PROLOGUE

Previously…

As planned, Scully and Mulder met Carly back at her apartment that evening. Carly didn't look too upset, in fact, she looked…peaceful. Happy even. In her hand she held a bottle of red wine and asked the two agents what they would like to drink. Mulder didn't drink very often and neither did Scully.

" We're celebrating," Carly told them.

" Well, if that's the case, I'll have some red." Mulder decided as he loosened his tie a bit.

Scully opted for white wine and then asked what they were celebrating.

" I went to Dad's executioner this afternoon," Carly began as they sat around the living room, " for the reading of the Will."

" How did it go?" Scully asked.

" Very surprising," Carly said taking a sip of her red wine. She paused and Mulder could smell the faint odour of cigarette smoke. He half expected the smoking man to appear.

" Dad left my sister one million dollars," Carly told them.

" That's quite a bit of money," Scully commented and Mulder nodded.

" She's the eldest isn't she?" he asked her.

" Yes, but that doesn't make any difference. Dad left me a million too." Carly replied.

Mulder's jaw nearly dropped to the ground, " You're filthy rich then."

" I wondered where Dad had gotten the money," Carly confessed, " so I was hoping the diaries would give me some clue."

" He never told you he was actually quite rich?" Scully asked her and Carly shook her head.

They finished their wine and Carly gave the agents each a diary to read. Her father had five diaries.

Mulder started reading his, spanning the years 1950-1955, Amos Garrett's first diary. Scilly had the second diary while Carly had the other three. He glanced up briefly to study Carly. It might have been the wine, but in his opinion, she was looking beautiful that night.



Then the realisation hit him with a force so hard he nearly gasped out loud…he's been attracted to Carly all this time!

Not that there's anything I can do about it, Mulder thought, someone beat me to her. I'm such a fool…why didn't I realise my feelings earlier? He continued reading and tried not to think about her…which was kind f hard to do considering she was sitting in the recliner right next to him.

Half an hour later, there was a gasp from Carly, " Oh my God," she breathed, her face going white.

" What? What is it?" Mulder asked her.

" In the early eighties, Dad was part of the Syndicate you told me about…he volunteered to be part of a new experiment. One of his colleagues injected some kind of substance into his bloodstream…he was then monitored so that the Syndicate could see what kind of side-effects the substance had." Carly closed the book, " Dad volunteered because the Syndicate offered him three million dollars to do it."

Mulder let out the breath he'd been holding, " Well…that answers a lot of our questions."

Scully's brow furrowed, " you said he had received three million from them…You and your sister were left one million each…what happened the other million?"

" In 1987, Dad put the money in a safe at the bank. Just last week when he went to get it, the money had disappeared from the safe. His last entry was dated December 15th, 2003."

" Someone from the Syndicate burned your father's body and stole the vials to get rid of the evidence." Mulder added.

" Don't you dare say it was Spender," Carly warned him.

" I wasn't going to," he protested.

It was getting late, Scully told Mulder it was time to go. She said goodnight to Carly before going downstairs to drive home.

Mulder lingered in the doorway, " when are we going to meet this sister of yours?" he asked her.

" I don't know…she's out tonight and I dare say she won't be back til early morning."

" Will you be okay?" he asked her.

" I'm the same age as you are, I can take care of myself." Carly reminded him.

That was when Carly found herself being pulled into his arms, " What are you doing?" she protested.

Mulder kissed her in response, his mouth devouring hers hungrily. He felt her responding and the kiss turned passionate.



After a couple of minutes, Carly shoved Mulder away from her, " I'm sorry…I can't do this." She stammered, " I didn't mean to-" she didn't finished her sentence. She retreated back in her apartment and closed the door in his face.

Mulder went back to his own apartment when that familiar odour of cigarette smoke returned. He glanced down the hallway and saw the smoking man glaring at him, looking furious.

I think I just made a terrible mistake.

* * *

There was a sharp knock on her door. Thinking it was Maddy, Carly went to answer it.

" Oh…hello," she greeted the CSM. He didn't look very happy.

" What were you doing with Agent Mulder?" he demanded her.

" What do you mean?" she asked after a pause.

He strode into the apartment and lit a Morley, " Don't play dumb Carly, I saw you." He blurted.

Carly's face went pale. She tried to say something but was speechless.

" I saw you kissing him, " he growled, his grey-blue eyes darkening.

" He was kissing me," she protested, " he kissed me first…you have to believe me."

" I didn't see you trying to stop him." The CSM said as his free had went into his pocket.

" I didn't know he liked me that way," Carly pleaded, " He took me by surprise. That kiss didn't mean anything."

The CSM didn't want to listen to anymore of her feeble protests. She had betrayed him and he had lost his trust in her. He whirled around and stalked out of her apartment, slamming the door behind him.

In his apartment, Mulder was wondering wether or not to apologise to Carly, when a shot rang out, echoing through the apartment building. Fear coursed through him as he went to investigate.

The door to Carly's apartment was open. He went in and found Carly on the living room floor, her blood turning the white carpet crimson.

That son of a bitch! He shot her! Mulder thought as he knelt down by the still body of Carly. He checked her pulse-it was still there but very weak.

He dialled 911 and then dialled Scully's number as well.

" Scully." His partner answered.

" Scully, it's Cary," Mulder said, " she's been shot."

" Shot?" Scully repeated, " is she okay?"

" No, she's still alive, but just barely. I've called 911 and we're going to the hospital."

" I'll meet you there." Scully assured him then hung up. He pocketed his cell phone and a few minutes later, two paramedics arrived with a stretcher. Mulder was trying his best to stop the flow of blood from her chest, but the blood streamed through his fingers, turning them slick and bloody.

Her life was quickly slipping away and Mulder felt helpless.

About 20 minutes later, the CSM returned to Carly's apartment after cooling down a bit.

The CSM tensed…something wasn't quite right. He walked in and found a big blood stain on the living room carpet and no sign of Carly.

A shadow fell over him and he whirled around-it was her sister Madeline, looking drunk but scared to death.

" Where's Carly?" he demanded her.

" She's been taken to the hospital, she's been shot." Madeline explained and stumbled over to the couch. She laid down and almost immediately began to snore.

The CSM shook his head in disgust-Madeline didn't seem to care her sister was wounded and could be dying. He left her there and headed for the hospital.

Mulder wasn't allowed to go into the emergency room, so he waited impatiently for the doctors to operate on Carly. Scully waited with him, a worried look etched on her face. She glanced over at Mulder to ask him something, but he was glaring down the hallway at someone.



" I can't believe he has the nerve to come here." He growled before striding down the hall to confront his enemy.

He took out his gun and pointed it at the CSM, " That was a petty move you made," Mulder told the CSM.

" Petty? What are you talking about Agent Mulder?"

" You shooting Carly," Mulder snapped, " that's low, even for you."

" I did not shoot her," the CSM shot back and shoved Mulder away from him, " I cannot be bothered dealing with you Agent Mulder."

" Don't deny it, it's obvious why you shot her," Mulder continued, keeping his gun aimed at his head.

" I might have caught the two of you kissing," the CSM glared at Mulder, " And I was angry about that, but I would never harm her. If you've finished cross-examining me, I would like to go the emergency room."

" Mulder, let it go," Scully said to her partner wearily, " if he says he didn't do it, then he didn't do it."

Mulder pocketed his gun and watched sullenly as the smoking man disappeared inside the emergency room.

" I hate him,' he grumbled to himself.

* * *

" Excuse me sir, you are not allowed in here," one of the doctors told the CSM.

The CSM glanced at the still form of his lover on the table. They were trying very hard to save her life, but it did not look good. From the looks of it, Carly had lost a lot of blood…and the blood was still flowing from the bullet wound in her chest.

" Did the bullet get her heart?" he asked the doctor.

" No, it missed by a millimetre," she paused, " but she is still in grave danger. Are you family?"

" No, I'm a good friend," the CSM tried to peer over the doctor's shoulder but she was blocking his view.

" Please, wait outside and we'll keep you updated," she ordered him and he reluctantly exited the room.

Mulder felt oddly triumphant that even he wasn't allowed in the emergency room. Scully asked the CSM how Carly was doing.

" She's still in grave danger…but the bullet missed her heart so she might have a chance." The CSM told her then retreated to one of the other chairs a few meters away and lit up a Morley.

" Carly!" Agent Mulder shouted as Carly felt herself falling off the side of the fishing boat. Carly didn't know how it happened…did she slip?

Carly treaded water, trying to stay afloat, but the waves were too strong and wanted to drag her under.

" Give me your hand!" Mulder shouted, leaning over.

She reached and wasn't close enough. She doggie-paddled until their hands connected. She wondered briefly why Spender wasn't on the boat.

Mulder's grip on her hand tightened and he started to pull her up, into the boat. She saw his terrified, white face as he stared at something behind her. A huge wave pounded over them and Carly was yanked from Mulder's grip.

" Carly!" Mulder shouted and dived from the boat. He swum over to her and carried her safely back to the boat.

" Don't let go," Mulder told Carly as she stared up at him in silent thanks.

* * *

Half an hour later, the doctor told the agents and the CSM that they had stopped the bleeding and had stitched up the wound. Carly was past the worst of it and was going to pull through.

" Did any of you realise she was pregnant?" the doctor then asked the little group.

" Yes we did," Mulder paused then added, " he was the father." He nodded at the CSM.

" I'm afraid Ms. Garrett had a miscarriage during the operation," the doctor told them.

The CSM glanced over the emergency room, a look of pain etched in his face. Mulder had never seem him like this before and he was actually starting to feel sorry for him-just a bit though.

" She can have visitors…one at a time. We'll be moving her into the ICU room." The doctor finished before disappearing inside the emergency room. A few minutes later, they wheeled her into the ICU room. The CSM walked over to the bed.

Carly was not hooked on life support as she was breathing on her own.

He brushed a strand of brown/reddish hair from her face and kissed her forehead, " I'm sorry we lost the baby," he whispered, " I'll find out whoever did this to you," he promised and he then surprised himself by adding, " I love you." It felt right saying those words. He originally thought he just wanted Carly for physical reasons only, but he had grown fond of her and that fondness had turned into love.

One hour later, the men of the Syndicate looked up in surprise when the furious CSM stormed into the room.

He walked straight over to Alex Krycheck and pointed his gun at the younger man's temple,

" I should kill you for harming Carly," he hissed.

Alex raised his hands in defence, " I didn't harm Carly! What are you talking about?"

" Carly was found in her apartment with a bullet embedded in her chest." The CSM told the group, " Whoever did it, own up now."

The men all looked at each other, " None of us harmed Carly." The Well-Manicured Man told the CSM, " you have my word on that."

The CSM pocketed his gun, " then who did?" he asked them but no one answered. The CSM sighed, sometimes it was like talking to a brick wall when it came to the Syndicate.

He left the building and went to Carly's apartment. He studied her white carpet which was now ruined from her blood.

" is Carly okay?" a voice asked behind him and he turned. It was Madeline, looking sober now. In her hand she held a small revolver.

" Yes, she's going to be all right," the CSM told her, " but we lost the baby."

Instead of looking sympathetic Maddy looked triumphant, " Well, I'm glad to hear that." She said.

" What are you saying Madeline? And what are you doing with that gun?" he asked her.

" I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet," Maddy went on.

" Figured what out?"

" I'm the one who shot Carly."

The CSM stared at Madeline, " Why would you shoot your own sister?"

" Because I hate her," Madeline replied simply, She was going to have a baby whereas I couldn't ever have children. She never wanted kids in the first place and I've always wanted to be a mother. The whole idea of her becoming a mother was wrong, so I made it right." Madeline fingered the gun she was holding, " I wanted her to die so badly…"

The CSM could see that she was jealous of Carly-insanely jealous.

" Now that you know, you must die too." Madeline decided the CSM found himself in a familiar situation-a gun aiming at him.

" No one knows that I shot Carly but you," Madeline went on, " all I have to do is plant this weapon next to your dead body and everyone will think you were the one who shot Carly, then committed suicide."

She doesn't know me, the CSM reminded himself, she doesn't know what I'm capable of.

" I know what you're thinking agent Mulder," Carly was saying to Mulder back at the hospital, " You think Spender shot me don't you?"

" Yes, he did…didn't he?"

" He didn't shoot me, he would never harm me." Carly looked up at pleadingly, " You must believe me."

" If it wasn't him, then who was it?" Mulder demanded.

" Madeline…my sister."

Back in her apartment, the CSM was trying to get the gun away from Madeline and it was proven to be difficult. He didn't want to harm the sister of the woman he loved.

Maddy swung the gun at his temple, but missed. He made another grab for the gun when the door to the apartment flew open and the two agents barged in, guns pointing at Madeline.

" Drop the weapon Madeline!" Agent Mulder shouted at her.

Maddy turned to face them, " I didn't shoot Carly, it was him!" she protested, " then he tried to kill me!"

" You can stop the lies," Scully interjected, " Carly told us it was you. You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Carly Garrett." Mulder and Scully were too busy with the deranged sister to notice the CSM had gone.

" Madeline has been arrested," the CSM reported as he walked into Carly's room.

Carly smiled sadly, " Poor Maddy…if I only knew what she was going through, I could have helped her."

" You didn't know she wanted to kill you," the CSM reminded her, " she's beyond help."

" Did you know we lost the baby?" she asked him.

" Yes, the doctor told me,"

Tears gathered in her eyes, " I might have not wanted children and the baby was certainly a surprise, but I was starting to love the unborn child…now its gone…"

The CSM sat on the bed and hugged her, " we could always try again." He offered.

She didn't answer. He held her as she wept.

* * *

That afternoon, Mulder paid her a visit. " Scully says hi," he greeted her and gave her the bouquet of flowers, " these are from both of us."

" Thanks Agent Mulder, they're really pretty." Carly took them from him.

" Listen, about last night and the kiss," Mulder began, " I'm sorry if it caused you trouble with Spender…"

" The kiss had already bee forgotten," Carly assured him with a smile.

That's just it, Mulder wanted to tell her, I don't want it to be forgotten. They chatted for awhile before he left. The CSM ignored Mulder as he disappeared inside the ward.

Mulder watched as the CSM sat on the bed and the two lovers started kissing.

He really does care about her, Mulder thought as their kiss deepened, as long as she's happy. He couldn't watch them anymore, he turned and left.

" I love you," Carly told the CSM, " I just wanted to return the sentiment."

He frowned, " What do you mean?"

" You told me you loved me." Carly reminded him, " I heard you say it yesterday."

" And I still do." The CSM assured her before his mouth came down onto hers for another kiss.