TITLE: When the Stars Come Crashing Down

BY: Amanda

FEEDBACK: greenfreakgirl@tomgreen.com

RATING: PG

SPOILERS: My Jupitor Series

DISCLAIMER: CC owns the LGM and TXF, but Anderea is MINE!!

SUMMARY: They have Anderea. Yves knows where and it's all up to the Gunmen to save her.

DATE FINISHED: August 28, 2002

Undisclosed Location

He stood behind the glass partition, blatantly disregarding the no smoking rule. "How's the subject?" he asked in a cloud of smoke.

"Less than co-operative," a man in a white lab coat commented, "She gave security a lot of trouble," the other man's mouth twitched in a smirk, "that's why we have her sedated now."

He nodded, inhaling, staring at her lying on the medical bed, her arms and legs restrained and a continuous drip in her arm. She barely looked capable of putting up a fight with one of the guards, let alone a SuperSoilder months earlier.

"Sir, are you sure she is the key to restarting the project?" the assistant asked, breaking his concentration and receiving a glare.

He coughed from the smoke, "we'll get started on those tests right away," the younger man felt uncomfortable under the strong stare of his superior, who nodded and cast his cigarette butt to the floor.

X X X

Lone Gunmen Headquarters

Langly returned from another fruitless trip to the P.O. Box. He tossed a stack of subscription notices and bills on to the workbench before slumping into a chair. It had been weeks since he received a postcard. They had always come like clockwork; twice a week. That is until they stopped suddenly. The lack of communication had pained him as well as worried them all.

"Anything interesting?" Byers asked carefully as he picked up the mail pile.

Langly just grunted a no, crossing his arms over his chest. Part of him feeling hurt like she had forgot him, the other scared that she wasn't able to send anything. He wasn't sure which scenario was worse.

"Maybe the mail is blocked up or something," the older man offered, patting his friend on the shoulder. They both knew it was an idle attempt at comfort but the attempt was welcomed all the same.

Byers knew first hand the pain that plagued Langly, but still part of him was jealous. He did have more time with her before she had to run, more time than he had with Susanne. But this was about being uncertain of what happened or how she was. If it wasn't for the periodical emails from Susanne, or 'S' as sighed, Byers would be driven insane, "I'm sure something will come tomorrow."

Langly shunned way, "that's what you've said everyday," he was borderline sulking and angry as stomped over to his computer, going through hospital admittance recorders, just in case.

Frohike looked up hopefully to Byers, who gave his a disappointed head shake. His heart sank, as it did every time he received that reply. None of them could help but give into the negative possibilities. Possibilities that would soon be confirmed.

Yves stood on the other side of the door. She had gone over the information in her head on the way over, deciding to treat it like any information in any investigation, removing herself personally. The unfeeling exterior was easier to work with, when the truth of the matter was that she liked Anderea. They were becoming friends, definitely nothing from Must See T.V. but a level of comfort. That's why she kept tabs on her since she mentioned having to leave. And now she had to tell them and help. She pressed the buzzer.

"Jimbo, it's for you," was the greeting Frohike gave upon opening the door.

The gunmen had recently found out about the relationship between Yves and Jimmy. A relationship Anderea had kept hidden as well as encouraged. Because of this reminder Yves found it difficult to be callus.

"Actually," she corrected, "I have news for all of you." She tried to avoid eye contact with all of them, but fell on Langly.

He leaped to his feet, "News? It's about Derea, isn't it?"

She nodded, moving farther into the warehouse, noticing how they all braced themselves for pain.

"Spill it," Langly choked out.

Yves was about to begin when Frohike broke in, reading her, "THEY have her."

She nodded firmly, "Yes."

"So she left for nothing!" Langly let the anger rise to the surface, "She left and they still got to her!" He voice rose and eyes burned.

"Not entirely," she moved to put her hand on Langly's shoulder in support, "You're still alive."

He jerked back, "but she was alone…" he went silent a moment than turned again, "How do you know anyway?" he began an accusing stare.

"I've kept tabs on her," Yves confessed to clouded faces, "Anyone who lives with all of you deserves me respect," she cracked a short smile than again went sullen.

"have they…she is," Byers wasn't sure of how to start the questions, he was sure everyone was asking.

"She's alive," Yves replied to the unfinished question, receiving another relieved sighs and stares asking another, "They need her alive."

"What do you know about this? What have you always known?" Langly's eyes narrowed on her. They were all curious about the answer.

Yves sat on a stool in front of the them, preparing for the inquisition, "She's more important to them than you realise, then even she realised," She began lost in thought, then clarified, "Anderea is the key to The Project, to restarting it. Because she's the last surviving subject and of her father's high status…in her new genetic make-up is the sequence for the alien-human hybrid."

"Than why didn't that show in Scully's tests?" Langly refused to be convinced.

"It took a lot of effort to alter Agent Scully's finding," Yves replied, getting a disappointed look from Jimmy, "If I hadn't they would have been here sooner." This explanation pleased Jimmy enough for him to nod.

The realisation of what she had done hit the gunmen, "Why would you work to protect her?" Byers voiced the collective question.

"I have my reasons," she replied, knowing full well what it was like to be daddy's little girl for all the wrong reasons, "But we have to get to her now, stop the project before they no longer need her," Her face turned no nonsense.

"what profit are you getting from this?" Langly's emotions were overlapping within him, that played on his face.

Yves rose to her feet, eyes blaring but face composed, "I believe mankind will profit from stopping this project and Anderea doesn't deserve what they're doing to her, no one does."

Langly slumped in his chair, his head in his hands, "Oh god, Derea!" His grief over took him.

Frohike patted his comrade's shoulder, "Do you know where she is?"

Yves nodded.

"What do we do?"

X X X