Title - Set-Ups Author - Donna & Kristen Thomas Email address - donnah@pop.uky.edu URL - www.geocities.com/Area51/Quadrant/4571/ Rating - NC-17 Category - Relationship Spoilers - None Keywords - friendship/angst/rape Summary - What would it take to break these two up? Feedback - Please Disclaimer - Mulder, Scully, the Lone Gunman and Skinner all belong to Chris, 10-13 and Fox - Bless them for it!! No infringement intended. Set-ups The airport was crowded; Mulder had his hand on her elbow, using his height to guide her through. Neither of them saw the man approaching at full speed from behind. Running, he slammed into Mulder, spinning him around and slamming him into the counter and down to the floor. He nearly pulled Scully down with him, but she managed to keep her feet. The man stopped and apologizing profusely pulled Mulder back to his feet, brushing him off. "I'm okay. It was an accident. Forget it." "I'm really sorry, can I buy you and your wife a drink?" "No thanks, we're fine." "You're sure?" "Go on, don't miss your flight. And be careful." With a last apology, the man hurried off. Scully, who had kept quiet during the entire incident, led Mulder to a bank of chairs. "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." "Did you hit your head?" Her fingers were tracing his hairline. "No, just my hip and shoulder. Scully, he just knocked me down. Don't worry about me." "He should have been more careful." "Yeah. Come on, let's get the car and get out of here." "You want me to drive?" "That's not necessary. Come on." They checked into their hotel and almost immediately Mulder knocked on the connecting door. "Hungry?" "Yeah, now that you mention it." Neither had eaten what was laughably called food on the plane. "Let's go." But as they drove to the restaurant and then waited for their food he became more and more quiet and withdrawn. He ended up only pushing the food around his plate. "Mulder, what's wrong?" Her tone concerned, he could always eat. "Just a headache. I'm okay." "You don't usually get headaches." "Well, this one's making up for it." He rubbed his forehead above his nose. "Why don't we go back to the room. You can go on to bed, we can't do anything tonight anyway." "Yeah, maybe that's a good idea." They rose and he handed her the keys. She took them with no comment, but her level of concern increased. He was a little unsteady on his feet in the hall outside of their rooms. "Mulder, get in bed. I'll get you something for the headache." She was now officially worried. She found some ibuprofen and hurried back to his side. "Take these." After he swallowed them she checked for fever. "Try and get some sleep. I'll check on you in a little while. I'm going to leave the door open, call me if you need anything." He gave the barest nod; his head was killing him. If she knew it was this bad she'd take him to the hospital. He didn't want that, maybe he could sleep. He hated being sick and this had come out of nowhere. She went back to her room, making sure she could hear him if he stirred. After she got ready for bed she checked on him again. He was asleep, still no fever, maybe the ibuprofen was working. She read for awhile and after checking on him once more decided to get some sleep herself. The sound of a door closing woke her, "Mulder?" She rose and hurried to the connecting door. Mulder wasn't in the bed. She glanced over at the bathroom, the door was open and no light was on. "Mulder? Where are you?" Oh god, had he left the room? She ran to the window, she should be able to see their car. It was pulling away. "Mulder, no!" Damn it, what was he doing? He was sick, damn him. Scully grabbed her cell phone and dialed him. She immediately heard his cell phone ring from his jacket tossed across the chair. Now what? She went back to her room, too angry and worried to sleep. She was tempted to call the police, but she didn't even know the license tag number. Damn you, Mulder! She curled up on top of the covers, prepared to wait. ***** She woke as she felt him approach the bed. He was removing his t-shirt and was wearing running shorts. But he couldn't have hidden that erection if he'd been wearing a tent. "Mul . . ." He was kissing her, forcing his tongue into her mouth and pulling at her pajama tops. She felt a button pull loose and then another, hearing one hit the floor. What the hell? Mulder would never.she struggled under him, but he had her trapped beneath his body. Somehow he'd managed to lose his shorts and was pulling on her pajama bottoms. She renewed her efforts to break free, this was really happening. He was too big and she wasn't ready. She managed not to scream as he rammed himself into her, stretching her to accommodate him. Mulder . . . what? Her body was rapidly adjusting to this onslaught, and damn it, responding. She didn't want to resist, this was Mulder. The man her body had yearned for for years. It was him, that was her bullet wound at his shoulder. Thank god it was him. She found she was matching him thrust for thrust. And he kept repeating her name over and over. She'd never . . . like this, oh god she was coming. How? She'd always needed . . . needed . . . Mulder! Her muscles convulsed around him and he exploded, filling her with his warmth, crying out her name. She hoped the next room was empty, they didn't need anyone calling security. She lay dazed underneath him, unable to form a coherent thought. He shifted slightly, not leaving her body and tucked her up next to him. He fell asleep with her pressed against him. Mental note, Mulder likes to cuddle afterward. What the hell had just happened here? Had Mulder raped her? No, that would imply that she wasn't willing and the way her body had responded to his, she couldn't even fool herself about that. Maybe he'd started before her but . . . And in spite of the physical trauma he'd caused, she felt . . . how did she feel? She'd have to deal with this later. She couldn't . . . His arms felt so good around her and she felt completely sated. She too drifted off to sleep. ***** He awoke slowly, he was groggy. What the . . . Scully! Underneath him, intertwined with him. Oh god, it wasn't a dream! He'd raped Scully! He'd raped his partner, his best friend, his . . . he couldn't even think it. He scrambled from the bed, frantic to put distance between them. How could he ever face her again? The commotion woke her and she was out of the bed, grabbing him, stopping him from leaving the room. "Mulder? Are you okay?" He gave a strangled groan and his knees buckled. She was pulling at him, trying to get him to his feet. How could she bear to touch him? He sat heavily on the bed and threw the sheet over his lap. "You need to call the police." "What?" "The police. You need to file charges. Scu . . ." He couldn't say her name. "I never knew I was even capable of . . ." He was speaking so low she almost missed it. He ran his hand through his hair. "Mulder." She touched his arm and he flinched away from her. "Mulder, nothing happened here last night that I couldn't have stopped, that part of me didn't want to happen." "You don't have to say that. I know what happened." "Mulder, you weren't yourself. Something was done to you to make you act that way. Besides, you didn't force me to do anything." "I outweigh you by at least seventy pounds." "You were completely vulnerable to me last night. Think about it, I could have stopped you." "No. Not the way . . . " "Oh hell." He wasn't able to hear her; he was trapped too deep in his own guilt. She made her decision and jerked the sheet from him, placing herself in his lap. He had been at half-mast before, but when she placed her legs around his hips his body sprang to full attention, she could feel him against her buttocks. "What are you . . . " "It's my turn." He stared at her in total disbelief. He was ready, there was no doubt about that, but she needed a little more than last night, so she quickly massaged herself to start her own juices flowing. Then, before he could react, rose onto her knees and impaled herself. His eyes widened and when she pushed him down toward the bed, he couldn't resist her. She began riding him, fondling his nipples, and driving him toward insanity. He saw his hands come up and place themselves on her hips, forcing himself ever deeper into her. Her breathing became ragged and he pulled her down, pressing her hips against him as she spasmed around him. "Mulder, oh Mulder." He had joined her, pumping his seed deep into her body. When she got her composure back to some degree, and she was sure he was breathing again, she rose from him. She wasn't sure but thought she heard a whimper. She stretched out beside him, on her side, rubbing a finger over his nipple. "Are you planning to call the police on me?" He jerked away from her hand. "This is totally different. I was obviously willing." At least he didn't seem to be suicidal any more and much more communicative. "Okay, so a female can't be that obvious." "Scully . . . " "There is one thing we need to talk about." Oh god, no protection. He was pretty sure he had no worries there. It had been forever since he'd been with a woman. They said she couldn't get pregnant, though that wouldn't be so terrible, but . . . "We've got a problem, Mulder." He tensed, waiting. "Foreplay." "What?" He couldn't have heard her correctly. "Foreplay. Neither of us seems to recognize the benefits. I think it's something we should investigate." She had to get him to lighten up, Mulder couldn't handle this. If he were to dwell on his version of what happened she didn't know what he would do. This wasn't the way she'd always fantasized about this happening, but it had happened and she couldn't kid herself that she was sorry. He gaped at her and realized she was trying desperately not to laugh. His mouth moved, but nothing came out. His power of speech was gone. "Yes, you do a good goldfish, Mulder. Now let's try this." She took his lower lip into her mouth and began sucking on it. Jesus, who was this woman? And were they going to return his Scully when they picked this one up? She was investigating his chest now. Damn how was she making such a simple thing . . .? "Mulder, when you were knocked down at the airport, how did you hit?" "My right shoulder and hip, why?" "Because you have an injection site on your left shoulder. I think you've been drugged." "Could that be why . . ." "You were less inhibited last night?" She finished for him. "But no one knew we were coming. This was our find, we weren't requested." "Well someone doesn't want us here, or they're trying to get you in trouble. Where did you go last night?" "I really drove off, didn't I? I was trying to stay away, I didn't want to . . . but I came back." "How did you find this case?" "What do you mean?" "Newspaper article? The guys?" "Oh, I got an email to check out an article." "From whom?" "I don't know." He looked sheepishly at her. "Mulder! You could've been killed! The injection could have been lethal! This could all be a hoax, get your phone and get hold of the local police. I'll call the newspaper." Mulder lay there slightly stunned. She could go into her doctor persona stark naked, too. He sorely missed the attention she'd been paying to his chest hair. "Come on, Mulder." She lightly slapped his backside. "I want to know what's going on here." A few quick phone calls later and they were both convinced that they had been led on a wild goose chase. The newspaper denied even printing the article and the police thought that they were crazy. Mulder had even called the Lone Gunmen to check on the web site where he'd first seen the article. It was gone. "We've been had, Mulder, big time. I want a blood sample. We need to know what you were injected with." They had managed to clothe themselves and she pulled a small bag from the closet. "You carry this stuff?" "Not usually, but you said we might not get cooperation from the local medical facilities. Hold still, I'm not going to hurt you." "Sure." She took three vials of blood, labeled them and proceeded to hide them in separate sections of her luggage. "You think that's necessary?" Mulder asked, rubbing his elbow. "I can't believe you're asking me that, after all the evidence we've had disappear over the years." "You're right, I'm still . . . not myself." "Well, whoever you are, I think we need to get back to DC and see what we can dig up. Maybe the guys have had some luck." ***** Upon arrival at National, Scully checked her bags. They hadn't even been subtle. The blood vials she had placed in separate locations were both missing. "Any questions?" "No, you were right. Where do we take the third vial?" "To a friend of mine at George Washington. Come on." She left half of the blood from the vial with her friend and former teacher, Dr. Richards, retaining half for her own analysis. She explained only that some evidence was missing and she wanted backups in case of further problems. That errand completed she had Mulder take her home. "Are you sure you're okay now, Mulder? You still seem a little . . . " "Flustered? I'm still recovering from last night. The second part, not the first. I'm . . . " "Why don't you go home and get some rest. We both need to think about what happened and what we want to do about it now." "I know what I want to do." His hand caressed her thigh. "Mulder." She placed her finger on his lips to quiet him. "Me too, but we need some time apart. Then we can decide with clearer heads." "Party pooper." She grinned and got out of the car. He reached for the keys to shut off the engine. "No Mulder. I can get in okay. Go on, if I let you in, well . . . " Damn she was beautiful when she smiled. She was beautiful anyway, but that smile, that one was just for him. He nodded and stayed in the car, watching her enter her building. He drove off grinning. She wanted him, damn! Once home, he showered and changed. He heard a knock as he was coming out of the bathroom and headed toward the door. Maybe she'd gotten lonely! Unfortunately it was only a small package addressed to him. The deliveryman hadn't waited for a signature, maybe he'd missed the first knock. Oh well. He opened the package, finding a video. A note fluttered to the floor. "Resign quietly, and this can be kept secret." What the hell did that mean? He popped the video into the player and watched. Oh god, oh godohgodohgodohgod. He had raped her, she was struggling under him, she was trying to stop him. He watched in horror until he saw how he had forced himself into her, then snatched the tape from the machine and barely made it to the bathroom before losing everything that he'd eaten in days. He sat on his bathroom floor for ages, unable to rise. His self-loathing robbing him of the strength he needed to stand. His answering machine finally got his attention. It was Scully wondering where he was, he hadn't even heard the phone ring. When she hung up he finally groped his way to the sink and washed his face, then made his way to the couch. He sat staring into the darkness until he noticed it wasn't dark outside anymore. They wanted his resignation in exchange for burying this tape. Fine, it was theirs. He forced himself up from the couch, stiff from not having moved all night and dressed. He realized he was in the parking structure at work, but had no memory of the drive over. It was still early, he could get his resignation on Skinner's desk before anyone else came in, and get out. He hurried to the basement office and typed the short note into the computer. When it had printed, he took it up to Skinner's office. He was already at his desk. Skinner looked up at the interruption. "You should stand a little closer to the blade, Mulder." He took in his agent's rough appearance. "I assume there's a problem, since I don't remember an appointment with you this morning." Mulder didn't respond, merely laying the piece of paper on the desk. "What is this?" Skinner tossed the note back down. "I'm guilty of a felony and I . . . " "Mulder!" Both men turned to see Scully burst into the room. "Don't do this!" "Wait a minute, both of you. Agent Scully, sit down. Agent Mulder, to what felony are you referring?" "Director Skinner . . . " "Sit down, Agent Scully. Let him talk. I want to hear this." "But . . . " His look silenced her. "I'm guilty of raping Agent Scully." His voice was dead flat. Skinner stared at him, for once shocked into silence. Mulder had what? But he'd assumed, along with half of the bureau that these two . . . They were this intimate without being intimate? Oh god, what kind of force were they going to be now? "It's not true, Sir." "Scully, they have us on tape! It's all right here." He slammed the video down on Skinner's desk. "Tape?" Both men were watching her as the blood drained from her face, then Mulder was beside her, holding her, helping her to the couch. This man had never raped this woman, it wasn't possible. Skinner would've given his entire pension to view that tape. "Mulder?" She'd completely forgotten Skinner's presence. Her voice trembling as she clung to him. "It was delivered to my apartment last night, with a note saying that if I resigned quietly they wouldn't . . . " "Blackmail?" She said wonderingly. "Scully, I can't let you be humiliated like this. And I did rape you, I saw it." "Then they edited the tape. Did you watch it all?" "No! I couldn't. After I . . . " "Then you don't know what happened. Not if you didn't watch it all. You were drugged Mulder, we've been over this. You can't quit. Mulder, I'll resign. I'm a forensic pathologist, I can get a job anywhere, as a medical examiner or a coroner. You've got to stay and finish this. Don't let them use me against you, not again." "You haven't done anything wrong. I should be punished, not you." "Excuse me. Before I have to throw a bucket of water over you two, could I get back into this conversation taking place in my office." They both jumped, startled. "In the first place, I won't accept either resignation. In the second place, despite whatever is on this video, if Agent Scully does not press charges there is no official crime, and third, what the hell is going on?" Scully took a deep, shuddery breath and brought their boss up to date on the occurrences of the past thirty-six hours. Mulder sat quietly at her side, holding her, even in front of Skinner unable to stop touching her to reassure himself that she was still there. "I don't like my agents being blackmailed, or even being able to be blackmailed. I trust you will check into your cases more closely in the future before taking off. Now, go to your office, let me have a few minutes to think. Continue your investigation and let me do a little work on my own. Dismissed." They rose together and Skinner couldn't tell who had helped whom to their feet. Scully took the video from his desk and they left the room. He could sure use a little dullness in his life. Maybe he should let both of them resign and he could wash his hands of them. No, he could never do that. ***** They ended up at her apartment, both too shaken to remain in the office. She took the tape from him and headed toward her VCR. "Scully, I can't watch that, not again." "If you haven't seen it all, you don't know what happened. That's assuming they didn't edit it." "I saw enough." He sank onto her couch. "Mulder, please. You can do this with me. It's evidence, concentrate on that. Please." He sighed and wouldn't face her, but nodded. She put the tape in and picked up the remote. She sat on the couch close to him and took his hand. She squeezed the hand lightly and pressed play. They watched in silence for a couple of minutes, then he jerked his hand from hers and turned away. "No Scully." She pressed pause. "Mulder, look at the tape." She had to remain clinical about this. He was going over the edge. "Look. You are completely vulnerable to me there. If I had wanted to stop you I could have. Can't you see that?" She turned his face to hers. His eyes were so bleak. "Doesn't the fact that it never crossed my mind to injure you in order to stop you mean anything?" "That you're a better person than I am. I certainly didn't hesitate to injure you." "You didn't injure me. I could have used a little more preparation, but we've already discussed that. You are an impressive male." Good lord, the man was actually blushing. "Oh god, Mulder, you're not going to apologize for that too, are you?" "I don't know what to say to you." "Then watch the rest of the tape, Mulder. See what really happened. Please?" He gave the barest of nods and after looking closely at him, she took his hand back and started the tape again. As he watched, he saw that she was responding, no longer fighting but actively participating. His breath became shallow. When she came and called out his name he gasped and watched as he cried out her name. He watched as he settled her up against him and slept, with her arm around him, holding him closer. "Mulder? Do I need to explain anything that happened there?" She was barely smiling and leaned toward him to wipe the sweat from his upper lip. He shook his head as one tear escaped and ran down his face. "Oh, Mulder. Please . . . " she pulled him into her arms and let him cry. "Its okay. That's what really happened, you finally came to me. Please don't let this destroy you, us." "Are . . . are you . . .? You should be disgusted with me, hate me." "No, Mulder. I know the truth about what happened. I'm just not sure what to do about the tape." "We need to make sure our kids never see it." He muttered this, but she heard him. "Kids? Us?" "Why not, you've already given me one miracle today." "I meant how to make certain no one in authority sees it." He shuddered, no matter how many videos he had watched himself, it had never entered his mind to be involved in one. And to have Scully, this beautiful, pure woman to be a victim of this. He shook his head in defeat. "Stop it Mulder. Don't go down that path again. I forbid it. This happened to both of us and we'll live with it, whatever happens. Please, come here." She drew him into her arms. This had damaged him, much more than it had her she realized. She was actually afraid to let him leave. They sat is silence for a few minutes, thinking their own thoughts. He finally stirred, almost shaking himself. "I need to get out of here." "No. We still have work to do." "What?" He asked, but he didn't look like he cared. "The investigation we started last night." He looked puzzled then, "On foreplay. I'm confident we only scratched the surface last night." Now he was staring at her. "You don't have to - " She stood then, leaning slightly over him. "Do you think I don't want to?" Her voice sounded . . . smoky. She'd never used that voice with him before. Was this really the way she felt? She really didn't hate him? The opposite couldn't be true. He didn't deserve this - he should be in jail. But she was acting like this! "Mulder?" She was reaching for his hand. Should he stay? There was no measure to how much better off she would be without him. "Mulder, don't leave. I want you here." He relaxed enough to take her hand then and she tugged him to his feet. "Scully?" "Come with me. You're not leaving. We both have a lot left to learn about each other and I want to start that tonight." After a great deal of foreplay investigation, they finally got some sleep. ***** "Dana? Dr. Richards here. I've had that blood analyzed and the combination of drugs we found was a little strange. We found traces of chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone and a common tranquilizer. I'm not sure what the combination would do. There were some other chemicals but the cocktail was too complex for the amount of blood we had. I hope that helps you. "Yes Dr. Richards, it does. Could that combination cause a lowering of inhibitions?" "Oh yes, with a heightened sense of, well. . . " "The person could have been sexually uninhibited." "Most definitely." "And able to, uh to. . . " "Hardly able not to Dana. This person would not be responsible for his actions and it's hardly the kind of thing that would be self-administered. "Thank you Dr. Richards. If you could send me your findings I'll make certain they are included in our investigation." "Of course. I hope no one was harmed . . .?" "No, the person injected was the only victim fortunately. Thank you Dr. Richards, I'll be in touch." She hung up and turned to Mulder who was shaking his head. "I was the only victim?" She chose to ignore that. "You're off the hook. The injection was the catalyst. Our closeness supplied the rest. We can document it in court or in front of an internal review panel if it ever came to that. But who?" "Could you identify the man at the airport?" She paused a moment. "Possibly. I'd need to get on it right away. But Mulder who would want you in this kind of trouble, you could. . . " She glanced over at him and the incredulous look on his face almost provoked a laugh. "Okay, which of our enemies would go this far?" "I'm not sure where to start. Let's try to do the composite." He booted up the program on the computer and they began. Between them they came up with a drawing fairly quickly. "I'll take this up to Skinner. I'd like to see what he can find." "Are you going to explain the drugs to him?" "Yes. We need to keep him apprised. He's our supervisor; any charges have to come through him. I want to make sure he knows the truth." Mulder nodded, Skinner did need to know most of the truth. Some things, however, were still none of his business. It was the next day before Skinner appeared at their office. "I need you to look at this." He handed a photo to Scully. "Is this the man at the airport?" She stared at the photo, then nodding handed it to Mulder. "Dead?" "Very. Shot execution-style and found in an alley. They haven't identified him, he doesn't seem to be in any database and his prints are missing - from his body. So the ID is going to be hard. He must have been the messenger." Mulder tossed the photo down on the desk, nodding. After Skinner had left Mulder sat silent for a minute. "Mulder? I can hear the wheels turning." "Just thinking." "About?" "Do you smell Krycek?" "In this?" She leaned toward him. "Tell me what you're thinking." "I don't know." He looked up at the ceiling. "Mostly it's a feeling. This is the kind of thing he'd get a kick out of. Even if it didn't get me out of the Bureau. He'd enjoy trying to hurt you, destroy me. He would certainly know exactly where I'm most vulnerable and to cause you pain would be icing on the cake." She thought about it. He was probably right, she was used to him making connections before most people were aware there were connections to be made. Of course, having Krycek see that tape . . . She wasn't aware that the color had risen on her face. "Scully." She looked up at him and knew he was following her thoughts. He said nothing but the mixture of pain and fear on his face said enough. She shook her head and gave him a sad smile. "It's okay." "No, it's not. I've wanted to get that bastard for a long time, but now - now I want him dead. If I can prove he did this . . . " "You'll have to stand in line, Mulder." She said it lightly, but he heard the truth of her words. On some level she was okay when she was with him, but for the rest of the world to know, to see, what had happened between them. It would eat at her, at their relationship, and destroy them. He had to get his hands on whatever else existed. "I'm taking you home." "It's early." She protested. "I don't think we can accomplish that much more here today." After a moment she nodded and rose. He was watching a movie, or rather sitting in front of one, while she read leaning against him. Suddenly he rose and stood over her, as she looked up startled. "I don't . . . I shouldn't ask . . . Scully, I want to make love to you." She smiled up at him, "Good. That's what I want too." She reached up for him and he took her hand, drawing her up to him, against him. Her arms went around him, how could she make him understand she was happy with this new phase of their relationship? She led him to the bed and pushed him down on it, then proceeded to strip quickly and join him on the bed even as he was still shucking his own clothing. While Mulder was distracted, Scully grasped his erection in her hand, pulling him to where she wanted him to be. Arching up she managed to get his tip inside her and felt him moan against her neck. With one thrust he was inside her. Home. Opening herself as wide as possible, Scully dug her fingers into his ass, pushing him deeper and deeper inside her. It didn't take him long to get the hint and he pulled her legs up to her chest, changing the angle and the depth of his penetration. He could feel her body stretching to take him in, clenching around him to keep him there and it felt like . . . well it felt like nothing that he could describe. Her breathy moans and pleas for him to move faster, to go deeper were making him crazy and he knew if she didn't get there soon, he wasn't going to make it. Ahhh, Mulder just there, just like that, Scully thought, her voice unable to make the sensible sounds, replacing them with a low pitched moan. She reached up and grabbed his face, pulling him down to meet her in a kiss. Then she was coming, her cries swallowed up in Mulder's mouth. Mulder groaned into Scully's mouth as he felt her tighten around him in climax and it was just enough to push him over with her. He thrust convulsively, once, twice, three times before sprawling bonelessly over her. The little voice at the back of his mind told him to roll away before he smothered Scully but the circle of her arms around his middle halted his attempts at movement. "Stay inside me" she whispered, holding him close. As though he would ever willingly leave her body. When he finally collapsed beside her, he maintained his grip kissing her hair. Even now not willing to loosen his hold on her. As she drifted off it crossed her mind that this time had been different. That was nonsense, they hadn't been together enough to know every move, every motivation. She cuddled in closer and allowed herself the luxury of feeling safe in his arms. She woke and immediately reached for him. Not there. She opened her eyes and looked toward the bathroom. The light was off and she didn't hear the shower. No smell of coffee either. What was going on? She hurried into the living room belting her robe. Where was he? She glanced into the kitchen and a white square on the table caught her eye. "Scully" it read, "There's something I have to do. I suppose you have a case for me ditching you again but I have to do this. We can't be together, not really, until this is done. I love you - I hope to earn the right to someday. Mulder." The paper drifted from her hand, "Damn you Mulder, why can't you listen to me, just once!" She hurried to dress and got to the office before rush hour had a chance to tie up traffic. She booted up his computer rather than her own to see if she could determine what he had discovered. After an hour she threw the stapler across the room in frustration. Nothing! Whatever he'd found, he'd kept no record here. Damn him! Scully made up her mind and headed for the elevator. Skinner was at Angie's desk when she approached. One look at her face was enough. "Please hold my calls, Angie." He held the door and closed it behind her. "What's he done now?" "He's gone after Krycek." "Krycek?" "He's convinced Krycek in behind this, this . . . " "He could be right, Mulder knows him better than we do." "But I should be helping him! He's gone off alone, he needs me." Rather than comment on that statement Skinner moved her toward a chair and poured her a cup of coffee. "Thanks." He nodded and sat beside her. "How do you know that's what he's doing?" "He left me a note." "May I see it?" "Uh, no. It's at my apartment." He took in the color staining her cheeks and dropped it. "Listen, he'll check in. He always does eventually. It's you he'll call, not official channels. Keep your phone on and let me know what you hear. In the meantime I'll do a little searching of my own. Don't worry Scully, Agent Mulder is a big boy. Keep me up to date." She nodded. She knew he was right and would do as he suggested, except for that part about not worrying. That wasn't going to happen. ***** It had been three nerve-racking days. She'd been totally ineffective in finding out anything. She'd almost drawn her weapon on Byers in her frustration. Skinner had been just as unsuccessful. This was a nightmare - they'd finally been together; now she didn't know if she'd ever see him again. She got ready for bed, not sure if she'd sleep any tonight either. Damn him for putting her through this. She was reaching for the light switch when she heard the knock. She looked through the peephole before fumbling with the deadbolt and flinging the door open. She fairly launched herself at him and his arms closed around her as he managed to keep his footing. He moved them inside; shoving the door closed with his foot, not willing to disturb what she was doing with his lips. He sensed her draw away from him, but before he could open his eyes felt the stinging slap of her hand across his face. "How dare you! How dare you go off alone for this and put yourself in danger." Before he could respond she had buried her face in his chest and was moving against him. His body was responding rapidly to her onslaught. "Scully wait. Not . . . not now." He led her to the couch and seated her, taking his own place at the far end of the couch. "We need to talk." She nodded, waiting for him to speak this time. "I found him." "How?" "I have friends in low places and they owed me." "Did you . . .?" "No. I stopped short of cold-blooded murder. But he might have wished I hadn't. There was great satisfaction in ripping his prosthesis off and beating him half to death with it." Scully made no comment but she didn't attempt to hide the gleam in her eyes. "I was right. He was freelancing. He'd set himself up in a video-pirating scam to get hold of the equipment he needed. He'd made copies of our video, but hadn't sent them. I guess he was waiting to see what I'd do. I did commit another felony. I'm getting good at them. Arson this time. I soaked his equipment room and tapes with gasoline and watched them burn. The original was in the duplicator, he was in no shape to lie and I checked anyway. When the fire was good and roaring, I dragged him outside, stuffed a pirated copy of Star Wars in his pants and called 911 from his cell phone. Then I took off. "Where were you?" "Near the Canadian border, upstate Pennsylvania. I came straight here. You've got the only copy of the tape now." He handed her a book of matches. "I thought you'd want to destroy it yourself." "Want to watch it one last time?" "No!" "Not even the end of it?" She was teasing him damn it. This wasn't funny to him, that damn tape had almost ruined his life, of course it had also recorded the beginning of it too. She felt him relax slightly beside her. "Of course, we could just recreate the scene with no changes, I can't say improvements because I don't think there could be any." "Burn the tape Scully." He growled at her, though she could see amusement in his eyes this time. She pulled some of the tape from the protective case and set it in the candle dish she kept on her coffee table. Then solemnly struck a match and they watched the plastic crumple and melt in front of them. "You okay Mulder?" "Yeah, I'm more than okay. I feel like I made an installment on earning being with you." "I'd say you're paid in full Mulder. In fact, I think I owe you change." And she was in his arms again. Author's note: This was begun years ago, but we've finally gotten around to finishing it. Thanks to Kristen, who continually pushes me to do my best!