Chapter 4
By the time she gets to the Lone Gunmen's office, they already have news for her. They usher her in and offer her a seat, each looking at the other like they had something to say.
"Just spit it out, boys. Don't stand there looking like you just killed my puppy," she demands, sensing their news isn't good.
"We were able to get something from his cell phone," Langly starts and she suddenly feels stupid. His cell phone. Why didn't she think to call him?
"I didn't think to call," she shakes her head. "I thought he ditched me. When Skinner suggested he might be in trouble . . ."
"It wouldn't have mattered," Langly interrupts her. "The phone's out of service. But we were able to get trace on the last place the signal was active."
"Where is he? Do you know?"
"We still don't know where he is, but we do know where he was," Frohike says. "The reading came from a small town called Laney, Virginia. It's about three hours from here. We think he may have stopped at a gas station there. The clerk recognized a description of him. Then he positively ID-ed a picture of Mulder we e-mailed him."
"So Mulder was there Saturday night," Scully says, excited to finally have a lead. "Any more recent sightings? We still have no idea what happened to him between Saturday night and now. No one has heard from him."
"That may not be entirely true."
Scully looks at Byers, prompting him to finish his thought. When he avoids her gaze, she looks at the others and sees that they're just as reluctant to look at her.
"Look. There's obviously something going on here. Why don't you just tell me. Byers, what do you mean that it might not be true that no one has heard from Mulder since Saturday night?"
"Because the clerk at the gas station said that the man he saw . . . well, he wasn't exactly . . . alone."
"Meaning?" she asks, her patience running thin.
"He was with a woman. They got gas and coffee and then drove off together."
For a moment, the room is silent enough to hear a pin drop. Scully is so shocked that she finds herself unable to do anything more than open and shut her mouth over and over. Finally, she gets her thoughts together.
"Are you telling me that Mulder ran off with some woman and doesn't have the courtesy to call anyone and let them know he's all right? That he's shacked up with some woman and didn't think anyone would be worried when he didn't show up for work?"
"Those are rhetorical questions, right?" Langly asks, obviously nervous at the anger starting to rise in Scully.
"I don't even care," she huffs, rolling her eyes. "If you hear from Don Juan, tell him . . . you know what? Don't tell him anything. Someone has to be the responsible one and get some work done. I guess it's going to be me."
She storms out of the room, slamming the door behind her when she leaves. Mulder's a big boy. She can't tell him what to do and who to do it with. She can only pretend that it doesn't hurt her to know that this incident lets her know once and for all that he doesn't love her the way that she loves him. She can only pretend that her heart is not breaking at the very thought of him being with someone else. Then, she can only get over it and get on with her life. It won't be easy, but she has to try.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mulder had been lightly dozing when the baby lets out a sudden cry. He sits up quickly, not quite sure at first what had made the noise. Then he remembers his situation and realizes the noise is coming from the baby.
"What's wrong, huh?" he coos. "You were sleeping so good."
He picks her up and right away his nose catches a sniff at what's more than likely bothering the baby.
"I've never changed a baby before, but we can't have you sitting around in that all day, now can we?"
He realizes that she won't answer him, but he talks to her anyhow, finding it a small comfort. To his surprise, she pulls her fingers from her mouth to give him a slobbery little grin. Not exactly the response he was looking for, but a pleasant reply nonetheless.
Having searched the room thoroughly earlier, he goes to the closet where he knows a dresser containing baby supplies is held. He grabs a diaper and a container of wipes and moves back to the bed.
"Okay, Mulder. You can do this," he encourages himself, almost laughing at how he's actually afraid to look in the diaper. Taking one last deep breath, he just goes for it, pulling at the side tabs securing the diaper to her body.
For a moment, he just stares, unable to believe the mess that came from such a tiny baby. He works quickly to clean her up before the smell overcomes him. He uses almost half the container of wipes, but she's soon cleaned to his satisfaction.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Another baby grin is her response to him. He's so enchanted by her little smiles that he waits too long to replace the diaper. Before he can grab the diaper, a shot of wetness surprises him, shooting up and then arcing down like a water fountain.
"Skye! Couldn't you have done that before I changed you?"
He'd swear on his life that the smile she gives him this time is her way of laughing at him. But he doesn't get sucked in by her charm. He wipes her again and then diapers her, remembering from the diaper he just took off of her which way the tabs are supposed to go.
"Not bad for my first time," he smiles, lifting the baby back into his arms. He takes another good look at her, more amazed than anything at the little person. He's never been that close to a baby and wonders briefly why he never yearned for one. He realizes that holding the child gives him a feeling of completeness he's never felt. No wonder Scully wants one so badly.
"You really are a cute little thing," he says. "Your eyes are so amazing, like Scully's. You would like her, Skye. And she'd love you. Maybe when we get out of here, she can help me take care of you."
That thought saddens him because if he's completely honest with himself, he really doesn't think there's any chance of them getting out of there. He tried to be optimistic, but the more he searches for an escape, the less hope he has of finding one. The only thing he can do now is to try to cope with his present situation the best way he can. Maybe one day he and Skye will escape, but for the time being, all he can do is make sure she has the best life possible while in captivity.
"We'll get out of here one day," he whispers, placing a gentle kiss on her chubby cheek. "But until then, I'll be the best daddy to you that I can. I'll make sure Mary doesn't get her sick little paws on you."
She lets out a contented sigh and nuzzles her cheek into her chest, promptly falling back asleep. Mulder just watches her, falling more in love with the baby than he ever thought possible. His thoughts turn back to Scully and he can't help but picture her holding Skye. He lets those images lull him into a deep sleep, filled with sweet dreams of them as a family.
Chapter 5
Scully raises her hands over her head, stretching the tight muscles in her back. She's been stuck doing back to back autopsies for a week straight, having loaned herself to Quantico after Mulder ditched her. She decided to leave him in a lurch, not even calling to explain her absence to him. She'll just let him wonder like he made her wonder. Besides, he didn't exactly call her to see where she was. Obviously he doesn't care.
She finishes with the last autopsy and rushes home, eager to do nothing more than jump into a hot bubble bath to soak away all her problems. She starts the water, then goes out to check her phone messages. There are only two new ones, the first being from her mother and the second from Skinner. She's more disappointed than she wants to admit to herself that Mulder didn't call. Dejected, she hits save and decides to listen to the messages after her bath.
"Message deleted," the mechanical voice booms, stopping her in her tracks. She thought she hit save, but accidentally hit the erase button instead. She lets out a sigh, realizing that now, she'll have to call Skinner to make sure the message wasn't important. He very rarely calls her at home, so it must be urgent.
"Skinner," she hears as he picks up the phone on his end.
"Sir, this is Agent Scully returning your call. I've been at Quantico all week and just got around to checking my messages," she explains, in case he called earlier in the week. She doesn't want him thinking she's blowing him off.
"By any chance were any of those messages from Agent Mulder?"
"Excuse me?" she asks, surprised at the question. More like surprised at the nerve of him to ask the question. "Sir, my personal calls are my . . . "
"I'm not trying to be nosey, Agent," he interrupts. "Just trying to track down that partner of yours. He hasn't reported in all week."
"What?" she practically gasps.
Her Mulder sensor is tingling now. Something isn't quite right with this situation. And if she really thinks about it, something has never been quite right with the situation. She tries to think back to the last time she went more than three days without speaking to Mulder and comes up empty.
"It's been a week since I've heard from him, too. I left early last Friday to go on a retreat with my mother and her church. Agent Mulder left me a message last Saturday evening that he was on his way home from checking on that case you gave him. The guys were able to track him to a gas station and he was reported to have left with a woman. That was the last anyone has seen of him."
She's shaking now, realizing that Mulder is more than likely in some kind of trouble and she's spent the past week doing nothing. It's taking everything in her to try and remain calm while speaking to Skinner. It wouldn't do anyone any good for her to break down in front of her boss. If he thinks she can't handle this, he won't let her be a part of the search.
"And he's never done anything like this?" Skinner clarifies, trying to cover all the bases.
"Sir, I think he's in trouble."
"I think you're right," he agrees. "I'll get a team right on the search."
"I want to be . . . "
"No way, Scully," Skinner cuts in. "You're too close to this and you know it."
"But Sir . . . "
"Agent Scully, you're about two words from a suspension. Don't try me on this. You will not be a part of the official bureau team to find Agent Mulder, is that clear?"
"Yes, Sir," she says meekly.
"But, I have no say in what you do or who you talk to on your own time this weekend," he adds.
She perks up. It sounds as if he's giving her permission to work on this on her own.
"No, Sir, you don't. I think I may go see the Gunmen."
"That's a good idea, Agent Scully. Good luck."
They both hang up, neither of them wasting time on saying good bye. They both have work to do. They have to find Mulder. She just hopes she isn't too late because she'll never forgive herself if anything happens to him.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mary sighs as the warm water covers her. She sinks into the tub, far enough for the bubbles to tickle her nose.
"This is nice," she sighs again, closing her eyes as the bath begins to relax her. She's so happy now that she's found a father for little Skye Blue. Before, she was the one who had to take care of the baby all by herself. It was starting to stress her to the point of almost needing her medication again. Finding Fox was the best thing that has ever happened to her.
The first few days were kind of rocky. It was obvious to Mary that he never had much experience with infants. But he learned quickly. And now after only one week, Skye adores him. They're on their way to becoming one big happy family. Soon, she may even be able to release him from his shackles.
She won't wait so long like she did with her second husband. The second one hated the shackles. He soon began to hate her because of them. He would ignore her and give all his spare attention to the baby. That's why Mary had to get rid of them both and start over with Fox. She knows he's the one. He talks to her like he's really interested in her. She's never had a man love her like that. It's time now to prove to him how much she loves him.
She gets out of the tub and quickly dries off, dressing herself in her best nightgown. She goes down the hall to the room where she keeps Fox, peeking in first to see if the baby's asleep. She'd hate to wake the baby and ruin the plans she has for him.
"Fox," she calls softly into the room. She sees him dozing on the bed, the baby lying on his chest. She smiles at the sight, wishing she had a camera to take a picture.
She walks over to them, trying to ease the baby from his arms. Right away he seems to sense her, waking up and holding the baby even tighter to his chest.
"Mary," he grumbles in a sexy, sleep laden voice. "What are you doing?"
"Just putting the baby down. You were both asleep."
"That's okay. I got her."
"Oh," Mary sighs, a bit disappointed that this won't be as easy as she expected. But she refuses to give up. "I was thinking we could have some quiet time. It's important for new parents to have some time to themselves. Time without the baby. Too much time with the little one and who knows what can happen. The stress may make us snap. I'd hate for one of us to hurt her."
She watches his eyes grow large and can see that he understands the meaning behind her words. He just nods and gives her the baby. She smiles at him, pleased at how well he seems to be adapting to the situation. He may be the best husband yet.
"Go ahead and get back on the bed. I'm going to put her in the other room so that we can have some privacy."
She smiles again before leaving the room. Everything is falling right into place. She's so close to her happily ever after. There's nothing that will be able to change that.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mulder tries to keep his fake smile pasted on until after she walks out the door. He hates that she was able to take the baby from him, but there really wasn't anything he could have done. She all but threatened to hurt the child if he didn't comply with her wishes.
All to soon for him, Mary returns. She has a predatory grin on her face that makes his blood run cold. He's seen that look on many women's faces. He knows exactly what she wants from him.
"We're all alone, Fox." She sits next to him on the bed and places her hand on his knee. It takes everything in him not to flinch at her touch. "You've been so patient and loving with me. I think now's the time for me to show you just how much I love you."
She reaches to kiss him, but he's able to turn his head away in time. He rises from the bed and walks as far away from her as his chain will allow.
"Aren't you hungry, Mary?" he asks, trying to put her off any way he can. "Why don't we have dinner. I'm not a complete animal. I like to court a woman first."
"Fox, you're so sweet. You want to have dinner with me?"
"Yes," he nods and smiles, hopefully convincingly. "I think a romantic dinner would be nice."
She rushes towards the door, eager to get dinner for the two of them, when a sound stops her in her tracks. The baby's cry, previously unnoticed through the thick door, is easily heard now that the door is open. She sighs in frustration and goes to get the screaming child.
Mulder's sigh is one of relief. That was a close call. He knows that he won't be able to continue to hold her off. She's going to want to consummate their phony marriage one of these days. He just has to work that much harder now to get out of there before it's too late.
Chapter 6
She arrives at the Lone Gunmen's to find it bustling with activity. Lucky for Mulder, they're always able to get fast results.
"Something came over the scanner not five minutes after you called us," Langly says to her after letting her in. He sits back at his computer and starts typing. Moments later, the printer starts whirring, spitting out a few sheets they hand to her.
"What's this?" she asks, her confusion obvious as she stares at a picture of a car.
"A report of an abandoned vehicle," Byers explains. "Just about anything that could have identified it had been stripped off. The license plate, the registration, even the VIN had been scraped off the window."
"Are you trying to say this is Mulder's car? I mean, it looks like a standard, government issue. But that can't be the only reason you feel this belongs to him."
"Read a little further," Byers says, pointing to a paragraph on the second page. "Most government issues cars don't come with a pile of sunflower seed shells all over the floor."
"Where was this car found?" she gasps, suddenly seeing the connection they're making.
"Abandoned about two miles from that gas station where he was last seen."
"That's just about three hours south of here." She looks down at her watch and makes a few mental calculations. "I can be there by midnight."
"Agent Scully, it's already to late. Are you sure . . . "
"I have to do this, Frohike. I've done nothing this past week to find him. It'll all be my fault if he's somewhere hurt or . . . dead." She practically whispers that last word, almost unable to get it past the lump in her throat. "I need to find him."
"Okay," Frohike nods, turning to look at the other two gunmen. "Then give us about ten minutes. We're going with you."
"You guys really don't have to."
"Yes we do," Byers smiles. "Mulder would kill us if we ever let anything happen to you."
She returns his smile, a bit surprised that the statement doesn't offend her. She knows she's capable of taking care of herself. But she's strangely comforted at the idea of Mulder making sure her back is watched, even if he can't do it himself. She only wishes she had done the same. Some partner she is. She dropped the ball and now he's missing. She can only hope she'll get another chance to proves herself to him. She vows never to let him down again.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It's nearly midnight when they arrive at the gas station, and Scully catches the attendant as he's getting ready to lock up.
"Sir," she calls out to him, flashing him her badge. "Can I speak with you for a moment. My name is Special Agent Dana Scully and I'm with the FBI. I need to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."
"I'm fixin' to close up, little lady," he grins at her, looking her up and down with his creepy glare. "Can you make this quick?"
She rolls her eyes, wishing for a brief moment that she allowed one of the gunmen to accompany her. But they're all tracking down the abandoned car, leaving her to question the gas station attendant by herself. So much for watching her back.
"Believe me, Sir. I'm going to make this as quick as humanly possible." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a picture of Mulder for the man to look at. "Have you seen this man in here? This would have been a week ago, on Saturday."
"This the same picture those other fellas faxed to me earlier? Like I told them, he was in here. Left with a woman."
"Can you describe her?" Scully asks, grasping at straws.
"Not much to describe," the man shrugs. "Not that good looking. I can't imagine him leaving to go anywhere with her when he got someone like you chasing him."
"Thanks," she grumbles, starting to feel dirty after having this man's eyes all over her. "But let's stick to the subject, please. Can you be a little more specific?"
"Not really. But . . . " He looks around the store for a few seconds, making a mental note of something before continuing. "Yeah, I can probably give you exactly what you're looking for."
Scully eyeballs him, wondering if he's making another lewd comment at her, especially when he motions for her to follow him into the back room. But something tells her he's being sincere. Something tells her he really has something to help.
"What do you have?"
When they get into the room, he points to the back wall half filled with small television screens and shelves of videotapes.
"I have a number of surveillance cameras stationed all around the store. She should be on one of these tapes."
He quickly scans them and pulls out a tape labeled with last week's date on it. He sticks it into a VCR she didn't notice on the desk and presses play, grabbing the remote control to fast forward when needed. Moments later, she spots Mulder on the tape and has the man stop.
"There he is," she almost whispers, somehow feeling this is a solemn moment. "Where's the woman he was with?"
"Right there." The man points to a woman standing at the coffee counter. They watch her pour two cups of coffee and expect her to leave the store. But she surprises them.
"Did you see that?" the man gasps. "She just put something in one of the coffee's and it didn't look like sugar."
"It probably wasn't sugar," Scully agrees. "If I had to take a guess, I'd say she drugged him."
"For what purpose?"
"I wish I knew," Scully sighs. "Listen, I need to borrow this tape."
"Of course. Take your time."
Scully gives the man a small smile before leaving the store with the videotape. She needs to get it to the guys so they can get a screen capture of the woman. Maybe if they post her picture up, someone will recognize her. Maybe if they can find her, they'll find Mulder. With no other clues, it's worth a shot.
To be continued . . .
By the time she gets to the Lone Gunmen's office, they already have news for her. They usher her in and offer her a seat, each looking at the other like they had something to say.
"Just spit it out, boys. Don't stand there looking like you just killed my puppy," she demands, sensing their news isn't good.
"We were able to get something from his cell phone," Langly starts and she suddenly feels stupid. His cell phone. Why didn't she think to call him?
"I didn't think to call," she shakes her head. "I thought he ditched me. When Skinner suggested he might be in trouble . . ."
"It wouldn't have mattered," Langly interrupts her. "The phone's out of service. But we were able to get trace on the last place the signal was active."
"Where is he? Do you know?"
"We still don't know where he is, but we do know where he was," Frohike says. "The reading came from a small town called Laney, Virginia. It's about three hours from here. We think he may have stopped at a gas station there. The clerk recognized a description of him. Then he positively ID-ed a picture of Mulder we e-mailed him."
"So Mulder was there Saturday night," Scully says, excited to finally have a lead. "Any more recent sightings? We still have no idea what happened to him between Saturday night and now. No one has heard from him."
"That may not be entirely true."
Scully looks at Byers, prompting him to finish his thought. When he avoids her gaze, she looks at the others and sees that they're just as reluctant to look at her.
"Look. There's obviously something going on here. Why don't you just tell me. Byers, what do you mean that it might not be true that no one has heard from Mulder since Saturday night?"
"Because the clerk at the gas station said that the man he saw . . . well, he wasn't exactly . . . alone."
"Meaning?" she asks, her patience running thin.
"He was with a woman. They got gas and coffee and then drove off together."
For a moment, the room is silent enough to hear a pin drop. Scully is so shocked that she finds herself unable to do anything more than open and shut her mouth over and over. Finally, she gets her thoughts together.
"Are you telling me that Mulder ran off with some woman and doesn't have the courtesy to call anyone and let them know he's all right? That he's shacked up with some woman and didn't think anyone would be worried when he didn't show up for work?"
"Those are rhetorical questions, right?" Langly asks, obviously nervous at the anger starting to rise in Scully.
"I don't even care," she huffs, rolling her eyes. "If you hear from Don Juan, tell him . . . you know what? Don't tell him anything. Someone has to be the responsible one and get some work done. I guess it's going to be me."
She storms out of the room, slamming the door behind her when she leaves. Mulder's a big boy. She can't tell him what to do and who to do it with. She can only pretend that it doesn't hurt her to know that this incident lets her know once and for all that he doesn't love her the way that she loves him. She can only pretend that her heart is not breaking at the very thought of him being with someone else. Then, she can only get over it and get on with her life. It won't be easy, but she has to try.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mulder had been lightly dozing when the baby lets out a sudden cry. He sits up quickly, not quite sure at first what had made the noise. Then he remembers his situation and realizes the noise is coming from the baby.
"What's wrong, huh?" he coos. "You were sleeping so good."
He picks her up and right away his nose catches a sniff at what's more than likely bothering the baby.
"I've never changed a baby before, but we can't have you sitting around in that all day, now can we?"
He realizes that she won't answer him, but he talks to her anyhow, finding it a small comfort. To his surprise, she pulls her fingers from her mouth to give him a slobbery little grin. Not exactly the response he was looking for, but a pleasant reply nonetheless.
Having searched the room thoroughly earlier, he goes to the closet where he knows a dresser containing baby supplies is held. He grabs a diaper and a container of wipes and moves back to the bed.
"Okay, Mulder. You can do this," he encourages himself, almost laughing at how he's actually afraid to look in the diaper. Taking one last deep breath, he just goes for it, pulling at the side tabs securing the diaper to her body.
For a moment, he just stares, unable to believe the mess that came from such a tiny baby. He works quickly to clean her up before the smell overcomes him. He uses almost half the container of wipes, but she's soon cleaned to his satisfaction.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Another baby grin is her response to him. He's so enchanted by her little smiles that he waits too long to replace the diaper. Before he can grab the diaper, a shot of wetness surprises him, shooting up and then arcing down like a water fountain.
"Skye! Couldn't you have done that before I changed you?"
He'd swear on his life that the smile she gives him this time is her way of laughing at him. But he doesn't get sucked in by her charm. He wipes her again and then diapers her, remembering from the diaper he just took off of her which way the tabs are supposed to go.
"Not bad for my first time," he smiles, lifting the baby back into his arms. He takes another good look at her, more amazed than anything at the little person. He's never been that close to a baby and wonders briefly why he never yearned for one. He realizes that holding the child gives him a feeling of completeness he's never felt. No wonder Scully wants one so badly.
"You really are a cute little thing," he says. "Your eyes are so amazing, like Scully's. You would like her, Skye. And she'd love you. Maybe when we get out of here, she can help me take care of you."
That thought saddens him because if he's completely honest with himself, he really doesn't think there's any chance of them getting out of there. He tried to be optimistic, but the more he searches for an escape, the less hope he has of finding one. The only thing he can do now is to try to cope with his present situation the best way he can. Maybe one day he and Skye will escape, but for the time being, all he can do is make sure she has the best life possible while in captivity.
"We'll get out of here one day," he whispers, placing a gentle kiss on her chubby cheek. "But until then, I'll be the best daddy to you that I can. I'll make sure Mary doesn't get her sick little paws on you."
She lets out a contented sigh and nuzzles her cheek into her chest, promptly falling back asleep. Mulder just watches her, falling more in love with the baby than he ever thought possible. His thoughts turn back to Scully and he can't help but picture her holding Skye. He lets those images lull him into a deep sleep, filled with sweet dreams of them as a family.
Chapter 5
Scully raises her hands over her head, stretching the tight muscles in her back. She's been stuck doing back to back autopsies for a week straight, having loaned herself to Quantico after Mulder ditched her. She decided to leave him in a lurch, not even calling to explain her absence to him. She'll just let him wonder like he made her wonder. Besides, he didn't exactly call her to see where she was. Obviously he doesn't care.
She finishes with the last autopsy and rushes home, eager to do nothing more than jump into a hot bubble bath to soak away all her problems. She starts the water, then goes out to check her phone messages. There are only two new ones, the first being from her mother and the second from Skinner. She's more disappointed than she wants to admit to herself that Mulder didn't call. Dejected, she hits save and decides to listen to the messages after her bath.
"Message deleted," the mechanical voice booms, stopping her in her tracks. She thought she hit save, but accidentally hit the erase button instead. She lets out a sigh, realizing that now, she'll have to call Skinner to make sure the message wasn't important. He very rarely calls her at home, so it must be urgent.
"Skinner," she hears as he picks up the phone on his end.
"Sir, this is Agent Scully returning your call. I've been at Quantico all week and just got around to checking my messages," she explains, in case he called earlier in the week. She doesn't want him thinking she's blowing him off.
"By any chance were any of those messages from Agent Mulder?"
"Excuse me?" she asks, surprised at the question. More like surprised at the nerve of him to ask the question. "Sir, my personal calls are my . . . "
"I'm not trying to be nosey, Agent," he interrupts. "Just trying to track down that partner of yours. He hasn't reported in all week."
"What?" she practically gasps.
Her Mulder sensor is tingling now. Something isn't quite right with this situation. And if she really thinks about it, something has never been quite right with the situation. She tries to think back to the last time she went more than three days without speaking to Mulder and comes up empty.
"It's been a week since I've heard from him, too. I left early last Friday to go on a retreat with my mother and her church. Agent Mulder left me a message last Saturday evening that he was on his way home from checking on that case you gave him. The guys were able to track him to a gas station and he was reported to have left with a woman. That was the last anyone has seen of him."
She's shaking now, realizing that Mulder is more than likely in some kind of trouble and she's spent the past week doing nothing. It's taking everything in her to try and remain calm while speaking to Skinner. It wouldn't do anyone any good for her to break down in front of her boss. If he thinks she can't handle this, he won't let her be a part of the search.
"And he's never done anything like this?" Skinner clarifies, trying to cover all the bases.
"Sir, I think he's in trouble."
"I think you're right," he agrees. "I'll get a team right on the search."
"I want to be . . . "
"No way, Scully," Skinner cuts in. "You're too close to this and you know it."
"But Sir . . . "
"Agent Scully, you're about two words from a suspension. Don't try me on this. You will not be a part of the official bureau team to find Agent Mulder, is that clear?"
"Yes, Sir," she says meekly.
"But, I have no say in what you do or who you talk to on your own time this weekend," he adds.
She perks up. It sounds as if he's giving her permission to work on this on her own.
"No, Sir, you don't. I think I may go see the Gunmen."
"That's a good idea, Agent Scully. Good luck."
They both hang up, neither of them wasting time on saying good bye. They both have work to do. They have to find Mulder. She just hopes she isn't too late because she'll never forgive herself if anything happens to him.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mary sighs as the warm water covers her. She sinks into the tub, far enough for the bubbles to tickle her nose.
"This is nice," she sighs again, closing her eyes as the bath begins to relax her. She's so happy now that she's found a father for little Skye Blue. Before, she was the one who had to take care of the baby all by herself. It was starting to stress her to the point of almost needing her medication again. Finding Fox was the best thing that has ever happened to her.
The first few days were kind of rocky. It was obvious to Mary that he never had much experience with infants. But he learned quickly. And now after only one week, Skye adores him. They're on their way to becoming one big happy family. Soon, she may even be able to release him from his shackles.
She won't wait so long like she did with her second husband. The second one hated the shackles. He soon began to hate her because of them. He would ignore her and give all his spare attention to the baby. That's why Mary had to get rid of them both and start over with Fox. She knows he's the one. He talks to her like he's really interested in her. She's never had a man love her like that. It's time now to prove to him how much she loves him.
She gets out of the tub and quickly dries off, dressing herself in her best nightgown. She goes down the hall to the room where she keeps Fox, peeking in first to see if the baby's asleep. She'd hate to wake the baby and ruin the plans she has for him.
"Fox," she calls softly into the room. She sees him dozing on the bed, the baby lying on his chest. She smiles at the sight, wishing she had a camera to take a picture.
She walks over to them, trying to ease the baby from his arms. Right away he seems to sense her, waking up and holding the baby even tighter to his chest.
"Mary," he grumbles in a sexy, sleep laden voice. "What are you doing?"
"Just putting the baby down. You were both asleep."
"That's okay. I got her."
"Oh," Mary sighs, a bit disappointed that this won't be as easy as she expected. But she refuses to give up. "I was thinking we could have some quiet time. It's important for new parents to have some time to themselves. Time without the baby. Too much time with the little one and who knows what can happen. The stress may make us snap. I'd hate for one of us to hurt her."
She watches his eyes grow large and can see that he understands the meaning behind her words. He just nods and gives her the baby. She smiles at him, pleased at how well he seems to be adapting to the situation. He may be the best husband yet.
"Go ahead and get back on the bed. I'm going to put her in the other room so that we can have some privacy."
She smiles again before leaving the room. Everything is falling right into place. She's so close to her happily ever after. There's nothing that will be able to change that.
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Mulder tries to keep his fake smile pasted on until after she walks out the door. He hates that she was able to take the baby from him, but there really wasn't anything he could have done. She all but threatened to hurt the child if he didn't comply with her wishes.
All to soon for him, Mary returns. She has a predatory grin on her face that makes his blood run cold. He's seen that look on many women's faces. He knows exactly what she wants from him.
"We're all alone, Fox." She sits next to him on the bed and places her hand on his knee. It takes everything in him not to flinch at her touch. "You've been so patient and loving with me. I think now's the time for me to show you just how much I love you."
She reaches to kiss him, but he's able to turn his head away in time. He rises from the bed and walks as far away from her as his chain will allow.
"Aren't you hungry, Mary?" he asks, trying to put her off any way he can. "Why don't we have dinner. I'm not a complete animal. I like to court a woman first."
"Fox, you're so sweet. You want to have dinner with me?"
"Yes," he nods and smiles, hopefully convincingly. "I think a romantic dinner would be nice."
She rushes towards the door, eager to get dinner for the two of them, when a sound stops her in her tracks. The baby's cry, previously unnoticed through the thick door, is easily heard now that the door is open. She sighs in frustration and goes to get the screaming child.
Mulder's sigh is one of relief. That was a close call. He knows that he won't be able to continue to hold her off. She's going to want to consummate their phony marriage one of these days. He just has to work that much harder now to get out of there before it's too late.
Chapter 6
She arrives at the Lone Gunmen's to find it bustling with activity. Lucky for Mulder, they're always able to get fast results.
"Something came over the scanner not five minutes after you called us," Langly says to her after letting her in. He sits back at his computer and starts typing. Moments later, the printer starts whirring, spitting out a few sheets they hand to her.
"What's this?" she asks, her confusion obvious as she stares at a picture of a car.
"A report of an abandoned vehicle," Byers explains. "Just about anything that could have identified it had been stripped off. The license plate, the registration, even the VIN had been scraped off the window."
"Are you trying to say this is Mulder's car? I mean, it looks like a standard, government issue. But that can't be the only reason you feel this belongs to him."
"Read a little further," Byers says, pointing to a paragraph on the second page. "Most government issues cars don't come with a pile of sunflower seed shells all over the floor."
"Where was this car found?" she gasps, suddenly seeing the connection they're making.
"Abandoned about two miles from that gas station where he was last seen."
"That's just about three hours south of here." She looks down at her watch and makes a few mental calculations. "I can be there by midnight."
"Agent Scully, it's already to late. Are you sure . . . "
"I have to do this, Frohike. I've done nothing this past week to find him. It'll all be my fault if he's somewhere hurt or . . . dead." She practically whispers that last word, almost unable to get it past the lump in her throat. "I need to find him."
"Okay," Frohike nods, turning to look at the other two gunmen. "Then give us about ten minutes. We're going with you."
"You guys really don't have to."
"Yes we do," Byers smiles. "Mulder would kill us if we ever let anything happen to you."
She returns his smile, a bit surprised that the statement doesn't offend her. She knows she's capable of taking care of herself. But she's strangely comforted at the idea of Mulder making sure her back is watched, even if he can't do it himself. She only wishes she had done the same. Some partner she is. She dropped the ball and now he's missing. She can only hope she'll get another chance to proves herself to him. She vows never to let him down again.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
It's nearly midnight when they arrive at the gas station, and Scully catches the attendant as he's getting ready to lock up.
"Sir," she calls out to him, flashing him her badge. "Can I speak with you for a moment. My name is Special Agent Dana Scully and I'm with the FBI. I need to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."
"I'm fixin' to close up, little lady," he grins at her, looking her up and down with his creepy glare. "Can you make this quick?"
She rolls her eyes, wishing for a brief moment that she allowed one of the gunmen to accompany her. But they're all tracking down the abandoned car, leaving her to question the gas station attendant by herself. So much for watching her back.
"Believe me, Sir. I'm going to make this as quick as humanly possible." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a picture of Mulder for the man to look at. "Have you seen this man in here? This would have been a week ago, on Saturday."
"This the same picture those other fellas faxed to me earlier? Like I told them, he was in here. Left with a woman."
"Can you describe her?" Scully asks, grasping at straws.
"Not much to describe," the man shrugs. "Not that good looking. I can't imagine him leaving to go anywhere with her when he got someone like you chasing him."
"Thanks," she grumbles, starting to feel dirty after having this man's eyes all over her. "But let's stick to the subject, please. Can you be a little more specific?"
"Not really. But . . . " He looks around the store for a few seconds, making a mental note of something before continuing. "Yeah, I can probably give you exactly what you're looking for."
Scully eyeballs him, wondering if he's making another lewd comment at her, especially when he motions for her to follow him into the back room. But something tells her he's being sincere. Something tells her he really has something to help.
"What do you have?"
When they get into the room, he points to the back wall half filled with small television screens and shelves of videotapes.
"I have a number of surveillance cameras stationed all around the store. She should be on one of these tapes."
He quickly scans them and pulls out a tape labeled with last week's date on it. He sticks it into a VCR she didn't notice on the desk and presses play, grabbing the remote control to fast forward when needed. Moments later, she spots Mulder on the tape and has the man stop.
"There he is," she almost whispers, somehow feeling this is a solemn moment. "Where's the woman he was with?"
"Right there." The man points to a woman standing at the coffee counter. They watch her pour two cups of coffee and expect her to leave the store. But she surprises them.
"Did you see that?" the man gasps. "She just put something in one of the coffee's and it didn't look like sugar."
"It probably wasn't sugar," Scully agrees. "If I had to take a guess, I'd say she drugged him."
"For what purpose?"
"I wish I knew," Scully sighs. "Listen, I need to borrow this tape."
"Of course. Take your time."
Scully gives the man a small smile before leaving the store with the videotape. She needs to get it to the guys so they can get a screen capture of the woman. Maybe if they post her picture up, someone will recognize her. Maybe if they can find her, they'll find Mulder. With no other clues, it's worth a shot.
To be continued . . .