Chapter Six: Something about You

Title: XII

Category: Episodic/MSR

Rating: M (you'll understand why)

Summary: Romanticizing his victims, a brutal murderer leaves behind symbols of love.

Post "Agua Mala" (Season 6 with mentions of "Rain King", "Two Fathers", and "One Son" Briefly and only for context purposes)

Note: Originally titled "12th Rose". This is a second revision on a story written in 2000. I was 14 when I wrote the original story and had totally forgotten about in general. When I realized this was still floating around and saw all of the negative comments and re-read it myself I decided to start editing each chapter and re-establish a story arc that made sense. There are songs referenced in this one that are NOT in the right decade.

Disclaimer: All original X File characters, including Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter and FOX Productions, as well as TenThirteen Productions. Thanks.

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Scully's apartment, less than an hour later

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Scully stood in the middle of the bathroom, the door barely cracked open and the fan on while the water in the bathtub slowly filled. She looked at herself in the mirror, Victoria's blood still clinging to her via her layers of clothes, and inhaled deeply in an attempt to shake off the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She exhaled and resigned the fact that it wasn't going to work that easily, opting to remove her shoes followed by her jacket, discarding both in a heap near the door. She unbuttoned her cotton blend top and pulled it from being carefully tucked into the top of her skirt, exposing the parts of herself that were not stained with blood. She pursed her lips together and unzipped her skirt, letting it fall to the floor with her jacket and shoes. She stood there for a moment, gathering up the remnants of her mental strength and reached for a bottle of bubbles.

Seven.

Seven victims, one still barely clinging to life; and no closer to solving this case than she was after being introduced to it. Scully poured a little of the lavender bubble solution into the water near the faucet head and watched the first set of bubbles form before pulling off her shirt to toss into the growing pile of clothing. Scully positioned her towel and robe within reach of the tub and turned off the overhead lighting, opting for the one above the sink only which was considerably less potent of a light source. She sighed as she slipped out of her panties followed by her bra, then carefully sunk down into the probably hotter than necessary water and bubble combination.

"Ahh…" the sound was unintentional but unavoidable as Scully completely submerged herself up to her clavicle with the bubbles and hot water, the heat both soothing and shocking her.

Scully waited until the water was as high as it could go without hitting the overflow before she extended her feet to utilize her toes to turn off the hot and cold water, returning the bathroom to a gentle silence minus the hum of the fan high above her head. She let the scent of the lavender invade her nostrils while relaxation washed over her, thoughts finally leaving her immediate stream of consciousness. She needed it.

Outside of the bathroom Mulder took to a comfortable spot on Scully's couch, knowing that she might want a little time to relax in a hot bath after the day they'd had. He had become fixated on her incredibly out of character actions and verbalized feelings since this case had begun but didn't know how to reconcile that he was the cause. It wasn't something that he was used to—being agreed with without so much as a moment of hesitation, being almost outdone in the "weird" department, and left guessing her next move or action. She had always carried herself in a striking, almost enigmatic fashion but this was different and unexplored. Part of him couldn't help but think maybe she had always been this way but never could express it until now, when she felt as though there was nothing left to lose, or to gain, by stepping off the ledge.

That was normally his position—halfway off the ledge.

The again, this case was significantly more gruesome than anything they had investigated in quite some time – nor were the toe tags so freshly placed on all but one. One survivor. He clung to the notion that Victoria would defy the odds stacked against her, pull through, and give them the missing piece for this killer – a visual identity. Mulder thumbed through the cache file in front of him, rifling through each little bit in hopes of something jumping off the page at him but nothing was looking any different than it had earlier. He closed the file again and closed his eyes, squeezing the spot at the bridge of his nose while he exhaled deeply, loudly.

"Motive…what's your endgame, you son of a bitch," Mulder was talking to himself again as he mentally began running through the crime scene imagery.

Mulder was fixated on the lyrics to the song and what they could possibly mean to the killer – maybe someone in his past left him and it drove him to the ultimate level of psychosis in thinking he was somehow justifying his own suffering at her hand. The methodology was striking – melody, careful orchestration of a crime scene, flowers, barbed wire, slicing of the eyelids, staples—all of it meant something. If they could figure out the meaning then the motivation might present itself and unfurl his secret—his identity.

He flicked on the television and flipped through the channels at least twice before settling on a local news program. He muted it after only about 5 minutes of hearing the newscaster speak, crossed his arms, and tilted his head back just slightly, fully enveloping himself in the slight embrace of the couch cushions. He yawned and found that Scully's couch was far more comfortable than he remembered as it lulled him into a bit of a doze. He blinked hard and fast, peeking at his watch only to realize that his momentary doze off was nearly 40 minutes.

She must be wrinkly by now. Mulder thought to himself as he switched off the television and went into the kitchen. He got the to go containers out of the fridge and put them onto a couple of plates, half pilfering Scully's kitchen like it was his. He half hummed to himself as he put the first plate into the microwave, started it, and went into the living space again to turn on her stereo. She had a stack of CDs sitting next to the stereo that he rifled through while the microwave continued its countdown. He put in a Fleetwood Mac disc and scrolled the list of songs on the back, opting for Little Lies as a start. Mulder nodded as he turned the volume up just enough to be heard from the kitchen but not be an obnoxious level and pressed the randomize button as well. Mulder finished up the microwaving and carried the plates carefully to the living room coffee table, setting them down.

He spent enough time for the duration of the song to play out as Seven Wonders took over right after Little Lies. Mulder didn't have any particular attachment to the song but there was something about it that played to the metaphorical side of him all the while bringing him out of the self-imposed funk that he had been in. Mulder instinctively bobbed his head up and down just a little, allowing himself to envelope himself in a little bit of nonsensical joy, even if it may only be for a few moments, regardless of how ridiculous he may appear to anyone else.

"Really, Mulder? Stevie?" Scully's voice was soft yet loud enough to break through the song on the stereo.

Mulder turned around, wrinkling his nose at her. "There's something about a woman with a permanent rasp—ahh—oh yeah."

Scully came around the corner in a light blue t-shirt and silk pajama bottoms, her hair still wet but not enough to drip everywhere. She ran her fingers through the front section, pushing it back, and sat down on the couch, curling one leg up underneath her backside and other thigh. She pivoted her body toward the center of the couch and pressed her shoulder softly against the cushion while her back found the corner where back met the arm rest. She got took another moment more to fully get comfortable as he came around to greet her.

"Feeling any better?" Mulder offered her a plate after she got herself situated and comfortable, the genuine concern bringing a slight smile to her face.

She took the plate and set it down on her lap carefully, nodding in his direction. "Yeah, I just can't shake that mental image of Victoria managing to breathe…in that state. She had more fight in her than nearly anyone I had ever gotten to witness—I just hope she can pull through this."

"I certainly hope so—she's our only true witness and if she doesn't recover, we're back at square one," Mulder took a bite of the fries in front of him, closing the folder on the coffee table.

They fell silent while they took small bites of their leftovers, the awkwardness hanging in the air like fog on the coastline. Neither would make eye contact for quite some time as they stared down at their plates, minds clearly elsewhere. There was a certain level of guilt for the pair as their minds kept returning not to the case but to their earlier interaction in the morgue. They were fixated on it, as if they didn't know if it had truly occurred or not.

"More awkward than a blind date…" Scully was the first to break her silence as she set her empty plate onto the table in front of her, the smirk forming on her lips.

Mulder nodded, that guilty feeling nagging at him like his mother often did when he was a teenager needing to clean his room. "I have a lot on my mind, Scully."

"Tell me about it," She bridged the gap between them, placing both of her hands into his palms, gently squeezing his fingers, her gumption rising in her belly.

It's now or never, Scully, and it's a little too late to try backtracking.

An uneasy, almost nervous gaze finally met her reassuring stare as he swallowed hard, squeezing her hands back in acknowledgement. "You—it's always been you."

Bingo. There it is.

"Always?" Scully could feel her heart thudding up in her throat as she burned with curiosity and anxiousness.

"Since the moment I met you…whether you knew it or not, cared or not. You're a little hard to read or I'm just that terrible at reading your signals." Mulder swallowed hard and pushed the overwrought feeling in the pit of his stomach a little further down. "You can stop my babbling at any time, Scully—unless you're fascinated by my lack of dignity."

"Everything you do fascinates me, Mulder, in some way or another," Scully propped her cheek against her knuckles and let her expression soften, half smiling at him. "Your passion, dedication, inherently stubborn nature—every little detail."

"We are teetering dangerously close to a fork in the road, Scully, and all of my defenses are gone," Mulder tiptoed around the idea of making a definitive statement but all of his trepidations were screaming at him, keeping him from making the leap.

Scully had the most subtle blush forming on her cheeks, while, in the back of her mind, she was desperately trying to quell the instinctive retreating into timidity. "So what do you see as a viable solution, Mulder?"

Mulder leaned in toward her without any sign of hesitation and used the back of her couch to almost prop himself forward, arching toward the inevitability that they had briefly explored earlier. It was a near constant craving as he maintained eye contact with her, wetting his lips as he was within inches of her.

As quickly as it begun, it came to an even swifter end as there was a rapid series of knocks at the door in that all too familiar "shave and a haircut, two-bits" patterning. Mulder sat back, half deflated while Scully bit down on her lower lip and exhaled long as she felt her nerves over firing as they sent a painful jolt through her extremities as a reminder of this epic failure.

This better be really good. She bit down hard on her lip to calm the electric level shock to her body.

"Just a second!" Scully turned her head toward the door and stood up, running her fingers through her damp hair to get it out of her face.

Scully glanced through the peep hole and wrinkled her nose as she stood straight, glancing back at Mulder.

"Who is it?" Mulder was careful not to be loud as he noticed her odd expression.

"The building plumber," Scully shrugged her shoulders and unlatched the door before opening it to greet them. "Unexpected surprise, Miles, but I didn't call you out here—did they send you to the wrong unit?"

Miles's dirty uniform was the first thing that Scully noticed as she opened the door. She was at least relieved to see that he was already wearing a pair of those plastic booties over the top of his dirty work boots as he stood in the doorway with his enormous toolbox in tow. He was unsuspecting and completely unremarkable but was trying desperately to get Scully's attention as he flashed an overly toothy grin at her, the sheen of sweat already pouring from his skin. He was built similarly to Mulder but far more imposing in his stature despite being shorter. Neither one of them would've known about the side of him—at least no one was capable of revealing it about him. He had been watching them for a little while, well, mostly her, and knew that it was only a matter of time before she would begin to fit all of the pieces together and discover exactly who he was. The thought was thrilling and terrifying at the same time, to witness the lightbulb going off in someone's head about just how far they had deviated from normalcy.

It was scintillating to even fathom.

"Oh, no, Miss Scully, the building super called us this morning and said that they need us to run a routine check on all units for any leaks or clogs," He was awkward in front of her as he couldn't help but stare at her breasts before looking her in the eye as she crossed her arms in front of him. "I'm here to inspect your pipes."

Scully slid out of his way and closed the door as he stepped into the apartment. "Well, don't let me stop you, then…you know where everything is."

"Yes, ma'am," Miles started forward, still grinning until he spotted Mulder on the couch behind her.

"There are so many comments I could make right now, Scully, but my brain is a little stopped up," Mulder smirked at her as she sat down in the big fluffy chair in the corner.

Miles pursed his lips together, muttering several profanities under his breath just quiet enough that neither of them had noticed, as he went over to the kitchen sink first, opening the doors to check underneath of it. He was already imagining the ways in which he could put an end to Mulder before addressing the desired target in Scully.

"And just when I think you couldn't possibly get any more corny you bust out a plumbing pun," Scully rolled her eyes at him as she sank into the char and crossed her legs.

"You underestimate the level at which my sense of humor will stoop for a good laugh, or even a bad laugh," Mulder smirked and winked in her direction. "You know me better than that."

Miles was underneath of Scully's kitchen sink and purposely banged his channel locks against the metal to stop their witty back and forth banter with a high level of irritating noise. He had become an expert at pretending to actually work by loosening the fittings then tightening them again—and knew that they were paying attention to what he was doing despite acting as though they were not. He couldn't be above suspicion and certainly didn't want her to catch on enough to call the company about why he was there, for confirmation.

Not yet, anyway.

"I had to tighten the fittings under there but the sink is good—no leaks lately, right?" Miles made small talk as he closed up the tool box and carried it toward the bathroom.

Scully looked up at him and shook her head. "Not that I've noticed."

"I just have to check the bathroom and I'll be on my way," Miles flashed an incredibly fake grin at the both of them before going straight for her bathroom, not even waiting for a verbal confirmation.

"I don't remember your plumber being this awkward, Scully," Mulder didn't want to be heard but Miles was actively listening from the other side of the bathroom door.

"He wasn't the normal guy until about a six months ago when Max, who was in his 60s never showed up to work and moved to Florida. Miles was his apprentice," Scully continued, nearly to a whisper. "I used to be ok with Max being alone in the apartment but Miles is still fishy—like he's trying much harder than necessary to socialize instead of work."

Miles set his toolbox on the lid to the toilet tank and took out the top layer where two bloodied tools were sticking out like sore thumbs from the rest of his shiny, near new tools. He contemplated the mess in the bottom of the box, savoring the memory of each little bit of pain he had been inflicting before letting life slip away from each victim. It was almost invigorating as he could still hear their labored breaths and the tortured cries beneath whatever scary device he had concocted to keep their mouths open or closed. He bit down on the corner of his lip and forced air out from the space between his lips and teeth, quelling a little bit of his excitement.

She's going to look so lovely with barbed wire across those lips. He was already contemplating the opportunity, shivering with sickening delight. He held onto the larger of the two wrenches and turned toward the shower, immediately taking notice of her towel hanging from a small hook on the wall. He leaned in close and inhaled deeply, catching all of the perfumed notes of her shampoo, conditioner and body wash. It was intoxicating to him as his eyes rolled back in his head while he savored the smell circulating through his nostrils.

She was perfect…always had been.

He turned around and went for her shower stall, opened the door carefully then reached into his breast pocket. He pulled out a small, rounded black object that had a lens on it. He pressed a button on the back of it and looked at the front of it as the lens started to turn inside of the device—it was a camera with an adhesive meant for the inside of a fixture to go down a drain but he had other ideas for it. He hadn't watched any of the previous girls and wanted this to be special.

"Miles, did you find something wrong with the plumbing in there?" Scully was just outside of the door, sending the message loud and clear that she felt that he'd been in there for just about too long for comfort.

"No ma'am, just checking the last of the visible pipe fittings," Miles carefully pressed the small camera to the side of the shower head to where you'd have to really look to see it then tapped the water fixtures with the wrench to quell the apprehension in her voice.

He placed the wrench back into the tool kit and stood next to the back of the bathtub, staring toward the shower head. The camera was incredibly hard to spot and if he hadn't put it there himself, it likely would've escaped him entirely. He snapped the lid back down on the tool kit and carried it to the door, swinging it open to the point it startled Scully.

"You're good to go, Miss Scully," Miles shook her hand roughly and fought the urge to glare in Mulder's direction. "I'll just show myself out."

"Okay, Miles," Scully furrowed her eyebrows as he made his way to the front door and closed the door behind himself.

"Are you sure his name isn't Max?" Mulder made an incredibly obscure reference as Scully re-latched the door and turned around. "Because I was completely waiting for the 'your pipes are buggered' line to leave his lips."

Scully sighed and stifled a laugh with her hand as she walked back over to the couch. "How much useless movie trivia do you have stored in that brain of yours, Mulder?"

"You haven't even begun to know the reaches of my useless trivia knowledge, Scully," Mulder patted the spot on the couch next to him.

Scully smirked and picked up the dishes from the coffee table. "Can I put these away first, Mulder?"

Mulder feigned irritation, exaggerating a deflated expression, letting out a loud sigh. "I guess."

"You guess?" She rolled her eyes and went to the sink, then carefully slid the dishes into the bottom of the basin, before filling the sink with hot water and soap.

"Time is of the essence, Scully, and dishes are not high on my list of essentials," Mulder had already stood up as he could hear the water going into the sink.

"Well, I'm not a fan of bugs or rats inside of my apartment so I tend to uphold that John Wesley sermon when necessary," Scully quipped, smirked at her Mulder-esque level reference, and squeezed a sponge into the water to give the dishes a quick clean.

She hadn't been fully paying attention to Mulder as he carefully snuck up behind her, sliding both of his arms under hers as she washed the dishes, momentarily startling her. She inhaled hard and felt her heart beating a little faster for a moment, causing her to inadvertently jump against the sink.

"I prefer Theodore Roosevelt over John Wesley, Scully," Mulder's mouth was nearly touching her earlobe and his breath was just enough to send a chill down her back. "And I am not an oyster. Are you an oyster, Scully?"

Scully's eyes fluttered shut while still had her hands in hot, soapy water as she felt his fingers playing with the front of her t-shirt, pressing the fabric against her belly button. "So many puns, so little time."

Mulder nibbled on the spot below her earlobe and felt all of the little hairs stand on end as the sensation sent an electric shock through her. Scully's hands came out of the water just enough to grip the edge of the sink while his mouth made a zigzag pattern down and up her neck, occasionally letting his teeth put pressure on her skin. Her consciousness was spinning in circles as his right hand found skin as his fingertips slid underneath of her t-shirt, dragging it upwards. His left hand had maneuvered onto the edge of the sink right underneath of her palm and lifted it away, causing her fingers to lace with his and send little droplets of water and soap bubbles all over his hand, arm, and the floor. Scully was half panting as she brought her right hand up to the back of his head, lacing her fingers through his hair, getting soapy water all over both of them in the process. She tilted her head to the left, inviting the contact as his lips continued to alternate between light, tender kisses and nibbling.

"You're getting soap all over my hair, Scully," Mulder stopped nibbling on her neck and watched all of the goosebumps form as his breath touched her lightly dewy skin.

"Oh my God, shut up, Mulder," Scully half groaned as the sensation of his heat mixed with the coolness on her skin made her buckle at the knees and open her eyes.

She made eye contact with him as she turned her head and pulled his head down to her, mouths meeting in a wanton, electric collision that nearly made her legs give out. He held onto her under her shirt just below her breasts and could already feel her heart beating out of her chest with the tips of his fingers. They were enveloped in each other, both swept up in each other, feeling the heat as it radiated and returned in unison, ramping the other up even further. Their tongues played against each other, eyes closed to savor the feel, the taste, the heat. Scully found herself moaning into his mouth as his index finger and thumb teased along the underside curve of her left breast. There was no defense for this and neither of them wanted to…it felt right.

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrring…Rrrrrrrrrring…Rrrrrrrrrrring…

The sound of Scully's house phone reverberating throughout the apartment was jarring and irritating as they both stopped their fevered groping and kissing. Mulder's shoulders slumped while Scully came away looking quite frazzled and undone, skin flushed with heat, as they reluctantly let go of each other, losing that delicious heat that they had been creating between one another. Scully regained her footing and looked up at Mulder with such longing mixed with frustration before glaring toward the ringing phone.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Scully was almost refusing to answer it as she took a deep breath.

"Today's theme is—interruption," Mulder tried to joke despite the raging erection he was desperately trying to keep from leaping out of his jeans.

This is going to hurt later.

"Scully?" She answered the phone finally, with reluctance, and waited for the reply. "Yes, sir…absolutely…no it's no trouble…We'll be on our way shortly…ok, bye."

"Skinner?" Mulder almost knew the answer before even asking it of her as he resisted the urge to stare at her chest despite how her nipples had gone nearly as hard as he had.

"Victoria's awake," Scully knew that this could be the turning point to their case as both of them had to put back on their FBI faces and venture back into the lion's den.

End chapter 6

I know this took SO LONG, bear with me but chapter 7 will be awesome! Feedback is adored and appreciated!