"What house is on fire, Mulder?"

Shaking his head, he continued. "I'm not sure. But I'm lost among a maze of rooms and hallways. I can hear a woman's voice, or I think I can, I don't know. Your voice I think. I can't get out, and I can't get to you. Then the floor collapsed beneath me, and I fell. That part changes, though."

"How many times have you had this dream, Mulder?" She searched his eyes, seeing the barely controlled panic that filled their depths. She had known of Mulder's fear of fire for years. Phoebe Green and the case that she had brought to Mulder had revealed many things to her about her new partner.

"A few weeks. It's been changing some over time. The ceiling collapses one time, the floor collapses the next, or both. No matter what happens, I'm never able to get out."

Softly, she questioned. "Who's Susannah, Mulder?"

"Who? I don't know a Susannah, Scully."

"You called for her in your dream. You called out for me, and then you called out for a Susannah."

He shook his head. "Scully I have no idea. But these nightmares are different. They're too real."

Neither agent got much sleep the rest of the night.

***

St. Augustine, Florida
Anastasia Island Diner

Scully found herself drinking a third cup of coffee the next morning in an effort to wake up. Mulder looked to be shaken by the events of the night, but he was more accustomed to sleepless nights than she was. He, on the other hand, was still nursing his first cup of coffee. A waitress brought them their orders, a bagel for Scully and scrambled eggs and bacon for Mulder.

They ate in silence, each lost to their own thoughts. Until Mulder broke the uneasy quiet. "You don't really believe in this ghost idea, do ya, Scully?"

"Everything comes back to science, Mulder. Although, if working on the x-files has taught me anything, it's to expect the unexpected." A grin lighted Mulder's face at even such a small victory. "Come on, we're going to be late to meet with Sam Pruitt."

Scully settled the bill while Mulder went to get the car in the drizzly parking lot. A steady rain had moved in from the north overnight. Picking her up in front of the door, they left to return to the lighthouse. Because of the overcast weather, they were able to see the lighthouse's light rotating in the sky as they drove.

***

St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum

Once there, they spoke with Sam Pruitt. She had seen the ghost of Gregory two of the six times. Once with Mark upstairs, and once with a guest on the back lawn. He had been standing on the upstairs porch, gazing toward the lighthouse. He didn't attempt to talk with them this time, just turned his attention toward the two women, shook his head slightly and disappeared while walking through an open door.

After speaking with Sam Pruitt, Mulder and Scully sought to do some searching on their own. They were walking around the main room of the museum, actually taking the time to look at some of the exhibits. Scully was looking at several old faded photographs that were framed and hanging on the wall. "Look, Mulder." She called. "The caption reads 'Mr. and Mrs. Gregory McConnaughy and son. Taken 1874.' There's the lighthouse in the background. She was beautiful."

Neither had heard Annabelle walk into the room behind them. "Oh, that's Susannah, his wife. And the little boy is Harry." She continued on her way, walking to the back room where they had spoken two days before.

"Scully?" Mulder asked. She was staring at the photograph, her eyes staring. "What is it?"

She blinked, and turned to look at Mulder. "Susannah," she stated simply.

"Yeah, and?"

"It's the name you said in your sleep."

***

Since there wasn't any lightning in the area, they were allowed to go into the lighthouse. They had already been in the entrance house once before, with Annabelle the previous day. Walking on into the lighthouse structure itself, they were presented with a majestic wrought iron spiral staircase that wound its way up the more than one hundred and seventy feet to the top of the tower.

After climbing several of the flights of stairs, they stopped to catch their breath and admire the tile work on the floor far below. A checkered black and white pattern filled the circular floor. Continuing to climb, they eventually reached the furthest point. Stepping out onto the observation deck, they found themselves facing a spectacular panoramic view of the land surrounding the tower, including the city of St. Augustine.

"Look, Scully. You can see the Castillo de San Marco over there." He pointed in the direction of the St. Augustine fort. "It's hard to believe this is the oldest city in North America."

"As every sign in town strives to remind us," she said with a grin. "'Founded 1565,'" she quoted. "I've read about this place, but I'd never had the chance to come here until now. Did you know that the oldest wooden school house in the states is not far from the fort? It's pinned to the ground with a large anchor."

Mulder regarded Scully, whose gaze never left the sprawling landscape around them, while she spoke. "I remember something about that." Scully cut him a look, implying she didn't know whether or not to believe him. "I'm hurt, Scully," he said with a grin. "Actually, I used to be something of a history buff when I was in high school. I read a lot."

"And remembered a lot," she interjected with a laugh.

"But of course," he attempted with his best French accent, at which Scully really did laugh. "Okay, Ms. Laugh-at-my-Partner. Just wait a minute . . . " Scully turned to look at Mulder when he didn't finish his statement, and followed his line of sight down to the ground. "Mark Pearson just got here," Mulder said. "Looks like its time to do what we get paid for."

"Who ya gonna call?" Scully quipped.

"Scully?"

"Yeah?" She managed around a laugh.

He leaned over to where his face was inches from hers. "Get some new jokes," he dead panned. With that, he turned and started down the steps leaving a still chuckling Scully standing with her hair flapping in the steady breeze.

The trip down the winding staircase took half the time of the walk up. Before long, they were exiting through the entrance house, and Mark Pearson walked up to meet them. "I was just coming to find you, Annabelle said that you had gone to explore the lighthouse."

Mulder nodded. "You were going to show us the location of the last sighting."

"Yeah. I've got some repairs to do, but they are in the same room."

"The basement?" Scully asked as they walked toward the keeper's house.

Mark held the door open for the two agents. "Yes ma'am. We've had a very wet winter this year and as a result we've had some flood damage in the basement." He led them down the small stairway to the lower level, which was actually still above ground. "Annabelle had come down to check on how the repairs were coming along, and we were talking when he appeared."

Mulder was drifting around the large room, examining its contents. "He just appeared?"

"Yes, sir. I was looking in that direction." He pointed to a spot along the back wall. "And he sort of materialized. I can still remember the sound of his voice, the way he said 'fire' before reaching out his hand to us. Then the flames began and we ran toward the steps. I looked back from the stairs and he was still there. He looked scared."

"But there was actually no fire." Scully commented. "Annabelle mentioned that, and there is no sign of scorch marks." She was kneeling in the spot where Gregory McConnaughy was supposed to have appeared amidst the flames.

Mark had been working while they were speaking and stopped, looking over at Scully. "Ma'am I have no idea how it happened. All I know is it did." Scully nodded and continued to look around the spot.

After finishing her examination of the final sighting location, she turned around to find Mulder. She saw him standing at the far end of the basement, facing the north wall. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. The look on Scully's face when she mentioned Susannah had been one of needing a scientific explanation, but not having one. Had he called out the name of Gregory's wife? How had he known? The longer they were at the lighthouse, the greater a connection he felt. But to what he did not know.

"Mulder?" Scully's implied question pulled him away from his thoughts of Gregory and his life.

Mulder turned and walked back toward where Scully was standing. "Find anything, Scully?"

"No. What were you looking at down there?" She motioned toward where Mulder had been standing, but was unable to see the place she was talking about because Mulder was blocking her view.

Mulder turned, "I'm not sure, Scully. I . . . "

When Mulder didn't continue, Scully was about to ask what was wrong when she walked around him and saw where his gaze was transfixed. Mark, too, had turned from where he was working to look at what had gave Mulder pause. Scully couldn't blink, couldn't breathe. This should not be happening.

For standing less than ten feet in front of them was the blue glowing form of Gregory McConnaughy.

Both Scully and Mark were rooted to where they stood, neither making a move. Mulder, however, took a tentative step toward the apparition. Then another, and another until he was a mere two feet from the soft form.

He dared not blink, and stood in wonder as Gregory spoke. "Flood." With that, he reached out toward where Mulder stood transfixed. Making an arc with his arm, he pointed at the floor. His eyes were pleading with Mulder. Continuing to point at the floor just in front of where Mulder had been standing only moments before, he spoke again. "Flood." With that, he faded away. The last Mulder was able to see of him were his eyes. They shone with hope.

Slowly, Mulder turned to look over to where Scully and Mark still stood. Scully was the first to speak. "Fire? Flood? What does he mean? What is he trying to say?" She was struggling to find a reason for what she had just seen. Only she couldn't.

"I'll go get Annabelle. She'll want to know what happened." Mark then walked to the stairs and disappeared into the upstairs.

Scully walked over to where Mulder stood. He had turned and was focusing on the place that Gregory had pointed to. "Mulder?" She saw the distant look in his eyes and knew something the apparition had done or said had connected in Mulder's mind. She placed her hand on his arm, "Mulder?"

He tore his gaze from the floor to meet her concerned eyes. "I'm fine, Scully."

The sound of feet on the stairs caused Mulder and Scully to turn, Mark had returned with Annabelle. "Mark told me you had a run in with Gregory."

Mulder nodded. "Tell me, Annabelle. Is there anything under this spot?" He pointed at the same place that the ghost of Gregory McConnaughy had.

Annabelle walked over to Mulder had pointed. "Sorry, Agent Mulder. Nothing that I know of."

"There has to be," Mulder muttered. Kneeling down, he found a loose edge of carpet and pulled up on it. It tore loose from the floor, and Mark was about to object when Annabelle motioned with her hand to let Mulder continue. Laying the section of carpet aside, Mulder began to probe along cracks in the floor with his fingers. "Here!" The others were made aware of what had caused the note of excitement in his voice when he wedged his fingers down in a wider crack in the floor and pulled up.

It revealed a two-foot square hole in the floor, which opened up into a small room. Dust flew in the air from the door being dislodged, and a closed-up, musty smell emanated from the room below. "Well, I'll be," Annabelle said.

Scully had moved to kneel by an edge of the opening. "Annabelle, do you have any flashlights?"

"I'll get some," Mark answered.

Very little light filtered into what appeared to be a sub-basement, making it impossible to tell how large it was. Within just a few moments, Mark returned carrying four large flashlights. Scully, Annabelle and Mark shone their lights down into the room while Mulder carefully lowered himself down into it. In the light provided, Mulder clicked on his own flashlight and looked around the room, which was half the size of the one above it.

He turned when he heard Scully and Mark also climbing down into the room. Annabelle had stayed upstairs, should they need help. "Mulder? Have you found anything?" Scully's voice echoed somewhat in the quiet room.

"Not yet," he replied.

"This is amazing!" Mark exclaimed. "This room seems to have been cut right out of the coquina that the jetty was constructed out of. There's still wood on the walls and it appears to have been sealed with something to keep water out. How did the fire not get in here?"

"Was it part of the original house?" Scully asked.

Mulder was looking at some crates in the far corner. "It looks like maybe it meant to be a storage area." Brushing off the dust that had collected on one crate, he continued. "I would hazzard a guess that the flour in these containers isn't any good anymore, though."

Mark was running his fingers along one of the sealed seams in the wood. "Looking at the amount of leakage through these joints, I'd have to agree. And there are marks on the walls that show that there's been standing water in here."

"I'm sure that's happened numerous times since this room was built. Especially since the room was closed up. But why was there a door included in the new basement, but no one knew about it?" Scully was walking around the damp room, looking around at its features.

Her curiosity haven gotten the better of her, Annabelle also dropped into the sub-basement. "The time at which the fire occurred, Agent Scully, was a chaotic one. The south was still under Reconstruction, and most records from that time are sketchy at best."

"And this room was just forgotten." Mulder commented.

Annabelle had walked over to look at the containers next to Mulder before she continued. "Mark, we'll need to get these containers checked out by the archeology people. Who knows what they might still hold."

She turned to Mulder and addressed his statement. "From what I do know, originally the floors of the basement were hard wood. But were covered with carpet at some point. Over the years, it's possible, that it was as simple as that Agent Mulder. After the mid-1950's the light was automated. After that, keeper's didn't live here and the house began to deteriorate. It's sad really. And in 1970, this structure also caught on fire. However, due to its history, it was restored over the next fourteen years. If you noticed, the door was well disguised into the wood work above. Intended for use, but not used. This room was forgotten."

"Until someone who knew of it showed us the way," Mulder said. "Gregory led us here, but why?"

"Mulder!" Scully called out from the far back corner. "I've found something." The other three occupants of the room hurried over to where Scully was kneeling. "The floor has rotted through here, and the water has washed up something interesting."

"It's a body!" Annabelle exclaimed, her hand over her mouth. "Is it . . . "

Looking down at the skeletal remains lying amidst the rotten wood, Mulder whispered, "Gregory McConnaughy."

"Everyone assumed he died in the fire," Mark said. "But his body was never found."

"The dream makes sense, Scully." Mulder said. "Running through the hallways, searching. Trying to get out. The ceiling collapsing. Falling through the floor."

She turned to look at Mulder, his face pale. "Mulder, I don't know. It seems a stretch, but so much does with you." She managed a smile, and turned her gaze back to the floor. Seeing something glint in the light of her flashlight, Scully reached into the dirt a foot or so away from the remains and pulled out a chain with a cross on it. Even after so many years, the gold glittered in the light. Holding it up her eyes shaken, she questioned, "Annabelle?"

The older woman looked at the treasure Scully held before her. "Susannah's diary is upstairs in the museum, it was discovered among her things in town after she died. I remember that Susannah wrote of her cross necklace. She had given it to Gregory, so that they would be together even when they were apart."

"The recent flooding must have finally finished breaking up the rotten wood," Mark said.

Mulder, his gaze never leaving the dark earth, finished. "And it had begun to wash away the necklace at the same time." Scully looked over at where Mulder was kneeling, his eyes shadowed. "He wants to be with Susannah again."

***

Epilogue

Final Field Report
Special Agent Dana Scully

During the course of our investigation at the St. Augustine Lighthouse, Agent Mulder and I were told a fascinating ghost story. To go beyond that, would be to cross into the realm of the unexplained. However, working with Agent Mulder has taught me that sometimes we must look into this realm with open eyes. For sometimes, simple answers aren't an option.

While there, we were witness to what Mulder calls an "other world visitation." The event remains unexplained. However, it was this event that led us to the remains of Gregory McConnaughy which had been unaccounted for since 1875.

Annabelle Crandall had since petitioned for the remains to be buried at the town's old cemetery along side his wife, Susannah. The bones were been exhumed by a local archeological group. The petition was approved and his remains were transferred to the St. Augustine National Cemetery. Susannah's necklace is now held by the St. Augustine Lighthouse Museum, and is on display.

Since this time, there have been no additional reported sightings of Gregory McConnaughy. In a related side note, also since this time, Agent Mulder has not suffered from any more 'fire' dreams. The dreams, which had began around the time the bones were believed to be uncovered, were of what Mr. McConnaughy most likely experienced on the night of the fire which took his life.

Gregory and Susannah are together again, and this case is closed.

fin