As he walked to his car, he wondered what made him tell her. He'd been thinking it for years, how beautiful she was. How she probably never suspected he thought so, or that maybe she didn't want to hear it from him. Maybe she simply wanted his respect, friendship, and partnership, but nothing more. He knew that wasn't true as soon as the words came out of his mouth. She became flushed, and her breath caught in her throat. He could imagine the beating of her heart against his chest...but would that be fair? To her? To him? To them?

He didn't know. She didn't know. They tried not to think of each other that night, and tried to concentrate on the case. It didn't work; how can you replace dreams of love with nightmares of murders? They both slept fitfully, their mind too busy to want to sleep. The burning questions in their minds tortured them--almost as much as the fact that they couldn't ask for the answer. It was too risky. It had been for years. Still, that answer was closer now than it had ever been.

* * * * * * *

He watched them eat together. He had been lucky, the weather was favorable and she had opened a window. He watch her perfectly toned arms open the window, wishing he could be held in them. Wishing she'd love him. He pulled his car down the street, closer to her window. He watched as they sat down on the couch together, but when he saw Loverboy brush a strand of hair from her face, he couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand to watch them together. He sped away, knowing he'd come back later that night. He had noticed Loverboy never stayed the night. He wasn't good to her, not like *he* could be. Would be. Soon.

* * * * * * *

The next morning, Mulder found Scully in the basement office. "You're here early," he commented, and she answered with something about the case. She knew the real reason she was in early was because she couldn't sleep, couldn't think... She needed to get back on the case, to take her mind off of her partner. She had decided that she had been acting childish. There was no reason to fawn over her partner, it was silly.

"Did the background checks come in yet?" Mulder asked.

"No," she began. "Skinner told me to give the agent an hour or so, and that was forty minutes ago when I got in. So we've got twenty minutes."

"I brought breakfast," he said, lifting a brown paper bag. "Coffee and blueberry muffins."

"Thanks, Mulder," she said.

The time passed uneventfully, and too their surprise, not awkwardly. When they really thought about it, they knew it wouldn't be awkward. An offhand comment (which was what Scully had reduced it to), or even an admission of physical attraction, would never come between them. About fifteen minutes later, they heard footsteps coming down the hallway, followed by a knock at the open door to announce an agent's presence. The two agents looked up from their computers, and smiled a greeting at the younger agent at the door.

"So this is the basement office," he smiled. "They spoke about it in the academy, but I've never been down here."

"Can we help you, Agent..."

"Pepenella. Actually, I'm here with your background checks."

"Thanks," Mulder said. "I'm Agent Mulder, and this is Agent Scully."

"No need for an introduction, you guys are legends," the younger man said.

They smiled, inwardly thinking that they were legends for all the wrong reasons. Not for what they had uncovered, but for their reputation as being Agent Spooky who pulled his once-rational partner into a downward spiral of paranormal madness.

Agent Pepenella handed them the folders with the background checks and said, "It was nice meeting you."

"You too, Agent. Thanks again," Agent Scully offered as the Agent nodded and left.

They flipped through the background checks, making sure to note their doctors, hospital histories, any surgeries they had, and anything else that could possibly connect them, or their husbands, to one another. They found just what they expected: nothing. This guy hadn't left behind anything, not a single clue. Nothing beyond a motive, and a personality that could be defined by criminal profiling.

Mulder and Scully were both frustrated, searching for a break in the case. Anything would be helpful. While Mulder poured over the crime scene photographs, searching for anything to add to the profile, Scully went back to Quantico. She searched over the bodies for a second time, hoping to find some tiny detail that the lab techs, the city coroner, and even herself had missed. She used an ALS, alternating light source, to try and render visible any hair, fibers, or prints. She completely exhausted every available resource, determined to find *something.*

Still, they both found nothing. This guy was good. Mulder could easily see that the man had planned out each murder and kidnapping. He also knew that these women were most likely dead, and another couple would suffer the same fate if he and Scully did not find something soon. Compared to the previous agents, they had made a bit of headway; at least they had a profile now. Still, they wanted nothing more than to figure this case out, save some lives, and get it off of their minds. Unfortunately, that didn't look like it was happening any time soon, especially not without another murder. They had released a warning to the media, for women to be on the lookout for a dangerous stalker. Beyond that, they had been able to do little to protect anyone at all.

Tired, annoyed, and thoroughly frustrated, both agents left for the day rather late. They had genuinely tried their hardest, but nothing had come of it. Honestly, they weren't used to this. Lately they'd cracked their cases early, and though they rarely wrapped up quickly, they were never clueless for this long. Between their own personal woes and their professional ones, both Mulder and Scully simply wanted to relax. Mulder had a night full of watching a video that wasn't his, followed by some well needed rest in mind. He'd have to take a sleeping pill, and although he hated drugs, he knew he needed the rest. He had to get back on the top of his game, which was hard to do with almost no evidence.

Scully planned on a long, hot, bubble bath with a carton of ice cream. When she arrived home, however, she realized she had no ice cream. That would not do, so she drove over to the deli on State Street. It was dark by the time she had arrived there, and she hadn't realized how long she'd spent in the autopsy bay. Yes, she definitely needed some double chocolate chip ice cream after such a day. She parked her car and walked into the deli, noting how empty it was. She glanced at her watch. Eight o'clock, already?, she found herself thinking. They usually closed any time between eight and nine, depending on business. She smiled at her good luck at it still being open. As she walked towards the ice cream aisle, she heard footsteps behind her. She spun around, and saw her butcher, Jack.

"Hi, Dana," he said.

"Hey, Jack," she smiled.

"Ice cream aisle... Rough day?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually, tough day at work."

"Oh, what do you do?"

"I'm an FBI Agent, and we're working on this terrible case. Someone's stalking DC women, kidnapping them, and killing their husbands or lovers."

"Oh, that's pretty grim. Hey, um, maybe, if you want to take your mind off of it, we could go out to dinner."

Fabulous. First her panic over the Mulder situation, then the difficulty with the case, and now she had to let her butcher down easy? Sure, he was attractive--and maybe a few years ago she would have dated him. Now, however, it was too late. She was stuck in love with her partner, and she was pretty sure it wouldn't change any time soon.

"I can't, Jack," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, okay," he said, trying to appear unaffected but failing.

"Thanks for the offer, though," she smiled, reaching in to the freezer to grab a carton of ice cream. "I really appreciate the gesture."

Jack just smiled. "You're lucky you got here, I was just about to close up."

"It's just about all the luck I've had today," she said, sighing.

"Well, I'm sure that'll all change soon, Dana. C'mon, I'll ring the ice cream up for you up front."

She followed him, feeling rather flattered at his offer. It was the second time in as many days a man had made her feel attractive. Of course, coming from Mulder, it meant far more than from her butcher. He was attractive, though, and she had to admit she had had a little bit of a thing for him ages ago, when she'd first started shopping at this deli. Of course, within the first two years of working with Mulder, she'd stopped having any personal life, and therefore stopped dating. She got her change and walked out the door.

As she walked up the street to her car, she went to put the change into her wallet. Looking at it, however, she realized she'd been given the wrong amount of money back. He'd given her ten dollars too much. Sighing to herself, she stopped walking, knowing her conscience wouldn't permit her to keep the extra money. She turned around, still looking at the money in hand, when she bumped into someone. As she raised her head up to apologize, a strong hand reached around her, and grabbed her by the hair at the base of her neck. She gasped, and met her attacker's eyes.

Jack. The butcher! The cuts on the bodies... The knife experience... Those women, she must've seen them shopping here! Jack was the murderer, and he must've figured out she was on the case. He must've assumed she was on to him.

Before she could reach for her gun, grabbed her arms. He was bigger than her, and well-built. His blue eyes burned into hers, and he gently ran his hands up and down her arms. "So beautiful, my Love," he whispered, and she realized she was wrong about why he was attacking her.

He wasn't just trying to kill the FBI who knew to much. He had been stalking her, too, a mere coincidence. But she had no lover for her to kill...

Mulder! was the last thought in her mind before he shoved a rag in her face. Scully's thoughts all faded to black as the chloroform invaded her breath.

AUTHORS NOTES: Bum bum bum. Hope it's good. Oh, and a note to Teresa…Colton was the agent in Tooms who was being a jerk. *Sigh,* Season One, way back in the day. Should've made that more clear. I'll have the next chapter up soon, because I'm leaving for at least two, if not three, weeks on July 5th. Schools out! That means frequent updates before/after vacation, except when I have to read 4 books for AP English and all 709 pages of Northwest Passage for AP American…grrr…maybe those updates *won't* be so frequent…

Jillian no function reviews well without.