It took Mulder just over a month to get his thirst under control. After a couple of weeks he was about able to cope with the occasional joggers and dog walkers who made their way up the beach but prolonged contact with the smell of human blood proved more difficult. Scully found herself forced to take occasional trips away from him up to the new house to work on the vaccine with Harrison and Suzanne, whose scientific backgrounds were coming in especially helpful. She also met regularly with Mordecai and Lawrence who were attempting to coordinate the efforts of the vampires; however the groups' plans eventually began to run out of steam. All the while the news reports they heard each night became more and more disturbing. Thousands of people had now been infected with what the media had termed Apian Flu and were lying comatose in hospitals across the country and into Canada and Mexico. Charlotte's friend Malcolm who lived in London occasionally called with the latest news from Europe. After the first fortnight had passed he phoned in to confirm reports of the first suspected infections in London, Paris and Geneva; it was only a matter of days before the infections began spreading to more and more cities and out toward Russia and the Eastern Block. Africa and Australia were also beginning to report infections and China had long since closed its borders in a futile effort to stop the epidemic from spreading through their country - a move ridiculed mercilessly by Mulder who pointed out that bees don't generally pay much attention to international borders.
"What I don't understand," Scully said one late afternoon as she and Mulder walked back from hunting, "is why the victims aren't turning into new colonists like we saw in Dallas. Why are they just going into comas?"
"I'm not sure," Mulder mused, he had been considering the same question. "My guess would be that this is a new strain and that at some point the colonists will remotely trigger the change and everyone currently in a coma will begin to gestate simultaneously. Perhaps that's their new plan; overwhelming our forces by releasing the new colonists at once?" Scully nodded.
"It makes sense," she agreed, "I suppose that at least buys us some time to work on a cure."
"Have Suzanne and Harrison found anything?" Mulder asked, whacking a large branch out of his way which split with a deafening crack.
"No," Scully sighed, "the black oil is so alien by its nature that it's taking all we have just to understand it. We've looked at the vaccine and understand the basic principles but we're at a loss as to how to replicate it. Plus none of us are even in that field by training; a bio weapons specialist, a forensic pathologist and a high school chemistry teacher trying to develop a vaccine together."
"It sounds like the start of a joke the guys in the FBI lab would find funny," Mulder quipped, making Scully snigger.
"Yeah," she agreed, "except this time the punchline isn't so amusing." The pair lapsed into silence as they walked further.
"I can't help but think that the vaccine is the solution," Mulder thought aloud after a few minute's silence, "there's just something we're missing." Scully hummed in distracted agreement as they emerged into the beach and almost collided with a jogger. She tensed, ready to grab Mulder but to her delight she saw him swallow hard, nod to the young man and walk fast toward the house. She ran to catch up with him.
"I think you might be ready to move to Syracuse!" she beamed. Mulder looked nervous but his pride shone through.
"You're ready to risk me around your family?" he asked.
"I'll send Bill out to meet you first," she murmured, "he can be the guinea pig."
"Is he still being a jerk?" Mulder asked carefully.
"He's still ignoring me whenever I'm there, although to be honest sometimes I'm not so sure that's a bad thing," Scully grumbled, trying to make them both smile. Mulder however could detect more than a hint of pain coming from her. His psychic abilities were only just beginning to manifest; he couldn't yet read Scully's thoughts but he could now clearly sense her emotions even when she tried to suppress them.
"Ok," he agreed, "let's gather our things together and move out tonight. I don't want to waste another minute."
It didn't take them long to gather their few remaining possessions. Scully had sent most of her things on ahead when the others had left so she and Mulder were able to gather the rest into a pair of backpacks which they slung over their shoulders before setting off towards Syracuse. The journey took most of six hours but the forests allowed for ample hunting of which they availed themselves. By the time they arrived at the house the sun had long set and only a few humans remained awake. Tara's eyes widened as Mulder walked through the door into the large, open room that dominated the ground floor.
"Mulder!" she exclaimed, dropping her book and rising from an armchair to greet him and Scully at the door, "I'm so happy to see you here. Maggie's going to be thrilled when she sees you in the morning." Mulder was slightly taken aback by Tara's reaction and it must have shown on his face as she laughed a little. "I'm happy that you and Dana can be here together," she explained, "it's like the family is finally all together again."
"It's good to see you again too Tara," Mulder replied as his senses suddenly became acutely aware of the smells of the humans in the building. Scully felt her muscles flex almost involuntarily, readying her for action as her sixth sense picked up Mulder's anxiety. She focused her attention on him, feeling his emotions flow through her and realised he was controlling his impulses well.
"How about I show you our room?" Scully suggested feeling his desire to distance himself from the humans, "the house is sort of split down the middle, vampires on the right, humans on the left. Our room's up at the top."
"I need to get to bed," Tara agreed, stifling a yawn, "Matthew will be up at the crack of dawn and Bill refuses to let him out unsupervised with the vampires." She shot the pair of them an apologetic look. "I'll let him know you're here!" She grinned at Mulder before heading off up the large staircase that stood centrally in the room and branched off into two directions at the top. Mulder took a long look around the room noting the odd mixture of furnishings until he spotted Scully who was waiting halfway up the stairs. He followed her through a maze of corridors until they reached a dark wooden door, clearly the house was much larger than its frontal appearance suggested. Scully pushed on the door and walked into a large room which had a wall made almost entirely of glass that overlooked the forest. Mulder spotted closets, a sound system surrounded by CDs and records, a large desk covered in papers and photographs, and an even larger four-poster bed with cream blankets, comforters and pillows almost completely obscuring it. The bed gave the impression of being from a catalogue and had clearly not been used.
"Nice place," Mulder mused, wandering around and trying to take everything in. His eyes scanned the enormous piles of music that surrounded the stereo and he realised that in the few seconds his eyes had lingered on them he had taken in and memorised every title.
"Nicer now I'm not alone up here," Scully added, moving herself over to the desk and quickly looking over the stacks of papers. She picked one up and read it in a few seconds, the latest notes from Harrison and Suzanne that depressingly discussed no new results. She dropped it with a defeated sigh and turned to spot Mulder sitting on the edge of the bed testing the springs.
"This is a comfy bed," he hold her, collapsing backwards onto it which created a cascade of pillows onto the surrounding floor, "shame we don't need to sleep."
"I'm sure we can figure out something else to do with it," Scully murmured, not daring to take a step forward. Mulder's head popped up from his prone position and he cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Why Miss Scully you're insatiable," he replied in a low voice that rumbled across the room and vibrated through Scully's chest. "It's only been ten hours and your mother is asleep in the house." Scully smiled at him from across the room, grateful she was no longer able to blush.
"That's never stopped me before," she replied coolly.
Mulder pulled himself into a slightly more upright position and with one hand knocked another few pillows to the floor as he smoothed out a few wrinkles from the comforter and patted it enticingly. "C'mere Scully," he half-whispered. She sashayed forward, keeping her eyes on his as she approached him needlessly slowly, her smile growing wider as she tried and failed to keep herself from giggling. She had never quite managed to work the smouldering temptress angle in the bedroom, every time she tried she would end up dissolved into a fit of giggles. It only took a few steps before she stood at the foot of the bed between Mulder's knees. In a move so fast even she struggled to see it Mulder reached up and grabbed her, pulling her down onto the bed and twisting so he had was knelt on top of her, straddling her hips with his knees. She gasped and he grinned, reaching down and beginning to rapidly undo the buttons on her shirt. Just as her brain began to catch up with his actions, the door flew open to reveal Gideon and Harrison.
"Mulder!" they called out in unison before both of them registered the sight in front of them.
"Oh crap," Harrison exclaimed as Scully shrieked and yanked the two sides of her shirt back together whilst simultaneously attempting to sit up and assume a more dignified position, succeeding only in rocking her hips against Mulder who didn't budge an inch leaving her feeling even more annoyed.
"Haven't you two ever heard of knocking?" she hissed as she fell back onto the bed.
"Sorry," Gideon apologised as he failed to conceal a smirk, "guess I wasn't paying enough attention to your thoughts."
"Clearly..." Scully muttered as she re-fastened her shirt, "let me up Mulder."
"It's ok," Harrison grinned, as Mulder looked down at her and stayed resolutely in position, he was enjoying this far too much. "We'll leave you two to your evening," he added, shooting Mulder a wink.
"Good to see you," Gideon managed around his suppressed laugh and the two of them left the room. Scully heard them collapse into hysterics before they'd even managed to fully close the door. She looked up at Mulder who was displaying his irritatingly boyish grin.
"What's the matter Scully?" he asked, "they're both gay, they don't care about looking at you naked."
"Yeah, well I do," she replied crossly, trying to push him off and failing miserably. "Get off!" He considered her for a moment before shaking his head.
"Not a chance," he murmured softly, reaching down and practically ripping Scully's shirt off, sending a spray of buttons skittering across the room.
"Hey!" she shouted before Mulder's finger pressed down on her lips to silence her.
"Shhhhh," he cooed into her ear, making her entire body shudder as the air tickled her nerves, "now where were we?"
Author Notes:
So sorry about the long wait (again) life has just gotten a bit hectic over Christmas. I've asked my beta to start poking me with a big ol' pointy stick once my son goes back to school next week so I hope to get back to updating regularly again. For now I hope you've all had a very Merry Christmas (or whatever else you may have celebrated) and that 2014 brings you whatever it is you're hoping for. Oh and check out the song Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkle. It inspired the title of this chapter AND is a favourite of X-Files Season 10 writer Joe Harris!