Ethan thought of nothing else except getting to Scully's apartment as he drove through the streets of Washington. How could he have not realized it was Ryan before? All of the facts were there right in front of him and he had been too blind to see them! And now if something happened to Dana it would be his entire fault. He would never forgive himself that he knew. He could hear the sirens behind him and the flash of police lights as his entourage trailed behind him. He was half tempted to call his station in regards to the chase but decided against it. It shouldn't have surprised him though that that had crossed his mind out of force of habit. Besides, he really didn't want Dana being his top news story due to her disappearance. He stepped on the accelerator a little more as he headed toward Georgetown. He then heard his cell ring and fumbled to answer it as he drove. "Minette."

"Mr. Minette it's Agent Mulder."

"Yes of course, Agent Mulder." He paused. "Wait a minute, how did you get this number?"

"I work for the FBI, remember? Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that as soon as you get to Agent Scully's apartment, don't go in right away."

"What? Why?"

"Let Detective Patterson and I lead the way in because we don't know what we are dealing with." Mulder answered. "If this guy is armed and has Agent Scully we need to make sure no one gets hurt. You catch my meaning?"

"Yeah, yeah I catch your meaning, Agent Mulder. But also remember if you guys go storming in like gangbusters you could spook this guy. He sees a bunch of officers and an FBI Agent with guns and he could do something drastic."

"Then what do you suggest, Mr. Minette?"

"Well, let me go in by myself and you guys like hang out in the hallway or something. That way if he's still at the apartment he can't see you guys off hand and freak. He doesn't freak and Dana doesn't risk getting hurt."

"And what if he has a gun and pulls it on you the minute you walk in the door?"

"I'll take my chances and you guys just make sure you aren't too far out of range in case he does." Ethan pulled up to the apartment complex. "All right this is it."

"We'll keep a safe distance from you but not too far. If possible, try and get Agent Scully out of there if trouble should arise all right? But if you see there is a chance she could be harmed then don't. Got it?"

"Got it." Ethan answered as he turned off his car. He placed his hands on the steering wheel and took a deep breath. "Ok, Ethan remember you love her. You always wanted to be a hero right? Well, here's your chance." He paused. "Let's do it." He then opened the door and headed inside the complex.

The rest of the entourage parked in back of the complex just in case Ryan might be looking out the window and spied the police cars. That was the last thing they needed to deal with now. The doors opened and several police officers climbed out with guns pointed. Detective Patterson and Mulder motioned with their hands to spread out as they headed into the complex with weapons drawn.

Ethan took the staircase and finally walked down the hallway and up to Scully's door. "Dana?" He asked as he knocked on her door. Not receiving an answer, he knocked again. "Dana? It's Ethan." Fear started to grip him as he glanced over at Mulder and a few other officers who had made their way to the hallway as well. "She's…she's not answering."

Mulder nodded. "All right, I'm going to bust the door down." He started to walk toward the door.

"What? Are you crazy!" Ethan asked as he put his hand on Mulder's shoulder.

"Mr. Minette, Agent Scully isn't answering you after two knocks. The longer we wait to do something, the more chance that our serial killer could be making his move. Now, do you want to risk Agent Scully's door being broken or would you rather risk finding her dead on the floor?"

Ethan sighed and moved away from the door. "You'd better be right or she is going to kick your ass for breaking her door."

"Tell her to put it on my tab." Mulder answered with a smirk. He then motioned to the two officers. "Ok, I want you two to come up behind me. You take care of Agent Scully; I'll take care of our suspect. Ready?" He then counted down his fingers from three to one before kicking in the door. "Freeze, FBI!" He pointed his gun around the room and found it empty. "Clear!"

The two officers came running in behind Mulder with their guns drawn. They started looking around the room and also found nothing. "Clear!"

Ethan walked in past the remnants of Scully's door. He was then surprised to find the apartment empty. "Wait, she's not here?"

Mulder walked to the closet and opened it. "Well, her coat's still here." He then saw a bunch of papers on a table. "Looks like she was working on something."

Ethan then looked toward the bathroom where he saw a light underneath it. "Oh god, he has her in the bathroom." He watched as Mulder started to advance. "No. Let me take care of this one Just..be alert." He walked up to the bathroom and put his hand on the handle. "Here we go." He took a deep breath and opened the door quickly.

"Ethan!" Scully screamed as she stood in a towel. "What…what are you doing?"

Ethan stood in shock for a minute. "Is..is he here?"

"Is who here? Ethan what's going on?" She then saw the police outside the door and clutched her towel tighter. "What are they doing here? Ethan, please talk to me."

Ethan closed the bathroom door slightly as he spoke to the officers. "It's ok. She's alone in here. I need a minute if you don't mind?" He watched as the officers moved back to the living room and then turned back to Scully. "Dana, why didn't you answer the door?Didn't you hear me knocking?"

"I was blow drying my hair, Ethan. It's kind of hard to hear everything else over a blow dryer, you know?"

"Why didn't you answer your cell?"

"Because it was turned off."

"What about your home phone?"

"It's been acting up all week so anything is possible. I've been trying to get someone to come out and check it. Sometimes I talk to someone and it's just fine and then I can hang up and it can start to go on the…" She was then stopped as Ethan hugged her tightly. "Ethan? What is it? You're scaring me."

"I'm…I'm just glad you're ok, Dana. " Ethan kissed her forehead. "I was afraid something had happened to you."

"Happened to me? Ethan, I'm fine but…what are the police doing here?"

"We thought that Ryan Sedrick was here. I tried to call you and you wouldn't answer. And after we found out it was Ryan…"

"You thought he had come here to finish business." Scully finished.

"I'm sorry, Dana but you have to admit that he does know where you live."

"But regardless he is not here and I would like to finish getting ready for dinner if you don't mind?"

"Oh…yeah that's right we have a date don't we?"

"Last I knew."

"Ok, you finish getting ready and I'll get rid of the police ok?" He reached forward and cupped her face before kissing her tenderly. He then pulled back and leaned against her forehead "I'll see you in a few hours." He then stepped out of the bathroom and back to the living room.

Detective Patterson stood in front of the couch. "Everything all right, Mr. Minette?"

"Yeah. She's…she's fine. She was just…getting ready in the bathroom. Guess I over reacted huh?"

"Better to be safe than sorry, Mr. Minette." Detective Patterson answered.

Mulder then popped in his head from the hallway with a cell in his hand. "Detective Patterson, we've got an address for Ryan Sedrick."

"Great, let's move!" Detective Patterson turned to the officers in the room and motioned them to follow him.

Ethan's cell then rang. "Minette. Yeah Jodie. What?Now? No, no it's ok I uhhh….have a little over an hour. Yeah, I'm on my way now." He stepped out of Scully's apartment and headed down the hall to the stairwell.


The dinner that Ethan planned for them was more magical than Scully could have imagined. He had taken them to Camille's, one of the fanciest restaurants in all of D.C. They had waltzed to an orchestra and eaten some of the best food ever prepared. And none of it was to compare with what he had planned next.

Ethan took a sip of his wine. "So, how was your meal?"

Scully sighed. "Oh, Ethan it was delicious. The best food I've ever tasted. You've really outdone yourself." She took a sip of her wine.

"I'm glad you liked it, Dana. I really wanted tonight to be special."

"This whole night has just been wonderful, Ethan. It's…helped me forget about everything in the past few days."

"Good." Ethan took a breath. "Dana, I asked you out tonight for another reason."

"Oh? And what other possible reason could you have to ask me out tonight besides dancing and wonderful dining? Perhaps to fix my apartment door?"

Ethan reached over and took her hand. "Dana, before I met you my life was meaningless. I had been in so many unsuccessful relationships and felt like giving up. And….to be honest I was kind of afraid of dating an FBI Agent because I just didn't think it would work." He looked deep into her eyes. "But…you've changed all that, Dana. I love you. And…after these past few days and especially today, I've realized that if I want to be with you, I can't wait any longer. What I'm trying to say is…" He moved off his chair and kneeled in front of her as he pulled out his tiny box from his pocket. He then opened it to reveal a beautiful engagement ring. "Dana Katherine Scully, will you marry me?"


Mulder and Detective Patterson made their way slowly inside of another apartment complex. They quietly made their way up the stairs with their guns ready. They surrounded a particular apartment and Mulder knocked.

"Delivery." Mulder looked at Detective Patterson and nodded. He then kicked in yet another apartment door. He burst into the room with his gun pointed. "FBI!" He scanned the room quickly. "Clear!"

Detective Patterson came in right behind Mulder. "Check the back!" He shouted to the other officers. "It looks like this may have been a fluke, Agent Mulder."

"Yeah, another one." Mulder muttered.

"Why do I get the feeling that we are being spent on a wild goose chase?" Detective Patterson asked.

"Maybe. Or this guy is smarter than we thought."

"What do you mean?" Detective Patterson asked.

One of the officers came from the back. "No one's here, Sir. But…we did find something in the back bedroom."

Detective Patterson glanced at Mulder for a minute before heading to the back bedroom. "Agent Mulder! I think you should take a look at this!"

Mulder walked to the back bedroom and peered in. "Looks like Ryan Sedrick has been doing some contemplating about his professor for a while." He remarked as he looked at the wall, which was covered with various kinds of pictures of Scully. There were even some from her apartment. "Jesus, this guy has surveillance equipment in her apartment. He's pretty obsessed I would say now." Mulder paused. "Oh shit, if he isn't here then that means he's out there somewhere and…"

"Agent Scully." Detective Patterson remarked.

"We've got to warn her and Ethan Minette." Mulder added as he pulled out his cell.


Scully stared at the ring that Ethan now held in his hand. This was something she was completely not prepared for. "Ethan, I…I don't know what to say."

"Tell me what you feel." Ethan answered. He could feel his cell vibrating but ignored it.

"Ethan…the time I've spent with you is beyond words. It's been more than I could have hoped for. You've…meant so much to me. And…I love you so much."

"I feel the same way, Dana." Ethan answered back. "That's why I want to marry you. I just can't imagine me being with anyone else but you. Please, Dana…do me the honor of being my wife?"

Scully swallowed. "Oh god, Ethan this is so hard for me. You mean so much to me and the last thing I want to do is hurt you. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me but…"

"But?"

Scully sighed. "I just….I don't know if I'm ready for marriage right now. I mean….I have my teaching and I'm sure I'll have other field assignments eventually coming up. I just…don't think it's the right environment right now to settle down. You…you understand, don't you?"

Ethan nodded as he stood up and went back to his chair. "It's ok, Dana. I know it was rather sudden. Tell you what, why don't you just think about it for….future? You don't have to marry me right now but just think about it for a possibily later?"

Scully smiled. "All right, Ethan." She reached over and took his hand. "Thank you for understanding."

"Hey, I love you why wouldn't I?" Ethan smiled back. "So, you ready for the next part of your magical night back at my place?"

"Even after I turned you down for marriage?"

"Dana, that doesn't matter to me. I mean…ok yeah I admit I'm a little disappointed. But I love you too much to let it upset me. All that matters is that I'm with you."

"Ethan Minette, you are truly a wonderful man."

Ethan reached across the table and kissed her gently. He then pulled back and whispered in her ear. "So, you ready for the finale to your magical night?"

"Mmmmm….I can hardly wait." Scully whispered back.

"Why don't you go wait outside for me while I take care of the check?"

"All right." She kissed his ear lobe. "But don't take too long." She then rose from her chair and headed to the lobby.

Ethan smiled as he watched Scully walk away and to the lobby. It was true that he was disappointed that he had been turned down but there was still hope. After all, she had said that she wasn't ready…YET. A lot of changes could happen in the months ahead. But as he said, all that mattered was that they were together. As far as he was concerned, he would wait for as long as it took.


From a distance a figure watched as Scully stood in front of the restaurant. A smile came to his lips as he saw her dressed in a long blue gown, which showed cleavage in the front. She was truly a delight to see and it was like she was standing there, all dressed up just for him. His beautiful Dana was waiting for him. He watched as she wrapped herself up in her silk shawl to cover her shoulders. He then checked his surroundings before moving from his hiding spot and in for the kill. He sidled up next to her and whispered in her ear. "Hello, Dr. Scully."

Scully's heart started to race as she instantly recognized the voice in her ear. "Ry…Ryan what…what a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just came out to do a little night hunting." Ryan answered with a smile.

"Have…have you found anything?"

"Oh, indeed I have." He ran his hand down Scully's face slowly. "I found the best prize of all."

Scully swallowed. "Ryan, please."

"Sssssh…I can't have you talking." He replied as he pulled out a rag.

Scully screamed as she realized what he was about to do. "Help! Help me!Ethan!" She then felt the rag placed over her mouth. Her breathing became labored as the fumes consumed her until she went unconscious and fell back into Ryan's arms.

Ethan had taken care of the check and just come out of the bathroom, when he heard the scream. He sadly remembered the scream he had heard earlier in the afternoon. "Dana?" He ran outside the restaurant and found no sign of her. "Dana!" He glanced around anxiously then noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. He watched in horror as Dana was carried to a car and placed in the backseat. "Dana!" He started running for the car as fast as he could. "Let her go, you bastard!" He found speed within him that he didn't even know he had but it wasn't enough. The last thing he saw was the car pulling away with his possible future wife in the back. As he stood catching his breath, he pulled out the tiny box from his pocket. As he opened and gazed at the ring inside of it, Ethan Minette did something he rarely did….he cried.