For the second time in a month, Mulder stood looking through a hospital room window at Scully lying in a bed. And for a second time, he felt responsible even though he had done nothing physical to her. He had left her alone and that was enough for him to know. And the reason she was lying in that bed again was because of one person…Jeremy. Every time he said or thought that name it made him clench his fist. He couldn't believe that a person was truly capable of evil….until now. Jeremy was not one of those serial killers who did their deeds because of child molestation or abuse. No, Jeremy killed and violated because he liked it. And if it was true that those who were evil in life passed on that same personality to the afterlife, it certainly applied here. But this was not just some enemy he could fight physically, this was some spiritual force! How could he possibly fight that? How could he fight something he couldn't even see?

"Mulder?"

Mulder turned to see Skinner standing next to him. He chuckled. "Why doesn't it surprise me that you are here?"

"She is an Agent under my supervision, Mulder." Skinner answered. "Any kind of activity or hospitalization I am notified of." He paused. "Though I must admit I didn't expect her to be admitted a second time for this. Especially considering that the man who did it the first time is dead. Nor did I expect to hear that the person who was with her when it happened was you."

"Sir, I didn't rape her."

"I just spoke with the doctor, Mulder and he said that Agent Scully was raped! Are you trying to dispute that?"

"Sir, I'm not trying to dispute that she was raped!" Mulder answered back angrily. "What I AM trying to dispute is that you think I did it!" He paused. "How could you possibly think after everything I have been through with her, after the promise I made that I would do something as horrible as this!"

"Then you explain to me why she has vaginal tearing and all the signs of a rape!"

Mulder sighed. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me."

"Scully was raped by an entity."

Skinner tilted his head. "I'm sorry. She was what?"

"She was raped by a ghost, Sir."

Skinner rubbed the area between his temples. "You're telling me that you didn't rape her but that a ghost did?"

Mulder nodded. "Jeremy."

Skinner chuckled and put up his hands. "Oh, I don't have time for this shit!" He turned and started to walk away.

"She had vaginal tearing but there was no semen found am I right? She had bruises and bite marks on her thighs? Had red marks on her hands showing she had been held down?"

Skinner stopped and turned back around. "How did you know about the semen?"

"Because those are all signs of entity rape, Sir. If a woman is normally raped there are signs of semen but how can there be when the man is not alive? When he has no physical substance inside of him?" Mulder looked down. "I saw him do it, Sir. I…I opened the door and saw him slamming Scully against the headboard. I could see red marks on her wrists and bruises forming on her body. Marks from an invisible assailant that was there with her. And…" A tear trickled down his cheek. "There was nothing I could do. I can still see the blood on the sheets…"

"Mulder, even should that be true, it's not going to hold up in a court of law."

Mulder raised his head. "Court of law? Sir, you can't press charges against me for something I didn't do!"

"It's not my choice, Mulder. When the paramedics arrived YOU were the only one in the bedroom. You told them NOTHING about another suspect. All you said was that she had been raped. I would say that makes you look pretty guilty in anyone's eyes at this point. And the testimony that the ghost of a dead serial killer did this is NOT going to hold up!"

Mulder ran his hands through his hair. "Wait, Scully can tell you, I didn't do it. She'll back me up."

"Right now she is unconscious, Mulder. The doctors don't know when she'll recover."

Mulder put his hand into a fist and punched a wall in frustration. "Dammit! Why is this shit happening to me? Why won't he leave her the fuck alone!" He turned away from Skinner and started to walk down the hall.

"Where are you going?"

Mulder turned back around. "To prove my innocence and get the REAL perpetrator here!"

Skinner walked up to him. "You leave town and you'll look even more guilty!"

"Who say's I'm leaving town? You know Scully's apartment address right? Cause that's where I'll be. If you need to send me an arrest warrant THAT'S where you'll find me." He then angrily stormed off.

Mulder sat on Scully's couch as he drank a beer. A smile trickled across his face as he remembered their make-out session here just last night. How her lips tasted and how she moaned when he touched her. It was like heaven to him but he was just happy being with her. The way her smile could light up a room and her giggle could make him laugh. Even the way she drank her rum and Coke made him smile. But now he was all alone in her apartment and she was lying comatose in a hospital bed. He took another drink of beer and then heard a knock at the door. He climbed off the couch and headed to the door. Glancing through the peephole he could see a young dark-haired woman standing with some kind of bag. He opened the door. "Isabelle?"

"Fox." She held out her hand to him. "So glad to finally meet you."

Mulder shook her hand. "Likewise. Please, come in." He gestured to the door.

"Thank you." Isabelle answered with a smile before walking in the door. "Where can I set up my things?"

Mulder closed the door. "Huh? Oh uhhhh…anywhere should be fine."

"All right." Isabelle reached into her bag and took out some candles. She then started to place them in various areas around the room. "Is your friend, Dana here?"

"No. She uh…she had to be taken to the hospital unexpectedly last night."

Isabelle raised her head as she blew out a match from lighting some candles. "Oh my god, is she all right?"

"She's…unconscious right now. That's the reason I called you over here so quickly, Isabelle." He looked over at her. "There is something evil in this apartment, Isabelle. Something that will stop at nothing to hurt her."

"You think there is just something in this apartment or is it something to do with her?"

Mulder shook his head. "I…I don't know anymore. Whatever it is, I just want it to stop."

Isabelle pulled out a book. "Well, why don't you tell me why you think this is spiritually related again?"

"Well…Scully saw an image in a mirror. She….was almost drowned by something in the bathroom. And…" He closed his eyes tightly. "She was…raped by something in the bedroom."

Isabelle looked at Mulder with wide eyes. "Raped?"

Mulder nodded. "Yeah, I know because I was there."

"Well….why don't we start with first things first. Why don't you take me to the bathroom and the bedroom? I'll see what I pick up alright?"

Mulder nodded. "Sure, follow me." He led Isabelle to the bathroom. "Well, here's the bathroom. You can see how the mirror is all shattered. Mind the glass."

Isabelle stepped into the bathroom being careful of the glass on the floor. "You say this mirror just shattered?" She asked as she started to examine it.

"Yeah. Scully said she was looking into it and it just started to crack. The next thing she knew it just shattered but she luckily wasn't cut. Sure scared the hell out of me though. It sounded just like a gun shot."

"Well, you're lucky she didn't get cut judging by this. This…crack is definitely indicative that a human did not do it. Had it been done by someone, there would be more strain on the crack." She pointed to it to show Mulder. "See where this crack begins? There would be more coming down from the crack had this been done by a human."

"Wow, I'm impressed. Didn't realize a paranormal researcher was so…"

"Knowledgeable?" Isabelle asked with a grin. "Well, one needs to know the scientific side of everything as well as the paranormal. That way things can be ruled out before they are classified in the paranormal. Many times the explanation turns out to be of the scientific nature. Not ALWAYS of course but…"

Mulder grinned. "You remind me a lot of Scully in some ways."

Isabelle tilted her head. "Is that good?"

"Oh yeah." He cleared his throat. "So the mirror definitely a sign of spiritual activity right?"

Isabelle turned her attention back to the mirror. "What? Oh yes, it…it definitely is." She pointed to the tub. "That's the bathtub?"

"Yes."

Isabelle walked over to the tub. "Well, there doesn't appear to be any indications of any kind of ectoplasmic residue." She looked back at Mulder. "How about the bedroom?"

"Right this way." Mulder led Isabelle from the bathroom to Scully's bedroom. He opened the door and stepped aside.

Isabelle smiled before she stepped inside. Her smile then faded as soon as she crossed the threshold. Chills began to run up and down her spine. She swallowed as she felt her heart racing. "Evil…."

"Isabelle?"

"The spirit who is here…pure evil." She paused. "In his life he was a most evil man."

"You can say that again." Mulder muttered.

Isabelle stepped toward the bed. "My god…what he did to her." She gasped. "The pain she is feeling. Oh god he won't stop!" She closed her eyes tightly.

"Why is he doing this, Isabelle?"

Isabelle took in a breath as she trembled. "She's…the one who escaped him. He…owns her and will never let her go."

"How do we stop him, Isabelle?"

Isabelle took in a deep breath and then started to choke.

"Isabelle?" Mulder stepped toward her and was pushed against the wall. He could feel all kinds of pain coursing through his body. He found some kind of force keeping him in place. He glanced toward Isabelle who was trembling violently. He was not about to let Jeremy win again. "Get away from her you bastard!" He then remembered what he had done to get him away from Scully. He started to recite The Lord's Prayer as loud as he could. He felt the grip on him lessen until he was able to break free. He ran over to Isabelle and picked her up, carrying her quickly out of the bedroom. He then placed her gently on the couch. "Isabelle?" He could feel how cold her skin was and checked for a pulse. Finding nothing, he instantly started CPR. "Breathe dammit!"

After a few minutes, Isabelle began to gasp and choke. She opened her eyes and saw Mulder hovering above her.

"Hey." Mulder replied with a smile as he took her hand. "Welcome back."

Isabelle smiled back at him. "A nice thing to wake up to." She reached up and touched the side of his face, letting her long hair fall behind her.

Mulder swallowed as he felt his skin tingle from her touch. "Uh, Isabelle…I think there's something I forgot to tell you."

"What?" She asked as she ran her finger slowly down his face.

"Scully and I…we're more than friends. I'm….I'm sorry if I may have mislead you on that."

"Oh. Well it wouldn't be the first time that happened to me. Seems like all the good men are always taken." Isabelle pulled her hand away. "And we have a spirit to banish."

"You really think we can do this?"

Isabelle nodded. "I do. And you're going to help me." She looked back at him. "That is…if you intend to let me up?"

"Huh?" Mulder looked down at her lying underneath him. "Oh yeah, sure." He quickly moved off the couch. "So, what do you need me to do?"

Isabelle eased herself off the couch and walked over to a candle in the middle of the room. "I want you to make sure this candle remains lit at all times no matter what happens." She took a match and struck it, lighting the candle.

"Can I ask why?"

"Because that candle is what is going to send our evil spirit to the other side where he belongs. If that candle burns out then the portal is closed. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Just make sure it stays lit and you will do fine, Fox." Isabelle walked away from him and pulled out a book. "Now, this will do either of two things. It will either convince the spirit to cross over to the other side."

"Or…"

"Or…it will cause it to retaliate even more."

"I thought you said you could banish this thing?"

"Banishment is not one-hundred percent successful, Fox. You can't force a spirit to cross over. It has to want to do it on its own. And if you believe that you utter some words and the spirit has no choice then you have seen too many horror movies." She paused. "Are you ready?"

"Let's kick some evil spirit ass."

"Remember, you must make sure that the candle remains lit no matter what." She took a breath. "And be prepared because based on what I have seen and felt here something tells me he is going to put up quite a fight." She glanced down at the book and began to chant.

The room suddenly turned very cold followed by a large rushing of wind causing the candles in the room to flicker. Mulder instantly went over to the candle Isabelle had said to keep burning and shielded it from the oncoming onslaught of forceful air.

"Spirit of this realm, the time has come for you to pass from this world into the next. You're time is done here and you are ready to start anew in the afterlife." Isabelle outstretched her arms to the candle that Mulder was protecting. "Cross into the light where you shall find peace."

A wailing noise could be heard and Mulder watched in both fascination and horror as the figure of Jeremy appeared in front of him. "Long time no see, G-Man." He replied with an evil smile.

"Wipe that grin off your face cause I'm sending you straight to hell!A place where you will NEVER hurt Scully or anyone else again!"

Isabelle began to chant again. "There is peace and serenity in the light. All the answers to everything you have wanted to know are within. Walk to it and leave your pain behind."

Jeremy's smile faded as he slowly started to fade. "No!" He yelled as he went from a figure to mist. The wind increased in the room to an almost tornadic force.

Mulder winced as he felt the flame from the candle burn his hand. But he knew he couldn't let the candle go out no matter what. A little pain was enough to withstand to save Scully from Jeremy. He cried out in pain as the flames singed his skin.

Isabelle continued to chant as loud as she could through the roaring wind. The wind spiraled around the room, lifting Isabelle into the air.

"Isabelle!" Mulder yelled as his attention was momentarily distracted from the candle. He then watched as one by one the candles in the room began to flicker and burn out. He closed his eyes and prayed as he tried desperately to protect his candle. He then watched as the wind ceased, letting Isabelle fall to the ground. And the last thing he knew, he felt something hit him in the head and everything went black.

Note: The banishment procedures described in this chapter were based on what I personally know and may not necessarily be accurrate! So, please don't compare to other examples thank you!