TITLE: That's All
AUTHOR: Virtie
RATING: PG
CATEGORY: MSR, X-File
SUMMERY: Scully is granted a wish on Halloween.
DISCLAIMER: A few of these characters aren't mine, 
but since I'm not making any money off of them, 
I'm sure Chris Carter, Fox, and 1013 Productions 
don't mind that I'm borrowing them for a bit.
DEDICATION: To Mighty Mortis. Your support, your 
friendship, and most of all, your courage, were 
always inspiring. I think you would have really 
liked this one. Thank you for everything.

This story has been in my head for a long time, but 
until recently I was never sure how I wanted to bring 
it to life. A few weeks ago, I had a nightmare, 
one that was scary enough to wake me from my sleep. 
Of course, once I was awake, I thought to myself, 
"That would make a great X-File." Then I set about 
trying to combine this X-File with a personal story, 
because, well, that's what I do.

A few years ago, I desperately wanted to re-write 
an X-Files episode, one called 'all things.' Now, 
don't get me wrong, I liked the episode; I thought 
Gillian did a great job with it. But when I saw the 
previews to it the week before it aired, I had an 
"It's a Wonderful Life" scenario running through 
my head, and I was a bit disappointed in the actual 
episode. The potential for so much more was there. 

Anyway, yesterday I came up with the idea to 
combine these two ideas. So here's my Halloween 
story for 2004, a union between my nightmare and 
'all things.' Scary, huh? That's what it's all 
about!

October 25, 2004

That's All

*************************************************

The X-Files Office
October 29th

Scully watched as Mulder turned and left the 
office, his back stiff, his hands clenched. He 
reminded her of a petulant child who, knowing he 
wasn't going to get his way, silently marched 
away, chin up, pretending he didn't care. And 
that's exactly how he had sounded just before he 
turned and left, too. "Fine, I'll go by myself."

She sighed and picked up a pen from his desk. 
With an exasperated groan, she threw it at the 
now empty doorway. Now who was acting like a 
child? Shaking her head slowly, she walked over 
to her workstation and sat heavily in her chair. 
Why did he have to be frustrating? And why did 
she have to be so stubborn? It was an X-File, 
and they investigated the X-Files, so it should 
stand to reason that they should both go 
investigate. But Scully was tired of the 
traveling, tired of the motels, and tired of 
trying to find her way around Mulder's 
paranormal theories. She used to find it all a 
challenge, but lately things had changed. She 
had changed. And she didn't know how to make 
it better.

Werewolves. They were myths. They were not 
going around Central Minnesota killing dogs... 
or people. Elbow on her armrest, chin in her 
hand, Scully went over what Mulder had just told 
her in her head. Several dogs, mostly large dogs, 
were being mauled and killed by something in the 
small town of Wolfcove, Minnesota. Many 
residents blamed actual wolves, though the local 
wildlife experts were trying their best to 
eliminate that theory, stating there would be no 
reason for the endangered animals to approach a 
civilized area just to attack domestic dogs.

Three days ago, a 78 year old woman had been 
found dead, her wounds identical to those found 
on the mauled dogs. Suddenly, wolves lost their 
place on the top of the suspect list when 
someone mentioned that a neighbor of the lady 
had a pit bull. However, there was no indication 
that the dog, who had never shown aggressive 
tendencies and was kept securely on a chain when 
outside, had done anything wrong. Many had still 
wanted to blame the dog, demanding it be put 
down, until yesterday. Yesterday, Mulder had told 
her, the very dog they wanted to blame had been 
killed in the same manner as the old woman. 

Mulder had reminded her of the Manitou, a case 
they had investigated in Montana their first year 
together. Scully had reminded him that there had 
never been any proof of a Manitou, werewolf, or 
any other kind of monster. She also reminded him 
that it was almost Halloween, and some sick person 
was probably responsible for the deaths. Local 
law enforcement could handle it.

With a grin, Mulder had told her that Detective 
Lennox of Wolfcove County had called him up 
specifically to ask for their help. Apparently, 
he had once worked with Detective Bocks from 
Minneapolis, who had nothing but great things to 
say about the agents who had originally caught 
Donnie Pfaster years ago, long before his escape 
and subsequent death at Scully's hand. Mulder 
hadn't mentioned the last part, knowing how 
sensitive Scully was about that subject.

Just thinking about Pfaster had caused Scully's 
stomach to churn; this killer was probably 
someone as sick and evil as he had been. She 
wanted nothing to do with it. "I'm not going, 
Mulder."

"Uh, what part of 'we were asked to help' didn't 
you understand, Scully?" 

Mulder's condescending tone did not make Scully 
feel any better. "Mulder, you can profile the 
killer from here just as easily as you could 
in Minnesota." Strangely enough, she didn't tell 
him to go by himself; the idea of him 
investigating anything without her didn't appeal 
to her any more than flying to some bump in the 
road town in the Midwest did. 

"Scully, you can't 'profile' a werewolf!"

"Mulder, it is not a werewolf!"

"How do you know?"

"Because werewolves don't exist?" she asked 
sarcastically. "Haven't we had this conversation 
before?"

His eyes dark and his face grim, Mulder didn't 
seem amused by her question. "So what you're 
saying it that you don't want to go?"

Eyes wide, Scully tried not to laugh. "Uh, yeah. 
That's exactly what I'm saying."

To which he responded, "Fine, I'll go by myself." 
Grabbing up the files, he had turned and walked 
out of the office, as petulant as a little boy.

And she must be the little girl who wouldn't play 
with him, Scully mused silently. There were many 
days when she couldn't help but wonder what her 
life would be like if she had never heard of the 
X-files. If she had never met Fox Mulder. The 
thought sent a sharp pain through her heart, and 
yet, life would be so much easier without him in 
it. Wouldn't it?

With another sigh, she stood, gathered her things, 
and locked up the office. She might as well go 
home for the day, idly wondering if Mulder would 
'tell on her.' She didn't think Skinner would be 
too happy to hear she had refused to go with her 
partner on a legitimate assignment. Then again, 
he might just award her a medal of honor for doing 
so; he, of all people, knew how difficult Mulder 
was to work with.

Scully reached her car and felt herself sag against 
it. She should have gone, she thought. Mulder was 
bound to get himself into trouble without her there 
to run interference. She reached into her pocket and 
found her cell phone. He was probably at home, 
packing; she'd tell him to wait for her. Before she 
could dial his number, the phone in her hand rang. 

"Scully," she answered.

"Hey, do me at least one favor and feed my fish 
for me, will you?"

No 'hey, it's me.' No 'please.' No hint of apology.

Gritting her teeth, Scully mumbled, "Sure, fine, 
whatever," and hung up. No 'of course.' No 'good 
luck.' No 'be careful.' Once again, she felt herself 
lean on the car. "God, I wish I'd never met the 
man," she whispered.

"You don't really mean that."

Scully spun around and found herself looking... 
down. Well, sort of. The man in front of her was 
a couple inches shorter than her, and that in itself 
was a shock. His Asian features were surrounded by 
wrinkles, but she couldn't even guess at his actual 
age. He wore a neat gray suit with a purple silk tie, 
and he had a small smile on his lips.

Scully looked around the parking garage, but she 
could see no one else. She looked again at the Asian 
man; he wasn't wearing an ID badge, and he wasn't at 
all familiar to her. "Who are you?" she asked. "How 
did you get in here?"

"You may call me Yasuo," he told her. "I come and 
go as I please, or as I am willed to."

"Willed?" Scully took note of the strange phrase, 
forgetting for the moment to take the cell phone 
in her hand and call security. 

"Do you believe in God, Dana?"

"How do you know my name?"

He simply smiled. "I know you believe in God, 
therefore you must believe in angels."

Scully stared at him for a moment. "Oh, I see. 
You're supposed to be an angel." Again she looked 
around; maybe Mulder hadn't been calling from his 
house. "Let me guess, you're my guardian angel, 
and you're about to tell me that I need to go to 
Minnesota with my partner in order to save my soul."

The little man laughed. "No! Or course not. That's 
silly." His smile faded. "I'm not really your 
Guardian angel; that job is actually taken up by 
more than one entity. You and Fox lead very exciting 
lives." His eyes glittered through the wrinkles. 
"I'm just here to help you find your way through 
this... jungle... you have created in your mind."

Scully, couldn't help herself. She was intrigued. 
"Jungle?"

"Yes," Yasuo nodded. "You're lost in it. After all 
that's happened to you in the last few years, it's 
understandable. Donnie Pfaster, Samantha, your loss 
of Emily, which is still eating away at you..."

Scully felt her eyes widen. "How the hell do you 
know all that?" Again, she searched the parking 
garage. "Mulder?"

"Fox isn't here, Dana," Yasuo said quietly. "In 
fact, he's already on his way to the airport. You 
might still have time to catch him."

Glaring at him, Scully growled, "No."

The little man nodded. "Then maybe you'd like another 
option."

More unnerved and suspicious than ever, Scully asked, 
"Like what?"

"What was it you said when I first arrived. 'God, I 
wish I'd never met that man'?"

Scully cocked her head at him. "What are you, the 
Ghost of Halloween past?"

He laughed. "I already told you. I'm an angel, not 
a ghost."

Scully nodded. "Right." She turned away from him, 
shoving her phone in her pocket and pulling out her 
car keys. "Nice meeting you, but I have to go."

"Where?"

She paused at his question. "Home," she finally said. 

"Alone."

She swung around to face him again. "Yes. Because 
that's the way I want it."

"Are you sure, Dana?" Yasuo asked. "If you had never 
met Fox, can you imagine what your life would be 
like? Maybe you wouldn't be going home to an empty 
apartment."

Scully's memory swept her back in time. In her mind, 
she saw Daniel, his smile, his obvious pride and 
joy in her accomplishments. The love in his eyes. 
She brought herself back to the present and glared 
at Yasuo. "The past is the past and the present is 
now."

"But if you could have a different present..?" His 
voice trailed off.

"That's not possible."

"I could make it possible," he told her. "Tell me 
one thing you would change from your past, and I 
can make it so."

She wanted to laugh. She wanted to cry. But she 
couldn't do either, not when she believed him. Why 
in the hell did she believe him? She closed her eyes. 
If she had never left Daniel for the FBI, she would 
never have been assigned to the X-Files. She would 
never have met Mulder. What would her life be like 
now? Better? 

Or worse?

"I wish I'd never joined the Bureau," she whispered, 
stunned that she was even saying the words.

Yasuo nodded. "If that's what you wish..."

Everything around her suddenly went dark.

*************************************************

Wolfcove, Minnesota
October 30th

When Scully woke, she lay staring at the ceiling 
for a long time. She knew where she was, in her 
bedroom in her home in Wolfcove, and she knew 
what day it was, the day before Halloween.

She also knew she was the local Medical Examiner, 
the only M.E. in Wolfcove, and that the last few 
days had been the most frightening, intriguing days 
of her life. A life that consisted of a brief 
residency at St. Mary's Hospital in Alexandria, 
Virginia, a slightly longer marriage to her former 
professor Daniel Waterston, a miscarriage, and her 
subsequent relocation to the 'wilds' of Minnesota. 
She knew she had lived here in Wolfcove for more 
than five years now. And yet...

Why did she have all these 'memories' when she knew 
full well she was Dana Scully, FBI Agent and 
partner to Fox Mulder?

"Because in order for you to understand why your 
life as Agent Scully is what you were destined to 
be, you need to remember it while living this life."

Scully sat up in bed, glaring at the little Asian 
man who sat in a chair on the far side of the room. 
"I assume you're going to be my guide on this... 
journey?" 

He smiled at her and nodded. 

Scully threw herself down onto the bed, covering 
her eyes with her hands. "I don't need this. Can't 
you just let me sleep without dreaming?"

"You think this is a dream?" Yasuo asked. 

"What else could it be?" Scully demanded, uncovering 
her eyes, but not bothering to sit up. "Even if I 
had decided against joining the FBI, I never would 
have married Daniel."

"Why do you say that?" Yasuo queried. "You loved 
him very much."

"He was already married," Scully grumbled, sitting 
up again. She checked under the covers to ensure 
she was decent, then threw them off and swung her 
legs over the side of the bed. At least her choice 
in sleepwear hadn't changed. 

"He divorced shortly after you left for St. Mary's," 
Yasuo explained. "His daughter found out you were in 
love with her father and let her mother know. Daniel 
didn't have a chance after that."

Scully frowned. "We never even slept together," she 
murmured. She had wanted to. But her morals refused 
to allow her to go that far with another woman's 
husband. 

"Maggie didn't know that," her 'guide' told her. "And 
you never told her different, even after you and Daniel 
married."

Scully scrunched her brow. "There was a baby." She 
looked at Yasuo, the pain fresh in her heart. "A girl." 

Yasuo nodded. "You were very ill during your pregnancy. 
You became light-headed one evening on top of the 
stairs. You didn't pass out, but you became disoriented 
enough that you lost your balance and fell. Your baby 
died and you nearly bled to death before you managed 
to drag yourself to a phone and called for help. You 
were five months pregnant."

Scully nodded, somehow 'remembering.' "Daniel wasn't 
there. It was much later that I found out he was with 
his secretary. And yet, he blamed me. Said I should 
have taken better care of myself."

"You filed for divorce not long after that and moved 
here."

Scully stood and walked to the window. There was a faint 
tint of orange on the horizon, indicating dawn was 
nearing. A few cars passed on the road, their headlights 
blazing. People on their way to work; she should be 
heading to work soon herself. "Why Wolfcove?" she asked, 
turning to Yasuo again. "Is this a joke?"

Yasuo smiled at her. "No. In this life, Wolfcove is where 
you came after your divorce. And you are helping the 
local Sheriff's department investigate the murder of one 
Gloria Marchon, a 78-year-old former schoolteacher. You 
are the one who originally said it was a wolf that was 
killing those dogs, probably a rogue."

"And Detective Lennox? He's the one in charge of the 
investigation and..."

"And the man you are currently dating."

"I was afraid you were going to say something like that." 
She looked out the window again. "Mulder?"

"Should have arrived last night. He's probably already 
made contact with the good Detective and is waiting to 
meet and speak with you."

Scully couldn't help but feel a wave of gratitude that 
Mulder was still investigating the X-Files, even without 
her. At the same time...

"Are you trying to tell me that it's fate that I meet 
him? That there is no way I'll ever not meet Fox Mulder?"

Yasuo just smiled.

"Fine," Scully grumbled, crossing her arms. "I get it. 
You can let me wake up... or send me back... or whatever."

Yasuo's smile widened. "I'm afraid I can't do that 
quite yet, Dana. You may think you are convinced about 
how much you need Fox in your life, but you aren't."

"So, what?" Scully asked. "I'm supposed to meet with 
him, pretending that I don't remember everything I've 
shared with him in the last seven years?"

Yasuo shrugged. "He won't remember any of it, so it 
shouldn't be too hard." At Scully's disbelieving look, 
he added, "He's never met you, Dr. Waterston."

Suddenly, Scully's alarm went of on the nightstand behind 
her. She turned to switch it off, and when she spun 
around to face Yasuo again, he had disappeared. 

Filled with a sudden dread, Scully turned on the light 
and slowly started getting dressed, repeating to 
herself over and over again:

"This is just a dream. This is just a dream. This is 
just a dream."


*************************************************

Wolfcove County Coroner's Office
Wolfcove, Minnesota

Scully stepped out of her car and took a deep 
breath, taking note of the wet smell in the near 
freezing air. Wolfcove was situated right on the 
tip of Wolfcove Lake, one of the many, many lakes 
that dotted Northern and Central Minnesota. Forest 
surrounded the town, but there were plenty of open 
fields dotted with farms. It was borderline wilderness, 
and Scully knew that wolves were rarely seen here, 
being much more common in the less populated north. 
She didn't question how she knew this. However, she 
did continue to fret over how she was going to act 
around a certain FBI agent this morning.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon when she 
took her keys out and unlocked the door to the office. 
She was always the first one here. Since she and her 
assistant/secretary were the only full-time employees, 
there were some days she was the only one here. She was 
confident Brandi would be in today; the young woman had 
been greatly interested in the goings-on with the 
'wolf-man killings,' especially since her own Rottweiler 
had been one of the dogs killed by the mystery creature.

Flipping on lights, Scully headed toward her office, 
knowing she had to finish some paperwork on Gloria 
before she could release the woman's body for burial. 
She took a deep breath. She had known Gloria; the woman 
had lived only a couple of blocks away from her. For the 
first time, Scully felt a hint of unease that had nothing 
to do with Mulder and his imminent arrival. Who, or what, 
was killing these dogs? And were any other people in 
danger?

Scully paused upon entering her office, startled for a 
moment by the name on the desk: Dana Waterston. It amazed 
her how everything here was familiar and yet strange at 
the same time. Never had she had a dream this bazaar before, 
and she had had some strange dreams since she had started 
with the X-Files. Turning on her computer, she sat down and 
started to work, finishing Gloria's paperwork, then flipping 
through everything she had on the case. She wasn't about to 
be caught off guard when the FBI started asking her for 
details.

She paused. She was thinking like Dana Waterston. Like a 
woman who was about to meet a person she didn't know from 
an agency she was personally unfamiliar with. Odd.

A knock on her door caused her to jump. It was Brandi. 
"Morning, Doc," the brunette said with a smile. "Feels 
like snow, doesn't it?"

Scully nodded, once more caught between what she was 
beginning to think of as her two worlds. "Yes," she said 
softly. "Let's hope it doesn't interfere with the 
investigation."

"Ah, I'm sure Jake can handle any kind of weather."

Jake. Detective Lennox. Instinctively, Scully knew that 
Brandi had a crush on the Detective. The image of the 
man's face flashed through her mind's eye. He was tall, 
dark, handsome, with black hair and blue eyes, a wicked 
sense of humor and a love of the outdoors that bordered 
on obsession. 

"Yes, I'm sure he can."

Scully heard the door to the outside open and saw Brandi 
turn to face the visitor. She smiled and moved away from 
Scully's line of sight. "Hi," Scully heard her say. "Can 
I help you?"

"I'm looking for Dr. Waterston."

Though she had been expecting him, the voice still 
caught Scully off guard. She tensed and started to rise 
from her seat.

"And you are?"

Scully headed for the door to her office.

"Agent Mulder from the FBI. Detective Lennox was going 
to meet me hear this morning."

Scully reached the door, paused, then walked out just 
as Brandi gushed, "Oh! You're here about the Wolf-man 
killings!"

Mulder didn't reply as his attention had turned toward 
Scully. She stopped, struck speechless by what she saw.

It was Mulder, no doubt about it, but he was different. 
He was too thin, his hair was longer and it appeared 
dull in the light of the front office. His suit was 
wrinkled ever so slightly and his sedate brown tie was 
askew. His shoulders seemed to droop, and he looked 
exhausted. In both appearance and manner, he was far 
different from the immaculate, confident Mulder she 
had known.

"Mulder?"

He seemed to stand a bit straighter at her entrance, and 
his eyes widened at her familiar usage of his name. 
Belatedly, she remembered Yasuo's warning that Mulder 
had never met her. 'This is just a dream,' she repeated 
to herself.

"Have we met?" Mulder asked. But before she could reply, 
he continued. "Because I'm sure I would have remembered 
you."

His pitiful attempt at flirting only saddened Scully, 
the words depressing her for no apparent reason. She took 
a deep breath and composed herself. "No, I'm sorry. I..." 
Think, Dana! "Jake told me you were coming, but I didn't 
expect you until later."

A sad smile appeared on his face. "Jake," he whispered. 
As if on cue, the outside door opened and Jake walked 
through. They all turned to face him. "Speak of the devil," 
Mulder said. "We were just talking about you."

Jake's eyes swept over Scully before meeting Mulder's. 
"Oh? Was Dana telling you stories of my incredible skills 
as an investigator?"

Scully couldn't help but respond to his playful boast. 
"Yeah, so incredible, you had to call in the FBI to help."

Brandi laughed as Jake scrunched up his face in reply. 
Scully smiled, and then noticed Mulder's discomfiture at 
the apparent familiarity between the three residents of 
Wolfcove. "So, Agent Mulder. Jake told me you were a 
profiler?"

Mulder looked up from the floor, his tired eyes meeting 
hers. "I used to be. Right now I'm working for the X-Files."

Right on cue, Brandi asked, "The X-Files?"

"It's a department in the Bureau that investigates 
unexplained events," Jake told her.

"Unexplained?" Scully pushed, keeping her attention on 
Mulder.

"The paranormal, mostly." His voice was rough and his 
gaze was unsteady, as if he was embarrassed. Mulder, 
embarrassed about the X-Files?

"Paranormal?" Brandi asked. "Like ghosts and things?"

"Yeah, like ghosts and things."

"But you don't think the killings here in Wolfcove are 
due to a ghost, do you?" Jake looked a little uncertain. 
"I mean, Moe told me that while you investigate the 
paranormal, you're damn good at catching earthly beings, 
too. You caught Donnie Pfaster."

"Hey, wasn't he the guy that killed all those women 
down in the Twin Cities?"

Jake nodded. "Moe Bocks called in Agent Mulder, and the 
two of them managed to track Pfaster down."

"Not before he killed the woman he was holding captive at 
the time," Mulder said softly.

'But you caught him, Mulder,' Scully thought. 'You caught 
the bastard.'

"So what do you think is killing our dogs, Agent Mulder?" 
Scully asked, breaking the silence that had descended after 
Mulder's terrible words. 

He focused on her again. "Probably a man," he said. "Another 
nutcase like Pfaster."

Scully opened her mouth to argue, knowing from re-reading 
her files that it was unlikely that a human had killed the 
dogs and Gloria, but Jake spoke first. "Do you think he'll 
kill more people?"

"Not if we catch him first." The words were confident, and 
to someone who didn't know Mulder, his attitude might speak 
of experience and able ness. But Scully knew Mulder. He may 
be acting like he was interested, but she felt that he 
really didn't care.

It scared her.

"Well, let's take a look at the records on the dogs," Jake 
said, walking toward Scully and waving her back toward her 
office. "After the first two deaths, we asked Dana to take 
a look at the dogs and assess their wounds..."

"Which is why I know no human is doing this," she 
interrupted, facing Mulder.

"I don't know if you know of some of the horrible things 
men have been known to do, Doctor..."

"I do know, Agent Mulder," Scully interrupted yet again. 
"Believe me, I do."

An uncomfortable silence descended on the group until Jake 
once again herded them toward the office. "Hold all my 
calls, Brandi," Scully told her assistant. She glanced at 
Mulder, as if daring him. 

And for the first time since the man had entered the 
building, his eyes flashed back, as if answering the dare.

*************************************************

'Who the hell is this woman?' Mulder asked himself.

Confident, smart, beautiful. Never in his life had he 
met someone like her. She was intriguing, and yet she 
scared him, too. It was almost as if she could read his 
mind, and she was definitely challenging him. He knew 
there was no way he was up to the challenge, but he would 
try. As he watched her state her argument about the 
identity of the killer, he found he couldn't dispute her 
facts. She was a doctor, and a damn good one by all 
accounts. She wasn't making any of this up.

Especially the tooth she had pulled from the body of the 
pit bull that had been killed two days ago.

Mulder stared at the large molar, safely encased in a 
plastic bag. It was definitely a tooth, from something 
large. Like a wolf. "So you think it was a wolf, then?"

For the first time, Dr. Waterston showed a bit of 
insecurity. She glanced at Lennox, who sat still, a grim 
look on his face. "I don't know if I think that," she 
said. "I know a little something about wolves, and Jake 
knows a lot." Mulder already knew that the Detective had 
studied wildlife biology as well as criminology. "For a 
wolf to attack a human, or even a large dog unprovoked, 
it would have to be either sick or injured. And a sick 
or injured wolf would have a hard time escaping notice 
around here."

"We have found tracks that appear to be wolf-like in the 
area," Lennox added. "But as you know, the ground at the 
crime scene was too disturbed to pinpoint any kind of 
tracks."

"So, it could be a wolf, but it's unlikely, is that what 
you're telling me?" Mulder was suddenly tired. He had 
had far too many cases recently that had appeared to be 
paranormal, but had turned out to be hoaxes. It was all 
he was ever sent on, anymore. He was tired of it. He 
would never have taken this case had it not been Agent 
Bocks, a man whom he had worked with and respected, who 
had asked him to help out.

Waterston seemed to take an uneasy breath. "Agent Mulder, 
have you ever heard of a Manitou?"

Amazed, Mulder didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. 
"Are you suggested that that is what is killing these 
dogs?"

"What's a Manitou?"

Lennox was ignored as Waterston continued. "This area was 
once populated by several Indian tribes, Agent Mulder. 
Legends persist."

"Why don't you just go all out and claim it's a werewolf, 
Dr. Waterston?" He couldn't help the sarcasm in his voice.

"Why do you think the people here have started calling it 
the Wolf-man Killer?"

He stared at her. She was serious. Absolutely, frigging 
serious. "Well, maybe the Detective here should start 
carrying silver bullets."

"Agent Mulder," Waterston continued, undaunted. "Can I 
ask you a personal question?"

Mulder shrugged, a bit nervous now. And completely aware 
that Lennox had become silent, watching the byplay between 
them nervously.

"How can you work for a department that investigates the 
paranormal when you don't believe in it?"

He clenched his teeth, angry with the redhead for no reason 
that he could fathom. "I was the only one qualified."

"Meaning?"

"I opened the X-Files several years ago, with a partner 
that believed, as I did." Memories of Diana left a bad taste 
in his mouth. "When she left, I went through a string of 
partners, but nobody would stay. I finally woke up and quit, 
too." He paused. "Last year, for some god-forsaken reason, 
they re-opened the X-Files and put me back on them."

Waterston looked sad. Hell, she looked like she was about 
to cry. "Hey," he continued. "Maybe you should join the 
Bureau and take over. You sound like you might like the 
work." Like he used to. Before...

The silence in the room was dreadful. Painful. Mulder was 
glad when Lennox broke it. "Whatever it is that's killing 
these people, man, beast, whatever, let's catch it before 
it kills again. Can we at least agree on that?"

Mulder nodded, as did the doctor.

Unnerved by what was occurring, Mulder asked to look at 
the medical records of the seven known mutilated dogs and 
the old woman. He managed to discuss the case as 
professionally as possible with his two companions. 

Not once did he meet the eyes of the woman across the 
desk.  


*************************************************

Dana Waterston's House
Wolfcove, Minnesota

Scully sat down tiredly at the dinner table, staring 
down at the microwave dinner in front of her. She wasn't 
really hungry, but she knew she should eat. And while 
she was exhausted, she didn't think she would be able 
to sleep, either. Every time she closed her eyes, she 
kept seeing Mulder as he had looked when she had asked 
that ever-important question about believing. He had 
seemed angry, and even scared.

What had happened to him to make him this way? The man 
she had met today didn't believe in extreme possibilities, 
but he had once upon a time. Scully remembered a moment 
in their history when Mulder had stopped believing, all 
because some slick government people had led him to believe 
that he had been a major pawn in a giant hoax. He had 
regained his faith, though Scully wasn't quite sure how, 
and she had remembered how happy she had been to have 'her' 
Mulder back.

Had something similar happened in this world as well? Or 
was it something different? Even when he had stopped 
believing in aliens and UFO's, 'her' Mulder had still devoted 
himself to the X-Files, had still been determined to ferret 
out the truth from his government sources, had still enjoyed 
coming to work each day. What was different now?

"That's simple," a familiar voice said from across the room. 
"You're not a part of his life now."

Scully glared at Yasuo, resisting the urge to fling her 
cooling dinner at him. "Would you stop reading my mind." 
She stood, carrying her uneaten meal to the garbage. 
"You're not going to toy with my ego by making me think 
that Mulder needs me in his life to be happy."

"Why not if it's the truth?"

She spun around to face him. "What happened to him? Why 
is he falling apart like this?"

Yasuo seemed to consider the question for a while. "I 
think that is something you will have to ask him."

Scully crossed her arms under her breasts. "Do you really 
think he's going to be sticking around here long enough 
for me to do that?" She shook her head. "He doesn't want 
to be here. He doesn't want to be around me." It had been 
obvious all morning. Not once had the man looked directly 
at her after her interrogation, and when he left with Jake, 
he just about ran out the door.

"Are you so sure of that?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Scully practically 
shouted. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it!"

Yasuo just smiled, turned his head toward the door, and 
shrugged.

A knock sounded, startling Scully. With an exaggerated 
sigh, she marched across the room toward the front door. 
Standing on her tiptoes, she peeked through the peephole, 
and felt the ground drop out from under her feet. 
Figuratively, of course. She turned to glare at Yasuo, 
but he had disappeared. "Figures," she mumbled, the 
opened the door.

"Agent Mulder, what a surprise." She couldn't stop the 
sarcasm. 

Hands in his coat pockets, Mulder looked at her grimly. 
"I want to hear your theory, and I want the truth."

Placing her free hand on her hip, Scully returned his 
stare. "I think you already know what my theory is."

"A werewolf?" Mulder let out a laugh with no humor behind 
it. "You know, if I were to judge you by what I've heard 
and read, and by the Detective's praise of you, I would 
have determined you were one level-headed, classy lady." 
He paused, tilting his head in feigned curiosity. "So what 
made you so...open-minded?"

You.

She didn't say the word, but she felt it, and his narrowing 
eyes made it appear he had felt it, too.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the 
chance as a loud scream ripped across the yard from the 
house next door.

Mulder immediately lost the lazy, haggard look and became 
alert and focused. He unholstered the gun on his hip and 
motioned to her with his left hand. "Stay here."

"Like hell I will!" Scully argued. She ducked off to the 
side, opening a drawer in the desk sitting there, and 
pulled out her own gun. 

Frowning, Mulder eyed it. "Don't worry," Scully told him. 
"It's licensed and I do know how to use it." With that 
she headed out the door and toward Rose Reynolds' house, 
pausing as another scream rent the air. Mulder pushed 
past her and ran toward the sound, which was coming from 
the woman's back yard.

Lithely, he jumped the chain link fence, and Scully 
couldn't help but admire his agility. Then all thoughts 
of athletic men left her mind as a horrible growl echoed 
from beyond. She struggled over the fence after Mulder 
in time to see a dark shape take off toward the opposite 
side of the yard.

"I'll get him, you stay with her," Mulder yelled over his 
shoulder, pointing toward the still whimpering Rose, who 
was lying just past her back porch, bleeding. Her little 
poodle, Sam, was barking crazily from inside the house.

Scully ran to Rose, quickly finding the worst of the 
bleeding and trying desperately to slow it. She cast a 
glance toward the direction Mulder had run, but it was 
too dark beyond Rose's porch light to see anything. 

Sirens began to wail, and Scully silently thanked whichever 
neighbor had called the police. Then she silently pleaded 
with God to take care of Mulder.

*************************************************

Mulder chased the dark shape, positive that it had to be 
a man, but as he closed the gap, he began to wonder. 
Maybe it was a man in a disguise, taking advantage of the 
wolf-man craze by dressing himself up as a hairy monster. 
But as the object of his pursuit ran underneath a 
streetlight, Mulder's certainties died. Men didn't run on 
four legs, not that fast anyway.

It was a wolf, and a big one. Skidding to a stop, Mulder 
aimed his weapon and fired. The animal jerked, indicated 
a direct hit, but didn't slow. It turned and jumped a 
fence into another yard. Determined now, Mulder followed, 
barely noticing the sound of sirens coming from behind 
him. 

He jumped the fence, dismayed to see the thick vegetation 
the engulfed this particular yard. Maybe he should let it 
go for now, he thought. It was wounded; it shouldn't be 
hard to find tomorrow. He moved forward carefully, weapon 
at the ready, but his caution was for naught. The animal 
jumped out at him from its hiding place behind a large 
evergreen, knocking him off his feet. Somehow, he managed 
to keep a hold of his gun, and he rolled himself over, 
regaining his feet just as the wolf turned to face him 
once more.

The two stared at each other. The wolf appeared black, 
but it was hard to tell in the dim light coming from the 
house next to them. But even that dim light couldn't hide 
the deadly glare of the animal's teeth as he snarled. Nor 
could it hide the glare in the creature's eyes, eyes that 
looked... 

'Just shoot,' Mulder told himself. 'Shoot, now!'

"Hey!"

A shout from the back door of the house distracted Mulder 
for less than a second, but that second was all the wolf 
needed. On feet almost as large as Mulder's hand, it turned 
and raced into the night.

"What's going on out there?" demanded the owner of the 
house. The sound of sirens became louder as a cop car 
raced his way. Mulder stood silent, a slight shiver racing 
up his spine. 

The wolf had looked him in the eye, and Mulder had looked 
back into eyes that were inexplicably... human.

*************************************************

"It was a wolf," Mulder said firmly. "I saw it. A big, 
black wolf."

Scully sat on the couch that was situated along the south 
wall of Jake's office, watching the two men sitting across 
the desk from each other. After ensuring Rose had arrived 
safely at the hospital, Scully had come straight here, 
only to find Mulder writing out a report at a borrowed desk 
just outside of Jake's office. Jake had seen her coming, 
asked about Rose, and then escorted both her and Mulder 
into his office, where he had proceeded to ask Mulder what 
he had seen.

"Do you know how rare black wolves are, Agent Mulder?" 
Jake asked him.

Mulder just shrugged. "That's what I saw," he told the 
Detective, his face devoid of expression. "Of course, it 
was night. It may not have been black, just dark." 

His demeanor disturbed Scully. He carried a bruise on his 
left cheek from something that happened during the chase, 
but since she hadn't read the report, she didn't know 
what. And if she wasn't mistaken, he was hiding something.

"How did you get that bruise on your face?" she asked.

Mulder hesitated slightly. "It jumped me, in that last 
yard. Knocked me down. I must have hit it on a rock or 
something."

"It attacked you?" Jake was incredulous.

Mulder shrugged. "I don't know that it actually attacked 
me," he said. "He jumped at me and shoved me to the 
ground, but he didn't grab hold of me with his mouth or 
anything." He paused, looking off into space as if 
remembering back. "Then the old man came out of the house 
and called out. It turned and ran before I could do 
anything." He focused on Jake. "But I did hit him earlier. 
I know I did."

Jake nodded. "That's odd that it didn't grab you. Even 
more odd that it ran when it did." He glanced at Scully. 
"It must be sick. We better tell the hospital to start 
Rose on a rabies vaccination regimen."

"It does sound sick," Scully replied, but she wasn't 
necessarily agreeing with Jake. She looked at Mulder, 
who was eyeing her speculatively. Almost as if he knew 
she was holding back. 

"We'll start tracking him in the morning," Jake 
continued, not even noticing the silent exchange between 
Mulder and Scully. "I'll call Clayton in; he's the best 
in the business." He stood, and Mulder stood with him. 
"Why don't you go and get some sleep, Agent Mulder. We'll 
meet you here at 7 AM. The sun will be up shortly after 
that and we can get to work."

Silently, Mulder nodded in assent, then turned to leave, 
giving Scully a small nod as he left.

Jake sat back down and looked at her. She looked back 
at him, knowing what was coming. Finally, he spoke.

"So what was Agent Mulder doing in your neighborhood 
when Rose was attacked?"

She thought for a moment, then decided that telling him 
as much of the truth as possible was the best thing to 
do. "He stopped by my house to ask about my werewolf 
theory."

"Ah, yes," Jake said as he stood again. He walked over 
to the couch and sat next to her. Despite her memories 
of pleasant dinners and quiet hikes through the woods 
with this man, Scully couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. 
"Exactly how did you get this theory, and why haven't 
I heard it before?"

Scully shrugged. "I just don't believe a wolf could be 
doing this, Jake," she told him. "Despite the evidence. 
Don't ask me why; it's just a feeling."

Jake stared at her for a while. "You know, in a way, I 
hope you're right."

Scully felt her eyes widen.

"I don't want wolves to get an even worse reputation than 
they already have," he told her quietly. "Not now, when 
they're finally gaining some ground in the Lower 48."

Scully nodded in agreement, and then sighed. "Whatever it 
is, we need to catch it, kill it." She sighed. "There's 
no guarantee Rose will ever be able to tell us what 
happened, even if she lives." The older woman had lost a 
lot of blood.

"We'll get it tomorrow," Jake said, and he sounded as 
confident as he ever had.

Scully wished she had that much confidence.

"And afterwards, I'll take you out to dinner."

She couldn't help but smile at his statement. "Maybe," 
she replied. He was a wonderful man, but while she was 
still in limbo between this world and the one she had 
left behind, she was making no commitments. She stood. 
"I need to get some sleep. Goodnight Jake."

"Goodnight," he said softly, and she could feel his eyes 
follow her as she left the room.

*************************************************

Wolfcove, Minnesota
Halloween Night

Clayton may have been good, but he wasn't good enough, 
especially after the cold rain started around nine A.M. 
Scully knew of a few things worse than slogging around 
in 40 degree temperatures with rain and wind 
accompanying it, but as the day progressed, she couldn't 
think of any of them.

When nightfall came, the small party of searchers, which 
included Deputies, trackers and a couple of hunters, 
decided on a new course of action. A stakeout. Dividing 
in teams of two, the group split up in different vehicles 
and parked at various points around the edge of town, 
hoping that someone would get lucky and see the animal 
they were hunting come out of the woods. 

Scully knew that Jake had wanted to pair up with Mulder, 
but he had been called in on another case, a robbery, at 
a home about four miles west of town. When he learned that 
Scully was determined to keep watch along with the others, 
he asked Mulder to pair up with her. Scully was surprised, 
but pleased, and began to wonder if her friend Yasuo was 
somewhere around working his 'magic.'

Mulder wasn't the best companion that night, but then, 
neither was she. They had both been out in the forest 
that day, though in separate groups, and though they were 
in dry clothing with hot food in their stomachs now, it 
was hard to forget the wet chill outside.

It was almost eight P.M. before Mulder spoke.

"There aren't any trick-or-treaters." They were parked 
near the entrance to the city park, which sat next to the 
lake. Several houses lined the road that let up to the 
park; their lights were on, but nobody was out and about.

"Do you blame them for staying home?" Scully responded. 

"I suppose not," he replied. "When I was a kid, nothing 
could keep me from trick-or-treating."

Scully looked over at him as he took a sip of coffee. 
"Did you go with friends, or did you have siblings?"

He paused. "I had a little sister," he said quietly. "She 
was quite a bit younger than me, so I usually went with 
friends while my mom took her. When my dad decided I was 
too old for it, he made me take her."

Scully pushed at subtly as she could. "You 'had' a 
sister?"

Another pause. "She disappeared when I was twelve. I only 
got to take her trick-or-treating once."

"Disappeared?" Scully asked. She had always been amazed 
at the trust Mulder had put in her on their first case 
together when he told her about Samantha. Was that trust 
here in this world too?

Mulder shook his head. "It's a long story." Then he was 
silent.

Scully frowned. The Mulder she knew had never been this 
closed mouthed, especially with her. But how could she 
get him to open up to her? And why did she want him to? 
She knew the answer to the latter question: she wanted to 
help him, to make him happy, or at least relatively happy, 
like she remembered him. Even if she could never take a 
permanent place in his life.

"Any other siblings?" she asked, trying to open up 
conversation.

He shook his head, and for a moment Scully thought she 
had failed, but then he turned to her. "You?"

"Two brothers and a sister," she told him. A sudden wave 
of sadness flooded her. "My sister was killed," she 
continued. "Shot by an ex-boyfriend." She grimaced. Melissa 
would have died too young even if Scully had never been 
involved with the X-Files. The thought didn't make her 
guilt any less.

"I'm sorry," Mulder responded. "Your brothers?"

"Alive and well. Charlie is married and the father of 
two boys. He's an architect, and they live in London. 
Bill is in the Navy; he and his wife just had a baby boy 
two years ago."

"Your parents?"

"My mom lives in Gladstone, Virginia. My dad passed away 
almost seven years ago." She looked him, very curious 
now. "Yours?"

He frowned and seemed to hesitate, but decided since he 
had asked and she had answered, he better return the 
favor. "My parents are divorced. My dad lives in 
Massachusetts. My mom in Rhode Island."

His father was alive? Probably because he had never gotten 
enough guts to try and tell his son the truth about his 
history with CGB Spender and the others. Or he didn't 
think Mulder would believe him.

There was another silence as Scully tried to figure out 
a way to ask her next question, but Mulder beat her to it.

"Why do you believe in werewolves?"

"Why don't you?" she countered. "You're the one that 
investigates the paranormal."

He glanced out into the dark. "I've seen to many hoaxes 
to believe that anything like that can be real."

"I don't believe you."

He glared at her. "I don't know where you got the idea that 
you know me so well, Dr. Waterston, but you don't."

Scully wasn't daunted. "What happened? You once believed, 
now you don't. What happened?"

"Where's Mr. Waterston?" he countered.

She was startled. "How..?"

"I talked quite a bit with Jake on our hike today," he 
told her. "He mentioned that you came to Wolfcove after 
you left your husband."

Scully wasn't sure she was happy with the idea that they 
had been talking about her, but it wasn't really a bad 
thing, either.

"You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours."

"Fine. You first."

She sighed. "He left his first wife for me, a much 
younger woman. We married, I got pregnant, he started 
seeing his secretary, yada, yada, yada."

"You had a baby?"

Scully should have known he would focus on that part. 
"She died. Before she was born."

He swallowed, as if her words caused him physical pain. 
"I'm so sorry."

If he hadn't said anything, she would have been okay, but 
his quite sympathy was her undoing. She turned her face 
away and swiped at the tears suddenly scudding down her 
face. Taking a deep breath, she faced him again. "Your turn."

This time, Mulder was the one who took a deep breath. 
"There was a woman, Audra," he started. "A believer, like 
myself. She was partnered with me several years ago and 
we became very close."

Scully tried not to feel jealous. After all, she had 
married another man in this world.

"I thought we had it made, both in our professional as 
well as our personal lives." He paused, not looking at her.

"What happened?" Scully urged.

"She was spying on me," he told her. "Somehow, I had gotten 
too close to a few too many government secrets, and she had 
been sent in to make sure I didn't get any closer. When I 
found out, she proved to me everything I had ever believed 
in had been a hoax." He paused. "Including her."

Scully knew he was simplifying it all. What Kritschgau 
had done to him in the other world, this woman had done in 
this one. Kritschgau had been a stranger. This woman had 
been someone he trusted, someone he loved.

It was as if Scully herself had turned on him. It was what 
the powers-that-be had wanted Scully to do when they had 
sicced her on Mulder all those years ago. Only she hadn't 
done it; she had done the exact opposite.

Mulder laughed suddenly. "I supposed you're really 
confused now?" His forced smile faded. "Or else you think 
I'm crazy."

Smiling, she looked at him. "No. I don't think you're 
crazy at all." 

She saw movement outside his window behind him and tilted 
her head to look past him. Seeing her movement, he turned 
to look. "What the hell is he doing?" he asked no one. 

Scully, eyes wide, realized Mulder could see the man 
walking toward him. 'Well, why not?' She thought. 'This 
is a dream after all.' "Uhm, that's Mr. Yasuo," she said, 
opening the passenger side door of the car. "He lives in 
this neighborhood. Let me tell him to get back home." She 
got out and moved around the front of the car, not happy 
to be out in the rain again.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

The little man shrugged, looking absurd in a big overcoat 
and floppy hat. "I guessed you might be ready to go home 
now."

"What?"

He nodded his head toward the car behind her, indicating 
Mulder. "Now you know why he is the way he is. And why you 
are so important to his life."

"Yeah, but..." she paused. "What about my life? What if I 
think this life is better for me?"

He smirked. "Do you?"

'Yes!' She wanted to shout, but she knew it would be a lie. 
Even here, in this little one horse town, on a cold rainy 
night in October, she didn't want to be anywhere else but 
with Mulder.

"No," she whispered.

"Okay, then..." Yasuo raised his arms in the air as if he 
was about to magically transport her back to reality as she 
remembered it, but Scully stopped him. "Wait!"

He paused, arms in the air, eyebrows almost as high.

"Not yet," she told him. "I want to catch this thing 
first."

Yasuo lowered his arms. "As you wish."

A loud howl sounded off to her left, toward the lake. She 
heard the car door opening behind her as Mulder rushed out 
to join her. She glanced at him and he met her nervous look 
with one of his own. "Let's go," she told him. 

He nodded, and together they made their way toward the 
sound.

Neither noticed that Yasuo had once again disappeared.


*************************************************

Mulder was aware of the cold rain hitting his face, 
but its impact affected him a lot less than the simple 
presence of the woman running next to him. Why did she 
seem so familiar to him? Why did her presence comfort 
and yet excite him at the same time? And why had he opened 
up to her so easily tonight, telling her things he would 
rather forget ever happened?

All the questions running through his mind faded as he 
caught sight of the wolf, or what everyone presumed to 
be a wolf. A wolf with human eyes. For a quick second, 
Mulder wished he had told Waterston what he had seen last 
night; maybe she would have been able to give him a good 
scientifically acceptable reason for it.

They neared the lake, and Mulder realized his companion 
was breathing hard. For some reason, this bothered him. 
In his minds eye, she was in as good of shape as he was. 
He paused at the shore, looked left, then right. He 
glanced at Waterston. "You okay?"

She nodded, placing her hands on her knees and leaning 
over, gulping in the cold, wet air that surrounded them. 
"Guess I'm not in as great of shape as I thought I was." 
He thought she sounded amused. "Which way do you think 
it went?"

"You saw it?" he asked. "The wolf?"

"Sure looked like a wolf," she replied, not really 
agreeing with him.

"You still don't think it is a wolf, do you?"

She shrugged, and then pointed to the ground in front 
of them. Paw prints as large as a man's hand were imbedded 
in the mud along the lake's edge. They traveled off to 
their left. Without another word, Mulder set off to follow 
them. He heard Waterston following, but didn't turn to 
look at her.

"Wait a minute," she said suddenly.

He stopped and looked at her. She was pointing into the 
trees. "What's that?" Without waiting for him to answer, 
she headed away from the shore and into the forest.

Mulder felt his whole being tense. For some strange 
reason, he knew what she was doing wasn't safe, and he 
followed her, moving as quickly as he could through the 
muck.

Waterston stopped before the tree that bore the object 
she had seen. It was a shirt, its white fabric torn and 
muddy. She touched it briefly. "I don't see any blood," 
she told him.

"I guess that's a good thing," Mulder replied. He looked 
back at the lake, wishing more than anything that he had 
a flashlight. The illumination from town was being 
reflected well by the low clouds, but this far out, it 
wasn't helping much. "Let's call for backup," he told 
her. "Maybe we can get Clayton out here before those tracks 
wash away."

She eyed him speculatively, then slowly nodded. "Okay."

He turned and headed for the shore once more, intent on 
following it back to the park and their car. Out of the 
corner of his eye, he caught sight of a large dark shape 
in the trees above, and he turned, directing both his 
gaze and his weapon upward.

Waterston gasped and turned to look up as well, but before 
she could even complete the move, a huge branch fell from 
the tree, the horrendous crack it made echoing over the 
lake. She screamed as it came down upon her, and Mulder 
felt his heart grow cold. 

"Scully!"

He began to rush forward, but the shape he had seen in the 
trees, the one that was responsible for the downed branch, 
launched itself at him. He ducked and rolled, feeling the 
heat of the creature as it soared over him, landing with a 
grunt and growl several feet away. Mulder rose to his knees, 
firing his weapon at the wolf. Three times he fired. Three 
times the animal jerked as if hit, but it didn't go down or 
even act affected at all.

"Mulder!"

Mulder turned toward his fallen companion. Though pinned 
by the large branch across her middle, she managed to toss 
her gun to him. Without stopping to think, he dropped his 
own weapon and reached for hers. The wolf was rushing towards 
him, its human eyes blazing, its teeth bared. Mulder fired 
once. Again, the creature jerked, but this time it also 
yelped. With a pitiful moan, it turned and ran off into the 
trees.

Breathing hard, Mulder kept the weapon up and ready, but 
the woods had become silent once more. He felt the rain hit 
his head, causing mud to dribble down his face, and he brought 
up one arm to wipe it of, stopping himself when he realized 
that his coat sleeve was even muddier than his face.

"Mulder?"

Taking a deep breath, Mulder picked up his fallen weapon and 
rose to his feet, then he stumbled over to Waterston. With 
her help, he lifted the heavy limb off of her, then kneeled 
down next to her, automatically touching her face as if to 
assure himself she was alive.

"I'm fine," she said softly, answering the question in his 
eyes.

Mulder handed her the gun she had tossed him. "Let me 
guess," he told her. "Silver bullets?"

She nodded. "I had Larry Reynolds, Rose's son, make them 
for me last week." She looked away, and then started to 
stand. 

Mulder took a hold of her elbows and rose with her, bracing 
her. He let her go and was about to turn away when she 
stopped him, her own hands on his arms. 

"Mulder?"

He looked at her curiously. "What?"

"You called me Scully," she told him. "Why?"

He vaguely remembered yelling that name out when the branch 
had fallen on her, but he didn't know why. "I don't know. 
Does it have some meaning for you?"

She paused. "It's my maiden name," she told him. "It's what 
you used to..." 

Abruptly, she stopped, and Mulder knew his confusion was 
showing on his face.

A sharp yelp from the trees kept him from asking what she 
meant, and without another word, they both began to 
follow the sound.

They found him in a clearing not far from where Mulder 
had shot him. He was lying naked on the ground, his 
breathing shallow, his heart slow. Three small wounds on 
his chest were bleeding ever so slightly, and a much larger 
one in his shoulder was bleeding profusely.

Mulder stood in shock as Dana Waterston kneeled down next 
to the dying Jake Lennox. He watched as she gently brushed 
the hair away from the Detective's forehead. "Call the 
others," she said softly over her shoulder. Belatedly, he 
pulled out his cell phone, hoping it would find a signal 
out here. It did.

"I just wanted to be like them," Mulder heard Lennox 
whisper. "But I couldn't control myself." The man tried 
to smile. "Now I know why they are so much better than us."

Mulder managed to reach the Sheriff's Office, and they 
promised they would get as many people out to help as 
quickly as possible. But Mulder knew it would be too late 
for Lennox.

He was right, as the man died moments before the others 
made their way down the lakeshore and into the forest, 
and Dana Scully Waterston began to cry.

*************************************************

Wolfcove Sheriff's Office
5:14 A.M. November 1st

Scully balanced herself carefully on the edge of the 
chair, trying her best not to get mud everywhere. The 
blanket over her shoulders helped, but it wasn't long 
enough to cover her back end, and she was reluctant to get 
the upholstery dirty. The people working here had enough of 
a mess to deal with already.

Wolfcove's best detective was dead, and nobody had a good 
explanation why. Mulder had admitted to shooting a wolf, 
and Scully had corroborated his story right down to the 
last detail. Finding the dying police officer had been 
the last thing either of them had expected.

Many were saying that Mulder had shot the man accidentally; 
it was dark and rainy and the FBI agent hadn't been able 
to see clearly. Others were saying the detective had jumped 
in front of the wolf Mulder had been shooting at, trying to 
protect it. Only a few whispered the word 'werewolf,' and 
then only to themselves.

Scully knew that Mulder would have a difficult time escaping 
charges, and he might even have to face a prison sentence. 
Even if Jake's death was labeled accidental, Mulder would 
most likely be fired. She watched as he stood in the corner 
of the room, hands cradling a Styrofoam cup of coffee, 
staring into the dark liquid as if he could find the answers 
to all life in the potent brew.

He looked absolutely devastated, and Scully's heart cried 
for him. She had stated over and over that Mulder had not 
intentionally shot Jake, but she didn't know if it would 

do any good. There was nothing else she could do. Except...

She stood and walked across the room to stand in front of 
him. "Mulder..."

"Who are you?" he asked tiredly. "Who are you really? 
Someone else sent to play games with my mind?"

Scully looked into his eyes and wondered how she had ever 
entertained the thought that she could live without this 
man. She shook her head, and then she stood on tiptoe and 
kissed him softly on the lips. "In your heart, you know who 
I am. You told me so in the forest, when you called my name."

"Scully?"

She smiled, thrilled to hear that name come from his lips. 
"Yes."

For a moment, his eyes brightened, but then they dimmed 
once more and the hopelessness returned. "It doesn't matter. 
Nothing matters anymore."

"What if I told you that we knew each other in another 
life," she said softly, not wanting the cops congregated 
just outside the open door to hear her. "What if I told you 
that we were partners? Best friends?"

He frowned. "I would say you were crazy," he said, but his 
voice lacked conviction.

Scully smiled again. "Maybe you'd be right," she told him. 
"Then again, maybe you haven't just killed a werewolf."

He closed his eyes, hiding his pain from her. "I killed a 
man," he told her. "A good man."

She pushed away from him, frustrated. She had hoped that 
by staying here and helping him stop the killings she would 
help him, but now she knew he was beyond her help. He had 
needed her long ago, and she hadn't been there. Well, that 
was about to change.

"Okay, Yasuo," she called out. "I guess I'm done here."

"Yes, indeed you are."

Scully spun around, unsurprised to see the little Asian 
man standing between herself and a shocked Mulder. What 
did surprise her is that they weren't in the little office 
at the Sheriff's department anymore. 

They were in the basement office of the J. Edgar Hoover 
building.

Mulder looked around him. "What the hell?" He looked at 
Yasuo. "You're the guy from the park. How did we get here?" 
He frowned as he looked about the room. "This is my office, 
only it looks different."

Scully glared at Yasuo. "Why is he here?"

Yasuo shrugged. "I thought maybe you wanted to say goodbye."

"What do you..?" Scully paused, then realized this may 
indeed be her chance. If she was going back to 'her' Mulder, 
her partner and best friend, who she would never consider 
kissing for fear of changing the wonderful relationship they 
had, this was her chance to let her true feelings show.

Taking a deep breath, she rushed by Yasuo, wrapped her arms 
around a wide-eyed Mulder, and kissed him. At first, he was 
frozen in shock, but then his arms came around her and he 
opened his mouth, returning her kiss with a passion Scully 
had only dreamed about.

Then, everything went dark.

*************************************************

When Scully opened her eyes, she found herself in the 
X-files office once more, only this time she was alone. The 
building was quiet, and the clock on the desk in front of 
her told her it was still early morning, only a few minutes 
before 6. The only illumination in the office came from the 
small desk lamp.

She took a deep breath and walked behind the desk, sitting 
carefully in the chair, only then realizing that she was 
clean, in dry clothing, and that her body didn't ache as if 
she had spent part of the evening pinned underneath a fallen 
branch. 

She reached for the phone, intent on calling Mulder, when it 
rang. Licking her lips nervously, she picked it up. "Yes?"

"There you are," said a well-loved voice on the other end of 
the line. "I tried your cell phone and your home phone, but 
you wouldn't answer."

"Are you okay, Mulder?" she asked, not even offering an 
explanation for being at the office this early in the morning.

There was a pause. "Yeah," he finally told her. "I'm okay. It 
looks like I'll be here for a while, though. It's kind of a 
mess up here right now."

"What happened?" Scully demanded.

"One of the deputies shot what he believed to be a wolf, only 
when he caught up to the animal, he found one of the detectives, 
naked and shot. He died shortly afterwards." He took a deep 
breath. "Nobody here wants to believe he and the wolf were one 
and the same."

"A werewolf," Scully responded. "How..?"

"Look, Scully, I know you don't believe either, but-"

"That's not what I was going to say," Scully interrupted 
him. "I was going to ask how the deputy killed a werewolf. 
Aren't they supposed to be hard to kill?"

There was silence for a moment. "Once I came here and 
proposed my theory, several of the men here started making 
and carrying silver bullets. This deputy was one of them."

A small smile formed on Scully's face. "Congratulations, 
Agent Mulder. Even if they never solve the mystery in their 
own minds, at least you stopped the killings."

Mulder huffed out a laugh. "I guess," he said. "It may be 
a while before I can get out of here. I was with the deputy 
when he fired, so I saw what he saw. I'm not going to let 
him be charged with murder."

Scully nodded. "Okay. Keep me updated, huh?"

"I will." He paused a moment. "Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"I wish you had come. We may have been able to solve this 
thing a lot sooner if you had been here."

"I don't think so, Mulder," she told him with a smile. "I 
think there are some things we can handle very well by 
ourselves." Mulder began to argue, but Scully stopped him. 
"But only some things. For everything else, I think I need 
you as much as you need me."

The silence this time was deafening, and Scully was sure 
she had shocked her partner into speechlessness, not 
something that happened very often. When he finally spoke, 
his voice was low, and it sent a shiver up her spine. The 
good kind of shiver.

"I'm gonna get out of here ASAP, Scully, and when I get 
back there, I'm going to make you repeat those words to 
my face."

Scully laughed. "You won't have to make me, Mulder. I'll 
do it more than willingly... after you make me dinner."

She heard the smile in his voice. "Deal. I'll call you and 
let you know when I'm getting out of here."

"Okay," she responded. There was another long silence as 
neither of them were willing to hang up first. Finally, she 
heard a resigned sigh and the line was disconnected. She 
hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. She almost 
expected to see Yasuo standing on the other side of the 
room, a pleased smile on his wrinkled face, but she was 
alone in the office. 

'But not for long,' she told herself. Mulder would be back 
soon, and then the two of them would continue on this amazing 
journey... together.

THE END

Author's Note: Once more, I found the title for this 
story with my favorite band, Genesis. Hey, it's only the 
fourth song of their self-titled album that I've used. 
Anyway, I always believed this song to be the perfect Scully 
song, and finally I was able to use it for this story. Thank 
you Phil, Mike and Tony. And thank you David and Gillian; 
hope to see you both together on the big screen some time 
soon!

***

That's All

Just as I thought it was going alright
I find out I'm wrong, when I thought I was right
It's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all
I could say day, you'd say night
tell me it's black when I know that it's white
it's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all

I could leave but I won't go
though my heart might tell me so
I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes
so why does it always seem to be
me looking at you, you looking at me
it's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all

Turning me on, turning me off
making me feel like I want too much
living with you is just putting me through it all of the time
running around, staying out all night
taking it all instead of taking one bite
living with you is just putting me through it all of the time

I could leave but I won't go
it'd be easier I know
I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes
but why does it always seem to be
me looking at you, you looking at me
it's always the same, just a shame, that's all

Truth is I love you
more than I wanted to
there's no point in trying to pretend
there's been no-one who
makes me feel like you do
say we'll be together 'til the end

I could leave but I won't go
it'd be easier I know
I can't feel a thing from my head down to my toes
but why does it always seem to be
me looking at you, you looking at me
it's always the same, just a shame, that's all

Just as I thought it was going alright
I find out I'm wrong when I thought I was right
it's always the same, just a shame, that's all
I could say day, you'd say night
tell me it's black when I know that it's white
it's always the same, it's just a shame, that's all

That's all