22.

9.23am  (May 3rd, 2008)

Mulder was still pacing the living room. What could he do but pace? He couldn't sit still, not with Dana missing. He believed in Samantha's vision. He had to for both of their sakes. He knew it was his fault, somehow, for her being taken like that. It couldn't be that much of a coincidence. It was too precise, too planned. Who would want to take a Mother from her child? Why Scully and why now? He couldn't fit the picture together. His mind wouldn't function and he knew why… this was too personal.

He was too involved in the case and he knew it. All he wanted was for Scully to be home to show him how to be a Father to their daughter. The thought still brought a smile to his lips albeit one tinged with sadness.

Thoughts of the precision of Scully's disappearance made him think for a moment that she had planned it herself…. If only she had a diary or something. He knew Scully too well to think she ever kept one. It was too personal for her. Her feelings, as always, had to be internalised until she exploded just like she had a day and a half ago.

He searched her desk in the spare bedroom come office but there was nothing. The pale faux oak desk was tidied to perfection, it was all very Scully, she had a few stray paid bills left waiting to be cleared away but nothing major stood out. There were no secret panels, not even a locked cupboard. Even the laptop was 'clean' not one file indicated she'd had any plan of moving on. Her Internet history had been wiped and after a time he had managed to retrieve her personal files… still nothing. This wasn't Scully, this was someone else… someone who obviously had picked her out for a reason. He just hoped it wasn't for the reason that pounded in his head… Alien bounty hunter.

Australia.

11.22am. (May 4th – Note to Readers that Australia is 16 hours ahead of Washington DC!)

Scully opened her eyes feeling the sharpness of the light entering the room. She sat bolt upright as she saw a familiar face tower above her. Fear flicked across her face briefly until she curbed the feeling. She pushed it down into the deepest darkest place within her stomach. There it would remain. Would she be killed? Or was this one of those bizarre cults who raped and then murdered the victims slowly? Or maybe she would have been killed already had they wanted that.

#3791 smiled awkwardly at Scully. She was trying but failing to reassure their 'guest' with a human trait that may offer some solace.

"Why am I here?" Scully asked taking the bull by the horns.

"I can't answer that. All will be revealed to you soon. You must change then I will bring you breakfast before you meet with #1. He will explain everything to you soon. There are clothes in the wardrobe for you. All pre-selected in your size. I'll be back shortly." 3791 turned and left Scully to her thoughts that were racing.

Scully stared at the closed door. It hadn't been locked but she suspected there would be no escape for her even if she tried. Standing up, Scully, wobbled on her legs from their lack of use. She had yet to realise it had been two days since she had been abducted. Scully opened the wardrobe doors and smiled with surrender to the absurdity of the situation. They had chosen the exact kind of clothes that were in her own wardrobe but spookily the clothes were in the exact same place as at her home. Skirts and trousers to the left side, tops, blouses and jackets to the right. In the bottom of the closet were pairs of flat and heeled shoes plus a pair of running shoes. Everything was near perfect. Except for the shoes being different in styles and heel-height to those she normally wore.

Selecting a grey skirt and blue blouse, Scully sought other attire from the drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe. There were pantyhose and underwear that were all in her size. She shook her head in amazement before laying them all on the bed.

Hanging upon the back of the door was a white towelling robe and sat on the chair was a towel, also white. 'Something different' Scully thought relieved that at home she had sunflower yellow towels and matching robe.

It didn't take her long to change into the clothes. It was so bizarre and she couldn't shake the feeling that this had all been planned for a reason and on top of that she wouldn't be going anywhere for a while since there were 'her' clothes in the room. Someone wanted her to stay wherever she was. There was a purpose to the abduction. It had to have been planned with meticulous detail. Just to have got her clothes size correct. A chill ran down her spine as she pondered what the purpose of her disappearance could be.

3791 escorted Scully through winding corridors to the meetings room. The temperature was somewhat the same as it had been in Washington. Autumn in Australia had a similar temperature to spring in the USA. Scully wouldn't notice the weather change for a while.

3791 opened the meetings room door and allowed Scully to enter before her. #1 was already there and waiting. He sat behind a great Mahogany panelled desk that looked antique.

Scully remained silent as she entered the room. She had nothing to say to the Australian ambassador. She seated herself across from him after he held his hand out to offer her a seat.

"I'm sure you are confused as to why I brought you here Miss Scully."

"Confused is not the word I would use." She said bitterly. "Why?"

"I think you already know why."

"I haven't a clue. Enlighten me." She said politely realising that being angry wouldn't get her the answers she needed.

"Your child."

"What about my child? Which child?"

"Your daughter."

"What about her?"

"She is special, is she not?"

"Yes. To me she is. Why?" Scully felt this was going somewhere she wouldn't like.

"You are a doctor… you tell me."

"She is a regular healthy child who displays some mild sign of having psychic episodes. If you buy into that."

"That is not the meaning I meant by special. She is your clone!" Scully's mouth dropped. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. In spite of the seriousness of the situation she laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous. I would NEVER experiment with cloning on myself or another person. Samantha was conceived naturally!"

"I have the evidence right here." He handed her two charts with almost identical genetic information on them. Scully recognised her own despite it being labelled. The other was labelled as being Samantha's but Scully knew it wasn't Samantha's. Her daughter's genetic make-up looked totally different from the one in front of her.

"This is not Samantha's." she said waving the chart at him. "Where did you get this?"

"From the hospital where your daughter had the blood test three months ago. Why?"

"Well whoever gave you this is a liar." She didn't know why she was being honest but maybe if she did then her questions would be answered. "This… Samantha's chart, as you have been led to believe, is mine. It was mine. Before I was 'abducted' and underwent genetic manipulation that is. Genetically I used to look like this! Now I look like this one. These charts are identical apart from one difference. All abductees have this 'tracer' gene. Mulder has this, Billy Miles, Cassandra Spender to name but a few. Because we underwent some kind of manipulation it has shown up in our genes." Scully placed each chart down: the one labelled 'Samantha' first and then her own. #1 groaned inwardly. His hopes of building his family again were being broken down in every millisecond he spent in conversation with Scully. From the way she met his eye he realised that she was not lying to him. Shaking his head he thought about where to go next. Who would he punish first. It then struck him that Scully could still help.

"What do you know about cloning, really?"

"As I told you at the university I know next to nothing about it. I'd have to fully research it to answer your queries, Ambassador" Why was she being so helpful? Scully thought to herself.

"You might as well know… I am not whom I appear to be. I am in fact #1 of the alien colonists. Right now we are in a medical trauma and need some expertise. It is a tit-for-tat offer I have for you Miss Scully. One I hope you will consider thoroughly."

"Go on."

"We, our family, are dying for reasons unknown to us. We are all clones from the great one. We males are born from the Great son. The women are clones of the great one herself. We need help with our cloning process. Since our previous #1 died we have had multiple failures of the future clones. We need help. In return for your help I will give you information about thechip in your neck." Scully's eyes widened.

"What about it?"

"Will you consider my offer?"

"Yes."

"Your chip has control over your cancer as you know. It also acts as a beacon to we aliens, as you call us, whereby you will come to us should we call." Scully nodded remembering times where she had disappeared for no reason. "During one of these episodes your chip was added to, you were given a second chip. It now has control over your emotions. It is broken or at least has been tampered with. The second chip was supposed to stop any physical interaction between you and Mr Mulder. Obviously it does not work. In fact I would hazard a guess that the opposite is true. You are strongly attracted to Mr Mulder, are you not?" Again Scully nodded.

"Why am I not supposed to have physical interaction with Mulder?"

"That I cannot tell you. The chip can be removed. I have detailed diagrams that, if you help me, I will give them to you so your emotions chip can be removed. The other must stay within your body. The first chip controls your cancer and should you remove that chip the cancer will return ten-fold. You will have five minutes to live. I do not aim to scare you but the lives of my family members are in jeopardy and it is you who I have chosen to help us."

"If I choose not to?"

"Do you really need to know the answer to that?"

"Not really." Scully knew what she had to do. "How long will I be here, wherever here is?"

"A few months at the most. You are in Australia. I thank you for your assistance. Feel free to wander around the building. You cannot leave but there is plenty of space for you to explore." Scully nodded before rising from her seat and leaving the room.

She had entered into a deal that had to be completed. She couldn't believe her chip was controlling her feelings for Mulder. Touching the scar where the chip was Scully sighed. It had been within her so long and now she had learnt some 'truth' to its existence. If it controlled her emotions towards Mulder then was she really in love with him? 3791 walked Scully to her room remaining silent to let Scully's thoughts process. She didn't read her mind because at that point it was all to clear the confusion that was going on in her mind. Scully's face told a thousand stories. She was not happy, in fact her whole world had just been shaken to its very core.