Chapter One

Sometimes things happen and you think that the world just ended. Like there is no tomorrow, or at least you wish there wasn't one. You lie in bed still pretending, wishing; hoping that what laid on your bed was a lifeless entity instead of your body breathing in and out. But then the sun comes up and you know you are alive. You follow the daily routine like a robot on batteries and may be, may be just once in a while you stop and while you stare at the grim building that awaited you every morning, you wonder what happened to the broken heart that you thought should have certainly killed you, and the answer dawns on you. Life happened.

And life happened for Agent Scully after she came back from New York. She had thought she would let things cool then call or go back to sort out the mess she had left behind, but it never happened as Mulder sucked her into a case that got him to disappear and her abducted. When she came back from the whole ordeal, the X-Files were run by Agent Dogget and Agent Reyes, whom Scully didn't trust at all in the beginning. Fortunately she had returned right on time, to save X-Files from being shut down, and with the help of Assistant Director Skinner she was able to head it, until they found Mulder.

Though she butted heads with both of the new operatives from the beginning, with every case that dropped in their desk, their skepticism started to decline along with their arguments with Agent Scully.

Once everything was back on groove, still Agent Scully found herself spending all her spare time and energy to find her missing partner rather than to look back and gather the pieces of her broken heart.

That was until a case came knocking at her door.

"Yes, Agent Reyes." She said peering over the top of her glasses.

"I want you to read this case that was forwarded to us." Agent Monica Reyes said entering the basement office.

"Sure." Scully said extending her hand for the file.

"God Look at the mess here. How about I take you to lunch and brief you about the case." Agent Reyes said as she retracted the hand holding the file instead of giving it to Agent Scully.

Scully should have seen that coming as Agent Reyes always insisted on briefing her about a case over dinner, or lunch, or snack, as though she was looking for a reason to take Scully out, but she never asked her out otherwise, so Scully didn't waste her time to make much of her intentions. But, today Scully could see that Agent Reyes was a little more eager than usual, but still Scully was just too tired to even give it a thought. Scully took off her glasses and looked at the mess of papers all around her, and gave in to her own internal argument, and got up to follow the beautiful young Agent as always.

"Five murders, five different States, in five weeks." Agent Reyes said opening the file.

"Until last week there was no connection, till a police received an anonymous tip and now a connection."

Agent Reyes took out a photograph of a group of people posed in front of a rainbow flag.

Scully took the photograph gave it but a second to scan and then put it aside.

"Let me guess all our victims are on the photograph." Scully said.

Agent Monica Reyes couldn't believe that Scully hadn't even pointed out the rainbow flag in the background. Even straight people knew what that meant, and after almost seven months of trying to find out what team Dana played for, Monica was sure she would be able to tell with Dana's reaction to the case. But, when she didn't even mention it, Monica was once again at loss.

"A woman confessed to all the killings, and even though there is absolutely no physical evidence, with all the details she provided, there is no doubt that she is the murderer."

"Good, so are they having trouble finding her?" Scully asked wondering why the case became an X-File.

"Nope, she is in jail." Reyes replied.

"Then?"

"She has been in prison for the last 20 years; never left it and was in solitary confinement with surveillance for the last month, still the murders happened and she claims to have done it; with every little detail."

"Let me guess she does it in her dreams." Scully said as she picked up the picture of the woman with renewed interest.

"How did you know?"

"I have worked on a case with the same claim before, and Agent Mulder has a file for people who have the ability to wander away from their body when they sleep. Though there are only one or two documented cases where one can actually physically do anything." Scully asked as she carefully read the picture of a short dark haired woman who barely looked like a teenager. Then she opened the file that read Anne James aka AJ.

"This says that she claimed that she killed her family in her dreams too. She was convicted for it based on her confession with no physical evidence. So, I wonder what might have triggered her, now." Scully thought aloud as she read the file.

"Kate Williams might be the answer to that. She was her girlfriend in prison, till she came out about two months ago after finishing her sentence. Five weeks ago, she was raped and killed outside a gay bar. Five weeks ago the first murder happened."

"Was the victim gay?" Scully asked.

"No, straight." Reyes answered for taking a second to look at the file.

Scully closed the file and finally took the group photograph in her hands.

"They found the group photo from her belongings. The people who are already dead are crossed. I researched on the photograph and found out that it was taken at a summer camp for gay and lesbian kids, where college students from all over the country volunteered to counsel the ones who were confused or had trouble. Now, not all the student volunteers were gay, there were many who were straight but came there to show their support. So, I am guessing she is going after the ones who are straight." Monica paused as she saw that Scully was no longer listening to her. Instead she was staring at one particular face in the photograph.

"Isn't she dead?" Scully asked as she turned the photograph for Agent Reyes to see.

"No." Monica replied then started to read from the file. "About five years ago she had entered a federal witness protection program, but she came out of the program little under two years ago. Her name is Alexandra Cabot." Monica closed her file. "No, she is not dead."

"She is dead for Christ's Sake."

"Please don't say that." Olivia had said sobbing.

"Yes, she is never dead to you." Dana had retorted.

Scully remembered her words spoken as eyes refused to leave the face.

Waiting was one thing Detective Benson knew all about. She had waited for Alex for over two years when she had finally allowed herself to fall for someone else. Then she had waited for Agent Dana Scully to call after she had walked off. Oh! Yes, she had waited, even though Alex had returned Olivia managed to keep her at distance as she had waited for Dana to call for days, then weeks, then it was over a month. Then she decided to call herself, she called and called, but there was no answer, not even an answering machine. Dana's cell phone was disconnected and her home phone only rang forever. She even called the FBI just to be greeted by an agitated voice that demanded more answers about what she wanted with Dana than giving her any answers. For a while she toyed with the idea that something might have happened to her, but then she knew that if no one else Agent Mulder would have informed her, so she concluded that Dana actually was shunning her. Though she couldn't figure out why they parted ways for a little spat that should have been resolved by one sorry from any one of them, there was nothing she could do but accept what had happened.

When she had finished waiting and stamped her overdrawn cigarette butt, she had found Alex waiting patiently for her. Even though she knew she had nothing but a broken heart to offer to Alex, she fell right back into her ex-lover's arms, where she was welcomed back.

Once the re-united lovers had settled back into each others lives Alex thought it wise to confess about couple of people she had seen when she was in hiding. Olivia unloaded her burden too by confessing about few that she shared the nights with. Then Alex asked one question Olivia had hoped she wouldn't but knew she would. "Did you fall in love with someone else?"

At that moment the word that came out of her lips betrayed everything her mind, heart and body as she heard her voice say, "No".

For months her lie had hunted Olivia, but with every rising sun, she felt a little less guilty.

Agent Dana Scully wasn't to be spoken or thought of, she said to herself as she kissed her girlfriend, ADA Alexandra Cabot.