Catching his breath Mulder dragged himself back up to his feet "I'm ok, I'm ok." He pushed her hands away. She looked through the tank where the mermaid had been just minutes before and saw a group of people gathered at the glass. They were cheering and pulling on each other's clothes, clinking glasses, laughing and seemingly shouting. Obviously extremely excited at the show they had just witnessed. One of them banged on the glass trying to get their attention. It made no sound but when Mulder looked at him he gave him the biggest grin and two thumbs up. 'Lucky bastard,' he saw the man say. He disagreed completely with his new admirer across the glass. A few days ago when he was lying in bed with a beautiful woman, giggling over pizza and trashy novels. Nuzzling deep into the crock of her neck, his own secret spot on her that he could breathe her in completely and she would sigh and melt further into him. Then, that moment that was when he was a lucky bastard and he had walked away. His exhaustion was quickly replaced with anger. What the hell was he doing here? He went and sat on the bed, cradling his heavy head in his hands. He momentarily forgot he wasn't alone.

"What the hell was that, Fox!" Cat was yelling again. Her hands were on her hips. "What the hell just happened to you?"

He peeped through his fingers at her "I don't know. Did you see that?"

"Of course I saw that! I saw you blatantly ogling a half-naked woman without a hint of reservation. Do you know how wrong that is? God, you were practically salivating." She folded her arms in front of her.

Mulder was shaking his head "No you don't understand she was in my head." He massaged his temples "I couldn't move, I could hear her in my head. I felt like I was falling towards her." Cat defrosted a little. "Was she real?"

Cat laughed "You actually believe in mermaids, Fox."

"Ah, I'm sorry but were we looking at the same thing just then?"

"She had some little tube-y thing in her nose. She was impressive I'll give you that, very convincing but from what little I know about mermaids from fairy tales. They don't need special tube-y things in their noses to breath. Perhaps if you were looking a little higher, Fox, you too would have noticed."

He rubbed his hands over his face again "She did something too me."

Cat stepped a little closer and put her hand through his hair, petting him affectionately. When she looked up the man across the way was watching her again. Watching them, he winked at her suggestively. A disgusted sound left her throat. She gave him the middle finger and stormed towards the nearest exit. Mulder gathered himself "Dr Stevens. Cat wait for me."

They hurried through the maze to the next room. Luckily it was one of the bars. This was a more familiar setting. There were men and women at tables drinking, some were eating and a small group were dancing on the dance floor. There were extra lights coming from the surrounding tanks, flashing bright greens, reds and blues. Mulder and Cat wove their way between the tables to the bar. "Let's get a drink." Cat suggested. "I think you need it."

"Just a water, thanks." Mulder looked a little queasy as they took a seat at the bar and a waiter approached them.

"Well technically I'm off the clock so I'll have a vodka and orange please and a water for the lady." She tilted her head at Mulder, sitting slumped in the bar stool. The waiter nodded amused and poured their drinks. "I need a cigarette."

Mulder's stomach recoiled at the thought. "Tell me what you know about Mermaids."

She took a long sip on her straw. "You still believe she was real?"

"Just humour me."

She took another long drink almost finishing the glass completely. "They live under the sea in a magical land of kings and treasure, until the day they meet their handsome human prince. Grow some legs and live happily ever after." She sounded like Mary Poppins.

"So you have read some fairy tales then?"

She rolled her eyes at him and emptied her glass. "Enlighten me, Fox."

"You were partially right, although Ariel was one of the friendlier versions of the mermaid legends. Merewif actually translates to 'sea witch.' Greek mythology talks about a beautiful goddess who fell in love with a mortal man and accidently murdered him. Feeling so ashamed she turned herself into a fish and banished herself to living under the water but the ocean couldn't bare to conceal her beauty and made her half woman, half fish. Many legends associate mermaids with rough seas and storms and more relevant to us singing and whispering to sailors. Seducing them, luring them off their boats to a watery grave."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that maybe these mermaids were once human woman and now that they have been pretending to be mermaids for so long, in this isolated environment, under these extreme conditions that they have somehow managed to acquire some of their mystical abilities."

Cat sighed heavily. "I need another drink." She waved at the waiter

He took her hand and brought it back down to the bar, he kept her hand in his and she couldn't take her eyes of them. "Look I've seen this phenomenon before, hypnosis, psychokinesis in my work on the Xfiles. You asked me here because of these credentials. You wanted my paranormal opinion the least you can do is consider it with some thread of professional courtesy."

She sighed again and looked directly at him "You are right. I'm sorry. This place gives me the creeps. Its making me a little crazy."

He squeezed her hand and then released it. "What would Scully say?"

"Huh?" Cat was confused.

"Scully wouldn't have conceded so easily. She would argue that hypnosis was a learned skill unable to be performed through thick glass in such short periods of time. She would say these woman would still have normal human instincts and need the basic human essentials, food, warmth, oxygen. Oxygen!" He exclaimed. "The mermaids had some form of oxygen device in their noses right. You saw something in her nose?"

"Yes."

"Scully said our sailors died from hyper oxygenation. High levels of oxygen causes euphoria, hallucinations, seizures and eventually death but an increase in oxygen in the brain has also been known to give people exceptional hypnotic abilities. So what if these woman being exposed to high levels of oxygen so regularly for so long developed some kind of tolerance."

"And the men they dragged under the water didn't share this ability." Cat finished

"Exactly!" Mulder looked excited that she had caught on. "Over exposure to high levels of oxygen could have really done a number on these woman, maybe enough to make them believe they truly are mermaids."

Cat let the facts roll around in her head. "To prove it we would need to get to one of the mermaids and collect a sample of the tank that was contaminated with the sargassum."

"We also need to figure out how they got from inside this maze to inside that tank." Mulder added. "We need to get to Gables."

"We need to get outta here!" Cat added enthusiastically and they both climbed off their seats. They quickly realised the room had suddenly changed, everyone had stopped. Cat scanned each person in turn, no not everyone, just the men. All men were frozen eyes facing the watery walls. A bright flash caught her eye and she spun in time to see her. This one was red. Long red hair, ruby red gems painted her neck and abdomen and a long red, orange and yellow tail. "Fox" She turned to get his attention and the blue one with long blonde hair whisked behind her. There was a tan shaded one with chocolate coloured skin and long black hair and an olive skinned one with brown hair and shimmering gold and diamond tail. Cat didn't believe in mermaids she sure didn't believe these ones were real or that they had mystical mind powers but she had to admit they were incredibly impressive. They began circling the small room, disappearing only momentarily by the exit and then reappearing above them. Cat followed them with her eyes, they may have been mesmerising but seductive they were not, Cat felt like she was being circled by sharks. "Fox" she turned to her companion to find him no longer at her side. She took a quick look around the room, all of the men had moved to the glass. All had their hands braced against the cold surface and were watching the show intently. Many of them had a woman shaking their arms trying to draw their attention. She scanned the faces, anxiously looking for him. She watched the red headed mermaid decrease the pace of her long tail, slowing her down to a more gracious speed. She had locked eyes with a man who was walking drunkenly towards her. No not just another man in the club it was the one she was looking for. "Fox!" she called out to him and started towards him. "Agent Mulder!" She tried. He didn't or couldn't hear her. He was now face to face with the mermaid. Her deep red hair created a fiery haze around their heads. She shook him and called his name. She clicked her fingers in front his face and banged on the dense glass. Neither he nor the mermaid dropped their icy gaze. Her crystal blue eyes had him in a trance. Running out of options she did the first thing that came to mind that might snap him out of it. Raising the sharp heel of her stiletto she lined it up with his big toe and then stomped quickly. He tumbled slightly on his feet, blinked and his concentration dropped long enough for her to grip him and direct him towards the door. "Let's get outta here." She pulled him roughly by the arm and he staggered reluctantly behind her. Unfortunately, the red mermaid followed them out the door and along their path through the maze towards the allusive exit. As Cat ran along a corridor that seemed to go on forever, the mermaid maintained a hot pursuit, always trying to draw Mulder back towards her. Between her heels and Mulders strength she was struggling to keep him moving. The corridor finally ended and she found herself at a T intersection. There were no signs, she had no way of knowing which way would lead her out of the maze. Mulder was drifting back to the glass, back to his red mermaid and Cat could now easily see what Mulder had meant about the 'pull' she had on him. It was almost as if an ephemeral strand was pulling the two together. The mermaid could only go right, so if they went left she hoped it would part the pair long enough to be able to talk some sense into her doughy eyed friend. She pulled hard on his arm and he tripped almost falling to the ground, scooping as she walked she managed to get him tumbling in the right direction and away from his red haired shark. She didn't dare turn back to see how she reacted.

They quickly came across another one of the 'private' rooms with the bed and champagne only this one was occupied. A couple were just getting their own party started and didn't even look their way when they almost fell into the opening. The man was sitting on the edge of the bed shirtless, his fly already undone. His female companion stood in front of him while he carefully lowered the zip on the back of her little black dress.

"AAckgh" Cat made that disgusted noise in her throat again and put her back to the oblivious couple. Mulder's head hung loosely on his shoulder as she shook him "Fox, Fox look at me."

He tried to lift his chin but his head seemed too heavy for his shoulders. His pupils were dilated and unfocused. She could see him struggling to clear the fog in his mind. "Scully?" he slurred.

Cat cradled his face in her hands tapping his cheeks trying to help him focus. "It's Cat, Fox, Dr Stevens," Tap, tap she slapped him a little harder.

He blinked and his eyes seemed to clear a little "Scully?"

"No Fox its Cat - Yusaf.- 'moonshadow moonshadow'." She sang just as out of key as he had and slapped him even harder.

That did it. His neck stiffened now able to hold his head up and his eyes drew focus. He realised he was looking at a couple playing who could get their tongue furthest into the others mouth without tumbling on top of each other "What the?!"

Cat still had her hands on his cheeks so she snapped his head in her direction so he was looking at her instead of their new friends "Look at me, Fox, we don't have much time."

"What the hell happened?"

"It's the mermaids. They were doing some kind of hocus pocus on all the men in the room." Her nerves got the better of her and she started using silly actions as she explained. "They had staring eyes and swishy tales and were all like." She pointed her fingers out the side of her head and wiggled her fingers "Wiggy wiggy."

"Wiggy wiggy?"

"Anyway! Everyone in the room with an appendage seemed to gravitate to them like sex deprived zombies."

"Zombies?"

"Anyway! You took fancy to a particularly firey red headed one and I had to stomp on your toe to snap you out of it!"

He lifted his left foot slightly "Ow, that's why that hurts so much" He gave her a silly grin "A red head?"

She looked unimpressed at him "Yes, she had red hair, why is that funny?"

He looked like an adolescent school boy with a crush "it's just that.."

Cat folded her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"Well it's just that, well….. nevermind." The couple fell back onto the bed behind them and the bed covers made a loud "woosh" as they landed, the sound dragging Mulders attention. The man had now successfully hitched the woman's dress up to her waist and was pulling her up onto his lap. He quickly looked back at Cat "Can we get out of here please!"

She looked over her shoulder "Aackgh!" she drew close to him, so close their noses almost touched "Listen to me. We are going to run and you can't look at her. You can't glance at her even for a second and you have to block out whatever noise it is you keep hearing. Here," she pulled a tissue out of her bra."

"Cat did you stuff your…"

"Shut up Fox." She tore two small bits of tissue and rolled them into balls. "Shut up and put these in your ears."

Mulder took them "I don't think it's going to help. Whatever it is, it's in my head."

"Humour me!" Cat snapped and he stuffed the little balls of tissue deep into his ears. She raised her voice. "Are you ready?"

"What!?"

She pulled out one side "Are you ready?"

"Let's go." Mulder replied

"Promise me you won't look at her." He nodded. "Promise me you won't drop my hand. We are going to run until we get to the exit and then we are going to head straight to the docks, get on our boat and get the hell outta here." She stuffed the wad of tissue back in his ear and not giving him a chance to respond dragged him back out of the room.

As soon as they were back at the T intersection they met the mermaids again. The blue and gold one were there, swimming slowly passed seemingly searching for something, or someone. When they spotted Cat and Mulder they instantly headed towards them. Kicking her shoes off Cat pulled Mulders hand hard. He was hunched over trying to get low so his view of the tanks was obscured but the hall was narrow and they sunk themselves right down to his level. Cat increased the pace but they were agile swimmers and easily kept up with them. Mulder shaded his eyes with his free hand trying to block his view but then the other two joined the pursuit on the opposite side of the corridor. Cat looked up and could make out another oak door in the distance. It was exactly the same as the one they entered through.

"AARGH" Mulder cried out behind her and she felt his hand slip from hers. She turned back to find him on his knees, eyes closed, hands covering his ears. "AARGH it's so loud." He cried his face grimacing in pain.

"Get up!" She pulled on him "Get up we are nearly there!"

"Aagh, it's so loud!"

"Get UP!" She pulled him with every ounce of strength she could muster and finally he staggered to his feet. He kept his eyes closed and his free hand over his ear as he let her lead him out of the maze.

They were almost at the door now. All she could see was that tall wooden door, she was so focused on it she was convinced she could will it to open before they got there. Her breathing was laboured. Her leg muscles burned and her wrist ached from the strain of trying to keep Mulders hand in hers. Mulder was still crying out behind her.

"Aargh it's so loud. Oh god they're screaming. Oh god make it stop!"

Finally she reached and opened it with a shove of her shoulder. With one last giant pull she hauled Mulder out ahead of her and threw him into the sand, falling to her knees. Mulder crawled a little way and then vomited into the sand. The noise making Cat look up at him, she could see the dock, she could see their boat. "Are you ok?" She called over the sound of the crashing waves. The swell had definitely picked up since they had walked casually along the beach to the bar earlier that night.

Mulder vomited again in response. She was still panting her hair suddenly damp from the seas spray and small drops of rain that had begun to fall around them. She pushed a few long damp strands from her eyes and pulled herself up and over to him, hooking her arm in his. "Come on, we're nearly there." His hair was now completely wet and small drops of rain hung on his nose and fringe. The front of his white shirt was starting to go see through as the rain soaked it.

They ran in long strides, both tired and getting wetter by the minute. The wind howled around them it felt like small hands brushing their feet trying to trip them as they balanced awkwardly along the floating dock to their boat. The weather seemed to turn quickly. The rain was now falling on them hard, the wind picking up the waves and crashing them angrily against the boats and rocks. All the yachts in the little harbour were swinging and rocking. When they reached the boat Cat jumped on first then helped Mulder over the side rail and dropped him ungraciously in the centre of the boat. Her hair had come loose and was now stuck in long wet bands around her face and throat making it hard for her to see the dials on the small engine. Fumbling with cold fingers she turned the gear and gripped the starter cord. She was exhausted now, working on pure adrenaline, she yanked the cord as hard as she could. The engine sputtered but didn't start. She pushed her hair from her eyes and yanked again "AAAHHH" she cried out. "Sputter sputter," a little smoke this time but it quickly died. She panted from the exertion, deciding there was no way she would get it started until she completely calmed her mind and focused all of her energy on pulling that cord at just the right speed. She looked at the black sea surrounding the boat. Just a few hours ago it was the clearest, cleanest most beautiful looking piece of ocean she had ever seen and now it was black and angry. Unforgiving in the way it lashed at their small boat trying to tip them. A flash of red suddenly pushed through the dense surf, just a few metres from the boat. Her eyes widened "Oh hell no!" The small amount of light shining from the light house in the centre of the island caught the many gems of the red mermaids tail in the water. She adjusted her stroke and lifted her chin so she could meet Cat's eyes. Her wiggy hocus pocus wasn't going to work on her. She righted herself and yanked that cord like her life depended on it fearing that that actually may be the case. The engine roared to life, she flicked it into gear and spun the accelerator as hard as it could go and the boat soared through the waves and into the dark night.

It didn't seem like they had been going for long when the waters calmed and the rain stopped. The moonlight shone a ghostly path towards them but the path didn't seem to lead them anywhere. She looked around and slowed the engine slightly. She could no longer see the light from the island but she couldn't see any other kind of land mass either. They had left so quickly, her desperate need to put as much distance between them and the island meant she didn't really take any notice of which direction she was heading in and now they sat bobbing. The black, sparkling ocean reflected the night sky and not a hint of life surrounded them. She slowed the boat until it stopped, the petrol gauge was nearly on 'E'.

Mulder vomited over the side of the boat again, she had lost count at how many times now, surely there was nothing left. The painful, empty retching sound that came from him confirmed her suspicions. He slumped back into the centre of the boat, his long legs taking up most of the room on the floor. She joined him, sitting at his feet. He looked up at her, his face had grown pale and dark circles had formed below his eyes. "Why have we stopped?" he asked seeming like the effort to speak was almost too much.

"We are nearly out of gas."

"How close are we to the shore?"

She rubbed her arms, suddenly cold. Her hair had dried slightly from blowing in the wind when the boat was moving and it now blew softly over her face. She flicked to clear her eyes of her hair, turning away from him and letting a soft breeze blow over her face.

He began to laugh, quietly at first and then deep hearty laughter seemed to fill the air around them.

She looked at him bewildered at what could possibly be so funny. He was taking off his jacket. God had he gone insane? Was he going to strip down to nothing and jump over the edge of the boat? He was still laughing when he handed her the jacket. He wasn't insane; he was trying to help her get warm. Thankful she quickly drew her arms through the sleeves and hugged the thick fabric close to her cold bones. It was still warm from his body heat making her realise how cold she actually was.

His laughter ebbed to small sobs until he finally stopped completely "I really blew it, Yusaf."

Cat settled down onto her bottom making herself more comfortable at his feet. For the first time since she met him he appeared to be finally exposing some of his true self to her.

He threw his head back and it thumped hard against the seat of the boat he was leaning on. "I really blew it!" he repeated then looked directly back at her. "You don't realise what you have until it's gone. You'd think I would have learned that lesson many years ago."

He seemed angry, but intent on seeing where this was going, Cat didn't dare speak and distract him.

"You don't realise what you have until it's gone. Well, in my case, until you are chased out of treasure island by murderous mermaids only to find yourself lost at sea, where you will surely starve to death if the sun doesn't bake you first." He laughed again.

Cat shifted uncomfortably. Maybe he thought that was funny but she was holding onto some hope they would be rescued. If he didn't think there was that chance, what hope did they have at all? Still, she choose not to interrupt.

When the laughter stopped sadness fell over his features. "I told you my partner was pregnant?"

She nodded.

He smiled.

It suddenly dawned on her, the penny dropped, ding ding the bells were ringing loudly "Oh Fox, it's yours. The baby is yours and Agent Scully - you and her.…."

He nodded and bit his bottom lip nervously.

She shuffled forward so she was now sitting between his knees "Oh my God, it all makes so much sense now." She felt so incredibly stupid, so, so blind. It crossed her mind that perhaps she should take the plunge over the side of the boat. Instead she laughed just like he had. The look on his face made her stop. What awful demons haunted him enough to make him flee out here and away from his own child? She rested her hand down on his thigh and rubbed it affectionately.

"She wasn't supposed to be able to get pregnant." He sounded deeply ashamed to admit that. "I have two fathers, well had two fathers and if you rubbed them both together you would get some kind of cross between Darth Vader and Al Capone."

She had no idea who or what that was but was afraid of what he would do if she admitted that. He seemed to read her expression anyway.

"Bad, that means bad Cat, neither of them were good men."

She covered his cheek tenderly with her hand rubbing her thumb gently along the corner of his mouth and leaned a little closer.

His frustration blocked the signals she was sending leaving him completely unprepared when her lips touched his. He was so shocked it took him a few seconds to realise what was happening, what she was doing. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back away from him. He hadn't kissed her back but the coolness of his lips from the wind blowing on the wet she had left where his were dry made him a guilty man. "What are you doing? Why did you do that?"

He looked really angry now but she sat casually back on her heels and let him confront that demon head on.

"I just told you I was having a baby. I just told you I was in a committed relationship. I love her and we are going to have a baby." The words were falling out of his mouth so fast he didn't realise what he was saying. "Why did you kiss me Dr Stevens, when I just told you I was going to be a father?!"

"Is that what you said?" she challenged him.

"I…" he faulted as clarity hit him like a two by four to the head. "I'm going to be a father."

"Yes you are, Fox."

"We are having a baby."

She smiled at him "Did I detect a hint of excitement then?"

The colour seemed to return to his cheeks. "Does this thing have oars?"

Continued in part 8