Evil Follows Evil
By Lori Theodore (AKA PhantmCat@aol.com)

Necessary, official sounding, legal gobbledygook (Y'know, it wouldn't be the
same without it):
Mulder, Scully, and the rest of the X-Files family are the creations and
property of Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions, and Fox Broadcasting and
have been used without permission.  The other miscellaneous people are mine--
mostly. :)

     
This is my follow up to a favorite episode of mine, "The Calusari."
It is not neccessary to have seen that episode to follow this story but it
helps. Without giving too much away,  I'll warn everyone ahead of time that
this is a very dark story and  Mulder definately behaves out of character so
be prepared. Atleast he has a good reason.  I'd probably rate this PG-13,
just because some scenes are adult oriented.  It was fun to write because
it allowed me to do alot of  experimenting.  I hope you enjoy it.

                                              ###

     It was pure evil and it wanted him.  Since the day it had been driven
out of the boy, it had been watching the man.  From the moment it first
became aware of him, it knew he was the one.  It waited patiently as the
man's world began to collapse upon itself.  He became increasingly angry and
bitter.  The time was right.  The moment was here.  The new host was ready.
     The boy had served its purposes well--young, energetic, impressionable.
An adult male, though, with all the strengths, weaknesses and lusts of a
mature human being, was what it truly desired.  To once again feel as a man
feels, to know the joys of the flesh as only a man can know, to bask in the
glory of the kill, and once again wallow in hatred and wickedness--on these
things it thrived and grew strong.  
     It hovered nearby, waiting, as the man parted company with the
flame-haired woman.  He was sad, and as one who's resistance is down after a
long illness, susceptible to its power.  Tonight it would take control.
Tonight it would once again unleash its fury upon the world.

     Special Agent Fox Mulder parked his car at the curb.  He ducked his head
slightly as he got out and walked around to the other side to open the door
for his companion.  His partner, Special Agent Dana Scully, stepped out
gracefully and waited for him to close the door.  The night was clear and the
warm spring breeze made the new leaves on the trees whisper and dance.
Dana's perfume mingled with scent of flowers in the air.  
     Mulder smiled, admiring how wonderful Scully looked in her blue, satin
dress.  He rarely had the opportunity to see her dressed in anything other
than the conservative business suits she usually wore to the office.  This
particular dress was worn off the shoulders, revealing her milky white skin
and just the right amount of cleavage.  The dress hugged her body, and he
couldn't help admiring her shapely figure.  Dana saw his expression and
smiled shyly.  It was so unlike her to feel bashful around Mulder, of all
people.  As they walked up the sidewalk toward her apartment, she tried to
relieve the tension with some light conversation.
     "You know, I never thought of you as the theater-going type, Mulder."
     He started to take hold of her arm and thought better of it.  "I believe
in supporting the arts, Scully."
     She smiled.  "I thought the only art you supported was the
ready-for-framing centerfold in every issue of 'Naughty Nudes' Magazine."
     "Ah, Scully, you wound me with your sarcasm," he said laughing. "You
misinterpret my motives."
     "Really?"  She asked, raising an eyebrow.
     "Entirely.  I'm a psychologist and I profile serial killers when I'm not
working on the X-Files.  I need to stay in touch with the darker side of
man's nature."
     "I've had all of the dark side of man's nature I can handle for one
lifetime," she commented.
     "Yeah, I know what you mean," He said more seriously.  "It's nice to get
a break from the nightmare--atleast for a little while."
     Scully knew there was more truth to his words than he'd care to admit.
They both worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation on cases known
simply as X-Files.  These were the type of cases the Bureau didn't want
publicized--UFOs hauntings, possessions, and other paranormal events.  Mulder
was a true believer.  No case was too bizarre for him and he pursued his work
with a passion few people understood.  Scully was more of a skeptic, and, as
a medical doctor, she provided a scientific balance for Mulder's more
outlandish theories.  She never doubted his brilliance, despite his unusual
methods.  When Mulder started getting too close to some of the more sensitive
issues the government wished to keep quiet, Scully was sent in to debunk him.
Instead, they'd formed a close and caring partnership unequaled in the FBI.
     Mulder did not use the word "nightmare" lightly.  They'd both
experienced about as many horrors as two people could stand while still
keeping their sanity in tact.  Mulder's nightmare began when he was a young
boy.  His young sister had been taken away from him.  Mulder claimed she was
abducted by aliens, and the quest to find the truth became the driving force
in his life.  After he joined the FBI, his fellow agents nicknamed him
"Spooky,"  which he detested as thoroughly as his first name, Fox.  Some of
his most recent horrors had left emotional wounds from which he still hadn't
recovered.  In the last few months alone, he'd nearly lost his life to an
unidentified retrovirus, and he'd seen an evil and malevolent force possess a
small child.
     Dana's nightmare was her own abduction.  She had a three month void in
her life which couldn't be explained.  She'd simply vanished.  She didn't
know whether she'd also been abducted by some sort of extraterrestrial
beings, or if her own government had used her as a guinea pig in some
grotesque experiment.  Whoever _did_ know wasn't talking.  One thing was
certain, though, the experience nearly cost her her life. 
     "Did you enjoy the show?" he asked quietly.
     "The show was wonderful."  She looked up into his eyes, "The company
even better."
     "I couldn't agree more," he said, as a grin tugged at the corner of his
lips.
     Dana couldn't help but notice how positively dashing Mulder looked in
his navy blue suit.  He was tall, but well-proportioned, and the suit fit him
perfectly.  His short brown hair was just slightly mussed which gave him an
innocent, boyish look.  She found the overall picture almost sexy and tried
to push the thought from her mind.  That was breaking all of the rules, she
warned herself.  The thought had crossed her mind lately more often than she
cared to admit.
     Neither of them would actually acknowledge that this was a date.  They
were, after all, friends--partners--and friends were allowed to socialize
with each other outside of work.  That was legal--safe.  To call the evening
a date, well, that would simply complicate life in ways neither of them cared
to imagine.
     As they stopped at the door to Scully's apartment, they turned to face
one another.  At first, he wouldn't meet her gaze.  He kept staring at his
shoes, and shuffling his feet back and forth like an awkward schoolboy.  Dana
felt like a disobedient teenager herself--out of breath, butterflies dancing
in her stomach.
     "I guess I ought to be going," he mumbled softly.
     "Yeah," she responded half-heartedly.  "I guess."
     She wanted to say more but the words caught in her throat.  Her mouth
was suddenly very dry, and she couldn't think of a damn thing to say that
wouldn't make her sound like a babbling idiot.  They were standing much too
close.  She could feel his warm breath on her face.  When his hazel eyes
finally met hers, she felt as if her heart would melt.
Mulder, too, struggled with his emotions.  It was an exercise in frustration
for both of them.  He fought the urge to simply give into his desires.  He
wanted to pull her close, to feel her delicate body pressed up against his,
to kiss her full, red lips.  Instead, he hesitantly reached up and stroked
the soft skin of her cheek, touching her so lightly, he just barely made
contact.  Dana found his caress maddening.  She bit her lip lightly, and
caught his hand in her own.  Their fingers interlocked before he pulled away
from her completely.
     "I better leave now."
     "You'd better." 
     "See you in the morning?"
     She nodded and he smiled softly. "'Night, Scully."
     "Sweet dreams, Mulder."
     She went into the apartment and closed the door, as he walked back to
the car.  He sat motionless in the driver's seat for a few moments, willing
his heartbeat to slow.  That had been a close call.  Another minute more, and
he would have been powerless to keep from making a move that would forever
change their relationship.  He didn't want to risk losing her, and if that
meant platonic friendship, that's the way it would have to stay--atleast for
now.  
     He longingly glanced back at her apartment one more time.  The light
she'd turned on silhouetted her shapely figure on curtains of her bedroom
window.  If he really wanted to be egotistical, he could imagine she was
doing that for his benefit.  She'd changed clothes while he was sitting there
regaining his composure, and had slipped into a thin robe.  His heartbeat,
once again, began to quicken, and he fought the urge to smash her door down
like a raving lunatic.  He had to get the hell out of there before he got
into some serious trouble.  He forced his gaze away, and with shaking hand,
started the car and put it in drive.
     Good God, Mulder, he thought.  You're turning into a common peeping Tom!
     He sighed and pulled away from the curb at the same time the light in
Scully's window went dark.

     Mulder was disgusted.  There wasn't one damn sunflower seed in his
entire apartment--a lot of discarded shells, but not a single seed.  In the
excitement preceding his night on the town with Scully, he'd forgotten to go
to the grocery store again.  Because of his absentmindedness, not only didn't
he have his favorite snack food, he'd also have to pay a fine on an overdue
video, "Ginger Does Georgia", which he'd rented three days earlier.
     He changed from his suit into a tee-shirt and his favorite beat-up
sweats.  Collapsing onto the couch heavily, he tried to sort out the strange
mixture of emotions cluttering his mind.  He hadn't been so preoccupied with
a female since he was a lovesick kid in high school. He couldn't get Scully
out of his mind.  She was his partner for crying out loud!
Mulder felt a warm breeze, like the silky touch of a woman, caress the back
of his shoulders.  He turned around abruptly, but the room was empty.  Damn!
he thought.  Am I so obsessed with Scully that I'm imagining she's here with
me?  
     He picked up the TV Guide on his table and tried to read it, but the
words blurred into an unrecognizable jumble.  He was still thinking about
Scully--about how beautiful she'd looked tonight, about how close he'd been
to losing control.  He'd been keeping these emotions bottled up inside for
months now and tonight they'd nearly come spilling out.  The need to act on
those feelings was almost overpowering in its urgency.  He knew it simply
wasn't one-sided.  He'd seen the desire in her clear blue eyes, too.
     Mulder sighed and massaged his tired eyes.  He tossed the TV Guide back
on the table and reached for the remote control, only to find it wasn't
there.  With a disgruntled groan, he rummaged around between the cushions of
his couch hoping to find it.  Instead, he found his checkbook and $.82, which
he deposited on the coffee table.  On a hunch, he blindly shoved his hand in
the space between the bottom of the couch and the floor, and was rewarded
with the prized remote control.  He settled his head back onto his pillow,
propped his feet up on the couch's opposite arm, and clicked on the TV.  He
channel surfed briefly before finally settling on "Mysteries of
Extraterrestrial Life Revealed."   After ten minutes of arguing out loud with
the television set, he shut it off in disgust.  Damn Skeptics!  The only
thing mysterious about that program was that anyone had bothered to produce
it in the first place. 
     With nothing to occupy his mind, his thoughts immediately wandered back
to Scully.  Why did everything always have to be so complicated?  They were
two adults--mutually attracted to one another.  How long would they have to
keep playing this frustrating game?  How long would they have to pretend the
feelings weren't there?  Who was to say they couldn't work together and be in
love at the same time?  They'd already crossed that particular bridge, hadn't
they?
     The warm breeze danced through the room again, tickling the hairs of his
arm.  It was too warm outside to be running the furnace.  He got up and
checked the thermostat, only to find it was set on sixty-five.  My mind is
playing tricks on me, he decided, returning to the couch.  He'd just sat down
when the feathery breeze, hot this time, brushed the back of his neck.
     "Dammit!" he exclaimed.  Acting the part of the paranoid FBI agent, he
grabbed his gun out of its holster and thoroughly searched every room of his
apartment for an intruder.  As he walked into the kitchen, he felt a gust of
hot air pass by him, like someone had opened and closed a door.  He knew it
wasn't his imagination when he saw some loose papers on his desk get picked
up by the draft and drift lazily to the floor.
     Mulder tried to ignore the first twinge of fear that began to snake
through his stomach.  He had to remind himself, that despite his dedication
to his work, every peculiar thing that happened was not an X-File.  He was
overtired and jittery, and simply needed some well-deserved sleep.  He
reholstered his gun and settled back onto the couch, only to feel the hot
breeze slither over his toes.  He pulled his legs up closer to his body and
closed his eyes.  As he started to drift off to sleep, the hot wind whisked
past his face.  He tossed and turned, and each time he would begin to doze
off, a hot gust of air would caress another part of his body.
     The breeze continued to wear him down.  By early dawn he was shaking
violently and hearing ghostly voices.  It continued to grow hotter with each
hour that passed.  Mulder began to imagine that wind had a mind of its own
and took pleasure in tormenting him.  Rivulets of sweat streamed from his
temples, off the tip of his nose, down his neck and over the front of his
chest.  The voice echoed throughout his apartment.  It laughed as he huddled
at one end of the couch, disoriented, whimpering like a frightened child.
The laughing grew louder and he covered his ears to keep out the frightening
sound.  Still it continued the unrelenting cackle inside his head.
     Finally, the wind exploded into a small gale, blowing papers and loose
articles around the apartment.  It organized itself, flying in concentric
circles which grew more and more dense until it engulfed Fox Mulder into a
fiery cocoon.  A soundless scream escaped his lips as he felt the evil
presence invade his body.  It coiled around him like a boa constrictor
and squeeed his consciousness into nothingness.  He tried to resist, but
the malicious intruder was too powerful.  The demonic assailant continued its
brutal strangulation until Mulder's essence was forced into a desolate, never
ending night from which he could find no escape.

     Mulder was no longer Mulder.  He awoke on the couch to see the early
morning sunshine filtering into the room through the window.  This was
glorious--even more spectacular than he imagined it would be!  He inhaled
deeply, enjoying the sensation of the air flowing into his lungs.  He looked
through his human eyes at the signs of the struggle the night before.  Mulder
had been a worthy adversary, indeed, but even the strongest souls were no
match for an evil as old and powerful as it was.
     He looked about the room at the man's trinkets, which had been tumbled
to floor by the force of the wind.  So trivial and unimportant was this
collection of worthless knick-knacks.  A young girl's framed photograph lying
shattered on the floor caught his attention, and he picked it up.  Mulder's
brain told him this was Samantha, the sister for whom he'd searched so much
of his life.  The man spent many long, sleepless nights agonizing over the
whereabouts of this girl. Th entitye scoffed at the petty human
sentimentality.  She was gone, forget her.  He tossed the frame into the
corner, breaking the glass even further.  The search for Samantha had
officially ended. 
     The entity could feel the human's spirit struggling to reclaim the body
that was rightfully his.  He laughed aloud at the futility of Mulder's
pitiful struggle, delighting in the sound of his human voice.  He stripped
off his clothes, hurrying into the bathroom to take a good look at his newly
won body.
     He inspected himself in the mirror.  Ah, this was incredible, indeed!
No more the body of a small child.  This was the strong, healthy body of a
man in the prime of life.  A well-formed body, at that!  He looked at his
large hands and watched his reflection as he commanded the hands to touch the
face, rough with stubble.  He slowly worked his way down the human body,
taking time to familiarize himself with each new part he encountered.  The
sensation of his hands against the smooth flesh was exquisite, and he
relished each new feeling he discovered.
     He stepped into the human's shower and let the hot water flow over his
long limbs, washing away the stale sweat from the struggle the night before.
The water revitalized the body, and eased the stiffness from his neck and
shoulders.  He stepped out of the shower enjoying the sensation of the cool
air against his wet flesh.  The human's body temperature had risen slightly
when he took control and the slight chill in the air was soothing.
     He went through Mulder's routine of shaving and dressed himself in a
black suit he felt appropriate for the darkness of the occasion.  When he
finished, he again inspected his appearance in the mirror.  The human's body
pleased him.  He looked striking indeed.
There was a slight flush in the cheeks which hadn't been there before, and
the color of the eyes had deepened almost imperceptibly.  Something else was
different about the eyes--the sadness was gone, replaced by a piercing
intensity which would drive human women to their knees.  There was only one
woman he currently desired--Mulder's partner, Dana Scully.  She would be at
the office this morning.  He adjusted his necktie and stepped out of the
apartment into the world, anticipating the many pleasures that lay ahead.

      He strode into FBI headquarters confidently, delighting in the way
something as evil as himself breezed through Security Clearance.  He was free
to walk as a human being through one of the most powerful law enforcement
agencies on the planet.
As he walked down the stairs to the basement office Fox Mulder shared with
Dana Scully, he couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the traffic accident
he'd caused on the way to work.  Just a little test of his magnificent
powers.  He remembered with pleasure the expression on the terrified woman's
face as her car careened off the side of the overpass.  It had taken nothing
more than a simple thought on his part to send the vehicle spinning out of
control.  He'd later heard on the radio that the woman had survived the fiery
crash.  Too bad about the burns.
     He whistled, enjoying the humanness of the action, as he approached
another agent in the hallway.  Mulder's memory told him the man's name was
Special Agent Frank Caruthers.  Mulder had no love lost for him.
     "Hey, Spooky!" Caruthers shouted as he passed by.  "You still wasting
the country's tax dollars chasing down ghosties?"  He did a poor imitation of
the "Twilight Zone" theme song and bent over laughing, finding the whole
situation uproariously funny.
     The entity within Mulder did not.
     His eyes glowed deep, emerald green as, without thinking, he turned on
Caruthers.  Anger, in the form of pure energy, leapt out of him.  He observed
coldly as the agent lifted from the floor and smashed into the wall.
Caruthers' head hit with a sickening crack, and he lay sprawled on the floor,
dazed and confused.  Mulder never even had to touch him.
     The desire to kill was still strong.  He wanted to strangle the man,
wanted to watch as the life emptied out of his body, but couldn't risk
putting anymore suspicion on Mulder--not if he wished to continue roaming
freely.  This display of temper had been dangerous in itself.  He continued
down the hall nonchalantly, unlocking the door to Mulder's office, and
leaving Caruthers lying on the floor in a stunned heap.
     Once inside, he went to nearby, gray filing cabinet.  He looked under
the file marked "Holvey"  and removed a dagger, neatly stored in it's
protective sheath.  He was very familiar with this knife.  He'd nearly killed
Dana Scully with it when he'd appeared in the form of the Holvey boy.  It had
been taken by the FBI as evidence during the investigation of the deaths
which had occurred in the Holvey household.  Maggie Holvey hadn't wanted it
back.  He carefully tucked the weapon into the waistband of his pants and
adjusted his suitcoat. 
     He settled into Mulder's chair, now _his_ chair, surveying the agent's
pile of clutter.  He leaned back awaiting Scully's arrival.  She was first on
the agenda for the day.

     Dana Scully turned the doorknob with her one free hand, and pushed the
door open the rest of the way with her shoulder.  She struggled to control a
large pile of files, her purse, and a box of donuts.  Once inside the office,
she pushed the door closed with her foot.  She found Mulder lounging in his
chair, feet propped up on his desk and hands folded behind his head, watching
her with obvious amusement.
     "Don't bother to get up, Mulder," she said, depositing everything on her
desk with a thud.  "I certainly wouldn't want you to strain yourself."
     "Scully, you know you're beautiful when you're angry."
     She threw him a dirty look which gradually turned into a smile.  "Have a
donut," she said, presenting him the box so he could make a selection.  He
took a chocolate covered one with creme filling.  Scully took a bite out of a
jelly-filled one.
     "Y'know, Mulder," she said, trying not to talk with her mouth full, "I
saw that slimeball Caruthers this morning."
     "So."
     "Well, he was glaring at me with one of the most hateful expressions
I've ever seen.  I swear, if looks could kill, I'd be dead."  She watched as
the humor disappeared from her partner's eyes.  "D'you have some kind of
run-in with him?"
     "Scully, you shouldn't talk with your mouth full."
     "Mulder, answer the question."
     "I passed him in the hallway.  Didn't lay a finger on him."
     "He kept mumbling something over and over.  It was hard to understand
what he was saying."
     "What'd it sound like?"
     "Evil," she replied.  "Mulder's evil."
     Mulder's eyes narrowed in anger.  For a moment, Scully thought she saw
something flare up in them, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.  
     "He's crazy," he said finally.  "He's hated me since we were in Ouantico
together.  They've had him under psychological evaluation for months."
     "If you ask me, that man needs more than just evaluation."
     Mulder took another bite of his donut.  He stared at Scully as he licked
some of the creme filling off of his lips seductively.  Dana quickly averted
her eyes, embarrassed by the erotic nature of the thoughts his action invoked
in her.  She fidgeted with some paperwork nervously.  When she looked up
again, he was still staring at her.  She instinctively looked down at the
front of her suit to see what he was looking at.  "What's the matter?  Did I
spill something?"
     He simply laughed.
     Scully saw a look in her partner's expression she'd never seen before.
It made her decidedly uncomfortable.  There was something almost dangerous in
his eyes, something that made her heart beat faster.
     Dana, she wondered, what the hell's come over you?  
     She could almost imagine that he was undressing her with his eyes.  He
seemed to be looking right into her soul, and she felt totally and helplessly
exposed.  He knew what affect he was having on her and appeared to take great
pleasure in it.  His eyes were laughing, mocking.
     She forced herself to look away and picked up a file on her desk.  She
turned from him only to feel his hypnotic stare boring into her back.  This
was nerve-wracking!  Scully was trembling so badly she dropped the file.  She
didn't know if it was from  fear--or excitement.
     Dana crouched down to pick it up, only to sense Mulder towering above
her.  She looked up hesitantly and, at first, saw only his legs.  Slowly she
let her gaze travel up his body until, once again, they were staring into
each other's eyes.  Mulder was looking down at her with the most intense
expression she'd ever seen.  Without a word, he took her by the arm and
roughly pulled her to a standing position.  The file dropped out of her hand.
     "Mulder," she whispered, "What are you doing?"
     "What do you think I'm doing?"

(Continued in Part Two)

===========================================================================

> From: PhantmCat@aol.com
> Date: Wed, 22 Nov 1995 15:50:59 -0500

Evil Follows Evil
By Lori Theodore (AKA PhantmCat)
August 22, 1995

Necessary, official sounding, legal gobbledygook (Y'know, it wouldn't be the
same without it):
Mulder, Scully, and the rest of the X-Files family are the creations and
property of Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions, and Fox Broadcasting and
have been used without permission.  The other miscellaneous people are mine--
mostly. :)

Part Two

     Taking Scully by the shoulders, Mulder positioned her up against a
nearby desk and pinned her there with his hips.  She could feel his body's
physical response to the raw emotion in his eyes.   He took her face in his
hands and brushed his lips lightly against hers--just enough to tease.  Dana
thought her heart would stop.
     "I want you, Scully," he said in a husky voice.
     "Mulder, I don't know if this is such a good idea--"
     He silenced her with his lips.  This kiss was slow and sensuous at first
and she could taste the sugary sweetness of the donut he'd been eating.  The
chemistry between them was instant and, as their passion increased, the kiss
became rough--demanding.
His hands were moving down her back.  Dana could feel her body involuntarily
reacting to the connection between them, even as her mind screamed she was
making a big mistake.  She no longer cared.  No man had ever caused this type
of reaction in her before today and she didn't want it to ever stop.  His
lips traveled to her neck and she tilted her head back, allowing him easier
access.  She sighed with pleasure and he uttered something that sounded like
a growl as his hand move under her skirt.  He caressed her leg slowly,
fingers moving ever closer to the tender flesh of her inner thighs.  She
inhaled sharply and used her own hand to guide him even nearer to that
sensitive place which so desperately needed his touch.
     This was heaven!  This was all she ever dreamed of!  This was---
     A knock at the door startled Scully out of her lust induced fog.
Silently cursing, she roughly pulled away from Mulder.  He started to reach
for her again, but the knock came more insistent. 
     "Come in," she shouted, while simultaneously smoothing her skirt.
     Their immediate supervisor, Assistant Director Walter Skinner, stepped
into the office.  Skinner, a balding but ruggedly handsome man in his
forties, surveyed the scene before him with interest.  Both agents were
leaning against the desk--Scully looked startled, Mulder looked angry.  Their
faces were flushed, and they were both breathing heavily.  He forced himself
to suppress a grin since he'd wondered about the nature of their relationship
for a while.  This merely confirmed his suspicions and Skinner was secretly
pleased.  He didn't know of two people who needed each other more.
     "Director Skinner," Scully said nervously, "This is certainly a
surprise."  She wiped the corners of her mouth with her fingers, hoping her
lipstick wasn't smeared.  Mulder passed the back of his hand over his mouth,
as well.  A look of defiance in flashed his eyes, as if he dared Skinner to
say something.  Skinner simply looked over the top of his glasses at them.
     "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked sternly 
     "Uh, Of course not, Sir.  Agent Mulder and I were just. . . having some
breakfast before we get to work."  She fidgeted with her skirt, which was
still crooked.
     Skinner raised an eyebrow.  "Breakfast?"
     Brilliant, Dana, she thought, Really brilliant.  "Uh, yes, Sir," she
responded, clearing her throat.  "Would you like a donut?"
     "No, thank you, Agent Scully.  I've already had _my_ breakfast."
     "Uh, right, Sir."
     The entity in Mulder was furious and he wanted to kill Skinner for
interrupting his pleasure.  He knew the anger simmering within him could kill
the man if not carefully contained, and he couldn't risk drawing any more
attention to Mulder than he already had.  As Skinner turned to close the
door, the demon unleashed its fury to send the door slamming shut so hard the
wood splintered.  Skinner leapt back; both he and Scully were clearly
startled.  Mulder's eyes were glowing green, but they were too preoccupied by
the mysterious door to notice.  Gradually, his eyes returned to their normal
color.
     "Damn!" Skinner exclaimed, staring at the hand which had reached for the
door.  "Did I do that?"
     "I don't think so," Scully responded shakily.
     "Well, it was obviously neither of you.  You're nowhere near the door.
It must've been me."  He inspected his hand again and shook his head.
"Shit!" 
     "Are you all right, Sir?"
     "Yeah, I'm fine."  He cast a suspicious glance at the door.  "I'll get
someone down here to get that fixed."  He didn't notice that Mulder was
staring at him with barely concealed hatred.  "Getting back to business, I
have a case I need the two of you to look into."  He handed a file to Mulder.
     "What kind of case?"  Mulder asked skeptically.
     "I need you and Scully to drive up to Chase, Maryland.  It's just
northeast of Baltimore.  A federal employee was murdered there last night.
Witnesses claim the crime was committed by   a--" he cleared his throat, "a
hairy, 9 foot tall, man-beast."
     "Sir, you didn't come all the way down here for a . . . bigfoot
sighting."
Skinner pulled his glasses off and massaged his eyes.  "No, Agent Scully, I
didn't.  Actually I came down here for two reasons.  First, I had to get the
hell out of my office.  They're painting up there and its giving me a
headache.  Secondly, I needed to speak with Agent Mulder."
     "Why am I not surprised?" Mulder commented under his breath.
     "Did you have an altercation with Agent Frank Caruthers this morning?"
     Mulder rolled his eyes and sighed.  He felt anger rising to his face. "I
passed the man in the hallway.   He was very antagonistic.  Caruthers hates
my guts--he's been badmouthing me for years."
     "So you in no way harmed him?"
     "I don't want anything to do with the man."
     "Director Skinner," Scully said, "I passed Caruthers in the hall, as
well.  He was mumbling incoherently."  She hesitated, "With all due respect,
Sir, I think he's...a couple of French fries short of a Happy Meal."
     "Forget French fries, Scully," Mulder sneered.  "We're talking a whole
hamburger."
     "Agent Scully," Skinner said, "from the sound of it, you've been
spending too much time around Agent Mulder, but I have to agree with you.
We've got Caruthers isolated right now.  He was stumbling through the lobby
shouting that Mulder was possessed by the devil." 
     "Director Skinner," Mulder said with contempt, "I've been called a lot
of names in my years with the FBI--Spooky, even crazy, but I've never
actually been accused of being the tool of Satan."  His voice positively
dripped sarcasm.  "Am I in some kind of trouble?"  
     Skinner put his glasses back on.  "Of course not, Agent Mulder.  We've
had problems with Caruthers in the past.  I think it's safe to assume
he's...not well."  Skinner shook his head.  "Possessed by the devil, that's a
good one."  He looked at Mulder.  "We'll require a statement from you later."
     "Gladly.  I already have a bad enough reputation without help from the
likes of Caruthers."  The demon's dangerous anger subsided.  The incident
with Caruthers had been a close call.  He would have to learn to control his
temper better if he didn't wish to be discovered.  The bigfoot case had been
a stroke of luck.  He realized he couldn't have arranged a better opportunity
to be alone with Scully if he had planned it himself.  The drive to Chase,
Maryland would be an interesting one.
     "That's all then.  I wanted you to get started on this investigation as
soon as possible. Drive safely."  Skinner started to leave then turned back.
"Oh, by the way, Agent Mulder, Agent Scully, try to hold off on _lunch_ for a
little while.  Okay?"
     Scully blushed bright red.  She didn't see the grin on Skinner's face as
he stepped out of the office.

     Scully stood to one side watching as Mulder signed a car out of the
motor pool.  He hadn't said more than two words since they'd left the office
and was acting uncharacteristically secretive.  She wondered if all it took
was one kiss to earn the silent treatment from him.  The attendant handed
Mulder the keys, and he gestured for her to follow him to the car he'd
selected.  He automatically went to the driver's side.  Scully climbed into
the passenger's seat.
     "Did you bring a map, Scully?"
     "Right here, Mulder," she said holding it up.  "You always forget."
     "Let me see it for a minute."
     She handed him the worn road map.  He scanned it briefly then tossed it
on the seat between them.  A mysterious smile momentarily crossed his face as
he started the car and pulled out of the garage.
     Dana's head was swimming with conflicting emotions and, for some reason,
she felt strangely helpless.  In the past, she's always been the one to
retain a clear head--to feel so out of control was frightening.
     This was Mulder she was fantasizing about!  Mulder!  He'd always been
off limits.  Safe.  Look but don't touch.  But now--that kiss had awakened
something she'd been struggling to keep buried deep inside.  Even as she
watched him do something as mundane as driving, she was powerfully attracted
to him.  In fact, she wanted desperately to finish what they'd started in the
office.  She'd dreamed of a deeper relationship with him for so long.  Why
didn't it feel right?  Why were there so many alarm bells ringing in her
head?
     He caught her staring at him, and grinned.  She turned away in
embarrassment, hoping that telltale flush hadn't crept into her cheeks.  This
was too much!  She questioned why it had happened--how it had happened? Not
that she hadn't enjoyed it, but they'd managed to keep their feelings in
check since the day they met one another.  What had been so different about
this particular morning?  After all, the opportunity had certainly been there
last night.  If they were going to make the move, why hadn't they done it
then, instead of in the middle of the J. Edgar Hoover Building?
     And then there was Skinner.  Oh God, Skinner!  Just the thought of his
name brought complete and utter humiliation.  The man wasn't blind, by any
means.  Scully was absolutely sure Skinner figured out what had taken place.
It wasn't like she and Mulder had been subtle about it or anything.  Hell,
who would have expected Skinner to show up at their office door?  He rarely
ventured down to the far reaches of the basement.  Then, on the one occasion
he did decide to just drop in, he found her with lipstick all over her face
and her skirt hiked up.  It was a wonder she and Mulder hadn't been
disciplined there on the spot.  Why had Skinner, of all people, chosen not to
say anything?  It was a good thing he hadn't arrived any later, or he would
have found them doing "the wild thing", as Mulder had once so aptly put it,
right there on the desk.  She was relieved Skinner hadn't found them in such
a compromising position, but secretly disappointed it never happened.
     Scully's musings were interrupted when Mulder pulled to a stop at a
traffic light.  Her gaze was drawn to a plain, young girl, possibly in her
late teens or early twenties, sitting on a bench at a bus stop.  She was
staring at Scully with eyes so big and sad, Dana thought her heart would
break.  There was something vaguely familiar about the girl.  Scully couldn't
help but think of her as a friend, even though she couldn't recall having
ever seen this person before in her life.  The woman had an aura of safety
and protection about her.  Why did she seem so familiar?
     Scully glanced over at Mulder to find him staring at the girl, as well,
only his eyes were filled with malice and loathing.
     "What's the matter, Mulder?  You know her?"
     "Yeah," he answered derisively, "I know her."
     When the light changed to green, Mulder pulled away from the corner so
fast, the tires squealed against the pavement.  Scully turned around to watch
the girl until she disappeared from sight.  She wondered what it was about
that plain, young woman that upset him so, and where he possibly could have
known her from.   At first, she felt just the slightest twinge of jealousy,
but when she saw Mulder's hostile expression, she knew he had no love lost
for the girl.  Scully wanted to ask him about it, but thought better of it.
Now obviously wasn't the time.
     As they drove on, Scully became increasingly concerned about her
partner.   Every now and then, she would find him staring at her for no
reason.  More and more, when she looked into his eyes, she had a hard time
finding the man she knew as Fox Mulder there. She could easily imagine
someone other than her partner looking out at her and found the idea deeply
disturbing.  There was none of Mulder's usual humor in his gaze, no
gentleness, no warmth.  His eyes appeared almost wicked--inhuman.  But that
was crazy!  How could Mulder's expressive eyes appear anything _but_ human?
     She remembered Caruthers' rantings--he'd insisted that Mulder was evil.
Could he possibly be seeing something that she didn't?  Mulder said Caruthers
was crazy, but was he really?
     Scully sighed.  Her whole world had turned upside down this morning.
Nothing made sense anymore.  So, Mulder was acting strangely.  Maybe his
world had been shaken up, too.  Perhaps their encounter had scared him.  It
was nonsense to believe that Caruthers words were anything more than the
deranged hallucinations of a madman.
     Still, she instictively felt for the reassuring presence of the tiny,
gold cross she wore on a chain around her neck.
     It wasn't there.
     She remembered she'd left it at home on her dresser.  The clasp on the
chain had broken just this morning, and she'd been unable to wear it.  Dana
wasn't a superstitious person, but she couldn't help but wonder if that was a
terrible omen.

     "Mulder," Scully asked, craning her neck to see the road sign they'd
just sped past, "are you sure were going the right way?"
     "I've always gotten us where we were going before, haven't I?"
     The Maryland countryside was beautiful.  The fresh leaves on the trees
were a welcomed change from the drab browns and the dirty grays of winter.
The sky was cloudless, and Scully became so immersed in the view and her own
thoughts, she'd lost track of their location on the road map.  She was so
accustomed to letting her partner do the driving,  she'd simply assumed he
was going the right direction.  They took Interstate 95 through Baltimore,
and, by her calculations, should have nearly reached their destination.   She
was so startled by the route marker she'd seen that she grabbed the map from
the seat.
     "Y'know, I don't think we should have turned back there.  According to
the map..."
     "Trust me, Scully."
     "But look here--" she started to point something out to him, but he
snatched the map out of her hand.
     "I know where I'm going."
     "Mulder, if you'd quit being so stubborn and give me the map back, I'd
show you--"  She reached for the map.
     "Don't touch it, Scully," he hissed.
     "Pardon me," she said sarcastically.  Dana suddenly felt very much like
a caged animal.  Mulder was acting like a stranger.  She had to get out of
these close quarters, atleast for a little while.  He was beginning to
frighten her.  Maybe she really didn't know him after all. 
     "Listen," she said, after a few minutes of nervous silence, "why don't
we get something to eat?  I'm starved.  Maybe while were stopped we can
figure out where we are."
     "Ready for _lunch_ already?" he asked, laughing.  He reached for her leg
and she pushed his hand away.
     "That's not the type of _lunch_ I had in mind."
     Scully's skirt had crept up a couple of inches above her knee.  She
pulled it down, uncomfortable with the way Mulder kept leering at her leg.
After a couple more miles of driving, he pulled into the unpaved driveway of
a tiny, wood-paneled building.  The electric sign in the window proclaimed in
bright pink letters "Dottie's itchin."  The "K" in "Kitchen" was not working
properly and only blinked on occasionally.  The restaurant was barely visible
from the road due to a row of thick pine trees, and Scully guessed this is
why it had no business.  There were only two other cars in the entire parking
lot.
      The interior of the restaurant was rustic, but well-kept.  The empty
tables were covered with the traditional red and white checked table cloth,
and each held a vase with a couple of faded silk flowers.  Mulder and Scully
were the only customers.  Mulder selected a booth in the corner.  They each
took a beat-up menu from the table and quickly scanned it.  A couple of
minutes later they were greeted by a fresh-faced young girl with black hair,
bangs, and a ponytail.  She seemed almost too perky, and reminded Scully of a
high school cheerleader.
     "Hi, Folks.  I'm Sally."  She was noisily chewing a large piece of
bubblegum.
     "I thought this was "Dottie's Kitchen?" Mulder quipped.
     "Not no more.  Dottie's dead."
     Mulder said what Scully was thinking.  "Not from the food I hope."
     The girl laughed.  "Heck, no.  Dotty was 98.  Had one tooth right here
in the middle of her lower gum, and it was about to fall out."  Scully tried
to smile politely.  "Y'all ready to order?" 
     Scully ordered a chicken salad sandwich and a cup of coffee, Mulder a
bacon-double cheese burger with fries and a large coke.  The food was served
promptly and Scully had a healthy appetite.  She'd taken about three bites of
her sandwich when she realized Mulder seemed less interested in eating his
food than watching her.  She set her sandwich down.
     "Mulder, why do you keep staring at me like that?"
     He smiled and began sensually tracing the back of her hand with the tip
of one of his fingers.  "Because I want to take you right here on the table."
     Dana nearly choked on the bite of sandwich she was chewing.  She shifted
nervously and unconciously crossed her legs, not knowing what to make of her
partner's behavior.  He acted like his hormones were out of control and it
bothered Scully that he kept talking this way.  What bothered her even more
is that she knew she'd go along with him in a heartbeat if given the
opportunity.
     "Mulder, what's gotten into you?"
     He laughed aloud--obviously finding the question quite humorous.  It was
a strange sound coming from him.
     The waitress reappeared a minute later carrying a fresh pot of coffee.
Scully watched the good humor drain out of her partner's face to be replaced
by a look she'd seen more than once today--pure malice.
     "Would you like a refill on your coffee?" the young girl asked
enthusiastically.
     "No, thank you," Scully responded with a smile.
     The moment Scully turned her attention to the girl, Mulder's eyes
flashed deep green.       The entity was angered that its private time with
Scully had been cut short yet again.  With a thought, he unleashed a burst of
energy and caused the hot coffee to splash up onto Sally's neck and shirt and
she cried out in pain. The coffee pot fell to the floor and shattered,
sending the hot liquid splattering everywhere.  Scully jumped back, but some
of it sprayed her seat and the bottom of her skirt.  
     The teenager ran off toward the kitchen sobbing.  Scully glanced at
Mulder who was smiling maliciously.  Feeling responsible for her partner's
cruel behavior, she started to go after Sally, but he grabbed her arm and
held her back.  Dana was startled to notice a familiar person frantically
motioning her toward the restrooms across the room.  Her eyes were drawn to
the peculiar young girl, and she forced her gaze away so she wouldn't alert
Mulder to her presence.
     "Dammit, Mulder, you find this funny?"
     "Actually, I do."
     "You're sick!" She jerked her arm free.  "Atleast allow me to wash
myself off!"
     Scully practically ran across the room and locked herself in the safe
haven of the bathroom.  There, sitting on a small bench, was the same girl
she had seen at the bus stop just a few hours earlier.  The girl had an
almost ethereal quality about her--long, sandy brown hair which fell down to
the middle of her back and eyes that were almost too large for her face.
With a little make-up and some modern clothes, Scully thought, she would be
quite beautiful.
     "Come sit next to me, Dana." She smiled and patted the open space on the
bench beside her.
     At the sound of the girl's voice, Scully felt the goosebumps rise on her
arms.  She'd heard this voice before, she was sure.  "Who are you?" she asked
hesitantly.
     "My name is Caitlin."
     Caitlin, Scully thought.  The name doesn't ring any bells.  Why is this
person so familiar?  Why can't I place her face?  Her voice?
     She sat down beside her and the girl took her hand.  "How do you know my
name?"  Dana asked.
     "I know all about you." Caitlin replied.
     "But how--"
     "That's unimportant.  What is important--"
     They both heard Mulder shouting, "Scully, get the hell out of there now
or I'm coming in after you!"
     Dana was frightened.  Caitlin indicated she should reply.
     "I'll be right there, Mulder," she yelled.
     "I only have a minute," the young girl whispered.  "The creature who
calls himself Fox Mulder is not what he appears to be."
     "What do you mean--'creature'?"
     "Scully,"  Mulder shouted, "get your ass out here!"
     "I wish I had time to tell you everything," Caitlin said sadly.  "Dana,
an evil entity is in control of your partner's body.  It is very old and
powerful, and it will try to destroy you."
     "You give me no choice, Scully," came Mulder's voice on the other side
of the door.
     The young girl started speaking more rapidly.  "Fox's spirit struggles
toward the light, but the being is strong."
     "How do you know these thi--"
     With a giant crash, the restroom door came flying open.  The man
standing in the doorway looked less like Mulder each time Scully saw him.
Never had her partner exuded such hatred and viciousness.  Never had his
voice been so cruel.   Dana instinctively backed away from him, her body
shaking with fear.  She heard the woman whisper in her ear.
     "I'll be here when you need me, Dana."
     Scully turned to look at the woman, but the restroom was empty.
     Mulder glared at her, his expression a combination of lust and anger.
Scully knew she was in serious danger.  Out of sheer desperation, she tried
to duck past him, even though he was blocking the door to the restroom.  With
one quick movement, he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back so hard
she thought he would break it.
     "Are you going to behave, little girl," came an unfamiliar voice, "or do
I get to hurt you?"
     He dragged her through the empty restaurant and out the front door
unhindered.  The waitress was nowhere to be seen, and there were no other
customers to stop him.  Once outside, he threw her up against the car door.
     "This doesn't have to be difficult," he said, releasing her arm and
turning her around so she faced him.  His voice sounded much more like
Mulder's.  He traced the curve of her breast with his right hand, lust the
predominant emotion in his eyes now.  He held her fast against the door and
planted his lips against hers.
     The magic of the kiss engulfed her.  Mulder and her together.  It was as
if he'd cast a spell over her and there was nothing else in the world except
this kiss, the way it made her feel, Mulder...
     "No!" she said, jerking her face away from his.  "You're not Mulder!
Get away from me!"
     He grabbed her by her hair and yanked her head back.  "You'll kiss me
and you'll like it."  Again he roughly pressed his mouth against hers.  She
pulled her face away and slapped him as hard as she could.
     "You'll pay for that," he growled, eyes on fire.  He let go of her hair
and brought one hand up to her throat.
     "You're hurting me!" she gasped, as his grip tightened.
     Abruptly, he let go of her.  Dana inhaled deeply several times trying to
catch her breath.
     "You spoke to her," he asked, "didn't you?"
     "I don't know what you're talking about," she responded, still breathing
hard.
     "She's put you in danger, you know."  As he was talking, he used one
hand to untie his necktie.  "You must choose your friends more wisely, Agent
Scully."
     "Mulder..."
     "Let's not keep up this pretense any longer.  Agent Mulder is no longer
here.  His body is my tool.  In fact, I like it so much, I think I'm going to
keep it."  He pulled the tie from around his neck.
     "Who are you?"
     He laughed.  "I don't think you really want to know."
     "Where's Mulder?"
     "He exists, in a manner of speaking.  He's feebly fighting to reclaim
what was his, but I'm too strong.  He's no match for my power.  This body is
lost to him."  He twisted a lock of her hair through his fingers.  She tried
to pull away from him.  "Now that you know the truth, Agent Scully, I can't
let you live."  He released her hair and drew one finger along the curve of
her chin.  "You can be sure I'll get what I want from you before I kill you."
     "I'll fight you every step of the way," she spat. 
     "Then your death will be that much more unpleasant."  He yanked her
purse off her shoulder, opened the car door, and threw it on the floor of the
front seat on the passenger side.  He, then, effortlessly spun her around and
threw her over the hood of the car in the manner of a police officer
arresting a criminal.  He pulled one arm and then the other behind her back
and bound her tightly with the necktie.
     "I'd take you right here, but I can't risk being spotted.  Don't worry,
I'll find a secluded place in the woods where we can take it nice and slow.
I'll make sure you suffer before you die."  He opened the back door and threw
her into the car, then climbed into the driver's seat.  "Don't worry about
the hereafter, Scully.  I'll send you company.  Your death will be the first
of many."  He started the car and pulled out of the restaurant parking lot
onto the open road.  "After I kill you, I'll go back for Skinner.  He signed
his own death warrant when he interrupted us this morning."

(Continued in Part Three)

===========================================================================

> From: PhantmCat@aol.com
> Date: Wed, 22 Nov 1995 15:51:19 -0500

Evil Follows Evil
By Lori Theodore (AKA PhantmCat)
August 22, 1995

Necessary, official sounding, legal gobbledygook (Y'know, it wouldn't be the
same without it):
Mulder, Scully, and the rest of the X-Files family are the creations and
property of Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions, and Fox Broadcasting and
have been used without permission.  The other miscellaneous people are mine--
mostly. :)

Part Three

     >Dana, I know death is at arms reach tonight, but Dana your time is not
over.<
     As the captive Scully lay helplessly in the back seat of the car, her
mind replayed the words of the woman she considered her guardian angel.  A
person she knew only as Nurse Owens.  Her gentle words of encouragement had
given Scully strength as she lay comatose in the hospital after her
abduction.  Once she'd been moved from intensive care into a private room,
she had asked the nurse on duty if she could speak with Nurse Owens--to thank
her for being there.  Dana was told no Nurse Owens was employed by the
hospital.
     It was a powerful moment for Scully--almost spiritual--and it became one
of many recent experiences which were causing her to re-evaluate her own
ideology.  Now, as she found herself on the way to her own murder, she
couldn't believe that Nurse Owens had encouraged her to go on living, only so
she could face a more horrific death in the future.  Scully would have gladly
succumbed to the effects of her mysterious illness rather than die at the
hands of her own partner--even if Mulder wasn't actually in control of his
body.
     Dana had no doubt that a wicked and malevolent force had Mulder in its
grip.  She remembered, all too well, the frightening case of Charlie Holvey,
a young boy who'd been possessed by an evil spirit.  Mulder had been present
in the boy's hospital room while a group of Romanian Elders, known as the
Calusari, performed a ritual to cleanse Charlie's soul.  They'd warned Mulder
not to look as the child writhed on the  bed--the force wanted to trick him.
     "Don't look at it!  Look away or it will recognize you!"
     Mulder's morbid curiosity had been his downfall and eyes were drawn to
the screaming child.  When young Charlie lay sleeping after the ceremony,
purged of the demonic entity, the elder Calusari spoke his solemn words to
Mulder.
     "It is over--for now," he said gravely, "but you must be careful.  It
knows you."
     It had been chilling advice which neither Mulder nor Scully knew was
actually a gruesome prophecy.  Now, as they lived the nightmare, Scully
wondered what hellish entity had taken possession of her partner's beautiful
body and what she'd nearly made love to this morning.  Dana knew whatever it
was would murder her if she didn't find a way to escape.
     It didn't take Scully long to devise a plan, even though she knew any
mistakes would probably get her killed right on the spot.  He was going to
kill her either way, she reasoned, so she really didn't have anything to
lose.  Moving as soundlessly and as carefully as possible, she rolled onto
her back, and moved as far as she could to the edge of the seat without
rolling onto the floor.  Keeping her left leg straight for balance, she
cautiously drew her right leg up to her chest.  Throwing all of her strength
into her lower body, she aimed for Mulder's head and kicked out with her
right leg.  Mulder caught a quick glimpse of her movement in the rearview
mirror, but not in time.  Her foot crashed into the side of his head.
     "Damn you!" he shouted, as the car swerved violently to the right.
     Scully was tossed from the seat onto the floor.  Mulder blindly reached
over the seat trying to grab her, not paying attention to the road.  It
wasn't until the car drifted onto the shoulder that he tried to regain
control, but he was too late.  Scully briefly heard the sickening crunch of
twisting metal and the hiss of an inflating airbag as the car slammed into a
tree,. Her head seemed to explode in pain as her world went dark and silent.

     Scully opened her eyes to darkness.  Her head throbbed and her face
rested against something rough and scratchy.  It took her a moment to
remember what had happened and realize that she was lying face down on the
floor in the back of the car, her face against the carpeting.
     With her hands tied behind her, it was difficult to manipulate her way
back onto the seat.  The task was made even more complicated by her pounding
headache and the dull pain deep within her left shoulder.  Once seated, she
sat perfectly still--bent forward with her head near her knees--long enough
for her world to stop spinning.  When she was sure she wasn't going to pass
out, she sat up and looked into the front seat.  What she saw made her
swallow hard.   
     "Mulder," she whispered, "My God!"
     She strained to see as much as she could over the seat. Mulder hadn't
bothered to fasten the seatbelt.  While the airbag kept him from going
through the windshield, it couldn't protect him from being tossed from side
to side.  Mulder lay slumped against the side door and a few thin trails of
blood trickled down the cracked glass of the window.  She couldn't actually
see the side of his head and desperately wanted to find out how badly he was
injured.
     She struggled to open the back door, but he'd locked his prisoner in.
There were no door locks in the back and, with her hands tied behind her back
no way she could reach the ones in the front.  Awkwardly, she slid onto the
front seat and landed heavily next to Mulder, wincing as she jarred her
shoulder.  She stretched to reach the automatic door lock switch and just
barely managed to push it with the middle finger of her left hand.  She heard
the locks click open and turned her attention back to her partner.
     Scully's medical mind evaluated Mulder as she leaned over him, unable to
touch him due to her restraints.  The injury was serious.  His eyes were
closed, and the entire left side of his face was covered with blood.  The
injury looked alarming, but she also knew it might look worse than it was
since head wounds tended to bleed easily .  At best, he had a severe
concussion, at worst, a skull fracture.  Either way, he needed to be
hospitalized. She breathed a sigh of relief that he was unconscious even as
she feared for his safety.  Well, she thought, I have some time now.  She
would get on one of the cell phones and call for help--she'd also contact the
Calusari--as soon as she got free of this damn necktie.
     Using her foot, Scully hooked the strap of her purse and pulled it off
the floor where Mulder had thrown it.  She lifted it onto the seat and let
the contents spill out beside her. She had just managed to maneuver her hand
to within inches of her cell phone when she saw his eyes open.
     Dana couldn't help herself, she screamed.
     Slowly, Mulder lifted himself to a sitting position.  He looked like
evil incarnate, his eyes glowing deep green.  Scully knew that head injury
should have incapacitated any normal human being.  The entity was somehow
animating the body of a man who by all laws of nature should have been
insensible.  She scrambled backwards toward the passenger side door.
     "Did you really think a blow to the head is all it would take to stop
me?"
     From a deep in his suitcoat, he flashed the razor sharp dagger.  Scully
turned to face him, to distract him as she searched for the door handle with
her hands.  He held the knife almost against her face so she could take a
good look at what he was going to use to kill her.  She finally hooked her
fingers around the handle and pulled.  The door flew open and she fell out
backwards, crashing to the ground.  Mulder emitted a terrifying, inhuman roar
which reverberated through her entire body.  
     "You're dead, Scully!"
     He fought to open his own door, but it was jammed shut.  It bought
Scully the few extra seconds she needed.  Scrambling to her feet, she
stumbled away from the car, and into the woods.  Using only the power of his
mind, Mulder sent the car door flying open, and shouting obscenities, ran
after her into the forest.

     "God protect me!" Scully whispered, as she fought to distance herself
from hellish monster who looked like her partner.  Dana fought to keep her
balance as she stumbled over the uneven terrain.  She felt like she'd been
running forever and now knew what a hunted animal felt like as it ran for its
life. 
     Her chest felt like it was going to explode, but she was afraid to stop
and catch her breath.  Sweat poured from her forehead, stinging her eyes and
obscuring her vision.  Strands of auburn hair stuck to the clammy skin of her
cheeks and tickled her face, but she was unable to brush them away.  Her head
was throbbing and she felt like her shoulder was on fire.  She kept glancing
behind her fearfully, expecting Mulder to catch up at any moment.
     Her worst nightmare had come to life.  For years, Dana had worked to
build an impenetrable wall around her emotions--her protection from the
world.  She built it with science, work, family, and relationships.  Fox
Mulder became a very critical part of Dana's wall.  In a terrifying world
where "trust no-one" were often words to live by, Mulder became the most
important person in her life, and she trusted him completely.
     Over the past two years, the wall had begun to crumble.  Her father
died.   Her lifelong belief that science held all the answers was seriously
challenged as her work with the X-Files became more and more horrific:
conspiracies, cover-ups, ghosts, aliens.  Someone or something had abducted
her, and three months of her life were irrevocably lost.  Still, through it
all, Mulder was there--a constant in a world where the rules were continually
changing.  Even as he lay near death after exposure to the mysterious
retrovirus, his presence comforted her.  Mulder was Scully's refuge and he
stood steadfastly at her side through tears as well as triumphs.  He cared as
few people ever had.  Ultimately, Dana had come to believe that he loved her
as much as she loved him.
     Then, the unimaginable happened.
     In a instant, the wall came crashing down.  The Mulder she knew was
exiled to a place she couldn't begin to comprehend, and this sadistic
stranger had stepped into his shoes.  She'd prepared herself to loose him in
a shooting, or to an unidentified virus, even to murderous forces within
their own government, but to this?  To something she couldn't even see?  Who
could have anticipated a day when Mulder would try to kill her?  Nothing
could have shattered her world more completely.
     Dana's thoughts were violently interrupted when her foot caught on a
branch and sent her sprawling.  At first, she couldn't move, couldn't
breathe.   Her shoulder felt white hot and it seemed as though life itself
had been knocked out of her.  She just wanted to sleep.  The image of her
partner with glowing green eyes and a homicidal stare reminded her why she
needed to continue and she painfully rolled onto her back.
She had just twisted herself into a seated position when she heard the
noise--the quiet but unmistakable sound of someone walking on damp leaves. 
     She wouldn't escape him this time.  Her shoulder throbbed and
she was still breathing like a runner who'd overtaxed herself.  She clearly
recalled his words.
     "I'll make sure you suffer before you die."
     Scully squeezed her eyes shut as the hand clamped down on her shoulder.
She automatically returned to her Catholic upbringing--to the device she used
as a little girl lying in bed, afraid the monsters would attack in the dark.
It had always worked then.
     "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee..."

     Fox Mulder's essence survived somewhere in a lonely plane between life
and death.  There was no Heaven or Hell, only an endless expanse of
emptiness.  It was a place without sight or sound, touch or taste.  A
existence with no yesterday, and no tomorrow.
     Mulder had awareness.  He could sense light, not as a human being
distinguishes light, but still he knew it was there.  It beckoned to him,
calling him home.  There was someone to whom he must return.  A woman was
waiting for him--a soul whose destiny was forever linked with his.  He had to
escape to her, but something vile and sinister blocked his path to freedom.
     If he couldn't break free, he'd be trapped in this dark place for
eternity.

     "...Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.  Amen."
     The grip on Dana's shoulder tightened, and for a fleeting moment, she
wondered what it would be like to be killed by the man she loved.
     "Dana, I'm here for you."
     The sound of the girl's voice startled Scully so badly she gasped.  She
twisted around to see Caitlin standing over her, face clouded with concern,
hand resting lightly on Scully's shoulder.
     "I'm sorry if I frightened you," Caitlin said, crouching down behind
Scully.  "Here, let me untie you."
     Within seconds, Scully's hands were free.  She rubbed them together,
flexing her fingers a few times to restore circulation.  Caitlin helped her
to her feet.
     "We have to get out of here," Scully said nervously.  "He's right behind
us."
     "You're safe for now."
     "What do you mean?"  Dana asked.  "How do you always know where to find
me?  Who are--"
     "Dana," Caitlin said firmly, "you have to listen to me very carefully.
You have to be strong and have faith in what I'm telling you.  Can you do
that?"
     Scully nodded.  For some reason, this young woman inspired her trust.
     "Think back, Dana.  Remember when you were in the hospital after your
abduction?  I know that was a difficult time for you.  You were very far from
home and you needed help finding your way back."
     "I remember.  It's all like part of a distant dream, but I remember.
There was someone there with me--watching over me."
      Caitlin nodded.  "Well, Dana, this time Fox has lost his way.  He's
been forced down a path he was not meant to take, and because of it so have
you.  Your destinies lie elsewhere.  I can help you find them, but the evil
must first be defeated."
     "I don't understand."
     "You must defeat the evil, Dana."
     "Me?  But how...?" Scully shook her head in panic. "I can't.  I'm not
that strong."
     "You are strong enough, and when the time is right you will know what to
do."  Caitlin suddenly seemed distracted.  "He'll be here shortly," she said,
glancing over her shoulder.  Scully followed her gaze but saw nothing.  She
heard Caitlin whisper in her ear. "I'll always be nearby.  Remember, whatever
happens, Dana, never abandon hope."
     Scully turned back toward her companion, but she'd vanished.
Frantically, she scanned the forest in all directions, but the otherworldly
young girl had disappeared as mysteriously as she arrived.
     Scully looked heavenward through the trees.  "Why me?"  she defiantly
asked the clear blue sky.  "Tell me, what I've done to deserve this?"
      The forest remained still and silent.  Not even the wind dared respond
to her question.

     "Damn her!" Mulder shouted.  He leaned up against a tree for support,
waiting for his vision to clear.
     Damn these frail human bodies, he thought, touching his fingers to the
wound on his head.  He pulled his hand away and inspected it.  His fingertips
were covered with fresh blood.  The body had obviously been wounded in the
crash and it was slowing him down.
     The advantages of being in the flesh far outweighed the disadvantages,
but there were also risks involved.  He could animate a corpse if need be, as
long as he wasn't present in the body when it died.  Then he risked being
forever exiled to Hell.  He could keep a wounded body functioning, but his
powers were limited by the condition of the human.  This particular body was
far too valuable to abandon for a simple head wound.
     He stepped away from the tree, more steady on his feet, envisioning how
he'd skillfully use the knife on Scully's body before he killed her.
     "You've got nowhere to hide, Dana!"
     He caught a glimpse of her and quickened his pace.

     Scully heard his voice echoing off the trees.  He wasn't that far behind
her and she had to get the hell away from him while she still had the chance.
She sprinted ahead, trying not to jar her shoulder, but every step sent
another wave of pain through her arm.
     Despite her best efforts to flee, Mulder's long legs easily closed the
gap between them.  She glanced back just in time to see him lunge at her.
She spun out of his grasp and turned to face him.  The man standing before 
her looked like an sinister replica of her partner and he advanced toward her
slowly, slicing at the air in front of her with the knife.  Scully noticed
him blink his eyes a few times as if to clear them, and wondered if the head
injury might be to her advantage.
     "Why are you shaking, Dana?  I can't cut you yet.  We have unfinished
business."
     "Stay away from me."
     "You can't tell me didn't enjoy it.  Isn't that what you've always
wanted, Scully?  To _know_ Mulder?  To taste him?  To touch him?" 
He grinned.  "To touch _me_?"
     "You're not Mulder."
     "Ah, but I am."
     He extended the knife toward her, trying to back her up far enough to
pin her against a nearby tree.  Without thinking, Scully swung her right arm
up in self defense and caught him off guard.  The knife flew from his
slippery, blood-covered hand and fell to the ground.  She rapidly kicked
it behind her. The green glow of rage flared in his eyes, and he tried to
dive at her, but had to brace himself against a tree to regain his balance. 
     Scully's suspicions were confirmed.  Mulder's injuries had weakened him.
She used the time to grab the knife, wiping the bloody handle on the front of
her suit.  She held it out in front of her like a shield, hoping to keep
Mulder as far away as possible.  Dana felt an invisible force colliding with
herhand and she saw the concentration in his eyes.  He was attempting to
use the power of his mind to knock the weapon from her hand, but seemed
unable to completely command his powers.
     "I don't want to hurt you," she warned.
     He laughed and continued to advance on her menacingly.  Despite his
weakened state, he was still larger and more powerful than she was.  He
could see the confusion, the uncertainty in her eyes as she stumbled
backward, trembling with fear.
     "You'll never use that on me," he said, wiping blood from his forehead.
"I'm your partner, remember?"  His eyes held a wild, maniacal look.
     "You're no partner of mine," she spat.  "You took him from me."
     "Damage the body and you condemn Fox Mulder to death.  Is that what 
you want?"
     "No," she said unsteadily, shaking her head.
     "Do you wish to be responsible for the death of the man you love?"
     "No," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.  "God, no!"
     "You can't kill me.  I've always existed.  I'll continue to exist
whether this body does or not.  I'll exist when you've been dead and buried
for a hundred years."
     She continued to hold the weapon out in front of her, but it went
against all of her instincts.  This was Fox Mulder's body she was
threatening!  If she damaged it, would he be forever lost to her?  Would
he cease to exist?  How would she ever live with herself?
     He took a step toward her.
     "Give me the knife, Dana.  You can trust me."
     She searched his eyes for Mulder--her Mulder--for even the slightest
hint of his presence, and found nothing but a frightening stranger.  Maybe
Mulder was already lost to her.
     >You are strong enough, and when the time is right you will know what to
do.<
     The decision was made.  She couldn't allow this beast who'd stolen her
partner's body to continue this deadly game, and she knew Mulder would rather
die than be responsible for the atrocities that would lie ahead.
     Perhaps if she could have gotten him to the Calusari, he would have
stood a chance.  Perhaps they could have saved him with their rituals.  
Perhaps--she stopped herself, knowing she was only delaying the inevitable 
by wondering what might have been.  There was no going back, was there?  
This evil was like a fire raging out of control, destroying everything in
it's path.
It had to be stopped.  Here and now.
     He took another step toward her.  His eyes were mesmerizing and she had
to fight not to lose her determination.
     "Give me the knife," he ordered in a throaty voice.
     >You must defeat the evil, Dana.< 
     Mulder understood what Scully meant to do.  With a ferocious growl, he
lunged at her, grabbing the arm that held the knife.
     "Die, Scully!"
     With the strength of someone twice her size, Dana twisted her arm free
and drove the dagger deep into his chest.  With a shaking hand she pulled the
knife free.  Blood spurted onto her clothes.
     "Forgive me, Mulder!" she gasped, the dagger falling from her hand.
     The expression of psychotic rage vanished and the unnatural gleam 
faded from his eyes as he clutched at the gaping wound in his chest.  Blood
trickledover his hands and fingers at an alarming rate.  The demon fled
Mulder's dying body, afraid to be drawn into the eternal darkness of death. 
Scully recoiled when she felt the gust of hot air.  Mulder collapsed heavily
into Dana's arms and she gently laid him on the ground.  She sank to her 
knees beside him, still too numb to even cry.
     Fox Mulder found his way home.
     Scully stared with horror at the rapidly growing crimson stain on
Mulder's white shirt.  She didn't have to be a doctor to know that the wound
was a fatal one.  He was looking up at her sadly, his eyes perfectly lucid.
     "I'm sorry," he whispered.
     "You're sorry?"  She looked into his hazel eyes and saw her partner's
familiar anguish.  "It's really you, Mulder.  God, what have I done?"
     As the harsh reality of the moment gradually sank in, hot tears began to
stream down her cheeks unchecked.
     "I am sorry," he said haltingly.  "Sorry...that I ever tried...to hurt
you.  Sorry that I've caused you...so much pain.  Sorry...I made you cry. 
I'm not worth...your tears, Scully."
     "You're worth every tear I'll ever shed for you."
     She saw the unmistakable glint of tears on his own face now.  "I deserve
to die."
     "Don't ever say that."
     "It's true." The light was fading from his eyes.  A blue tinge crept
into his cheeks and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
     She lightly stroked his brow.  "I'm not ready to say good-bye to you
yet, Mulder."
     "Then don't."  His face contorted with pain. "I don't like good-byes." 
     She took his limp hand in hers and pressed it to her lips.  "Listen to
me.  I can't change what I've done, and I can't bring you back.  I wish to
God I could.  But if it means anything--anything at all--the biggest part of
me will be going with you."
     Then it's...not really good-bye," he said smiling weakly.  "We'll always
be together."
     She nodded.  "Forever."
     "I may not...have another chance to say this, Scully...Dana."  He closed
his eyes and paused, struggling to gather what little strength he had left.
"Love you--"  With a long sigh, his struggle came to an end.
     "I love you, too, Fox," she whispered, knowing he'd never hear the
words, "with all my heart."
     She rested her head against Mulder's lifeless body and closed her eyes.
Her shoulders begin to heave as heart-wrenching sobs which shook her entire
body pierced the stillness of the lonely forest.
     As if through a haze, she thought she felt someone gently stroking her
hair.  She didn't have the energy to look up and find out for sure.
     "Beautiful child," came the soft, soothing voice, "it's not yet time.
Now your destinies await."
     Dana allowed herself to give into the welcomed oblivion of
unconsciousness.

(Continued in Part Four)

===========================================================================

> From: PhantmCat@aol.com
> Date: Wed, 22 Nov 1995 15:51:41 -0500

Evil Follows Evil
By Lori Theodore (AKA PhantmCat)
August 22, 1995

Necessary, official sounding, legal gobbledygook (Y'know, it wouldn't be the
same without it):
Mulder, Scully, and the rest of the X-Files family are the creations and
property of Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions, and Fox Broadcasting and
have been used without permission.  The other miscellaneous people are mine--
mostly. :)

Part Four

     Scully blinked a few times as she came back to consciousness.  She tried
to focus on something solid, but could see only darkness.  Her head throbbed
and she felt her face resting against something rough and scratchy.  It took
her a moment to remember that she'd been involved in a car crash and that she
was lying face down on the floor in the back of the car, her face against the
carpeting.  She couldn't quite figure out what she was doing in the back
seat.
     She felt something loosely wrapped around her wrists and was surprised
to find it was Mulder's necktie.  She shook it loose and slowly pulled
herself back onto the seat.  The task was made even more difficult by her
pounding headache and the dull pain deep within her left shoulder.  Once
seated, she sat perfectly still--bent forward with her head near her
knees--long enough for her world to stop spinning.  When she was sure she
wasn't going to pass out, she sat up and looked into the front seat.  What
she saw made her swallow hard.
     "Mulder," she whispered, "my God!"
     She was sure he was dead.
     Scully strained to see as much as she could over the seat.  To her
relief, she could just barely detect the steady rise and fall of his chest as
he breathed.  She was alarmed when she noticed that, for whatever reason, he
hadn't been wearing a seatbelt.  While the airbag kept him from going through
the windshield, it couldn't protect him from being tossed from side to side.
Mulder lay slumped against the side door.  A few thin trails of blood
trickled down the cracked glass of the window.  She couldn't actually see the
side of his head and she desperately wanted to find out how badly he was
injured.
     She struggled to open the back door on the passenger side and realized
Mulder had locked all the doors.  There was no way to unlock the doors from
the back seat, so she reached over and pushed the automatic door lock on the
front door near where she normally sat.  Once the doors were unlocked, she
switched from the back seat to the front, thankful the doors, on her side
atleast, weren't jammed shut.
     Scully's medical mind evaluated Mulder as she leaned over him.  The
injury was serious.  His eyes were closed, and the entire left side of his
face was covered with blood.  The injury looked alarming, but she also knew
it might look worse than it was since head wounds tended to bleed easily.  He
was beginning to stir just slightly.  She cradled the nape of his neck in her
hand so she could hold his head still and check his pupils.  They were
uneven, an indication that, at best, he had a severe concussion--at worst, a
skull fracture.  Either way, he needed to be hospitalized.
     "Scully," he mumbled.  He clumsily lifted his hand toward the wound on
his head and she moved it away.
     "Lie still, Mulder," she said softly.  "We've been in a car accident and
you've been hurt.  I'm going to call for help as soon as I figure out where
we are.  We'll have you out of here in no time."
     "I have a hell of a headache," he muttered, speech slurred.
     "I can imagine."
     He closed his eyes then opened them again as if he thought of something
extremely important.  He weakly tried to sit up.  "Scully, are you okay?  Are
you hurt?"
     She carefully pushed him back down.  "A couple of bumps and bruises.
I've got a bit of a headache, too, but otherwise I'm fine.  Now, don't try to
move, okay?"
     "I don't want to move.  I ache all over."
     "I'm not surprised, Mulder.  Why the hell weren't you wearing a
seatbelt?  You could have been killed."
     Again, she got that strange feeling that he _should_ have been
dead--like she'd just awakened from a nightmare that seemed incredibly real.
     After a pause, he answered, "I don't know, Scully."
     She tried to shake off the feeling.  "That airbag saved your life.  I'm
going to check to see if you have any broken bones, okay?"
     He nodded just slightly and closed his eyes.  She deftly ran her hands
along the sides of his chest, feeling for any telltale swelling or deformity.
She stopped abruptly when she felt the concealed, metallic object.  She
pushed his suitcoat aside to reveal the dagger in its protective sheath,
neatly tucked into the waistband of his pants.  She stared at the weapon, and
then at him, in horror.  A mass of confusing images seemed to assault her
simultaneously, but they were gone before she could make any sense of them.
She pulled the knife and case free.
     "Mulder, what were you planning to do with this?"
     "With what?"
     "Look."
     He opened his eyes and studied the weapon she was displaying in front of
him.  He, too, experienced a terrifying moment of recognition before the
details slipped out of his grasp.  "I don't remember, Scully," he said
uneasily.  "I honestly don't remember."

     Dana usually hated rush hour traffic, but this evening she was grateful
for the chance to compose herself and prepare for the meeting she'd put off
for two days.  She hadn't see Mulder since they'd transported him to the
hospital shortly after the accident.  She hadn't even realized he'd checked
himself out a day early until she stopped by to see him earlier this
afternoon.  She'd been strangely unwilling--unable--to face him, to look into
those eyes.  Only now was she beginning to understand why.
     Mulder suffered a fairly bad concussion, not a skull fracture.  Scully,
also, had a mild concussion but, fortunately, had not broken her shoulder,
only bruised it.  She recalled the inevitable meeting with Skinner--how he'd
questioned her, and how, faced with gaps in her memory she couldn't explain,
she'd finally been forced to make up the answers.
She'd sat at his desk, fidgeting nervously, as he'd read her written report.
Finally, he'd looked over his glasses at her, wearing that borderline frown
that suggested he didn't quite believe what he'd read.
     "Agent Scully,  Agent Mulder is experiencing some short term amnesia and
has been unable to file a report."  Mulder's not the only one, Scully
thought.  She had made a mental note to get her facts straight with Mulder.
"This report states that your automobile was found near," he double checked
the file, "Street, Maryland.  Isn't that a good deal north of Chase, your
destination?"
     "Agent Mulder and I made a wrong turn, Sir."
     "I guess so."  He paused, "You say that Agent Mulder was driving, and
this accident was the result of him swerving to avoid a large animal in the
road?"
     "That's correct, Sir."
     "Not the bigfoot in question."
     "No, Sir."
     "Did the two of you stop for _lunch_ along the way?"
     "Uh, yes, Sir, at a little roadside restaurant.  I don't recall the
name."
     "Does the name Dottie's Kitchen sound familiar?"
      She shifted positions. "I believe that could be it, Sir."
     Skinner sighed.  "An employee of that restaurant by the name of," he
checked the file again, "Sally Myers reported a couple fitting your
description to the local police.  She said they were behaving strangely, had
some kind of argument, and left without paying, so she jotted down the car's
license number as they left.   The officers traced the license number to a
vehicle Agent Mulder signed out of the motor pool that morning and then
notified us.  Can you enlighten me on this incident?"
     Mention of the restaurant made Scully decidedly uncomfortable.  She
remembered--fear, a mysterious girl, and a grim warning, but answered, "As
far as I can recall, it was an ordinary meal, Sir.  Agent Mulder and I rarely
argue.  As for us not paying, the waitress disappeared into the back after
she spilled something on her clothes.  We waited for several minutes but
couldn't seem to find her or a cashier, so Agent Mulder left the money on the
table.  We never saw anyone else in the restaurant but Miss Myers."
     "Are you saying she took the money?"
     Scully cleared her throat.  "I'm not making any accusations, Sir.  The
waitress seemed like a nice enough girl, but Agent Mulder and I had no reason
not to pay."
     He glanced up at her skeptically.  "I see."
     Smooth, Dana, she thought.  Can you make it any more obvious that you're
lying?
     After a moment of thought, Skinner closed the folder.  "That will be all
for now, thank you."  She was walking out his office door when he added,
"Agent Scully?"
     "Yes, Sir?"
     "If you ever want to talk about what really happened--off the record,
I'll be here."
     "I still haven't figured it out myself, Sir."
     Skinner mentioned nothing more about the incident.  The bigfoot murder
case was assigned to an unfortunate soul who didn't share Mulder's enthusiasm
for the paranormal.
Scully requested, and was granted, a few days personal leave.  She'd been
plagued by disturbing nightmares she didn't understand.  Sketchy details of
the mysterious hours surrounding the car crash began surfacing little by
little, and at the strangest times.  A series of chilling recollections made
a simple trip to the mall almost unbearable.
     A pair of romantic, young lovers on a bench painfully reminded her of a
passionate kiss and the taste of Mulder's lips against hers.  A lunch visit
to a favorite cafe brought to mind the horrors that small, roadside
restaurant and her partner's vicious, inhuman temper.  
     Even more shocking was the set of images awakened by a knife displayed
in the window of a tobacco shop, which caused Scully to run to the nearest
restroom in tears.  Most frightening of all, a girl with long brown hair and
a loose fitting dress, reminded Scully of another young girl and two
different conversations they'd had, one she could distinctly remember and the
other she could not.  Badly shaken, Dana retreated to a nearby diner where
she hunched over a cup of coffee, willing herself to solve the mystery.
She clearly remembered Caitlin.  Familiar voice, aura of safety.  Her
chilling warning in the restaurant would be forever etched in Scully's mind.
     >Dana, an evil entity is in control of your partner's body.  It is very
old and powerful and it will try to destroy you.<
     Where had the girl come from?  How could she have known that?
     But she also remembered a second conversation, distant and dreamlike,
with that same young girl, and it hadn't taken place at the restaurant.  Had
it ever really happened?       She strained to recall what was said.  Slowly,
the words started to return.
     >Think back, Dana.  I know this was a difficult time for you, but
remember when you were in the hospital?  You were very far from home and you
needed help finding your way back.<
     In the hospital after her abduction, Scully could hear the voice.  In
fact, the same familiar voice.  Nurse Owens.  Scully's heart filled with
love.
     >Dana...Dana, Honey, I know you can hear me.  I'm here to take care of
you, Sweetheart.  Help you find the way home.  I know you're far away from
home tonight...<
     Nurse Owens had been leaning over her bed.  They'd been alone.  No one
had been there to hear those words, not even Mulder.  Scully hadn't even been
conscious at the time.  How, then, if Caitlin did speak those words to her,
did she know what had been said?
     That same, familiar voice.
     >I'll be here when you need me.<
     With a chill, Scully came to realize that Nurse Owens and Caitlin might
somehow be connected.  They might even be the same person.  Dana hoped it was
true. 
     As she turned down the road leading to Mulder's apartment, even more
memories began to bombard her.  Memories, like the second conversation with
Caitlin, so unreal she doubted they were even factual.  Scully desperately
wanted to block them out--a very different car crash, running through the
woods, something other than Mulder in control of his body.
     Something evil.
     As she pulled her car to a stop in front of her partner's building, she
realized why she'd been avoiding him.
     She was afraid of him.

     Mulder sat in the shadows, rocking back and forth, silently cursing
himself.  An endless void stretched out before him, black and inviting, and
he was standing precariously close to its edge. He'd told himself repeatedly
he'd been involved in a car crash--nothing more.  Why then was a very
different set of memories threatening to overpower what had actually taken
place?  Where did reality begin and the nightmare end?
     Fleeting images would play themselves out in his mind like terrifying
movies, and in each one, he'd see himself brutally tormenting the one person
he truly loved.  The memories were indistinct, and he didn't feel like an
active participant.  He desperately wanted to believe that they were a result
of the head injury.
     But the silence continued.
     Each passing moment, each hour that he didn't hear from Scully merely
confirmed his fears that he'd actually done something to hurt her.
    He'd lost her forever.
     He cherished the memory of her delicate body against his--how it had
seemed so right, so perfect.  How he knew then, as he'd always known, that
she was the one.  But those kisses had been stolen and that was an
unspeakable crime.  He'd abused their relationship and betrayed her trust,
and because of it felt repulsive and unclean.  He'd tried to hurt her, and,
in so doing, destroyed his only chance in life for true happiness.
     The lure of the dark void was powerful.  One small step off the edge
would free him from this unbearable pain.  Cutting his ties with sanity would
bring the welcomed bliss of indifference.
     He was so close.
     Take the step, Mulder.  Release yourself.
     Then he heard the knock at his door.

     Any fear Scully felt melted into concern the moment she saw Mulder.  He
looked haggard and drawn. His eyes were that of a person on the brink of
madness and Dana wondered if any man could endure as much suffering as her
tormented partner had.  The tense muscles of his face and neck revealed the
emotions he kept locked inside.  He gestured her into the apartment and
listlessly shut the door.  It took Scully'e eyes a few moments to adjust to
the gloom.
     "Mulder," she said softly, "why don't you turn on some lights in here?"
     "Darkness suits my personality much better, don't you think?"
     "Mulder--"
     "Have a seat, Scully."
     He collapsed heavily on the couch.  Scully turned on a table lamp and
sat at the opposite end of the couch from him.  He'd obviously been sitting
in the dark for quite some time and squinted against the harsh light.  Dana
could see the thick bandage on his forehead clearly now.  He hadn't shaved
since he'd left the hospital, and his eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot.
They were both reluctant to break the silence.  Finally, in a carefully
controlled voice, Mulder said, "I can picture it all, Scully."  She didn't
have to ask what he was talking about.  "At first, it was just bits and
pieces.  I tried to convince myself it was just a trick of my imagination,
but it's coming back to me.  Every last, sickening detail."  He looked into
her blue eyes.  "You remember, too.  Otherwise you'd have been here sooner."
     "I remember...a car accident, Mulder."
     "What else do you remember?"
     "Nothing.  Nothing at all."
     "That's not true.  I can tell by the look on your face."
     "Okay," she said, nervously twisting the strap of her purse. "I've been
having alot of nightmares."
     "About what?"
     "I'd rather not talk about it.  It's not important."
     "It's important to me, Scully.  I need to know."
     "About a forest," she told him hesitantly.
     "And what else?" 
     "A knife."
     "And my death?"
     "Mulder, stop.  I can't--"
     "Please, answer me, Scully."
     All the color drained out of her already pale face. "Yes," she answered
with difficulty "about your death.".
     "Then you do remember."
     "I remember...something.  My memories are unreliable."
     "They are reliable, Scully," he said numbly. "I've been having
nightmares, too.  Something happened to us."
     "We were in a car accident.  Leave it at that, Mulder."
     "I remember more than a car accident.  What I remember frightens me.  I
can't stop thinking about it."
     "Then don't think about it--don't try to remember.  So, we've been
having
some similar dreams.  There has to be a logical explanation."
     "I don't think so."
     "Mulder, you were injured.  Even I had a mild concussion.  Maybe the
nightmares are a result of--"
     "You know better."
     "I don't know anything of the kind.  My memories are all blurred
together.  I don't know what's real and what isn't.  Just take them at face
value.  Maybe it's better that way."
     "Do you remember how I treated you?"
     She blushed.  "Of course, I do. You weren't...yourself that morning.
You never really hurt me."
     "I remember it differently.  I deserve to die, Scully."
     "Don't ever say that."
     "We've spoken these words before." 
     Tears clouded her eyes.  Even more painful memories came rushing back.
"I remem--No, it never happened.  There was the accident..." she insisted,
knowing her words were hollow.
     "I can understand if you want to dissolve our partnership.  I can't
stand to look at myself.  I don't know how you can stand to be around me."
     "I'm happy with the partner I have."
     He shook his head.  "It's okay.  You don't have to protect my feelings.
You're afraid of me.  I could see it in your eyes when I opened the door."
     "I might have been...uneasy then.  I'm not now."
     "Scully, it's all right.  Something evil took possession of me.  That
much neither one of us can deny.  What I did to you in the office--the
restaurant--was unforgivable."
     "It wasn't you, Mulder.  It was your body, yes, but it wasn't you.
Besides, whatever it was is gone now."
     "What made it leave?"
     She couldn't answer.
     He leaned forward, resting his head in his hands.  "You'd have been
better off if you'd never met me, Scully.  I'm in a downward spiral, and I'm
pulling everyone I know down with me.  Get away from me while you have the
chance."
     Dana moved closer and gently put her hand under his chin.  She turned
his face toward her.  "Mulder, haven't you figured out by now that I don't
want to lose you?  My head tells me these memories aren't real, but my heart
tells me they are.  I don't know which to believe.  I _do_ remember the
knife.  I remember...killing you with it. I don't know why I would remember
something like that, but the thought terrifies me.  When I saw you
unconscious in the car after the crash, I was sure you were dead.  I don't
ever want to go through that again.  The thought of being apart..." Her voice
trailed off.  The idea was too difficult to put into words.
     He shook his head as if he couldn't believe what she was telling him.
"I've caused you nothing but pain and suffering."
     "Listen to me," she said firmly.  "If I'd never met you, I'd have missed
out on my closest friend in the world.  Mulder, you're the most important
person in my life.  No-one could ever replace you."  For once he was
speechless and simply stared at her in wonder.  "I want you to know something
else," she continued.  "What we shared in the office--the two of us
together--was real.  Don't ever doubt that for a second."
     "I wasn't myself.  I tried to take something from you I had no right to
take."
     "No, what I gave, I gave freely."  She cast her eyes down, suddenly shy.
"I would have given more..."
     It was the first time Scully revealed her true feelings.  In this
unexpected moment, his fears gave way to tenderness. "You really mean it?
You don't hate me?"
     "Mulder, what more do I have to say to convince you?"
     "Nothing, I believe you.  It was special for me, too.  I wish it could
have been under different circumstances."  He lightly touched the soft skin
of her cheek.  "Maybe we'll have another chance to..."
     She smiled and pressed her finger against his lips.  "We will."
     They both fell into silence.  After a few moments he said, "I've tried
to figure it out, Scully.  If it did happen--why? Why was I spared?"
     "In my head I hear a woman's voice.  She said that you were forced down
the wrong path and that our destinies lie elsewhere."
     "Who?"
     "Caitlin," Scully answered after a pause.  "She's been ...watching over
me."
     "The young girl?"
     Scully nodded.
     "Did she say that while we were in the restaurant?"
     "No," Scully replied, "I think it was afterwards.  I can picture being
in a forest."
     "But you were never _in_ the forest, Scully.  Unless--"
     "I know what you're thinking--unless something really did happen to us.
I have a hard time accepting that, Mulder."
     "Do you know who she is?"
     Dana thought for a moment.  "I have a pretty good idea."
     "Well?"
     She hesitated, "I think she's the same person who watched over me in the
hospital--only in a different form."
     "Like a guardian angel?"
     "I guess. Something like that."
     Mulder wasn't surprised by her words and seemed to take what she was
saying quite seriously.  Scully thought it a typically Mulder reaction.  He
was always the first person to take anything supernatural at face value.
"Well," he said with a smile, "if she's your guardian angel, Scully.  I guess
you're mine.  I think I'm going to need one."
     "Mulder, it's over. You were injured in a car crash and you're
recovering.  The only thing that matters now is that, despite all these
frightening memories, you're alive and we're still together."  
     Scully watched familiar shadows of pain return to his expression. "I
can't help but remember what Maggie Holvey said after all those tragedies
occurred during her son's possession."
     "What's that?"
     "She said 'Evil follows evil.  Once someone suffers a misfortune,
they'll always have bad luck.'  Scully, I had no control over what took place
a couple of days ago.  I have no control over what will happen tomorrow or
next week."
     "Mulder, it's behind us--it's over.  Whatever awaits us in the future,
we'll face together."
     Dana took him in her arms and held him tightly, wishing she could
protect him from all the horrors he feared--even if they were only in his
mind.
     Scully flinched as a gust of hot air suddenly brushed her arm.  Mulder
shuddered as the racing air burned his skin.  Scully saw a myriad of emotions
reflected in his face in an instant--recognition, disbelief, anger, panic,
and ultimately fear.  Absolute, abject terror.  His body began to tremble
violently and she could see fresh tears cloud his eyes.
     "Scully, did you--?"
     She started to answer but stopped short, staring intently at the desk.
Mulder also froze, his body rigid and tense.  Nothing moved.  The air hung
heavy and still.  Across the room, a few loose papers lifted from the desk
and fell silently to the floor.

The End