Author's Note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews. Every time I get that little email notification, it's like watching the first and/or last scene of The Unnatural all over again (I know you know what I'm talking about-I so love that episode). Thanks, also, to IAmLoisLane for the beta-ing and the commentary. Both rock.

As Mulder drove out to Fairfax and got a little distance between he and Scully, he hoped he might also get a little perspective on the events of the weekend. Unfortunately, distance mattered little when every thought was still so close to her.

He couldn't remember a time when a woman had preoccupied his thoughts in this manner. Maybe he really hadn't ever been in love before… or maybe he just hadn't been in love like this. Maybe Scully really was his soul mate. But if that were true, shouldn't Scully feel it, too? Shouldn't she be busy thinking of him instead of planning dates with good-looking guys like Dr. Riley?

Mulder knew he was the obsessive type, but he rarely thought in circles like this. He supposed it was because there was no logical progression here. There was no next step his mind could take. What he had with Scully was what he would always with have with Scully. Friendship, partnership… and nothing more.

He was glad to finally arrive at the Fairfax Medical Facility parking garage. Dr. Meredith Foster might not be the love of his life, but she would certainly be a suitable enough distraction. Or so he hoped.

When Mulder walked into the same lab Scully had visited the day before, he found Foster seated behind a computer.

"Agent Mulder, come on in," she greeted him cheerfully, but Mulder could tell her good-humor was partially put on. She looked tired and just a little annoyed.

Mulder grabbed a stool and took a seat next to her. "I didn't think about it until just now, but Scully and I never took any of her blood."

"It's okay. I won't be needing her blood."

Mulder tilted his head.

"I've got her coffee," she told him, holding up the coffee cup Scully drank from the day before. "And I also think I've got all this figured out."

Mulder was on the edge of his seat. "Great. Let me hear it."

"I'd rather you hear it from… someone else. Would that be all right?"

"Sure," Mulder said. If Foster already knew who did this, he'd play along. Even if it was her and this was all just a setup, he didn't see any harm in going along with it for the time being. He just hoped Riley wasn't this "someone else" she mentioned because he really wasn't in the mood for an encounter with Dr. Perfect.

Foster escorted Mulder out of the lab. The path she took him on led past the patient bay where the afflicted men lay just as they had on Friday night.

"Hey, hey, hang on a minute," Mulder slowed up and looked into the window. "Scully said you wanted to talk to me about… this. Something about soul mates?"

"As much as I'd love to get your expert opinion—and I will later, if you're still talking to me—my guest might lose his nerve if we wait any longer."

A perplexed Mulder followed Foster to a waiting room where he found himself face to face with what he had previously presumed to be a figment of his drugged imagination.