"DREAMSCAPE"

by plmorrell [at] gmail dot com

THIS STORY MAY NOT BE REDISTIBUTED WITHOUT THE AUTHOR'S EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT

***

FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
7:15a.m.

Agent Deneau tried to wait patiently. She'd been in Assistant Director Skinner's office for ten minutes now and he'd said only two words to her, "Sit down." She pushed a lock of her sandy blonde hair behind her ear. She knew that whatever was about to come down would not be good. Not after what happened last week.

The second hand on her watch ticked some more.

This is getting ridiculous, she thought pulling a piece of lint off her grey pantsuit. How much longer is he going to keep me here?

A knock on the door broke the silence.

"Come in." Skinner said, still flipping through the files on his desk.

The door opened and a man wearing a dark blue suit walked in.

"Agent Fox Mulder, meet your new partner, Agent Alyssa Deneau. She being assigned to you and your surveillance." Skinner paused and looked up. "That will be all."

Alyssa rose and followed Mulder out. As she shut the door behind her, a passing agent said, "Go easy on this one Alex, they're running out of volunteers."

"I take it you're on Skinner's list too." Mulder said walking up to the requisition desk. "Car, please."

"Yeah, and it's not his Christmas card list either."

"So, what's your crime?" He took the keys from the lady behind the desk and headed for the parking garage.

"I was on a big time stake out with a new partner. I'd been on it with another agent for six months when he got pulled. Well, last week, my new partner decided he couldn't control his primal urges and made a pass at me while we were on watch. I tried to be nice about it, but he wouldn't take no for an answer." She followed Mulder out of the elevator.

"And...?" He asked.

"Well, let's just say I got a five day vacation and he got a trip to the hospital."

"And that's why you're on Skinner's list?" He unlocked the car door and opened for her.

"Thanks." Alyssa got in and waited for Mulder. "No. I'm on it because our little scuffle almost blew the hole thing out of the water. I guess I was just supposed to take it. We were both given time off without pay and re-assigned."

"That's what the comment was about in the hall."

"Yep." Alyssa sighed.

"Sorry if I brought up a bad subject, Alyssa."

"The subject isn't bad, Fox, it's the fact that the Bureau didn't take it seriously. But, this was the better of the two choices."

Mulder nodded, deciding not to pursue the matter any further.

"Didn't you work with Agent Dana Scully?" Alyssa asked as they drove to the Longstreet Motel.

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

"We were friends back at the academy. Where is she at now?"

"Quantico. Behavioral Science department."

"Oh, I'll have to give her a call."

They reached the hotel and relieved the other agent. "Enjoy," he said as he left the room.

Alyssa looked around the small, dark room. She half expected to see shackles hanging from the walls. The only furnishings were the surveillance equipment, the table on which it sat, and two chairs. Empty cups and food wrappers were scattered about. "This has got to be the worst assignment any one could draw."

Mulder sat down at the table and adjusted the volume controls.

"Well, it just got a little better," he smiled.

Alyssa pulled a chair up next to him. She listened as the two male voices talked about a local strip club they frequented. As the conversation got increasingly vulgar and descriptive, she turned to Mulder. "God, I hope this isn't all they talk about."

"No. They go into pretty good detail about their illegal activities, too. We've got enough to arrest them on forty counts of bank fraud."

"Then why haven't you?" Alyssa took a couple of sunflower seeds from the pile in front of Mulder and popped them in her mouth.

"Skinner says we need more."

Alyssa shook her head. "Sometimes I think Skinner's got a severe case of cranial rectal inversion."

"What?"

Alyssa looked seriously at Mulder. "Well, in layman's terms, he's got his head up his ass." Both agents burst into laughter.

"He'd probably say someone told him to." Mulder watched as his new partner listened to the men some more. He didn't know what it was about her, but he liked her. He wasn't one to place trust in people easily, but something about her made him want to.

RANGER STATION
PRINCE WILLIAM FOREST NATIONAL PARK
VIRGINIA
12:45p.m.

"Mike, come in please...are you there?" The park ranger slapped the top of the short wave radio.

"Mike, this is Ranger One, do you copy?" A squeal of static was the only reply.

"What's up, Tom?" Another man asked as he entered the radio room.

"I don't know, Justin. Mike was supposed to check in over two hours ago. Nobody's heard from him and we can't raise him on the radio."

"Where was he the last time he checked in?"

"Over near the south ridge. He was checking out a report of lights in the woods there last night."

"Are you familiar with the area?"

"Not as well as he was, but yeah."

"Okay. Take a dog with you and see if you can find him. He could be hurt or something."

"Right." Tom left the room.

"I hope it's not starting again." Justin sighed ask he picked up the microphone. "Mike, this is Ranger One. Are you out there?" Somewhere in the back of his mind, Justin knew there would never be an answer.

FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
8:30p.m.

Agents Mulder and Deneau walked down the hallway towards Mulder's desk. As Mulder picked up a message, another agent approached them.

The agent looked at Alyssa. "Alex?" she asked.

Alyssa looked from the message in Mulder's hand to the agent.

Her eyes widened and she smiled. "Dana! Dana Scully." The two hugged.

Mulder watched as the two spoke.

"It's been years," Scully said. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh, I've been here and there working on just about anything. Fox told me you got stuck with him for awhile."

"Yeah, well, it looks like you're stuck with him now." Scully laughed.

"Thanks for the kind words you two." Mulder interrupted. "You just stay here and keep talking bad about me. I've got to go see what Skinner wants." He turned and started to walk away.

"Hey Fox," Alyssa called.

Mulder stopped and looked back.

"Just remember, someone told him to."

Mulder smiled and continued on his way.

"Someone told who to do what?" Scully asked.

"I'll explain later."

"Okay. So, really where have you been?"

"I was in California for awhile. Then, I got transferred here on a really big case and that ended abruptly last week and now I've been assigned to help Fox."

"I heard about what happened. I'm really sorry."

"Thanks Dana."

"Your partner should have been fired." Scully sat on the edge of Mulder's desk.

"Well, I basically had two choices: pursue the harassment end of it without a job or take the time off for almost ruining the case and come back and be re-assigned. I felt the job was a bit more important. It was a tough decision."

Scully put a reassuring hand on Alyssa's shoulder. "I know. Hey, why don't we get together for dinner tomorrow night." Scully picked up a pen and scratched some numbers down on a piece of paper. "Here are my phone numbers. Call me tomorrow afternoon and we can decide when and where."

"Sounds good. It's funny, I asked Fox about you earlier today and was going to give you a call."

Alyssa put the paper in her jacket pocket.

Scully looked at her watch. "I've gotta go. I'm having dinner with my god-son's parents. Tell Mulder I said goodbye."

"Okay." Alyssa waved as she watched Scully leave. She pulled the chair away from the desk and sat down. She picked up a picture of a girl on a jungle gym. "I know her," Alyssa said. "But, from where?" Hearing footsteps, she put down the picture and looked in their direction.

Mulder approached. "Scully leave so soon?"

"She had to go meet with her god-son's parents. She said to tell you goodbye." She paused. "So, what did Skinner want?" From the look on his face, she knew it wasn't good.

"To pull my strings some more." He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Two rangers in Prince William Forest National Park are missing. And we're to go find them. He wants us there by nine tomorrow morning."

"Great. Rangers getting lost in their own forest. What's next, a picnic basket snatching bear?"

"I don't know. He's just pushing me to see how far I'll go." A ringing sound came from his jacket. He pulled out his cellular phone. "Mulder..." He listened for a moment. "Who is this?" He took the phone away from his ear and returned it to his jacket.

"What was that all about?"

"It was nothing."

"Gee, if I was gonna waste someone's cell time, I'd at least do some heavy breathing into the phone."

"Mmmm." A slight glimmer shone in his eyes and several thoughts raced through his head. "Look, why don't I pick you up at your place about five o'clock. Pack any hiking gear you may have we can grab breakfast on the road."

"Okay. I'll be ready at five. And look on the bright side, the worst that can happen is that it rains."

PRINCE WILLIAM PARK NATIONAL
FOREST8:55am

"This is all your fault, Alyssa." Mulder groaned as he ran from the car to the ranger station in the rain.

"Sorry." Alyssa joined Mulder on the porch, shaking the rain off her duffel bag. She reached for the door and almost fell when someone inside jerked it open.

"God, I'm glad you guys are here! Come in and I'll tell you what's happened." He stepped aside to allow the pair to enter. He stood about 6 feet tall and wore brown pants and a tan shirt with a national park ranger patch on each sleeve. "We've got an extra bedroom. It's straight down the hall. You can put your stuff in there."

Mulder and Deneau returned from the room as the ranger spread a map out on the counter. "Oh, I'm Justin Strong, head ranger."

"I'm Agent Mulder and this is Agent Deneau." He walked over to the map. "So what seems to be the problem?"

"Two of our best men have disappeared. One, two days ago and the other, yesterday. Both in this area." He traced a small circle on the map. "The dog Tom took out yesterday came back this morning."

Mulder straightened and looked at Alyssa who was staring out a window. "Alyssa.......Alyssa......" Mulder put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot. "ALEX!!"

Alyssa turned. "Gees, Fox, you don't have to yell. I'm right here."

Mulder walked up to her and looked at her glazed eyes. "Are you all right? I called you twice. Is it Bel-Tone time?"

Alyssa shook her head. "Sorry, I guess I didn't hear you. I was looking out the window."

Mulder stepped past her to look out the window. He sighed. "Well at least it stopped raining." Turning back to the ranger, "We'll need whatever supplies you can give us, canteens, maps, flashlights..."

"I'll get two packs together for you." Justin went to a back room.

"Why don't you go change, Alyssa."

She looked down at what she was wearing. "You don't think a skirt and heels are appropriate attire?"

Mulder smiled. "Not unless you plan to take these guys to dinner when we find 'em."

Alyssa smiled back. "No."

Half an hour later the pair stood on the porch to the ranger station. Both were dressed in jeans, hiking boots, and heavy jackets.

Alyssa struggled with her backpack.

"Here, let me help." Mulder walked behind her and pulled the hood of the jacket out from under the pack. He adjusted the shoulder straps and stepped back.

Alyssa buckled the waist strap and notice Mulder watching intently. She made one final adjustment to the Sig Sauer 9mm and holster on her belt. "There, how do I look?" She did a quick imitation of a model.

Mulder opened his mouth to reply then stopped. "Fine... Yogi will be impressed," he said instead of what he was thinking.

Justin sprinted outside. "Good you're still here." He handed Mulder a rifle and a box of ammunition. "Just in case. And here's a radio so you can keep us posted. If you follow the trail on the map, it'll take you to the area."

"Thanks." Mulder started off for the trail. "We'll keep in touch."

The two hiked for almost thirty minutes in silence. The woods were now thick with vegetation, but the small trail was still easily visible. Mulder looked back at Alyssa. He noticed she was extremely nervous and jumped at the slightest sound. He stopped and waited for her to catch up. "A little nervous?"

"It's been awhile." Alyssa continued to glance around.

"Hey," Mulder put a hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, he saw fear in her eyes. "What's wrong? What's out here that scares you?"

She shook her head.

"Come on, trust me," he smirked.

"It's nothing, Fox, really. I just haven't been out in nature for awhile and I don't want someone sneaking up on us."

The word 'someone' echoed in Mulder's mind. Why someone and not something, he wondered. "Let's keep moving, we're almost there."

They hiked on for another fifteen minutes and then Mulder stopped. He pulled out the mapped and looked around. "This is the area."

Alyssa took off her pack and set it down on a large flat rock. Mulder followed suit and they began to explore the area. The soil had started to dry as the sun shown down through the trees. Some raindrops still hung on many of the bushes. The ground crunched softly as they tread over the leaves and pine needles blanketing most of the area.

Alyssa walked to the end of a row of bushes and ferns and stopped. "Ummm, Fox."

"Yeah?"

"Come over here."

Mulder came up behind her to see what was of interest. "Well, at least he'll be a cheap dinner date."

In front of the agents, partially hidden under the bushes, lay a mud covered man, missing a few body parts.

RANGER STATION
3:30p.m.

Two medics pushed the stretcher into the ambulance and closed the doors.

"Make sure it gets to Agent Scully as soon as possible." Mulder instructed.

"Yeah, I guess dinner is off for tonight, Dana." Alyssa walked past Mulder talking on the cellular phone. "He's on his way. They just left."

"Tell her he's gonna need a bath first." Mulder said.

Alyssa smiled and nodded. "Okay, Dana. Thanks." She hung up and returned the phone to Mulder.

"What'd she say?"

"She said she'd save that part for you."

"Oh goody!"

"She'll call as soon as she finds anything out. But, it might not be until tomorrow."

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Let's check into a hotel and get cleaned up. We might as well hang around until Scully calls."

Mulder and Deneau checked into a 2 room suite at a hotel in Quantico. Each bedroom connected to the main sitting room on opposite walls. The small kitchenette, with a breakfast bar and three padded bar stools, sat on the left as one came in the front door. Two plain wooden chairs straddled the doorway. The bedroom Alyssa used was next to the kitchen. The main window, across from the front door, overlooked a small plaza and office complex. The couch and coffee table faced the window and a medium sized color television on a TV stand. Next to Mulder's room was a small magazine table and the telephone.

As Mulder sat next to the door, tying a shoe, Alyssa asked, "Didn't it seem strange that Mr. Strong wasn't even phased by what we found?"

"More like what we didn't find."

"If I were him, I'd be at least mildly shocked and not just say 'Oh, poor Tom'." She put her gun in the holster. Pulling on her jacket, she walked up to Mulder who was tying his other shoe. "I don't know, something's fishy here."

Mulder looked up and was at eye level with Alyssa's zipper. "That's for sure."

Alyssa realized what Mulder was staring at. She pointed a finger at him. "You, Fox Mulder, are a pig."

"Thank you. How nice of you to notice."

Alyssa looked at his smiling face and sparkling eyes and sighed.

QUANTICO HOTEL
11:30p.m.

As Mulder watched the late night news, Alyssa tossed and turned in a fitful sleep, mumbling incoherently. She squirmed in the bed. Suddenly, she bolted upright in bed, throwing the mangled mess of bedcovers on the floor, her heart pounding and the horrified scream still echoing in her head. She was drenched in sweat. She almost screamed again, as Mulder burst in the room, afraid something from her dream was coming for her. He knelt beside the bed. "Alyssa, what's wrong, what happened?"

She looked around, unsure of just where she was for a moment.

"Alyssa..." he asked again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah.....yeah, I'm fine." She took a deep breath to steady the shaky tone in her voice. "It was just a dream."

"Just a dream? You screamed so loud, I'm surprised the whole floor isn't knocking on the door. They probably think we're having a good time in here."

"It's nothing, really."

"It's not nothing. You were paranoid in the forest earlier, remember? Saying you didn't want someone sneaking up on us and now you're having nightmares."

"Look, you'll just laugh."

"Laugh at what?"

"This stupid dream I keep having."

"You mean this isn't the first time this happened?"

She shook her head.

"Tell me about the dream."

"Promise not to laugh?"

Mulder held up his hand. "Girl Scout's honor."

"Okay..." She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. "I dream I'm walking in a forest. I think it's the same one I used to as a kid, I'm not sure. Then it seems like I walk into this thick fog. I can hardly see anything. Then a light shines down through the trees. A girl is in the middle of the light. She's about eight or so. She motions for me to come to her. As I get closer, I see these......these things behind her. They're tall and real skinny. I start to back up when I bump into something. I turn around to see what it is and it's one of those things. It reaches out and grabs me." Alyssa opened her eyes and looked at Mulder. "That's when I scream and wake up."

"How long have you had these dreams?"

"Ever since I was 8."

"Can you remember anything else about what you saw, what these things looked liked?"

"No. Just that they're tall with long legs and real skinny." She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them.

"I know someone at the Academy who can help."

"Help how?"

"He does dream analysis and regressive hypnosis. It can help you figure out why you're having these dreams and to remember more details."

Alyssa rested her check on her knees and shivered. "I don't think I wanna remember, Fox."

FBI ACADEMY
8:30a.m.

Alyssa knocked on the window to Dana Scully's office. She motioned for Alyssa to enter.

"Where's Mulder?"

Alyssa joined Scully at the desk. "He went to find a friend of his."

"Did you guys go back to DC last night? You look like you didn't get a wink of sleep."

Alyssa grinned. She knew what Scully was really asking. "Don't I wish that's what we were doing. At least I would have been having fun."

"You like Mulder?" a slight tone of surprise rung in Scully voice.

"Sure I find him attractive....very attractive. I think his first name fits." Alyssa felt herself starting to blush.

"I can put in a good word for you." Scully smiled. "I think he likes you, too."

"Really? How do you know?"

"You're the only one I know of that he lets call him Fox. Even I don't call him that."

"Hmmmm." She pondered the idea for a moment. "No. It just wouldn't work. I don't like to get romantically involved with those I work with."

Scully leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. "Okay, but I think your making a mistake. If you change your mind, let me know."

Embarrassed, Alyssa simply nodded.

A few seconds later, Mulder walked in. "Hi, Scully. How'd the autopsy go?"

"I'm finishing up the preliminary reports now. I'm having a blood work up done and some tests on tissue samples."

"How long before they're ready?"

"About another hour or so for the reports, the lab tests probably tomorrow."

"Did Alyssa tell you what happened last night?"

Scully looked at Alyssa. "No she didn't."

Mulder relayed the previous night's events.

"You must have gone to see Dr. Watkins." Scully said. "You know what he's doing is purely experimental."

"Experimental from the Bureau's point of view. I've seen it work, Scully. It can help Alyssa."

"Mulder," Alyssa said.

Mulder looked at Alyssa, wondering why she was suddenly calling him 'Mulder'.

"I'm not sure I want to remember any more. I remember the things and the girl....." She trailed off. Alyssa snapped her fingers. "That's it, the girl!"

"What?" Mulder and Scully asked together.

"That picture on your desk, who is it.?"

"It's my sister. Why?"

"Where is she now?"

"What are you getting at, Alyssa?"

"Mulder, the girl in that picture and the girl in my dream, they're the same."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No. When I was at your desk, I looked at the picture and I knew I'd seen her before. It just now clicked." She paused. "Where is she now?"

Mulder shook his head. "She....she was abducted."

"By who?"

"Not by who, by what."

"I don't understand."

"What Mulder is trying to say," Scully interjected. "is that he believes she was abducted by aliens."

"When?"

"November of 1974."

Alyssa rose and walked over to Mulder. She put her hand on his arm. "That's about the same time I started having these dreams. I remember because I had just turned 8 and it was right after Thanksgiving they started."

Mulder chewed on the corner of his lip. He wondered if this was some elaborate trick. Deep Throat's words echoed in his mind, "Trust no one". But, he wanted to trust her, for a lot of reasons.

Alyssa sensed his distrust. "Mulder, I'm not trying to jerk you around. I'm not lying about any of this."

"There's one way to find out," he said. "Come on." He took her by the hand and started for the door.

"Mulder," Scully called. "Where are you going?"

"To see Dr. Watkins. We'll be back by the time you're ready with those reports." Mulder lead Alyssa down the hall and around a corner to another office. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." a voice responded.

They walked into the office. Bookshelves lined most of the walls to the small office. A desk sat off-center in the room and another door was directly across from the one they just entered through. A man in his mid to late forties with gray/black hair sat at the desk.

"Ahhh, this must be Alyssa." He rose and walked to her. "It's a pleasure. Mulder didn't tell me you were good-looking, too. I'm Dr. Watkins."

Alyssa felt herself blush again as she shook hands with the doctor. "It's nice to meet you."

"Why don't we go back here where we can be more comfortable." He led them threw the second door.

Alyssa grimaced at what she saw. A contoured couch just like the ones psychologists have in the movies. There were two other chairs, one was a large office chair and the other, a folding one.

The doctor motioned to the couch. "Why don't you lay down there, Alyssa."

Alyssa held back the urge to go running out of the room. She had to do this. If not for her own peace of mind, then for Mulder, to prove that she was not lying about who she saw in her dream. She slowly laid back on the couch.

Mulder smiled for the first time this morning. "Are you comfy?"

"Why don't you join me and find out?"

Mulder turned away, but not before Alyssa saw the redness appear in his cheeks.

Dr. Watkins sat in the large chair and wheeled it closer to the couch. Mulder stood off to the side and slightly behind him.

"Now," Dr. Watkins started. "I want you to just relax, Alyssa. Close you eyes and take slow deep breaths."

Mulder paced back and forth as Dr. Watkins led Alyssa through her dream. He listen intently as she described the girl. It definitely sounded like Samantha. What intrigued him even more was the 'things' she described; tall, leggy beings with gray toned skinned and large black eyes.

Dr. Watkins brought Alyssa out of the hypnosis. As she looked around, a little dazed, he said, "Why don't you just stay there for a few minutes." He turned to Mulder and motioned for him to follow. They stepped outside of the room into the first office.

"What'd you think, Doctor? Is she telling the truth about the dream?"

"She believes what she sees in her dream is real and true, Agent Mulder."

Mulder looked confused.

"Dreams often have to do with our imaginations and can be influenced by the world around us. Take for instance someone who watches a television show then goes to bed and dreams about it."

Mulder nodded. "So, you're telling me she could have seen something on TV that caused her to have this dream ever since she was 8 year old?"

"It's possible, yes. What I can't tell you is how your sister fits into this. It could be her or someone who looks like her. Alyssa believes it was her."

"Do you think it's beyond the realm of extreme possibility that she experienced it and her conscious suppressed it so that now it comes back as a reoccurring dream?"

"That's another possibility. The only way to find out for sure on that is to regress her back to that period of time."

"Let's just keep this between ourselves, for now."

"If you like, Agent Mulder."

They went back into the other room. Alyssa was sitting on the edge of the couch with her head in her hands. When she didn't notice them, Mulder walked up to her and lightly brushed the back of her head. She jumped slightly at his touch and looked up. "Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "I've got a little headache is all."

"That's natural." Dr. Watkins replied. "A couple aspirin will help. I'll get some from my desk." He left the room, shutting the door on the way.

When he was gone, Mulder sat next to Alyssa.

"So, did I pass?"

He smiled slightly. "With flying colors." He looked down.

"Look, Alyssa, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I don't know who or what to believe....or trust. I've been screwed over so many times lately."

"Mulder, you don't have to explain."

He sighed. There she goes with the 'Mulder' thing again, he thought. What happened to 'Fox'?

The sound of an opening door brought him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry I took so long." Dr. Watkins handed Alyssa two aspirin and a cup of water. "Cups seem to be scarce around here."

Alyssa took the aspirin and gave the cup back to Dr. Watkins. "Thank you."

Mulder looked at his watch. "We'd better get back and see how Scully's coming along with those reports." He stood and held out a hand. "Thanks again, Doc."

"Just let me know if I can be of any more help." The Doctor waved as Mulder and Deneau left.

The two returned to Scully's office. She looked up from her computer as they entered. "I was beginning to worry about you two. I thought maybe you'd forgotten about me." She looked from one to the other. "Well, are you gonna tell me what happened or do I just sit her in the dark?"

"Everything checked out fine." Mulder answered.

"Checked out fine?"

Mulder flashed her an 'I'll explain later' look.

"Well, that's good. At least there's some good news."

"What do you mean?" Alyssa asked.

"Come over here, I want to show you guys something." Scully walked over to the metal table and pulled off the plastic cover. "You probably didn't get a good look at him because he was covered with mud."

Alyssa turned away quickly. "I wish I could've keep it that way."

Mulder laughed. "You're not gonna loose your breakfast are you? I'd hate to think the Bureau spent all that money on it for it to end up on Scully's floor."

"Mulder!" Scully elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey, I was just kidding."

Alyssa leaned against the nearest wall. "I'll just stand here and look from a distance."

"Okay." Scully pointed towards the dead man. "Notice what body parts are missing: ear, tongue, eyes, and the testicles and penis."

"Ouch," Mulder said. "Bet that one hurt."

"The thing I didn't notice until I cleaned him up was how neat and clean the wounds are. They're not jagged like if it was done with a knife."

"How 'bout a scalpel?" Mulder said inspecting the area where the ear should have been.

"I'm not sure. The blood vessels seem to have been cauterized. Very little blood was lost."

"Cattle mutilations."

Mulder and Scully turned to Alyssa.

"I'm sure you guys have heard about 'em. Back in the west mostly. Ranchers have been finding cattle with the same body parts missing and with the same clean, cauterized wounds for years. They've never been able to explain the who or why part."

"Yeah." Mulder nodded. "But, wasn't most of the blood missing from the cattle?"

"I don't remember. The government supposedly investigated." She laughed. "It's probably an X-file."

Scully and Mulder looked at each other.

"I was kidding."

"No." Mulder's eyes gleamed. "No, I think you're right."

Scully recognized the look. "Mulder, the X-files are closed."

FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
5:30p.m.

"The X-files are closed, Agent Mulder." Skinner said.

"Sir, there's a good chance that the two cases are related, but the only way we'll know for sure is to open it."

Skinner looked from Mulder to Deneau. "Your insistence to link your current assignments to the X-files is beginning to annoy me." He tapped his pen on the desk as if to emphasize the point.

Alyssa decided it was time for her to speak up. "Sir, if I may?"

"By all means." Skinner leaned back in his chair.

"I thought of the possible connection between the two, not Agent Mulder. I had heard of the problem with the cattle from a friend a few years ago when it happened to him. I knew the government investigated it, but I had no idea it was an X-file."

Skinner sighed. "I'll consider your request and let you know tomorrow." He looked down at the papers on his desk.

Taking their cue, Mulder and Deneau left. They walked silently towards the garage.

"Thanks for sticking up for me." Mulder finally said.

"Well, it was the truth."

"If you hadn't of said anything, Skinner would've said no for sure. At least now he's thinking about it." He pulled the keys from his pocket as they approached the car. "Where to?"

Alyssa took the keys. "I'll surprise you."

WEST POTOMAC PARK
6:30p.m.

Alyssa found a bench facing the river and the slowly setting sun. She sat down and wrapped her coat tighter around. A cold breeze began to blow. "It's gonna be cold tonight." She looked at Mulder who was still standing. "Sit down, Mulder. Take a load off."

Mulder stuffed his hands in his trenchcoat pockets and sat next to Alyssa.

"I love coming here to watch the sun set." She waited for a response. "The only better place I can think of is in the mountains." She looked at Mulder. He had his head bent. She could tell he was in deep thought. She noticed he scrunched his face slightly when ever he was thinking. "A penny for your thoughts."

Mulder looked sideways at her.

"Okay, for you, two pennies."

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Why did you stop calling me Fox?"

She shrugged. "I was talking to Dana and she said I was the only one she knew that you let call you that. I thought maybe you just didn't want to hurt my feelings by asking me not to."

"It didn't bother me for some reason. In fact, I didn't really notice until you called me Mulder for the first time."

"Didn't notice what?"

Mulder straightened up and took a deep breath. "That I actually liked it." He watched as her hair flowed gently with the breeze. "Why do some people call you Alex."

"My middle name's Alexandra. My parents always used to call me Alex." She laughed lightly.

"What?"

Alyssa tilted her head back and smiled. "I remember this one teacher I had in the third grade. She wouldn't call me anything but Alyssa for some stupid reason. I don't know how may times I had to stay in during recess or after school for 'not paying attention'. I couldn't help it, I wasn't used to be calling Alyssa."

"Why did your parents call you Alex?"

"I think it was my dad's idea. He really wanted a boy." She paused. "I don't know for sure. They never told me."

"Mmmm."

A strong cold gust of wind blew and made Alyssa shiver. She looked at Mulder. "Hungry?"

"Some."

"Come on and don't ask questions." This time she took his hand and led him away.

Unknown to them, a dark figure stood under a tree about 500 feet away. He watched. Those were his orders. Watch and learn as much about Agent Mulder as possible before you're assigned to him. But, Skinner had screwed up their plans by putting Deneau with Mulder.

Now, he also had to determine how much of a threat she would be.

BALLSTON COMMONS APARTMENT COMPLEX
ALEXANDRIA, VA
7:30p.m.

Alyssa set the bag of groceries they had picked up on the kitchen counter in her apartment. The place did not have much furniture. The couch and coffee table sat perpendicular to the window and faced the TV and wall. On the wall behind the couch were two shelves lined with trophies and books and the front door. The recliner faced the window and partially blocked the doorway to the hall. The only reason she had that old thing was because it was her father's favorite chair. She watched as Mulder roamed around the living room looking at the various pictures, ribbons, and trophies she had displayed about. "Take off your coat and gun and stay awhile."

Mulder took off his trenchcoat and jacket. He laid them on the recliner. Loosening his tie, he unclipped his holster and looked for an appropriate place to put it.

"Here." Alyssa walked up to him with an outstretched hand. "I don't like to leave them just sitting out where anyone can see them." She took the gun and put it in a kitchen drawer. "I'll be right back. Make yourself at home." She turned right down the hallway to her bedroom which was directly across from the spare one. Alyssa liked the setup because both rooms had their own baths. Made things really nice when company came by, which wasn't often. In her room, she hung her coat and jacket in the closet and put her gun in its special place between the bed and night stand.

She had the bedroom decorated very simply, solid lavender bedspread with purple pillows and a couple of pictures of her and her horse when she was little. The only other things in the room were the dresser, across from the foot of the bed, and a computer and desk next to the bathroom across from the closet. Alyssa tried to pick things up a little. She hadn't had much time to clean. She noticed a head peering in the doorway. She smiled. She noticed he had removed his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons on his light blue shirt. "You can come in if you like. I promise not to bite."

"Too bad," Mulder said softly. "Is this the horse you got all the trophies and ribbons on?" He motioned to the picture above the bed.

"Yeah, that's Midnight." Alyssa quickly picked up a couple pairs of underwear, tossed them in the closet, and shut the door. She looked back at Mulder. He was studying the picture of her and Midnight.

"I've never seen such a black horse." Looking back at her and smiling, "That's how he got his name, right?"

"Hey, they did teach you something at the Academy." She walked to the other side of the bed to get the throw pillows off the floor. "That and he was born at midnight." She inspected her quick clean up job. Good enough. "Come on, if I don't get dinner started, we'll never eat."

They went back to the kitchen. Alyssa stood next the refrigerator unpacking the groceries. Mulder stood on her other side, rolling up his sleeves. She could help notice what nice forearms he had.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Uhhhh," she looked around the kitchen. "In the cupboard to the right of the nuke 'em machine," she motioned with her to the right, "get two cans of tomato sauce and a jar of picante sauce."

"Nuke 'em machine?" Mulder chuckled.

"Well, that's what is does."

Mulder put the sauces on the counter. "So, what's for din-din?"

"Din-din?" She teased back and laughed. "Chicken prima vera a la Alex, tossed salad, and breadsticks."

"What's for desert?" Mulder's eyes sparkled.

Alyssa opened her mouth to reply. She wanted to say me, but decided against it. "I'm, uhhhh, still working on that one."

An hour later, Mulder and Deneau sat down to eat. Alyssa waited for Mulder to taste the chicken. He took a big bite. He nodded his head.

"This is good," he said with his mouth full.

"I'm glad you like it. It's something I invented myself."

Few words passed between the as they ate. Neither one realized just how hungry they were. It took just a couple of minutes for them to clean up the kitchen. By then the coffee Alyssa had started just before, was ready.

"Coffee?" she asked.

"Yes, black please." Mulder made himself comfortable on the couch. He watched her move around the kitchen. Very pleasing to the eye, he said to himself. He again tried to pinpoint the reason why he was attracted to her, why he just wanted to confide in her everything that had happened recently.

Alyssa walked over and handed him the coffee.

He took a sip then set it down on the coffee table. He turned sideways, one leg on the cushions with his foot tucked under the knee of his other leg. "So, what's for desert?"

Alyssa felt herself blush. This was really starting to annoy her. She hadn't blushed this much in years. It was like she was a teenager on her first date. She took a sip of coffee.

Mulder took her cup and set it down. He reached over and gently turned her face towards him, the light reflecting softly in her brown eyes. "Would it ruin a perfectly good evening if I kissed you?"

"No."

FBI HEADQUARTERS
7:56a.m.

Alyssa pulled into a parking space. She sighed, not real sure of how to react to Mulder today. Although, they had done nothing more than kiss, she was still not sure. Not sure of a lot of things. Why had she gone and broke her cardinal rule: Never become romantically involved with your co-workers. Something about Fox Mulder made her re-think her stance. She'd even thought about turning in her resignation if things between them grew, something she'd never thought she'd ever do. She shook her head to clear her mind. Stop thinking about it, she told herself. A knock on the passenger window made her jump. Mulder peered in. One last sigh and Alyssa grabbed her briefcase and got out of the car.

"Morning."

"Morning." Alyssa followed Mulder to the elevator. "Sleep well last night?"

"Like a baby."

The thought of Mulder stark ass naked made Alyssa's heart pound. "Me, too." So, it was a small lie. No sense in telling him she was up all night thinking about him.

Mulder held the elevator door open for Alyssa. As, they stood silently in the elevator, Mulder wondered what she was thinking. Was she mad he'd left so soon last night? Was she glad? Would she have slept with him if he had asked? And he'd come really close to asking, which is why he left.

The elevator door opened and they walked to Mulder's desk. On it sat a file. The cover read 'File Number X-690507 Cattle Mutilations'.

Mulder smiled. "Your charms seem to have worked."

Alyssa was about to reply when someone called from across the room, "Agent Deneau, Skinner wants to see you. Now!"

"Uh oh." Alyssa turned to Mulder for sympathy.

"Good luck."

The walk to Skinner's office seemed to take forever. Before she'd even said a word to Skinner's secretary, she was opening the door. "Go right in."

"Sit down."

Here we go again, she thought. Alyssa made herself comfortable. She had a feeling she'd be here awhile.

Skinner signed the report and closed it. He stared at Alyssa for a moment, then leaned back in his chair. "Alex, I don't like the idea of you claiming responsibility for something just to keep Agent Mulder out of trouble."

Alyssa's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"The cattle mutilations. Mulder's the only one who could have known it was an X-file."

"It WAS my idea. I was only joking around when I told him it was probably an X-file."

Skinner drummed his fingers on the desk. "All right, I'll take your word for it. But...," he leaned forward, pointing a stern finger at Alyssa. "If I find out you're covering for him, I'll take you down with him. Understand?"

"Yeah, I understand!" This time Alyssa didn't wait to be excused. She stormed out of Skinner's office, slamming the door as she went. "That son-of-a-bitch!" She cursed, making her way back to Mulder.

He smiled as he saw her approach. That quickly faded when he saw the look on her face. "What happened?"

"He had the nerve to call me a liar!" Alyssa said it loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "He said I was covering for you."

Mulder didn't know what to say. Skinner never accused anyone of that before, not even Scully when she had. Why now and why Alyssa? "Not meaning to change the subject, but Scully called. The lab tests are done and she wants us to go down there."

"Good, let's go before I do something Skinner will regret."

FBI ACADEMY
10:45a.m.

Mulder, Scully, and Deneau huddled around the table. Laid across it were photos of the corpse and the lab test results. Mulder opened the X-file and put it down on the table.

"So, what's the story?" Alyssa asked shuffling through the photos.

"The analysis of tissue taken from the wounds showed tiny fragments of metal in them and they definitely were cauterized. Upon further examination of the body, it was determined that there was enough blood lost to make it probable that they were cauterized after the incisions were made."

"So, it wasn't done with a laser of any type?" Alyssa pushed the photos away.

"No. It looks like whoever did it kept sharpening the scalpel, which is why there are metal fragments in the wounds. But, what actually killed him was air injected into the blood stream."

Mulder was about to say something when his cellular rang. He pulled it out. "Mulder........uh huh.........okay have them deliver it to Agent Scully at the FBI Academy's Behavioral Science Department.......really........okay, thanks." He put the phone back in his pocket. "That was Justin Strong. They found the other body about half a mile from where we found the first one."

"Same missing body parts?" Scully picked up the X-file and skimmed through it.

"As far as they can tell. I don't think they gave him a bath first."

"So much for X-files." Alyssa laughed. "It looks more like serial killings now."

Mulder nodded. "We'll have to go back out and look for any additional evidence in both locations."

"Oh, joy." Alyssa replied.

Scully closed the X-file and set it down. "Well, whoever is responsible has gone through a lot of trouble to make these look like their related to cattle mutilations. There are too many similarities for it to be just coincidence."

Alyssa looked around the room. "Where are the bathrooms in this place?"

Scully smiled. "Out the door and to the left, then down the hall on the left."

"Thanks." Alyssa sprinted from the room.

"So what happened with Dr. Watkins?"

"She believes her dream is real and it's not outside the realm of possibility that it really happened to her."

"If it did really happen, it's not surprising she doesn't remember. A lot of people suppress traumatic experiences that occur in their childhood so they don't have to deal with, or maybe can't handle, the memories. What about your sister?"

"She apparently saw someone who looked like her."

"But, it wasn't?"

Mulder just shrugged and looked down at the table.

Scully knew he still having problems dealing with the subject, but something else was bothering him as well. "She likes you ya know?" She hoped this might make him feel better.

"Hmmm?" His gazed didn't shift from the papers.

"Alyssa, she likes you." The grin on Mulder's face told her that he'd already found out. "Old news, huh?"

"Old news is good news."

"I thought it was no news is good news?"

The office door opened and Alyssa walked in. "Boy do I feel better." She looked at the grins on Mulder's and Scully's faces. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Scully nonchalantly picked up the photos and lab test results. "So, what's next for you two?"

Mulder looked at his watch: 12:00. "By the time we get lunch, it'll be too late to go out to the park. Looks like we'll be getting a room here." He picked up the X-file. "You wanna go get some food, Scully?"

She shook her head. "I can't, I've got class in half an hour. I'll take a rain check."

"Okay, let us know what you find when that other body gets here."

"I will."

QUANTICO HOTEL RESTAURANT
12:45p.m.

The waitress led Mulder and Deneau to a booth in the far corner of the restaurant. "Can I get you something to drink while you decide?"

"I'll have an iced tea, please." Alyssa replied opening her menu.

"Same here." Mulder looked at his menu for a few seconds then closed it. He waited for Alyssa to do the same before he asked, "Where are you from?"

"Ain't tellin'."

The waitress returned with their drinks and took their order.

Mulder ordered a hamburger and fries, Alyssa, a turkey club and salad.

"All I have to do is look it up in your file." Mulder said as the waitress left.

"I know. I just wanna see if you're curious enough to do that."

She smiled. "All right, I'll save you the trouble."

"Thank you."

"I was born and raised in Butte Montana."

"Montana? Really? No accent?"

"It took a long time for me to learn to talk without it. It just wouldn't sound good if I walked up to someone and said," She paused, then in a very rustic accent continued, "Howdy, sir, I'm Agent Deneau of the FBI." She cleared her throat to dropped the accent. "See?"

Mulder laughed. "I liked it. You sound..."

"I sound like a hick."

"That's not what I was gonna say."

"Most guys I met out here like it for some reason. Can't figure out why."

"You don't like guys with accents?"

"Fox, everyone has an accent to me. Even you."

"So, why'd you leave Montana?"

"I....I, uhhhh....just wasn't happy there."

The waitress returned and set their lunches down. "Let me know if I can get you anything else." She put the check on the table and left.

"What's wrong with Big Sky country?" Mulder took a bite out of his burger.

"Too many bad memories." She nibbled on a piece of lettuce. "My parents were very well off. They owned one of the largest cattle ranches there. When I was six, they decided to take me and my younger brother to Disneyland. We never made it. The plane crashed and killed them. Home was never the same after that. I was willed the ranch. My aunt and uncle ran it. I was never interested. I've got a hefty part of the proceeds sitting a bank there. Someday, I'll find some charity to give it to. I graduated high school when I was sixteen and left. Came out here, majored in psychology with a minor in animal behavior joined the FBI." She let out a long sigh then looked up. "So, here am I."

"Animal behavior and psychology? Strange combination."

"Think of me as a shrink who helps animals who think their people have behavior problems."

"Okay," he laughed.

"Actually, you'd be surprised at how much people and animals have in common as far as their behavior. And I'm not just talking about apes either."

"You mean like men and pigs?" A wide grin spread across his face.

"Yeah, Fox, like men and pigs."

Again, unknown to the two agents, the man had followed them and sat in a nearby booth. He listened. He had no idea what he was supposed to learn about Mulder. He rarely heard their entire conversations. What he did hear seemed like normal, everyday talk. But, what Agent Krycek was learning, was that there was a bond growing between Deneau and Mulder. That much was sure and it was not good.

HOTEL ROOM
1:30a.m.

Fox Mulder lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. His mind raced thinking about the events of the past few days. The case had him confused. Why would someone remove those body parts from the victims? Why would someone kill them in the first place? He'd called a friend at the Bureau and had him run a background check on both victims to see if they might have had enemies. That information wouldn't get back until some time tomorrow. Mulder glanced at the clock. Well, some time today, now. Then there was Alyssa. She confused him even more than the case did. He wanted to believe she'd seen Samantha, that she might still be alive. What he didn't want to believe was the feelings he was starting to have for her. Feelings he hadn't had in a long time. It wasn't good in this business. Maybe it was time to quit. Scully was right about him not fitting in. And with Alyssa and Scully being friends, it wasn't like he'd never see Scully again. He sighed. He heard movement in the sitting room. He quietly rose and picked up his gun. He slowly turned the handle and opened the door just enough to peek out. Alyssa stood staring out the window, her hotel robe wrapped tightly around her. He put the gun on the bed and walked up behind her. He lightly touched her shoulder. And before he knew it, Alyssa had grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, slammed him face down on the floor, and sat on top of him.

As soon as Alyssa realized who it was, she jumped up. Mulder rolled over and looked up at her.

"I am so sorry, Fox." She had her hand over her mouth trying not to laugh. "You should know better than to sneak up on someone." A giggle escaped from behind her hand.

"Well, you put me down here, the least you could do is help me up." He held out his hand.

Alyssa took it and pulled him to his feet. "I am really sorry. It was just one of those instant reaction things."

Mulder nodded and plopped down on the couch that faced the window. "I take it you couldn't sleep either?"

"No. Thinking about too much. This case, some of it doesn't make any sense."

"Some of it? I'd say most of it."

Alyssa walked back over to the window. She thought for a moment. "Justin Strong..." she turned towards Mulder but never finished her sentence. The window behind her shattered. A bullet cut through her left arm and lodged in the far wall. She fell.

Mulder crawled over to her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded.

"Stay down." Mulder crawled to his room and retrieved his gun. He went over to the window and slid up along the wall. He peered outside, trying to make as little of himself visible as possible. It was too dark to see anything. So, he closed the curtains. Now, the only light in the room came from Alyssa's partially opened bedroom door. Alyssa was still huddled on the floor holding her upper arm. He went to her. "Let me see."

Alyssa propped herself up on her good arm. Blood ran down from the wound. A knock on the door made them jump.

Mulder pointed his gun at the door. "Who is it?"

"Hotel security. Are you okay?"

He went to the door and looked out the peephole, making sure it was security. He motioned for Alyssa to join him.

She made it half way to the door before she had to stop. The pain in her arm was excruciating.

Mulder helped her the rest of the way. He opened the door, stepped out, and shut it behind him.

The security guard gave him a strange look.

"I wouldn't go in there until you're sure the sniper's gone." He set Alyssa on the floor. "She's gonna need medical attention."

The guard radioed the front desk to call for a paramedic and the police. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah, get me a towel. I need to stop the bleeding." He lifted up the ripped and bloody sleeve to Alyssa's robe. The wound was deep. It would no doubt require stitches.

Alyssa looked down her arm. "Oooo, pretty. I sure hope the hotel doesn't charge us for the robe."

Mulder chuckled. "Yeah, wonder how we'd explain it to Skinner."

The guard came back with several towels. Mulder took one a pressed it hard against he arm.

"Owww." She threw her head back and it bounced against the wall. "Oh, that's much better."

She looked at Mulder. She started to feel dizzy. "Fox....." The last thing she saw before she slipped into unconsciousness was the medics and police approaching.

"We'll take it from here, sir," one of the medics.

Mulder reluctantly back away. He knew the police would want to talk to him. He looked at the officer who had walked up to him.

The officer looked at the gun tucked in Mulder's sweats.

"Would you mind if I held on to that for awhile?"

Mulder handed him the gun. "I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI. I'd show you ID but it's in my jacket in the room."

The officer turned to his partner. "Check out the room, John."

As the officer opened the door, Mulder said, "I'd stay away from the window if I were you."

"Would you like to tell me what happened?"

"There's not much to tell. My partner and I were talking while she was looking out the window. She turned around to say something a shot came through the window and hit her arm. It had to have come from a long range rifle with a night scope. There weren't enough lights on in the room for anything else."

The other officer returned with the two IDs. "The room's secure. And they check out." He showed his partner Mulder's and Alyssa's badges and gave them to Mulder.

One of the medics approached Mulder. "She's in stable condition. We'll take her to General and they'll stitch her up there."

"I'm going with you." Mulder ran into the room and got his shoes and trenchcoat. Running out of the room to catch up with the medics, he called back to the officer. "Can we finish this at the hospital?"

GENERAL HOSPITAL
2:30a.m.

Alyssa opened her eyes. Everything was one big blur. Slowly her eyes focused. She saw Mulder standing at the foot of the bed talking to a police officer. She chuckled.

"What?" Mulder asked.

"I hope he's not with the fashion police or you're in big trouble.

Red sweats, grey trenchcoat, white T-shirt, and Reeboks, major fashion faux-pas."

"I take it you're feeling okay?"

She moved the bed so that she was sitting up. "My arm hurts like hell, but other than that I'm fine."

"Agent Deneau," the officer said, "Do you remember anything?"

"Not really. I was in front of the window, then I was sitting on the floor, now I'm here. That's about it."

"You don't remember seeing anything suspicious when you were looking out the window?"

"No."

"Okay. I'll have our boys analyze that bullet and let you know what we find."

"Look, no offense to your people, but I'd much rather you sent it to ballistics at the FBI Academy." Mulder interjected.

"Okay. I'll take down right away." The officer nodded to Alyssa and left.

Alyssa looked at the bandage covering her arm. "30 stitches right?"

"45 plus a couple inside." Mulder looked at Alyssa and knew what she was thinking. "Someone doesn't want us to dig any further."

Alyssa nodded confirming that it was her thought as well.

The door opened and the nurse came in. "Good, you're awake.

The doctor signed your release form. You can go." She turned to Mulder. "If you'll wait outside, I'll help her dress."

"Darn. I wanted to do that." The twinkle in Mulder's eyes said that he was serious. But, he left anyway.

The nurse took a stack of Alyssa's clothes off a chair. "The police officer brought these in for you."

"Oh."

The nurse helped Alyssa into her clothes and tied her shoes.

"I'll get your friend and a wheelchair."

"It's my arm that's hurt not my legs."

"Sorry, hospital rules."

Alyssa shrugged and immediately wished she hadn't. A sharp pain raced through her shoulder and arm. "Ouch."

"Haven't you learned you lesson?" Mulder asked from behind her.

"Huh?"

He pointed.

She looked in the direction of his motion. She was in front of the window. "I guess not."

The nurse returned with the wheelchair. She handed Alyssa a slip of paper. "That's a prescription for pain medication, should you need it. The doctor said he's not going to restrict your duty, but suggests you use your arm as little as possible. You'll need to come back here or go to your regular doctor to have the stitches checked in about 10 to 14 days."

"Okay. Thank you." Alyssa plopped down in the wheelchair.

QUANTICO HOTEL
3:15a.m.

When they returned to their room, the hotel staff had already boarded up the broken window and cleaned up the glass. Mulder's cellular was ringing.

He picked up the phone off the table. "Mulder.....Scully, what are you doing up?......Oh......yeah, that was us.....nothing 45 plus stitches couldn't fix....no not me Alyssa....she's fine otherwise.....I know......okay." He set the phone back down.

"What was Dana doing up?" Alyssa asked as she stuffed some hiking supplies in a small duffel bag.

"She couldn't sleep and was watching TV and saw the news report. She wanted to make sure we were okay. All they said on the new was that a guest of the hotel was taken to the hospital." He watched as Alyssa got her gun and extra clips. "What are you doing?"

"I thought it'd be a good idea to pack a few things to take to the park."

"You're in no shape to go anywhere."

"Excuse me?" She tried to rack the slide on her gun, but her left hand wouldn't grip hard enough.

"See....how do you expect to be able to defend yourself when you can't even load your weapon."

Alyssa walked to her room and returned with a .357 revolver and a dozen speed loaders. "See, I'm prepared."

"I won't let you go."

"You're gonna have a hell of a time trying to stop me. The doctor didn't restrict my duty, so there's nothing you can do."

"I'm the senior agent assigned to the case..."

"Don't try that pulling rank shit, Fox. It doesn't work with me!"

She put the gun and loaders in the duffel bag and angrily zipped it shut.

"Look, I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Alyssa's face was red with anger. "I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself!"

"You haven't slept all night and you just got out of the hospital!" He shot back.

"Well, you have slept either!"

"But, at least all my appendages are functioning."

"Is that a promise?" She blurted out before bursting into laughter. She calmed down after a moment. She realized he was genuinely concerned about her. She walked up and stopped a few inches from him. Only when she looked up at him did she realize he was a good six inches taller than her.

Mulder met her gaze. "Yes, it's a promise." He bent down and kissed her.

When the kiss broke, Alyssa backed up a half an step and tugged lightly on his T-shirt. "Then this is a promise, too...I will be careful and won't get hurt."

"Okay. Why don't we try to get a little sleep before we go."

Mulder went to the couch and laid on his side. He patted the cushion. Alyssa laid down facing him. As she felt his arms wrap around her, she cuddled closer and fell asleep.

A small beam of sunlight from the boarded up window shined in Alyssa's eyes and woke her up. She looked around. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the couch with Mulder. Now she was alone. "Damn it Mulder, if you snuck out on me..." she muttered. Then she heard water running in his bathroom and sighed. "I would've hated to have to hurt you." She went to her bathroom to clean up. There was no sense in taking a shower only to go out to the woods and get dirty. Plus, she couldn't get her stitches wet. Pulling her shirt over her head made her arm throb. She did her best to ignore it. It was going to hurt and there was nothing she could do except get used to it. After she cleaned up, she put her jeans and a sweatshirt on. She walked out of her room to find her hiking boots.

Mulder was on the couch lacing up his boots. "Hi. I came out to wake you, but you were already up."

"Yeah, there's a little hole in that plywood and when the sun came up, it got me right in the face." She saw her shoes next to the end of the couch. She sat next to Mulder to put them on. "When I woke up and you were gone, I thought I was gonna have to hunt you down."

"I thought about leaving you here. Then I figured you'd only follow me."

"Smart move." Alyssa looked at him and winked.

PRINCE WILLIAM FOREST NATIONAL PARK
8:30a.m.

After picking up the two packs and gear Mulder called ahead to Justin Strong for, the two headed out into the woods. The weather was going to be nice, not too hot, not too cold, and not rain in the forecast. Finding clues to the murders would be difficult now that several days had passed, but they had to try. Alyssa continued to walk behind Mulder no matter how many times he waited for her to catch up. She was a little calmer than before, but not much. When they reached the spot where they found the first body, they started an intensive search beginning from the spot where they body had been. Mulder and Alyssa searched for nearly four hours before they finally stopped for a lunch break.

Alyssa sat down on a nearby log with her pack and unwrapped her sandwich. "Do you really think there's something out here to be found?"

Mulder shrugged. He ate his sandwich while strolling around hoping to find something, anything that might help.

"I still think Justin is involved somehow."

Mulder looked at her questioningly.

"He showed no surprise when we brought back the first body.

It's like he knew what had happened."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"What?"

"Haven't you ever had a feeling something bad was going to happen?"

"Like getting an F on a test?"

"Then, when it does, you're not really shocked?"

"Yeah, but I don't buy it for something like this. I knew my horse was going to die. When he did, a few days later, it didn't make the shock any less. No, Justin is hiding something." She put the plastic sandwich wrapper in her backpack and took out the canteen. She tilted he head back for a drink. The water rushed out missing her mouth and running down the front of her shirt and jeans.

"How long have you had this drinking problem?" Mulder laughed.

"Ever since I was a fish." Alyssa answered trying to soak up some of the water with a napkin. Giving up, she tossed the wet napkin in with the sandwich wrapper. "Now what? Do we stay here or move on?"

"We'll go on and make camp near the other site."

"Make camp? As in we're spending the night out here?"

"Yep. There's a good possibility we could see something at night we won't during the day." He paused. "Is your dream making you scared to be out here at night?"

"No. I'm scared to stay out here because you only brought one tent and that means we'll have to sleep together."

For a brief moment, Mulder thought she might be serious. Then he saw the slight grin on her face. He picked up a pine cone and playfully tossed it at her. "Yeah, well the feeling's mutual."

"All right then, let's get moving." She motioned to her pack.

"You wanna help me with that, please."

Mulder helped Alyssa, then pulled on his own. They made good time getting to the spot where the other body had been found. The outline a still visible. Again, they started the search from that spot. Mulder was looking about five feet away, when something in the bushes caught his eye. He squatted down. With a twig, he picked it up. A silver pentagram hung from a beaded necklace. Mulder stood.

Alyssa noticed the motion out of the corner of her eye. "Did you find something?"

"Take a look."

She walked over to him and looked at the necklace. "It's a pentagram." The looked on Mulder's face told her he knew that. "Okay, it's an inverted pentagram. What's the big deal?"

"Inverted pentagrams are symbols of the occult and Satanism."

"You think a devil worshipping cult killed them?"

"Probably sacrificed them as part of a religious ceremony."

"And you're coming to this conclusion just because we found a pentagram?"

"How else would you explain it?"

"Someone just lost their necklace. Fox, we have no idea how

long that's been out here. There aren't even any houses around here.

The ranger station's the closest building."

"Which makes it a perfect site."

Alyssa shook her head and started to give another rational explanation when she saw something about 200 yards behind Mulder. Five red-colored stones arranged to be the five points of a star linked by lines in the sand.

Mulder turned around to see what was there. "What?"

"You don't see it?"

"See what?"

Alyssa stepped forward and the rock disappeared from view.

She stepped back and they were there. "Here, stand right where I'm at."

Mulder did. When he saw the stones, he moved a step in each direction. Each time, the rocks were no longer viable. "Cute." He started towards the rocks with Alyssa following. As he approached, he could tell that the rocks had been placed under bushes in such a way so they could be seen only from certain spots.

Alyssa felt one of the rocks. It's not blood. It must be paint of some kind."

Mulder turned back to say something to Alyssa.

She held up her hand. "If you were gonna say 'I told you so', don't."

Mulder smiled. She was getting to know him pretty well.

They scoured the area for another hour and came up with a few more possible clues: a chicken feather, a tuft of animal hair more than likely from a goat, and a dog license.

After Mulder placed the items in evidence bags, he said, "We'll need to find a place to make camp where we can see what's going on."

Alyssa's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding?! There's a bunch of raving lunatics out here killing people because the devil made 'em do it and you wanna play boyscout and have a campout?"

"What would you suggest?"

"First, we get the hell outta here, then bring back some reinforcements."

"By that time they'll probably have figured out we've been here and not come back. Plus, Skinner's not gonna okay extra man power for this on the evidence we've got."

"Okay." She sighed. "But, I want you to know I don't think this is a good idea."

Mulder dug in his backpack and pulled out his cellular. He dialed Scully's number, but nothing happened, so he turned it off. He shook his head and put it back.

"What's wrong?"

"No service out here. I wanted to get in touch with Scully. If nothing happens tonight, we'll go back to the Academy tomorrow morning, then come back."

They found a spot to camp several thousand yards away, tucked into the side of a small hill. Mulder set up the tent as Alyssa gathered rocks and wood for a fire. She cleaned away the leaves and brush and made a nice neat fire ring on the ground. She stood back to admire her work.

"Very nice." Mulder said looking over her shoulder. "But, you did all that work for nothing?"

"Huh?"

"If we tried to start a fire, it'd do nothing but smoke."

"Oh, didn't think about that." She shrugged. "Well, it kept me busy."

"Why don't you get some sleep. I'll take first watch."

"I'll try, but I doubt I'll get any." She went into the tent and crawled in the sleeping bag. She wiggled around so that she lay diagonally across the tent. She got a better view of Mulder this way. She was tried, but didn't want to close her eyes, afraid she'd wake up and he'd be gone or afraid of something worse. So, she watched him. Mulder sat in front of the tent, legs bent and his arms resting on his knees. He'd shift around every few minutes, but mostly he just sat, sat and watched.

The night turned cool, but not uncomfortably cold. Mulder stuck his head in the tent. Alyssa slept. He watched her for a minute, the moon shining softly across her check. He hesitated about waking her up. She needed the sleep. A little longer, he told himself. So, he took up his vigilant watch again. Nothing happened. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound except the crickets. Several hours later, Mulder fought off the sleep. He decided it was time to wake Alyssa. He crawled in next to her. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. He brushed her cheek.

Alyssa rolled over and looked up. "Hi." She rubbed her eyes.

"What time is it?"

Mulder looked at his watch. "About 2:30."

She sat up. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?"

"You looked too comfortable to bother." He smiled.

"Has anything happened?"

"No. I doubt anything will." He laid on his side, propped up on his elbow. "But, just in case..."

Alyssa nodded. "Okay." She pulled herself out of the sleeping bag. Leaning over to Mulder, she kissed him lightly on the lips. "Sweat dreams." Backing out of the tent, she saw Mulder lick his lips. It took every ounce of control Alyssa had to keep from going back in and doing what she'd only done twice in her life. Although this would be a nice place, it wasn't the right place. And certainly not the right time. Instead, it was now she who sat and waited and watched. When the sun started to come up, Alyssa stood and stretched. Movement in the tent made her look back. Mulder crawled out, with his hair tousled, looking dazed and confused. Alyssa chuckled to herself. She imagined she wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes, but he still looked good. "How'd you sleep?"

"Okay." Mulder stretched and took out a napkin, wetting it with water from his canteen. He wiped his face and hair.

"Do you think they'll come back?"

"I don't know. But, I know of a guy at the Academy who's done a good deal of research on cults. He might be able to help. Let's get back to the hotel and clean up."

FBI ACADEMY
QUANTICO, VA

"Where on earth have you two been?" Scully asked as they walked into her office. "I've been trying since last night to get a hold of you."

Mulder pulled out his cellular and turned it on. "Sorry about that, forgot to turn it back on. Alyssa will fill you in, I've gotta go see a man about a cult."

Scully watched Mulder leave, then looked questioningly at Alyssa. "What happened?"

"Wait 'til you hear this, Dana." Alyssa told her what happened; finding the pentagram, the rocks, the feather, and what Mulder's hunch was.

"Let me tell you something about Mulder, no matter how.... bizarre his hunches may seem, they are, more often than not, right. Come over here." She led Alyssa to her computer. "I was getting ready to clean the last victim when I noticed something on him. So, I wiped off the mud instead of washing him and here's what I found..." She clicked the cursor on the file for the last autopsy and recalled the database photos. Drawn on the victim's chest was a red pentagram. "I analyzed what the pentagram was drawn with."

"Chicken, goat, or dog blood?"

Scully nodded. "Goat."

"He was right."

"I was ore than right." Mulder came into the office. "I found out this week is some sort of religious holiday. They were probably preparing the site for the main ceremony that'll take place tomorrow night."

"Do we got to Skinner with this now?"

"If we got to Skinner, it'll take two, three days to get the approval and back up. We don't have that long."

"Plus," Scully broke in. "You only have circumstantial evidence. No proof."

"Well then, we'll have to go back on our own and get the proof." What came out of Alyssa's mouth, shocked her. It was certainly not what she wanted to do. First off, it wasn't proper procedure and secondly, it was dangerous.

"Are you sure?" Mulder asked.

"I'm not gonna let you go out there by yourself."

"Fine. We'll grab some supplies here and go back tomorrow morning."

"You two wanna get an early lunch? My next class isn't until 1:00."

Mulder looked at his watch. "You and Alyssa go ahead. I'm gonna see what else I can find out about these cults."

"I need to get something out of the car before you go."

Alyssa followed Mulder down to the car in the parking garage. She leaned in the passenger side and got her briefcase from behind the seat. She backed out and turned to say goodbye to Mulder. He was standing about a foot away with a big grin on his face. "What?"

"Nice view."

Alyssa smiled. "Thank you. When do you plan on being back?"

"By five...I promise." He took her face in his hands and kissed her. It was a more passionate kiss than before, but still gentle. "We'll go for dinner when I get back."

"Okay. See you later."

In a parked car, several rows away, Agent Krycek made a call.

"Krycek here. I think she's going to be trouble.....Yes, I just saw them kiss....I'm positive...right, I'll follow him and wait for further instructions."

Scully and Alyssa drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch. They gave the waitress their order and sat for a moment in silence.

"Alyssa", Scully said breaking the awkward silence, "I want you to know, I don't like the idea of you and Mulder going back out there. These people, if they killed the first two victims, obviously don't have a problem with doing it again."

"You know Fox, Dana. If I don't got with him, he'll just go by himself."

Scully sighed. "I know. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Alyssa smiled lightly. "Neither do I."

The waitress brought their lunch and they ate in silence. It was

Scully who spoke first again.

"Alex, what's on your mind?"

"Hmm?"

"Something's bothering you and I don't think it's the case."

"Part of it the case."

"What's the other part?"

Alyssa just stared at her salad, poking it with her fork.

Scully had an idea of what was the matter, but she didn't want to push the subject. "If you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me."

"Why don't you go back to the Academy without me. I think I'll stay and shop for awhile."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I can take a cab back. Mulder won't be back until five and I'll be done before then."

"Okay." Scully smiled and patted Alyssa's hand reassuringly.

She watched as Scully left the restaurant. Scully was a sweet person but right now Alyssa just wanted to be alone. She left a tip, paid for the meals, and walked outside. The crisp air felt good against her face. Alyssa wandered down the street to a park. She found a small bench and sat down, enjoying the warmth of the sun. She closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh, spring air. She could hear the children playing on the nearby swingset and the birds scrambling in the trees. Something brushing against her cheek startled her. She opened her eyes and a single red rose danced in front of her. She turned, expecting to find Mulder. "Justin? What are you doing here?"

"I found something." He voice was flat and monotone. "It's at the ranger station."

"Let me call Agent Mulder. He'll want be interested too."

"No. There's not time."

Something about Justin was making the hair on Alyssa's neck stand up. She pushed the thoughts out of her head. It was just her imagination. "Okay, let's go."

Justin Strong drove Alyssa to the ranger station. He opened the front door and motioned for her to enter.

Alyssa took 2 steps in the station and was grabbed from behind.

FBI ACADEMY
5:15pm

Mulder found Scully in her office. He looked around the room.

"Where's Alyssa?"

"I thought she found you."

"What do you mean?"

"She wanted to stay in town and go shopping. When she didn't come back I figured you two ran into each other."

"No. I wasn't even in town." Mulder rubbed his temples.

"Where was the last place you were with her?"

"The coffee shop."

Mulder turned and bolted out the door.

"Wait Mulder! I'm coming with you!" Scully had to run to keep up with him. When they finally reached the car, she asked, "Mulder, what's going on?"

"I was followed today." He got, unlocked her door, and started the car.

"By whom?"

Mulder threw the car in reverse. Tires squealed as he punched the accelerator. "I don't know." He slammed on the brakes and threw the gear lever into drive, stomping on the accelerator again. He weaved in an out of the traffic. "I tried to run him down, but I couldn't even get close enough to see who it was."

"And you think someone may have been following her, too?"

"Maybe." He pulled the car into the coffee shop parking lot. He jumped out and scanned the area. "Let's talk to the people inside, maybe they know where she went." He went in and flashed his badge at the nearest waitress. "We need to ask you a few questions."

"Have you seen a young in here," Scully asked, "She's about 25, shoulder length blonde hair, black trenchcoat, white pants?"

"The one you were in here with around lunch time today?"

"Yes, that's the one. Have you seen her since?"

The waitress shook her head. "Not since she left here around noon or so.

"Did you notice which way she went when she left?" Mulder impatiently shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

The waitress scratched her head. "She must have gone south down the street. I didn't see her pass by any of the windows."

"Thanks." Mulder rushed out and started down the street with Scully at his heels.

"Hey, wait!" a voice called from behind.

The agents whirled around. A short, balding, scruffy looking man approached them. "I think I've seen who you're looking for."

"Where?" Mulder took a couple steps closer.

"She got in a truck with some guy."

"What kind of truck? What did the guy look like?" Mulder worked hard to keep his cool. If she was hurt, someone was going to pay.

"I think he worked for the park service. I figured it was her boyfriend with the rose he gave her and all."

Mulder looked at Scully. "Maybe he gave her a ride back to the Academy. How long ago was this?"

"A couple of hours, I guess." The man shrugged.

Mulder turn back for the car. "I'm gonna drop you back off at the Academy in case she shows up."

"Where are you going?"

"To the ranger station."

UNKOWN LOCATION
PRINCE WILLIAM FOREST NATIONAL PARK

Alyssa slowly opened her eyes. Her head swan. Trying to recall what happened made it pound. She surveyed her surroundings. She was laying on a cot in a small room, no windows, one door, and a small light hanging from the ceiling. Her hands and legs were firmly bound. She tried pushing herself into a sitting position. The stitches ripped through her arm. Deciding to try a different approach, she wiggled around so that her legs dangled over the edge of the cot. Rocking back and forth, she gain enough momentum to sit up. Immediately she wished she hadn't. Her head spun and she fell forward onto the floor with a thud. "Smooth move, Alex." She sighed and started working on plan C.

The door opened and Alyssa craned her neck to see who it was. The tall, black robed figure stepped menacingly towards her as she squirmed futilely to get away. The robed figure grabbed her and tossed her on the bed. She tried to sit up but was shoved back down.

"What do you want?"

The figure did not reply. The door opened again and another one, slightly smaller than this one, stepped in. He set a pan of water, a washcloth, a pair of scissors, and a robe down on the floor near the cot and left. The remaining one picked up the scissors.

Alyssa's eyes widened and her heart pounded. She didn't want to know what was gonna happen next.

He knelt beside her and placed the scissors under her chin. He slowly applied pressure until Alyssa tilted her head back. Then, he slowly began cutting away her clothes.

Alyssa closed her eyes, trying ignore what was happening. She prayed someone would find her before it was too late.

The process of removing Alyssa's clothes seemed slow and methodical, almost ritualistic. When the clothes were all removed, the figure dipped the washcloth in the pan of water and began to clean her. He washed every inch of her body, front and back.

Alyssa stomach churned as the possibility if rape entered her mind. But he did no such thing. He placed the washcloth in the water and wrapped her up in the white robe. He picked up her clothes and the pan of water and left.

Alyssa signed. With the robe covering her arms and hands it'd be even more difficult to get free. But she had to try before what happened to the rangers happened to her.

RANGER STATION
6:30pm

The sun was setting as Mulder screeched to a halt. With the element of surprise gone, he jumped out of the car, unholstered his gun, and slammed full force into the ranger station's front door. The door crashed open revealing nothing but an empty room.

"Alyssa?!" Mulder checked in the back bedroom, but his only reply was a barking dog. He searched the entire station and came up empty. No signs that anyone had come or gone recently. Hands on his hips, he let out a frustrated sigh. Glancing around the room, something on the wall caught his eye. He approached a framed newspaper article and read the headline out loud, "Ranger's dog finds lost boy."

UNKNOWN LOCATION
7:30pm

Alyssa had managed to get the wooden frame of the cot under the robe. She rubbed the binding rope furiously against it. Alyssa froze at the sound of the doorknob rattling. She flopped backed onto the cot.

A robed and hooded figure, possibly the same one as before, entered the room and walked over to Alyssa. He scooped her and carried her into another room where three other people waited, each one wearing a robe and hood. One of then walked out the front door followed by the man carrying Alyssa and the two others. They walked through the dark woods. Alyssa surmised they know the way to where ever they were heading very well. They had walked for about 10 minutes before the moonlit surroundings became all too familiar to Alyssa.

Ahead, luminated by 6 torches, Alyssa could see the red rock pentagram. She was carried over to a stake about 20 feet away from the pentagram just outside of the circle of torches. Just as she was set down three more robed figures appeared from the darkened woods. The one who had carried Alyssa cut the ropes from her feet allowing her to stand on her own. Alyssa swayed slightly trying to regain her lost balance. The figure them untied the robe and pulled it off her. The six others began chanting and swaying back and forth around the pentagram.

Alyssa couldn't make out what was being said. Their voices were too low. She shivered uncontrollably from the cold and fear. She knew there was a good chance she'd be raped by each one before they killed her. Her knees buckled. Her hands were cut free and stuffed through the armholes of the robe and it was secured around her again. The robed figure backed Alyssa up against the stake and tied her hands behind her on the backside of the stake.

Alyssa's mind raced. Hoping Mulder would come to her rescue was a plan she couldn't risk taking. The cold night air sunk into her bones, making her teeth clatter. Something warm oozed down her left arm. It must be the stitches, she thought. She couldn't worry about that now. She moved her arms up and down as fast as she dared against the stake. It couldn't be obvious what she was doing. Her arms began to sting. She had no idea if she was cutting up the ropes of just her arms.

She turned her attention back to the group of robed people. They were still chanting and making strange gestures. That's when she realized one of the was missing. "Damn it!" she cursed quietly. Where the hell did he go. She counted them again just to be sure. Only six. They chanted and circled the pentagram. Then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. The circle opened up into a horseshoe and the missing one stepped out of the woods with a small black goat and a large pot. He placed the pot in the center of the pentagram. Raising the goat over his head, he said something Alyssa couldn't understand. He brought the goat down and held it over the pot by it's back legs. The goat bleated pitifully. Another figure sprayed something into it's mouth. The goat was silent but tried to struggle. The same figure pulled out a knife. It's sharp edge glistening from the torches. Alyssa gasped as he slit the goat's throat under it's chin then jabbed the knife midway up into it's body. With one quick down swipe, the goat was cut open and it's insides fell into the pot already filled with blood.

Alyssa's knees gave out and she fell to the ground. Never in all her life, even on the farm, had she seen something so awful. The goat had still been alive. She sat on her hips taking deep breaths, fighting off the nausea. She had to get out of here. She pushed herself back to her feet. He knees wobbled but didn't give out. She rubbed the roped on the stake some more, trying to ignore the pain in her arms. Suddenly the ropes broke apart. She sighed. Well, one part was out of the way. Now she had to figure out which way to go. She had no idea what direction the ranger station was in. And chances are, they knew the woods a whole lot better than she did.

Something cold and hard touched her hand. She gripped it and smiled. Her trusty .357. Someone tugged her into a sitting position.

"I've got a distraction ready," Mulder whispered. "When it hits, do a 180 and run like hell. I'll be right behind you."

Alyssa stood back up. Cocking the gun she readied herself. Two seconds later, an explosion rocked the area. The robed figures stopped and looked in the direction of their cabin. They shouted and all but one ran towards it.

Alyssa wasted no time. She took aim and shot the remaining figure in the leg then turned and hauled ass out of there.

Mulder was right behind her, yelling "Run!"

They could hear someone shouting behind them, coming after them. Alyssa cursed as every few yards something would cut into her bare feet, but Mulder urged her on. All of a sudden, they were in a thick fog. The stopped unable to see which way to go.

"What the hell?" Mulder looked around, searching for a way out.

A feeling of deja vu overcame Alyssa and she froze.

A light from overhead, shown down through the fog and tree.

Everything seemed to be running in slow motion. In the beam of light about 20 feet away, a young girl appeared.

"Samantha!" Mulder called.

Alyssa turned and watched as Mulder started for the girl. He had taken four steps when something hurled him backwards. Alyssa looked from Mulder to the little girl. She had a look of horror on her face as she too stared at Mulder's lifeless form. She looked backed at Alyssa and motioned for her too come forward.

Alyssa hesitated. Something tugged at the back of her mind.

Something warning her. But she approached anyway.

The girl held out a closed fist.

About five feet away from the girl, Alyssa saw something behind her. It was tall and leggy with grey toned skin and large black eyes. Alyssa swallowed hard. Maybe if she did something different in this dream, the ending would be different. She swallowed hard and continued towards the girl, keeping one eye on the being in the background.

The girl took several steps forward and they stopped and stood at arms length from each other. The girl reached out and took Alyssa's hand. She turned Alyssa's hand palm up and placed something it in. Then closed Alyssa's hand tightly around it.

Shouting brought Alyssa out of her trance. Those people were still after them. Alyssa's mind flashed back to a picture of Mulder laying on the ground. She ran to him and knelt by his side. The shouting was getting closer. She could hear the footsteps. Alyssa looked back at the little girl. A bright flash of light blinded her. When Alyssa's eyes re-adjusted, the girl, the grey beings, and the fog were gone. As well was the shouting and footsteps. Alyssa looked around, wonder where they went to. Movement from Mulder focused Alyssa's attention back on him. "Fox?? Fox, are you okay?"

Mulder rolled slowly onto his back. "Samantha... I saw her.

What happened?"

"I don't know." Alyssa help Mulder sit up. "One minute they were here and the next the were gone."

Mulder glanced down at her clenched fist. "What's in your hand?"

Alyssa stared at it. "I don't know." She paused. Wasn't that all just a dream? "We need to get out of here." She pulled Mulder to his feet, steadying him as he regained his balance. "Do you know how to get out of here?"

Mulder scanned the trees and pointed to a path off to the left.

"That way."

"How do you know?"

Mulder smiled. "Instinct."

By the time they were a few minutes from the ranger station, Alyssa's feet were bloodied and numb. As Mulder picked her up she wrapped her arms around his neck, enveloping the warmth of his body. They broke through the trees and into the parking lot of the station. Cars, lights, and people flooded the area.

Scully was in the middle of it all, talking to several police officers and Bureau agents. She saw Mulder and Alyssa emerge from the woods and raced to them. "My god! What happened?"

"I'll explain later. She's gonna need some blankets and the paramedics." Mulder carried Alyssa into the back bedroom of the station and sat her on the bed. He pulled the bedcovers around her. He knelt in front of her, brushing the hair from her face.

Alyssa's teeth chattered as she dropped what she was holding into Mulder's hand.

Scully came in with several more blanket and wrapped them around Alyssa. "The medics are on their way." She noticed Mulder staring at a small red piece of plastic in his hand. "What is it?"

Mulder held up the three dimensional H shaped piece of plastic. In gold was etched a man's head and the word "Scout".

Scully looked at Mulder. "I don't get it."

"The girl from my dreams..." Alyssa's voice quivered. "She gave it to me."

"What does it mean?"

Mulder swallowed. "It's a playing piece from the game Stratego." He rolled it over in him palm. "Sam and I were playing it. Before..." He stared at it, his heart aching for the sister he'd lost so long ago.

Tears welled in Alyssa's eyes. She knew what Mulder was feeling, the loss, the hurt, the guilt. She'd been through it too. She took her hand out from underneath the blankets. She touched Mulder's cheek.

Slowly his gazed shifted from the game piece to Alyssa. His hand touched hers as he let out a long sigh. Just as he stood, the paramedics rushed in.

The medics examined Alyssa and took her vital signs. As one of them helped her into the gurney, the other said, "She's suffering from multiple lacerations on her arms, legs, and feet and from exposure. We'll take her to General and get her fixed up."

Mulder bent down and kissed Alyssa's forehead as the medics strapped her in. "As soon as I'm done here, I'll be down with some clothes to get you." He watched as they wheeled Alyssa out of the station. He felt a hand on his arm.

"Mulder are you okay?"

He shoved the game piece in his pocket hoping to shove away some of the hurt too. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You wanna tall me what happened out there?"

Mulder told Scully everything. About how he used the dog to track Alyssa to the cabin, then to the ritual site, how he used his jacket to set off the explosion, and how Alyssa shot one of her abductors in the leg. "We'll need to contact all the hospitals within a hundred mile radius of here. See if they've admitted anyone with a .357 gunshot wound in the leg.

"Right. What happened with your sister? How does she fit in?"

"It was like what Alyssa described in her dream. We ran into a thick fog, the light came down and... and there she was."

"You saw her?"

"Yes, for a minute. I started towards her but something threw me backwards on the ground and knocked me out."

"Something?"

"It was like an invisible hand just picked me up and flung me backwards, Scully. Like I was nothing."

"Are you sure you didn't just run into a piece of rope or wire?"

"Scully, I was pushed back, I was thrown back at least 10 feet."

"Agent Scully," a voice called from the other room.

Scully walked into the outer room with Mulder right behind her. "Yes?"

A black haired police officer motioned outside. "I think you might wanna see this."

Mulder and Scully walked out onto the porch. To the right of the door lay a body bag. Mulder bent and partially unzipped it. He shook his head.

Scully peered at the face. It was Justin Strong.

"He's got a gunshot wound in his right leg." The officer informed them.

Zipping up the bag, Mulder stood. "I think you'll find it's from Agent Deneau's .357. You can check the bullet in his leg against Bureau records. I think you'll find it a match."

"I'll do that. We also find the cabin. It was burnt to the ground. No one else was around. We have dogs and people trying to track them."

Mulder nodded. "Thank you." He turned towards the sound of a car pulling into the parking lot. He shielded his eyes against the headlights until the car was turned off. He squinted to see who had gotten out of the car. As the person approached him, the identity became clear.

Agent Mulder. Agent Scully."

Mulder sighed. This was not what he needed right now. Assistant Director Skinner was the last person he wanted to deal with.

Skinner looked Mulder over from head to toe. "You look like shit. Go home, get clean up, and get some rest. There's nothing else you can do here."

Mulder nodded and headed for his car.

"Mulder..."

He stopped and looked back at Skinner.

"While you're at it, take some clothes to Agent Deneau at the hospital and take her home."

In a car amongst the many others in the parking lot, sat Alex Krycek. He sighed. Why can't anything be simple. If Deneau had been killed things would have been so much better. Now, he had to think of another way.

GENERAL HOSPITAL
7:30a.m.

Mulder checked with the nurse's station to find out which room Alyssa was in. It had taken him several hours to get back home. clean up, and go to Alyssa's apartment to pick up her clothes. He felt odd about going through her drawers but there were certain things he knew she'd need. He found her room and peeked inside. She was resting. She looks so peaceful, and quiet, and beautiful, he thought. He walked in and set the bag of clothes on the chair next to the bed. He touched her hand and she stirred.

Alyssa's eyes fluttered open and her vision slowly cleared. "Fox." She smiled as best she could.

"How do you feel?" He pulled up another chair beside her bed and sat.

She sighed. "Okay. Really tired. The doctor said I'd be out by noon today. I'll just need some rest for a few days."

"I'm sorry I dragged you into this and got you hurt. I'm sorry..."

"Fox..." Alyssa interrupted. "It's my job, remember?"

"I know." He nodded. "Seeing you that close to being really hurt, or even killed..."

Alyssa took Mulder's hand. "Do you think, I'd let anything happen to me now that I've met you?" She pulled him up to her. "I'd be a fool if I did." She reached behind his neck and pulled him down. She embraced his lips with hers, warmly and passionately. Someone at the doorway clearing their throat, broke their kiss and they looked to see who it was.

Scully smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I thought I'd come and see how you were doing."

Alyssa blushed as she watched Mulder sit back in the chair.

"I'm doing good. I should be out of here soon."

"Did you find the rest of them?" Mulder leaned forward in the chair.

"No. They searched everywhere. The dogs lost track of the scents."

Alyssa looked confused. "The rest of them?"

Scully nodded. "After they took you to the hospital, the found Strong's body. His throat was cut. I guess his companions figured he wouldn't be able to keep up and they didn't want him talking."

Alyssa shook her head. "Case closed."

"It looks that way," Scully replied. "Only it leaves us with more questions that answers."

"Ain't that the truth," Alyssa sighed. Some things seemed so foggy and yet some things seemed so clear about what happened to her. It was the things that she remembered clearly that scared her. And to make matters worse, she was going to have to relive the whole thing again as she wrote her field report.

ONE WEEK LATER
FBI HEADQUARTERS
WASHINGTON, DC

Alyssa once again found herself sitting in front of Skinner as he looked over her field report. The past week had been somewhat difficult for her. Writing the report brought back some scary memories for her. But with Mulder's help and caring, she did the task and even found herself much more at ease with what had transpired.

Skinner shook his head. He read aloud from the report. "It is my opinion that the murders were the result of occult activities, the victims being used as sacrifices in their religious beliefs. The disappearance of the occults however, remains unsolved. One possible explanation being they were taken by the girl and whoever or whatever was seen in the forest." He closed the report. "Whoever or whatever, Agent Deneau?"

Alyssa shrugged. "That's the only way I could explain it, sir. I know I didn't imagine what happened out there."

Skinner leaned back in his chair. None of that really mattered anymore. "Agent Deneau, I know you worked hard on this case." He took a deep breath. "And it will be documented in your career file. But, you're being transferred."

Alyssa flew out of her chair. "I'm WHAT??" Alyssa clenched her teeth.

"You're bring transferred. A opening came up in a California office. I didn't request it. I was just told to do it."

"Who did request it?" Alyssa had no desire to move back to California. Her life was her now, with her friends, with Fox.

Skinner shook his head. "I don't know. But you're to report to the field office in Los Angeles in three days." He leaned forward and pushed a folder towards her. "It's all in there. Apparently, they want you there bad. Movers will come to get your stuff and they have a temporary apartment there for you."

Alyssa just stood there, staring at Skinner in disbelief. "What if I refuse?"

Skinner looked at her. He knew she already had an answer to that question. "Then you'll need to turn in your badge, weapon, and resignation."

Alyssa slowly reached for the file. Resigning was a tempting offer. She wanted to stay and be with Fox. She hadn't felt this strongly for any man in a long time. She loved him. But she loved her job, too. She picked up the file and headed for the door.

She took her time making her way to Fox's desk. She tried to think of the best way to tell him what was happening. The decision was a difficult one to take. But she knew if Fox said to stay here, she would have that resignation on Skinner's office so fast it would make his head spin.

Mulder saw her approaching. "Hey, how's it go?" he smiled. The smile quickly faded as he saw the look on her face. "What is?

What's wrong?"

"Can we go some place to talk?"

Mulder nodded. He knew just the place. Some place where no one else would bother them.

Mulder turned on the light as he opened the door. The office air was stale and a layer of dust covered everything. He pulled the plastic covers off of the chairs and wheeled them close to each other.

He motioned for Alyssa to sit.

Alyssa did so obediently. She stared down at the file in her hands. Tears welled in her eyes.

"They're transferring me, Fox, back to California."

He knelt in front of her. "What? Why?"

"I... I don't know. Skinner said he didn't request it."

"I'll bet, that son-of-bitch."

"I can resign instead of going." She waited. She waited for Fox to take her in his arms and tell her yes, that was what she should do.

But he didn't. Instead he placed his hand gently on her knee. "I can't ask you to do that for me, Alyssa. I can't ask you to give up your career. It's not because I don't care. I do care, but..." he paused. He carefully lifted her tear stained face up. "It's just not the right time, for either of us."

Alyssa leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Mulder's neck. She understood. As she felt Mulder's arms wrap around her, the tears fell once again.

UNKNOWN LOCATION
WASHINGTON, DC

Alex Krycek stood near the center of the dark, drab apartment. He shifted uneasily.

"It's been done," the deep faceless voice said. "You'll be assigned to Agent Mulder now. You're to watch him, keep him out of trouble. And most importantly, out of our way."

Krycek watched as the man's hand stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette.

****** THE END*****