Thanks a lot to all my readers, especially those who took the time to review! Thanks again to justawriter, midheaven, Annie, Claire, KaraLee713, Nathifa Femi, Flirtatiouspriss, VirgoSweetheart, ArafelSedai, and LanaJoy.

Again, sorry for the time it's taking to update – I'm working on this whenever I have some free time, which sadly has not been until today...

Special disclaimer: I briefly quoted the Robert Frost poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (which is my favorite poem, by the way!). I am sure you know that is not mine, but I'll say it here just to be sure.

Spoilers: Small reference to "Detour", I wouldn't count it as a spoiler, really, its pretty unapparent, but just in case you're really sensitive about those things…

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Chapter 4 – Changes

Mulder for one was sick of sackcloth and hard biscuits. These had become the staples of his life during the first couple of days of his training to be a soldier in the king's army. When they had placed him in a sped-up course, they had failed to mention the brutal conditions and hours of difficult, seemingly pointless drills.

But he was determined to persist if it killed him. He needed to do this.

Now, it was the third day. Time to learn forest survival skills. Woo-hoo, he thought.

Unfortunately for him, his proud declaration that he had undergone training to become a certified Indian Guide had made no impression whatsoever on the group of medieval nights.

This was why he was walking through the woods now, searching for the granite stone that was the center of this bizarre treasure hunt.

He yawned, but was secretly somewhat grateful for the chance to be alone and just think for awhile. The fact that he had been thrust head first into this fifteenth century life had caused him to adjust with amazing alacrity. It was not until now that he was truly struck by the idea that he had actually journeyed through time somehow – through that rip in the tapestry that he had spoken of to Scully so recently ago. She had brazenly declared that it was impossible. Now, it seemed she was wrong…

Scully, he thought. Where is she?

He had searched for her during nearly all his free time in the past few days, but it had been to no avail. He knew that she was a strong, capable woman, but that did not alleviate the tight feeling he got in his chest when he thought of her.

Living in the middle ages was not his idea of a dream come true, but he could live with it. Never seeing Scully again, though, he could not.

He sighed and looked up at the clear blue sky through the canopy of trees. It was a sight to behold.

But he knew that he could not linger long, as whoever retrieved the stone first would be declared winner among the trainees. He also knew that any distinction eh could earn brought him closer to having his intended position a certainty.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep; but I have promises to keep; and miles to go before I sleep."

Frost's poem came to mind. Suddenly, it occurred to Mulder that Robert Frost would not be born for another three centuries. It is 1475. He smiled at the thought. Here he was, living proof of an x-file.

He began to quicken his gait, still watching the sky. It therefore shouldn't have come as such a surprise when his foot sunk abruptly and he feel forward into a bed of moist dirt.

"Damn it!"

He struggles to sit up in the mud. He was having little success until a hand suddenly firmly grasped his flailing one. With that support, he was able to pull himself up and out of the sink-hole. Blushing slightly, he raised his head to thank his fellow soldier.

"Great thanks to you, Sir…" He trailed off and nearly fell back down. "Scully?" he said hesitantly. "Or, uh, Scully's brother? Charlie?"

"Mulder," she snorted. "It's me."

"But your hair, your clothes, your… Um..."

"They won't allow women into training, obviously. I needed to get to you somehow. So, I did what any woman in that situation would do. I bound my chest and tied my hair back."

"Oh, of course."

"Luckily," she said, seeming somewhat annoyed to have to be explaining this. "men in this age often wear their hair long, so it wasn't much of a problem. Here, I'm Daniel. Soon to be Sir Daniel, actually."

"Daniel," he repeated slowly, still trying to get used to this bizarre situation.

"Yes. And you can't forget to treat me as Daniel if we're going to be working together here. I mean, it's unbelievable that you've somehow managed to wrangle a job investigating the paranormal here. It's perfect. We can't afford to lose that opportunity, or we may never find a way to get home."

"Yes. Right. Um, yeah."

"Are you okay, Mulder?"

"Just a little surprised… This is happening pretty quickly and unexpectedly, I have to say."

"Well, we need to make sure we get that job together. I already found the stone, I have it right here. We should go back and claim to have found it together. That way, we'll get across how well we work together, and it will be believable if you request me to be your partner."

"Alright."

Mulder's unusual compliancy surprised Scully, but she could most definitely understand his state of shock. She herself was still reeling from her actions of the past few days.

What was I thinking? she wondered vaguely. But, in reality, she already knew. She had been thinking that she needed to find her partner and ensure that, no matter what would befall them here in this strange land, they were together. So she had saved her shock for another time, and just did what she had to do to make it work.

She sighed audibly know, and glanced at Mulder, who was beginning to compose himself.

"Wow, that was just… so odd. Anyway… Hi Scully! Great to see you!"

"You too, Mulder."

"You're looking… um, different, today. I just can't figure out what it is…" His eyes were gleaming with humor now, and she groaned.

"Not a word, Mulder. Not one word."

He grinned and raised his eyebrows, but stayed silent to her relief. They began to walk, and she took out the stone that she had worked so hard for. "So, here it is. A pretty unremarkable thing to have been given such a high value, no?"

"I guess so. But, you know, it is the middle ages."

"I know. But why are you speaking to a spot over my head, Mulder?"

"Oh, no reason."

"Sure." She knew he was still adjusting, but seriously…

They completed their walk back to the campsite in silence, both keeping their thoughts and emotions to themselves. Scully especially was determined to maintain a calm demeanor and act as if nothing was really affecting her. That quality was valued in a soldier, which was quite convenient for her.

So, she remained seemingly indifferent as the commander greeted her and Mulder with a smile and heartily congratulated them. She showed no sign of emotion as the other trainees hissed and snarled their jealously and dislike of the two of them already. Always outcasts, I guess. Always us against the world…

She made no motion but a cursory nod when Mulder's request that they work together was accepted readily. She even managed to act as if it had no effect on her when the commander assigned her to share a bunk with Mulder.

But she also knew that she wouldn't be able to keep it up for much longer without going totally insane.

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