Title:          Revenge
Author:         Lovesfox
E-mail:         Lovesfox@rogers.com  (Feed me, please)
Web site:       http://www.geocities.com/kim_djd/index.html
Rating:         NC-17 (violence, consensual M/S sex and strong 
                language)
Category:       Implied UST then MSR, Angst, Story/X-File
Classification: XRA
Spoilers:       Not really, but up to mid-S7
Archive:        As long as my name and everything stays attached
Summary:        An old case of Mulder's resurfaces seeking revenge

Disclaimer:     Alas, not mine.  They belong to Chris Carter and 
                1013 Productions
              
Dedication:     To true friendship, through thick and thin. 
                Thanks, T.

Warning:        This story contains some scenes of violence, a rape 
                Attempt, implied character death, references to 
                incest, and graphic sex.




Revenge Part 21 of 29
by Lovesfox



Scully's Apartment
Georgetown, D.C.
Thursday
9:20 pm


Mulder nuzzled his nose into Scully's hair again.  He could not 
get enough of her special fragrance, a combination of her fruity 
shampoo, her perfume and that indefinable essence that was just 
her.  He also loved the way her hairs tickled his face.  

The way they lay together on the couch, his back resting on the 
pillow that was propped against its arm, and Scully's back nestled 
into his chest, positioned her head perfectly, enabling him to 
nuzzle at will, without straining at all.  Which he had been doing 
quite frequently over the past hour, with contented little hums 
escaping his mouth periodically.

His arms were wrapped loosely around her, his hands resting at her 
belly.  She seemed intent on the movie they had popped into the VCR, 
while he was intent on her, but she still reacted whenever he 
touched her or made a sound, by stroking one of his arms or tilting 
her head to the side to invite his lips to nibble at her neck.

She did so now, and he immediately obliged her by placing a tender 
kiss beneath her ear.  He added a touch of flair to the gesture by 
tracing his tongue over her lobe and ending with a gentle bite.  Her 
little moan ended in a wide, jaw-cracking yawn, which made him huff 
out his breath in pretended disbelief.  "Woman, there is no way you 
could be tired.  You had a nap this afternoon," he said in mock 
indignation.

Scully giggled out her apology, cleared her throat and then said 
tartly, "I don't recall doing much sleeping during that nap, Mulder."

"You complaining?" he whispered into her ear.  She had a point 
though, Mulder mused, a smug smile lifting the corners of his 
mouth.  She really hadn't gotten much sleep.

Scully shook her head in reply, sighing out gustily, "Never."

His intentions had been purely honorable after their late lunch of 
pancakes, and the quickie on the kitchen table.  After cleaning up 
the mess in the kitchen while Scully showered to remove the sticky 
traces of maple syrup off her body, he had gone into the bathroom 
and over the noise of the water, suggested she take a nap.  He had 
not mentioned the fact that she had to be tired after her nightmare, 
not wanting to reopen that can of worms, but had teasingly mentioned 
their midnight activity.  She had acquiesced rather quickly, and he 
had realized she really was tired.

Nuzzling Scully once again, he stopped to ponder their seeming 
attraction to having sex in her kitchen.  And then there was also 
this on going theme they had happening, with foodstuffs.  He idly 
wondered if Scully had any honey in her cupboard, and felt a twinge 
in his nether regions as he imagined drizzling it over her bare 
breasts and...woo, down boy, he told himself.  It's not time for 
that.  Scully had to be a little sore.  

He supposed he should feel guilty for disturbing her nap, even if 
she had not complained, and had in fact been quite enthusiastic, 
both vocally and physically.  Scully chose that very moment to yawn 
again, muffling it behind her hands, and then he did feel guilty.

During the supposed nap, he had found it necessary to go into her 
bedroom a few times.  Once, to get an extra pillow so he could be 
more comfortable on the couch, another time just to check on her and 
see if she needed anything.  He smirked again, shaking his head 
slightly.  He was so pathetic.  She was there to sleep, everything 
she had needed had been right there - bed, pillow, covers.  He 
admitted he had really gone in there in the hopes that she was awake 
and lonely.  She had been awake, barely, and had grumbled at him to 
go away, definitely not seeming the least bit lonely.  He had gone, 
reluctantly, and had only pouted a little.  

Really.

However, on his next trip to 'check' on her again, he had not been 
able to resist the temptation of sleep-parted lips.  He had leaned 
over to press a gentle kiss on those lips, and had overbalanced and 
fallen on top of her, jolting her awake.  She had let out an 'oof' 
of surprise, her eyes snapping open and her hands automatically 
coming up to push at his chest.

After her initial shock, and his heartfelt apologies as he struggled 
to rise off of her, she had tugged at his tee shirt, the one he had 
donned to replace his syrup-covered sweatshirt, and hauled him back 
down until he covered her completely, wiggling beneath him.  

Blinking her sleep-blurred eyes, she had run gentle hands over his 
cheeks, crooning, "Is Mulder lonely?"

Hell, his mama didn't raise no stupid children.  

He had nodded his head energetically, lower lip out in an 
exaggerated pout, and threw in the puppy dog eyes for good measure.  
Bingo!  The hands that had been gentle were suddenly aggressive, 
yanking his head down to hers, her lips latching onto his.

Yet another yawn from Scully interrupted his pleasant reverie.  This 
one was the longest by far, and contagious, for he actually yawned 
himself.  "Hey," he said softly.  "Why don't you go to bed?"

Scully merely said, "Hmmmm," but showed no signs of getting up.  In 
fact, she snuggled more deeply into his arms, turning onto her side 
and drawing her legs up a little.  She accidentally elbowed him in 
the family jewels, and after he yelped, gasped, "Oh, I'm so sorry 
Mulder.  Are you okay?"

Manfully he nodded, saying, "I'm okay." His voice even sounded like 
his own, if a tad higher.  He shifted a little to ease the 
discomfort, and Scully made a noise of sympathy.

"Are you sure?" she asked, turning to look into his eyes.  He nodded 
despite the lingering pain and the slight nausea low in his belly, 
and managed to give her a smile.  Once she saw that, she relaxed 
again, her eyes fluttering shut, and resumed her earlier position, 
her head pillowed on his stomach.  She rubbed her cheek there 
briefly, and mumbled something low and sleepily, which he barely 
caught.  

"I'll kiss it better for you later."

Pain?  What pain?

"Scully?" he said, a little hopefully.  He was disappointed, but not 
upset, when there was no reply.  He craned his neck to peer at her 
face, seeing that she had slipped off to sleep.  He admired how the 
lashes of her eyes lay on her cheeks like ladies fans, and how 
utterly peaceful she looked, before lowering his head back onto his 
pillow.  He supposed he should really get her into her pajamas and 
into bed, but it was so pleasant lying like this with her.  He'd 
wait until the movie was over.

He reminded himself that he also needed to find out which of the 
Gunmen had guard duty tonight.  Langly had been up to bat last 
night, and had reported no signs of anything unusual when Mulder had 
called him while Scully had still been in bed earlier that morning.  
Something else to do after the movie.

It was his turn to yawn widely.  After, he blinked suddenly heavy 
eyes several times, trying to remain focused on the TV screen.  He 
really liked the movie 'Payback', another Mel Gibson he had teased 
Scully earlier when he had found it in her small stack of 
videocassettes, even if he had already seen it a couple times.  
That chick...<yawn>...from Ally McBeal was really funny in it.

Minutes later he was following Scully into slumber.

***

11:48 pm

She could not move, something was holding her, keeping her 
restrained.  She wriggled frantically, but was unable to escape.  
It felt like arms, strong muscular arms pinning her down.  Masculine 
arms.  Oh God, was it Elliot?

Suddenly she could smell him, his body odor mixed with the 
overpowering cologne he had worn.  Hear his voice, the sounds low 
and oily, calling her Elizabeth, telling her he had missed her so.

Her breathing became frantic and harsh, her struggles more intense.  
She had to get away from him.  She pushed at the arms around her, 
twisting her body from side to side to break the hold.  Made contact 
with something warm and hard.  Flesh?

<Scully? >

She paused in her struggles.  Had she really heard Mulder's voice?  
Was he coming to help her?  She tried to call out to him, but was 
only able to whimper.

<Scully, wake up.  Scully, you're okay. >

It was Mulder.  Relief flooded through her in waves.  The arms that 
were holding her were gone.  She surged upward, eyes popping open, 
gasping his name.  "Mulder!"

Scully could see Mulder from her crouched position on the couch.  He 
was beside her, holding his arms up and away from her, showing her 
he meant her no harm.  His hair had pillow head on one side, and his 
eyes were wide and worried as he watched her.  She said his name 
again, sighing it out on a heavy exhalation of breath. "Mulder."  
Her eyes felt heavy and gritty, lined with sand.

Mulder smiled gently, slowly lowering his arms.  "I'm here, 
Scully."  His voice was as gentle as his smile and the look on his 
face.  "You're okay. It was just a dream."

The sound of the television, blaring snow because the movie has long 
ended, was loud in the darkness of the room.  Scully watched as 
Mulder leaned over and retrieved the converter from the floor where 
it must have fallen and turned it off.  Doing so made the room even 
darker, for the blue-gray light from the screen had been the only 
illumination, except for a pale stream of moonlight shining in 
through one of the partially drawn shades on the living room 
windows.  She had a vague recollection of pulling the shades down 
just before they settled in to watch the movie.

Scully let herself slump back into the couch, lifting one hand, 
which was shaking slightly, to rub first at her face, and then drag 
through her hair.  "Jesus," she moaned, her eyes closed.  Remnants 
of the dream filtered past her closed lids, and she opened her eyes 
again, whipping her head to the side to look at Mulder.  She could 
remember the feel of her fist striking someone.  "Did I hit you 
Mulder?" she asked, her voice sounding harsh in her ears.

He nodded, and rubbed at his chest, putting on a mock face of pain.  
"You got me good," he said, and she knew he was trying to lighten up 
the situation.

Determined not to let a nightmare get to her again, she took a deep, 
cleansing breath and slid closer to Mulder.  Raising one hand, she 
pushed his aside so she could rub at the spot he had indicated on 
his chest in amends for hitting him.  "Sorry about that," she said 
lightly, and managed to smile.

"It's okay," Mulder replied, and placed his hand on top of hers, 
stroking his thumb over her knuckles.

It was not okay.  She hated to know that she had hit him, even if it 
was while trapped in a nightmare, but she will let it go, because 
Mulder has, and she wanted to forget it even happened.

Mulder lifted her hand from his chest and brought it to his lips, 
turning it so he could press a kiss onto her palm.  He then glanced 
at his watch and said, "It's pretty late.  Why don't you go get 
ready for bed while I check on whichever Gunmen is on duty tonight?"

Scully hesitated, sending a glance down the dark hallway towards her 
bedroom, then stiffened.  She would not be afraid in her own 
apartment again.  Not after she had worked so hard to get over her 
fears in the past, after Donnie Pfaster.  

She flicked her eyes in Mulder's direction, but he did not seem to 
have noticed her momentary pause, and rose to her feet.  "Don't be 
long," she said casually, and reached out to tousle his hair before 
heading to the kitchen to get a glass of water.  A tiny jackhammer 
had taken residence behind her left eye, and she wanted to take some 
Excedrin to chase the pain away.  She was almost tempted to take a 
couple of painkillers, for she knew that was one way to guarantee a 
deep and more than likely dreamless sleep, but vetoed the idea.  She 
would not become dependent on sleeping aids in fear of nightmares.

As she poured herself a glass of water, using the light from the 
fridge to help her see, she could hear Mulder on the phone in the 
other room.  From the tone of his conversation and his sharp bark of 
laughter, she just knew it was Frohike.

Moments later she was in her bedroom, the Excedrin taken, changing 
into her new favorite pajamas, one of Mulder's tee shirts.  This 
current one was clean, but she imagined she could still smell traces 
of him on the cotton, and it comforted her.  Her next stop was the 
bathroom, where she made use of the facilities before brushing her 
teeth and washing her face.

By the time she had finished that, Mulder was waiting in the doorway 
for his turn.  He snagged her by the hem of his tee shirt as she 
made to go past him, and murmured, "I'm running out of those, you 
know."

"You'll just have to buy more," she replied, and jumped slightly 
when he slapped her on the rear.  She surprised herself by giggling, 
amazed she had any laughter in her at all right now, and moved into 
her bedroom, climbing under the covers on her side of the bed, 
laying down facing his side to wait for him.

He joined her a few minutes later, after stripping down to his 
boxers, and slid beneath the bedclothes to lie on his back.  

Once he was settled, she moved closer and laid her head in the crook 
of his arm.  "I love you, Mulder," she said, and brushed her lips on 
the skin just beneath her.

His answering kiss was pressed into her forehead, and she felt the 
vibrations beneath her cheek when he replied, "Love you too, Scully."

She closed her eyes and fell asleep listening to the steady beat of 
his heart.

***

Friday
7:50 am

Mulder hung up the phone after talking to Byers, who had told him 
Frohike had nothing to report from the night of surveillance, and 
headed down the hall to check on Scully.  She had been deeply asleep 
when he had awoken just after six, and he had slid quietly out of 
bed, not wanting to disturb her slumber.  A second nightmare had 
ripped them both out of sleep in the very early hours of the 
morning, and while he actually felt reasonably refreshed, he had 
known Scully needed more rest.

He had hoped she would sleep until at least eight, before having to 
rise to get ready for her doctor's appointment, which was at ten 
o'clock, but he could already hear the water running in the bathroom 
sink.  So much for his other plan to wake her with some gentle 
loving.

He stopped at the bathroom and leaned against the doorjamb, to see 
Scully in her robe, busily brushing her teeth.  "Good morning," he 
said softly. 

Their eyes met in the mirror and when she smiled around her 
toothbrush, he smiled back.  His eyes darted downward, to where her 
robe gaped open, and he could see she was nude beneath it.  His 
penis stirred in his silk boxers, his only covering besides the tee 
shirt he had put on upon rising, and he waggled his eyebrows up and 
down at her.  

No words were necessary, he was sure the eyebrows and the hopeful 
look on his face conveyed his message.

Scully broke their eye contact, blushing a little, and spit out her 
mouthful of toothpaste.  After wiping her face on a towel she said 
his name, dragging out the last syllable.  "Mulderrrr...we both 
still need to have showers, I haven't had breakfast yet and we need 
to leave by 9:30 so I won't be late for my doctor's appointment."

He advanced into the bathroom, putting a little swagger into his 
walk, and reached out to grip her hips, pulling her into his body.  
"We can shower together.  Saves time and water."  He gave her his 
most sincere look, adding, "Water conservation, Scully.  It's 
important."

"Water conservation, huh?" she repeated.  "And that would be your 
only motivation for us sharing a shower?"

"Wellllll..." he drawled out.  "There might be one other small 
benefit."

Scully thrust her lower body into his with a smirk on her face.  
"Only a small one?"

"I've always believed it's not very polite to brag," he returned, 
trying to maintain a straight face, pleased with her willingness to 
play along.  He had always known Scully was capable of dishing out 
the innuendo, and on rare occasions she had.  Those occasions had 
always delighted him.  

If she had made any sign of not wanting to engage in extracurricular 
activities, he would have waited until she was finished her shower 
and had an icy cold one of his own.  He barely managed not to shiver 
from the delicious feeling of her body pressing intimately against 
his growing erection.

"How well-mannered you are," she murmured, already shrugging out of 
her robe.  When it pooled to the floor, she brought her hands to the 
hem of his tee shirt, yanking upwards.

He helped her, pulling the shirt over his head, and the cotton 
muffled his voice when he replied, "I forgot to tell you my other 
motto after 'up and at'em'."  The tee shirt fell to the floor, and 
their hands went to the waistband of his boxers next.  Scully paused 
in mid-pull and looked at him, one eyebrow arched in question, 
waiting to hear his other motto.  He smirked and said, "Ladies 
first."

She yanked the silk material down suddenly, letting his erection 
spring free, and said, "Wise motto."  With that she turned away, 
leaving him to finish the task of removing his boxers, and started 
the water for their shower.

He finished the job quickly, flinging them aside with a kick of one 
leg, and watched her step inside the tub.  He waited until she was 
under the spray before joining her, pulling the curtain securely 
closed, making sure there was nowhere for the water to escape.  He 
planned on being very thorough in this shower.

***

Skinner's Office
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Friday
2:30 pm


Skinner heard the noise of people entering the outer office, and 
gratefully pushed aside the stack of files he had been working on 
for most of the day.  It had been slow going, for he had been 
distracted all day with thoughts about the evening ahead.  He had 
called Allison the night he had received her note, as he had 
decided, and accepted her invitation, arranging to pick her up at 
her place at 6:30, giving them plenty of time to arrive at The 
Bistro for their reservation.  He had not seen her about the 
building in the last two days, and was feeling a little apprehensive 
about their date.

Kimberley's voice interrupted his introspection, and he blinked 
rapidly, realizing he had been staring at her in his doorway without 
saying a word.  "Sir?  Agents Mulder and Scully are here to see you."

"Send them in, please," he replied, and rose from his chair.  

A moment later his two agents came in, Scully first, with Mulder 
close behind her, ushering her gently inside.  A scene carried out 
so many times before, but this time there was something different, 
something more to it. Something very, very personal, like they had 
finally taken that last step taking them from deep friendship to 
love.

Skinner came from around his desk and stepped forward awkwardly.  He 
felt this strange compulsion, and moved closer to Scully, his arms 
out, and pulled her into a hug.  He was not, and never had been very 
demonstrative in either his personal or professional lives, but it 
seemed the right thing to do.  She tensed for a moment, clearly as 
surprised by his gesture as he was, and then relaxed into his 
embrace.  Skinner patted her back, and caught a glimpse of Mulder.  

The agent was standing stiff as a board, his face a careful blank, 
unblinking as he watched his partner, and now Skinner was convinced 
they had become lovers, being hugged by another man.  Skinner 
recognized Mulder's pose as an Alpha male stance, one that felt his 
territory was being threatened, and had to fight back the urge to 
smile.  He released Scully, and this time had to turn his head to 
the side, unable to contain his smile when Mulder immediately 
stepped forward into Scully's personal space, as if reclaiming it, 
and grasped her elbow to guide her to their customary seats before 
his desk.

Instead of sitting back down behind his desk, Skinner came around to 
the front and leaned against it, his extended feet quite close to 
both Mulder's and Scully's.  

Both agents looked at his feet, and then exchanged a quick glance 
before returning their gazes to him.  

He took a second to look them both over.  He noted that Scully wore 
a ribbed gray turtleneck beneath a black blazer, with casual black 
pants, and that while she looked quite healed, with nary a bruise 
showing on her face, her eyes were red-rimmed and a little swollen.  
Her session with Karen Kosseff must have been quite emotional, and 
possibly even painful.  He could not tell if her neck was still 
bandaged, although there did not seem to be any bulkiness that would 
indicate bandages, and her wrists were definitely not wrapped, with 
only faint red marks remaining from her wounds.  

The sight of her Visitors ID badge clipped on her blazer reminded 
him that the Personnel Office had dropped off her replacement badge 
earlier that morning.  He also had her replacement Sig Sauer, which 
he had requisitioned from the Bureau Armory, after it was realized 
that Elliot Andercott had taken both items when he had kidnapped 
Scully.  

Mulder was dressed far more casually than his partner, seeing as he 
was technically on what could be considered special detail, wearing 
khaki pants, a casual shirt and a black leather jacket.  He was 
slumped in his chair, leaning towards Scully.  The fingers of the 
hand closest to that side were tapping the arm of his chair, and 
Skinner fancied that the man was that close to leaning over and 
grasping Scully's hand to toy with her fingers.  A quick flick of 
the eyes back to Scully showed that the hand closest to Mulder was 
also restlessly fingering the arm of her chair.

Skinner cleared his throat.  "You're looking well, Agent Scully.  
How did your doctor's appointment go?" he asked, focusing on the 
redheaded agent.  He noted that she seemed a little flushed, and 
hoped she was not getting ill.

"Thank you, sir," she replied, meeting his gaze directly.  "I'm 
fine.  I've received the all-clear."

"That's good to hear.  And your meeting with Karen Kosseff?" he 
continued.  Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Mulder 
shift nervously in his seat.  

Scully tensed as well, her lips pursing tightly for a moment, the 
color fading from her cheeks, before she answered, "It was fine as 
well, sir."

Doubtful, but he was not going to press Scully further. She was 
clearly uncomfortable with what had occurred, and he could only 
imagine it would have dredged up some memories she would rather not 
have had brought forward.  As her supervisor, he would receive a 
copy of Karen Kosseff's report, although she could not divulge any 
details of what she had discussed with Scully, only her findings.  
He was confident Scully would be cleared for duty by Karen.  With a 
brisk nod, he said only, "That's good."

He stood and returned to his seat behind his desk, reaching into one 
of the drawers to remove Scully's replacement weapon.  He laid the 
gun on his blotter, along with a clip, and then reached for the 
interoffice envelope that contained her new ID badge.  He opened the 
flap of the manila folder and shook the badge out where it landed 
near the gun. "Agent Scully, here is your replacement weapon and ID. 
The serial number for the missing weapon has been entered into the 
system as lost or stolen.  We can only hope it is retrieved without 
incident."

Both Mulder and Scully rose from their seats, Scully stepping closer 
to the desk to first pick up the ID, which she clipped on the other 
side of her blazer before removing the Visitors Badge.  She passed 
it to Mulder, and then picked up the Sig Sauer and ammunition clip.  
She loaded the weapon, double-checked the safety, and placed it into 
the black purse she had brought with her.  She smiled slightly at 
him and said, "I didn't think to bring my holster."

He smiled back and then rose once more, extending his hand out 
before him.  She took it and they shook briefly.  "I guess I'll be 
seeing you two on Monday morning."  As they turned to leave, he kept 
his voice casual and said, "Agent Mulder, if you have a moment?"

Mulder stopped, his eyebrow quirked upwards in question, and Skinner 
watched the two share another look before Scully murmured, "Goodbye, 
sir," and headed out to wait for Mulder in the outer office.  
Skinner watched her go, momentarily preoccupied, and then heard 
Mulder's voice.

"Sir?" Mulder asked.  "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he said, keeping his voice a little lower 
than normal.  "Were you there with Agent Scully for her appointment 
with Karen Kossoff?"

"Not at the beginning, but she called me in for the last few 
minutes," Mulder replied slowly, his voice equally low.  "Scully 
was...she got a little upset.  She's been having some nightmares, 
and she must have mentioned them to Karen.  I guess Karen was 
pressing her quite a bit about them, and well, you know Scully.  
The harder you push, the more she clams up."

Skinner frowned, hoping that wouldn't be enough for Karen to 
consider extending Scully's leave from the Bureau.  

Mulder saw his frown and hastened to add, "Karen is giving her the 
okay to go back to work, but she really wants to see Scully a couple 
times a week.  She said she wouldn't make the visits mandatory, but 
she did make a follow-up appointment in two weeks that is.  I'm 
going to do my best to encourage Scully to see her before then."

Skinner felt his tense shoulders relax, and gave Mulder a brisk 
nod.  "That's a good idea.  I hope you are successful."  He 
hesitated, not wanting to pry, but Scully was often reticent when it 
came to discussing her own health.  "And everything was all right at 
the doctor's?"

"She's fine, sir," Mulder replied, smiling a little.  "Her neck 
healed better than the doctor had expected, the scar is really 
faint, and not as extensive as was originally predicted.  There will 
be some faint scars on both wrists, but nothing really noticeable, 
and the majority of her bruises are gone.  She has the occasional 
twinge, but really she's doing just fine."

"I'm glad," Skinner said.  "Now on to the next subject. Just to let 
you know, despite the media blitz on Elliot Andercott, and 
forgetting the expected crank calls, there have been no sightings or 
information as of yet on the man or his whereabouts.  I can only 
advice you to be cautious and vigilant, Agent."

"You have no idea, sir," Skinner heard Mulder say.  He read what was 
unspoken in Mulder's eyes.  That Mulder would lay down his life for 
hers.  Skinner nodded once, in understanding, and in respect.  He 
gestured at the door, and followed Mulder to the outer office, where 
Scully was talking quietly to Kimberley.  He watched how Scully's 
eyes seemed to light up when she saw Mulder, and felt a tug of envy 
at the obvious affection and love she held for him.

They exchanged goodbyes, and minutes later he was back at his desk 
and working on reports again.

***

J. Edgar Hoover Building
2:30 pm

Scully stepped into the ladies washroom and gave a quick glance 
around.  Thankfully it was empty, enabling her to repair the damage 
from her crying jag in Karen Kosseff's office without an audience.  

Stepping over to the closest sink, she looked critically at herself 
in the mirror above it.  Eyes puffy and red, traces of mascara on 
her cheeks, which were devoid of color.  Even her lips were pale, 
the lipstick chewed off long ago.  A childish thought ran through 
her head - how come on television the actresses always looked 
beautiful when they cried?  She sniffled pitifully and shook her 
head at herself.  She reached down and turned the cold-water tap on 
high, then leaned over to grab some paper towels to blot her face 
with.

She was angry with herself for breaking down in front of the woman, 
just because Karen had wanted to know a little bit more about her 
about the nightmares.  She had not meant to bring them up at all, 
but when Karen had asked her how she was sleeping, she had blurted 
out, "Not very well."  

Which had led to further questioning and her revealing that she was 
suffering from nightmares about her ordeal with Elliot Andercott and 
other frightening faces from her past.  

The water was icy on her fingertips, so she soaked one of the towels 
and held it to her eyes for a minute, sighing as it soothed their 
soreness.  Discarding the sodden paper in the trashcan, she 
carefully bent over the sink and cupping water in her hands, 
splashed her cheeks a few times before drying her hands and blotting 
her face with more towels.

A few minutes to touch up her makeup, reapplying lipstick, and to 
finger comb her hair, and one last critical look in the mirror.  Her 
eyes dropped to the high collar of her turtleneck for a second.  The 
bruises were gone, the rope burn on her neck a fading memory, but 
Mulder's hickeys were still quite livid.  It had been embarrassing 
enough when the doctor had seen them, watching one of his eyebrows 
crook upwards, but it would be beyond imaginable if Skinner or 
anyone else saw them. Sighing, she decided she was ready to rejoin 
Mulder, whom she imagined pacing up and down the hallway outside.  
Scully took a deep breath, pulled open the door and stepped out of 
the washroom.

She had to smile.  Mulder was indeed pacing, and his hair was spiked 
in all directions, evidence he had been running his hands through it 
abstractedly while he had been waiting for her.  He stopped at the 
sound of the door opening, and rushed over to her side, his hands 
outstretched.  For a second she thought he was going to pull her 
into his arms, the fact that they were in the hallway of the Hoover 
Building be damned, but at the last second he stopped, and merely 
lifted one arm to touch her gently on the shoulder.  

"Scully, you okay?" he asked softly, his eyes intent on hers.

She almost said those words, the ones guaranteed to piss him off, 
had her mouth open forming them, but the look on his face stopped 
her.  So instead she said, "Yeah, I'm okay, Mulder.  But I'm tired, 
and I'd like to go home, so let's go see Skinner so we can get out 
of here."

He nodded, and she watched some of the tension leave his body.  They 
turned together, his hand going to the small of her back, and walked 
to the elevator.  While they waited, Mulder ran his hands through 
his hair again, taming it somewhat, and she brushed imaginary lint 
off her blazer and pants, still feeling uncomfortable after the 
session with Karen.  She really could not wait to get home to sit 
down and relax.

When the elevator stopped, it was quite full, so they were unable to 
talk, for which she was actually a little grateful.  She knew Mulder 
would press her to tell him about the entire session, and while she 
wanted to, she was not quite ready yet.  

Scully knew two of the technicians that were in the car with them, 
and she nodded her thanks when they voiced their sympathies.  Inside 
she was wincing, because their words had drawn the attention of the 
other occupants of the elevator, who were now regarding her with 
curiosity.

Thankfully she and Mulder only had to travel two floors, and the 
doors were already opening.  She stepped out, as did one of the 
other passengers, conscious of Mulder's hand again on her back, and 
of the eyes of those remaining in the elevator as the doors closed 
once more, and began to walk down the hallway towards Skinner's 
office.

Kimberley was sitting at her desk when they walked into Skinner's 
outer office, and she looked up, a polite smile on her face.  Scully 
watched it widen into a more genuine one when she saw them, and 
found herself easily smiling back.  Although she and Kimberley 
certainly didn't socialize, or spend time around the water cooler 
chatting about their lives, she had always found Skinner's assistant 
to be warm and friendly.  

"Agent Scully, it's good to see you," Kimberley said.  "I'm glad 
you're all right, and hope that you're feeling better."  She then 
added, "Hello, Agent Mulder."

"It's good to see you too, Kimberley," Scully replied.  "I am 
feeling much better, thank-you for asking.  I think I'm actually a 
little anxious to get back to work."  It was true, she was not used 
to sitting around her apartment with little to do.  Little to do 
except make love with Mulder, she thought suddenly, and felt her 
cheeks warm.  She could definitely get used to that, hell, she was 
already hopelessly and completely addicted to the man.  

Even now, despite her emotionally wrenching meeting with Karen 
Kosseff, and the fact that she was extremely tired, she was very 
aware of him standing close to her, close enough to touch, and to 
smell the wonderful scent that was Mulder.  A wave of desire washed 
over her, and she had to concentrate on breathing slowly and deeply
to stop herself from reaching out to him. With an internal 
admonition to behave, she focused on her surroundings again.

Fortunately neither Mulder nor Kimberley seemed to have noticed her 
momentary lapse.  They were conversing quietly, and then Kimberley 
rose from her seat, saying, "I'll let AD Skinner know you're here."  
She moved to stand in the doorway leading to Skinner's own office, 
and said, "Sir?  Agents Mulder and Scully are here to see you."

Scully heard Skinner's distinctive voice reply, "Send them in, 
please."  She moved around Kimberley's desk, Mulder at her heels, 
and passed Kimberley, who was going back to her desk, to go into 
Skinner's office.  

As she stepped over the threshold, she was very aware of Mulder 
again, extremely close to her, could practically feel his warmth all 
along her back, and his breath stirring her hair.  She could do 
nothing to get him to back off a little, without calling attention 
to them.

Skinner was coming from around his desk, and his next move pushed 
every thought completely from her mind.  His arms were outstretched, 
much as Mulder's had been when she had exited the washroom, only 
Skinner did not hold back.  

He actually pulled her into an embrace.  She stiffened at the 
contact, and then forced herself to relax, feeling Skinner patting 
her on the back. 

The arms holding her were very strong, the chest beneath her cheek 
broad and firm, and she could smell his cologne, so completely 
different from that worn by Mulder, yet compelling as well.  

She sensed Mulder standing stiffly to the left of them, and was 
relieved when the embrace was over, as nice as it had been.  Mulder 
immediately stepped closer, his body again almost touching hers, and 
took hold of her elbow to lead her to her customary chair.  

They both sat down, and then Skinner surprised her yet again.  He 
had always been a rather predictable man, and the times when he was
not already seated when they entered his office he invariably did so 
once they had taken theirs.  Now he did not, and instead came around 
to perch on the edge of his desk, his body between she and Mulder's,
his legs stretched out before him.

The pose accentuated his long, muscular legs, and naturally her 
attention was drawn there.  She suddenly realized she was staring at 
them, and pulled her gaze up, meeting Mulder's for a brief second, 
before facing Skinner once more.  He seemed to be studying her, and 
Mulder's comment about having seen Skinner 'check her out' before 
popped in her head.  She felt herself flush yet again.  Great.  She 
was probably going to feel awkward every time they met in his office 
now.  

Her hands clutched at the arms of her chair for a second, and she 
had to concentrate on relaxing them as well, although she could not 
still them completely.  She wished she could hold Mulder's hand 
instead.

Skinner began speaking then, and she focused on listening to him.  

What followed was basically what she had expected, a comment about 
her well being, and an inquiry about her doctor's appointment.  She 
answered evenly, telling him she was fine and that she had received 
the all clear for returning to work.

His next question had her tensing all over again, and she fought the 
impulse to bite her lip, pressing them tightly together instead.  
She knew it would be asked, but her meeting with Karen, and how 
difficult she had found it was still quite fresh in her mind, as 
much as she would have liked to put it aside.  She replied that it 
too was fine, and fortunately, he did not press her on the matter.

In fact, he rose from his position leaning against his desk and 
moved behind it to sit down.  She watched with interest as he bent 
to the side and seemed to be removing something from one of the desk 
drawers.  

A second later the heavy and familiar thud the item made as he laid 
it on the desk's surface told her it was a gun.  It had to be a 
replacement for her weapon, the one that had at some point been in 
the possession of Elliot Andercott.  It could be anywhere now, and 
that thought made her distinctly uneasy.  

Skinner then lifted a brown interoffice envelope and dumped 
something out of it.  Scully was fairly sure it was a new 
identification badge for her, seeing as her old one had also 
disappeared with Andercott.  

Skinner's next words confirmed her assumptions.  She rose from her 
seat, aware of Mulder rising at the same time, and stepped closer to 
the desk.  The ID badge she clipped to the lapel of her blazer, 
before removing the Visitors tag she was wearing and handing it to 
Mulder.  Her gun was next.  She hefted its weight, loaded the clip 
and checked the safety, before putting it inside her purse.  She 
smiled at Skinner and commented, "I didn't think to bring a holster."

Skinner smiled back and then stood up, offering his hand across his 
desk for her to shake.  They did, and then Skinner said, "I guess 
I'll be seeing the two of you on Monday morning."  She and Mulder 
turned almost as one again, and started to leave when Skinner spoke 
again.  

"Agent Mulder, if you have a moment?"

Scully could not detect anything other than informality in his 
voice, and decided Skinner just wanted to double-check with Mulder 
on how her day had gone.  She briefly considered being insulted, and 
settled on being a little disgruntled, and a tiny bit pleased about 
his concern.  She shared a look with Mulder and then continued out 
into the outer office.

Kimberley looked up from her computer when she did, and peered 
behind her as if waiting for Mulder to appear as well.  An 
expression of curiosity crossed her face when he did not.  "Is 
something wrong, Agent Scully?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Scully found herself responding in kind, automatically lowering her 
voice as she replied.  "No, AD Skinner just wanted a moment with 
Agent Mulder."  She shrugged to show it wasn't important and smiled 
brightly at Kimberley.  "So, how are things these days?" she asked, 
to make conversation.

Kimberley looked back at the empty doorway to Skinner's office once 
more, in a conspiratorial manner, and beckoned Scully closer with 
one hand.  

Scully leaned forward, now very curious herself, and waited for 
Kimberley to speak.  She hesitated once more, flicking a glance at 
the door again and mock whispered, "AD Skinner has a date."

Scully blinked.  That wasn't what she had been expecting Kimberley 
to say.  "A date?" she repeated, and her voice accidentally rose up
a notch.

"Shhhh!" Kimberley gasped, sending another glance to the door, this 
one quite worried.  When no one appeared, she nodded and added, 
"It's tonight."

This really wasn't any of her business, and she really did not like 
to gossip, but she was immensely interested.  Personal details about 
her boss were rare indeed, and she just couldn't pass this one up.   
She also did not know how to ask for more details, without seeming 
like a nosy busybody.

Kimberley continued on.  "He's going out to dinner with Allison 
McIntyre, from the secretarial pool."

Scully did not know the woman, and the expression on her face must 
have shown that to Kimberley, because she next said, "She was 
assigned to help Agent Mulder when..." her voice trailed off, and 
then her face saddened.  "When you were missing," she finished, more 
quietly than before.

"Oh," was all Scully could think of to say.

The conversation died then, Kimberley clearly uncomfortable after 
having brought up the fact that Scully had been missing, and because 
Scully still had not spoken.   

It was fortunate, because the sounds from Skinner's office indicated 
he was finished talking with Mulder.  A moment later Mulder came out 
of the office, smiling when he met Scully's eyes.

"Ready to go?" he asked, coming over to stand next to her, his elbow 
brushing her arm.

She nodded, and they both said good-bye to Kimberley before heading 
out.  His hand felt warm on her back, and she had to resist the 
temptation to lean into him.

They spoke little until they had gotten into Mulder's car.  Once 
buckled into their respective seats, he started the car and pulled 
out of the parking spot, driving carefully through the underground 
garage.  

"How about we stop at the video store and rent a couple movies?" he 
asked as he turned onto the street.

"Sounds good," she replied, and smiled when his hand left the wheel 
to land on her knee.  He gave it a squeeze, and she covered it with 
her own hand.

"You okay?" he asked, staring at her while he waited for the light 
to change to green.

"Mm-hmmm," she responded, and to knock herself out of her sudden 
funk, said, "Kimberley told me some interesting news."

"What's that?" Mulder asked, his hand now rubbing slowly up and down 
her thigh.

She squirmed a little, for the caress tickled.  "Apparently Skinner 
has a date tonight, with someone named Allison from the secretarial 
pool."

"Get outta here!" Mulder explained, and then said, "Way to go, 
Skinman!"

Scully shot him a look and then said, "What about, way to go 
Allison?"

He shot her a grin, showing lots of teeth and joked, "Maybe tomorrow 
it'll be way to go for both of them."  He paused and then said, "Or 
should I say way to come?"

"Mulder!"

"Scuh-lee!" he mimicked and then snickered.  "Come on, Scully, you 
have to admit that was a good one."

"Sexist pig."

"Oink, oink."

Exasperated, Scully asked, "What am I going to do with you?"

He turned his face to hers and winked slowly.  "Anything you want, 
baby.  Anything at all," was his reply, in a low, sexy voice.

That sent a tingle down her spine.  "Promise?" Her voice was husky.

The car was stopped at another red light, and he used the 
opportunity to move his hand, which had been on her leg the entire 
time, and turn it to capture hers.  Lifting it, he brought her hand 
to his chest, where he used his fingers to grasp her index finger.  
He traced the pattern of an 'X' over his heart, and whispered, 
"Cross my heart."  He then leaned over, the seatbelt straining 
across him, and kissed her softly on the lips.

She had to clear her throat before she could speak again.  "I think 
we should skip the video store for now, Mulder."

He managed to only squeal the tires a little as he pulled the car 
away.  

Fortunately the light had turned green.

***

end Part 21 of 29