She woke to a delectable smell. Her stomach growled and Scully remember her hunger. For the first time in a long while, Scully became fully awake and was once more aware of her surroundings. She slowly stood up and felt her body ache – how long has it been since she moved?

She had heard the front door slam shut a while ago and knew that Edward was back. Scully began to pace around the room and tried to push out the worse possible scenarios from her mind. Never seeing Mulder again become more realistic with each passing minute and it scared her to think about it. She knew very well of Edward's capabilities and of his rage.

A few minutes later, there was a knock in the door. Scully knew that this was simply a formality as she has no way of answering it. She heardkeys jingling and watched the doorknob turn. Scully scanned the room for something to attack with but found nothing and she alone did not have enough strength to overtake Edward. Instead of devising a plan for escape, she took in a deep breath and prepared herself to face Edward once more.

The door open and Edward stood there but he was not quite what Scully expected. He was calm and well dressed. The sweet smell of food flooded the room and Scully's stomach growledlouder than she wanted it to. A smile crept onto Edward's face.

"I was hoping that you would be hungry."

Scully remained silent and subconsciously placed an arm around her stomach. She noticed that Edward held something behind his back and she began to back away.

"What are you running away from?"

He did not walk closer to her this time. He stayed in his spot and revealed a box that was hidden behind his back. Edward crouched down, put the box on the floor, and lifted the lid. In the box was a dress – black and knee length. Scully stared hard at the contents of the box and she suddenly realized what Edward was doing. She fingered her empty ring finger and began to piece together something that she had long missed.

Scully had noticed when she was younger and her courtship with Eddie was still in existence that he was acting strangely near the end of their relationship. He had become more distant and she had always taken that as a sign that their relationship was fading. Never did she think that he had an ulterior motive. The night she broke things off with him suddenly became clear once more.

Eddie had taken her to an expensive, classy restaurant. This was not the first time he brought her to this place so she thought nothing of it. She wore a black dress that night – similar to the one that now lay in the box in front of her. Edward was especially fidgety that night and could hardly sit still. Scully, too, was distant that night but for a different reason.

It was she who spoke first. She had told him how she had felt, kissed him on the cheek and the left restaurant alone. Never once did Scully see Edward finger, quite often, the object he held in his coat jacket. After Scully left, Edward sat silently by himself at the restaurant and ignored the inquisitive glances from nearby diners.

Edward now stood before Scully, similarly dressed like that eventful night, and now more than ever, Scully was afraid. She could hardly admit this to herself but she knew very well that time was running out.

"It's for you."

Edward picked the dress out of the box and held it up so Scully could see. It was a beautiful dress – something that Scully would have worn if the circumstances had been different. Perhaps a special dress that she would have shared with Mulder.

Edward noticed the fear in Scully's face.

"It's okay. I won't hurt you."

Scully almost could have laughed if her situation did not seem so bleak. She had to decide what she was going to do. They could not stand like this forever.

Slowly, Scully moved towards Edward and the smile on his face grew.

"I knew you'd see it my way."

He handed her the dress and asked her to put it on. He would wait outside.

With the dress in her hands, Scully held it up to her body and tried imagine a pleasant evening. She made believe that it was Mulder waiting outside for her and that they were exchanging playful banter. But the truth was the Mulder was not waiting outside – Eddie was. Scully began to doubt if she would ever see Mulder again but she quickly placed that thought out of her mind. She knew very well that Mulder was frantically looking for her. Previous experiences told her so.

There was a knock on the door. Edward's voice traveled through.

"Are you ready yet? Dinner is getting cold."

"I'm coming."

Scully quickly slipped of what she had on and put on the dress. She was glad to see that it covered more that the purple piece of cloth and suddenly Scully had the urge to clean the rest of herself up.

"Eddie?"

"Yes dear?"

Scully paused at his response. She let out the breath she was holding and continued.

"I would like to wash up a bit if you don't mind."

Eddie opened the door and marveled at Scully.

"You don't really need to."

"I want to … make myself a bit more presentable."

Eddie led Scully to the restroom and gave her five minutes. She stood in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection. Her face was soiled and thinner than she last remembered. She turned the faucet on and threw the cool water upon her face. Scully dried of with a nearby towel and ran her fingers through her hair. Numerous strands fell out. Scully also noticed that the dress was large on her though it had been in her size. She stood there for a while, staring at her reflection, wondering how her life came to this.

It was not her fault. She knew that. It was her past that was haunting her but it was not her fault. Eddie was crazy. His infatuation with her scared her more than any of her previous encounters. He knew her. It was different.

She knew that Edward was waiting outside and she prepared herself for what was to come.