War of Smoke

by MrsSpookyLiz

The Cigarette smoking man is out to get Mulder and Scully, and won't stop at anything this time. Mulder is accused of murder and is arrested, and it doesnt stop there. Can the agents prove that he's a traitor? MSR shipper moments and action! COMPLETE.

5. Five

Part 12

Scully stood by the kitchen counter and held the phone to her ear. She didn't know what to say. It had been so long since she'd talked to her. She suddenly forced herself to speak.

'Mom?' She said quietly.

There was a long silence on the other end.

'Yes Dana is that you?' She said slowly. Scully felt emotion flow out of her.

'Yes, Mom it's me.. how are you?' She gushed. She let out a sob.

'Dana? Dana darling what's wrong!' Mrs Scully said. Scully closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

'I've been so busy. So much has happened. Mulder was in trouble and everything seems to be going wrong.' She said and lowered herself down into a chair and put a hand to her head. She felt tears run down her face.

'What's gone wrong? Calm down Dana please..'

'He's really ill. I can't do this anymore I can't stand it..' Scully said between sobs.

She sighed as she heard her mother's sympathetic words and worried voice. She took a deep breath and told her what had happened, starting from the beginning.

A week passed, and Mulder recovered quite quickly. He began talking and asking for Scully after the third day and she had come to see him with baseball videos and some files on the new case. They would spend about an hour a day together, talking about the case and discussing what they were going to do when he got out. He was very weak, so the conversations didn't last very long, but Scully stayed by his bedside as he had asked her to.

'Hey Mulder.' Scully had said in her usual cheery way one afternoon. She smiled and sat down next to him. Mulder turned to look at her and she held his hand. 'How are you feeling today?'

'A bit better I suppose.' He said with a small smile. Scully ran a hand through his hair gently as his bandage was now off. 'Hey, you're messing up my hairdo.' Mulder said. Scully backed off in mock offence.

'Well, I'm sorry.'

'You should be.' He said jokingly. Scully sighed.

'I've got some new news on the case.'

'Tell me.' He said, sounding like an eager game show player.

'Well, the other murder is so alike that it even has the same incisions on it and it's so accurate that it's almost unbelievable.' She said, serious now. Mulder frowned.

'Really?' He said. 'Well that means that it definitely is the same thing.'

'Thing Mulder?' She asked suspiciously.

'Well come on Scully you don't think that the killer is a human do you?'

'Well.. what would it be?'

'Something else, a human who is not a human.. if you know what I mean.' He said. Scully sighed.

'I'm going back to work.' She said. Mulder frowned.

'You just got here!'

'Well, I have a lot to do. And cancer man to kill.' She said with hate. Mulder sighed.

'I can't believe he's there.'

'I know, and I'm going to make sure that he gets what he deserves Mulder. I promise.'

'I know you will.' He said. Scully looked at him and saw that his cuts were healing.

'How's the big cut?' She said looking at his chest.

'It's all right. Still sore but I think I'm getting better.' He said lightly. Scully smiled and squeezed his hand.

'You look better.' She said softly. Mulder sighed.

'Good. The doctor said I could go home in a few days.' He said weakly.

'He did?' Scully said with surprise. She wasn't sure he was ready. Scully noticed that his eyes were closing.

'Are you going to sleep again?' She said softly. Mulder didn't answer. Scully sighed. She was used to this, he often went to sleep quickly. She knew that it was his body switching off and making him rest, but she still felt nervous when it happened. She was scared he wouldn't wake up again. She saw his eyes close and his grip on her hand loosen. Scully kissed his hand and then put it down next to him.

'Sweet dreams.' She whispered, then stayed with him for a few minutes then went back to work.

It was two days later when she'd heard the news. She sighed as she sat at her desk and couldn't believe what she had just heard. She was so furious and confused. She had no idea how to tell Mulder what had happened.

Before lunch, Scully had been told to go to Skinner's office. She had gone and he had told her to sit down and get ready for some bad news. Scully had been completely terrified of course, and everything had been running through her head about what could go wrong. She wasn't prepared for what he told her.

'The smoking man has gone.' Skinner said simply with a very grim face. Scully spluttered in shock.

'I.. I don't..' She said. Skinner shook his head.

'He's escaped.' He said. 'Or, he's been let out.'

'But no one seems to give a damn around here.' He shouted. Trying to calm himself he went to his desk and sat down. Scully was fuming.

'What do you mean no one gives a damn! HOW CAN THEY NOT GIVE A DAMN!'

'SCULLY! I KNOW THAT THIS IS AWFUL BUT THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT!' Skinner said. Scully rose from her seat.

'HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?' She screamed. Skinner sighed and held his head in his hands. 'MULDER'S IN CRITICAL CONDITION RIGHT NOW AND I HAVE NOTHING GOOD TO TELL HIM ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED! HOW COULD HE HAVE ESCAPED!' She shouted. Suddenly she found herself falling back in to her chair again in dismay. She leant over and held her hand in her hands and shook with rage. 'God.' She whispered. 'How.. how could this happen.'

'I don't know. I'm sorry Scully. But I can't do anything about it. I've gone everywhere asking for help but no one seems to care!'

'But.. but they must care! God, everyone must be working for him. He must have them round his god damn fingers.'

'Possibly.' Skinner said. 'But I can't exactly go and accuse the FBI.'

'WHY NOT!' Scully shouted in disbelief. 'THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO US! THEY'RE PUSHING MULDER AND ME AWAY!'

'Scully, you don't know what you're saying..' Skinner said nervously. Scully shook her head.

'No. I WON'T HAVE THIS ANYMORE! I'm sick of it. I can't.. I can't stay here. I have to go.. now.' She said feeling tears fill her eyes.

'Well don't you want to talk about it!' Skinner said angrily. Scully got up and walked towards the door. 'SCULLY?' He shouted. Scully turned sharply and faced Skinner.

'NO! WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT! If you're not going to do anything then I'm going to have to leave now Sir!' She said in a fury and swung the door open and stormed out. She ran to the elevator and pressed the button. Someone brushed past her and said hello but she turned away. People started looking at her suspiciously.

'What are you looking at?' She said. The agents went away and laughed. Scully was fuming.

As the lift opened she went in and pressed her button. She felt the doors close and as they did she let out a huge scream.

Scully held her head in her hands and felt like she was going to cry again. 'No, not again.' She said to herself angrily. She had been crying too much for too long.

As the lift went down she brushed the tears away and took a deep breath. She was shaking uncontrollably and felt like such a failure. She had no idea how to tell Mulder. It had seemed all right when they had found him and now he was gone. Scully's thoughts went back to when she forgot to tell Mulder to go to work. She felt so guilty for the whole thing. Her tears begged her to let them free but she wouldn't let them. She tried hard not to think about it. Her body was shaking more and more. Scully couldn't believe how emotional she had gotten in the past few weeks, Mulder had such a huge effect on her. The lift doors opened and she rushed out keeping her head low. Suddenly someone grabbed her wrist. Scully cried out and swung round in fright and saw a tall man's body near her in a dark suit. She tried to hit them off her.

'Scully!' The man said. Scully struggled to get out of his grasp. 'Scully! Hey!' The man said. His voice sounded familiar, but she didn't let it stop her. She hit the man on his shoulder and he winced out in pain. 'Come on Scully!' The man said in a voice mixed with surprise and concern. Scully kept her head low and suddenly stopped still. Her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't believe it. She looked to her wrist and saw a familiar hand around it and she looked at the man's shoes. Yes, she knew them. She looked at his suit and recognised the build of the man. She slowly raised her head saw the man's face. She was looking right into Mulder's eyes.

Scully took a step back and put a hand over her mouth shock. She felt the tears threaten to fall. Mulder looked at her with a worried expression. He pulled her towards him and put his arms around her. Scully closed her eyes and kept still in shock.

'Scully?' He said softly. He reached up and stroked her hair and kissed it. 'Scully? It's ok. What's wrong? I'm sorry I've surprised you like this but.. I didn't think that it would upset you this much..' He said. Scully loosened up and let her body mould into his. Mulder pulled her to him tighter.

'Mulder..' She whispered.

'Yes?' He said quietly. Scully let herself laugh in happiness at his return.

'Why.. why are you here? I didn't think that you'd be coming back so soon. I'm.. I'm sorry I hit you didn't I! Oh god Mulder your arm!' She said, her voice rising with worry. Mulder shook his head.

'It's ok.' Mulder felt her body shake. 'What's wrong Scully?' He asked concerned. 'You're shaking.'

'I.. I'm.. I don't know..' She said with effort. Mulder nodded and kissed her hair again.

'It's ok.. its all right.' He said soothingly. Scully sighed and finally managed to pull herself away from him. Mulder reached up and brushed a tear away from her face.

'You're back?' She gushed and stroked his face. Mulder nodded and gave her a little smile.

'Yes.'

'Are you sure that you should be?' She said starting to worry. Mulder rolled his eyes. 'I mean, are you all right?'

'Scully please do you think they'd let me out of the hospital if they weren't sure?' He said reassuringly. Scully sighed.

'I can't believe you're here. You couldn't have picked a worse time.' She said sadly and looked down trying to hide her tears.

'Why?' He said suddenly concerned. Scully shook her head. Mulder lifted it up in his hand. 'Why are you crying?'

'Skinner just told me that .. the smoking man.. he's gone.' She said. Mulder froze.

'What?'

Scully shook her head. Tears caught in her throat and she couldn't stop them. 'I'm sorry Mulder, I tried! I knew he was under surveillance he might have escaped or.. someone might have let him go. We don't know.' She said. Mulder was furious, but he held Scully.

'Scully it's not your fault.' He said, his voice wavering with anger. Scully sighed.

'I'm so angry Mulder. That's why I was so upset just then.' She said. Mulder pulled her close.

'Don't worry Scully, we'll find him.' He said. Scully pulled away and held his hand. Mulder looked down sadly. He took one look at Scully then made his way towards the elevator. Scully looked after him with worry.

'Mulder! Where are you going?' She said. Mulder pressed the lift button.

'I'm going to sort something out. I'll be back.' He said angrily. She watched him walk in and leant against the wall with dismay.

'Be careful Mulder.' She said softly as the door closed.

Scully waited in their office and sat at the desk. She was skimming through some paperwork about the case they were on. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Mulder had been gone for a while now. She opened the desk drawer and found a small key chain that he had given to her a few years ago. It was a key chain of Apollo 11. She smiled a little and then put it back in the drawer.

Scully got up from the desk and walked over to the filing cabinet. The phone started ringing. She sighed and walked towards it.

'Scully.' She said. There was a silence. Scully frowned and shifted on her feet impatiently. 'Hello?'

'Hello again.' The voice said. Scully's eyes opened wide with fear. It was the same slimy man as before. She gripped the phone tight.

'Look, if you don't leave me alone I'll have to tell the..'

'Are you going to meet me tonight or not?' The man said. Scully sighed.

'No.' She said.

'Well, I really didn't know you were so difficult Dana.'

'How the hell did you get this number?' She said nervously. The line crackled.

'From a friend.' He said. 'Really, I can see you again.'

'Well, that's just great.' Scully said trying to hide her fear. 'Now will you leave me alone?'

'I see that Mulder's back. I know he wants the files back doesn't he.'

'Just.. just leave us alone!' She shouted and slammed down the phone.

She stood there staring at it for a moment. Scully looked around the room frantically for any cameras or anything suspicious. She looked at the windows, the doors and the walls but found nothing. She shivered with fear and nearly screamed as Mulder pounded into the room.

'Mulder!' She exclaimed. Mulder looked at her with surprise.

'Hi.' He said simply. Scully took a deep breath and sat down at the desk. Mulder smiled a little in confusion. 'Are you ok?'

'Fine, fine.' She said quickly. Scully forced herself to smile. Mulder came towards her and sat on the other chair by the desk.

'Ok. Well, there's nothing that they can do.' He said. Scully sighed.

'What did you say to them?'

'You don't want to know.' Mulder said grimly. Scully raised her eyebrows and nodded. Mulder sighed.

'I just wish I could remember what that son of a bitch showed me.' He said rubbing his eyes. Scully looked at him with concern.

'Are you ok Mulder?' She said gently. Mulder looked at her.

'I'm just tired Scully don't worry.' He said casually. Scully looked at her watch.

'Well its 4pm now and I think it would be ok if you went home.' She said. Mulder looked at her in protest. 'Don't look at me like that Mulder, this is your first day at work and you need to rest. This hasn't been the most calm day ever either has it.' Mulder shrugged.

'Well as long as you go home too Scully.' He said.

'Why?'

'Because you've been stressed out too and I think you need to get some rest. You look awful like you've seen a ghost or something.' He said. Scully's heart skipped and she blushed. Mulder looked at her with suspicion. 'Scully, is there something you're not telling me?'

Scully sighed, he knew her too well.

'No Mulder, nothing.' She said with a forced smile. She got up and went over to get her coat. She turned around and saw Mulder coming towards her. He put a friendly arm around her.

'You sure?' He said with concern. Scully nodded.

'I'm so glad you're ok Mulder.' She said quietly. Mulder looked at her. She took his face in her hands, leant forward and kissed his forehead. Mulder smiled.

'Me too.' He said. Scully pulled him out of the office by his arm. They walked towards the elevator together and pressed the button. Mulder was still looking at her. Scully frowned.

'Quit looking at me Mulder.'

'Sorry.' He said. The elevator was coming down. Suddenly there was a crash from behind them. Scully shouted out and turned around to look what it was in fright.

'Oh god!' She exclaimed. She looked down the corridor and saw nothing except a fallen box. She studied the area, how did it fall? Who or what had pushed it over? She stared at it open eyed. She gasped as she felt Mulder take her arms.

'Hey.. Scully?' He said with concern. Scully stared down the corridor. 'Scully?' He said again, this time it was louder. Scully turned to face him, her lip trembled with fear. Mulder frowned with concern. 'Scully what's wrong, it's only a fallen box.'

Scully shook her head and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and felt faint. 'Woah!' Mulder said as she fell sideways. He grabbed her and steadied her. Scully fell into him and he held her close, trying to keep her as still as possible.

'Oh god Mulder.. what happened?' She said quietly in almost a whisper into his shoulder.

'Nothing, nothing happened.' He said softly. Mulder looked back to the corridor to see if she had seen anything that would scare her but saw nothing. 'Are you sure you're ok? May be I should take you home.' He said.

'No.. no it's all right I'm just.. a bit jumpy..' She said weakly. Mulder let her go and held her in front of him. He looked into her eyes with concern.

'Do you want to go see a doctor?' He said softly. Scully squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head as if he was irritating her.

'No, no.' She said. Mulder stroked her hair and held her still. She slowly opened her eyes. 'I.. I'm ok now.'

'Ok.' He said. The elevator door opened and he led her inside. Mulder felt unsure and worried about his friend. 'I'm going to drive you home ok?' He said firmly. Scully started to protest but then she gave up and sighed. She took a step back slowly and held Mulder's hands.

'Thanks.' She said quietly. Mulder nodded.

'That's ok.' He said with a small smile.

He felt a lot better now she'd agreed.

The smoking man looked down his noise to a feeble looking man.

'She wants to see me tomorrow Sir.' The man said. The smoking man nodded in approval.

'Good.' He said.

'Are you sure that they won't find you here?' One of his men said. They looked around with nervous expressions.

'Of course.' The smoking man said calmly. 'Does she believe you do Mr Parenski?' He asked taking a puff from his cigarette. The man nodded furiously.

'Of course they do. I'm not going to let you down now am I.' Mr Parenski said. The smoking man smiled a little. The man was a lot fiercer than he had seemed with Scully. He was obviously a good actor.

'I am not saying your skills are bad my friend, but I just want to make sure that they believe you that is all.'

'Who said I was your friend. I'm here because I hate those two agents more than anything. I don't work for you.' Mr Parenski said angrily.

'Really. Well we'll see about that won't we?' The smoking man said with a fierce look. 'I don't fool around. I have certain rules.'

'Well so do I. They are ruining my work within the government. I made you that spaceship for Mulder to see Sir, I think I require a bit of praise.'

'Yes, you do. I know you do.' The smoking man said slowly. His voice was very patronising.

'Well, I don't expect to be told what to do. I'm giving you help anyway because I'm the only one here who can hold a character..' He said with a laugh. The others looked at him but didn't laugh back. The smoking man studied the man carefully.

'Don't worry Mr Parenski, you'll get your reward.' He said nodding.

'By the way don't call me that while I'm here that's not my name.'

'I'm sorry.' The smoking man said with a smirk. He took another puff from his cigarette then threw it down to the floor. 'We're going to get those two agents if I have to sacrifice everything I have. Mulder will soon be telling everyone that he's seen a spaceship, little does he know that it's a fake.'

'I'm going to get something to eat.' said Mr Parenski and stormed out of the room. The smoking man looked around to his men and smiled wickedly.

'Don't worry everyone. He'll be gone as soon as we have a chance to dispose him.'

Mulder drove on and tried to keep the topic of conversation merry. He could see Scully out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was worried about something; he just wished that she would tell him. She didn't usually jump in fright at a fallen box. No one usually screamed at that unless they were already on the edge. He looked at her again and saw that she was fiddling with her jacket. Mulder sighed and watched as she nervously fiddled with her buttons, did one up then undid it again. He felt worry wash over him as he saw that her hands were shaking.

'Hey Scully you know that baseball game you recorded for me? The second one? Man there was a lot of funny things going on there!' He said with a smile. Scully smiled a little and put a hand to her head. Mulder frowned with concern.

'Like what?' She said.

'Well the ball went over the side of the stadium, which was funny.' He said with joyful remembrance. Scully sighed and smiled.

'Really?'

'Well no, but I got a smile back on your face.' He said. Scully frowned at him.

'There's nothing wrong with me Mulder.' She said firmly. Mulder raised his eyebrows and turned the steering wheel left.

'I don't believe you. You haven't talked all the way home.' He said slowly and shifted the car into third gear.

'Am I not allowed to be silent?' She said quietly, then turned towards the window and looked out. Mulder sighed and shook his head in dismay. He gave up and carried on driving.

They reached Scully apartment block and Mulder pulled up by the road. He clicked his seatbelt out of the holder and Scully did the same. She turned to look at him.

'You're coming up?' She said in surprise. Mulder nodded.

'Uh huh.' He mumbled. Scully frowned.

'Why?' Mulder put a thoughtful expression on his face.

'Well Scully, I think you're quite hot and I want to make a move tonight. How about it?' He said smiling. Scully rolled her eyes.

'Very funny!' She said with a smile. Mulder pointed at her smile and opened his eyes wide, accusingly.

'You're SMILING!' He said enthusiastically. 'I made her smile ladies and gentlemen.'

'Mulder please, I really don't need you to come up with me.' Scully said, not impressed with his joke. Mulder looked at her forcefully and took her hand, to his surprise she snatched it back. 'I don't need you Mulder!' She shouted then got out the car quickly. She slammed the door. Mulder couldn't believe it and got out the car as fast as he could, slamming the door. He got out onto the street and felt the cold air blow past his ears.

'Scully!' He shouted in protest. 'Scully what the hell is wrong with you!' He exclaimed.

Scully was unlocking the door of the building in a hurry. Mulder ran towards her then stopped as she opened the door and went inside. He stood watching the door close in sadness. Mulder looked around the street and saw that some people were looking at him. He sighed and started to walk towards the car door. He opened it and got inside. Fastening his seatbelt he ran situations through his mind that could explain how Scully was behaving, but he couldn't find any that were likely. He sat in the car and stared at the door for a moment. May be she was still upset about what happened to him and couldn't take having him back? He knew he was being stupid. That wasn't like Scully, but then she was blocking him out a lot. It was his first day back for god's sake! What was her problem?

Mulder felt angry as he put the keys into the ignition and pushed the handbrake down with force. He felt angry and upset but worried too. He just wished she would tell him what was wrong. Mulder turned the car out of the parking space and turned it into the road.

As he reached his home he searched his mind for more answers, and tried desperately to remember what the smoking man had shown him. He found that his head was beginning to ache and smiled a little when he remembered that Scully had told him to go home and that again; she was right. Mulder sighed and got out of his car. He made his way into the building and to the elevator. Mulder tried to think.. he remembered a large warehouse and the pain that he had felt.

He shook his head and pushed that part out of his mind. He ran through the memories.

There was a large warehouse, big doors, metal doors.

The elevator doors opened and he walked out towards his door.

There had been large metal doors, and they had opened. He remembered that someone had hit him, the smoking man had been there and he had been talking to him as the doors opened. Something had been in there, something very important. Mulder was about to put the key into his lock when his brain finally clicked into gear. He remembered suddenly.

'A spaceship..' He said in a whisper.

The memory almost made him shout out in shock. He took a step back from his door, an amazed look on his face.

Part 13

The next day back the FBI building Mulder got there slightly late as usually, but was there before Scully. He was surprised at this because she was normally there before him and it was even stranger that she wasn't there because he was late. He frowned as he saw something glinting on the desk. Mulder went towards it and picked it up. It was a small metal object, a key chain. Mulder had given it to Scully. He looked at it with confusion, something was definitely wrong. Why would this be on the desk. Mulder turned as Scully walked into the office. He faced her with a friendly smile, but she didn't give one back. Mulder saw that she looked embarrassed.

'Hi Mulder. We need to be ready for an interview with Mr Parenski in half an hour.' She said breathlessly. She put her briefcase down on the desk. Mulder glared at her. She turned slowly to face him as she felt his eyes on her back and Mulder saw that she looked terrified. There was an awkward silence.

'Did you organise that meeting yesterday?' He said. He threw the keychain in the air and caught it again. Scully took a nervous breath.

'Yes, when you weren't here have you got a problem with that?' She said accusingly. Mulder opened his arms and shrugged.

'Of course I don't.' He said in defence. Scully nodded.

'Good. Well I'm going to go and get a cup of coffee.' She said quickly as if trying to get out of the room as soon as possible and walked away briskly. Mulder leant on the desk.

'Aren't you going to offer to get me one Scully?' He said. Scully stopped suddenly. 'I'd like my usual please.'

'Fine.' She said, then left the room. Mulder threw the keychain up again and shook his head in disbelief. He let out a long breath letting his frustration leave his body. She wasn't herself, and he wanted to know why. It was starting to piss him off. He sat down at the desk and put the keychain away in the desk.

After a few minutes she came back with two cups of coffee. Mulder looked up and acknowledged her with a low grunt then went back to the papers he was looking through. Scully put a cup on his desk without a word and then went over to the filing cabinet. With her back to Mulder, he raised his head to watch her.

'What are you doing Scully?' He asked casually.

'Looking through this cabinet.' She said irritably. Mulder noticed that she was doing it very fast as if she was being forced. Mulder frowned with suspicion.

'Why?' He said. Scully stopped suddenly and looked at the wall still with her back to him.

'I'm just looking through.' She said.

'Yeah I was thinking before, I remembered a lot of things last night including the fact that we got three files stolen from us.' Mulder said and studied Scully's reaction. She was completely still.

'You.. you did?' She said quietly. Mulder frowned with concern.

'Scully.. what's wrong.' He asked desperately.

'Nothing!' She shouted. Mulder flinched at her outburst.

'Ok.' He said and looked away from her. She turned round and faced him.

'I'm sorry Mulder I.. I..' She said with difficulty. Mulder waited for her to speak, but she didn't. Mulder felt frustration boil in his blood.

'Well, are you going to tell me.. OR NOT!' He shouted. He didn't want to but it was getting too much. He forced himself to look at Scully who looked desperately upset. He forced his feelings of concern to go away. 'How the hell can you expect me to trust you when you're acting this way Scully!' He shouted. Scully felt tears sting her eyes. How could she tell him?

'Mulder, please you know you can trust me..' She started.

'THEN TELL ME!' He shouted interrupting her. The two stared at each other with desperate expressions. Mulder was fuming. Scully opened her mouth to speak but was stopped as Mr Parenski walked into the room.

With the arrival of an outsider their attitudes completely dissolved. Scully let her body loosen and she sighed. Mulder shook his head and then made himself smile courteously towards Mr Parenski. The atmosphere was so tense it could have been broken with a pick axe.

Mr Parenski looked at them with a confused expression.

'I erm.. I can come back in a minute if you want?' He said looking very embarrassed.

Mulder sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Mr Parenski was talking about the death of his girlfriend again and he was crying. Mulder couldn't stand all this kind of mood, Scully want listening but he could see that her mind was flying backwards and forwards. She wasn't listening with complete interest. Mulder knew exactly why.

He leant back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk. Scully flew a furious look at him and he sighed in annoyance and put his feet back on the floor. Mr Parenski seemed to lose his sadness at this suddenly. Scully turned back to him and he started to cry again, almost on autopilot. Mulder frowned with suspicion and stared at the man as he spoke and started to question how long the interview was going to go on for. He was interested but he didn't like sitting around and doing nothing about it. He liked proper investigations. Besides, he wasn't really happy with the way that Scully and him were getting on which didn't help his enthusiasm in the workplace. Mulder sighed and to Scully's horror he reached out his arms and stretched as if just waking up. Scully frowned with embarrassment and said sorry to Mr Parenski, though he didn't seem to mind at all. Mulder almost laughed.

An hour later Mr Parenski left the office and Scully went after him. Mulder made no effort to move. He opened the desk drawer again and took out the keychain. He started to swing it around his finger.

When Scully came back into the room she looked incredibly annoyed and Mulder got ready for the battle. But there was no shouting, and she sat down on the other side of the room and got out the book of notes she had taken during the interview. She sat with her side to Mulder and didn't look at him at all. Mulder continued to swing the keychain round his finger and looked at Scully. He suddenly felt so stupid and horrible. Mulder stopped swinging it and put it down on the desk slowly. He stared at it and remembered what Scully had said when he'd given it to her. A sudden feeling of guilt filled his stomach.

'It means partnership.' She'd said that evening. Mulder had remembered his lame answer, 'I just thought it was a cool keychain.'

He looked up at Scully and watched her work. She was fast and seemed to be hitting the paper with her pen rather than writing. Mulder sighed.

'Scully?' He said quietly. She ignored him. Mulder sighed again and got up from his seat. He walked to the other side of the desk and sat on it. She was closer now. Scully carried on working. 'What are you doing?' He asked. Scully almost shook with rage.

'I'm working on the interview Mulder which you should be too.' She said, her voice full of emotion. She didn't look up.

'Right.' He said firmly and put his arms around himself, as if it was comforting. 'Scully.. I'm sorry I was an asshole..'

Mulder trailed off hopelessly. Scully didn't move again and carried on working. He felt like going over to her and taking her into his arms, but he couldn't. Scully ran a hand through her hair and Mulder suddenly felt hopeful when she seemed to stop working. She put her hands down on the table and sighed. Mulder waited for her to turn round, but she didn't.

'You're probably wondering what the keychain was doing on the desk this morning.' She said quietly. Mulder was surprised at this comment, 'Well.. yes.' He said. There was another silence.

'I came in early and took it out. I looked at it for a while.'

Mulder opened his mouth to tell her that he had thought that she was late but he stopped.

'Why?' He said quietly. Scully faced the wall and suddenly leant over as if she was ill. Mulder slid off the desk and looked at her with concern. She held her head in her hands.

'I wanted to think about what our partnership meant and I felt so awful for not telling you, but I didn't want to lose you again.' She said, her voice wavering. He frowned with confusion.

'What do you mean Scully? You don't want to lose me again?'

Scully let out a sob. 'I know something about the files, but I don't want to tell you because I'm afraid that I'll lose you again.' Mulder was by her side now, and he rested a hand on her shoulder. He slowly knelt down next to her.

'Scully, come on what is it?' He said softly. She took her hands away from her face and looked at him. Her eyes welled with tears.

'Mulder.. I'm sorry.' She said weakly. Mulder saw her distress and pulled her into a hug. Scully gasped at the contact and buried her head into his chest.

'It's ok, I'm sorry too.' He said softly and felt his own tears verging to fall. He held her tight. 'Tell me Scully.'

'I.. I received a phone call, from this man and he said that.. he said that he had the files and that I should meet him but I didn't want to. I thought it was too risky. He said that he'd give the files back if I met him.' She mumbled into his chest between sobs.

'Scully, I really need those files.' He said sadly. Scully nodded.

'I know but Mulder.. he spoke to me like he wanted to.. you know..' She said and felt her cheeks redden.

'What Scully?'

'He was really flirtatious but in a horrible way. He really scared me Mulder.' She said. Mulder felt anger boil in his blood.

'Did he threaten you or anything?' He said. Scully shook her head.

'Not really, but he said that he could see me and that he was watching me. He was Mulder, I turned the light on in here and he knew that I had. Jesus Mulder I was terrified.' She said. Mulder took a deep breath and realised that she had a point.

'Ok, I suppose you were right.' He said slowly. 'I'm going to have to kick his ass.'

'God Mulder I'm so sorry. I'm asking you, please don't go after him.' She said desperately.

'I have to get the files back Scully. He's got the one about Samantha.' He said. Scully pushed herself away from his embrace.

'Please!' She begged. Mulder shook his head.

'I'll be all right.' He said. Scully shook her head desperately and put a hand on his face.

'No please Mulder, you don't know where he is or anything!'

'We'll wait for his next phone call.' He said softly. Scully stared into his eyes and Mulder kept his gaze firm and hopeful. She felt the tears run down her face and she took deep breaths. Slowly she began to calm down. She lowered her head and sighed.

'Just be careful.' She said desperately. Mulder nodded. She bit her lower lip and brushed her tears away.

'Is that why you were so upset yesterday?' He said gently. Scully nodded.

'I didn't want to tell you. When I got scared in the corridor, he'd just called me.' Mulder looked at her with concern.

'Scully why didn't you tell me you were upset?'

'Because I knew you'd do this.' She said slowly with a small smile. Mulder sighed.

'Scully, I remembered what the smoking man showed me.' Scully's eyes opened wide with interest.

'What was it Mulder?' She said eagerly. Mulder looked at her seriously.

'It was a UFO.' He said. Scully looked at him as if he was mad. She laughed in disbelief.

'Mulder.. come on..' She started.

'I swear to you Scully.' He said seriously. Scully frowned and looked at him as if searching his face. She shook her head in surprise and shrugged.

'I guess I'm going to have to go along with it but I have to say Mulder, I don't believe it.' She said. Mulder shrugged.

'It doesn't matter.' He said. Scully sighed.

'Well, at least you're getting better.' She said and felt tears sting her eyes again. Mulder nodded.

Scully managed a small laugh.

'You're so annoying making me cry all the time. I must have filled the ocean by now.' She said and gently hit him on the arm. Mulder looked up at her lovingly. Overcome with emotion, Scully pulled him towards her again and they held each other for a while.

The phone rang.

Part 14

It was a Saturday and she was tired from the week. Mulder had answered the phone call yesterday and it had been him, the flirtatious man and he had talked to him about meeting him. Scully knew there was nothing she could do to stop him so she decided to do something to occupy her time that Saturday to help her not to worry about Mulder. She shook the feelings away and told herself that she knew he would be fine.

Scully picked up her phone and decided to phone her mother. She dialled the number then stopped as she heard a noise at her window. Scully moved over to it with uncertainty and caution. The noise happened again. It sounded like the window was being tapped. She froze and went to grab her gun. She cringed when she realised she was still in her pyjamas. Scully clicked her gun into place and got ready to open the curtain, her heart beating fast. She moved her hand towards the curtain and took it in her hand. She pulled the curtain back a small way and jumped as the tapping was now banging. Scully froze in fright. She moved her hand again and tried to pull back the curtain. She took a deep breath and with one large movement she swung the curtain along the rail. Scully shouted out and spun round aiming her gun at the window. She stared and took deep breaths. There was no one there. Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. She spun round. Taking a feeble look at the window and then the door she lowered her gun. Scully closed the curtain again and started to walk towards the door. Her steps were cautious and slow. She bent her arms and raised her gun to her upper body.

'Who's there?' She shouted. There was a silence.

'Mr Parenski.'

Scully paused and thought about what to do. She frowned.

'What do you want?' She asked. Another silence.

'I just would like to talk to you. Would that be all right?' He said hesitatingly. Scully sighed, poor man she thought. She was probably sounding ridiculous and threatening. She made her way to the door but kept her gun at the ready.

'Mr Parenski I'm going to open the door on the safety latch.' She said, reaching up putting the door on the safety lock. She unlocked the door and held the handle then slowly turned it and opened the door. A small beam of morning sunlight shone through the gap between the door and the corridor. Scully turned and looked through the gap at Mr Parenski. He looked at her with a look of surprise.

'Why are you being so careful?' He said nervously. Scully gave him a reassuring look.

'It's all right I just heard something a minute ago. I'm just making sure.' She said. Mr Parenski nodded and looked at her expectantly. Scully was caught off guard.

'I'm sorry, what would you like to talk about?' She said. Mr Parenski looked at the door with wide eyes.

'We're going to talk like this?' He said. Scully sighed.

'I'm sorry.' She said and closed the door again. She reached for the safety chain and took it off. She took hold of the door handle again and put her gun on the table next to her.

But it was too late. Mr Parenski took a step back and ran into the door causing it to crash open with great force.

Scully was thrown to the floor violently from the force of the door. She cried out as her body hit the floor and a sharp pain run up through her leg to her side. She reacted quickly and managed to pull herself up and grab her gun. She spun round madly but as she looked she saw Mr Parenski towering over her with one of plates she had got out for her breakfast. Scully screamed as it came plummeting towards her head but dodged out of the way quickly and Mr Parenski dropped it on the floor with frustration. Scully aimed her gun at his head and felt fear pump in her veins. She couldn't believe it.

'WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!' She screamed. Mr Parenski was panting. He looked at her with a completely different stare than before as if there was a different person inside his body who had removed his soul and replaced it with his own.

'I have to take you away to him bitch.' He said through gritted teeth. Scully held her gun firmly.

'WHO!' She shouted. Mr Parenski glared at her.

'Who do you think?' He said.

'The smoking man?' She asked. Mr Parenski laughed madly. 'Is this what this is all about?'

'Of course it is.' He said. Scully stared at him with fear and anger. She felt her heart pump loudly in her chest.

'So the case wasn't real?' She shouted the man shrugged.

'I'm just one amazing actor.' He said with a laugh.

'WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR NAME THEN?' She shouted. The man smiled madly.

'Bruce.' He shouted back. Scully's breathing was heavy and nervous. She tried to clear her head. Bruce took a step forward and reached down to his shoes. She saw him reach into his sock.

'STAY STILL!' She shouted.

He didn't listen. Scully started to shake nervously. 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING!'

To her horror, Scully saw him bring out a tiny hand gun. She took a deep breath. That's where Mulder kept his spare one. 'Put that down.' She said nervously. Bruce smiled madly. 'I WILL BE FORCED TO SHOOT YOU IF YOU DON'T PUT THAT.. HEY!'

There was a shot.

Scully screamed and fell to the floor, her body hitting a small coffee table. The table groaned as it toppled over and large glass bowl which had been standing on it crashed down near Scully's head.

Bruce laughed madly. He had shot her in the foot.

Blood poured from her foot in a great amount. Scully cried out in pain and struggled for her own gun which she had foolishly dropped with fright. She saw Bruce move towards her and tower over her. She screamed out and tried to kick him with her good foot as he stood in front of her. But he grabbed her foot and held it tight. Scully felt tears sting her eyes from the pain.

'PLEASE! Leave me alone!' She screamed.

Bruce laughed and took out a piece of material. Scully struggled under his grip. 'NO!' She shouted and she thrashed around as he tried to gag her. She struggled furiously but he was too strong for her. She was well trained and could make a man of seven foot fall to his knees, but no matter how hard she tried Scully knew that she wouldn't win with a shot foot and the disadvantage of no gun and being on the floor. She nearly kicked herself for losing the gun and started to feel weaker and weaker as the blood went out of her system.

'LET ME GO!' She screamed and at that moment he pulled her head back by her hair and tied the gag in her mouth making her teeth ache. He grabbed her hands and tied them up with rope. Scully cried out under it but it was only a muffled sound. She struggled as best she could to try and get free, she was so desperate.

'Come on now Scully, WE'RE GOING FOR A LITTLE WALK.' He said snarling and Scully screamed as Bruce picked her up and carried her towards the window. He opened it and to her horror he climbed out and took her with him. They slowly descended down the fire ladder. She could feel the cold air around her head and felt as if she was going to die and that they were going to fall. But they didn't and made it to the ground speedily. Scully thrashed and screamed hoping someone would see her but there was no one around. Bruce had picked a good place.

She cried out as she was thrown into a car boot and winced as Bruce slammed it down. She shivered with fright and started to feel faint from the pain. The car moved fast and she was flung to the back and hit the boot door. Scully cried out again and felt more and more dizzy. She felt sick and tried to grab out for something but her hands were tied too tight for her to move and she felt her hands go numb with bad circulation.

She knew that she would be all right but she also knew that she was going to faint. She couldn't believe how much blood she'd lost. Scully started to cry as she worried if she'd ever walk again.

The car speeded round a corner and she was thwacked against the side of the boot again and pain soared up her arm.

Mulder sat in his dark car that evening and stared at the empty parking lot. He pulled out another sunflower seed from his pocket and nibbled the shell off. He tasted salt in his mouth and sighed. The man wasn't here and he wondered if he should leave. He didn't see what could be stopping him as the FBI building was nearly deserted. He swallowed the seed and put his hands on the steering wheel. He wondered what Scully must be doing and realised that she was probably in bed by now if she knew what was good for her. Taking one last look around and seeing nothing Mulder decided to start the car. He wasn't going to stay any longer for someone who stood him up.

The next day Mulder woke to find the light on his answer phone display flashing. He yawned and got off the sofa slowly. He sat up and reached over to press the button. The tape whirred as it wound backwards and he rose and started to walk over to the small kitchen.

Taking a mug from the kitchen cupboard he heard the tape beep and then heard a message from the lone gunmen telling him to give them a call. Mulder smiled and started to boil the kettle. He reached over to the table to pick up the TV control. He switched onto the news channel. The tape whirred again and then Mulder looked to it in surprise as he heard Skinner's voice.

'Mulder, something's happened to Scully. I think you should get here as soon as possible. I'm at her house. I'm sorry.'

Mulder stared in shock. 'What?' He said to himself in disbelief. He felt fear and worry rise in his blood. Slowly he turned towards the TV screen and watched the horror unfold before his eyes. It was true.

There on the screen was Scully's apartment and a reporter standing in front of it.

Mulder watched with worry as the pictures showed her kitchen wrecked and dismantled. He panicked and looked around the room madly to think what he could do. He had a suddenly urge to do something. He had to help her. He wanted to see her then, at his apartment and tell him it was all a dream or a hoax, but she didn't arrive and Mulder knew deep down in his heart that she wasn't going to.

Turning back towards the TV he saw her glass bowl and coffee table broken. He shook his head with disbelief as he saw the apartment that he knew so well destroyed right before his eyes.

'The FBI agent Dana Scully is missing.' Mulder flinched as her identification photo appeared at the bottom of the screen. He ran over to the sofa and grabbed his coat. He hurried to put on his trousers and a t-shirt.

'It is predicted that she was attacked yesterday by an intruder and was taken from her house. The FBI say that it was most likely an attack that was unexpected and undesired as there are signs of violence in the home.' The reporter read. Mulder stared at the screen with disbelief and felt worry and anger rush through his blood. He was pretty sure it was the smoking man. It had to be. He prayed that she was all right.

Overcome with rage he picked up the control and with a loud shout he threw it aggressively across the room. It hit the screen loudly then bounced off.

Mulder turned and stormed towards the door in a fury, opened it, walked out swiftly and then slammed it behind him.