With his car parked across from the house he could watch her moving from room to room.  She came home at lunchtime and had rushed around the house picking up clothes and clearing up the mess from the dinner last night.  When the phone rang she stopped suddenly in the hallway, her darkened figure casting a shadow on the homely beige staircase, coving the family portraits she'd placed on the wall.

            He twisted in his awkward car seat turning the dial on the small receiver to tune in her conversation.  A blast of static burst into the car before settling to a dull flow followed by her shy voice.

"Hello?" she said meekly into the receiver.

"Hey, Sharon, it's Jim," the other voice said.

"Jim, you called…I made it home."

"Great…I should be there in about twenty minutes…eh…where is Gary?" Jim asked hesitantly.

"He's gone to Florida on business, he wont be back until Sunday evening."

"So we got the whole weekend?" Jim said his smile carrying through the receiver.

"Yeah."

"Great, well I'm stuck in traffic by Lafayette Park, I'll see you soon."

"Okay Jimmy, see ya."

            He watched her through the frosted large bay window as she replaced the receiver and smiled widely.  Suddenly and without hesitance he jumped out of the car and walked over to the house.  Lifting his knuckles to thump on the door he stopped and spotted the latch was off.  He opened the door slowly and saw her standing in the kitchen with her back turned to him and her hands in the sink.  He passed silently through the hall and grabbed her from behind, his large arms fitting around her body trapping her hands down by her side. 

            Her squeals of surprise quickly turned to screams of fear as he carried her through the house to the master bedroom in the back.  She was light and flew easily to the bed nearly bouncing off the other side.  Terror caught her voice in her throat as she looked on at the stranger looming over her.

"What…what do you want?" she asked fearing the worst.

"It's too late for apologies.  Too late to repent."

"What?" her eyes darted around the room as she searched for an escape.

            He paced the length of the room, one hand resting on his hip the other idly scratching his chin.  She noticed his suit was clean and well pressed, most likely expensive but the look in his eyes told a different story to the condition of his clothes. 

            From the back of his suit he twisted what she thought was his belt but he pulled it until it revealed a small back on a strap.  Unzipping it agonizingly slowly he smiled at her discomfort.  Too scared to move and too shocked to scream she lay motionless on the edge of the bed gradually inching towards the headboard.

            He pulled out a piece of rope and walked up the side of the bed towards her.  Grabbing her arm she fought before he slapped her a blow that threw her away from him with a force that she'd never felt before.  He tied her wrist to one of the bedposts and reached across her, muffling her low moans under the weight of his thick arms, to tie the other hand.

            Standing at the bottom of the bed he looked down at her stockinged feet and pulled them together, wrapping a small length of rope around her ankles he anchored them to the bottom of the bed.

            She watched through tear filled eyes as he crawled over her towards the top of the bed straddling her, his weight resting on her pelvis.  He reached again into the small bag and pulled out a long nail.  From behind his suit jacket she could see a hammer dangling from his belt loop and her eyes widened with panic as he pulled it out.  It was then that she found her voice, screaming loudly her panic welling up through her throat enriching the sound of her screams as they echoed through he empty house.

            He punched her in the jaw but it had little effect towards silencing her so he reached for the pillow and pressed it against her face until the screaming and convulsions stopped.  Cautiously he took the pillow away from her face and smiled at the curled eyes and open mouth that met him.  Pressing the tip of the nail to her chest he lifted the hammer and brought it down hard against the head wincing at the spurt of blood the impact made. 

He stepped off the bed and looked down at the eight nails embedded in her chest.  Knowing that Jim would be there soon he quickly made his way to the bathroom and rinsed the blood from his hands.  Slowly he walked to the car and turned the key in the ignition.  Without looking he carefully pulled away from the curb and drove away, oblivious to the blue Nissan that pulled into her drive he merged with the Friday traffic and disappeared.

***

            Mulder checked his watch as he stepped into the elevator and saw that it was nearing quarter to four.  His mobile registered 4 missed calls but he didn't bother to check the messages, knowing it was Scully looking for him and probably waiting for him in the office.  She hated being late.

            The elevator jutted to a stop and he ambled over to the half open door but before he could open it he heard her laughter.  He placed a hand on it and slowly swung it open to see her leaning against his desk the phone balanced between her left ear and her shoulder while her hand idly leafed through a thin folder.  She laughed again and he stood by the door leaning on its frame.

"Okay, I'll tell him to call you," she said through a light laugh.  The soft sound caressed his ears and he stepped closer to it.  "Alright, Goodbye."

            She hung up the phone and half turned seeing him as he approached the desk.  Her smile faded and returned to its usual professional stance as their eyes met and he frowned.

"Skinner is waiting for us," she said.

"Okay, let me put this away," he lifted the files from his in tray and stuck the folder he'd been holding half way in, leaving it stick out enough so he could grab it easily.

"Good filing system, Mulder."

"Thanks, it took me years to develop!"

            They walked silently to the elevator and he rested against the back wall as she pressed the button.

"Danny called.  You just missed him," she said casually.

"What did he want?"

"Something about an awards ceremony he wants you to go to.  I'm not sure of the details."

"I'll call him when I get back."

"What does Skinner want?"

"He wants us to look at two different cases and Agent Keane was asking about my case status," he said telling her about the conversation he'd had earlier but watching her face he could tell her mind was elsewhere.  Wondering briefly what was going through her mind he pushed himself away from the elevator wall and followed her into Skinners office where Kim sent them through directly.

"Here are the cases," Skinner said as they took their seats and he handed out two files that Scully took.

"Both cases sir?" she said confused.

"To be honest the first one came in from Seattle and I don't see much in it but I thought you should give it the once over, the second one may be slightly more confusing."

"How?" Mulder asked, letting Scully read through the files before she handed them over.

"It's more of an internal matter but I was instructed to make sure you two were the lead investigators."

"By who?" he said this time more suspiciously, sitting forward in his chair.

"Director Walsh."

"Walsh? But he doesn't even work in our section?" Mulder argued.

"Isn't he based in San Diego?" Scully said matching Mulders glare as they both stared at Skinner.

"Yes, it's a San Diego case.  Read through it and get back to me with an initial report before you start requisitioning cars and flights."

            Scully started to rise but Mulder stayed seated.  She glanced at Skinner and back to Mulder both of who were watching her.

"I thought you'd prefer a private meeting with Agent Mulder," she said.  Skinner looked at Mulder and he shook his head so she took her seat again.

"It's nothing that you haven't done before," Skinner began, "I told Agent Keane that you had nothing on at the moment but with two case files arriving this morning, I said I'd leave it up to your discretion whether you wished to assist."

"What kind of case is it?"

"Serial killer, with four victims to date, spanning a five week period across the country, the latest one was in Philadelphia last night," Skinner said as he removed his glasses.  "No known connection or pattern to the victims bar they are all female.  They all seem to random killings.  One of them strangled, one stabbed in the stomach and bled to death, one of them had their throat cut and the latest was choked."

"So what makes this a serial killer?" Scully asked.

"All the victims were found with eight nails embedded into their chest over their heart.  The nails were in lined in a heart shape."

            Mulder rubbed his mouth with his hand and scratched his chin.  Scully's frown deepened as she listened to Skinner and finally she turned to Mulder.  Their eyes met and he saw something blaze behind their cool blue surface.

"Agent Keane wants a profile?" Mulder said looking back to Skinner.

"I believe so.  If you give her a call she'll drop the case down for you to have a look at."

"Okay, thank you."
            They walked to the door and Mulder held it open for her to step through, before he followed her silently to the elevator.  They stepped in and again she reached for the button.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know.  Take a look at these two files first I suppose.  Then give Keane a call."

"Have you worked with her before?" she asked and he could tell she was holding back a smile.

"Once, but I had little to do with her."
"She's one in a million.  I had it out with her one night in Quantico," she said her smile finally breaking through.

"Why Scully you keep unwrapping like a butterfly."

            They laughed together as they stepped through the basement office door and took their seats.  She handed him out one of the folders and pulled her chair closer to the desk as she opened the other.

            Hours flew by as they both bantered about their separate cases and took turns going for coffee.  As seven o'clock drove near Mulder stretched back in his chair letting his head fall back to hang loosely.  The image of her doing the same motion flashed into his head and he wondered if she was watching him like he had been to her.  Whipping his head up quickly he saw her staring at her laptop screen her face a picture of concentration as the blue glow reflected off her glasses.  The rush of blood that flew round his head made him dizzy so he carefully closed his eyes only to open them and find her watching him. 

"You okay?" she asked seeing the dizziness swim around his eyes.

"Yeah, head rush."

            She smiled and returned to her screen but before she could get too immersed he stepped around to her side of the desk and sat on the corner.  Silently he began to swing his legs and waited for her to look up.  She could see his legs swinging, bending at the knee and knew he was watching her but she refused to look up.  Knowing he was playing his patience game she decided not to give in this time and waited for him to call her.

"Hey Scully," he said nudging her lightly.

"Yeah?" she replied without looking up.

"I'm hungry.  Lets get out of here and go for food?"

"Great, let me just send this mail."

            He grabbed his jacket from his chair and gathered up the files as he waited for her to collect her laptop and case.

"Do you want to go to Casey's?"

"I dunno, I fancy something a little quieter, to go through these files," she said as she fastened the latch on her case and slipped into her light suede jacket.

"How about Lorenzo's?"

"How about my place and a pizza?"

"Ahhh Scully, you do love me!"

            They slowly made their way through the deserted building out to the car park.  He watched her from the corner of his eyes as she brushed her hair out of her face and gently stroked her neck, rubbing it tenderly as if it hurt.

"I'll meet you at mine then?" she said as she dropped her stuff onto the back seat.

"Yeah, I'll be right behind you."

            He waited for her to pull away before walking towards his own car.  As he sat into it his mobile rang loudly.  Without looking at the caller ID he switched it on and held it up to his ear.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop for a bottle of wine!"

"Red or White?" Danny said.

"Danny? Sorry I thought you were Scully."

"Not quite.  So you two have plans tonight?"

"I'm going over to Scully's to go through some case files."

"And you need wine to do that?" he asked laughing.

"No that's just a bonus," Mulder said knowing what Danny would read into it but not caring.

"I rang because I wanted to ask you to come to an awards ceremony on Sunday night," Danny said.

"Awards? For what?"

"Sport Achievements.  I was going to ask Dana to come with me but I wasn't sure if she would go without you."

            Mulder faltered at his words and wondered briefly if he wanted to continue this conversation.  Realising he had been silent, not answering Danny's question he coughed into the phone giving himself a brief reprise.

"Scully is old enough to go out with out a chaperone," he said carefully.

"Do you think she would like to join me?"

"You'll have to ask her that," he replied this time unable to get the anger totally out of his voice.

"Maybe I'll ask her then."

"Listen Danny, I gotta go."

"Fine Fox, are we still on for the ball game tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll have to get back to you on that one.  But as far as I can tell I'm game."

"Okay well give me a call in the morning."

            Mulder cancelled the call and drove slowly over to her apartment.  He pulled up behind her car and grabbed the brown paper bag from the seat beside him.  For just a moment he looked towards the light he knew came from her living room window and wondered what she was doing.

Did she change? He thought.  Had she already ordered a pizza knowing exactly what toppings he'd like?

            He stepped from the car and strolled to the door.  After a light rap he could hear her soft feet rushing to let him in.  The door swung wide open without hesitation because she was expecting him, so he knew she didn't use the spy hole.

She changed he noticed as he let his eyes fall over her jeans and light blue top.  She wore only socks and wandered over to the small table where her notes were already laid out.

"I already ordered the pizza, it should be here in 40min," she said as she slipped on her glasses.

            He went into the kitchen dropping his jacket onto one of her tall back chairs as he searched for the corkscrew.  The conversation he'd had with Danny swam around his head and he couldn't get rid of it.  He could hear her voice from the other room as he poured out two glasses of her favourite wine.

"Sorry Scully? What was that?" he asked as he handed her a glass and slid down onto the floor next to her their shoulders touching lightly.

"I was just asking what took you so long?"

"I got a call from Danny.  I was talking to him for a while, then I had to stop and get some wine."

"We shouldn't be drinking if we are going to get through these two case files," she said but she took the glass with a small smile.

"For starters, the one I was working on is a bust."

"How do you know?"

"I went through the UFO sightings and not one of them corroborate the other but I did find a connection between all the witnesses."

"What's that?" she said sipping the wine and he saw her face light up at the recognition of the taste.  His face cracked into a small smile.

"All frat brothers."

            She laughed at his disappointment.  He shook his head with a smile and sipped his own drink.  They sat in silence for a minute but their eyes met and stuck together.

"Are you okay Mulder?" she asked turning towards him, "you look like you got something on your mind?"

            Danny's comments flew through his head again and he glanced away.  Conflict raised its ugly head and he wasn't used to it.  He usually found it easy to speak his mind to her, no matter how bizarre his theory, he could always tell her and they would dissect it, maybe destroy it together.  But this was different, this was like delving into her personal life, something she always kept well hidden from him. 

She might know every facet of his life from cradle to present day and she would anticipate his needs and fears long before he knew he even had them.  But that was him.  This is her.  Dare he continue and risk causing her embarrassment?

"No, I'm just thinking about the case you were working on this evening," he answered cowardly.

"It's a strange one.  Looks like another X-Files unit has been set up in San Diego," she said handing him the file.

"What?" he said almost choking on his wine making her laugh loudly.

"Don't worry Mulder…it couldn't be half the unit we are," she joked as he flicked through the file and saw the three cases inside it.

"What is this?" he asked.

"From talking to some field agents at the San Diego office it looks like a crop circle epidemic has been struck up and a unit has been set up to investigate them.  During the investigation two bodies were found and now the team...Agents Dale Wilson and Robert Baker…are travelling the country investigating crop circle sites."

"Looking for more bodies?"

"Yes.  A lot of people refuse to farm the land once these patterns are found so their theory is-,"

"That they're being used as burial sites for murder victims?" he finished for her.

"Exactly."

            He read through the files more thoroughly and shook his head as the facts sunk in.

"So why do they want us?"

"Possibly the extent of our crop circle location database," she said.

"What database?" he looked up at her oddly.

"Only the catalogue of locations and dates stored in your head."

"Right.  That database."

"Yeah Mulder, that database."

"Great," he said as he slapped the file onto the table and let his head fall back onto the couch sighing loudly.

"What's wrong Mulder?" she asked dropping her head back and faced him.

"I dunno…I'm just tired," he said through another sigh, as he faced her not realising how close their faces would be.

"Not sleeping?" she asked reluctant to pull away but unsure of what he would read into their closeness.  She couldn't believe how aware she had become of him lately.  How his simple touches had turned into lively sparks and his eyes had become traps for her own.

Dammit I'm doing it again she said inwardly, trying to keep calm but forcing her eyes to stay locked to his.

"It's more than that…I just feel like I need more," he continued.

"More? More x-files? More weirdness?" she said trying to lighten his mood.

"No…" he laughed.  "More…more me."

"What do you mean?" she sat up and rested her elbow onto the couch cradling her head into her hand and turning her whole body towards him.

"Sometimes I wonder about where my life went.  Where Fox Mulder starts and the X-Files end," he looked back up to the ceiling again but this time closed his eyes.  The cool hand that rested on his forehead and the slender fingers that gently brushed through his hair were surprising and he turned his head into it.  "Sometime I wonder…"

"Wonder what?" her voice was a bare whisper but he could hear her clearly in the stillness of her apartment.

"I'm not sure," he said and he opened her eyes causing her hand to still its tender caresses.

            Slowly she pulled her hand away but her eyes locked with his.  He didn't move his head, not releasing her from his trap and for a split second the thought he was going to kiss her.  But as quickly as the thought entered his head he batted it away.  He pulled himself up and finished his wine.

"So are you going to talk to Agent Keane?" she asked quickly.

"I have a meeting with her tomorrow at nine."

"Do you want me to come?"

"No, I'm sure she'll pass me off onto the case leader and I'll get the details."

"Looks like it'll be a tough one," she said pulling herself onto the couch to put some distance between them.

"No worse than a Mexican goat sucking monster," he joked.

            A knock at the door broke through her smile and she jumped up to collect the pizza.  After paying for it she climbed over his outstretched legs and placed the box on the table in front of him.  He lifted the lid and inhaled the powerful smell of melted cheese and garlic.

"My favourite," he said.

"No, my favourite," she countered.

"Mine first," he said lifting a slice and placing it onto her plate.

"You've got to be joking Mulder, I've been eating this since I was in college!"

"Listen Scully if it wasn't for me you'd be biting dry rice cakes and licking tofu pops!"

            Her laughter caressed his ears and whirled around him in a beautiful breeze.  Her smile was wide and free and he watched her for a minute basking in the warmth of it.

No, he wouldn't tell her about Danny, he thought, he'd let her make her own mind up. Hopefully she'd make a good choice.

            Then watching her again as she bit unselfconsciously into the folded pizza slice he smiled to himself. 

Maybe it was time he gave her a choice of his own he reflected before tasting his first slice.

**Sorry for the delay but it was my birthday this weekend and I didn't get a chance to type it all up.   You can expect pretty much daily updates from now on…possibly!! **