2

9.25am

Scully had been escorted through the winding corridors of the FBI building that was once so familiar. She observed the changed décor and in her minds eye she passed critical judgement. Only a man would choose white walls with cream separated by a beige border. The floor, as expected, were grey mottled tiles they created an almost clinical atmosphere, one Scully did not approve of. Six years had changed her opinion, what used to be 'professional' was now depressingly 'clinical' everything here was calculated, put into order by rules with no real room for manoeuvre. She reminisced at breaking the rules with Mulder, their spending too much of the Bureau's money on what were seen as fruitless investigations! At one time the money they had spent on motel rooms could have been cut in half but they couldn't risk their relationship being found out. Another thing that was governed by rules! She hated being here, it wasn't fair, she didn't want to be reminded today of all days. Everything was going pear shaped and she hated it. Scully desperately wanted order, some semblance of her regulated normal life. I sound like my Father! She thought he loved everything to rule and regulation and right now all she wanted was her Father there to ease the pain of what was going to happen. but then she didn't know exactly what was going to happen. Walter Skinner appeared from his office just as Scully was about to pace the corridor through utter concern and, truth be told, an anxious boredom. "Dana" Skinner enthused almost too sweetly. "Walter, how are you?" she asked as he led her by the elbow into his office, she smiled at Stacey, Walter's new secretary, whom she had chatted briefly with during her wait. Once inside the office she was ushered to what could only be described as the 'comfy' chairs - this meant one thing - It was going to be serious, very serious! Scully couldn't help but feel panicked especially when she sat down and the door opened only to find Agent's Monica Reyes and John Doggett enter the room. Scully searched Monica's face for a clue as to what was so serious that she had to be dragged into the Hoover building but she gave nothing away apart from a deep worry, a worry that scorched Scully's heart right to the core. Scully looked to the floor, how could her friend's eyes tell her so much but her face be so 'normal' that it denied any hint of a problem. No one spoke until they were all seated and the coffee's Reyes had asked from Stacey had been placed on the occasional table in front of the group. Scully fought the deepening concern inside, it was made worse when Monica took her left hand in her own as she sat to Scully's left on the sofa. Doggett and Skinner were seated opposite in the armchairs, Doggett was leant forward his right elbow propping his chin up from his right knee. He could see the worry on Scully's face and he just wanted to hold her in a way that would make her feel safe and protected. "Why did I get the special treatment of an escort this morning? IS there something I should know?" Scully asked, worried that there was a threat to her and she was being overly protected by the three-some. "That would be classified had there not been a leak of information. Basically the Ambassador for Australia is visiting us and it has caused an outrage upstairs! Its really nothing to worry about, Dana. It's very run of the mill, so to speak." Skinner looked sincere making Scully feel awful, if that wasn't the reason she had been called into the FBI HQ then why? Skinner softly cleared his throat after taking a mouthful of coffee. He looked at his two agents in turn then faced Scully who looked at him with pleading watery blue eyes. Just tell me, please. "Dana." He paused trying to find the words, how could he hurt her like this??? "We've been building a case to exonerate Mulder, as you are well aware." "Yes." She managed to whisper, conscious that her voice was ready to crack with tears. "We thought you'd like to know we've made a breakthrough. It has taken us all this long to create a solid case against the military for falsification of testimonies, corrupt jury, you name it." "Is that what was SO urgent? You scared me half to death just to tell me you can get Mulder's charges dropped!" "No. Its not that." "Oh!" by the look on Skinner's face Scully knew something was going to upset her and as a confirmation of this Monica held her hand tighter. "I'm sure you realise we've been in contact with Mulder since he left some six years ago and." Scully nodded not liking where this was headed but still holding herself together, there was no way they would see her cry. "What? Just tell me, I won't break in half" she said wanting for the agony to be over. "He's gone missing, Dana" Monica spoke so softly at first Scully thought she'd dreamt it. Scully looked at Monica, trying to read her face, to see if this was some wind-up. it wasn't. Scully took in a hard breath as the realisation hit her. "Where?" Scully managed to muster after a long silence. "Venezuela" Doggett cut into the conversation. "He had a checkpoint three days ago. He was meant to be at our point of contact by 8pm local time and he didn't show. Monica and I have been out there and there is no sign of him. We are concerned Dana, he's never missed a check point before." Trust Doggett to cut to the chase Scully mused. "You make it sound like a race! Maybe he had to go by another route or something." "Usually he e-mails or something but there has been nothing, nothing at all, Dana. I know this is hard for you. But has he got in contact with you? Is there any way he may have tried to get through to you?" "No. I haven't heard from him since I got the e-mail following his leaving me. Why did you tell me? Haven't I been through enough?" Scully was hurting at their words and had to inflict some kind of reaction. Old wounds being opened up weren't that easy to heal again! "Because we have think he may be in trouble out there and we know he'd call you!" "I haven't heard anything." "Didn't you have a separate e-mail account when he first went AWOL?" Monica asked. "Yes, but I would have thought it would have been automatically shut down by now." "Could you try it? Please, Dana, we have to know." Monica soothed, sensing Scully's pain. "What if he hasn't contacted me? What then?" she searched all of their faces. "Then we assume the worst." Skinner broke in. "That's why we are hoping you may know where he would go or have had some communication from him." "The only other place I can think he would go is his Mother's place in Martha's Vineyard. He always felt safe there. Aside from that." Scully paused mid-thought "Bellevue. The place of our very first investigation and his 'abduction' they are the only places I can think of" "We tried his Mother's" Doggett spoke matter-of-factly "There was no indication of his being there. To be frank, I don't think we are going to find him alive." "What do you want me to do?" Scully asked in almost the same tone as Doggett, hiding her emotions. She had to get out of there, no, she needed to get out of there before her emotions were revealed. "Access your e-mail account where Mulder may have reached you." "Anything else?" she felt numb and cold. This morning she had hated Mulder for leaving and fell in love with him all over again when she looked at his picture and now her heart just couldn't decide. "Pray." Monica spoke gently. Scully rose from her seat briefly staring at her untouched coffee and then the wall clock that read 9.58am she had time to go to the internet café but something in her heart made her not want to go. If he hadn't messaged her then she had to believe he might still be alive when he was probably dead. She'd already buried him once in the ground, twice in her heart and now her emotions were threatening to boil over. "I'll contact you later." Scully said before rising. Monica did, too, having not let go of Scully's hand the whole time. They walked together out of the office, hand in hand as two young children might do, neither letting go until it was safe. After turning the corner away from Skinner's office and the watchful eyes of Stacey, Scully broke down into tears against Monica's shoulder, all the pain and suffering of the past six years began to bubble to the surface and only now was it being released. Her sobs racked her body so much that Monica had to guide Scully to the floor where she wept uncontrollably for the lover she had lost, not six years ago, but when Skinner had said to assume the worst.