Slowly Mulder opened his eyes. His head was swimming and he felt very groggy. He blink a couple of times to clear his burred vision before taking in his surroundings. It was dark but he still had a pretty good idea where he was. He was in his own apartment, in his bedroom lying, fully clothed, on the bed.

He sat up slowly, his head throbbing like crazy. He felt like he'd just been on the world's biggest bender and was now going to suffer with one bitch of a hangover. Maybe that was all the previous days events had been, a concoction of his own mind, fueled by alcohol. Rubbing stiff neck to try and ease the tension his fingers ran across something.

A small puncture wound. So it hadn't been a dream. Turning his head, he focused on the red LCD display of his clock radio. It read 1:23 am. Suddenly a thought hit him which brought him rapidly to his feet. He dashed out of his bedroom, throwing on his shoes and grabbing his coat and keys on the way, before exiting his apartment.

There was something he had to check, and there was no way he was going to leave it till morning.

Pulling up in front of the apartment block he killed the engine and unbuckled his seat belt. But he stayed seated in the car. Was he prepared for this? For each possibility that could arise?

He wasn't sure, and suddenly a pang of apprehension hit him, but something inside him spurned him on and forced him out of the car and up the steps leading into the apartment building. His head swam with thoughts as he rode the elevator up to the floor. The doors pinged quietly as they opened, revealing a corridor lain out expectantly before him. He walked slowly along the corridor, only half aware of the elevator doors closing again.

He stopped when he reached the door and stared at it for a few moments before raising a hand and knocking softly on it. Nothing. He held his breath, waited a few more beats before knocking again. This time, he heard movement behind the door, and his breath caught sharply in his throat as he heard the lock being undone and the chain being pulled back. An eternity seemed to pass before he saw the handle of the door turn and the door swing open to reveal who was standing behind it.

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I know it's short again, but we're coming to the end of the story and I want to keep the suspense built up teehee. Thanks for all your reviews so far, but just because it's nearly over doesn't mean you can stop with the reviews lol.

Lily-Starbuck