Chapter Four - Reconsidering Past Events

Scully looked at the writing on the wall for a long, long time. Mulder spotted the writing and looked at her and was shocked to see her growing paler by the minute.

"What is it Scully?" he said rushing to her side "Does that mean something to you?"

Scully's nod was barely noticeable. "Yeah. It does." She turned and looked at Mulder - her eyes huge. "It was what Robert Holton said to me during his sentencing hearing, right before they led him away."

"Holton?" Mulder said amazed. "But he is."

"Exactly" Scully said cutting him off and walking over to the telephone. She lifted it up and dispassionately called the front desk to inform them what had happened.

To Mulder she seemed like a ghost as she hung up the phone and walked over to the easy chair, which sat undisturbed in the corner, and sat. "They are calling the police. I suspect they will be here shortly and will want to talk to me."

Mulder opened his mouth to say something and then shut it for he had absolutely no idea what to say. Seeing that Scully wasn't going anywhere, he discreetly went out into the hallway and call Skinner.

He filled Skinner in on the situation and asked him to verify the whereabouts of Robert Holton. He hung up after agreeing to meet with Skinner the following morning to discuss how to proceed on this case.

When he reentered the room Scully was still seated, but had regained most of her color and he could tell by her facial expression that she was feeling more like herself.

"Mulder" she started wearily but was cut off by the arrival of not only hotel security but the local police and a few FBI agents.

She looked at the crowd of law enforcement agents and raised an eyebrow at Mulder as if to ask him why there were so many people there.

"Professional courtesy - you know once an agent, always an agent" he said trying to force a smile. "Speaking of which, would you like to explain to me why you are still packing a weapon? I thought you were retired?"

Scully smiled up at her former partner "Just because I am no longer on the X-files doesn't mean I am no longer associated with the Bureau."

She saw his puzzled expression and continued. "I am a consultant these days Mulder, brought in to handle certain types of cases."

"So you mean to tell me that all this time you were in the FBI database and I didn't even know it?"

"Yup - sometimes one needs to look at the most obvious places for clues Agent Mulder."

Mulder was about to ask her more about her consulting when they were interrupted by the lead police officer on the case. Mulder answered the questions first and when it was Scully's turn quickly disappeared into the bathroom.

When everyone was done with Scully she rose and muttered something about heading down to the front desk to get a new room. As soon as she was out in the hall, Mulder stopped her.

"Scully, there is no way you are staying in this hotel tonight." He said firmly.

She looked at him strangely for a moment then nodded. "Maybe you are right, I can check into the one down the street."

"You will do no such thing." Mulder said sounding a bit annoyed.

"Then where exactly do you expect me to stay Mulder?" she answered back sounding just as annoyed as he.

"With me."

"You?" Scully said sounding quite amazed. "That is very kind of you Mulder but I can't impose on you like that."

Mulder gave her a look the way a parent would look at a child when they were denying knowledge about something nasty they had just done. "Scully, since when is staying with a friend - a friend who is your former partner - an imposition?"

Scully sighed and looked like she was going to try to come up with another excuse but Mulder cut her off. "Scully, I know you are perfectly capable of taking care of yourself but if you think for one second I am going to leave you alone tonight after seeing your reaction to that" he motioned to her hotel room down the hall "you are crazy. You are staying with me and that's that." Scully just stood and looked at him realizing at that moment just how much she had missed Mulder over the past four years. Although she would never admit it to him, she missed having someone look out for her.

"Okay Mulder, if you are sure."

"I am positive. So positive in fact that I gathered together everything you need while you were talking to the Detective."

"Did you now?" Scully said not knowing if she was happy at his assertiveness or annoyed by it. She smiled then "I hope you didn't take any crucial piece of evidence."

"Not unless whoever was in your room likes to play with your toothpaste" Mulder joked as he headed towards the elevator.

The drive to Mulder's apartment was a relatively quiet one with Scully trying to remember the last time she had been there and wondering exactly where she would be sleeping.

As if he read her mind, Mulder said "You can have the bed Scully, I still spend must of my time on the couch."

Scully smiled as she shook her head. Somethings really didn't change.

Mulder's apartment

Mulder opened his apartment door hoping that he hadn't left the place too messy. After all, he hadn't been expecting company that night.

Scully stepped in behind him and immediately was flooded with memories of all the times they had shared there. There had been a time that this very apartment had practically been her second home.

It had changed very little she noticed as she walked around the room while Mulder put the kettle on.

"Would you like some tea?" he called from the kitchen as she hovered over his desk noticing the two pictures sitting on it. One of Samantha and one of her.

"Sure, that would be great - thanks" she replied sitting on the couch. Scully had to admit to herself at feeling quite relieved that there were no traces of feminine influences to be seen.

If Mulder had a girlfriend, she obviously didn't spend much time there.

Mulder walked into the room holding her cup of tea in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"Thanks" she said taking the tea and sipping it carefully. "Chamomile" she said breathing the soothing fragrance. "this should help me sleep."

They sat there side by side barely touching on the Mulder's couch. Scully sipping her tea and Mulder his water.

They both knew that they had much to talk about but neither of them seemed to want to break the peaceful moment.

Finally Scully stood up and after taking her cup back into the kitchen announced to Mulder that she was going to bed. "Can I borrow a shirt to sleep in Mulder?" she said sheepishly as she went to enter her room.

Mulder smiled at her. "Of course - you know where they are."

Mulder heard her moving around his room and tried to push the image of Scully slipping into one of his t-shirts from his mind. He had almost succeeded when Scully opened the bedroom door and leaned against the doorframe.

She just looked at him for a second as if to gather her thoughts and Mulder wondered if she had any idea how sexy she looked standing there in one of his Yankee t-shirts covering her all the way to her knees.

"Mulder" she said finally "To answer your question - I left because of your relationship with Diana"

Not waiting for an answer, she turned and went back into the bedroom leaving Mulder alone with his thoughts.

"Diana?" he thought to himself. "She left because of Diana? What exactly did she think was going on?"

Mulder sat back on the couch, closed his eyes and tried to think back to the afternoon when he had last been Scully's partner. Even with his photographic memory, it took him a minute or two to get the images in place.

Scully, Diana and he had been working on a case together and Scully and Diana did not see eye to eye on anything. Scully was busy working on the case but Diana seemed more interested in swaying Mulder's affections in her direction.

Mulder had not been swayed and assumed that Scully had realized this - but perhaps she didn't. Scully had brought up several valid points questioning Diana's intentions and Mulder had systematically shot them all down. This alone would have been enough to totally piss off Scully but combine that with the fact that she believed that Diana and he were sleeping together and Mulder could see why Scully had been so upset.

Mulder thought he partially understood Scully's reaction to the situation but he had trouble understanding his.

Why hadn't he gone after her that afternoon when he had known she was upset? And then again, why hadn't he tracked her down after she had left town.

It wasn't like he didn't have the resources to do so right at his fingertips. Christ, she had been working at the FBI for half the time and he hadn't even known it.

So why hadn't he looked? The answer was so obvious - now.

Diana Fowley.

When Diana had heard of Scully's sudden disappearance she had gone out of her way to not only comfort Mulder on his loss but to talk him out of any desire to follow her.

She had convinced him that if he let her go she would be happier away from the X-files. Scully would get her life back again.

It was only after Diana, herself, disappeared amongst allegations of her allegiance with the Cigarette Smoking Man, that Mulder had realized that Scully was right to doubt Diana.

So why hadn't he gone after Scully then? Mulder hated to admit it, but he was too embarrassed and too proud. He had always assumed that Scully would come back.

To him and to the X-files.

It wasn't until he discovered that Maggie Scully had also left town that he came to the realization that Scully was gone. For good.

Mulder shook his head again at his own foolishness even as he was thanking whatever god might be listening for the chance to make things right with Scully.

The last thing he thought before he drifted off to sleep was "Tomorrow Scully. We can start again then."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ End of chapter four - comments anyone????