she asked quietly. She moved around so she could get a closer look just as Detective Baker walked up to her. "Whatcha got there, Agent Scully?" "Cause of death." she replied. "It appears that his throat is.....gashed." Detective Baker moved around next to her so he could see. "That looks like the same kind of wound we saw on that murder victim that Agent Mulder came down here to investigate." "There is hardly any blood in the trunk." She was confused. "There wasn't much blood at the other crime scene either. And the body had been drained of blood. I bet this is the same M.O." Detective Baker said, confidently. "But Clarice is in jail. It had to have been her, it fits her usual M.O. perfectly. This must be a copycat." Scully said, as they both stood up. Detective Baker rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, looking at the ground. "Agent Scully, it probably is a copycat. It doesn't look good for your partner." "Exactly *what* are you implying, Detective Baker." "I think you know." He held up a hand to prevent her interruption. "I am not saying, necessarily, that I believe Agent Mulder did this. I am saying that we have just found a man, one who had threatened your partner and nearly raped his little girlfriend, in the trunk of your partner's car. Your partner has been acting very strangely, I witnessed that for myself. He was physically attacked by Clarice. And he is no where to be found." "What, are you saying that Mulder *became* a vampire from his attack by Clarice?" asked Scully sarcastically. "My partner had nothing to do with this......nothing, do you hear me?" "Agent Scully, I have checked into your partner's background. It appears that he is a brilliant profiler, but he is also known for erratic behavior and an interest in very bizarre cases. It wouldn't be that hard to imagine that he was pushed to his limits recently and went round the bend. It is not that difficult to believe that he would emulate one of his recent cases.....if he was deeply affected by it. You know........*believe* he had become a vampire." "No. No way. I will do the autopsy......" "Absolutely not. No way. Not only is this *not* under your jurisdiction, but your *partner* may be involved. To top it off, you are not even here on official business. Our M.E. will do the autopsy. You have my personal guarantee that they will leave no stone unturned." Scully was fuming. "I want to oversee it." "I have no problem with that if the M.E. doesn't. I'm sorry Agent Scully. We do have an A.P.B. out on your partner, so maybe we will find him for you." He saw Scully's face redden in anger and held up his hand again. "We just want him brought in for questioning.....it is his car after all." With that, the detective walked away to continue overseeing the investigation. Scully rubbed her temples tiredly. She turned to go back to the car and found Allison standing right behind her. "It wasn't him Scully. He didn't do this." she said. "I *know* that, Allison." She sighed. "Look, I didn't mean to snap at you. I should run you home before I go to oversee the autopsy." Allison was shaking her head rapidly. "No." "There has been a murder, Allison. There is no way you should be involved with this any longer. You are going home." "If you make me go home I will just try to find him on my own. I can, you know." Scully looked at her, eyebrow raised skeptically. "And just how do you think you are going to do that?" "I think I know who did it, that's how." ******************************* Location Unknown Same Day, 7:30 p.m. The trembling that had started in Mulder's body when the light came on caused his head to pound harder. From where he lay he could see that he was in a very small room, no more than 8 feet by 10 feet, with a narrow, cement stairway leading aboveground. He figured he must be in a cellar or well house, separate from any larger structure. The concrete block walls were lined with shelves holding jars of preserves, fruit and vegetables that looked like they had been there for decades. The bed he lay on was against one of the long walls and he was facing the stairway. There was miscellaneous trash laying all around on the floor. He could only see the legs of the person holding him captive as he stood at the top of the stairs. At least it *appeared* to be a man. That revelation caused him to break into a sweat and his hands to shake harder, mainly due to the state of his clothing. Someone had ripped his shirt open, causing all the buttons to fly off. His jeans were unbuttoned, unzipped, and partially pulled down, exposing his gray cotton boxer briefs. Sweat rolled into his eyes as they rolled back into his head. He got caught in a flashback to New Orleans......... <<>> "Nonononononono........" chanted Mulder quietly, almost in prayer. He was shaking his head back and forth on his small bed, hyperventilating. He was thrown into back to New Orleans yet again. << His hand moved to her breast, thumb grazing a nipple, then jerked back, as if burned.>>> <<<"I can't.....I don't.....where is Scully? I want Scully." Mulder didn't realize that he had vocalized his thoughts until Clarice slapped him hard across the face, rocking his head back against the sofa back. >>> <<>> He swam back into the present as the person at the top of the stairs started to descend. He started breathing deeply, trying to calm himself and regain control. Slowly the trembling came under his control, as his captor stepped into the light. A tall, broad, very muscular man with blond hair stood looking down at him with a slight smirk on his face. "W-what do y-you want from me." Mulder stuttered, silently cursing his failing ability to speak. Abject terror coursed through his veins, as he kept flashing back to New Orleans and his dream of a few hours ago. The dream of someone stroking him. "Why Agent Mulder, yuh don't 'member me? I think you done hurt m' feelin's." He paused, thoughtfully. "Yup, I am sure yuh hurt mah feelin's." said his captor in his deep southern accent, the smirk still on his face. He walked over and sat on the bed next to Mulder's hip and grinned as Mulder squirmed away from him. Mulder's heart was thudding in his chest as he tried in vain to get away. His bound legs and the handcuffs didn't allow for much maneuvering room. "I d-don't remember you. Who are you and why am I here?" He breathed deep again, calming slightly when his captor made no move to touch him......again. He then heard a bell in the distance, as did his companion. "Well durn it! There's dinner and we hadn't a chance to talk yit. I has tuh go afore I am skinned alive. I'll be back later." With that the man got up and went up the stairs and out, slamming the door behind him. Mulder's shaking limbs slowly calmed and his breathing returned to normal. "Fantastic. I have landed in 'Revenge of the Rednecks'. Well at least he left the light on." The handcuff chain rattled slightly as he pulled against the bedpost. The adrenaline rush left suddenly, leaving Mulder with tears in his eyes and a deep despair settling over his heart. He didn't want to die. That thought surprised him. It figures. I'll be lucky to get out of this alive and I've finally realized that I don't want to die. I may not have Scully, but I want to live. I don't know if I can continue my search on my own. I don't know if I want to, but...... He realized that if he was going survive, he was going to have to get himself out of his small, dark prison. He was going to have to focus on escape. He pushed all thoughts of quests and redheads out of his mind. The state of his attire frightened him more than the prospect of death. I can't go through that again......I can't. He tried to construct a profile in his head with what little he knew about his captor. The man did look familiar, but the muddy quality of Mulder's brain due to an apparent blow to the head was not helping. Okay, think of some questions you can ask him to steer him away from keeping you here. It would require him to think fast, use logic and reason. He seriously doubted his ability to do this with a pounding head and the terror of another rape. Rape. I was raped. Clarice raped me. He felt the fear begin to crawl through his intestines again. He flashed back again. <<"Oh you poor baby. I didn't mean to scare you like that." She leaned up to touch her lips to his. She pulled his lower lip into her mouth, sucking on it, while her right hand was tangled in his hair. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, probing. Her left hand slid across his abdomen and brushed lightly past his penis to cup his balls. She caressed and fondled him so that he was moaning into her mouth, painfully erect again. Her lips left his mouth and traveled down his chest to suck on one nipple, then the other, nipping the skin around them so hard that she left marks. His head was thrown back as far as it would go, mouth open and breath coming in harsh pants. He tried to push her head away but he felt so weak, powerless, with arms like lead weights. She thrust her tongue in his belly button and he whimpered.>>> Mulder jerked against the handcuffs, whimpering softly. I didn't mean to. She made me. She drugged me. "It won't happen again, it won't." he cried softly. I can't take it again.....from *him*. It will be worse...so much worse. I will die before I let that happen again. Death would be preferable to being tortured by that man. Mulder struggled for calm again, breathing deeply. The only way to get out of this was to use his head. And he couldn't do that if he allowed himself to panic, if he allowed the fear to rule him. Suddenly, his eidetic memory kicked in.......and the fear took control. It was not Clarice. But it was the next worst thing. *******End Chapter Nine************* Music City Blues (10/?) Chapter Ten Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Rating: Strong R SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER TEN********** Baptist Hospital Morgue 1910 Church Street Nashville, Tennessee May 5, 1998, 10:15 p.m. <> "Mulder!" Allison came awake with a jerk, nearly falling off the small couch she was curled on. "A dream." Hopefully, not a prophetic dream that will become a reality. "Talking to yourself?" "Jesus, Scully!" Allison had jumped a foot at the sound of Scully's voice so close by. "We're in a freakin' morgue, with *dead* bodies and you sneak up on me? Are you trying to give me heart failure?" Scully smiled slightly, the circles under her eyes and the lines around them more pronounced in her exhaustion. "You're not supposed to be here. You are supposed to be at home, sleeping." "Yeah, well, I never was one for taking orders. Did you find anything? Are you done?" Allison watched Scully cross her arms over her chest and glare. She didn't feel intimidated. "C'mon, cut me some slack here. Just tell me and then I'll go back home." Scully sighed in what Allison assumed was resignation. "Well, the neck wound was made by a different person, judging by the size and shape. We took samples of saliva around the bite to make sure. It will take a day or two to prove that it wasn't Mulder, using DNA matching of course. It will take considerably less time to prove simply that it was a different person. Clarice never left that kind of evidence, this killer is more sloppy." she paused. "Unfortunately, not sloppy enough to leave any prints anywhere." Scully sighed and, rubbing her temples, sat down next to Allison. "I still think I'm right." Allison said, remembering her nightmare. "You may very well be right about the who, but I have a hard time with the how. He definitely is our number one suspect. Besides Mulder, that is." "You can't believe that Mulder did this!" "No, of course not. But Detective Baker is another story. He is less likely to believe your theory than I am. Not to mention that Brian's body was found in Mulder's car. There were no other prints besides Mulder's. And Mulder has been acting strangely. What this adds up to is the police department focusing on him to the exclusion of anyone else." Allison frowned at Scully, disturbed by her implications. "Well, we just have to find him ourselves then." "We nothing." said Scully. "You are going home." "Dana, you will need someone to at least sit in the car in case something happens." Allison pleaded. "I promise I'll stay out of the way, but you need some sort of backup and it sounds like you don't think you'll get it from the cops. I am sure that it has to be Clarice's boyfriend, or whatever he is. Who else could it be? He was with her the night Mulder arrested her, and I have seen him with her before. She has probably turned him into a vampire and *he* killed Brian." Scully rolled her eyes. "We never had any indication that Clarice was anything more than delusional, psychotic. We never had any kind of proof that she was anything other than human. On the other hand, there were many reasons for her to behave the way she had. She experienced a severe trauma at the hands of a rapist in San Francisco." "A rapist who believed he was a vampire. He attacked her and now she is a vampire," she saw Scully's skepticism again and amended, "or she *believes* she is a vampire. It's a pattern Scully! Now she has this man *believing* that he's a vampire too. He is the logical person, Dana." "I agree that he is the most likely person, I just don't believe that they are actually vampires. Clarice should have been able to turn into a bat and fly out of jail by now." Scully concluded, sarcastically. That pissed Allison off. "How does Fox keep from being constantly mad at you?" she snapped. "Dana, shouldn't the person's belief that they are a vampire, their drinking of blood and effectively killing their victims actually *make* them a vampire? If not in the mythic sense, then for all practical purposes?" "I'm sorry, Allison. I'm tired.......and I want Mulder back. Your argument is actually a slightly different spin on Mulder's assessment. That whether the person is actually a vampire or not does not matter. The belief alone makes them highly dangerous. And you are both right. Arguing about vampires doesn't solve anything, especially since we can't use any typical vampire stories to help find him. They don't necessarily conform to any of the myths." "We can still find him. The police arrested him, they will have records, right?" "Yes. *I will* find him......and Mulder." ***************************** Location Unknown Same Day, Same Time Mulder jerked awake at the touch of a hand on his face. His heart started pounding, sweat beading instantly on his body as he looked at the man sitting next to him on the bed. His head was still pounding and his vision somewhat blurry, but he did recognize the man now. That recognition terrified him. "What do you want with me?" he asked, amazed at his own calm. "Why Agent Mulder! I can tell by the look on yer face that you've remembered me. That should tell yuh what I want wit yuh". Mulder swallowed convulsively. "My head......hurts, it's pounding. Can't think straight. Why.....why don't you tell me why I'm here......Jim, right?" "James Robert Sanker, Jr. My granny calls me Jimmy Bob, like on the Walton's, but I hates it. You kin call me Jim. Sorry 'bout yer head, there Mulder. Couldn't be helped." Shouldn't have too much trouble getting him to talk, Mulder thought. He wasn't all that sure he wanted to hear it, but he had to find a way out of here. There was no one else to help him. "So you......you are Clarice's boyfriend? Or do you know her as Alex?" "I know all about Clarice, and yer history with her. She's my mistress. I do her biddin'." Mulder choked back the hysterical laughter that threatened to bubble out of his mouth at the southern accent framing those particular words. "So, uh, what exactly does that mean?" he asked, all urge to laugh having dissipated as rapidly as it arose. "I love her. I worship her. I am her kind. I serve her, Agent Mulder. She wants yuh, so I got yuh fer her." The terror coiled tighter in Mulder's gut and he reflexively pulled on the cuffs. "But.....she's in prison, Jim." "Not fer long. I am bustin' her loose when they try to move her tomorrow mornin'. Then I will bring 'er back here. She will be very pleased." Jim's tone was that of a love struck young man.....or a vampire's familiar. "If you are in love with her, then you should let me go. I will get in your way." It was a lame attempt, but he had to try. "She will fuck you and then we will drink your blood. When you are dead, she will be mine again. Yer just sex to her......she loves me. Perhaps.......perhaps we will both have yuh." he said as he ran his fingers down Mulder's chest. Mulder shuddered as his skin broke out in gooseflesh. He scrambled, trying to wrap his mind around this and figure out the best response. "She........she said she wanted to keep me, that......that she *loved* me in New Orleans." Jim scowled and slapped him hard, across the face. He tried again. "Jim, if you let me go, you will have her all to yourself. She will be all yours." "She does not love *you* now that she has me. She doesn't. Besides, if I let yuh go, she'll kill me." "She......can't kill you if you leave her in prison." Mulder's head was slammed to the side, lower lip split open, from the force of the blow that followed that ill advised comment. "I *told* yuh I *serve* her. She's going to make me completely. I'm her slave." Jim's eyes widened and he began to pant slightly as he watched the blood run down Mulder's chin. Mulder's blood ran cold as he watched Jim's eyes dilate and his breathing quicken. He pulled on the handcuffs again, instinctively trying to get away. "I can see why she wants yer, Agent Mulder. Yer kinda skinny, compared tuh me, but yuh got things goin' fer yuh." His fingers lingered, circling on his abdomen, near Mulder's unbuttoned jeans. "Ah never liked men until she made me her slave. But, almost bein' a vampire seems to make yuh less picky. Know what I mean?" Mulder couldn't respond, didn't know how to respond. He was hyperventilating, the sweat was pooling on his chest. He struggled ineffectually against his bonds, the cuffs making clinking sounds against the small, metal bed post. Jim licked his lips, the scent of blood from Mulder's mouth nearly making him dizzy with desire. To take Mulder would certainly mean his death when he freed his mistress. Perhaps if he just had a taste she wouldn't hurt him too badly. Just a small bite from a location that wouldn't kill him. Hyperventilation and the pounding of his heart had brought Mulder close to unconsciousness, his eyes rolling back in his head. Suddenly, his whole body convulsed, trying to curl in on itself for protection against a sharp, tearing pain in his side, just above his hip. The pain was intense, the feeling of abdominal muscles shredding and a pull of suction making him lightheaded. His body still convulsed, still trying for self protection, his hands trying to jerk free of the cuffs with a loud clink. He couldn't pull his knees up because of the large man lying across his belly. He yanked harder on the cuffs and felt a trickle of blood on his wrists, making them slick. He convulsed again, with a loud *CLINK* to the handcuffs on the bedpost. He felt something give as consciousness slowly flowed out of his body with his blood. ***************************** Police Headquarters 306 First Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee May 5, 1998, 10:35 p.m. "Detective......?" "Harris, ma'am." "Detective Harris, I am an Agent with the FBI. You may remember from earlier in the day that I'm searching for my partner. I'm convinced that a former suspect of yours, a man who was with Clarice when she was arrested, is involved in his disappearance. Now, may I please see the file on the arrest?" The detective looked at the glowering red head standing in front of him and actually started to feel intimidated. That pissed him off. "I'm sorry Agent Scully, but you are not on official business and we have an APB out on your partner. We don't *have* to allow you access to our files. You have no jurisdiction here." The detective was almost gloating. "In fact, giving you that access would most likely lead to you obstructing our investigation, possibly in an effort to protect your partner." Scully's blood pressure rose. "How in the *hell* do you figure that?" she yelled. Taking a deep breath, she continued, calmly. "My partner could be a victim to the same person who murdered Brian Williamson. I am trying to find him, same as you. I don't believe he is the murderer, but I can assure you that I would not obstruct justice." "Really. We've read all about your partner. A real renegade. Believes in a lot of weird shit. Seems you two are pretty tight. I have no assurance that you won't go out of your way to protect him. Why don't you go back to your hotel, get some rest. We'll find him." he said, rather condescendingly. He then took an involuntary step backwards. The look that he got from the petite agent made him fear for his life....or his testicles. It also made him decide that he was right in not allowing her access. "Who.......who is in charge here." I have to calm down or I will never get what I need. Mulder is the one who alienates, I cooperate. Mulder, please be all right......please. "The Captain won't be in until nine tomorrow morning." said Harris, just before turning and walking away, leaving Scully standing in the middle of the room gaping after him. ************************* Allison sat fidgeting in the waiting area of the police station. Feeling eyes on her, she looked up at the desk and saw two uniformed officers staring at her and whispering to each other. She glared and they looked away quickly. As the two officers turned away, they saw Scully heading towards them and quickly moved out of her way. As she passed them she heard murmured comments about dangerous "chicks" which only made her angrier. She slammed through the swinging gate separating the bull pen from the waiting area and came to a halt in front of Allison. "No luck, huh?" asked Allison. "Fuck." was the reply. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." "That bad, eh?" asked Allison with a raised eyebrow. "What in the hell are you doing here?" "You're easy to follow when you are tired." Allison replied smugly. "Do I have to lock you up to keep you out of the way?" "Doesn't sound like you're getting much police support. I don't think they will lock me up." Scully just stood, scowling, with her hands on her hips. Then she walked out the door into the night air, leaving Allison to hurry after her. When they reached her car, Scully got into the driver's side and pulled out her cell phone as Allison slid into the passenger side. She punched in the number and waited for the connection. "Skinner." "Sir, it's Agent Scully." "Scully. Do you know what time it is?" "Yes Sir. It's Agent Mulder, sir. He's missing. And I am getting no cooperation from the local authorities." Allison listened while Scully filled in her boss on the events of the past few days. There were several tense moments after he found out that Mulder was there looking for Clarice by himself. Allison was impressed by Scully's finessing ability in regard to her boss and the lengths she would go to defend and justify Mulder's actions. "Scully, I will see what I can do about the locals. If you haven't found him by say, noon tomorrow, I am coming down there. We will find him together." "S-Sir?" asked Scully, eyes wide. "Agent Mulder has supported me on several occasions, Scully. It is the least I can do. With me there, people will move faster. Especially if I bring in some local agents. Now, I need to try to get in touch with the captain or the commissioner there in Nashville. I will call you as soon as I have some luck. Be careful, Scully." "Thank you. Thank you, Sir." Scully disconnected, slightly amazed at Skinner's willingness to come to Nashville if needed. "Well, Dana?" Scully shook herself and looked at Allison. "Now, we go back to the hotel so I can change." "Into?" "Bar hopping clothes. What is suitable for that bar you work in?" "Jeans would be fine. Are we going to find out the boyfriend's name and then hunt him down?" "I am, yes." ***************************** Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Room 589 7th and Deadrick Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 11:35 p.m. Scully stepped out of the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a towel. She felt more awake after the brisk shower and it had given her time to devise a plan that would ditch Allison in such a way that she wouldn't be able to follow. When she saw her sound asleep on the bed she smiled. It turned out she wouldn't need to be that devious at all. She had to admire the woman's persistence, even if she was a pain in the ass. I wonder if this is how Mulder felt about me when we first started working together. She grabbed a oversized denim shirt, white tank top and jeans, and slipped back into the bathroom to dress. Five minutes later, she poked her head around the corner to see Allison still asleep on the bed nearer the window. She grabbed her bag, keys, gun and badge. Tiptoing over to Allison's bag, she found her car keys and slipped them into her bag as well. Smiling slightly, she snuck out the door. ******************** Location Unknown Same Day, Same Time "Nooooooo..........." Mulder slowly swam back to consciousness still in the grip of an unknown terror. He choked back a sob as he realized that he couldn't see. Lights out. All alone in the dark. Alone. Gone, he's gone, he's left me in the dark, alone. He couldn't hold back the tears any longer when he realized he was still alive. Tears of despair or relief, he wasn't certain which. Stop. Escape. Think about escape. Either that or........ He shut the bad thoughts away to focus on getting out of his predicament. Pain. Pain everywhere. His head, his arms, his wrists, his abdomen. He couldn't feel his legs at all. Nausea. Dizziness. It was probably a good thing that his cellar was in darkness, otherwise the room would be spinning. When he finished cataloguing his various ailments he wondered what time it was and, for that matter, where he was. I don't think we're in Nashville anymore, Toto. He giggled a little, then sobered rapidly. I think I may be delirious. He reached up with his fingers and felt the metal bed post. It was only about a half inch in diameter and if felt loose. He slid his fingers up to where it met the bed frame and felt a small gap. He remembered, just before losing consciousness, feeling it give. If he pulled hard enough, he should be able to widen the gap enough to slide the cuff chain through. He wiggled his wrists so that the cuffs slid as far up his arms as they would go, wincing as the dried blood cracked on his wrists. He rested for a moment and then grasped the chain with both hands. He took a deep breath and pulled as hard as he could, nearly screaming as the pain flared in his abdomen and his wrists. He paused, resting again, tears running down his cheeks. He tested the gap with the tips of his fingers again. Slightly wider, the gap still wouldn't allow the chain to slide through. Taking another deep breath, he pulled again. This time he did scream in pain, and felt the grayness descend on his mind. When he awoke again, he had no idea how much time had passed. Again, he felt with his fingers and realized that he could slide the handcuff chain through the gap. He lifted his arms and was no longer attached to the bed. He lowered his arms so that they were cuffed in front of him, resting on his belly. The blood rushing back into his arms was an agony of pins and needles. Once the feeling returned to his arms, Mulder carefully zipped and buttoned his pants. He sat up, aggravating the wound in his side that was sticky with blood and extremely painful. He started to work on the binding around his legs. I am getting out of here....wherever here is. ************************** Third and Lindsley Bar and Grill 1300 Third Avenue South Nashville, Tennessee May 6, 1998, 12:45 a.m. Scully was losing her second wind. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. After a half hour of questioning the manager and employees of the bar, she finally had a name. Jim Sanker. A name that turned out to be extremely common in middle Tennessee, according to the Lone Gunmen. "Byers, you have three *James* Sankers' in Nashville? Can you give me addresses?" "Sure, Agent Scully. Got a pen?" Scully repeated the information aloud as she wrote it down cocktail napkin. "We'll work on expanding on this information while you check out those addresses, just in case none of those are the place." "Thanks, Byers, you guys are great." "Scully.........Mulder really did want you to go with him to begin with. We knew he would get in trouble by himself. If we had known you weren't going........." he paused, not wanting to hurt Scully's feelings. "I didn't know he was coming after Clarice. This is what I get for not talking to him. It's my own fault. If anything happens to him......." "Scully.........Dana, you'll find him. You always do. If you need us, you call us." Scully felt tears welling in her eyes. The boys were just trying to make her feel better, she knew. If anything happened to Mulder, she would carry the guilt to her grave. She dashed the tears away, angry at herself for being weak when she so needed to be strong. "Thank you, Byers, and thank the guys for me." *************************** Location Unknown May 6, 1998, 12:13 a.m. Mulder swung his legs over the edge of the bed, putting his feet on the floor. He winced as the same pain that afflicted his arms raced through his legs. He leaned back against the wall, trying to find the strength to feel his way out of his prison. Once the feeling returned to his legs, Mulder got unsteadily to his feet.....and proceeded to crumple to the ground. He groaned aloud as the wound in his side started to bleed again. He felt the ground around him, searching for obstacles in his path to the way out. He began crawling in the direction that he remembered the stairs being located. He had nearly reached the stairs when he felt a sharp pain in his lower leg, the pain of something biting him. Why in the fuck is everything biting me? Is this just not my day? He slapped at his leg and felt a small body tumble down his pant leg. Spider. Fucking fantastic. He continued his crawl. He could dimly make out the stairway in the darkness and began to climb. Once Mulder reached the top of the stairway, he leaned against the wall briefly to rest. An unbidden image of a redhead swam into his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut and put the image out of his mind, focusing only on getting away from his prison and a future with Clarice. The desire to curl into a ball and sleep was nearly overwhelming. He shook off his despair and pulled himself into a standing position. Holding on tightly to the exposed beams in the wall to prevent falling down the stairs, Mulder grasped the door handle and turned. The door opened easily and he stepped outside. And promptly fainted. ***********End of Chapter 10************ Music City Blues (11/?) Chapter Eleven Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Rating: R SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER ELEVEN********** Location Unknown May 6, 3:05 a.m. The rain hitting the leaves sounded like the pitter pat of little feet running across the forest floor. The overcast sky only let the barest of light from the full moon shine through, leaving Fox Mulder's body in near total darkness along with his mind. He lay on his side in the grass, oblivious to the rain soaking him through. Early May in Tennessee is commonly very warm during the days but, unfortunately for Mulder, the nights tend to be cool. His pale skin was covered in gooseflesh from head to toe, dark brown hair now black and plastered to his skull, his face a sculpture in rain soaked marble. He hadn't gotten much beyond the door of his prison, his sneaker-shod feet still sheltered by the roof of the small well house. Then there was an awareness of dripping on his face and a sudden shaking as chills wracked his body. He forced himself to wake up and open his eyes. Move. Get up. Wet. Cold....so cold. Hurt. He sat up, fighting the pain in his side as the wound reopened, and pulled his shirt closed, trying to warm himself. It was impossible since he was thoroughly drenched. Mulder then tried to button his shirt and found himself hampered by convulsive shivering and a lack of buttons. This brought on a sudden panic as he tried to remember where he was and how he had gotten there, sans buttons. As the fragmented memories hit him, his head jerked up and he looked quickly around himself. Jim. Bite. Touching me. Get away.....must get away. Clarice is coming for me. I have to move. He could barely see in the darkness. To his back was a small, concrete block structure....his prison. In front of him was a steep hill with an unlit house squatting near the crest. The area was heavily wooded, providing minimal shelter from the rain. Several hundred feet to his right were two ramshackle barns, with a hint of movement inside. Cows or some such thing. Where to go? Which way? Jim is where? House....he is in the house, probably. Must. Go. Away. From house. Mulder stood slowly, carefully, his hands still cuffed in front of him making it more difficult. The pain in his side increased tenfold and neatly distracted him from the pain in his head and the pain in his heart. He leaned on the well house, dry heaves and shivering combining to nearly knock him down. Move. Fool. Idiot. Klutz. Ignore the pain. After a moment he began to put one foot in front of the other to walk unsteadily towards the stream behind the well house, away from the main house and deeper into the woods. ************************** West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, Two hours earlier (1 a.m.) Scully was driving to the next Sanker on the list. She was miserable. She had already tried three Sankers on the list with no luck. Two were definitely not the right ones and one was not home. She was tired and desperately afraid that she wouldn't find *him* this time. One of these times our luck is going to run out. Please, God, don't let it be this time. Please. She jumped when her phone rang. "Scully." "Agent Scully, this is Skinner." "Sir, have you had any luck with the commissioner?" she crossed her fingers. "I did until you started knocking on peoples doors in the middle of the night. What in the hell do you think you are doing, Scully?" "I am trying to find my partner, *sir*. How can you question me on this? I have to find him! We don't have a lot of time here, sir." Scully was incredulous, so much so that she was verging on insubordinate without realizing it. "Agent Scully, I understand your need to find Mulder, but you are breaking a lot of rules here. There is only the barest of evidence to indicate that this Sanker you are looking for is the perp. You are going around waking people up in the middle of the night with *no* authority. These people, and their neighbors, are complaining, Scully." He paused, debating how much to say to his obviously exhausted agent. "I want you to go to your hotel and get some rest, Scully. You aren't doing Mulder any good working yourself until you drop." "Sir, I can't......." "Scully, stop. I realize how worried you are about Mulder. But these people, and their families, are complaining about harassment from the bureau. They called the local P.D., who called the local office, who gave them my name. You are stirring up a bunch of trouble that is not helping your case in the slightest." "Sir, it's *Mulder*! I just can't sit on my hands! I have to find him before it's too late. I don't give a good God Damn if I am waking some people up if it helps me find my *partner*. I am sure this is the guy. I am *sure* of it and I can't believe that you are questioning me on this!" Scully was panting in outrage and she had no intention of going back to the hotel. She knew what he was thinking. He couldn't bring himself to mention that she most likely wasn't doing any good. That Mulder, in all likelihood, was already dead. This wasn't a woman who wanted Mulder for a pet, it was a cold blooded killer. Of course she had thought of that, briefly, and then rejected it instantly. She would not allow herself to think that way, and she wouldn't allow anyone else to tell her that. Scully listened for a moment to the silence on the other end of the phone before she addressed what she knew he was thinking. "He's *not* dead, sir. He's not," she said confidently. "Scully....." he sighed, not wanting to get into this with her. "I am booked on the first flight out in the morning. I will be there by 8:30 a.m. local time and I will meet you at the local bureau office where we will coordinate the search. For the record, I think you are on the right track but I want you to go and get some rest. I will need you fresh in the morning if we are to find Mulder. That's an order, Scully." "I'm on vacation, sir," she replied before hanging up. **************************** Location Unknown Same Day, 3:35 a.m. Mulder staggered through the creek behind the well house, only to fall to his hands and knees when he reached the opposite bank, gravel biting into him. The cold water hit the bug bite on his leg, causing the pain to flare up momentarily before going numb. Get up. Get up. He huddled on the ground next to the stream, trying to find the strength. The need to get away was being subsumed by cramps in his wounded leg, the concussion, blood loss and exposure. If he had been at all coherent, he may have been amazed at his own survival instincts after so recently considering suicide. The psychologist in him would make much of his actions, if he let it. If he survived at all. He looked forward, away from the house and into the woods. There was a light in the distance, not that of a house or structure, but of a break in the trees. He focused on that place and got up, staggering and trying to block out the pain. He had no idea what he would do when he got there, but it was a goal. A goal far from the house, or at least farther than he was presently. After a seemingly great period of time, Mulder stumbled into the clearing and found it to be a small meadow, with grasses and flowers. On the far side was a stand of what he thought were pecan trees. The rain had finally stopped and the sky overhead had cleared, lending much more light for Mulder's flight. The meadow in the moonlight and the stars overhead brought tears to Mulder's eyes for no reason he could fathom. So beautiful. So peaceful. Sleepy. Safe here. Safe. A voice in the back of his mind screamed that he wasn't far enough away from the house, but his body was inexorably pulled down into the long, soft grasses. He curled into a protective ball, struggling for warmth and freedom from pain. The shuddering of his limbs slowed as he drifted into a deep and dreamless sleep in the moonlight. *********************** Holiday Inn Crown Plaza Room 589 7th and Deadrick Nashville, Tennessee May 6, 1998, 5:30 a.m. After Skinner's phone call, Scully had had an idea that led her back to the hotel room for a while. When she got there, she was gratified to see that Allison had gone. Hopefully home, for the duration. Scully had just stepped out of the shower when her cell phone rang. She said a little prayer of thanks for the fore sight that had made her bring it with her into the bathroom. "Scully." "Agent Scully, Byers here." "What have you got for me Byers?" "Okay, assuming that the only Jim Sanker that you couldn't find in Nashville is the one who has Mulder, you are going to Robertson County." Byers paused, uncomfortably. "You do realize that this is a shot in the dark, don't you Agent Scully?" "Byers, I know it seems like a long shot but go with me on this. I just have a feeling." "Mulder would be very interested in hearing that, don't you think?" "Byers....." Scully replied, warningly. "Give me addresses, give me names. I want to know every Sanker in Robertson County if that is where this guy is originally from." "Well, you are in a bit of luck there. We only found five different Sankers and they all appear to be related." "Hold on a second, I need to get a piece of paper." Scully carried the cell phone out into the bedroom. She grabbed the complimentary note pad off the nightstand between the beds and sat down to write. Please god, let me be right about this. ************************* 311 First Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, Same Time Jim yawned loudly. He needed more sleep. After he had left Mulder, he had taken a nap up at the house and then had driven back to Nashville. Now he was sitting in a parking lot near the police station, waiting. He didn't care how long he had to wait. He didn't care how tired he was. He would free his mistress. He knew it would be today. Together, they would feast. Together. She would finally make him complete. They would be together.....forever......just the two of them. ************************** Location Unknown Same Day, Same Time Mulder was frightened out of unconsiousness by a shrill shriek. Blue Jays, was the thought that registered in the back of him mind. He was lying in a ball in the grass, covered in dew but somehow drier than he had been the previous night. Not that he realized this. He only knew one thing. He had to get away. He sat up, the pain in his side still nearly unbearable, his leg throbbing and was overcome by a wave of dizziness. He lurched sideways, landing on his forearm which managed to keep him semi-upright while he heaved into the grass. He hadn't eaten in so long that nothing came up. He pushed himself back into a sitting position, determined that he had to get away. What am I running for? This place beautiful....stay here. No, have to run away.....but why. Something is coming. Something bad. Why so hot? Can't stop shaking. Sick. Want.....want.....Sc....no. No. Must get away. Hurry. He got unsteadily to his feet and stood, swaying for a moment. Looking around, he tried to remember which way he was supposed to go. He started toward the grove of Pecan trees on the other side of the meadow. One foot in front of the other, he was not moving rapidly but he was moving. He walked carefully between the trees, using them for support as he staggered again, deeper into the woods. ************************ 311 First Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, 7:05 a.m. Five minutes ago, Jim had hit paydirt. He watched as two plainclothes officers led his mistress out of the station and guided her into the back of an unmarked, but obvious, police car. He watched as they climbed in. He started his car. They pulled out of the parking lot. He followed at a safe distance. He guessed, accurately, that they were heading up First to the interstate which would take them to the airport. He knew exactly where to make his move and prayed that luck would be with him. If it wasn't, he would find another place between there and the airport. He was in luck. The car pulled up to the red light on First right below the interstate, no other car in front of them. Jim floored his car, ramming the police car, pushing it into cross traffic. He watched with trepidation as an oncoming car rammed the front of the car broadside, spinning it around. Tires squealed as brakes were applied with tremendous force to avoid hitting the three wrecked cars. One car had been following too closely and slammed into the halted car in front of it. Thus, an instant traffic nightmare was created by the blockage of the four lane road by the wrecked vehicles. People started pouring out of their cars to check for injuries. Jim faked a limp and hobbled over to the police car, looking in the back. *She* sat on the back seat, hands cuffed in front of her, looking serene but slightly rumpled. He stepped back and waited for an opportunity. Both of the officers seemed badly shaken but otherwise okay. After a moment of shaking themselves, and checking each other and Clarice over for injuries, they got out of the car. "What the hell just happened here?" asked the officer that had been driving. "My brakes failed, man. I'm sorry." Jim tried to look anguished. The officer stepped close to him and studied him for a moment. "You stay right here. Don't leave the scene. I am going to need license and registration as soon as we finish making sure no one is injured." "Hey, my car isn't runnin' right now. I ain't goin' nowhere." Jim fumbled nervously. As they walked quickly toward the other vehicles, one on his cell phone undoubtedly calling for backup and ambulances, Jim saw his opportunity. With people milling everywhere, trying to help, trying to get cars moved so they could get around, it was easy for Jim to reach into the vehicle and unlock the back door. Looking around quickly, he opened the back door and Clarice slipped out, keeping her hands clasped in front of herself trying to disguise the fact that she was wearing handcuffs. Shutting the door quietly, he grabbed her hands and they slipped quickly behind the buildings lining the street. "Very subtle, darling," said Clarice, wryly. "I had tuh get you loose somehow." "Well, it won't be long before they track your plate, so we had better get out of town." "We have some time. I stole that car." Jim smiled at her as the continued moving rapidly behind the buildings and closer to safety. "Well. I am impressed. That wasn't part of the original plan." "I would do anything for you. You know that." She sighed sadly. "Yes, I know you would. I wish Fox would be as responsible to his mistress as you are. Speaking of Fox, I now have to find him again." "We'll go to my apartment so I can get these cuffs off . Then I have a surprise for yuh," he said with a huge smile. ************************* Location Unknown Same Day, Time Unknown Mulder stumbled across a large root and went crashing to his knees, handcuffed hands out in front of him to prevent landing face first on the ground. His breath huffed out of him as he landed in an exhausted heap. He half sat, half laid on the ground of the forest, blankly wondering where he was and where he was going. For the first time in a number of hours, Mulder experienced a moment of clarity. I am getting away from Clarice and her boy-toy and a fate worse than death. He sat up straighter and twisted painfully, opening his shirt to look at the wound in his side. It was covered in blood which had also run down his side, thoroughly soaking the top of his blue jeans. Apparently, all the activity kept opening the large gash causing it to continue bleeding. It looked red and puffy, like it was infected. Maybe that explains why I feel drunker than shit. And why I can't seem to find another house or road. He shivered violently, fighting the urge to throw up again. Looking around, he noticed that he was on the edge of another clearing. From the dark shadows of the forrest, he could see that the sun was shining in the meadow ahead. He was sitting in a very narrow, steep sided valley, thickly wooded with a stream that was barely more than a trickle. The valley walls were dotted with rock protrusions, ferns and flowers amongst the trees. In front of him, the trickling stream flowed into a much bigger stream on the edge of the meadow. He was suddenly thirsty. He carefully picked himself up and staggered toward the stream. He fell to his knees again, wincing in pain as the badly bruised flesh hit the ground. Cupping his hands, he plunged them into the cold water. The first handful of water went to his lips. He drank carefully, afraid he would be sick again. Next, he splashed water on his face, the chill of it waking him up a little more. Now what do I do? He sat there for a moment, debating the pros and cons of going out into the sunshine. It would be warmer in the sun. But I would be in the open, visible to *anyone*. But maybe there is a house on the other side. And maybe I have been going in circles and I will find the *wrong* house. No, I walked down this ravine and I would remember a meadow that large. So I had to have come from back in the woods. Mulder searched his memory and was not surprised to find it extremely cloudy. He didn't think he had been this way before, but he couldn't be sure. The meadow in front of him was in a larger valley which also had rocky, tree lined sides. The far side was not as steep as the ravine he was sitting in and was dotted with grazing cows. He estimated the distance to be about a half mile. A long way out in the open. Fear gripped him, the indecision paralyzing. A wrong decision could be fatal. Or he would wish it were fatal. Which way do I go? Back or forward or........sideways? He splashed through the stream and walked to the edge of the meadow, holding his shirt closed and shaking. Looking to his left, he could see that the stream followed the edge of the large valley, disappearing into a steep rock face at the end. To his right, the valley widened slightly, the side slopes becoming less steep but once again becoming forrest. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. He was decided. He would take a chance and go straight, across the open meadow and up the slope on the other side. The cows over on the other side probably meant that there was a house or barn nearby. Right? ********************** Elizabeth Sanker Residence 28516 Pemberton Road Sandy Springs, Tennessee Same Day, 8:15 a.m. After driving for what had seemed like forever, Scully had finally found the road she had been looking for. She had asked directions once, but people seemed to refer to the roads by their names instead of their numbers. But the roads were only marked with numbers. So, after a long period of driving in circles in the middle of nowhere, she had finally found Sandy Springs. Population 95. Too small a town to be incorporated, it wasn't even on the map. The "downtown" consisted of a gas station and two houses. Well, at least it is beautiful out here. I could never live this far away from everything, but if isolation is what you are looking for, this would be the place. It certainly is conducive to hiding someone. She squeezed her eyes shut, saying a little prayer that she find Mulder here. "Here" was the third Sanker residence on her list. The other two houses, owned by Jim Sankers brothers, had been empty and looked like they had been for a week or so, judging by the un-mowed grass and papers piled on the porches. She had guessed that they were on vacation, so she had moved on. Scully sat in the car for a moment, looking around. The house in front of her was a rather dilapidated wood house, in desperate need of a paint job. It was set back from the road in a heavily wooded area. It was quiet except for the sound of birds making a racket in the trees. Time to move, Dana. She got out of the car and walked quietly to the front door of the house, hand on her gun at the small of her back in a deceptively casual pose. She knocked on the door and held her breath. *********END CHAPTER 11************** Music City Blues (12/?) Chapter Twelve Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: A light R SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER TWELVE********** Police Headquarters 306 First Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee May 6, 1998, 8:35 a.m. Allison was pacing in front of the desk sergeant, waiting for one of the detectives to come and speak with her. She didn't know what she was going to say at this point. She was just hoping for some information. She had looked through Scully's room when she woke up and found her gone. She had found nothing to indicate where she went. Except that her keys were gone. She had taken a cab home to get her spare set. She leaned against the counter, head in her hands, praying that Scully did find Mulder without getting both of them killed. How did I end up here? Why don't I just step away now that Scully is back in the picture? Because you don't know for sure that she *is* back in the picture and you have a serious case for Fox Mulder. And you care because you are *not* your father. Thoughts of her father brought tears to her eyes. Their estrangement was now as good as permanent. She didn't think she would ever recover from what he had said to her. Thinking of yesterday evening at the Williamson house seemed to have the effect of conjuring her worst nightmare into reality. For as she stood there, head resting on her hand, she heard Mr. Williamson speaking.....loudly. "I am telling you, that FBI agent killed my son and I want him found. You do whatever you have to do and you *find* him." "Mr. Williamson, we are doing everything we can to locate Agent Mulder. We will bring him in, sooner or later and then we will question him about your son's death." "The man is psychotic. He attacked my son the night before." "That's not true, you sonofabitch!" Allison was shocked to hear herself yelling at Mr. Williamson across the room. Williamson looked up and saw Allison standing there and his face darkened. He strode over to her, Detectives Baker and Harris trailing after him. "Allison, I am surprised at you. You have known Brian most of your life. He is killed by a crazy FBI agent and you stand there yelling at me? I think this man has been a bad influence on you." "I will *not* stand around while you twist the facts to meet your own agenda. I am sorry about your son, but Mulder is not responsible for his death. The *only* reason Mulder had *any* contact with Brian is because Brian was trying to rape me and Mulder stopped him." She paused, taking a shaky breath. "Mulder is in trouble, I am sure of it. He is not a murderer." "No, he certainly isn't." Allison jumped and turned at the sound of the deep voice just behind her. She looked up into the stern but handsome face of Walter Skinner. "Gentlemen. Walter Skinner, Assistant Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation." Skinner held out his hand to the two detectives and introductions were made. He next turned to Allison. "I assume you are Allison Matthews?" "Yes. Nice to meet you. I was just telling Mr. Williamson here that Mulder didn't kill his son." "I heard and I agree. And, seeing as how a federal agent is missing, this is now a federal matter. We will be taking over this case as of now." "You can't do that! This is our case, we have jurisdiction!" "Not any more, you don't. I sent medical information on Mulder to your lab last night. One of the drops of blood found at the scene was Agent Mulder's. I suspect it will only be a matter of time before they prove that the murder was not committed by Agent Mulder. Regardless, we are taking this case. You may check with your commissioner if you like." "Just because a blood drop belonged to Mulder does not mean that he is innocent!" exclaimed a furious Williamson. "Maybe not, but since he is involved, either as a victim or the perpetrator, this is now a federal case." Skinner was not a man who would take any pressure from a wealthy Nashvillian. He dealt with politicians on a daily basis, he would handle this man. "Now, would someone care to tell me where I can find Agent Scully?" As Allison turned to Skinner to explain how Scully had left her at the hotel, Detective Baker was called to the phone. "WHAT! How the fuck did that happen?" Detective Baker became extremely agitated as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone. "Jesus Christ, start canvassing the area, we will be right out there." He hung up the phone and turned to the group staring at him. "Clarice Lioncourt, a.k.a. Alex DuMont, just escaped while en route to the airport." Skinner looked at Baker like he wanted to kill him. "What the hell happened?" ************************** Elizabeth Sanker Residence 28516 Pemberton Road Sandy Springs, Tennessee Same Day, Same Time Scully held her breath and listened for movement inside the house. She knocked again and then she heard a shuffling. "I'm comin', I'm comin'.....hold yer horses." A woman's voice. Scully released the breath she was holding as the door opened slowly inwards. There on the threshold stood an old woman with white hair, using a cane to get around. She stood shorter than Scully and had piercing blue eyes. She smiled when she saw Scully standing on her porch. "Well there young lady. What can I do for you?" "Mrs. Sanker?" Scully asked. The old woman nodded so Scully continued. "Ma'am, I am looking for Jim Sanker. Are you his grandmother?" "Why yes! Oh dear, you must be Clarice! Oh come *in*, child, Jimmy has tole me all 'bout yuh." The old woman was so busy unlatching the screen door that she didn't notice the stunned look of surprise on Scully's face. Scully quickly regained her composure and followed the old woman into the house. She went through a quick mental debate on how to handle this situation. Allison's comments from the other day rang through her head. *I* am a born and raised southern girl who can sweet talk information out of the most backwater red necks that wouldn't give you the time of day once they heard you speak, caught the attitude and saw your clothes. As much as Scully didn't want to admit it, she would probably find out more if she pretended to be Clarice. I could lose my job for misrepresenting myself to this woman. Fuck it, I am on vacation. I just won't correct her mistake. "Ma'am," she began as Mrs. Sanker motioned her to a chair at the kitchen table at the back of the house. "Has Jim.....Jimmy been here recently?" "You two git yer messages mixed? I thought he was pickin' yuh up this mornin?"asked Mrs. Sanker casually, setting a cup of coffee in front of Scully. Oh my god. "Ah....yes, I guess we did. When did you last see him?" Scully tried to stop her hands from shaking as she lifted the coffee cup to her lips. "He was here yesterdy evenin' for supper. It's too bad you couldn't make it for dinner, Clarice. I made my pot roast 'specially for my Jimmy. He doesn't git out tuh see me much as he should. You yungins' just don't have the time for us old folks anymore." Mrs. Sanker sighed sadly. "I just don't see him as much as I'd like." Scully's mind was racing, trying to think what to do next. She couldn't believe that the old lady would knowingly keep a man in the house against his will. Which probably means that Mulder isn't here. But I do have the correct Sanker, so I'll stay here and talk to this woman until she gives me a lead. "So, Mrs. Sanker, does Jimmy stay the night here in Sandy Springs often?" "Not as often as I'd like." she replied as she poured Scully more coffee. "He likes tuh be in Nashville nowadays. Likes the big city, that boy does. Course, he does come out an help his granny as often as he can, but he don't usully stay." "When he does, does he stay here?" "Child, didn't that boy tell you nuthin bout how he was raised up?" asked Mrs. Sanker. "No, ma'am, not really." "Durned youngin's anyway. Got no pride in their upbringin' nowadays." she said as she shook her head sadly. "I raised Jimmy myself. The boy's parents......my son and his wife......weren't the best thing that coulda happened to that boy. Hey, now, would you like tuh see Jimmy's room? See how he grew up?" "Ah, sure.....that'd be great," Scully replied as she got up to follow the old woman down the hall off the kitchen. Mrs. Sanker walked quite rapidly for a woman her age and Scully hurried to keep up. They got to a door at the end of the hall and she opened the door and walked in. They were standing in what had obviously been a young boy's room. Someone, presumably "Jimmy", had been adding grownup touches to the room. "So Jimmy still sleeps in here when he stays?" asked Scully. "Sure does. I only has two bedrooms. The other'in is mine." Scully gazed around the small room, looking for signs of Jim's personality. It appeared to be the room of a normal young man. Then her breath caught in her throat. There was a sig sauer gun lying on the far bedside table. Mulder's gun. *********************** Location Unknown Same Day, Same Time By the time Mulder made it to the other side of the meadow, he was more exhausted than he had ever felt. His whole body throbbed with pain. He was sweating profusely and wracked with chills. His thoughts were jumbled and confused. He wandered among the grazing cows and into the trees. Rest.....gotta rest. He leaned against a tree and slowly slid to the ground. He raised his cuffed hands to his forehead, trying to push the hair sticking to it, off. He only succeeded in smearing some of the blood from his wrists onto his face, increasing his disreputable appearance. A stab of pain in his side caused him to whimper slightly. I just wanna go home. There's no place like home, toto. He giggled a little at that. He closed his eyes and saw himself as Dorothy. I wouldn't look good in that dress. Legs are too skinny. And hairy. Suddenly, he heard a snuffling sound right next to his ear and his eyes popped open. He found himself looking into two huge, brown eyes. A large, cool nose nudged his head. "Toto! It's you!" He giggled again, as he shook his head, making himself even dizzier. "Oh Toto. I am fucked up. I just wanna go home. We have to find the ruby slippers, toto." He heard a bell ringing in the distance. "Toto" looked up at the sound and turned to walk up the sparsely wooded slope. "Hey, toto.....w-wait f-for me......." He pulled himself to his feet, shaking with chills, teeth chattering, and followed "Toto" up the hill. He was limping badly and stumbling over tree roots, but he pushed himself toward the sound of the bell. ************************* I-65, Just North of Nashville Same Day, Same Time "Jimmy, where are we going?" Clarice was getting extremely impatient. "We are going to my grannie's house in Sandy Springs." "What the hell for? Are we hiding out until it is safe to head to Washington?" "Uh. Yeah, you could say that. I have a surprise for you at Grannie's house.......mistress. After that, will you complete me? Please, make me all the way?" Clarice sighed heavily. She didn't *want* to make him fully into one of her kind. But she had promised.....and he would help her get Mulder. Then she could dispose of him. "Yes, Jimmy. Maybe tonight, if I have enough energy. How long will it take to get to Sandy Springs?" "We'll be there in about 45 minutes. I can't wait," he said with a big smile. A smile that looked hungry. ************************* Elizabeth Sanker Residence 28516 Pemberton Road Sandy Springs, Tennessee Same Day, 8:50 a.m. The gun. Mulder's gun. Oh god, Mulder's gun. He does have Mulder. Where? I am close. I must be. Get a grip, Dana. Scully wandered casually around the end of the bed, attempting to appear simply curious. She walked up to the bedside table and picked up the gun. It was, on close inspection, most certainly Mulder's. "Lordy, where did Jimmy get a new gun?" asked Mrs. Sanker as she saw Scully handling it. "You haven't seen this one before?" "Lord, no. It wasn't here yesterday mornin'. I tole that durn boy he didn't need no more guns." "Mrs. Sanker, do you mind if I use the phone?" Scully asked, slipping Mulder's gun into the back of her jeans when the old woman wasn't looking. She was wearing her denim shirt untucked over a white tank, so neither of the guns, hers or Mulder's, were visible. "Darlin' I would be happy to let you 'cept the lines are still down from the tornadas." "But that was three weeks ago." "Yep, it sure was. But we are way out here in the country and them tornadas did lots of damage. It takes them a long time to git out here. Few years back, we had bad ice storms. Didn't have 'lectricity for a month that time. I tell yuh......." "Well, I will go get my cell phone out of the car then. I really...." Scully paused when she realized that Mrs. Sanker was shaking her head. "Tornadas took the tower, I heard. So yuh probably won't get no service." "I....I really need to check. If you will excuse me for a minute." "Oh sure. Yuh come on back in when you're ready." Scully practically ran out the front door of the house to her car. Reaching inside and grabbing her purse, she rummaged for the phone. She held it up and blew out a disgusted breath when she realized that Mrs. Sanker was right. No service. Shit, now what do I do? Go back to town and call Skinner? Or look around here first. Jim is *picking up* Clarice? He could be on his way here with her. And if Mulder is around here somewhere, Jim could show up again before I get back. She leaned against the car door, debating. If he isn't around here somewhere, then Jim won't be coming here to get him, so I won't need back up. But if Mulder is on the property and I leave, they could show up and take Mulder with them. I can't take that chance. Decision made she removed Mulder's gun from her back and shoved it into her purse, which she then slung across her body, the long strap making in bounce on her hip as she stalked quickly back to the house. When she walked in the door, Mrs. Sanker solved her next dilemma. "Honey, why don't you take a look around? I am gonna start lunch. We eat at 10:30 cause we git up so early round here. Make yourself at home." "Okay, that would be great, ma'am." Scully wandered slowly through the house looking for any other signs of Mulder's presence. She went through the downstairs rooms and found a door to the basement. Nothing. When she came back up she went out on the back deck, just off the kitchen, closing the door behind her. "Oh Mulder, where the hell are you?" she asked quietly. She stood there looking out into the dark woods and felt a blanked of despair begin to settle over her. As she stood there she heard a loud bellowing sound. "What the hell was that?" "That was one of them cows, missy." Scully jumped at the sound of Mrs. Sankers voice right behind her. The woman moved silently. Mrs. Sanker moved up next to her on the deck and pointed down the slope and to the left at two ramshackle barns in the trees. "We have cows down in the barns there. Jimmy and his brothers take turns carin' for them." Scully's heart started pounding. Barns. Two barns. Jimmy. "Do you mind if I go look at them?" "No go on ahead, if you like. I'd show yuh myself, but I can't make it down the hill anymore. Gittin up there, yuh know." Scully didn't hear a word she said as she started down the hill toward the barns. ******************* I-24 at Highway 42 Springfield, Tennessee Same Day, 9:15 a.m. "We're almost there now, mistress." "Well, thank god for that," replied Clarice, growing more exasperated by the minute. She had never spent any real time *talking* to Jim and she was finding him wanting. "We're 'bout fifteen minutes from the house. I am gonna stop at this little store and pick up some beer. You want anything?" Clarice sighed, elbow on the car door and her hand to her forehead. "I just want you to hurry up." "Yes ma'am!" She sighed again. He is so damn eager. Give me Mulder any day. She closed her eyes and imagined him in various positions and stages of undress. Willing and hard. Thrusting into her passionately. She felt the desire growing at her core. I will have him. I will. ************************* Location Unknown Same Day, Same Time Mulder was stumbling, nearly on hands and knees, up the hill after the cows, in the direction of the ringing bell. The trees began to thin even more and sparse grass covered the ground. Up ahead he could barely make out a barn-like structure and saw that was where all the cows were headed. Sweat ran into his eyes and he continued to shake. His vision was very blurry and that increased his dizziness and disorientation. Jason Kaptur was a 75 year old farmer who had become nearly reclusive in recent years due to his opinion that the world was becoming a morally decrepit and dangerous place. The big city terrified him any more and he was perfectly happy to stay out in the country with his cows. His wife had died two years ago, further isolating him from the world. His only son lived in Nashville and couldn't be bothered to visit often. When Jason saw the dirty, handcuffed man stumbling up the hill amongst his cows, he grabbed his shotgun. ************************* Woods behind Elizabeth Sanker Residence 28516 Pemberton Road Sandy Springs, Tennessee Same Day, 9:25 a.m. Scully pulled her gun out from the holster at her back as she approached the barn. She slowly opened the barn door and entered. Walking slowly through the center of the structure, cows in stalls on either side of her, it became apparent that there was nowhere for Mulder to be hidden. The structure was wide open and didn't have a loft or a basement. She exited quickly, moving to the far structure. This barn did have a loft, but all she found was hay. There was no basement here either. And certainly no sign of Mulder. She felt her hopes deflating again as she walked out of the barn and closed the door behind her. As she walked back in the direction of the first barn, she saw the small concrete block structure next to the stream ahead of her. The door was slightly ajar. What is that, a well house? Could it be......... She looked to her right and up the hill at the house. There was no sign of Mrs. Sanker, so she walked quickly over to the small, partially subsurface, structure and jerked open the door. Holding her gun in front of her, she found a light switch and flicked it on. She stood quietly for a minute, listening for any sound. When there was none, she began descending the stairs, her heart in her throat. There were jars of preserves lining the walls that looked like they had been there for awhile and trash scattered around the floor. When she saw the blood stained bed, she had to resist the urge to vomit. She *knew*, without a doubt, that it was Mulder's blood and she wanted to scream in frustration because it was apparent that he wasn't there anymore. She sat carefully on the edge of the bed and touched her finger to the blood stains. They weren't very big and they were still tacky. She then noted a couple of small stains near the head of the bed. She fingered the dislodged bed post. He got away. He was handcuffed to the bed and he managed to get away. His handcuffs weren't in the house or his hotel room. They weren't in the car with his badge and cell phone. He had to have been handcuffed here and got away. She ran up the stairs and into the morning air. She stood right in front of the door and tried to put herself in Mulder's shoes. Where would he go? Not up the hill, he wouldn't know if Jim would be there. He would be hurt, possibly severely. Most likely not thinking clearly. Terrified. Her heart twinged when she thought of what he must be going through....what he *had* probably gone through. A tear ran down her face and she brushed it away angrily, forcing her mind back to a more objective stance. She stepped away from the well house slightly and studied the ground around her, looking for clues. As she noticed the foot print in the mud behind the well house, headed toward creek, she heard two distinct noises in rapid succession, shattering the stillness and her newfound sense of calm. The first was a car door slamming up near the house. The second was a gunshot ringing clearly in the distance. *************END CHAPTER 12************* *******CHAPTER THIRTEEN********** Jason Kaptur's Barnyard Sandy Springs, Tennessee May 6, 1998, 9:25 a.m. "Who are you and what are you doin' on my property!!" Jason yelled as he swung his shotgun up to point it in Mulder's direction. "S-sir, please....." Mulder began, holding his hands out in front of him, palms up. "Convict!" Jason yelled as he saw Mulder's handcuffed wrists. "You better run boy, fore I shoot your ass!" "B-but, sir, I'm not......." Jason loaded two rounds into the chambers. "Sir, you gotta h-help me......." Jason cocked the gun and took aim. Mulder turned and ran as the gun went off. *************************** Police Headquarters 306 First Avenue North Nashville, Tennessee Same Day, Same Time "Okay, Ms. Matthews, bring me up to speed on what you and Agent Scully have been up to." Skinner gave her his best Marine commanding voice. The detectives had all rushed to the scene to search for the escaped Clarice. Allison wasn't fazed at all but she filled Skinner in on everything she knew. Which, at this point, wasn't much. ******** "So, I think that Jim Sanker is the one who killed Brian and did something with F.....Mulder," Allison concluded. "That makes an odd sort of sense," replied Skinner. "So, chances are, she got the addresses of his family and is continuing to search. A long shot, that's for sure." "Scully obviously didn't think so. Neither do I," replied Allison, somewhat defensively. Skinner considered that for a moment. "Thank you for your help, Ms. Matthews," he said, dissmissively. Skinner started shuffling through the file on Clarice's arrest, looking for information on Jim Sanker. He looked up when he realized that Allison was reading over his shoulder. "I really think you should go home, Ms. Matthews. I will call you when we find them." "I want to help." "Absolutely not. There is nothing you can do. Now, can I get an officer to drive you home?" "My car is outside." "Then I suggest you get in it and go home. I will call you." He got up, with the file and walked out the door. Allison watched him go, she figured to the local bureau office on Broadway. "Fuck that," she said as the door closed behind him. ********************* Woods behind Elizabeth Sanker Residence 28516 Pemberton Road Sandy Springs, Tennessee Same Day, 9:25 a.m. Shit, shit, shit. That car door slam was the more immediate problem. It was probably Jimmy. It would take him probably 3 minutes tops to realize that she was not Clarice.....even less time if he had managed to get Clarice out of jail like it sounded like he was trying to do. She ran behind the well house and looked at the foot prints going into the creek. Mulder? Is it you? Tennis shoes. About the right size. She ran through the creek and stood on the far bank, still wracked with indecision. Stay and confront or run and try to find Mulder? This could be like looking for a needle in a fucking haystack......but maybe I will get lucky. I am at a distinct disadvantage down here. I have no backup and I won't be able to approach the house fast enough to get up there before he gets to the back and looks out. He'll see me coming. And if he isn't alone I am totally screwed. It would be three to one, counting the grandmother. And he is armed, for sure. Mulder is unarmed and injured. She was out of time. She heard the front door slam. Find Mulder. She turned and ran into the trees in the direction the footprints were taking, her purse bouncing against her hip and digging into the opposite shoulder due to the weight of the extra gun. Unfortunately, the footprints stopped about 20 feet from the stream, but she kept going in that direction anyway. She was running on pure intuition and instinct. Mulder would be proud. ************************* Jason Kaptur's Barnyard Sandy Springs, Tennessee May 6, 1998, 9:26 a.m. Mulder felt a little sting in his arm as he ran full tilt down the hill and into the woods. "You better keep runnin' you convict bastard!!" he heard Jason yelling after him. Running was not conducive to great health for Mulder at this point. Every part of him throbbed at high intensity due to the jarring that came with running down hill. He was near the edge of the meadow again when he failed to pick up his feet high enough and tripped over a tree root, which caused him to tumble the rest of the way down the hill. He came to rest against a tree trunk and, curling into a ball to ease the renewed pain in his side, laid there panting. Tears of pain made tracks in the blood and dirt on his face. He felt the wound in his side bleeding again. He was completely drenched in sweat which made him feel chilled and he wanted badly to curl up and go to sleep. He felt a tickling sensation on his arm and pushed up the short sleeve of his shirt to see that he was bleeding. Jethro musta nicked me. What'd he have to shoot at me for? He sighed quietly and wondered what to do next. I have to move. She is coming. Hide. He wiped away the tears, smearing dirt and blood across his face again. Pulling himself to his feet and, wobbling slightly, he trudged carefully to the edge of the meadow. Now the valley opened to his left. He decided to go that way next and try to find a road. No. No road. She'll find me. I just better move. Maybe find house with people that won't shoot me. Call Sc....Alli.....somebody. ************************* Location Unknown Sandy Springs, Tennessee Same Day, 9:35 a.m. Scully jogged as quietly as possible away from the house and into the woods. She quickly reached the small, pretty clearing with the pecan trees. The longer grasses growing here still showed the disturbance of someone walking through them. She was moving rapidly through the clearing, happy to see that she was still on the trail when she noticed it. A flattened area of grass. For some reason she slowed to a stop, just looking at the bent blades of grass. Standing still, gazing around herself, she was struck by the beauty and stillness of the woods. Sunlight filtered through the trees, causing blades of light to dapple the grass. There was a quiet rustling of small animals in the brush and even the birds were muted. She felt a very strange sense of closeness to Mulder standing there over that patch of flattened grass. Her heart twisted in her chest when she noticed some brown splotches on a few of the blades. The sight re- galvanized her and she began jogging again, following the faint path in the grass. Please hold on Mulder, please. ************************** Elizabeth Sanker Residence 28516 Pemberton Road Sandy Springs, Tennessee Same Day, Same Time "Whattaya mean yuh already met Clarice? And who the hell do that car belong tuh in the driveway?" asked a confused Jimmy. "I tole you, boy. Clarice showed up here a little while ago. Car is hers. She's out back checkin' out the cows." "Granny, this is Clarice right here......." "Listen, Granny, what did this woman look like?" asked Clarice. She had an inkling of what Jimmy's surprise was and she felt her blood start to boil. She sensed someone was getting in her way again. "Short, pretty girl with red hair. Very nice......yankee, though." "Sonofabitch! Dammit." Clarice rubbed her forehead with her hand. She gazed steadily at Jimmy. "You had Mulder here, didn't you. You had him here and he's probably gone......and everybody in the fucking world is looking for him." "How did you.......?" Jimmy began, only to be cut off abruptly as Clarice started walking to the back of the house. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist. The woman that was here is *Scully*, Mulder's partner, it has to be. Who else?" She looked out the back window. "Where did you have him?" "T-the well house. He was secured real good." "I want you to take care of Granny and then get your shotgun. I am going down there and hopefully catch Scully in the act of taking what's mine....again." She started out the back door and then turned back to him. "And I do mean *take care* of Granny. Do you understand me?"she asked as she glared at him. At the penetrating look, Jimmy felt his knees turn to water. He turned towards Granny to do as he was told. ************************* Clarice ran lightly down the hill toward the well house, excitement in the pit of her stomach. She could smell Mulder in the air. He had been here recently. She couldn't wait to touch him again. She also smelled Scully. Much fresher than the Mulder scent. She was eager to rip that little redhead's face off. She would pay for what had happened at their last meeting. Oh Fox, I didn't mean to shoot you. I was aiming at that little bitch. Why did you have to get in the way? She will *not* take you away from me this time. You and I will be together, forever. She came to a stop in front of the partially open door of the well house. Pulling the door completely open and stepping into the dimly lit and musty interior, she could tell instantly that neither Mulder or Scully was here any longer. She moved quickly down the stairs and, reaching the bottom, screamed in frustration and anger. She moved to the bed and fingered the blood stains on the pillow near the bent bar in the metal headboard. Well, well, well Agent Scully. You didn't free your partner. He got away awhile ago and is out in the woods somewhere, most likely handcuffed. That's why you aren't here waiting to arrest me. That's why the bar is pulled out. That's why there is blood. You are looking for him. Well, let's just see who finds him first. ************************* Robertson County Sheriffs's Department Springfield, Tennessee Same Day, 10:45 a.m. "Okay, Sheriff, you know the situation. I would be very happy if you would send your deputies to this list of residences to look for Agents Mulder and/or Scully. Also, one of my agents is passing around photos of the escaped suspect and her suspected accomplice. These two are to be considered armed and dangerous. Approach with extreme caution and plenty of back up." "Mr. Skinner, it doesn't sound like you have much in the way of evidence that Sanker is your perp. I don't want to accuse any innocent citizens. What are we going on here?" "Well, Sheriff Graves, one of my finest agents was following this trail in search of her missing partner. She was certain that this man is responsible for Agent Mulder's disappearance." Skinner sighed. "Now, Clarice Lioncourt has escaped and is at large. She had assistance in her escape. It seems very likely to me that the person responsible for her escape is this James Sanker. She has been keeping company with this man since arriving in Nashville a few weeks ago." Skinner paused again, reflecting. Taking a deep breath he addressed the sheriff, his four deputies and the four agents in the room. "I do not believe that Agent Mulder is responsible for the death of Brian Williamson. I do know that Clarice is a very dangerous individual and is close with James Sanker. Both are missing and it is likely that they are in Robertson County. All possible precautions are to be taken in apprehending them. Agents Mulder and Scully are to be treated as Agents, not as suspects, do I make myself clear?" All heads nodded. Skinner had chosen experienced agents for this case, ones that he felt would not be hot headed. The deputies, however, appeared to be young and inexperienced. He was afraid that one of them might go off half cocked if they spotted an injured Mulder. A Mulder that had an APB out on himself and who was wanted for questioning in a murder. "Okay, we are going to split up. I want an agent paired with each deputy. I want each pair to take one of these addresses and interview residents, look for anything out of the ordinary, you know the drill agents. Keep in close radio contact at all times and report anything suspicious to me immediately. Everyone clear?" Again, all heads nodded. The agents and deputies, along with Skinner and the Sheriff, headed out, pictures of Mulder, Scully, Clarice and Jimmy all in hand. ************************** Exact Location Unknown Sandy Springs, Tennessee Same Day, Same Time Mulder was limping badly. He didn't know how much longer he could go on. He had seen a dilapidated barn and an abandoned house but had bypassed them in a search for something, anything resembling safety. He didn't know what that meant. He hoped he would know it when he saw it. He was staggering among the trees at the edge of the meadow when the world started spinning again, bringing him to his knees. As soon as they impacted the earth, his lack of equillibrium toppled him sideways. He ended up lying on his "good" side facing the meadow, staring at the shifting grasses that shone in the sun. This part of the meadow had not been mowed into the big rolls of hay that had dotted the adjacent meadow. The grasses that were nearly chest high when he was standing now towered over him as he lay there. The breeze in the air rippled the grasses in a way that gave the appearance of ghosts wandering through them. They made a whispering sound as the long blades rubbed against each other. Mulder gasped as the grasses began talking to him. He couldn't understand their whispering. He squeezed his eyes shut and the whispering grew louder and the world spun faster. His eyes popped open to slow the spinning but it seemed that the whispering grew louder. He breath started coming in harsh pants as an unknown terror grabbed at him. Get away.....get away......don't touch me.....don't....... He scrabbled to his knees and crawled away from the meadow, deeper into the wood. He pulled himself to his feet, using a small tree as support. He staggered from tree to tree, moving deeper into the woods to get away from the whispering ghosts. ************************* The big meadow....... Sandy Springs, Tennessee Same Day, Same Time Scully had no way of knowing if she was going in the right direction any longer. After seeing blood in the grass of the small meadow, she had continued on into the Pecan orchard. Once through, the land sloped upward gently for a distance and the trees grew closer together. At the top, she looked down the other side of what was a small divide into a nearly dry streambed. She had needed to make a decision.....keep going in the same direction or follow the stream bed in a downhill direction. She ultimately chose the stream bed because it was easiest and therefore, the most likely direction for Mulder to have taken. There were fewer trees along the stream bed, but it was quite rocky so the going was a bit slower. She pushed herself as hard as she could, almost feeling Clarice's eyes on her back. I have to get to him before they do. I have to. After a few minutes, she reached the edge of a large meadow and felt totally lost. Splashing through the large stream that the smaller stream bed emptied into, she stood looking out at the picturesque scene. Cows dotted the meadow and large, round hay bales were scattered everywhere. Now where the hell do I go? This is impossible....... She decided that she wouldn't go to her left since the ground rose sharply in that direction and it looked like it would be a difficult climb. She contemplated the meadow to her right. It widened somewhat in that direction. In the distance, she could see a dilapidated fence with an un- mowed meadow beyond. As she stood there debating with herself, she caught a movement just beyond the tree line on the opposite side of the meadow and to the right. A figure was heading into the trees in the distance. It was too far for her to make out any detail but, instinctively, she began to run. ************************ Mulder struggled through the trees, barely able to pick up his feet, his breath coming in harsh gasps. Sweat streamed down his face and into his eyes. It was coming through the grass. *She* was coming through the grass. Suddenly, he was literally on the edge of a cliff. His bound arms tried to flail for balance and the world spun faster. He grasped desperately for a sapling and clung to it, peering over the edge. 'Sinkhole' was the word supplied by a dim corner of his mind. It was nearly indistinguishable from the rest of the forest until you were right on top of it. The bottom was about 30 feet down a moderately steep, tree covered slope and there was a stream running along it. He continued to stand there for an indeterminate amount of time, clutching the sapling, confused and lost. 'Go around it,' said his rational mind. 'Go down into it,' said the part of him that wanted a quiet, hidden place where he could curl up and sleep. 'No one will ever find you down there,' said his rational mind. 'That's the whole point,' said the delirium and fear. Then, with no warning, another voice chimed in. "Mulder?" *************End of Chapter 13********** Music City Blues (14/?) Chapter Fourteen Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: A light R SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER FOURTEEN********** Location Unknown May 6, 1998, 11:01 a.m. Scully hit the forest where she had seen the figure disappear still at a dead run. Upon entering the woods she had to slow down and watch her step. The land sloped up for a several feet and then she was moving down hill again. She paused for a moment, panting, trying to decide on a direction and resisting the urge to scream his name. She did *not* want to alert any undesireables as to her whereabouts. Finally, she continued on, deciding on the same general direction that she had last seen the figure headed was most likely. Heart pounding and the beauty of the forest now lost on her, Scully prayed with a fervor she thought long gone. Then her prayers were answered. She saw him about 50 feet in front of her, his back to her, cuffed hands gripping a small tree. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized that she couldn't see the ground in front of his feet. She stopped, and studying the area, she realized that he was standing on the edge of a sinkhole. She could barely make out the other side, about 100 yards in front of him. It had apparently been there for awhile, judging by the size of the trees growing in the bottom. She cleared her throat quietly, not wanting to startle him. There was no response so she called to him tentatively. "Mulder?" He whirled around rapidly and one of his feet slid off the edge of the sinkhole. Her heart lodged in her throat as she watched him struggle for purchase. Her hands flew towards him as if to grab him, even though he was too far away. He grabbed the small tree again and steadied himself. When he finally looked up at her, Scully wanted to cry at the look on his dirty face. She started towards him. "No!" he yelled hoarsely, hands out to ward her off. "Stay away from me!" She stopped and held a hand out to him, palm up. "Mulder, come away from the edge." He shook his head violently. "You stay away from me. You won't touch me again......" She saw the tremors that ran through his body, her heart breaking as she realized that he was furious. "Mulder, I'm so sorry........" "Y-you're sorry?" he asked, his voice cracking. "Why can't you j-just leave me alone? What do you want from me? Why do you *look* like that? Just to hurt me more? I know w-who you are! Why don't you just kill me and get it over with," he said, voice breaking on the last word. "Mulder? I don't understand....." Scully shook her head, he wasn't making sense. She took another step forward, but he backed closer to the edge. In that instant, she realized that he was not furious. He was terrified. "I know who you are. You won't trick me again. Scully left me, you were right about t-that. She wouldn't be here. You look like her just to hurt me again," he said with a glare. Her eyes widened as he continued, so softly that she had to strain to hear him. "You won't hurt me again." Scully's heart constricted even more at the many implications of his words. As her mind raced to catch up, she looked more closely at him, although the play of shadows and light from the sun filtering through the trees combined with the distance to make it difficult to see him clearly. His face was streaked with dirt and blood, masking what she guessed was an extreme pallor. His eyes glittered with fever. Hair sticking up in places, he looked like he had just gotten out of bed. The dark blue, sweat stained, silk shirt was untucked and hanging open, revealing a muscular chest decorated with bruises, old and new. She couldn't see a wound, but the right side of his jeans were stained with what she guessed was blood. The legs of the jeans, especially the knees, were filthy. There was blood running down one arm and both wrists looked abraded from the handcuffs. "Mulder, it's *me*, Scully. You have a fever, you need help." "I d-don't want your kind of help, Clarice. I would rather die." He choked back a sob. "Why are you doing this to me?" "Mulder......." she wracked her brain for something to say to convince him, distinctly remembering a similar scene in a warehouse. She had not done well that time. "L-Leave me a-alone." He closed his eyes, swaying slightly. She was afraid he was going to fall into the sinkhole. "Scully is gone......stop looking like her....." he moaned, despairing. Scully couldn't stop the tears from welling in her eyes. "Mulder, please come away from the edge," she pleaded. "Mulder, I care so much about you, I don't want you to get hurt anymore." "S-scully wouldn't say that......I am on to you......" Tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. She wracked her brain. "You hurt me all the time," he whispered. She wasn't sure that he still thought she was Clarice. "Mulder, remember the last time we were in the woods? Just a few months ago? You got attacked by the mothman? Do you remember? Do you remember me singing to you in the woods? Jeremiah was a Bullfrog?" He just stared at her, swaying slightly. "Remember I brought wine to your room and you made that lame joke about tailhook?" "That.......that wasn't a l-lame.....joke," he said, softly. "Mulder...."she exclaimed, starting toward him. His body jerked at her sudden movement. She had startled him. As she looked on in horror, he lost his footing and fell backwards over the edge of the sinkhole. ************************ Skinner strode into the house followed by the sheriff and a couple of deputies. Following the sounds of voices, he walked down a short hallway and stepped into what appeared to be the master bedroom. "What is the situation here, agents?" "We have one woman, age approximately 80 years, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Looks like a shotgun was used. Body is still warm. She is presumed to be the owner of the house, a one Elizabeth Sanker.....the suspect's grandmother. Agent Howard and Deputy White are checking the out buildings at the back of the house." Skinner grimaced. "The cars in front of the house?" "One rental. Issued to Special Agent Dana Scully. The other is registered to James Sanker." "Damn. We are right behind them." Skinner turned to the Sheriff. "What do you recommend? What is the fastest way to find them out here?" "Probably chopper if you can get one from Nashville......or Fort Campbell up the road. Other than that, four wheel drive and a hell of a lot of luck." He shook his head doubtfully. "We got pretty dense woods, sinkholes and caves. That makes finding someone who doesn't want to be found difficult even with a chopper." "And we have one perp who grew up here and knows the area like the back of his hand," continued Skinner. "We need to move. I want two pairs of agents and deputies to get in their vehicles and start canvassing. Drive up every driveway, every dirt road. Talk to people. Work your way out from this location. I want everyone to be in constant radio contact." "You gonna try for the chopper?" asked the Sheriff. "Yes, but I want agents on the road now. I also would like it if you, Howard and White would canvass the woods in the vicinity of the barns." Skinner sighed, tiredly. "You never know, maybe they didn't get far. As soon as the chopper gets here we will head out. He should be able to land in the field across the street." "Okay, people, let's go." ************************ "Mulder!" screamed Scully as she ran toward the edge of the sinkhole. She saw small saplings shake as he hit them on the way down. Peering over the edge, she could see tracks in the dirt and grass where he had slid down the steep slope to the bottom. He was laying on his stomach not far from the small stream, where it issued from the wall of the sinkhole. He wasn't moving. Scully grabbed the small tree he had been holding on to and began her descent, the tree bending sharply as it gave to her weight. Her feet slid down the slope, the dirt, dead leaves and grass giving her no traction. When the tree was stretched to its limit, halting her descent, she looked behind herself and saw another one about five feet behind and below her current position. She turned and started to slide toward it, arms outstretched, hoping to grab it to continue lowering herself to the bottom. Fuck this. I need to be down there now. Frustrated, angry with herself and scared that she had inadvertently killed Mulder, Scully sat down abruptly on the steep slope and tried for a controlled slide to the bottom. She was doing well until she got about three quarters of the way down and she hit a sharp piece of limestone. The resulting bruise would probably make sitting down unbearable for a week. When she got to the bottom she crawled quickly over to him and felt for a pulse. She let out a relieved sigh when she found a weak one. She slid her palm over his exposed cheek and inhaled sharply when she felt the heat emanating from his skin. "Oh Mulder, you are in serious trouble," she muttered quietly to herself, not expecting a response. She wasn't surprised when she didn't get one. She carefully turned him over and he groaned in pain, eyes lids fluttering while he struggled for consciousness. "Come on, Mulder, let me see those beautiful eyes," she coaxed, running her hands through his hair soothingly. As his eyes opened, his breathing grew ragged and he tried to curl onto his side. The look of fear was still in his eyes as he tried to pull away from her. "Mulder, it's me, Scully. I'm not Clarice. I need to take a look at you to see where you're hurt." "I-if you're not Scully....I will kill you. I'll kill you if you touch me again," he growled, voice rough from either illness or lack of use. "Mulder, it really is me. Remember the mothmen?" "I've......I've b-been fooled before. You are not the first to use Scully to get to me. I.....I don't imagine you will be the last. Even Scully....." he whispered as he started to fade out again. His words and the pain in his voice nearly killed her. She didn't know when it had become so easy for them to hurt each other more than their enemies ever could. "Mulder listen to me. If I were Clarice, wouldn't I already be hurting you? Mulder, you are hurt and sick....would I need to pretend if I were Clarice?" His eyes opened and he looked at her. "Remember Jeremiah was a Bullfrog? Do you remember when I compared you to Ahab when we sat on that rock in the lake, looking for Big Blue?" she asked, still searching for things only the two of them could possibly know. "Peg leg," he whispered as he nodded slowly, eyes not leaving her face. "You have been out here for nearly twenty-four hours, Mulder. You have a high fever. It is making you disoriented. You are very sick, but you still kept going. Don't give up on me now," she pleaded. "We have to get you out of here. I am not sure I deserve it, but please trust me Mulder. Trust your eyes. It's me......." "O-Okay, Scully," he whispered. Tears ran down her cheeks at his simple expression, as she leaned over and kissed his forehead. Then she pulled back quickly, afraid she had pushed too far. He just looked at her speculatively. She quickly pulled herself together. She rummaged in her purse for her handcuffs case and, retrieving the key, unlocked the cuffs around his wrists. She inspected the torn and bruised flesh and saw that those injuries, at least, were minor. "Where else does it hurt, Mulder?" "Jim.....Jim bit me," he replied as he moved his shirt so she could see. She blanched at the sight. Scully could see the ragged puncture wounds in his side, just above his waist. They were very red and inflamed. He had bled extensively judging by the stains on his jeans. "He.....he drank my b-blood......a lot. I couldn't stop him. I couldn't. It hurt bad," he said quietly. He's letting me in, thought Scully. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed gently. "Were you unconscious at any time?" "Yeah. Don't know how long the first time......or the second time." "How did he get you, Mulder?" she asked curiously. "B-brian.....Williamson was......waiting for me in the parking garage...Brian is....." "I know who Brian is.......I met Allison, too," she interrupted. "So Brian did what?" "He......threatened me. Said he didn't care who I was, nobody took what was his." Mulder closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I didn't wanna fight with him.....he rushed me......that's all I can remember......" He opened his eyes again and the fear was back in them. "When I woke up, I was chained to a bed.......clothes torn......I had weird dreams of someone....touching me.....Jim......Jim, he," He squeezed his eye shut again and his shaking increased. Scully brushed his hair back from his forehead and he pushed his head into her hand, the heat from his skin burning her palm. "You can tell me the rest later, okay?" she said gently, not wanting him to get too upset. "That probably explains the head injury, the bruises on your chest and the.....bite. Is there anything else?" she asked, wondering at the severity of the fever after so short a time. He started coughing and the resulting pull on his stomach muscles caused him to groan in pain and try to curl into a ball again. Okay, it is May in Tennessee but perhaps exposure is the cause. She put a hand behind his knee and one on his shoulder and helped him into a more comfortable position on his good side. Then she removed her purse from where it was slung across her body and began to unbutton her denim shirt. "Scully, I'm really not in the mood," Mulder said quietly, a small smile on his face as he watched her. "Ah, the old Mulder sense of humor rears it's head," Scully replied, relief evident in her voice and on her face. She shivered as she removed her shirt and was left wearing only her tank top. She carried her shirt over to the stream and dipped one of the long sleeves in the water. Carrying it back to Mulder, she used it to clean off his face as best she could. He leaned into her hand again, eyes closed and she imagined that the cool cloth felt good on his feverish skin. She then walked back over to the stream and rinsed out the sleeve. This time she attempted to clean the wound in his side, but it was difficult because it obviously pained him. He kept trying to get away from her, so she settled for running some water over it, hoping to dislodge any dirt or debris that had gathered in the wound. She watched as he grit his teeth and tried not to scream and she worried that it was far worse than it looked. The human mouth was full of bacteria and such bites were easily infected but she felt she was missing something. The extent of his pain and delirium were a bit excessive, even for this high a fever. "Mulder, did something else happen? Are you hurt anywhere else?" "Uhhhh....m-my l-leg," he replied with chattering teeth, gesturing to his left leg. She pulled up the leg of his jeans and gasped. Not more than four inches above the top of his shoes was another bite. This one appeared to be that of a spider. An obviously poisonous spider. The skin was red, blotched with gray, and inflamed. The venom of the spider was killing the tissue around the bite, and infection had set in. Red streaks weaved outward from the puncture and up his leg. It was no wonder he was feverish and delirious. His body had sustained more infection causing damage than he could fight off, in addition to being out in the cold air all night. "Bug bite," said Mulder. "Hurts." "Yes, I imagine it does," she replied softly. She threaded her fingers through his hair, stroking his scalp while she tried to decide on the best course of action. She tried not to think about her need to touch him constantly. She looked more carefully at her surroundings. The bottom of the sinkhole was gently rolling, forested and very damp. The walls were mostly limestone and very steep. The part where she had come down after Mulder was less so, due to soil washing in from above and creating a talus. There was a huge tree on the far side that had been growing there presinkhole as it was uprooted and lying on its side, creating a ramp to the surface. Not far from there was a cave, about 10 feet up from the floor. It looked not quite large enough for her to stand up in. Then she thought of Clarice. And Jim. Odds were either or both were searching for them at this moment. Clarice especially didn't seem the type to give up unless the chances were good that she would be stopped. That made her wonder about Skinner. He would be in Nashville right now, looking for the two of them. She prayed that he followed her instincts and her trail up here. Still, she was undecided. She couldn't give Mulder the care he needed. He required immediate hospitalization. But if they started moving, they would be harder for Skinner to find. If they stayed where they were, they would be easier for Jim and Clarice to find. I won't let her have you, Mulder. Never. She'll have to kill me first. "Scully? We should.....go. We have to hide f-from *them*," Mulder said, nearly reading her mind. "Hey, partner, I think we need to find a road," she replied, as she pulled her shirt back on. "N-no....." he replied, shaking his head. "It's all right, Mulder. I think Skinner is out there looking for us and we have to make it easier for him to find us. We have to get you to a hospital as soon as possible. Besides, I have my gun." "V-vampires, Scully. Gun won't work." "Mulder, regardless of their.......orientation......we have to move. I *don't* want to run into either of them, since they are probably armed, but they know this area well. We have to move or be found. We have to get to where *Skinner* can find us." He just stared at her, uncertainly, sweat breaking out again on his forehead. After a moment, his lips twisted, as if in pain and he nodded slightly. "Okay," he whispered. She picked up her purse, pulled the strap over her head and stuck one arm through so that it was slung over her shoulder, the bag resting against her opposite hip. As she reached down to help Mulder to his feet, a few pebbles rolled to a stop against her shoe. Hesitating only for an instant, Scully pulled her gun from its holster in the small of her back and started to turn toward the talus slope as the sound of another gunshot filled the air. *********End Chapter 14********* Music City Blues (15/?) Chapter Fifteen Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: R.....maybe NC-17....you decide. SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER FIFTEEN********** Location Unknown May 6, 1998, 11:45 a.m. Mulder looked up in dazed horror at the large man sliding quietly down the slope, shotgun raised. As if in slow motion, he watched as Scully saw the pebbles and dirt loosened by his descent, turned and pulled her gun. She's not going to make it. He reached up and yanked viciously on her shirt tails just as the shotgun went off. *BOOM* Scully flew backwards, landing hard on Mulder's already painful midsection. He felt a blazing pain rip through his body and, as if from a great distance, heard himself scream. Then, everything went black. ****************** *BOOM* Scully felt the bullet whiz past her head as she was falling, arms flailing, right onto Mulder's abdomen. The strangled scream that tore from his mouth was gut wrenching, but she didn't move off of him as she started to bring her gun around again. "Mulder won't make me miss this time, woman. I suggest yer drop that gun." Fuck. Scully hesitated for a moment before dropping her gun on the ground in front of her. She slowly turned toward Jim, without moving off of Mulder. He was motionless beneath her. "Clarice!" yelled Jim. A flame of anger started burning deep in Scully's heart as Clarice appeared at the top of the sink hole and started sliding down the slope on her ass. Scully glared at her as she reached the bottom and dusted herself off before moving to stand beside Jim. "Well, Scully! Is the only way you get to be on top of Mulder by knocking him unconscious?" she asked with a smirk. "What are you planning this time, Clarice? Having Jim hold him down? Or did you bring another aphrodesiac/rohypnol cocktail?" retorted Scully. "Get the fuck off of him, Scully," growled Clarice, as she started towards Scully. "Clarice, no," said Jim as he put his arm in front of her to stop her. "Scully, throw yer gun over here. Careful like, now. Wouldn't want to shoot yuh." Scully picked her gun up off the ground and tossed it towards Jim. Clarice stepped forward and grabbed the gun and pointed it back at her. "Now. Get. Off. Of. Him." "I have to make sure he's all right. I'm a doctor, remember?" Scully was reduced to pleading and she hated it. I will kill you Clarice, if it is the last thing I do. Scully saw the gun in Clarice's hand shake slightly, presumably with rage, and closed her eyes. "Check him over, Scully, and then get away from him. If you killed him with your clumsiness, your life is over." Scully carefully moved off of Mulder's lifeless body and pulled his shirt open. The bite in his side was torn open, again, and bleeding profusely. Fresh beads of sweat had broken out across his face and body. She laid her cool hand against his forehead and saw his eyelashes flutter. She carefully moved so that she was blocking his face from view as his eyes opened only very slightly. She saw them glitter through the narrow slits. Playing possum, Mulder? Great idea, keep it up. She smiled and nodded very slightly. She put her hand on her purse and pulled it open, flicking her eyes down at it, urging Mulder to look. She stuck her hand in her bag, stroking the handle of the Sig that rested just under the flap. Mulder's eyes glittered and he closed them again. She had no way of knowing if he comprehended. "What are you doing, Scully?" asked Clarice, angrily. "I am looking in my bag for something to stop the bleeding." "Bleeding? Why in the hell is he bleeding?" Scully closed her purse after pulling out a handkerchief and turned with an incredulous look on her face. "Jim didn't tell you about the bite he gave Mulder? The bite that is now highly infected and, coupled with a severe head injury, dehydration, blood loss and lack of nourishment has put him in very serious condition? He *needs* immediate hospitalization." Scully hid her smirk of satisfaction as Clarice turned on Jim. "You bit him?" she asked advancing on him, menacingly. "What in the fuck did you think you were doing? I didn't give you permission to start biting people, least of all MY MAN!" "I.....I'm sorry, mistress. I j-just wanted what you want......to feel what you feel. You have made me want the things you want. I have your blood......." Jim whined. Scully, handkerchief pressed against the bite in Mulder's side, watched the exchange closely, looking for an opening. She flinched when Clarice struck Jim hard, across the face. "You do as I say, do you understand me?" she asked. Jim nodded wordlessly. "Now, we have to get Mulder someplace where I can take care of him. I will nurse him back to health." Scully snorted. "You? Nurse him back to health? Why? So he will be in good condition when you abuse him?" "Shut up Scully, or I won't let you live long enough to *watch*. I know how you like to watch," she said with a smile. "In fact, one of my greatest pleasures will be in knowing you are watching *me* fuck the love of your pathetic life." Scully glared at the icily beautiful woman with her blond mane of hair and wondered how much longer she would have to wait to kill her. Suddenly, Mulder shifted slightly under her hands. She turned to him as he moaned quietly. She eased the pressure on her blood soaked handkerchief, not wanting to hurt him. "Mulder? It's me, Scully. Can you hear me?" "Scu.......Scully. Home now." Tears welled again in Scully's eyes. They dried rapidly as Clarice crouched on the other side of him and ran her hands through his hair. His eyes flicked to her and Scully saw a horrified recognition in them before he squeezed them shut. "Nononononono....." he murmured quietly. "Hello, my darling. Did you miss me?" asked Clarice with a sardonic smile. "Well, don't worry. I am gonna make you feel all better soon," she said. Then she leaned over him and whispered, loud enough for Scully to hear, "I am going to make it so you never hurt again." Scully knew instantly what she was referring to and it wasn't sex. In that recognition she knew what to do. She had only to spring her plan at exactly the right time so Mulder didn't get caught in the cross fire. ****************** Jim watched as the two women huddled over Mulder and the tendrils of envy began snaking their way through his heart. "Mistress, we should go. We kin take him tuh my brother's house." "What about your brother?" Clarice asked as she got up and turned toward him. "On vacation." He watched as a smile curled her lips and his heart started pounding in desire. She does love me....... "That sounds.......lovely." She turned back towards Mulder and Scully. Jim felt the desire growing in Clarice and, in turn, it began to grow in him. He would do anything to make her happy. They would be together forever, just like she promised. Mulder would be their first, together, as one. ********************* Scully watched Jim closely during their scheming. He wanted whatever Clarice wanted, that much was apparent. He practically drooled when he looked at Mulder. She reflexively moved closer and laid a hand on Mulder's arm. "Get your hands off of him, Scully," growled Clarice. When Scully didn't comply, Clarice raised the gun and pointed it at her head. Scully moved slowly away from Mulder and got to her feet. "What now, Clarice? What do you intend to do to us?" Clarice smiled. "Jim is going to carry Mulder up out of this hole and we are going to his brother's house. Then I will let you patch up Mulder before I kill you. If you are really good, I will let you live long enough to see what it is like to make love with him." "There are agents and the Nashville P.D. looking for all of us. You won't get away with this." "Hmmmm........perhaps you are right. They are probably watching Jim's family. We should find some place to hole up while Jim goes for a car. Then we will get out of town," she smiled at Scully again. Scully's heart sank. She should have kept her mouth shut. Clarice knelt next to Mulder again and kissed him hard, on the mouth. Scully saw he eyes pop open and his hands came up to push her away. "No..." he said as he gave her a push. She grimaced at him and gave him a smack in the side, near his wound. When he groaned weakly and tried to protect himself, Scully nearly came unglued. She started towards him, but Jim turned the shotgun on her. "Back off, bitch," said Jim. Both of them watched Clarice as she stroked Mulder's hair with one hand and his abdomen with the other. "Oh, poor baby. Jim hurt you didn't he?" she cooed softly. "I will make you all better and then you and I will be together. For good this time." Scully glanced quickly at Jim's face at that comment, and was pleased to see a quick grimace of jealousy flash across his features. "We better git goin', mistress." he said as he walked over to Clarice. She stood and took the shotgun from his hand and turned Scully's gun back on her. Scully had to stand by helplessly while Jim pulled Mulder up by the arm and then slung him over his shoulder like a sack of flour. Mulder struggled weakly and cried out in pain. Jim steadied him by putting his hand on his ass to hold him in place. Mulder went limp, arms hanging down, eyes closed. She prayed he was unconscious. Jim turned toward Clarice. "I'm ready. That there tree is the easiest way out," he said, gesturing at the large, uprooted tree leaning against the rim of the sinkhole. He moved his hand back to Mulder's ass and stroked it absently. "Are you out of your mind?" asked Clarice with a scowl. "And quit touching him like that." Scully saw the fleeting expression flash across Jim's features again before he dropped his hand. Her heart began to hammer in her chest again. "I grew up 'round here. We always used that tree as uh ramp. It's perfectly safe." "You drop him, and I will kill you." Clarice was deadly calm as she gave Jim a penetrating gaze. "I.....I won't drop him, Mistress," he replied tonelessly. "Go on. And be *careful*." Scully watched as Jim walked over to the tree and clambered onto the trunk, Mulder swinging precariously from his perch over Jim's shoulder. Clarice motioned Scully over to the tree with the gun and she hurried to catch up to Jim and Mulder. As she stepped onto the tree trunk, she could see where it had been used as a ramp many times. The trunk was worn from years of feet walking up it. She looked ahead of her at Mulder's motionless body. When they were about fifteen feet above the ground, he moaned quietly and started squirming in Jim's hold, trying to get away. She felt panic tighten her stomach as Jim had to stop to steady him. It wasn't working. "Mulder, it's Scully. Calm down, I'm right behind you. You have to relax. Close your eyes and don't look down, Mulder." He quieted quickly when he heard the sound of her voice and one of his hands reached toward her. She grasped it quickly and squeezed, earning a hard jab in the back from her own gun. Wisely, Clarice didn't say anything that would cause Mulder to panic further. Finally, they reached the rim of the sinkhole and solid ground. Jim let Mulder slide to the ground with a thump and a groan. This earned him another smack from Clarice and, again, Scully saw a look cross his face as she handed him the shotgun. On one hand this frightened her. On the other, it could be the opening she needed to gain the upper hand. Scully rushed to Mulder's side and tried to sooth him and check his wound. Clarice was crouching on the other side in an instant and shoved the gun in Scully's face. "I am just making sure he is all right," she said with a frustrated growl. "And I just want you to remember that he is mine. For good this time, Scully. I am not letting him go." *********** I am not letting him go. I am not letting him go. I am not letting him go. That sentence echoed through Jim's mind like a fog horn warning of rocks ahead. I am not letting him go........ ************ "Clarice, why do you need Mulder when you obviously have Jim willingly at your side? Why can't you just let him go?" Scully asked, throwing caution to the wind. "He doesn't love you." She stood up and stepped back from Mulder's prone, semi-conscious form. As she had hoped, Clarice followed her. "He does love *you*, Scully?" questioned Clarice. "You don't deserve him. He is beautiful, intelligent and passionate......the perfect mate for me. We are perfect for each other. I *believe* in him." "So you are going to make him into a vampire? He'd kill himself before joining you." Scully retorted, pushing her luck. Clarice backhanded Scully hard across her cheekbone, sending her flying backwards to land hard on the ground. "I have been wanting to do that for quite awhile," she said, laughing. "He will join me. And I guarantee he will enjoy it." Scully heard the roar before she saw what was happening. Jim threw down the shotgun and rushed over to grab Mulder by his shirt. He swung him out over the edge of the sinkhole, his feet barely resting on the edge. Jim gave him a hard shake and Scully saw Mulder's head loll back. His hands came up to grasp the wrists of the man who held him. As Jim shook him again, Clarice and Scully yelled a simultaneous, "No!" "Jim, what in the hell do you think you are doing? Put him down this instant," commanded Clarice, as she stepped to within ten feet of the two men and the edge of the sinkhole. "He is stealing you away from me! I can't let that happen. I want you to make *me*.......not him.......I will kill him......I will." Jim was panting in rage and jealousy. Scully continued to sit on the ground, holding her breath, heart hammering in her chest. She slipped her hand into her bag. "You will pull him away from the edge this instant, do you understand me?" Clarice replied, the warning in her voice clear even to Scully. Scully watched as Jim's eyes glazed as he looked over his shoulder at his "mistress." She herself felt a slight seductive tug as Clarice radiated power and authority. She shook her head slightly and gripped the gun resting in the bag in her lap. Jim growled in frustration and resistance as he hurled Mulder's limp form at Clarice. Clarice caught him, but his weight toppled her to the ground and knocked the gun away from them. They landed in a pile, Mulder on top and barely conscious. "Oh, Fox. It's okay, baby. It's okay," Clarice cooed as she shifted, so that he was lying across her lap. She petted and caressed as Mulder moaned and tried to scramble weakly away from her. "Damn you, Clarice!" screamed Jim, as he started towards them, benefitting from her distraction to regain control of himself. In that instant, Scully pulled the Sig and fired. ************ The sound of the gunshot nearby brought Mulder to more awareness than he had had since his talk with Scully in the sinkhole. Scully. He looked frantically for her. He saw her, sitting on the ground, about thirty feet away from him. She was pointing a gun at someone. He turned his head and saw Jim, a large bloom of red on his shirt, topple over the edge and into the sinkhole. Mulder felt someone chuckle beneath him and looked up into Clarice's face with a horrible feeling of deja vu. He was lying in her lap and Scully was too far away. And once again, Clarice had the upper hand. She drove this point home by running the fingers of her left hand over his chest lightly, right hand in his hair. As the fingers circled around his nipples and tweaked them, taunting Scully, Mulder struggled with the present and the past, not sure where he was. He knew only one thing. This would not happen again. ************* Scully saw the comprehension and terror on Mulder's face as Clarice stroked him. He struggled weakly against her again. Deja Vu. But this time, I am the one with the gun. This isn't going to happen again. She moved closer and brought the gun to bear on Clarice. "Get away from him, Clarice. Now." Clarice just laughed. "You don't expect me to believe that you will risk hitting Fox just to shoot me, do you? That will never happen." She looked down at Mulder and smiled, tightening her hand in his hair so that he squeezed his eyes closed in pain. "By the way, thanks for taking care of Jim for me. He was becoming an annoyance." Scully saw Mulder's eyes open. He turned his head towards her, pulling against Clarice's hand. "Shoot, Scully. Please. Please, before......." He gasped as Clarice yanked his head back. Scully's heart dropped to her feet and her hand shook. Clarice knew full well that she couldn't risk taking the shot, not at this distance and with Mulder so close. Mulder knew it too, but he was begging her. She blocked the meaning of that from her mind. It would cause her pain later. As Scully hesitated, Clarice laughed and ran her hand down Mulder's chest to the fly of his pants. She stuck two fingers under the waist band and wiggled them. Mulder sucked in a harsh breath and a tear leaked from his eye. "No, Clarice. No. I am not on drugs, now. I want you to get away from me....you can't control me......" He was cut off by a harsh, hard kiss on the mouth. Scully steadied the gun as he tore his mouth away from her and pushed himself off her lap onto the ground in front of her. Scully took aim but Clarice threw herself on top of Mulder pinning him with another brutal kiss. This time Scully saw blood leak from Mulder's crushed mouth and watched in horror as Clarice pulled back slightly and licked her lips. Then his. Mulder's eyes were closed, head back, and throat arched and exposed. His breathing was coming in harsh pants and it appeared to arouse Clarice even more. Scully held her position waiting for her chance. "Oh Scully, you don't know what you are missing," Clarice taunted. "And to think I will get to spend eternity with him. His body will remain hard and strong, his face unlined and beautiful. And the sex? Talk about staying power!" Clarice sneered at her and Scully felt her insides turn to water. She steadied her gun on Clarice again, determined not to lose it. "Scu....." Mulder panted. He yelped as Clarice nipped him on the neck near the jugular, drawing blood. He struggled harder and Scully held her breath, praying. Clarice, straddling Mulder's hips and, lying on top of him, scooted backwards enough to allow herself access to Mulder's zipper. Scully's gun shook again, this time in rage. She steadied it and took a deep breath. Clarice put one hand in Mulder's hair again and, kissing him hard on the mouth, used her other hand to unzip his jeans. Mulder struggled wildly as her hand slipped inside. Fight, Mulder, fight was the chant running through Scully's head. He was so weak that she just prayed he would give her a clear shot. ************ She's so strong. So strong. So much pain. Mulder fought as hard as he could against her, purely on instinct. The forest floor changed to a sofa in New Orleans. In his mind's eye he saw her hand on his cock and he railed against it. His mind was muddled from fever and pain. Even without the drug cocktail from before, she held some sway over him. A tug of war started for his mind and heart. Muuullderrr.......a singsong voice in his head called.......you know you want me. Just let go......... "No," he cried. Ooohhhh Mulderrrr........I can make you feel sooo gooood..... "No! Scully.....I...." A mouth covered his, cutting him off. A rage started to grow in his belly as the woman on the couch and the woman in the forest continued to fondle and control him.....to dominate him. The tiny flame grew into a blaze as a hand wrapped around his cock. "No!" he screamed and bucked. She just laughed and stroked him again. When she leaned closer to kiss him, hand still wrapped around him, Mulder snapped. A burst of adrenaline rushed through his system and he shoved her as hard as he could. "I SAID NO!!!" he screamed as he pushed. The sound of a gunshot filled the air. **************End of Chapter 15*********** Music City Blues (16/?) Chapter Sixteen Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: PG-13 SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER SIXTEEN********** Location Unknown May 6, 1998, 12:15 p.m. "I SAID NO!!" Mulder yelled louder than Scully thought possible. At the same time, he pushed Clarice off with a strength she had thought long gone. As Clarice fell back, away from Mulder and toward the edge of the sinkhole, Scully fired. She watched as Clarice, as if in slow motion, toppled over the edge and into the sinkhole. Did I hit her? A low groan spurned her into action. She scrambled to Mulder's side and laid her hand on his damp brow. "You did it, Mulder, you fought her off. She's gone," Scully whispered to him gently, stroking his hair off his forehead and resting her hand there. He was hotter than ever. "D-did you hit her, Scully? Did you?" he gasped. "I think so, but it's a thirty foot drop. She most likely would not survive that without severe injuries." "G-go l-look, please, go.......look," he begged her. Scully hesitated for a moment. She didn't know why she didn't want to look. I am being silly. "Scully, please......." Mulder pleaded. She looked into the fever brightened eyes and could have kicked herself for not looking first thing, if only to be able to reassure him. She got up and walked to the edge. Lying in the bottom of the sinkhole was only one body.......Jim's. She gazed around, looking for a place that an injured Clarice could crawl to and hide. The bottom of the sinkhole was forested, making spotting someone not directly below the edge where she was standing difficult. "S-scully......" Mulder rasped from behind her, sounding weaker than ever. She turned and walked quickly back to him. As she knelt next to him, she moved his shirt to look at his wound. Then she looked around for a source of water to help cool him down. Anything to avoid looking in those hazel eyes. "Scully," he whispered, "she wasn't down there, was she." "I......didn't see her, Mulder. But that doesn't mean......." A low moan cut her off. Mulder rolled to his side, away from her and began to struggle to get up. Scully grabbed his arm to help him and nearly burst into tears when he yanked it away. She watched through tear filled eyes as he started crawling away from her. "Mulder, please......." "Have to g-get away........she...coming back." He had barely made it to his feet when he started to pitch forward. Scully stepped into his fall and tried to catch him. He was too heavy for her and they both toppled to the ground, Mulder landing on top of her. Scully rolled him over as she slid out from under him. Tears were streaming down his face, mouth twisted in a pain filled grimace. "C-christ, that hurts......" he gasped. "You have to let me help you, Mulder. We have to get you out of here." "Just.......don't ......" he paused uncertainly. "What? Tell me," Scully whispered. "Don't........grab......me like that. Suddenly. You.....startled me." Mulder's fever bright eyes blinked at her and Scully understood. He still isn't sure of me. So much damage. Scully's closed her eyes briefly and nodded slightly. "Scully?" "Yeah, Mulder?" "I just......feel *bad* and I.....have no power. Powerless. When I am better....." his sentence trailed off and his head rolled to the side as he fumbled to explain himself. Now Scully understood even more. Everyone is controlling Mulder and he is fighting to get it back. She had an idea. She got up and walked to where her gun had fallen. She picked it up and shoved it back into place in her holster. She stood for a moment looking at Mulder's gun in her hand. She glanced over to Mulder and saw that he had rolled into a fetal position, again. It was one that seemed to lessen the pain in his side. She walked over and crouched next to him. "Mulder, I understand and we need to talk about this. But first we have to get you to a hospital." She paused. "Here, Mulder, take this. It belongs to you and......well, it's getting heavy." She gave him a slight smile. She held the gun out to him, grip pointed towards him. She gazed steadily into his eyes as he looked up at her uncertainly. She watched a myriad of emotions play over his face. "A-aren't you af-fraid that in my fucked up head I will mistake you for......*her* again?" he asked with a worried look on his face, while his teeth continued to chatter. "I trust you. I want you to have it. And you don't have a fucked up head......you have an extremely high fever and that makes everything less than clear. I am terribly worried that you will start convulsing if we don't get you cooled down." Mulder gently took the gun from Scully's outstretched hand. She watched as he weighed it in his palm and ran the other hand over it. He checked the safety and then tucked the gun into the front of his pants. And now he has a bit of power back. At least I hope so. "W-we better go.........she's not dead you know." "She's undead, right?" quipped Scully. She nearly burst out laughing when Mulder gaped at her in awe. "Scully.......'member that time I asked you to marry me?" Her heart thumped in her chest but she just rolled her eyes at him. "Mulder, I shot her and she fell 30 feet into a sink hole." "But her body isn't down there." "The entire sinkhole is overgrown. I am sure she just rolled to where I can't see her." "T-that's my Scully," he said with a smirk. Then he gasped slightly in pain as his bruised and cut lower lip cracked and started bleeding again. Scully raised the hem of her shirt to his face and wiped the blood away gently. Again, she laid her hand to his forehead. His skin was on fire. His eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. As she watched, a fit of coughing shook him, making his eye pop open and water in pain. "I have to get you out of here.......it can't be that far. God, please don't let it be far," she murmured. "I don't think.....I can't......." Mulder wheezed. "Yes, you can. I am going to help you to your feet and then I am going to wrap my arm around your waist. I want your wounded side next to me so that when I grab your waist I don't cause you more pain." She looked at his closed eyes and flushed, dirty face. "Mulder? Did you hear me?" His eyes cracked open and one corner of his mouth quirked up. "So bossy. I-I heard y-you, Scully." His breath whistled out of his lungs. "I am.....just resting u-up." "Okay, here we go," she muttered as she grasped his forearm in one hand, his left hand in the other. She stood up and pulled while he struggled to his feet. His right hand trapped hers in his left and he groaned, nearly falling back down. She side stepped to his wounded side, let go of his arms and quickly wrapped her left arm around his waist. His right arm fell heavily around her shoulders and he staggered slightly, nearly bringing them both down again. Damn, he's heavy. Scully took a deep breath and started moving in a direction away from where they had come. **************** One Half Hour Later....... "I l-like bossy women." He felt the woman under his arm jerk slightly. Did I say that out loud? Shit. "Mulder? Are you doing okay?" Scully asked. Mulder had been shuffling slowly under Scully's guidance for the past little while, eyes closed and silent. When he opened them, the world swam before him. He clamped them closed again, remembering falling a few minutes ago, taking his partner down with him. His leg throbbed badly and he couldn't seem to catch his breath. With every step, his head pounded and his abdomen burned. He needed to lay down. "Mulder?" "Where's Toto when you need 'im?" "What? Toto?" asked Scully. Shit, I said that out loud too. He opened his eyes again and looked down at Scully dazedly. She looked back at him and he watched as her eyes widened and lips parted, seemingly in slow motion. He blinked and the next thing he knew she was looking down at him as he lay curled on the ground. He closed his eyes in relief as he felt the cool hand at his forehead. Every part of him hurt except for that cool place. He sighed quietly and drifted in swirling colors and sounds. He stirred as the cool hand was replaced with warm lips. He looked up and saw Scully with tears running down her face. Her lips were moving, but he could only hear a roaring sound. His own breathing, perhaps. He concentrated on her lips. "Mulder, we haven't gone very far. We have to keep going. Please, Mulder, please." "S-scully.....can't. Go." ***************** Mulder was wheezing and Scully was frantic. She was crying helplessly as he slid to the ground, convulsing. She knelt next to him shook herself into her reliable, clinical, doctor mode. A few short moments later he looked up at her and she sighed in relief. She laid her hand on his head again, frustrated that she could do nothing for him. He closed his eyes again. "Mulder, are you alright?" No response. "Mulder, please, can you hear me?" When he still didn't respond Scully felt her control slipping. Tears coursed down her face and she pressed her lips to his forehead. She felt him stir and she pulled back as his eyes opened and he looked up at her. "Mulder, we haven't gone very far. We have to keep going. Please, Mulder, please." "S-scully.....can't. Go." "Mulder, we have to get to a road. Skinner will never find us in here," she said, as Mulder's eyes slipped closed again and he started shaking his head. "I'm.......not gonna make it...." "Yes you are, you're *not* dying," Scully was becoming distressed by this train of thought. "I-I wasn't finished.........not gonna make it.....walking. Can't w-walk any......more, Scuh......." his breath wheezed out of his lungs on her name and a wracking cough took over. Scully quickly rolled him onto his side so that he wouldn't choke on anything he might cough up. As he continued to cough for a few moments, she thought frantically of what she should do about this. I can't leave him and that is going to be the next thing he says. I won't leave him here. But how else can I get help quickly? But what if......... Scully snapped that thought off before it could be completed. Mulder had stopped coughing and was wheezing slightly. She rubbed his arm in a comforting gesture and noticed a gouge in the skin. "Mulder, what is this mark? It looks like a bullet grazed you." "Jethro tried to shoot me when........I f-followed Toto.....up the hill," he said, his voice a whisper. Scully didn't know if he was delirious or just trying to be funny. "Jethro? Toto?" "Farmer. C-cow.......I think......thought I was c-con-vict. Handcuffs." "How far was that from here, Mulder?" she asked, hoping it wasn't far. "H-how the hell should I know? One of my l-less......clear.....moments." She thought about if for a minute. He had been out here all night, yet she had caught up to him easily. He was moving very slowly, probably resting a lot. She concocted a mental map of where she thought they might be. It can't be far to a road. It can't be. "Scully?" "Yeah?" she asked softly, rubbing his arm gently. He looked up at her where she was kneeling next to him, eyes dull and glazed. "You have to leave me......" he said, grabbing her hand when she started shaking her head. "You have to.......it'll be f-faster." "Mulder, we can't be that far from a road. Look how fast I found you. I don't want to leave you alone." "W-why? Fraid the v-vampires w-will get me?" he asked with a smirk. "Gotta remember to not do that," he said softly as he raised his hand to his lower lip. "I am afraid you will cough and choke......or that I won't find you again." "You.....found me the first t-time......you'll.....find me.....again." he said, confidently. "I think this is a bad idea, Mulder." She was glad he was so confident, but she was terrified to leave him alone. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that was telling her to not leave his side. And yet the longer they stayed out here, the worse he was going to get. He already had one fever induced convulsion. One was too many......and they would only get worse without treatment. "I......have my gun, Sculleeee. If....she c-comes back, it'll s-slow her down till you get......back." "Mulder........" "D-don't make......the mistake of assuming s-she's dead, Scully," he whispered gently, staring up at her imploringly. "I'm not asking......you to believe......me a-about vampires. Just d-don't assume s-she's dead......." The look on his face tore at Scully's heart. She thought back to the argument that had started it all. When he had asked her to believe in him. She had walked away and the results had been disastrous. Now, he was asking her to walk away from him again. "Scully......you have to......" "Okay. But first we're going to hide you." She looked around quickly. The forest was very overgrown which would make walking difficult, but it would be easy to camouflage Mulder. There were two huge trees about fifteen feet away from where they were sitting. The trees each reached about fifty feet into the air, the lowest branches about thirty feet up. Around the trunks of the trees were bushes with long branches which folded over to the ground like a canopy, making a small shelter. "We're going to put you under those bushes Mulder. Then I'll try to disguise it so no one can see you." He followed her pointing finger and nodded, eyes closing briefly. ********************** Scully jogged lightly through the woods as the same words repeated through her head. I shouldn't have left him I shouldn't have left him I shouldn't have left him. She picked up her pace. Then she went down hard, left foot tangled in brambles, the sharp points poking her leg through the denim. "Shit!" She sat there for a moment, tears welling in her eyes. How did we get here? Can we fix this? She took a deep breath and picked her self up. We *can* fix this. We can fix anything. After five years I am not going to just quit on him.......I'm not. And I won't let him quit on me. She started jogging again. Five minutes later, after passing through some especially dense kudzu, she was on a small, two lane road. The other side of the road was a wide open field. Another pasture, dotted with cows and the occasional brush filled sinkhole. There were houses in the distance, on the other side of the field. Too far. She stepped to the other side of the road and looked closely at where she had come out of the woods. It was nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding vegetation. Looking to her left, then her right, she was disheartened to see that, due to curves and hills, she couldn't see how far she was going to have to walk. She took off her denim shirt and walked across the street to tie it at the spot where she had left the forest. It was early afternoon and the day was sunny. It was much warmer out of the woods than it had been in. Just as she had made the decision to start jogging to her left, she heard the dull "whup-whup" of a helicopter in the distance. At the same time a jeep came careening around the corner and down the hill toward her. Scully whipped out her badge and stepped into the road, waving it wildly. She was not terribly surprised when it came screeching to a halt and revealed a sheriffs's deputy and what appeared to be a fellow FBI agent. The agent hopped out of the vehicle and came around to her, flashing his badge. "Dana Scully, I presume?" "Yes. I need you to call an ambulance immediately to this location. I left Mulder in the woods and we have to get him out of there immediately. He is injured and very ill." "I have a better idea," said the agent. He stepped up to the jeep and held out his hand. The deputy handed him a radio. "A.D. Skinner, this is Agent Holloway, over." Scully sagged against the front of the jeep in relief when she heard Skinner respond. "We found Agent Scully, sir. We need the chopper and some men over here to get Agent Mulder out of the woods. We are on Crabb Road not far from the Kaptur place, over." "We're there, Holloway," replied Skinner. Sure enough, Scully heard the helicopter sounds increase in volume as it appeared over the trees. The pilot set it down in the field and Skinner was out the door and running toward her, followed by another agent. As the whine of the helicopter wound down to silence, Scully was shaking with relief. "Sir, thank god. We have to get to Mulder *now*. He is terribly sick and can't walk. I had to leave him, I didn't want to........." "Scully, Scully," said Skinner interrupted calmly. "I am sure you did what was best. We were having a hell of a time finding you. Coming to the road was the best thing you could have done for him." "We have to get to him now. Let's go," Scully said, turning back towards her shirt tied in the kudzu. She yanked it off the branches and put it on over her bag without pause. Skinner, the agents and the deputy followed her quickly through the kudzu and into the woods. Scully was saying a silent prayer of thanks for sending help to her when a gunshot rang out up ahead. "MULDER!!!!" she screamed, as she took off at a dead run, the others struggling to keep pace. **********End Chapter 16********** Music City Blues (17/?) Chapter Seventeen Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: PG-13 SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER SEVENTEEN********** Location Unknown May 6, 1998, 1:15 p.m. "MULDEEERRRRR!!" Scully screamed, panic and self blame warring for dominance as she started running through the overgrowth. My fault my fault my fault he's fine he's fine he's fine Running blindly, she mis-stepped again and went down hard on her knees and elbows. She didn't even feel it. She was up and running before Skinner caught up to her. She recognized the trees that she had left him under and came to a dead stop, panting. She could immediately tell that he wasn't there any longer. Her head dropped into her hand as Skinner came up beside her. "Scully, where was he?" Skinner asked breathlessly. Wordlessly, Scully pointed to the bushes under the trees. She was having some trouble catching her breath as it seemed to stick in her throat. Her throat got tighter with each passing second. Her eyes slid shut trying to squeeze back the despair. "Snap out of it, Agent," ordered Skinner. "Okay, everybody fan out and start looking for some indication of where Agent Mulder may have gone. Stay within visual contact of another agent or deputy at all times. He couldn't have gotten far unless he wasn't alone. If that is the case, we will need more agents." As the agents and deputy followed Skinner's orders, Scully walked slowly toward the trees where she had left Mulder. Crouching down and scanning the ground under the bushes, she saw it. She didn't know whether to be more worried or relieved. She didn't have time to consider it further. "Agent Scully! Over here!" Scully jumped up quickly, looking for the person that had called to her. It was the deputy whose name she hadn't caught. He was standing about 50 yards away, on the other side of a massive briar bush, waving frantically in her direction. Finding her way around the briars, she jogged quickly towards him. It wasn't until she was practically next to him that she saw what was lying at his feet. Mulder. Unconscious. "Oh my god, Mulder," she whispered, as she dropped to her knees next to him feeling for a pulse. Weak and thready. His breathing was labored and congested. She ran her hands over every square inch of him looking for additional wounds. During her examination, his eyes drifted open. "Scu...." he started, before erupting into a coughing fit. "It's okay, Mulder, take it easy." She laid her hand on his forehead as his coughing eased to find that he was as hot as ever. "Mulder, why did you move? You scared the hell out of me." "Snake. Big snake. T-tried to u-use me as one of those hot rocks." "But you shot it. Why did you move?" He simply gazed at her with a confused look on his face. "Dunno," he said finally. "S-sorry......" "It's okay, it doesn't matter now. We found you." "How's he doing, Scully?" asked Skinner as he came walking up to the group that was slowly assembling. "We need to get him out of here now," she replied. Looking up, she gave Skinner a look that told him how worried she was about Mulder's condition. "I'm tellin' y-you, Scully.....everything keeps tryin' to b-bite me," Mulder whispered as he tapped her on the leg. Scully couldn't tell if he was delirious again or not. She also didn't know how to respond. So she didn't. "Then, when I want someone to bite me, of course they don't....." he muttered to himself. Yep. Delusional. High fever. "I just attract the wrong, sort......" "Mulder, hush," she said, gently. He was rambling when he needed to let go and rest. "Close your eyes and relax. We are getting you out of here." "Okay, agents, let's get this man out to the road!" said Skinner. Scully looked gratefully to Skinner for giving the order and instructed the others to be careful of Mulder's wounds. ************************* Baptist Hospital West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee May 7, 1998, 1:15 p.m. Mulder gradually became aware of the distant sounds of people talking. The next thing he noticed was a difficulty in breathing. His stomach muscles contracted painfully as he tried to cough. For some reason, coughing wasn't working and he struggled for breath. As if he were underwater, he heard shouting, the voice deep and authoritative. Then hands were pulling him onto his side. The voice was now soothing, still deep yet calming. He coughed hard, clearing his throat, yet hurting his stomach badly. More voices joined the first then, little by little, they receded. After an indeterminate amount of time, the fog began to clear. "He's waking up," said the voice. There was no audible response. Slowly opening his eyes, Mulder saw A.D. Skinner standing next to his bed, cell phone in hand. His eyes flitted around the room scanning for what was missing, not immediately sure of what that was. "She's on her way, Mulder. Relax. I made her go to the hotel to get some rest. She's gonna be mad as hell that she wasn't here when you woke up, I imagine." "What....." Mulder coughed again. "You've been totally out of it for about twenty-four hours due to an extremely high fever. Apparently brought on by a nasty wound in your side, a poisonous spider bite and pneumonia. Wicked combination, Mulder. Gave Scully a hell of a scare. To top it off, you had a serious concussion and it seems you may have a mild ulcer." "How......what......how did you figure out about the ulcer?" Mulder rasped, amazed at the laundry list of ailments. He was also seriously confused by the AD's presence. "Allison had apparently mentioned your stomach pains and some vomiting to Scully." Allison. Brian. Clarice. Jim. The past week came rushing back to hit him squarely in the stomach. Images flashed through his mind that were unsettling and frightening. Some were comforting. Alternating bright and gray. Then there were the black gaps which were terrifying. He wondered just how big those gaps were. And what they contained. Clarice.....not dead. Scully.....left me.....then came after me. The pain as the blood is drained......*my* blood. Life a lie........ The room whirled as the sensations of being restrained and touched, controlled and manipulated, hurt and abandoned all struggled within him for dominance. He wavered between the need to regain control and simple resignation. Then the world went gray. **************** "Allison had apparently mentioned your stomach pains and some vomiting to Scully," Skinner said. He then watched as Mulder visibly flinched and his eyes glazed. When his breathing became slightly erratic again, Skinner started to panic slightly. "Mulder, you still with me?" No answer. Mulder's eyes closed tightly and he started shaking. Skinner thought he recognized the signs of a severe panic attack from his days in a VA hospital. "Mulder, come on. You're in the hospital, it's okay," he stumbled, feeling completely at a loss and unaccustomed to dealing with this type of situation. Mulder's breathing hitched and Skinner reached for the call button. He paused as Scully ran into the room and up to the bed. "Scully, he was fine......he was talking. Then he started to have trouble breathing. I was talking to him and it looked like he started to have a panic attack." "That's entirely possible...." Scully said as she pressed her hand to Mulder's forehead and took note of the various monitors near the far side of the bed. Then she pressed the call button. "Mulder, listen to me. I want you to calm down. You're in the hospital. I'm here, Mulder." Skinner watched her take Mulder's hand and pry it open, relaxing the fist he had been making. She continued to murmur in a soothing voice, trying to calm him. ***************** Baptist Hospital West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee May 8, 1998, 12:25 p.m. The nurse and doctor, followed closely by Scully, walked out of Mulder's room and into the hallway. Skinner, who had left the room to stay out of the way, walked over and joined them. "Physically, he is much improved from when he was brought in," the doctor said, speaking to Scully. "The fever is down considerably and his wounds are healing nicely. I was concerned when you informed me of the convulsions he experienced, both in the woods and during transport. However, there does not appear to be any permanent damage and he responded rapidly to treatment." The doctor paused, rather ominously. Scully knew what was coming next. "Physically, he was in good shape before this.....experience.....except for the stomach problems. I do believe, however, that the emotional trauma of the past few months combined with recent events led to the panic attack that you witnessed. He is going to need help, Doctor Scully, and soon." "Yes, Doctor, I know. I will see that he gets it." "Doctor, do you have any idea of the long term prognosis for Agent Mulder?" asked Skinner. "As I said, physically he will be fine. We will keep him here for a few more days. I recommend that he not work for two to three weeks." The doctor paused again, briefly considering. "Emotionally, it varies extremely from one patient to the next," the doctor continued. "I am not an expert, but do I have some experience in rape trauma cases and there is no predicting how an individual will react to that trauma. Judging from my conversations with Doctor Scully, I feel, and perhaps she can corroborate this, that Agent Mulder will bounce back rather quickly, provided that he gets the recommended therapy. That said, it is important to remember that the scars will always be there.....but there is no reason he cannot function normally once he regains his bearings. I will send someone to talk with him when he wakes up again......probably later this evening.....and they will be able to give you a better idea of what you are dealing with on that front." "Thank you, Doctor Clark," said Scully. The doctor nodded to both of them and walked over to the nurses station. "What do you think, Scully?" asked Skinner as she turned back towards Mulder's door. She paused, thoughtfully. "The issue here, in my opinion, is one of control. Once he feels he has control of his life again, he will recover." When Skinner had no comment, she continued. "Sir, Mulder is one of the strongest people I know. He is a survivor. He's proven that time and again. He'll get through this, I am sure of it." With that, she walked into Mulder's room, leaving Skinner standing in the hall. ****************** The next time Scully left Mulder's room for coffee, a few hours later, Skinner had left for the Nashville Field Office to continue working on the case. Instead, she found Allison strolling down the hall towards her. A dull ache began behind Scully's eyes and she rubbed her forehead wearily. "Hello, Dana. How's F....Mulder? Any better than yesterday?" asked Allison, hopefully. "Yes, actually, much better," replied Scully. Allison had been to visit on regular intervals and still Scully felt that she was invading her 'turf'. An internal battle continued within Scully regarding the whole situation. If Allison sensed Scully's reluctance to share information, she blatantly disregarded it. In doing so, she earned equal parts respect and animosity from Scully. Hence the internal battle. Allison may have looked delicate, but she was tough and determined. "Is he awake yet?" she asked. "He woke up briefly yesterday but he has been sleeping since," replied Scully, knowing what came next in the routine but feeling that she had no right to stop it. "I'll just look in on him for a moment, if that's all right." said Allison, walking towards Mulder's door. Scully sighed wearily. "Sure, go ahead. I'll be back in a few minutes." As Allison walked into Mulder's room, Scully turned and walked slowly up the hall toward the vending area, the battle in her heart and soul raging as fierce as ever. ************** Allison stepped into Mulder's room quietly, so as not to wake him. She immediately noticed that he was down to only an IV line. She had been stunned by the multitude of wires and tubes on her first visit, less than two full days ago. As she walked up to the bed, she marveled again at how beautiful he was in sleep. Even sick and pale, his face was a confusion of mismatched parts that combined to make him stunning. "It must be love...." she whispered to herself. I wonder if this is what Scully sees when she looks at him. She certainly is a tough nut to crack. "Oh Fox, she must love you.....how could she not?" Allison asked the sleeping man in a whisper. "Do I back off? Or do I go for it?" Mulder stirred and slowly opened his eyes. Allison grinned down at him. "Sleeping beauty awakes without the standard kiss," she said quietly and was rewarded with a tiny smile from the drowsy man. "Sleeping beauty?" "Hey, it was the best line I could come up with on short notice," Allison replied, chuckling happily. "How are you feeling?" she asked, watching his eyes flit briefly around the room. Looking for Scully. "Shitty." "Eloquent. You learn that at Oxford?" "No. 'Like bloody hell' would be more......Oxford." he replied, with a slight cough. "Ugh. Don't try an English accent....you don't have the voice for it." Allison smiled down at him and mightily resisted the urge to brush her hand through the hair tumbled on his forehead. Her smile dimmed a bit as he continued to search the room with his eyes, confused and perhaps a bit scared. "Mulder, you sure you're okay?" "Did......did they catch her?" Oh shit, he wants to know about Clarice. Her face must have betrayed her because Mulder's eyes got wide. "Allison, tell me what you know," he demanded weakly. "Fox.....I really think you should talk to Dana about this....." she said. Suddenly she found herself desperately wishing for Scully's return. "Scully's here?" "Of course she is," replied Allison, relieved to be on safer ground. "Where else would she be?" "I thought......" his voice trailed off and he closed his eyes. "I thought maybe I dreamed it." "You didn't......she's down getting some coffee. She should be back any minute." Allison took his hand gently. "You're going to be fine, Fox. Good as new." Mulder snorted quietly, which caused him to cough again. "Good as new? I'm not familiar with that condition." "Back to normal?" she asked with a worried smile. Mulder actually laughed out loud, causing Allison to begin laughing in confused relief. ******************* As Scully walked up to Mulder's door, she heard the incredible sound of him laughing. She turned and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. Not knowing whether to be overjoyed that he was awake and laughing or despondent because it was not her making him laugh, she merely sighed and waited. The short bark of laughter turned to coughing and a soft, feminine voice asking if he was okay. "I'm fine, Alli," Mulder replied. Scully tried to make herself walk away from the door and quit eavesdropping. She failed. "I'm gonna go, Fox. You need your rest." "So soon? We haven't even had a chance to......talk.....about......" "I didn't know if you'd wanna talk. So much has happened and I......just..." "I'm sorry, Allison." Scully was having a hard time deciphering this conversation. What was he sorry for? And how is it that he is so willing to talk to her? "I already told you there is nothing to be sorry for. If you want somebody to talk to, though, I'll stay." There was a bit of a pause. "I don't want to be in the way, Fox." "You *aren't* in the way, Allison. I.........I want to thank you." "Thank me? For what?" "For being my friend......when I desperately needed one. You listened to my self absorbed ramblings.....and you didn't judge me." Mulder coughed again, briefly. "At least, as far as I know you didn't." Scully could hear the smile on his face. Her heart was like lead in her chest. She walked quietly away from the door and up the hall. ********************** "I'm in no position to judge you, Fox Mulder," Allison replied, a smile on her face. Mulder just gazed quietly at her and once again wondered what it would be like to have a simpler life. A normal life with a woman who loved him. A life devoid of vampires and conspiracies. Vampires. He shuddered as the fingers of fear crawled up his spine. The fear was manageable this time. Maybe I will be okay. Maybe. "You still in there, Mulder? You alright?" "Yeah," he replied. "I was just thinking." "Do you want me to go?" "Are you anxious to leave?" he asked, wondering what the problem was and suddenly afraid of being alone. "No! No, I just don't want you to get over tired." "Allison........I need you to do me a favor." *************************** One half hour later........ Scully walked back towards Mulder's room in time to see Allison leaving. She looked at her watch and frowned. "See you later, Dana," Allison said, smiling brightly. "Allison, I really don't think you should stay so long next time. He needs his rest." Scully stated. She didn't care how she sounded at this point. "He wanted me to stay, Dana. He didn't want to be alone," she replied. "If he *ever* needs me, you can be sure that I *will* be here." Scully was silent. There was nothing to say. Allison just looked at her for a moment longer and then walked away. Scully watched her go and wondered if her last words were a warning or if she was paranoid. Nope, it was a warning. She turned and walked into Mulder's room to find him lying peacefully with his eyes closed. She sat down quietly and stared at her hands as they twisted in her lap, trying to think about what to say to him when he woke up again. "Scully," said a deep, rough voice from the vicinity of the bed. Her head jerked up and she found herself staring into a pair of beautiful hazel eyes. Eyes that no longer glittered over-bright from fever. She got up and moved to stand by the bed. "How are you doing? Do you need anything?" she whispered. She gripped the bed rail tightly, irrational fear making her hold on for dear life. "Thank you for coming after me," he whispered in reply. Scully's heart quaked. She wasn't sure if she was ready for this conversation. "I......I should have been there the whole time. It's my fault......." "Scully......." he started. He was cut off by a huge yawn. "We shouldn't talk about this now, Mulder," Scully said, with a measure of relief. "You need your rest." Mulder started coughing and his eyes slid shut as he winced in pain. Scully pulled him over so he was lying on his side and rubbed his back. When he finally got his breath, he opened watery eyes and looked up at her. "We are going to talk about it Scully. We don't have to now, but.......Scully, there are a lot of things that I need to talk about. I have to, I can't go on the way I have been. It's too much," he said quietly, but insistently. Scully was surprised to say the least. "Scully........did you find Clarice's body?" She felt as though she had been hit by a two by four. The abrupt change in topic served it's purpose. She couldn't prevent the face that she made and, of course, Mulder read her like a book. "Scully? Please?" "No, Mulder. We didn't find a body." And I have no rational explanation for that, she wanted to add, but couldn't. "Then she will be coming for me," Mulder said, with a frightening calm. ************END CHAPTER 17************* Music City Blues (18/?) Chapter Eighteen Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: PG-13 SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER EIGHTEEN********** Baptist Hospital West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee May 8, 1998, 4:35 p.m. "But Mulder, you were drugged the first time and very ill the second time. Can you see how you these situations made you less able to fight back like you normally would?" Mulder thought this therapist's intentions were good but he didn't seem to understand the scope of the problem. "You don't seem to understand how I fucked up. I caused these situations to happen through my own stupidity," Mulder said, while the doctor just shook his head. "I did. I didn't make the connections fast enough in New Orleans and *she* got the upper hand. This time, I had my head up my ass.....and her boyfriend jumped me." "The way I understand it, Mulder, you were making the connections. You were solving the case. But because she was on the inside, she was able to manipulate the situation in her favor. *She* drugged you, *she* gave you a concussion......*she* committed the crimes. This time, you were dealing with two attackers at one time.....without a partner." "Which was also my fault." "How so?" "We fought. I drove her away," he said, studying his hands with a frown. "That is not how Agent Scully sees it." Mulder's head snapped up at that comment. "You've been talking to Scully?" "Yes. She says that you tried to involve her in the case but that she shut you out. She is holding herself completely responsible for what happened to you and your condition." "It's not her fault I am a total....." "What? What were you going to say?" Mulder was silent, studying his hands again. "Mulder, a person in this situation, female or male, is often inclined to feel weak or stupid. Like they should have done something differently. What could you have done differently, Mulder?" Mulder raised an eyebrow at him. This was an interesting tack to take in the conversation. "I could have figured out who the killer was sooner." "How?" "Just by making the connections faster." "How could you do that?" Mulder made a noise of frustration. "Just by being faster! I am never quick enough. It is easy to deceive me......." "What do you mean by that, Mulder?" Mulder was silent again, his mind whirling through the number of times that he had been gullible enough to be deceived and used. "Mulder, why don't you tell me about the events that lead up to you coming to Nashville?" **************** One-half hour later......... "Do you feel abandoned?" Mulder's head jerked up and he glared at the therapist. "It's my fault she wasn't there." "But Mulder, you tried to talk to her about what you were feeling in the office and she walked away. Then you tried on the phone and she hung up on you." "That's *my* fault, dammit! I yelled at her! I needed too much! I drove her away!" Mulder stopped, rather shocked by his outburst. "Are we just talking about Scully now, Mulder?" Again, Mulder was silent, thoughts of Samantha drifting unwanted through his mind. His mother. His father. He tried to take a deep breath, but his lungs weren't completely devoid of fluid yet so he ended up coughing. "Mulder, do you always try to protect Agent Scully?" "What makes you ask me that?" Mulder croaked. "You seem angry. Yet you defend her valiantly. Do you feel like you deserve whatever Agent Scully does, right or wrong?" "She hasn't done anything wrong." "As an outsider, looking in on your relationship, it appears to me that in this case she *did* do something wrong." "No! It's not wrong if I deserve it!" Angry that he had fallen for the therapist's ploy, Mulder balled up his fist and slammed it into the bed next to his leg. "Why do you feel as though you deserve it?" Nothing but some coughing and an angry glare from the pale man in the bed. The therapist sighed. "Okay, I think that is about enough for today. We need to keep working on this, Mulder. I'll be back tomorrow so we can talk again. Get some rest." With that, he got up and walked out of the room. ******************** As the therapist walked out of Mulder's room, Scully jumped up from her chair across the hall and walked over to him. "How is he?" "You realize that I can't give you details of what we talked about," he replied. "Yes.......but just tell me he's okay." "I believe that, in time, Mulder will be okay. He's a very strong willed individual." "But how is he right now?" Scully persisted. "Angry. That's to be expected. His self esteem is rather low, also to be expected." "What do I do to help him?" "Be supportive. Follow his lead. Talk if he wants to, leave him alone if he wants to be left alone," he said. He looked inquiringly at the anxious woman in front of him. "Still blaming yourself, Agent Scully?" Scully stared at the floor for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Mulder's therapist. "Of course. I let personal feelings interfere with my responsibilities as Agent Mulder's partner. I failed him completely as a friend, as well." "Would you mind some advice?" "If it would help Mulder, tell me." "Okay," the man paused thoughtfully, going over his session with the Agent in the bed across the hall. "Relationships such as the one I think you have with Agent Mulder will most likely not move forward without communication and trust on the part of *both* individuals. I don't claim to know you that well and I know Mulder only a little better. But I am good at my job. Mulder needs a friend that he can talk to, but he also needs someone to need *him*. We all do, really." Scully's mind started to rebel against what she thought he was trying to say. She opened her mouth to speak but he continued. "Do you trust him with your *feelings*? Or are you only willing to talk to him about his?" Scully was speechless. "Just think about it. Think about what you want from your partnership and your friendship.....or whatever. Think about what you have done wrong *and* what Mulder may have done wrong in the past. Decide what needs to be changed. Then discuss it with him and see what he says," the man paused with a smile. "But be sure to tell him what you like about him at the same time." "But what about what he's been through? Isn't it too soon for something like that?" Scully asked, still not certain that she liked these ideas at all. "Like I said, follow his lead. Chances are he will be happy to talk about it." "And if he's not?" "Give him time, Agent Scully. He will." ********************* She left me. How could she do that? Did I deserve that? Probably. I've ditched her before. But only once or twice where she didn't know where I was. I was only trying to protect her from stuff that was personal to me. I kept something from her. But only because I didn't know how to talk about *that*. I wasn't even sure it was true. But I never *lied* to her about anything important. Hell, I don't remember *ever* lying to her. But she thought I was lying when I called her. Why? Maybe she was just mad. Maybe she just doesn't trust me at all. He said I was angry at her. I guess I am. I was raped. What kind of man gets raped? What woman would want a man who gets raped? Okay, so she didn't *really* rape me. But for all intents and purposes....... She will never leave me alone until she is dead. Totally dead. And Scully won't touch me with a ten foot pole. Mulder rolled onto his good side, away from the door, and pulled the sheets up to his chin. He squeezed his eyes shut and slipped his hand under the pillows to make sure that *they* were still there. He heard Scully walk into the room just as his finger tips touched the cool steel. **************** Scully walked into the room and was confronted with Mulder's back. She could tell he was awake by the way he jerked his hand out from under the pillows. What is going on here? "Mulder?" Nothing. "You okay?" she asked. "I'm fine." She stood by the edge of the bed, aching to touch him. Rub his back, his arm, wrap her arms around him and tell him it was going to be okay. But she didn't know if that was the right thing to do. How he would take it. "Mulder, do you want to talk about.....anything?" Scully asked, haltingly. There was no reply for a moment or two and she stared at his back, waiting for a sign. Try again, Dana. She walked slowly around the foot of the bed to the other side so that she could see his face. His eyes were tightly closed, lips drawn into a harsh line. His hands were clenched into fists and drawn up under his chin near the pillows. She slowly reached out to hold his hands and then quickly pulled her own hand back, afraid for the first time of his response to an unsolicited touch. As if he could sense her conflict he let out a tremulous breath and slowly opened his eyes. She could see the conflict in his face as he struggled to decide what to say. Fear, with an indecipherable emotion, flashed across his expression. "Scully......" he began, and then stopped, biting his lip as if to prevent himself from speaking. "What, Mulder? Tell me," she requested, in a more gentle voice than she knew she had. "Do......do you trust me?" he asked, fear now dominant in his eyes. "Mulder, of course I trust you. I trust you with my life. Nothing has happened that would change that." she replied, with the sinking feeling as the words left her mouth that perhaps she had answered the question the wrong way. "But....." he started and stopped again, obviously conflicted. She tried again. "Mulder, I trust you with my life. What happened to you could have happened to anyone....." "But you don't trust me with your heart." With that simple statement Scully's *heart* actually stopped. When it started beating again it was pounding loudly in her ears and her every instinct was telling her to avoid this conversation at all costs. But she couldn't. Not any more. She struggled for the right thing to say. "It's okay, Scully. I understand. But just tell me one thing." "What?" she croaked out, still fighting an internal battle. "I.....I know not *everything* is about me, Scully. But.....is this? Did I do something....." "No! No, Mulder, it's not you.....it's me." she rushed on, desperate. "It's hard for me to....let people in. For lots of reasons, I guess......" her voice trailed away and she watched as Mulder's eyes slid closed, lashes damp. She started over, desperate for him to understand. "Mulder, I mean it. It's not something you did or didn't do." No response. "Mulder, what did you mean when you said you understood?" "That I don't blame you for not trusting a guy like me," he replied, eyes still tightly closed. A guy like me. Her eyes filled with tears at the various implications. What do I say now? Somebody help me here. Start at the beginning, Dana. "Mulder, this is not your fault. I did so many things wrong.....I walked away, I hung up on you. I deserted you when you needed me." "It....it's okay....I could've....." "No! No it's not okay," she said, much harsher than intended. A tear ran down her face when he flinched at her tone of voice, still not opening his eyes. Composing herself, she tried again. "I failed you in the most important ways. As your partner. And as your friend. And for that, I am more sorry than you can ever know." "I should be able to take care of *myself*! How can I blame you for not trusting me with what is most important when I can't even defend myself?" he asked, eyes now open and flashing with anger, catching her off guard. He levered himself into a sitting position to look at her. Her mouth fell open and she clamped it shut, scrambling to catch up. "How can I expect you to care about a guy like that?" he whispered, jaw clenching tightly in an attempt to hold himself together. "Mulder.......you've got it all wrong. All wrong," she shook her head ruefully. "Even now, you are protecting me, Mulder. You should be mad as hell at me and I suspect that you are, deep down. Don't you see, Mulder? That is a part of it.....you protecting me. I am a federal agent, too, and I don't want you to think I am weak or fragile or incapable." Mulder snorted in disbelief. "Scully, you are the toughest person I know and a damn good agent. Better than me, not that it is saying much." Scully tried again. "Mulder, there is no one I trust or respect or care about more than you. I ditched you and, in a moment when your defenses were down, you were kidnaped. Not only did you free yourself from your prison, but you got far away from your kidnappers. You saved yourself, Mulder and you were in lousy condition at the time!" "Then why? Why won't you let me in?" he asked, voice still low, the anger gone. "I just don't want you to think....." "Bull shit! That's total bull, Scully," he cried, suddenly angry again. "You see me at my worst time and again and you say you respect me! Why is it okay for you to see me at the very lowest points in my life, when I am an emotional wreck, but it's not okay for me to see you! Or do you really have *no* respect or trust in me and you're afraid I will feel that way about you?" She wouldn't look at him. He coughed again, to clear his throat. "Jesus, Scully," he whispered now, "don't you see why I doubt you trust me at all? Don't you see how I have to think that I did something to cause this? I thought we were at least friends...." "Not everything is about you!" she yelled back at him, angry herself now. "Don't you get it?! Your opinion is more important to me than *anyone* else's! I couldn't stand it if......" She couldn't finish the sentence, shocked by her outburst. She looked up to see what he was thinking. He didn't look angry anymore, just desperate and exhausted. "What, Scully? You couldn't stand what?" he pleaded with her. She turned and walked towards the window, cursing herself and whatever it was that made this so hard for her. She felt cornered, scared. She turned back to him to see that he had rolled back onto his side and squeezed his eyes shut. Horrified with herself and her shortcomings, she hurried back to his side. "Mulder? Mulder, look at me." He opened his eyes and they were glistening with unshed tears. He yawned and one of the tears spilled down his unshaven cheek. "I.....I couldn't stand it if you thought less of me," she said. "You seem to have this very high opinion of me. That I'm so strong and so smart and so tough. I am afraid that one time, I won't measure up." She sighed sadly. "Your opinion of me means.....so much. It is so important to me." She was startled when she felt his fingers wrap around her hand and squeeze. She looked in his eyes again and saw the faint traces of a smile. "Scully, nothing would change my opinion of you. You are the most important person in my life." A look of fear flitted across his face again. "What?" she asked. "I am afraid that I need you so much and want so much from you that I will drive you away....promise me that you will tell me if I start to do that," he begged. "It won't happen, Mulder. I need to be needed, too," she said with a wry smile. She took the hand that held hers and wrapped her other hand around it and sat down on the bed facing him. "Let's have a little chat about ditching.....both your physical and my emotional." He grinned. "Okay. Are we gonna make a pact?" "You bet." He sobered slightly. "Are we okay, Scully?" "We are well on our way, Mulder." ************************ One Hour Later......... "You haven't ditched me in quite awhile, actually. I just want to make sure you don't start again," she said with a smile. "I only count it as a ditch when I go out of my way to leave you behind." "Oh, so you admit to that?" "Yeah, but I haven't done it since our first year together." "What about Alaska?" "You said a line had to be drawn, Scully. I took that as expressed permission." He replied, eyes twinkling, feeling better than he had since New Orleans. He sobered, thinking about their conversation. There was that big thing that they really hadn't talked about yet. He wasn't sure he wanted to. He was still on an emotional roller coaster which he knew, with his psychology background, was to be expected. But that didn't mean he could stop the ride. Yeah, don't hold back Mulder, but risk your heart again so soon? You could ask in a way that would leave her an out. "What is it, Mulder?" "Uhhh.....I know, intellectually, that...." he paused, looking at his fingers twined in his lap. ".....that the whole thing with Clarice wasn't really my fault." "No, Mulder, it wasn't. She was a criminal, she committed the crimes." He took a deep breath, stifling another yawn. "Do you think that.....people....who hear about what happened would be.....less likely to want me.....around?" She looked at him quizzically, a look that indicated that she wasn't sure what he was talking about. He tried again. "Scullleee.....I'm a guy. I got....assaulted....sexually. Won't people....women....look down on that?" "Mulder, no.....you know better than that." "Sure, I am a psychologist, but I have to wonder. I am supposed to be a *man*." "That's very sexist, Mulder." "But the world is, at times, a very sexist place, Scully," he said with a sigh, laying back in bed. He closed his eyes wearily, good mood rapidly deflating. "Men aren't supposed to be raped." Total wimp, Mulder. He jumped when he felt her fingers on his hand again and opened his eyes to look at her. She was gazing steadily at him. "Anyone.....*anyone* who considers you less of a man because of what happened to you doesn't deserve you. It was not your fault. You are an extremely desirable man.....any woman would be lucky to have you." His heart sank. Any woman? Mulder, you ass hole, you should be grateful she said it. Always greedy for more. Just then a knock sounded on the open door and a beautiful brunette walked in, hair shining and eyes sparkling. "Hey, sexy," Allison said with an exaggerated purr. "Hey, Alli," replied Mulder with a tired smile. "Allison," said Scully resignedly, in way of greeting. Mulder looked at her, startled at her tone of voice. Well, there's another subject we haven't covered yet. "I'm going for coffee, Mulder. I'll be back in a little while," said Scully as she slid off the bed and headed out the door. Mulder stared after her, puzzled. "I guess this was a bad time?" inquired Allison. "Ummm......hell if I know. Would you mind telling me what went on between you two?" "You mean it *isn't* obvious that there is a territorial dispute?" Allison asked with a grin. "Territory?" "You aren't that dense, Mulder." Mulder sighed deeply, exhausted, eyelids feeling heavy. He fought it desperately. "I feel pretty damn dense. Totally dense." ******************** When Scully got halfway down the hall she stopped and sagged against the wall in defeat. Any woman would be lucky to have you? She banged her head back against the wall. Stupid, Dana. Say that just as "any woman" walks in the door. Can you be any more non-committal? Why didn't you say *I*? I am lucky to have you. Then again, do you have him, Dana? As more than a partner and friend? She banged her head again, winning a cautious look from a passing nurse. Why the hell did you leave the room, anyway? Afraid this is a fight you will lose? He said you were the most important person in the world to him. What the hell are you so afraid of? Do you realize you just walked away again? Oh shut the hell up. ******************** Baptist Hospital West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee May 8, 1998, 7:15 p.m. "And then she ditched me, but not before stealing my car keys so I couldn't follow her." "That would be a technique that she picked up from me," Mulder said, with a slightly proud smile. "Thanks for helping her as much as you could, but she was right. You really didn't belong in those situations." "I know, but I was worried about you," Allison replied. "Why? You barely know me." This was something that Mulder just didn't understand. "Muulder......" Allison said, with a bit of a whine and a roll of her eyes. Mulder just stared at her, waiting for an answer. Stifling another yawn, determined not to fall asleep. "This is going to sound stupid." Mulder continued to stare at her. "Well, there is something about you that appeals to me." She looked at him and got an eyebrow raise. Something he learned from his partner. "I can't really explain it.....I just like you. You bring out a nurturing instinct in me. You are dark and sad, but *nice*......a good guy that's been kicked around." She paused. "And it doesn't hurt that you are totally hot, either," she said with a smile. "Hot? You think I'm hot?" Mulder felt his defenses start to rise up and he frowned. She had to be teasing him and he didn't like it. "Hey, easy. I am serious, you are an extremely attractive man. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, just know that I am not teasing you. And I don't expect anything from you. I know how you feel about Scully." Mulder felt himself relax slightly. This was Allison, she wouldn't be so cruel. "You.......what happened to me doesn't.......make you think that I am......." "Oh, Fox, no......" Allison said softly, understanding. "Did you blame me, or look down on me when Brian attacked me?" "Of course not, but....." "Don't you dare say it, Fox Mulder," Allison said, sternly. "You are not invincible. Just because you are a man does not make you immune to violence." Mulder sighed. "That's not really what....." he paused. "I just don't know how to explain this.....feeling," he said in a soft, wounded voice. His eyes started to get heavy again and he felt himself drift slightly. Losing the battle. "Fox, just talk to Scully......she loves you, that's the important thing." She looked at him and he realized that he was exhausted when he couldn't find a reply. "Oh boy, I am gonna get in trouble with Scully myself for wearing you out. I am gonna go......I have gigs and work the next couple of days, so stop in before you leave town, okay?" "Okay," he said softly, barely registering the kiss on the corner of his mouth as he drifted off to sleep. ******************** Scully met Allison in the hall as the other woman left Mulder's room with a soft smile on her face. A smile that caused a contraction in Scully's gut. "Oh, hey, Scully," Allison said, still smiling. "Allison," she replied solemnly. "Is he sleeping?" "Like a baby." "Good. Good." The two women stood facing each other for a moment, not speaking. Scully was dying of curiosity as to what Allison and Mulder had to talk about. She had glimpsed an easy camaraderie between them and it made feelings that Scully didn't want to admit to, or even think about, churn in her stomach. She hated it. "Allison......" "Scully......" They spoke simultaneously. "Go ahead, Scully." Allison recovered first. Scully steeled herself. "Do you think he's doing okay?" "Well, you know him better than I,"Allison replied. "But yeah, I think he will be okay." Scully just nodded thoughtfully and both women were silent again. "Scully.....you really do know him. Just follow your instincts. I am sure you will do fine, helping him get through this." Scully looked at her in surprise. Then she turned thoughtful again. "I have no idea how to handle this, really. This *whole* thing of the last few months," she said softly, making a sweeping gesture with her hand. "Just love him. I know it sounds trite, cliche, whatever, but if you just let him know you love him and support him.......well, shouldn't handling it come easier?" Scully just looked at her curiously. "Okay, maybe I have no idea what I am talking about....." "No, no......I think maybe you are right. Maybe I am making things too hard," Scully replied. "It is a difficult situation, but I am one of those foolish, romantic people who believes that love conquers all," Allison said with a self depreciating grin. Both women sized each another up for another quiet moment. This time Scully was the first to break the silence. "Thank you for being a friend to him, Allison. He needed one desperately. I don't know what would have happened to him......." "Hey, don't go there. It was not a hardship to befriend him, believe me. I've never known anyone like him. I wish it were me that he cared so deeply about.....but it's not." She sighed deeply. "It's you, Dana. Make the most of it." With that, Allison pulled her into a quick hug and then, after a whispered goodbye, walked down the hallway. ******************* Baptist Hospital West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee May 8, 1998, 10:45 p.m. She was reclining in a chair next to his bed, eyes closed, when she heard the rustle of the sheets and a faint moan. In an instant she was beside him, holding his hand without thinking of any possible repercussions. "Mulder?" she said quietly, running her hand through his hair. His eyes snapped open and he looked up at her confused. "Scully? What......? "You were dreaming. Are you okay?" She watched as his eyes flitted around the room nervously and he swallowed hard. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." He gazed up at her thoughtfully. "Allison and I are just friends, Scully." She blinked in surprise at the sudden revelation. "Mulder, you don't owe me an explanation about Allison....." "I know.....but I want you to be sure. That we are just friends." "I understand, Mulder, really." "I mean.......I don't want any confusion.......I love *you*, Scully......" Scully's mouth dropped open in surprise. She watched his face as he realized what he had just said. He flushed slightly, then seemed to steel himself.....for rejection? "I love you too, Mulder," she replied softly. As she watched, his face softened slightly and a tiny sigh escaped his lips. "I.....you......you should go get some sleep in a real bed, Scully." "Are you going to be all right?" "Yes. I really am," he said with confidence. ******************** Baptist Hospital West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee May 9, 1998, 1:15 a.m. She crept up the dimly lit corridor, her senses giving her direction. She rounded a corner and spotted a man in a trench coat parked in a chair outside one of the rooms. His look screamed FED. She cranked up her powers of persuasion, and her black mini skirt, as she glided down the hall towards him. She unbuttoned her violet blouse one more notch as an added incentive. Not that she really needed to do such a thing these days. These days, she was invincible. "Hello," she whispered, quiet yet seductive. When the Fed looked up at her, his eyes widened and he reached for his weapon. With a move almost too quick to see, the icy blond put her hand over his and pushed the gun back into the holster. "You won't be needing that, will you darling?" "N-no...." was his reply in an enthralled voice. After looking up and down the hall for observers and finding none, she slid sideways onto his lap. Gazing deep into his eyes, she lowered her lips to his for a kiss. Squirming on his lap proved exciting for the Fed as she felt his heart quicken in the pulse of his neck and the beginning of an erection against her outer thigh. She slid her lips from his mouth to his throat and, finding the pounding pulse, she gave him a special kiss. ********End Chapter 18******** Music City Blues (19/?) Chapter Nineteen Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: Strong R SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO *******CHAPTER NINETEEN********** Baptist Hospital West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee May 9, 1998, 1:35 a.m. Mulder was having a hard time sleeping. Tossing and turning, as much as he could without pain, he struggled with memories in that space between wakefulness and sleep. There's no one I trust more than you....... You are mine, Fox......... I want what you want, mistress........ Let me go, Fox...... You are the most important person in my life, Mulder...... I'm more sorry than you can possibly know..... I have a family, Fox..... I love you, Mulder...... Maybe we will *both* have yuh, Mulder..... I don't want you to think I am weak..... Playing possum, Mulder? The snick of the door opening snapped Mulder to full wakefulness. On his side, facing away from the door and hands clenched under the pillows, he could not see who slipped into the room. But he *knew* it wasn't Scully. He played the possum from his memories, heart pounding so hard that he was certain the intruder could hear it. It could just be a nurse, Mulder. It's not......it's not a nurse.... His mind was shrieking a warning and every cell in his body was responding. A hand fell lightly on his hip and he forced himself to remain still. The hand skipped over the wound in his side to graze his biceps and travel up to his shoulder. The touches on his body were feather light. The touch on his mind was as well. But he felt both and couldn't prevent the quake that rolled through him. A sigh escaped the intruder's lips. "Ah, Fox, you are awake." He stilled himself and moved his hands further under the pillow, seeking. "I can tell, Fox. I can feel you are awake. You are coming with me now, my darling. I have waited long enough." As the hand traveled back down his arm towards his wrist, Mulder jerked his opposite hand from under the pillow and slapped her wrist with the steel edge of his handcuffs. Before she could react, he slammed the other cuff on the bed rail, locking her in place. She giggled. "Is this the game you want to play, Fox? We can do that...somewhere more private. Now unlock me." He threw the key across the room and then turned to face her. His stomach turned over at the predatory smile on her face. "We can do this right now if you like, Fox. There is no one to interrupt us. Scully isn't here and your guard....well, he was a snack." "We are doing nothing, Clarice. You are under arrest again." Clarice laughed in delight as she leaned toward him over the bed rail. "This is why I love you, Fox. So much spirit, so much *fire*." She licked her lips and her eyes traveled the length of his body, causing him to scoot to the far side of the bed, wincing in pain from the sudden movement. He felt naked and vulnerable, his hospital gown the size of hand towel. But at least he wasn't going anywhere. He hoped. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Now shut the fuck up." He realized that he hadn't planned this very well, not fully believing that she would actually come here. He reached for the phone in it's place on the far side of the bed from Clarice. As his fingers touched the handset, Clarice scrambled over the bed rail and straddled him. He groaned in pain from his still infected wounds and his vision blurred. Her weight on his diaphragm caused his coughing to flare, making breathing even more difficult. Fuck I cuffed the wrong wrist....... With her free hand she yanked his hand away from the phone and pinned it over his head. His head swam as she used her persuasive powers to get him to yield. "Oh Fox, I don't like using my power on you.....I love you full of fight," she said, wistfully. I am still full of fight. I am. I can beat her. Still wracked with coughing, he slipped his free hand under the pillow and found what he had nearly forgotten in the fog his mind was quickly becoming. She bent toward his lips, full of anticipation of the kiss......and her forehead bumped into the barrel of Mulder's Sig. "Oh Fox, be real. You can't win this. You can't kill me. You love me," she purred. She pushed herself closer to him. He pushed back weakly with the gun. She ground her backside into his groin and tightened her thighs to his sides. He groaned and his eyes watered in pain. Something flickered in his mind and darts of arousal shot to his groin. "No...." he whispered, pushing back the fog, Sig still firm against her forehead. She laughed softly, triumphantly, as she felt the stirring in his mind and body. "Think you can regenerate your head once I blow it off, Clarice?" he asked weakly, the arm holding the gun beginning to shake. She laughed and ground her ass into him again, his other arm still in her vice-like grip above his head. "You won't kill me, Fox. You can't." "Wanna bet?" ********************** Scully was out of breath from running from her hotel room across the street and up the stairs to Mulder's floor of the hospital. She met Skinner coming out of the elevator. "What is it, Scully?" "Mulder....bad feeling....couldn't reach Agent Hass," she panted, as she continued in a jog in the direction of Mulder's room. Skinner hurried to keep up. They had just reached the nurses station at the juncture of several hallways when the sound of a gunshot filled the air. Scully pulled her gun and broke into a dead run, her heart thundering in terror. "Stay where you are and get down!" she heard Skinner yelling behind her to the two nurses at the station. She rounded the corner into Mulder's corridor and slowed slightly. Agent Hass was still sitting in his chair down the hall, apparently asleep. Skinner appeared at her side, gun drawn, as Scully approached the agent with caution. "Easy, Scully....." he whispered as she reached toward the agent. When she touched the agent, his head lolled to the side, revealing the wound in his neck and his open, sightless eyes. She looked to Skinner and saw him flattened against the wall, gun ready, on the other side of the door. She assumed the same position on her side of the door and he nodded for her to take the lead. She opened the door and swung into the room, gun out in front of her. Skinner, covering her back, bumped into her when she stopped suddenly. Frozen. Oh my god oh my god oh my god..... On a subconscious level, she felt Skinner step around her and take in the scene that had her paralyzed. "Oh my God," whispered Skinner. "Scully...." Skinner's voice broke her split second paralysis and she ran around the blond corpse hanging from the rail of Mulder's bed to get to his unobstructed side. Mulder was lying in bed, eyes closed, motionless. He was so still that she thought he was dead. "Mulder.....Mulder....Mulder...." was her whispered mantra as she checked his breathing and heart rate, fingertips unable to stop grazing over arm, shoulder, cheek, hair. She smeared a lone tear streaked down his cheek in her brail reading of his features. The sight of the tear caused her to choke. "Scully, he's okay. Isn't he, Scully?" Skinners stern tone brought her out of her terrified daze and snapped her firmly into clinician mode. She settled her hands and her heart, feeling a familiar calm steal over her. "Can you call his Doctor? And the morgue? We need to move him out of this mess," she said steadily, never lifting her eyes from Mulder's face. "Of course. I'll be right back." A moment later, there were loud, urgent voices coming closer to the hospital room where Mulder lay in a blood and gore covered bed. It appeared that he had shot Clarice in the head when she had come after him. His sig lay on the bed next to his right hip, his hand tightly curled around the grip. The commotion stopped short of the room and Scully could hear Skinner taking control of the situation, giving her time alone with Mulder. "Mulder?" Scully whispered gently. She was afraid to touch him still and it was killing her. A feeling of total helplessness washed over her as she realized that she had no idea what to do. He wasn't moving, but there didn't seem to be a physical problem. He continued to lay there, eyes screwed shut, breath coming in quick, barely detectable pants through parted lips. Gripping the bed rail tightly with one hand, Scully leaned over him and unlocked the blood streaked wrist from the handcuff. The corpse fell to the floor with a thud. "Mulder? I'm going to get these dirty sheets off of you, okay?" No answer. Scully gripped the sheets lightly where they were tucked around his chest and carefully lowered them to his hips, intending to fold the blood and brain matter on the inside after sliding them under the tightly gripped gun. She paused for a moment, thinking, and then lightly touched the hand holding the gun. "Mulder, please give me the gun. She can't hurt you anymore. You're safe." she whispered, fingers lightly grazing the back of his hand. Her breath rushed out of her lungs in relief when he opened his eyes. Then her heart broke at the look in them. It seemed that fear, rage and several other emotions she couldn't name warred inside him. He uncurled his hand from around the gun, his eyes locked on her face, unnerving her slightly. Scully picked up the gun and moved it to the bedside table. Eyes averted from his face, she continued to pull the sheets off of the bed. She laid them over Clarice's body on the floor and then moved to the adjacent bed and retrieved a blanket to cover Mulder until they could clean up the room and add clean sheets. As she laid the blanket over him, he gripped her wrist in one large hand. Raising her eyes to his, silently questioning, her heart shattered a little more. The lone tear sliding down his cheek and the look in his eyes told her exactly what to do. Lowering the bed rail, she sat on the bed facing him and pulled him into her arms. His arms slid around her waist and he pulled her closer, burying his face in her hair. He didn't make a sound as they held each other and she could feel his heart thundering in his chest, his breathing fast and erratic. As they held each other, his heart beat slowed and his breathing calmed. One of her hands moved to his hair, stroking gently. "You're going to be okay, Mulder," she said, quietly. "Yeah. I am," he replied, in a whisper. He pulled away from her slightly to look into her eyes. Then, taking her by surprise, he moved forward and kissed her gently on the lips. It was a chaste kiss, signifying a deep and abiding friendship. Then, when she looked into his eyes again, she saw a promise of something more. When he was ready. Judging by the little sparkle she saw deep within those eyes, she didn't think it would be a long time. He pulled her into another hug and they sat that way until Skinner could no longer hold off the crowd who wanted access to the room. *********************** 2 Hours Later....... Mulder was sleeping soundly when Scully finally slipped out of the room and into the hall. Skinner was down the hall a short way wrapping up the case with the Nashville detectives. He looked up when she walked out of the room. Seeing her there, he sent the detectives on their way and walked over to her. "How is he, Scully?" "He's going to be fine, sir. He's sleeping now. Where do we stand on this case?" "Well, Agent Hass's body has been taken to the morgue, as has Clarice's. Mulder has been officially cleared in the death of Brian Williamson. DNA analysis showed that he was killed by James Sanker. It was easy to make a case for Clarice as the murderer of Agent Hass based on our accounting of events. That pretty much wraps everything up." "Did Clarice......Alex DuMont, that is.....have any family?" asked Scully. "Not that we could determine. Why?" "I am going to autopsy her and then.......then I am going to see her body cremated." Skinner gave her a penetrating stare for a long moment. "I'll make sure you have full authorization, Agent Scully. Do what you think is best," he said, with a small, grim smile. "I am heading back to D.C. Take as much time as you need to help Mulder back on his feet." "Thank you, sir." *********************** Baptist Hospital West End Avenue Nashville, Tennessee May 9, 1998, 8:20 a.m. Mulder lay naked and bound on the couch of the New Orleans house. His head was swimming and he could barely form a coherent thought. How did I get here? Where is Scully? Not again......not again........ He heard a sound in the bedroom that caused his heart to hammer in his chest. A cold sweat broke out over his body, lightly coating him in a thin sheen. "W-who's there?" "Hello, darling," said a rough, garbled voice. Mulder thought his heart would explode from terror when Clairce walked into the room, a large hole in the middle of her forehead. Blood ran in rivulets between her eyes as she smiled at him. "I should be very angry with you, my darling. I'm not......but you *will* have to be punished." "I.....I killed you......." Her laugh was a disgusting sound and Mulder's stomach lurched. "I told you....you can't kill me. You certainly messed up my face....not to mention my hair." She turned her back to him and he could see blood and gore matted in her hair around a large exit wound. As he watched, the wound started to heal itself, brain regenerating and bone knitting together. No, no.......nonononononono........ He thrashed wildly against the duct tape that secured his ankles together and his arms behind his back. Once again, he was exposed and alone. And completely powerless. She turned back to him, grinning widely. Kneeling next to the couch, she ran her hand up the inside of his thigh. Mulder screamed. "Wake up, Mulder! Wake up! Please......" He opened his eyes again and he was in his hospital room. Scully was standing next to the bed, gripping the rails and leaning over him, a worried look on her face. He scanned her and the room quickly, heart still pounding. She's afraid to touch me. "You back with me, Mulder?" He nodded, swallowing hard. She then reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing. He squeezed back, feeling a calming strength radiating from her as she gripped his hand. Clarice is dead. Isn't she? He closed his eyes as tendrils of fear tried worm their way into his heart again. It was a dream. Just a dream. "Yes, Mulder, she's dead. It was just a dream." He realized he must have said it out loud and felt foolish. Weak. Powerless. "Oh, Mulder," Scully said sadly. "It's okay." She's reading me like a freakin' book......... "Scully......." he began, his voice raspy from screaming. She released his hand so she could lower the bed rail and sit down again. Then she took his hand again and held it in both of hers. And waited with a tender and patient look on her face. He gazed back at her and realized again how much he loved her. He had been afraid that had gotten lost in the nightmares. He tried for a calming breath, but still, coughing overtook him. It was not as bad as it had been, he was glad to realize. Scully pulled him forward into a hug, rubbing his back soothingly, as if he were a child. He felt loved and it made him want to cry. He tried desperately to focus on that feeling, that sensation, so that it could be called up whenever he needed it. But the remnants of his dream kept tugging at the edges of his consciousness. He pulled away from Scully carefully and laid back in bed, still exhausted. "Scully......." he stopped again, closing his eyes as if he were in pain. "Are you all right, Mulder?" Scully asked anxiously. He nodded, eyes still closed, trying desperately to find the strength to ask her what he needed to ask. "Where is she?" he finally asked, in a whisper. "She's dead, Mulder, you shot her. She can't hurt you anymore," Scully replied, in a calming tone of voice. "Where.....what did you do.....with her?" he asked haltingly. Mulder watched Scully's eyes drop away from his. She looked nervous and.....somewhat embarrassed? She fiddled with his hand where she held it in her lap. "Scully?" he asked, feeling a surge of terror getting ready to rock through him if she didn't answer soon. She must have heard the fear in his voice because her eyes came back up to his and she squeezed his hand again. "It's okay, Mulder. I autopsied her and I found nothing unusual." She paused, eyes dropping again to their joined hands. "Then I had her body cremated." Mulder felt all the air in his lungs leave his body in a rush of immeasurable relief. He immediately began coughing again. When he got himself under control, he replayed her words. A feeling akin to joy washed over him for which he felt no shame. "You found *nothing* unusual......yet you had her cremated?" he asked her, with a slight smile. He never loved her more than he did at this moment. "Yes," she replied, still staring at their joined hands. "Scully......why?" He was sorry for pushing, but he needed to hear it so badly. "For you. For piece of mind. Because......because I am sure I hit her when I shot her out in the woods." She paused thoughtfully. "But mostly......for you." She then looked him square in the eye and gave him a soft smile. He smiled in return and, sitting up, pulled her back into a hug. "Thank you," he whispered softly. He pulled away after a moment, only to grasp her chin and kiss her softly on the mouth. One of her arms slid around his neck to hold him close. Her other hand snaked into his hair. But still it was a gentle, chaste kiss. Again, it held the promise of so much more. In his heart, Mulder wanted to kiss her forever, but his body was not cooperating. He let out a soft sigh and released her, collapsing back on the pillows, eye lids fluttering. He felt no need to resist sleep now. She was there, and he was safe. *************End of Chapter 19******** All that's left is the Epilogue. Thanks for reading. Music City Blues Epilogue Author: GeoRed@aol.com (a.k.a. Heidi W.) Chapter Rating: PG-13 SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR OTHER INFO Authors Note: The small sampling of lyrics quoted in this section were written by Jeff Holmes of The Floating Men, a local Nashville band. These guys are *extremely* talented and I highly recommend all of their CDs. If you have a chance to see them live, run, don't walk, to the club to get a seat. Now, since I plugged them so highly, maybe they won't be pissed off that I used their lyrics without permission. *******EPILOGUE********** The Exit/In 201 Elliston Place Nashville, Tennessee May 13, 1998, 10:05 p.m. He walked into the club to the sound of acoustic guitars and haunting, beautiful melodies. This music was different than what he had heard on other nights in this town. It was seductive, the lyrics spoke volumes. Lost in the keys We fell asleep on some old silent picture idol's private beach Then while I dreamed She brushed the sand from both her sun tanned knees and left me to the sea She made the moon rise She turned her blue eyes away when I tried to find some kind of sign of surrender She made the moss weep I tried with all my strength but I never could divine her ghost Symbolic lyrics to him, but ones that no longer held sway over his emotions. Perhaps because they were no longer quite so accurate. Now he could enjoy the music for its beauty. After moving towards the bar and buying a soda, he saw what he was searching for. A lithe brunette in a short black dress swayed in time to the music down near the front of the stage. As she gazed up at the lead singer in the band, he caught her eyes and jerked his head. With that nearly imperceptible signal, the brunette climbed the stairs of the stage and joined the band in a up tempo song every bit as good as the haunting melody preceeding it. As he watched the band, and the brunette, he marvelled again at the seeming simplicity of the lives and people before him. He was certain they had their own problems but he wondered if they realized how lucky they were. Then he realized that he felt lucky too, in a way. The singer was flirting outrageously with the beautiful, dark haired woman as she sang with him. Out in the open, in front of a crowd, the woman flirted back with ease. As the song came to a close, he moved towards the stage and the band. He met the brunette at the bottom of the stairs and, after a moment of surprise, she slid into his arms. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gazed into his eye for a moment before kissing him gently on the mouth. He pulled back and disengaged himself from her but smoothed his hand over her hair in a tender gesture. "Mulder," she sighed. "You're alright? Should you be here?" "I'm fine, Allison," he replied. "I was just coming to say goodbye." "You know, for a moment there I foolishly hoped......." "I know.......in another life, perhaps. Besides, a beautiful, caring woman such as yourself should steer clear of paranoid, dangerous FBI agents." "Scully is a beautiful, caring woman," Allison said with a slight smile. "Ahhh....but she is also a dangerous FBI agent," replied Mulder, with a contented smile. "You've worked it out, then." Mulder nodded, his throat tight. "I heard about Alex......Clarice. I would've come, but I knew you were in good hands." "Very good hands." Mulder paused, thoughtfully. "Alli, I wanted to thank you again. You really held me together during a rough time." Allison moved closer to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, laying her head on his chest. He put both arms around her, hugging her. "I didn't do anything, Mulder.......you did it yourself. You didn't want to give up....not really." Mulder pulled back slightly and tilted her face up to his. This time he kissed her gently on the lips. "Thank you for being my friend, Allison. Now I have to go. If you are ever in D.C........." "I'll call Scully and ask her to lunch." Mulder laughed out loud. "That would probably be a good idea," he said with a smile. "Bye, Allison." "Good bye, Fox Mulder," she replied softly, blinking back tears. ********************** Mulder walked out of the club, head down, lost in thought, and started up the sidewalk for the 8 or 10 block walk back to the hotel. "Hey G-man, wanna ride?" His head jerked up and he saw Scully leaning against a rental car smiling at him. He stood there for a moment, staring at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. Then, in three quick steps he had her in his arms. With a hand in her hair he pulled her head back and kissed her hard on the mouth. He pressed her up against the car, his tongue stroking her lips trying to gain entry. She opened her mouth and groaned as her tongue stroked his. The surge of desire that Mulder felt at the sound elated him. It was a welcome, natural desire for the woman he loved. He broke the kiss and gazed down at the woman in his arms. She looked flushed and aroused. She gazed back at him with an appraising look on her face. He wanted her so badly at that moment that he didn't think he could walk back to the hotel. "W-what are you doing here, Scully?" "I didn't want you to walk all the way back." "It's only a few blocks....." "You just got out of the hospital, Mulder. I knew you wanted to see Allison, and I knew of your need for physical activity after being cooped up. So, I waited until you left and then drove up here to drive you back. I won't have you over doing it." She paused, as if waiting for an argument. "Don't argue with a woman very determined to get you back to full strength," she said with another smile. "Who's arguing?" he asked with a smile, as if the thought of such a thing was impossible. She just laughed softly at him. He took her face in both hands, thumbs caressing her cheeks, and kissed her again, but gently this time. "Take me home, G-woman." **************THE END************** Heidi ::::::::with head in hands, rocking slowly:::::::::: "It just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter, it just doesn't matter."