Where Did They Go? - Chapter Seven
Scully pinched in the bridge of her nose in a feeble attempt to stop the headache she felt coming on. It did little good so she stared at the fire roaring in the fireplace trying to give her mind a break.
But she couldn't help but think about what had transpired over the past few hours. One man lay dead and another woman lay in her bed desperately ill.
Why? She had a few thoughts but without the tools of her trade, she was left to only making theories.
"Oh what I would give for my laptop" she muttered to herself as she continued writing her meticulous notes on a legal pad Colleen had supplied her.
She paused from her writing when she heard the door of the library squeak open. Mulder entered the room carrying two glasses of wine.
He smiled as he approached her and offered her a glass. She took it with a grateful smile. "Thanks. I could really use this."
"I thought you might. Have you come up with any theories yet?"
"Not really anything more than we talked about earlier. I did a basic examination of Jake's body and didn't find anything out of the ordinary. We will have to wait to do an autopsy and a tox screen to get more answers."
Scully got up and wandered over to the window still holding onto her wine glass. Outside the snow was still coming down at a good clip.
"Of course, it this weather keeps up, who knows how long we will be trapped up here."
Mulder came up behind her just as she was rolling her head back and forth trying to relieve some of its tension.
"Allow me" he said placing his two hands on her shoulders and slowly rubbing the tension out of them.
Scully tensed for a second, knowing that having a fellow FBI agent massage her shoulders wasn't the best of ideas, but it felt so good. She relaxed and let him continue.
They stayed that way for a minute or two until Scully broke the silence by turning to him. Their eyes locked for a moment and Scully couldn't help but think that if she didn't break the spell quickly she and Mulder would end up in a passionate kiss.
She looked away and moved over to one of the easy chairs sitting in front of the fire. Mulder took the chair across from her.
"Did you manage to talk to everyone else?"
"Everyone except for Chip the waiter. Apparently he had already headed for home."
"And?"
"From what I could tell, there is absolutely no similarity to between what Jake ate and what Stacy ate. She is a strict vegetarian and he liked his meat rare and bloody. The only thing they had in common yesterday was orange juice."
"Practically all of us had juice but we are not sick."
"Looks more like poisoning, doesn't it" Mulder said trying not to think about how beautiful Scully was with the firelight dancing off her features.
They both sat in silence for a minute or two gazing into the fire when Scully said
"What is it Mulder?"
"What is what?"
"You are sitting there looking at me like you want to say something but are afraid to. So what is it?"
Mulder smiled at the ease in which Scully seemed to be able to read his mind after such a short time.
"Well, I was just thinking that you don't seem so Icy to me?"
Scully frowned a minute and then slowly smiled as she figured out his meaning. "Thank you, I think. And the only thing Spooky about you is how you make snowmen."
They both relaxed a bit then Mulder had just about gathered up his nerve to start delving into Scully's personal life when the library door squeaked open and Colleen entered the room.
"There you two are" she said. "Everyone is getting ready to head up to bed and I was hoping you two could give them a bit of a pep talk before they do. They are all pretty nervous."
Scully and Mulder both nodded and got up to follow Colleen from the room. The found everyone gathered in the lounge having a quiet drink trying desperately not to talk about everything that had happened that afternoon.
Scully left Mulder to fill everyone in as she went upstairs to check on Stacy. Mulder had just began to talk, when he heard Scully call his name from upstairs.
"Mulder, I think you had better come up here" Scully called.
Mulder raced out of the room followed by Colleen and practically everyone else. He stopped abruptly at the doorway to Stacy's room he eyes not believing what he saw.
Stacy's bed was empty.
He looked at Scully and raised an eyebrow. "She's gone?"
"Apparently. I have already checked the bathroom. I suggest we all spread out and check the entire house."
Colleen tried to keep her voice calm "I thought she was too sick to move"
"She was"
Mulder quickly organized everyone into searching the house and meeting back in the lounge in ten minutes. Scully went to the back storage room to check on Jake's body.
She opened the door and flipped on the light switch and looked towards the table - it was empty.
Before she could take a step into the room, she heard the loud crack of a tree branch. And then the lights went out.
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keep the feedback coming - it is keeping me motivated!
Scully pinched in the bridge of her nose in a feeble attempt to stop the headache she felt coming on. It did little good so she stared at the fire roaring in the fireplace trying to give her mind a break.
But she couldn't help but think about what had transpired over the past few hours. One man lay dead and another woman lay in her bed desperately ill.
Why? She had a few thoughts but without the tools of her trade, she was left to only making theories.
"Oh what I would give for my laptop" she muttered to herself as she continued writing her meticulous notes on a legal pad Colleen had supplied her.
She paused from her writing when she heard the door of the library squeak open. Mulder entered the room carrying two glasses of wine.
He smiled as he approached her and offered her a glass. She took it with a grateful smile. "Thanks. I could really use this."
"I thought you might. Have you come up with any theories yet?"
"Not really anything more than we talked about earlier. I did a basic examination of Jake's body and didn't find anything out of the ordinary. We will have to wait to do an autopsy and a tox screen to get more answers."
Scully got up and wandered over to the window still holding onto her wine glass. Outside the snow was still coming down at a good clip.
"Of course, it this weather keeps up, who knows how long we will be trapped up here."
Mulder came up behind her just as she was rolling her head back and forth trying to relieve some of its tension.
"Allow me" he said placing his two hands on her shoulders and slowly rubbing the tension out of them.
Scully tensed for a second, knowing that having a fellow FBI agent massage her shoulders wasn't the best of ideas, but it felt so good. She relaxed and let him continue.
They stayed that way for a minute or two until Scully broke the silence by turning to him. Their eyes locked for a moment and Scully couldn't help but think that if she didn't break the spell quickly she and Mulder would end up in a passionate kiss.
She looked away and moved over to one of the easy chairs sitting in front of the fire. Mulder took the chair across from her.
"Did you manage to talk to everyone else?"
"Everyone except for Chip the waiter. Apparently he had already headed for home."
"And?"
"From what I could tell, there is absolutely no similarity to between what Jake ate and what Stacy ate. She is a strict vegetarian and he liked his meat rare and bloody. The only thing they had in common yesterday was orange juice."
"Practically all of us had juice but we are not sick."
"Looks more like poisoning, doesn't it" Mulder said trying not to think about how beautiful Scully was with the firelight dancing off her features.
They both sat in silence for a minute or two gazing into the fire when Scully said
"What is it Mulder?"
"What is what?"
"You are sitting there looking at me like you want to say something but are afraid to. So what is it?"
Mulder smiled at the ease in which Scully seemed to be able to read his mind after such a short time.
"Well, I was just thinking that you don't seem so Icy to me?"
Scully frowned a minute and then slowly smiled as she figured out his meaning. "Thank you, I think. And the only thing Spooky about you is how you make snowmen."
They both relaxed a bit then Mulder had just about gathered up his nerve to start delving into Scully's personal life when the library door squeaked open and Colleen entered the room.
"There you two are" she said. "Everyone is getting ready to head up to bed and I was hoping you two could give them a bit of a pep talk before they do. They are all pretty nervous."
Scully and Mulder both nodded and got up to follow Colleen from the room. The found everyone gathered in the lounge having a quiet drink trying desperately not to talk about everything that had happened that afternoon.
Scully left Mulder to fill everyone in as she went upstairs to check on Stacy. Mulder had just began to talk, when he heard Scully call his name from upstairs.
"Mulder, I think you had better come up here" Scully called.
Mulder raced out of the room followed by Colleen and practically everyone else. He stopped abruptly at the doorway to Stacy's room he eyes not believing what he saw.
Stacy's bed was empty.
He looked at Scully and raised an eyebrow. "She's gone?"
"Apparently. I have already checked the bathroom. I suggest we all spread out and check the entire house."
Colleen tried to keep her voice calm "I thought she was too sick to move"
"She was"
Mulder quickly organized everyone into searching the house and meeting back in the lounge in ten minutes. Scully went to the back storage room to check on Jake's body.
She opened the door and flipped on the light switch and looked towards the table - it was empty.
Before she could take a step into the room, she heard the loud crack of a tree branch. And then the lights went out.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
keep the feedback coming - it is keeping me motivated!