Last Chance Falls
by Slippin' Mickeys
red_phile@yahoo.com

CLASSIFICATION: Action/Adventure; MSR

RATING: R

SUMMARY: A man. A women. A forest. A hit squad. An adventure.

KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully romance
 
SPOILERS:  Pine Bluff Variant; you know what? Why don't you just include
everything up to the movie? 

DISCLAIMER: You know they don't belong to me-
Mulder, Scully and the crew-
CC and Fox maintain the rights,
And I hope that they don't sue.
I just love running around here
In Chris' little universe
And I hope that he appreciates 
That my stories aren't perverse.
I think that copyright infringement
Is a complicated phrase
But all my lawyer friends tell me
That in the end it really pays.
But see, Chris- (can I call you that?)
You don't need the money all that bad,
You flick ran me $7.50 
And that was all I had.
And since I've seen it 7 times
(You had better love me now)
was your little venture successful?
If not, I'll tell you how:
Quit teasing all of us 'Shippers 
(Noromos number in the few)
You've got to give us the kiss 
And that missing hospital "view".
But really what's most important,
What would make it all the brighter-
Is if you and your lawyers decided 
Not to  prosecute *this* fanfic writer!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: So much has gone into writing this, so I'm just going to
name off the chat chicks of Monday night who have encouraged me to go on. I
NEVER would have finished this without you! So here I go. Lindsey. Lynda.
Pam. Fay. Laura. Neta. Laurie. Karin. Erin. And our latest and greatest
edition, Hettie. 

ARCHIVE: Go for it. Just make sure that my name and email address stays
attached. And let me know where it is so I can go visit! I love visiting!

FEEDBACK: Do you want me to beg? Do you really? Cause I'll do it, you know!
I crave and love feedback! Constructive flames are greatly appreciated. I
just use the flamey flames however, to light the sh** bombs that I throw at
the houses of the people who send me them. ;) People, if you don't have
something nice to say, shut your trap and go away. ;) red_phile@yahoo.com

NOTE: I feel I should warn you that I have never set foot in the great
state of Wisconsin. So, I may have gotten some things like geography and
other things totally mixed up. I apologize. I know how much I hate it when
people get details wrong about my area or state (I would like to know, CC,
just what the HELL Michigan mud is, and how *exactly* our mud differs from
the mud of other states?) that said, I once again apologize. On with the
show? This bad boy is LONG. Suffer gladly. :)

**********Get WIPped!!!!!!**********



"What? For Nancy? All right, this is for Nancy? I never did it *to* Nancy,
so I'll do it for her."
-Harry Chapin (November 7, 1975)


Last Chance Falls
By Slippin' Mickeys



Mulder kicked open the door that led to the hotel's  kitchen, holding his
gun low to the ground. The lights were off save for a safety light that
shown down dimly near the back. He crouched low, and stole quietly past the
row of stoves, where he stopped, back against the wall, at the corner. He
licked his dry lips, and held his breath, listening intently. He thought he
could just barely make out the sound of a freezer or cooler door being open
and ever so softly shut. The agent loosened his tie and peeked his head
around the corner, seeing the two possible doors his prey might have taken,
and nowhere else to go. He approached the first one, his gun ready. So as
to not disturb his quarry had he ducked into the other door, Mulder quietly
opened the door, and pointed his gun inside. Not a thing was in the cooler,
its shelves bare of any food or boxes, while a few cleaning supplies were
littered around the floor near the corner. He exited the cooler soundlessly
and approached the other door. Seeing nowhere else for anyone to hide,
Mulder threw the door open and jumped inside. His gun poised and ready, he
tore around the tubs of ice cream that sat in front of a jutting shelf, and
cocked his gun pointing it at? nothing. There was no one there. Not a damn
soul. Perplexed, he lowered his gun, and turned around, just as the door of
the freezer was being shut swiftly behind him. He ran at the door and
pushed, only to hear the slide of the locking bar in place a split second
before he impacted with it.

"Damn it!" he harshly whispered. 

After looking around the freezer for something to bash against the door,
and finding nothing, he put his gun back in its holster and pulled down one
of the tubs of ice cream, promptly sitting on it. Wrapping his arms around
his body and pulling his suit coat closed a little further, he blew out his
breath watching as the vapors turned to diminutive crystals before his
eyes. If only he had brought Scully along with him, and then at least
somebody would be there to rescue him, as it looked, he would be locked in
the freezer until morning. 

The adrenaline rush that had been pumping through his veins quickly
disappeared, taking his body's warmth with it. He tried thinking of warm
places, anything to keep his mind off of the bitter chill of the room in
which he was held captive. Nothing, of course, seemed to work.

His body began to shiver, while his teeth were chattering so hard, he was
in danger of dislocating his jaw.

He dropped his chin to his chest trying to keep the escaping heat from his
neck, and stop the incessant chattering in one swift move.

Just then, he felt himself sliding off of the ice cream tub, and onto the
floor of the freezer.

He awoke with a start. More cold than he could remember being, and even
more puzzled by his surroundings, Mulder sat up. There was a dying campfire
to his left and a sleeping lump to his right. 

He looked around at the enormous trees circling the small campsite, and
really began to wonder just where the hell he was. 

Finding himself no longer in his sleeping bag, and a little frigid because
of it, he pulled it back over his body and racked his sleep-fogged brain.

For a man with a photographic memory, he was having a damn hard time
figuring out where he was and what he was doing. He felt a small tree
branch under his left shoulder blade, and tried to roll onto his right
side. That was a mistake. A shooting pain shot through his torso, coming to
a sharp focus somewhere near his right lung. He felt like he was breathing
fire. Easing himself back down, the pain gradually went away, and it became
much easier to breathe.

He turned his head so he could get a better look at the lump next to him.
Sure enough, the firelight caught the amber halo just jutting out the top
of the sleeping bag. A calm surrounded him as it always did when she was
near. Scully could make him feel better by just walking into the same room.
He always pondered that if she had the same effect on others as she did on
him, she would have an extremely successful private practice should she
ever leave the Bureau. 

But God forbid that happen. 

Deciding that it would be more beneficial for him to just wake Scully up
and ask her what had happened, rather than just hurting himself more, he
whispered her name. "Scully." Again, a little louder this time. "Scully!"
He turned his head to either side, and decided that they were alone in the
woods, so, he didn't need to keep his voice down. "SCULLY!"  

She jumped immediately out of her sleeping bag, and was standing up, with
her gun drawn before Mulder knew what was happening.  She looked to either
side quickly and, seeing no danger lowered her gun slowly. It was then that
she looked at Mulder. 

Seeing his eyes open and watching her, she started and jumped. "Jesus!"

Then she looked at him again, and a look of realization washed over her
features.

"Jesus, Mulder! Oh my God! You're awake!"

She bent down to him and touched his face. "You're awake."

"Well, yeah?" He replied in a questioning tone. He was still confused.

"And, and you can talk!" A smile he didn't get to see very often brightened
her face.

"I learned it as a child."  He replied, confused at her behavior. 

She didn't move, she just sat there dazedly looking at him. He figured he'd
better ask now.

"Scully, what's going on?"

Her smile faded and she turned serious once more, brushing his hair back
from his face, "Mulder, I thought I'd lost you."

"Lost me? What the hell happened? And where the hell are we?" Exasperated,
he gazed pleadingly at her, "Scully, you gonna fill me in here, or we gonna
play twenty questions?"

"Well, Mulder," she started to explain, "how much can you remember?"

He closed his eyes in concentration, and then opened them, fixing her with
his gaze. "Surprisingly little."

"How little?" She asked.

"Um," he said, looking around glancing at the trees and fire, "none of it?"
His tone questioning. "Listen, Scully, the last thing I remember was, was,"
he thought back to sitting in his apartment talking with her. "Was when you
came by my apartment to drop off the file for the Fielder's case."

"Mulder, that was a little over two weeks ago," she stated, peering at him
with her lips pressed together, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Two wha?? I am the only one here with a profound sense of Deja vous?"

Her lips raised in almost a smile. "Mulder, you honestly can't remember
anything?"

He shook his head.

"Well that's not good. Not good at all. Mulder, we've got to get you to a
hospital."

He averted his stare and glanced around him. "For some reason, Scully, I
get the impression that we're a long way from an ER." Bringing his eyes
level with hers again, he asked, "Well, are you going to tell me what
happened?"

She regarded him seriously once more, and her face took on a pained
expression. 

"Look Scully, I'm alright. Aside from a few bumps and bruises, I think I'll
live?"

She sighed and looked at him, with one of her patented
'You-always-manage-to-get-me-into-the-shittiest-situations-you-asshole
look.'

He smiled triumphantly. "So, you gonna tell me?"
 
"Humph," she snorted, "how long you got?"


End of Part 1/20


XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX



Part 2/20 


"You wanna run that by me again, Scully?"

The eyebrow raised. It answered his question.

"Jesus." He looked at her, his eyes pleading. "Jesus, Scully. What the hell
are we going to do?"

"Exactly what we've been doing for the past week and a half. We're going to
run. We're going to run like Gump, and I'll be damned if we're not going to
make it."

She got up to stoke the fire. Mulder watched as the firelight flickered
against her features. He saw pure determination on her face, a look he had
only seen a couple of times before. The hospital in Allentown. The hospital
room with Modell, when he had a gun to his head. By God, he thought, we are
going to make it.

Just then a branch snapped somewhere off to his left. He jerked his head to
the side with enough time to see Scully dive protectively in front of him
with her gun raised, in a very unScully-like manner, and point it in the
direction of the sound. He looked to her face and saw the red dot of a
laser just above her left brow. A gun fired before he had the chance to
warn her.



Two weeks earlier:

Mulder opened his door to find Scully standing in his doorway. She had a
slight smile on her face and she looked a lot different than she had at the
office. Her dark, conservative suit had been traded for a pair of tight
fitting black slacks and a loose pale pink short sleeve sweater. It looked
like cashmere. 

"Hey, Mulder." She said cheerfully.

"Hi Scully, come on in." 

She brushed past him and he turned to close the door. "You're in an awfully
good mood, Scully. What's the occasion?" Mulder said jokingly. 

She choose to ignore his mild insult, and answered his question. 

"Well, Mulder it's Friday, and I have absolutely nothing to do this
weekend."

"Ah? I see."

Mulder smiled to himself. Once again, her mood brushed off on him. He felt
almost giddy, an emotion he wasn't privy to often.

She seated herself at his desk, leaving him to his couch. He usually never
minded her politeness, and nodded it off as professional civility. But
today, tonight, it bothered him a little. Lately, he had been thinking of
their relationship as not only partners, but friends. Best friends. Scully
was undoubtedly his best friend. A title he had bestowed on a very few
people in his lifetime, and was determined to let her know, whether he went
out and said it or not, that his friends didn't sit at his desk to let him
hog the sofa. They either shared it, or sat at an equally comfortable
chair. Well, he thought, I don't have an equally comfortable chair, but
I'll be damned if she sits one more time at that desk.

"You know, Scully, I'm hurt." He flashed her his puppy-dog eyes and pouted
out his lower lip.

Her gaze shifted a  little and finally landed on his mouth, grinning. 

The effect it had on Scully was not lost on Mulder. He grinned inwardly.
Ha, works every time.

"And why, Mulder, are you hurt?" She looked back to his eyes and smiled.

"Scully, you know, you wound me every time you sit at that desk. The couch
isn't 'Mulder-exclusive' you know."

"Mulder, are you getting fresh?" Scully asked, standing up. She moved and
sat next to him.

"I don't know, you want me too?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Scully smacked him in the chest with a file-holder he hadn't seen her
carrying. "Here's the file on the Fielder's case, Mulder. I already
finished everything I need to do on it, the rest is yours." She stood and
took a couple of steps. "Oh, and Mulder- with you, nothing's fresh."

Mulder sat there with an opened mouth grin. He followed her into the
bathroom with his eyes. He didn't look down at the file until she shut the
door behind her.

The Fielder's case had gone particularly well. An open and shut, 3 day trip
to Wisconsin had Mulder and Scully working fast and as always, together.
They had profiled, tracked down, and brought in a suspect with even more
ease than usual, and it had improved the two agents dispositions toward
each other and the outside world considerably.

Scully walked out of the bathroom and returned to sit next to him. 

He couldn't help but notice the scent he had come to know only as Eau de
Scully, whiff past his nostrils. 

"Any big plans tonight Mulder?"

"Well, I was going to feed my fish and wash my hair, but I don' t know if I
can manage both activities in the same night."

Scully smiled and picked up a magazine that was sitting on Mulder's coffee
table, and began to leaf through it. "Me neither." She smiled and looked
down at the magazine. "I must say, Agent Mulder, that I am impressed."

"And why is that, Agent Scully?"

"Well, I was expecting to pick up Celebrity Skin, and I got GQ. Not that
I'm complaining, mind you." She paused. "Ah,  the 'Men of the Year' issue
no less."

Scully flipped to the front to the smiling faces of Grant Hill, Tom Cruise,
and? "Hey Mulder, this guy looks almost exactly li-"

The phone interrupted her.

"Mulder."

"Agent Mulder, you and your partner seem to be having quite the time
tonight."

Mulder stiffened and got up to look out of the window. 

"Who is this?"

"Why do people always ask that? As if I am honestly going to tell them."

The voice on the other end of the phone started laughing into Mulder's ear.

"You've got exactly three seconds before I hang up."

"Well then, I guess I should tell you why I called."

Mulder was getting pissed. "That would be a start."

"Hmm? well, I hate to sound like a broken record, but *you've* got exactly
*thirty* seconds before your apartment explodes, taking you and the lovely
Agent Scully with it."

Click.

"Oh SHIT!"

Mulder threw down the phone and grabbed a startled Scully by the arm
hauling her off of the couch and pulling her threw the doorway.  A few
years ago, he would have shaken off the ominous phone call as merely a
prank, but the past few years working on the X-Files had seasoned him
considerably.

"Scully, this place is going to blow, we've gotta get out of here!"

"Mulder, I don't think?" 

"Don't think right now, Scully, just MOVE!" He said, ushering her quickly
down his hallway.

Mulder hesitated and knocked on the doors of his neighbors while he was
running. Nobody seemed to be home. Thank God.

He flew down the three flights of stairs with a skeptical, but no less
alarmed Scully on his heels. He ran out of the door and across the street,
grabbed Scully by the shoulders and threw them both behind a parked navy
blue Saab. He covered her with his body, and put his hands over his ears.

Seconds passed, and nothing happened. Mulder looked up to see a homeless
man staring at them with a bag of alcohol in one hand, an open mouth.
Scully put her hands on Mulder's chest, and tried to heave him off. 

"Mulder, I honestly don't think that anything is going to happ?" 

For the third time that night Scully was interrupted. But this time it was
by a deafening roar and a bright mushrooming explosion. Her hands flew from
his chest to his neck, and she pulled him back down on top of her, wrapping
one arm around his neck, and  burying her other hand in his hair. 

Time slowed for them both, Mulder acutely aware of his intimate proximity
to his partner, and the falling debris hitting his back and arms. After
what seemed like minutes, Scully loosened her grip on him, and he sat up,
looking over the car at what was left of his apartment building.

"There goes the coat rack." He looked to a ruffled Scully. "That promised
to be an heirloom, you know."

She propped herself up on her elbows. "Yeah," she said, chuckling in spite
of the situation, "well I just bought this sweater."

Mulder just looked at her.

"Mulder why does this keep happening to us?"

"Maybe we just pissed off the wrong people."




Headquarters of The Lone Gunmen
Two days later


"You guys sure pissed the wrong people off." Frohicke said, coming out of a
side room, and pulling up a chair next to Byers.

Mulder looked at Scully and then back to the three publishers. "Oh really?
What makes you say that?"

"Well," piped up Byers, "from what we can ascertain, from the samples that
Agent Scully brought us, the explosives used to blow up your apartment
complex were a very rare, very new form of nitroglycerine known as NT26.
It's very hard to come by, and the only people who have access to the
chemical that we know of, are the government, and a few American
universities ."

"Or so we've heard." Added Langly.

"So you're telling me that the government blew up my apartment complex?"
Mulder asked.

"No," voiced Frohicke, "like I said, you pissed off the wrong people, and
*they* blew up your apartment complex."

Mulder turned to his partner. "Scully, in your time at Berkley, did you
ever tell a professor what he could do with his tweed jacket?"

Scully ignored Mulder's comment, and looked hard at Langly. "Is there
anyway to trace it?"

"I'll see what we can do." 

"Good, thank you. Well boys, you know how much I love this, but I gotta
go."

"Scully," Mulder piped up, "would you mind giving me a ride to my hotel?"

Scully grabbed her purse and headed toward the door. "Sure, Mulder, that's
no problem."

They left the Gunmen's HQ and got into Scully's car. 

Scully paused with the keys in the ignition. "Mulder, why don't you just
stay with me at my apartment. You shouldn't have to stay in a hotel. What
do you say?"

Mulder stuck his arm in front of the steering wheel. "Twist my arm."

She smiled at him and started the car.

"Have you made any progress apartment hunting?" She looked over at him, and
gave him a sympathetic look.

"No, I uh, I've been kind of wallowing in self-pity lately and I haven't
felt like going out."

"Well," she said, trying to shuffle around the difficult issue of losing
all of one's worldly possessions, while still bringing it up, "do you need
to stop by the hotel and get anything?"

"No. I have just been using the complimentary stuff in the room." He said
with a shrug.

"Mulder, do you even have any clothes to wear?"

He just shook his head.

"Alright," she said, deciding that playing mother right now wasn't going to
bother her *too* much, "it's almost 3:00. We're going to run to the mall
and get you some cloths and then we'll stop at the grocery store and get
you other necessities, and then we'll go back to my place. Is that okay?"

He nodded his head again.

Scully did feel very bad for him. The only things he had had on him were
his wallet, his badge and his weapon. He had one set of cloths that were
pretty much trashed and he had been wearing them for the past two days. He
looked horrible. 

They managed to make it through the mall and the local grocery store
without too much trouble, and walked into Scully's apartment with both arms
loaded. Mulder hadn't wanted to buy all that they did, but Scully had
insisted. By the time they had made it to the grocery store, he just pushed
the cart and let her take over. She had asked him what kind of toothpaste
and shaving cream he preferred, and just told her and let her continue on.
He wasn't all that depressed considering what had happened, but he was
rather enjoying being babied by Scully, so he just sat back, feigned
indifference and enjoyed the show.

They walked in, and Scully went about putting his new things away. She put
his new clothes in her closet, having no where else to put them, and moved
some of her things in the bathroom into different drawers. They would
figure out a showering/dressing schedule later.

Having finished what she was doing, she walked into her living room to find
Mulder stretched out on the couch with one arm over his eyes. She picked up
the portable phone and took it into her bedroom to call Skinner and ask
about the progress on the investigation into the mysterious bombing of
Mulder's apartment complex.

Skinner picked up after the 3rd ring.

"Skinner."

"Hello sir, this is Scully. How is the investigation going?"

"Slow, Agent Scully. Luckily, with it being a Friday night, not many people
were in the building. Also, the explosives used seem to have been chemical
in nature and placed so that only Mulder's particular apartment suffered
total annihilation. The lack of casualties though, is fortunate."

"I see, sir, how about the progress on the phone records?"

"Well, our boys pinpointed the location the phone call was made at, and it
ended up being a phone both about 2 blocks from the explosion. Other than
that, we have no leads. The substance used in the explosion though, was
rare, and we hope to have several leads soon. How is Agent Mulder holding
up, Scully?"

Scully bit her lip. "Well sir, he seems to be suffering the usual
Mulder-angst if you know what I mean."

"Of course."

"Sir?"

"Yes Scully?"

"I asked him to come and stay with me. He's been staying in a hotel the
past couple of days, and frankly, he didn't seem to be doing a very good
job of taking care of himself. I hope you don' t mind."

"Of course not, Agent Scully. Take good care of him."

Surprised a little by Skinner's reaction, she hesitated a little. "? Uh, I
will sir, thank you for your help."

She hung up the phone, and jumped when she saw Mulder standing in her
bedroom doorway, with his arms across his chest.

"You have a name for my 'angst', Scully?" He asked jokingly.

Scully sighed and looked at him. "How are you holding up, Mulder?"

He shrugged.

"Well, why don't you take a shower and I'll start on dinner. No offense,
but you really need to get out of those clothes."

She got up and walked to the doorway. He didn't get out of her way. She
looked up at him and raised her eyebrows at him in question.

"Are you implying that I stink?"

"Precisely." She stated, and then brushed past him and into the kitchen.
She heard the shower go on a few minutes later.

While she was cutting vegetables, she pondered who would have wanted to
kill Mulder. Sure, he had made a few enemies, some in high places, but he
didn't have anything concrete he could use against them. But still, she
thought, he *is* a pain the ass, maybe They just want him out of their way
for good. Closing the X-Files had continually proven to be a less than
satisfactory method.

She heard the phone ring, interrupting her reverie. Recalling she left the
phone in her room, she put down the knife and walked down the hallway.
Walking in her room, she was startled to see Mulder, clad in nothing but
boxers, with his back to her. Figuring she could just let the machine pick
it up, she started to back quietly out of the room. 

"Going somewhere, Scully?" He didn't turn around, but he continued to get
dressed, grabbing a new pair of his jeans and slipping them on. 

"Uh?" She stumbled. Just then, she looked closely at his back and noticed a
large red burn just below his right shoulder blade.

Now ignoring his current state of undress as well as the ringing phone, she
marched up to him and gently grabbed his shoulders, letting him know not to
turn around. She delicately touched the burn and she heard him suck in his
breath.

"Mulder, why didn't you go get this looked at?" She asked.

He shrugged. "It's nothing."

"Like hell it isn't, Mulder. You need to get this dressed. Come with me."

She started to leave the room, he didn't follow.

"Now, Mulder." She said, shooting him her 'Don't sass me, I won't deal with
it' look.

He hung his head in defeat and followed her into the bathroom.

While she was cleaning his burn, she determined she should talk to him to
keep his mind off of the pain. She decided to kill two birds, and asked him
the question that was on the forefront of her mind.

"Mulder, how did you know I was standing there?" She paused. "In my room I
mean."

Mulder blew out a breath. "I could smell you."

"Really?" She asked, curious to know.

"Yeah. You know, before I took a shower in here and discovered most of your
little secrets, I used to think that that smell was exclusively you. But
now," he went on, "I know that you get a little help from the Body Shop.
White Musk becomes you, Scully."

"Well thank you, Mulder," she said, putting the finishing touches on the
bandage. "I am glad to know that I pass your olfactory satisfaction test."

"With flying colors, Scully."

She grinned at his statement. "There, Mulder, you're done. I'm going to
have to change this before you go to bed, and again in the morning to
prevent infection. Whatever you do, don't scratch."

"Yes ma'am." He said, turning around. He grabbed her arm gently as she was
turning to leave. "Thank you, Scully. For everything."

"You're welcome, Mulder." She said, stepping out into the hall, where she
paused. "You're always welcome."

Mulder walked to the doorway and watched her disappear into the kitchen. He
went back to her bedroom and threw on a hunter green wool sweater they had
bought at Abercrombie and Fitch. 

Halfway through dinner, he twisted uncomfortably in his chair and started
scratching at his back.

"Mulder, I told you not to scratch."

"I know, Scully, but it itches!"

"Then maybe a wool sweater wasn't exactly the best choice in apparel."
Scully stated, pausing from cutting her chicken to look at him.

"Are you saying you want me change?" Mulder asked playfully. 

"Are you going to stop scratching?" Scully asked back, using the same to
tone to egg him on.

"No."

"Then yes, I think you should change."

"Do you have any suggestions Dr. Scully?" 

"T-shirt. Heather gray." She replied quickly.

"One heather gray T-shirt, coming up." Mulder got up to head to the
bedroom, he was just past the kitchen when he paused, and asked loudly,
"Did I buy a heather gray T-shirt?"

"It's in the closet," Scully called back, "second one from the left."

When he came back into the kitchen, he found Scully washing up the dishes.
He as about to offer his services when a dish towel hit him squarely in the
face.

"You dry." She said without turning around.

When they had finished washing and putting away the dishes from dinner,
they both headed into the living room. Scully took the seat in the corner,
and picked up a book that was lying face-down on the small table beside it.
Mulder plopped down on the couch. 

He looked up at Scully who was already engrossed in the novel, and asked,
"Mind if I turn on the TV?"

"Go ahead," she said, without lifting her eyes.

Mulder grabbed the remote and shifted down into the couch. Just as he did
so, the deafening roar of gunfire erupted in the room as the windows
shattered and the area on the couch where he had just been was a mass of
stuffing and cloth. He found himself laying on the floor, and not realizing
he had hit the deck, he looked to the recliner where Scully had been
sitting to see the chair in the same disrepair as the couch. The gunfire
continued to fill the air, as he searched the room frantically for Scully.
He spotted her sitting against the wall a few feet from the chair with her
gun held at the ready. They made eye contact and held each others gaze for
what seemed like hours, silently telling each other to hold on. The gunfire
stopped just as suddenly as it had started and both agents stayed where
they were in shock.

Mulder began to stand. As he was doing so, a loud crunch then a thud
sounded behind him. He whirled to see a large man, dressed entirely in
black come barreling through the door toting a large automatic weapon. The
man raised the gun pointing it directly at Mulder. Another roar of gunfire
filled the room and the man  fell back awkwardly, his left shoulder
colliding with the wall behind him before the rest of him did. He slid to
the floor leaving a bloody streak down the length of the wall.

Mulder turned again to look at Scully, who was still sitting against the
wall,  holding her smoking gun up, her elbows propped on her knees, still
in position to fire. She took two deep breaths and slumped to the floor. He
walked quickly over to her and moved her chin gently back up to look at
him. She had tears streaming down her face, and she was shaking. Mulder
made a move to stand up, when she threw her arms around his neck pulling
him to her tightly.

"Mulder? why??" She asked quietly.

"I don't know, Scully," he said stroking her hair, "I just don't know."


End of part 2/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


Part 3/20


The two agents walked through the door of Walter Skinner's office and
seated themselves in their two customary seats across from his desk.
Skinner placed the file he was reading down at his desk and regarded  them
seriously.

"Agents, I must say that I am quite disturbed with events as of late. The
recent attempts on both of your lives has me very distressed."

He looked at the two agents sternly before continuing. 

"Now, you may think that I am being over-presumptuous, but I have taken the
liberty of arranging a safe-haven for you both until this whole issue can
be resolved." Skinner saw Mulder's mouth open and continued before he had a
chance to speak. "I want no complaints from either of you. You are both
taking a mandatory leave of absence and will have escorts to a location of
my choosing." He paused. "Now, normally I would have consulted with you
both before going to such extreme lengths, but this morning I received a
disquieting warning from a trusted contact of mine pertaining to some very
real threats on both of your lives." He regarded the agents once more, and,
noticing their looks of utter confusion, he explained further. "We will
iron out the details later, and perhaps I can better explain when this
whole crux is resolved. Please, Agents, follow me."

He then got up and headed out the door. Mulder and Scully exchanged glances
and followed.

He led them down the little-used staircase, and out onto the street, where
a car was waiting for them. Skinner climbed in the front, prompting Mulder
and Scully into the back. The driver drove off, leaving the J. Edgar Hoover
building a shrinking landmark in the rear-view mirror.

About five minutes into the drive, Skinner turned in his seat to talk to
the two agents.

"I'll explain the details of your stay once we get where we're going, but
this," He pointed to the driver, "is Special Agent Jacob Phillips, he'll be
one of your escorts. We'll be meeting Agent Snyder once we get there."

Phillips kept his eyes on the harrowing DC traffic, but managed to raise
his right hand and offer a "'Lo."

About ten minutes later, the car pulled up in front of Casey's Bar and
Grill and came to a stop. Skinner opened his door, and Phillips said, "I'll
just park and meet you inside in a minute." Skinner nodded and got out of
the car. Mulder and Scully exited the vehicle also and Mulder paused in
front of the building, winced, and followed his partner inside. 

Once they were inside, they were waved over to a booth by a mousy-looking
brunette. Skinner joined her on one side, leaving Mulder and Scully to
occupy the opposite. 

"Special Agents Mulder and Scully," Skinner said, nodded at them, "this is
Special Agent Snyder, she'll be you other escort." The three exchanged
nods, while Phillips approached the booth, and pulled up a chair to the
end. 

"Until we get this cleared up," Skinner started to explain, using the noisy
din of the pub to disrupt any listening devices should any be present, "I
am going to have you both stay at my hunting cabin in northern Wisconsin. I
have arranged to have Agents Phillips and Snyder stay with you also, to
insure further protection. The cabin should be equipped with everything you
should need for as long as you may need it."

He slid two small packages to the still silent agents, and said, "These are
your identities for use in the airport and surrounding towns. Use them
constantly until you reach the cabin, understand?"

"Yes sir." Scully offered.

"Alright. There is luggage and other supplies waiting for you in a car
parked out back. Your plane leaves in two hours."

Skinner slid out of the booth to leave.

"I have contacted both of your mothers and assured them that you will be
alright. Don't let me break my promise. Keep safe, you two," he nodded to
Mulder and Scully, then looked to Snyder and Phillips, "and you see that
they stay that way."

"Of course, sir." Phillips offered. And he got up to let the remaining
three agents out of the booth. "Shall we?"

The four federal agents left the pub and climbed into an Eddie Bauer
edition Ford Explorer that was waiting in the alley. Snyder and Phillips
took the front and directed Mulder and Scully into the backseat. All of the
cars windows were tinted and it had a government plate, insuring that they
wouldn't be bothered on the trip to the airport. 

Mulder leaned back and stole a glance at Scully. "So?"

She looked back, "Back to Wisconsin."

Mulder sighed and took a look at the small package he hadn't been aware he
was holding. He turned it around in his fingers and started to open it.

"Care to take a look at who we'll be for the next few days, Scully?"

"Why not, Mulder."

Mulder ripped the package open and a wallet, as well as a passport fell
out. He picked up the passport and held it up. "I didn't realize we'd be
needing one of these, I mean, I've heard stories about Milwaukee, but
nothing like this."

Snyder turned in her seat and looked at him. "We've took every precaution,
Agent Mulder, I would think you'd appreciate all that Assistant Director
Skinner has done for you."

She turned back in her seat and Mulder turned his head to find Scully
staring at him. "What?"

She just smiled and shook her head, looking back to her own identification.

"Lets find out who we are, huh?" Mulder said, opening the wallet and
looking at the drivers license inside. "Andrew James Snow. Not bad. Hmmm,"
He said, looking through the wallet, "lets see what else we've got in
here." He continued to go through the billfold, happy to note that there
was actually some cash in it. He turned to Scully again, "So, Scully, who
are you?"

"Well," Scully said, opening the small wallet, "I am Megan Autumn Sn? oh,
you've got to be kidding me." She finished, looking to the front seat for
an explanation.

Snyder turned around once more and grinned at them. "Don't look at me,
Skinner had them made. Anyway, you two aren't the only ones who're
hitched." She and her partner both simultaneously held up their left hands,
and sure enough, both had on wedding bands. She chuckled at the expressions
on the two partners faces, and handed them both a small velvet box. "Here
are yours, they should fit."

Mulder reached forward and took them both. He slipped his on and waggled
his eyebrows at Scully. She took the offered box and sighed, slipping hers
on as well. She looked at Mulder who was staring at her with a wide grin on
his face and said, "Shut up Mulder."


End of part 3/20


XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


Part 4/20


When they arrived at the airport, Phillips parked the car in the
extended-away lot and  took a deep breath before turning the car off. No
one exited the car. No one wanted too. 

They sat for about a minute when Snyder finally spoke up.

She removed her seatbelt, and placed her hand on the door handle without
opening it. "Okay," she said. "Everyone assume alternate identities.
Remember, you're the Snows, Andrew and Megan. We're the Parkers, Bruce and
Lynn." She turned to Mulder and Scully, "Got it?"

"Consider it gotten, Lynn." Mulder said sarcastically,  "Well, what do you
say, Megan, Bruce, you ready to take a trip to the wonderful world of
Wisconsin?"

Snyder opened her door with a huff and got out.

"Well," said Phillips, exiting the vehicle as well, "it's now or never."

After Phillips had shut his door, Mulder turned to Scully who was still
strapped to her seat. He undid his belt and turned to her before opening
his door. "You know Scully," he said, "I don't think I like her." Scully
grinned and got out as well.

When Phillips had the back opened, he took over handing out the gear.

He handed Mulder a large backpack and two suitcases. 

"These," he explained, "have about two weeks worth of cloths. They should
fit. I hope. The backpack has a change of clothes that you should change
into as soon as we get inside. It also has our only entertainment for the
next God-knows-how-long, so whatever you do, *don't* lose it!"

Mulder nodded and Phillips turned to Scully. He handed her two smaller
suitcases and a backpack as well. 

He nodded to the suitcases. "Those have the same as Mul? uh, Drew's." He
grinned at his shortening of Mulder's new name with a kind of 'I crack
myself up' look on his face. Mulder shrugged and he continued. "Now the
sizes on your stuff my be a little big. I have to apologize on that one,
Skinner just sent me out today to get them and well, I have only seen you
in the bullpen a couple of times." Scully nodded and he continued. "Now,
your backpack also has a change of clothes. You are also carrying our ammo.
So, you can't lose your pack either."

He pulled out the remaining luggage as Scully was shouldering her pack.

"Speaking of heat, I'll take care of that department. And since," he
continued, with a somewhat pained expression on his face, "you are no
longer FBI Agents Mulder and Scully, you'll have to give me your weapons
until we get to Wisconsin." When they both hesitated, he explained further.
"I know you don't like it, but it's for the best, Skinner really went above
and beyond here and this all has to work like clockwork or it won't work at
all."

As Mulder and Scully were unholstering their guns, Phillips went on with a
smile, "And just think, when we *do* get to Wisconsin, you'll both be
packing extra heat. I've got ankle holsters and even knives! You'll get to
live out your childhood fantasies of playing Rambo!"

"Oh goody." Scully muttered under her breath, while Mulder's expression now
held a little child-like excited anticipation.

They entered the airport without incident and the four agents all went into
bathrooms to change.

Mulder was the first one done,  and exited wearing jeans, a navy wool
sweater with a t-shirt underneath, (which he was thankful for considering
the hell he went through the last time he had worn a wool sweater) a pair
of jeans and hiking boots.

Phillips finished next, wearing a green flannel shirt and khakis,
complaining to Mulder of  "women's propensity to take forever in the
bathroom."

Snyder was the next one done, donning a pair of jeans, a red Wisconsin
Badgers sweatshirt, and a pair of sneakers. 

Scully emerged a few minutes later, wearing a baggy pair of jeans, a
sweater that she had had to roll up several times, and a less-than-thrilled
expression.

Phillips winced when she reached the group, and apologized. "I really am
sorry about the fit on those, Megan."

She softened a little and said, "At least the shoes fit."

They disbanded and headed for the terminal. 

They were fortunate enough to get through with little difficulty and sat
down waiting for the stewardess to announce boarding for their flight. 

"So, Megan," Mulder began, "what do think?"

"I don't  know, Drew," she said, chuckling a little, "I know, we've been
through well, a lot, to put it lightly, in the past few days, but I kind of
think that perhaps *Walter* jumped the gun a little. What I would like to
know about though, is this warning he got this morning. What do you think
it's about?"

"I can't say for sure, but I  *would*  like to know who just who the hell
is out to get us." 

Scully nodded her agreement, checked her watch and sat back, waiting for
the flight to be announced.


End of part 4/20


XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


Part 5/20


Once they were seated on the plane, Mulder and Scully next to each other
(Scully at the window), Phillips and Snyder sitting the same a few rows
back, Scully began to relax a little, feeling temporarily safe. She rubbed
her temples and sighed.

"You okay, Sc? Meg?" Mulder asked her, concern etched on his face.

"Yeah? considering. Just tired I guess."

"Well, you can borrow my shoulder if you want."

She smiled her thanks, and gratefully leaned her head against Mulder's
shoulder.

She was asleep within minutes. Mulder was glad to see her finally getting
some rest. The hell they had been through in the past few days had taken
their toll. He knew she hadn't slept much, if any, the last few nights.
Hell, he hadn't either. She didn't even wake up when they took off. Mulder
nodded off soon after take-off and woke when he felt a light tapping on his
shoulder. 

It was a flight attendant. "Sir," she said smiling, "Sir, we're about to
unload, if you wouldn't mind, could you please move your feet out of the
aisle?"

Mulder wiped the sleep from his eyes, he hadn't even realized that they had
landed.

"Sure, sorry."

"Oh its no problem," she smiled. "You might want to wake your wife and let
her know that we've made it to Ashland airport."

Mulder was about to tell yet another person that they weren't married when
he remember their cover with an odd sense of contentment. 

He smiled and replied, "I will, thank you."

He turned to Scully, having to bend his slightly to get a look at her face,
and found her still sleeping soundly. Her mouth was open a little and her
breathing was steady and deep. She had somehow managed during the course of
the flight to grab a hold of the sleeve of his sweater and still had
somewhat of a death-grip on it. He smiled affectionately at her, he hated
to have to wake her. 

Just then, the captain took the seat belt sign off and people clamored to
be the first one off the plane. In his years of flying he found it utterly
impossible to actually be the first one off, and damn near life-threatening
to try. So, he had adapted the wait-til-you're-the-last-one-on method, and
found it much easier to get luggage out of the overhead without fear of
hitting some poor persons head, and less traumatic when disembarking.
Scully had always agreed.

He waited until Phillips and Snyder were almost to their seats to wake her
up. He ran a finger down the side of her face and whispered her name. She
didn't even stir. He said it a little louder. "Megan." Nothing.
He then reached down and grabbed a hold of her leg, right above her knee,
and gently shook her. "Hey, Mrs. Snow, time to get up." 

She raised her head and looked around, not letting of his sweater. She
looked down, just realizing that she had it clutched in her hand, and let
go, sheepishly. "Sorry." She said, a little embarrassed.

Mulder grinned. "It's alright, *sweetheart*."

She rolled her eyes and began to stand up.

Having successfully lightened the mood, Mulder stood and stretched. 

"Nice nap?" Phillips asked, pausing to let them out.

"Very, thank you." 

They strapped on their backpacks, and in no time had their other luggage as
well, which had fortunately made it on the same flight.

Mulder, Scully and Snyder waited out in front of the main entrance for
Phillips who soon pulled up in a Ford Expedition, very much similar to the
Explorer they had been in  DC. Once everything was successfully loaded in
the car, they pulled out hit the expressway. Sydney broke out a map and was
busy giving Phillips directions when Scully piped up from the backseat,
"Can I have my weapon back now?"

Phillips told her what bag to look for in the back, and she soon had both
her and Mulder's gun. She checked the clip and shoved it into the back of
her jeans.

"Just remember to be careful about that until we hit Skinner's cabin."
Phillips called from the front. "Remember, we're still the Snow's and the
Parker's hitting the north country on vacation."

"Right." Scully nodded. Then looked up again and asked, "How long until we
get there?"

"About another forty-five minutes." Phillips offered.

"Well, the next rest stop or diner or anything you come across, pull over
because I have to go."

"Me too, Phil." Snyder added. "And make it snappy."

They found a diner about five minutes later, and while the two ladies went
to the restrooms, Mulder and Phillips slid into a booth and ordered four
coffees. Scully was out first, and slid into the seat next to Mulder.
Snyder emerged a few minutes later and slid next to Phillips. Scully poured
her customary cream into her coffee and watched Snyder as she dumped 5
sugars into hers. It was no wonder that woman had to go to the bathroom so
much.

Phillips watched his partner finish with a cringe, and leaned back against
the backrest. "I think now that we have the opportunity, we should talk
about what's going to happen up there before we actually get there."

They all agreed, and Phillips continued. "Once we get to the cabin, which
should be in about 40 minutes if Skin-? Walter's directions are accurate,
we should unpack all of our stuff and make sure we've got everything. As I
said before, Drew, you've got the entertainment, which I should warn you,
is all we're going to have. There are no phones, no TV's, no nothing.
Although he recently put the outhouse out of commission and got electricity
and indoor plumbing installed. We've got ourselves a deck of cards, a board
game, and our imaginations." He ignored the quiet groans emitted by the
other three agents, and continued. "Megan., you've got our ammunition.
There are, as Walter has informed me, two rifles and a couple shotguns up
there waiting for us. It's Walter's hunting cabin, so, hopefully they're
still in working order. As I understand it, he hasn't been up there since
his divorce. Now, I've got the maps of the area and most of the money. If
we need to run into the store to get anything, I will most likely be the
one to go. The other one of us will stay with you. I'll seize this
opportunity to tell you that you two aren't going to leave the cabin once
we get up there. You can probably go outside just to escape the cabin
fever, but only if one of us is with you at the time."

Scully interrupted him. "I know that in the last few days, we've been,
well, in danger, but I've seen no indication that we've been followed, or
even surveillanced, is this Witness Protection stuff really all that
necessary?"

"I know you were probably a little preoccupied the other night, *Megan*,"
Snyder said, hers eyes boring into Scully like the sun in the desert. "But
did you get a good hard look at your apartment? Whoever is out to get you
means business. I haven't seen a hit like that since that one incident last
year with all the drug dealers and that computer guy." 

Scully visibly paled and nodded. 

"I assume we've cleared up the hovering issue of the severity of your
situation?" Phillips asked.

"Yup." Answered Mulder, who stole a glance at Scully.

"Good. Now, where was I?"

"We can't leave the cabin." Scully helped him.

"Ah, you can't leave the cabin. Right. If either of you should need
anything we don't have at the cabin, or haven't brought with us, I'll run
into the closest town, which is the one we passed about 25 minutes ago, and
get it. I should add that I don't know for sure how long we're going to be
up there, so if you ladies, uh?" He hesitated awkwardly. "Should uh, need
anything, I can go get it. There, um, should be some stuff that we packed
though. I think. Anyway. Um, yeah." 

Scully had a hard time keeping herself from laughing out loud. Maybe it was
just the fact that she was a doctor, but she never understood what made men
so damn squeamish about menstruation. She'd never really breached the
subject with Mulder, who at the moment seemed fascinated with his
fingernails, but she'd had a few boyfriends in her time that almost ran
screaming from the room. She pondered sending Phillips out on a tampon run
just to watch him squirm. She'd have to save that one for when she was
*really* bored.

Phillips took a deep breath and proceeded. "Okay. Lynn here has the VHF,
unfortunately, our cell phones won't work where we're going. She also has
some of the camping supplies should we need to flee the cabin for any
reason. Sleeping bags and the blankets and stuff like that should be there
already. That reminds me, we need to stop and get some non-perishables and
probably a lot more food too. Do you think we should risk it and get it
before we go up there, or get up there, see what Walter's got and then head
back?"

"I vote for dropping these two off and then heading back." Voiced Snyder.
"I would think it would be safer for them that way."

"I agree." Phillips said. "I can't really think of anything else, what do
you say we get out of here?"

"I'm game." Sighed Mulder, a little tired of the faux democracy.

Phillips threw a few bills down on the table and they left.


End of part 6/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


Part 7/20


They arrived at the cabin about  an hour later. They got lost on the long
winding dirt roads twice before they found the right turn off. Once they
pulled into the driveway, which was nothing more than a two-track, all four
agents were stunned by the appearance of the place. 

"How much are Assistant Director's getting paid these days again?" Phillips
said, his eyes agape at the place.

The cabin stood two stories, both stories on  the west and east side of the
lodge overhanging the rest of the structure. They were supported by long,
thick poles which came to rest into cement slabs that were covered with
screens. The screened in porch on the west side housed the racks where the
hunters would hang their kill. The area on the east wing had a picnic
table, chairs and what looked like a Weber grill. The front entrance
actually had a porch, and looked to be in excellent condition. As was the
rest of the structure. Made entirely of logs, it  had numerous windows and
large stone chimney erupting from the middle of the cabin.

When they walked inside, they were shocked still. To the left when you
walked in the door, there was an open-aired kitchen, which extended into a
large dining room. There was a half-wall, about three feet high extending
from the north side of the house, the length of the dining room. To the
right of the entrance, there was a large walk-in closet, filled with coats,
hunting gear, blankets, sleeping bags and various odds and ends. Directly
in front of the entrance, in the middle of the lodge was a huge stone
fireplace. Both ends of the fireplace were open, facing both east and west.
On the west side of the fireplace, near the kitchen and dining room, there
was a large wrap-around couch, that had been covered in plastic, and what
looked like a leather lazy boy. On the east side, there was a large
bear-skin rug, a lamp and a love-seat. There was a door behind the
loveseat, housing the bathroom which spanned the length of the lodge. Just
to the left of the dining room, where it met the kitchen, there was a large
wooden ladder which led up to the loft above. There were two bedrooms on
the north and south side of the cabin, and was mirrored on the east side,
above the bathroom. 

"Is the power and everything else turned on, Phil?" Snyder asked, pushing
her way past a non-moving Mulder and Scully. 

"Yeah, it should be," said Phillips, who wasn't moving either. He stood
there looking around open-mouthed. "Skinner said he sent a friend of his
over to check the place out and turn everything on. Everything should be
ready."

"Good," said Snyder, "because I have to go to the bathroom."

She walked in and closed the door. The next moment, a blood-curdling scream
cut through the other three agent's shock, and they dropped their luggage,
drew their weapons, and ran to the bathroom. 

"SNYDER!" Phillips called.

Phillips threw open the door, Mulder and Scully flanking either side.
Phillips ran in, then dropped his gun to his side. Scully looked at Mulder,
cocking her head to the side, with a questioning look. He shrugged and they
both stepped in.

Snyder looked at both of them and then pointed to the corner.

"There's a *Jacuzzi*!" She said, all smiles. Scully followed her finger,
and sure enough, in the corner was a full-sized Jacuzzi.

"Walter, I hardly knew ye." Mulder muttered.

They were soon over their shock, though Mulder had definite plans on
checking out what Skinner was getting paid these days. They unwrapped all
of the furniture and put away most of their supplies. All that remained was
to choose rooms and put their clothes away. Mulder and Scully sat quietly
next to each other as the other two agents argued about their fate. 

"No, Snyder, I don't think you should be up there with Agent Scully. I mean
no disrespect, but you're a? you're both? I just think that it would be
better if we kept a male and a female agent on each loft."

"Look," Scully interrupted. "If that's the way you want it, I would just as
soon have Mulder across the hall from me. I'd be more comfortable with it
that way."

"Ooooh, no." Phillips said. "We can't have you and Mulder be all of the way
on the other side of the house. What if something should happen in the
middle of the night? How would we get over there to help you out?"

Snyder came in with a sigh. "Phil, if that's the way she wants it, then why
don't we just do it. I'm sick of all of the adolescent bickering." 

Mulder almost cut in to mention that it was actually her and Phillips that
were doing nearly all of the bickering, when  Phillips shrugged his
shoulders and gave in.

"Okay. Mulder and Scully, you two take the loft above the kitchen, Snyder
and I will take the one above the bathroom. That work for everybody?"

"That's just peachy." Mulder said, grabbing his luggage and looking at the
ladder, trying to figure out how exactly to get it up there. "Um?" He
stood, considering it.

Scully came up behind him. "Here, why don't you go up there, and I'll throw
them to you."

He nodded, and they eventually got both of their sets of luggage up. They
were both nearly injured in the process, however. Scully's first throw
knocked him right on his ass, and her last attempt at getting the last
piece up fell back down on her, almost killing her. She turned to find
Phillips and Snyder having the same problem. Scully gratefully climbed the
ladder and stood next to Mulder who was considering both rooms. 

"Right or left, Scully?"

"Mulder, they're both identical, at this point I really don't give rat's
ass which room I get." At which point she grabbed her suitcases, pushed
through the door on the left and closed it behind her.

Mulder watched her go, sighed casually and hauled his stuff into the other
room. Once he had put all of his clothes away in the sparsely furnished
room, he went over and tapped on Scully's door. 

"Come on in, Mulder." She said, her voice a little muffled.

He walked in the door to find her laying face-down on the bed, with her
arms stretched out over her head. Mulder was a little concerned, his
usually over-organized partner hadn't even managed to unpack yet.

 He sat down on the other side of the double bed and touched her shoulder
lightly. "You okay, Scully?" He asked quietly.

Her face still stuffed into the comforter, she turned her head a little in
his direction and took a deep breath. "I guess so."

"You want to talk about it?"

She propped herself up on her elbows and turned towards him. "It's just?
The past few days, you know?" Whoa. She did want to talk. These times, they
are a' changing. Mulder thought to himself. A single tear slid down her
face and her voice was starting to get shaky. "I've tried to as stay strong
as you, but I don't know if can do it anymore. Its too much." She turned
away from him again and sniffed.

"Me?" Mulder asked in wonder. "Strong? Scully?" He shook his head, trying
to find the words. "How can you say that? I'm not the strong one, you're?
you're the strongest person I've ever met. Ever *known*. Look at all of the
shit you've been through. Christ Scully, I'm a wreck compared to you. I go
home to nothing. I have no bed, if by chance I do sleep, I sleep on my
couch. I've kind of shot my future to Hell. You'll be running the FBI when
I'm Old Man Mulder, the guy at the end of the block that all of the
neighborhood kids are afraid of. I have a pornography fetish. The Lone
Gunmen are my only friends to speak of, and I'm so damn paranoid, I check
my *underwear* for bugs." That got him a chuckle. "Look at yourself. You're
smart, you're loyal, you have an actual bedroom. You've got a wonderful
family, and face it, you're gorgeous. You're tenacious when you have to be,
stubborn as a goddamn mule, and you're my best friend. Scully, you've got
your shit together. *You're* the strong one."

She chuckled and turned to him again, sniffing a little. "Well when you put
it *that* way?"

Mulder grinned and scooted closer to her. "Come here, you."

She sniffled a little more and crawled over to him. He wrapped his arms
around her and she sagged against him. It felt so good to be held by
someone, especially Mulder, she began to cry again. 

Mulder winced when he felt her shoulders start to shake again. "Oh God,
Scully don't cry." He *hated* it when she cried. It turned his insides into
knots. He felt physical pain every time Dana Scully shed a tear.

"I'm?sorry" She managed in between sobs. What the hell was wrong with her
she wondered? Goddamn PMS. Goddamn hormones.  Goddamn it. She hated it when
she was like this. After all, every now and again, she *did* fancy herself
strong.

She took a few cleansing breaths. "Sorry, Mulder," She pulled back to look
at him. "But I think I slimed your shirt."

"That's alright Scully," He said, disentangling himself from her grasp. "I
don't mind your slime so much. Anyway, it's not really even my shirt." He
smiled and left the room, coming back a few seconds later with a handful of
toilet paper.

She gratefully accepted the offered tissue and blew her nose, looking
around a little self-consciously.

"Where'd you find this Mulder?"

"Well, you know that door that looks like a closet at the end of the little
hall here?"

She nodded.

"It's actually a bathroom."

"Hmm?" She smiled, "who'da thunk?" 

Mulder smiled and flopped down on the bed next to her, his legs dangling of
the edge, and his arms spread out on either side of him.

"Scully," He said, staring at the ceiling. 

She took one more short blow. "Yeah?"

"This sucks."

"Which part," She asked, flopping down next to him, "the part where we were
nearly blown to bits, the part where they riddled my apartment with
bullets, or the part where we're stuck in northern Wisconsin with no cell
phones, no outside communication and the bodyguards from hell?

He expelled a long, drawn-out breath. "Gimme a minute."

"Well," she said, standing up, "there *is* a Jacuzzi."

"True."

She looked at him, laying forlornly on her bed, and offered him a hand.
"Come on, Mulder, I'm hungry."

He took her hand and she hoisted him up.

When they were climbing down the ladder, they heard Snyder talking in the
kitchen.

They were about to walk into the kitchen when she came walking out. She
jumped when she saw them.

"Sorry," Scully said, "didn't mean to frighten you. Where's Phillips? I
thought I heard you talking?"

"No," She said licking her lips, "he went into the town to get some food. I
was uh, talking to myself. I do that."

Mulder nodded and plopped down on the couch. This had better not last long,
he thought to himself.


End of part 7/20


XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


Part 8/20


Mulder awoke earlier than he had been the last few days. He looked outside
to find it still dark out, and swung his legs out of bed. The wooden floor
was freezing. It had gotten gradually colder the past few days. They had
been at Skinner's cabin for 6 nights. It was nearing end of September and
the leaves were starting to change. The days were pleasant, but the nights
had gotten very cold. They kept a fire burning almost constantly now. 

Phillips had made contact with Skinner twice now, and he said that they had
a few more leads, but they were exhausting many of their avenues of
investigation. Mulder didn't think that they'd be there much longer, he
figured if whoever it was that wanted to kill them had been hell-bent on
doing it, they'd be dead already. He voluntarily let his guard down, the
stress of having it up had been like a crushing weight on his shoulders and
he didn't think he could pull the Atlas thing off much longer. Neither of
his other fellow agents seemed to be as keyed up as they had  been  when
they first arrived, although Scully still acted a little unlike herself.
Mulder didn't know if it was the stress they'd been under or what, but she
hadn't been expressing her usual Scully-reticence.

Although she usually kept to herself when things were bothering her, and
acted as if nothing was wrong, lately she had been more? expressive. Mulder
couldn't really think of a better word. She had been much less guarded when
he was around, although her walls sprang back up when Phillips or Snyder
walked in the room. She'd been more forthcoming with her feelings, telling
him that she couldn't stand to be around Snyder much longer, and even that
she thought that Snyder and Phillips were having an affair. When Mulder
pressed further, she just claimed that Snyder acted more guarded when
Phillips was around, like she had something to hide that she didn't want
Mulder or Scully to know about. He didn't ask anymore, but was actually
quite content with her openness. She was even touching him more than she
had used to. She had always touched him every now and again, an occasional
pat on the arm or rub on the back. But now, she seemed almost, flirtatious,
leaning into him more when she talked to him, and just touching him for no
reason. Mulder didn't know what had gotten into her, but whatever it was,
he liked it. 

He skittered over to the dresser and threw on a pair of socks and a
sweatshirt. He left his pajama pants that Phillips had lent him on, and
headed for the bathroom. He noticed Scully's light on and paused at her
door. He knocked quietly on her door and whispered her name softly.
"Scully." Deciding she wasn't awake, he quietly opened her door to turn off
her light. He glanced at her with his hand over the switch, and smiled to
himself. She had kicked off the sheets and blanket, which were hanging
haphazardly off of the end of the bed, but she had the thick light blue
comforter pulled up and tucked tightly beneath her chin. Her hair was
fanned about her face and her mouth was slightly open. He listened for a
moment to her steady breathing and flipped off the light. He was just
closing the door when he heard her quietly say his name. "Mulder?" 

"Yeah, Scully?" He said softly.

The sleep had not left her voice when she replied, "What are you doing?"

He was still using a hushed, calming voice. "Your light was on, Dana, go
back to sleep." He made ready to shut the door again when she stopped him.

"Mulder, wait." He paused and looked at her as she continued. "What are you
doing up so early?" 

"I don't know, I just woke up."

She propped herself up on her elbows and looked out the window. The dusty
gray of early dawn was pushing it's way through the forest, the dark
rusty-colored leaves making it all the more oppressive. She took a deep
breath, keeping her eyes on the expanding glow of morning. "Lets get out of
here Mulder."

"What?" 

"I said, let's get out of here. Let's go for a walk or something." She
said, turning towards him.

"Dost my ears deceive me? The good Agent Scully wants to skip out of town?"
Mulder gently chided her.

She looked at him, her eyes holding little humor. "I gotta get out of here
Mulder, I'm getting a nasty case of cabin fever."

Mulder nodded and smiled. "Alright, but put on something warm, I have a
feeling it's going to be chilly out there."

Scully grinned and nodded and threw off the comforter. Mulder got quite an
eyeful before he hurriedly closed the door. Did she know he was still
standing in her doorway when she did that? She had to have known, Mulder
thought to himself, it wasn't as if he hadn't been standing there talking
to her. He closed his eyes and shook his head. He was never going to get
that picture of Scully sitting in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her
eyes wearing nothing but a much-too-large green flannel shirt and white
panties. It would come back to him with photographic clarity every time he
closed his eyes. Mulder sighed as he entered his own room. "Ah, I can die a
happy man."



Scully stepped off the last rung of the ladder to find Mulder scribbling
something on the counter in the kitchen. He was wearing his trusty
construction boots, a pair of baggy jeans and a red plaid flannel shirt
with a white turtleneck underneath. He looked up when she spoke.

"Whatcha doing there, Mountain Man?" She said, her voice hushed.

"Writing them a note." He quietly whispered. 

He put down the pen and headed toward the door. 

"They're going to be *so* pissed off, Mulder." She whispered to him as he
walked by. 

"Yeah," he replied, "isn't it great?"

She smiled at him as he handed her a large hunter green fleece. He put on a
similar black fleece vest and looked up quickly as he was zipping it up.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" 

Scully raised an eyebrow quizzically and he headed back for the kitchen.

He emerged carrying two backpacks, both with sleeping bags attached. He
handed her the smaller of the two and strapped the remaining one on.

"What's this for?" Scully looked at him, holding up the pack.

He walked over to her and leaned in close.

"Do you remember the last two times we were in the woods together, Scully?"

She nodded.

"Well, I acutely remember the unpleasantness, and I don't care if I'm being
 over-prepared here, it's *not* going to happen again."

"Well spoken, Mulder." She said, strapping hers on as well. She walked to
the door and quietly opened it. "Shall we?"

"Let's." Mulder said, and grabbed the top of the door, holding it open for
her. "After you, Mountain Woman."


End of Part 8/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 9/20


"As soon as I could talk, they told me to listen. 
As soon as I could walk they said to stay put.
When I learned to laugh, they silenced me with a hush.
When I learned to slow down, they forced me to rush?"

Scully nearly tripped over a jutting root turning to look at Mulder. After
clearing the radix, she stopped and looked at him strangely.

"Mulder?"

He looked up. 

"Hmm?"

 "Were you saying something?" She asked, her voice taking on a humored,
questioning cadence.

"Sorry. Just a song I have stuck in my head." 

She turned around and continued walking. "Anything I'd know?"

She heard him chuckle behind her. "I doubt it."

She whirled unexpectedly on him. "Just what the hell is that supposed to
mean?"

Mulder stopped, with his mouth open. She'd shocked the ability to speak
right out of him. Then her expression softened, and she smiled. "I'm sorry.
That was uncalled for."

She turned and began to walk again. He stood there watching her for a few
more seconds and slowly began to follow her. 

Whoa. He thought to himself. Major Scully mood swing. That wasn't Scully
talking, that was PMS-Scully talking. He looked down at his watch. Nope. It
was the 21st. He had a good two weeks before *that* monster reared its ugly
head. He looked up from his watch and nearly ran into Scully, standing no
more than a foot in front of him with her hands firmly affixed to her hips.

She nodded to his watch. "So you *do*." She said, her eyes boring into him,
her eyebrows raised. "I've always wondered."

He tried to look confused, hoping she really had no idea what it was he had
been doing. "Do what?" He asked.

"Keep track. Don't deny it, Mulder, I've always suspected that you did, now
I know." 

He smiled nervously and looked at his shoes. "You mad?" He asked, looking
back up at her.

She shook her head. "No. Actually, I think it's kind of funny." She turned
and began walking again. "But I wouldn't ask me the same question in two
weeks, you'll *definitely* get another answer."

He decided that a change of subject was definitely in order. 

"So, Scully, you have any particular destination in mind, or are we just
going to wing it and pray we make it back to Skinner's intact?"

"Mulder," She replied, "we're 20 minutes from the cabin. I don't think
we'll have a problem getting back there. Anyway, I didn't bring my white
pebbles."

He chuckled a little at her comment, and blew into his fists. It really
*was* getting cold out. 

"Mulder," Scully spoke up, "do hear that?"

Mulder stopped and listened to the sounds of the forest.

"Hear what, Scully? I don't hear anything."

She shook her head and changed direction, walking a little more to the
left.

After a few minutes of hiking, Mulder did start to hear something. It was a
low, steady resonance, almost like the wind, but not quite. 

"I do hear it Scully." He whispered, trying not to lose the sound. "It
almost sounds like its more that way." He pointed a little more to the
left.

She nodded silently and turned a little more. 

The sound got gradually louder, until they broke out of some underbrush,
and came upon, much to their surprise, quite a large waterfall. The noise
at this point was almost deafening. 

"I didn't even know there was a river here, Scully!" Mulder said, almost
yelling.

"What?!?" Scully shouted, trying to be heard above the din.

"I SAID I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THERE WAS A RIVER HERE, SCULLY!"

She nodded her head emphatically, and yelled back, "NO KIDDING! MUCH LESS A
WATERFALL THIS SIZE!"

He nodded and grabbed her hand, pulling her down-river, until the roar of
the waterfall was just a background noise. 

"Much better." He said, releasing her hand. "Don't you think?"

"Definitely." She said, turning to look back at the spectacle. "It's
beautiful, though."

He came and stood next to her, looking at her. "That it is, Scully."

She turned to find him staring intently at her, and she blushed. She turned
her head back, and  nodded at the waterfall. "I could look at it for
hours."

Mulder's gaze joined her own. "Well, why don't we park it here and rest for
a while then."

He unstrapped his backpack and disconnected the sleeping bag, spreading it
out on the ground. He made a grand sweep of his hands, and motioned at the
sleeping bag. "Your davenport, my lady."

They both sat and watched the water fall. After a long while, Scully turned
to Mulder. "Do you think it has a name?" She asked him.

He pursed his lips and looked at it for a moment. "I don't know, Scully. Do
you suppose we should name it?" 

"I would," She replied. "But I can't think of a good one right now."

"Well then," He said, "Allow me."

He sat for a moment, considering it. "How about something like? uh? Roaring
Drop?" She stared at him. "Okaaaaay? Mikiwatoowah Falls?" She was still
staring."? Loud-ass River?" She snorted. 

"You get one last chance, Mulder, or I pick. I *know* I could do better."

He smiled. "That's it! Last Chance Falls! Perfect!"

She gave him an amused look and conceded. "Alright Mulder, I give. Last
Chance Falls it is."

She grinned at the victorious smile he had plastered on his face, and stood
up. "We better get back, Mulder, before Snyder shits a brick. We've already
been gone almost two hours, they're going worry."

He agreed and collected his sleeping bag. 

They headed back a different way, heading straight for where they thought
the cabin was, from their little camp at the river. As they reached the top
of a small hill, side by side, they startled a coyote who was sniffing at a
pile of dead leaves about 200 feet away. He looked up and bolted over
another knoll to their right. 

"Wonder what he was so interested in." Mulder said, swerving over toward
the small pile-up of leaves.

Scully stayed where she was. "It's probably just a dead deer, Mulder." She
said, cringing slightly.

He kicked the leaves aside and sucked in his breath.

He looked up at Scully. "Dead, yes. Deer, no." She looked at him and raised
her hands, questioningly. 

"I think you'd better come here, Scully."

She walked over, her steps clipped and quick. 

She arrived at his side and looked down. There, lying in the brush, was a
skeleton. A *human* skeleton. She bent down to get a closer look, and
removed more of the leaves. 

Mulder looked up at her, "you know, it's probably just  a hunter. Come on,"
he said, holding out his hand, "let's go back and get Snyder and Phillips.
We'll figure out what to do from there."

They headed back quickly, fortunate enough to find the cabin without any
trouble, and swung open the door. They walked in and Phillips came shooting
out of the kitchen.

"THERE YOU ARE!" He said, stomping up to them. 

"Yeah." Mulder said, quietly. "Where's Agent Snyder?"

"OUT LOOKING FOR YOU!" He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "I
really wish you wouldn't have done that! Do you know what could have
happ-?" He cut himself off, noticing their expressions. "What?" He said,
looking back and forth between the two agents. "What is it?"

"We? we found someone?" Scully said softly.

"WHAT?!? OH GOD! THEY DIDN'T SEE YOU DID THEY?"

"They weren't alive, Jacob."

"Oh." He said, pausing uncomfortably. "Oh God. You want to show it to me?"

"Sure." Mulder said. Opening the door. 

They went right out, neither agent bothering to take off their packs.

They showed Phillips to the spot and waited silently while he inspected the
body. He stood up.

"I think we'd better call Skinner. We really need to contact local
authorities, but I don't want to jeopardize your safety. We'll figure
something out."

They turned to head back to the cabin when a thunderous roar stopped them
in their tracks.

"Holy shit!" Phillips said, turning to Mulder and Scully. "That came from
the cabin!" 

He pushed them back toward the top of the hill they had been standing on
when they saw the coyote, and pushed them down onto the ground. "Stay
here!" He looked up. "Shit! Stay here, I'm going to go back there and check
it out. Don't move." He started to jog in the direction of the cabin, when
he stopped and came back. "You both have your weapons?" They nodded and he
dipped his head, and headed back again toward the cabin.

Scully turned toward Mulder.

He looked back and blew out a breath. "Shit."


End of Part 9/20


XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


Part 10/20


Snyder stood outside the cabin and stared at the smoking remains of the
eastern loft.

"Shit."

She turned to her accomplice, Steve Ryder, an average looking imbecile, who
was coming out of the woods to her left.

"YOU FUCKING MORON!"

"What the fuck? I did what I was supposed to."  He sneered, and then
finished. "D'you snuff your partner?"

She shook her head in disgust. What a Goddamn idiot. "I told you, Ryder, I
TOLD YOU. You weren't supposed to blow it until I gave you the go ahead!
Ramsey is going to kill you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" He asked incredulously, running his
hands through his flat, brown hair. He looked confused. He was.

"Ryder. Neither Mulder nor Scully was in the cabin. You just blew the side
off of a building using all the explosives we had, and you didn't kill the
targets. Ramsey is going to have your ass so quick you'll think it was
never there."

"Oh, FUCK." Ryder stared at the ground. "Shit. Shit.
Shitshitshitshitshitshit."

"You've got that right. Now, I think that Phillips might have been in
there. He hasn't come out yet, so that's a good sign. We've got to find out
where Mulder and Scully are before Ramsey kills us both. You any good at
tracking people?"

Ryder just looked at her and shook his head. 

"Well, you're lucky I know a *little* something. You still got your
weapons?"

Ryder shook his head again. "No. Millard has them out in the van."

"Well, call him and tell him to get out here and bring them with him,
brainiac. And tell him to bring the rifles with the laser sights too."

"Okay." Ryder said, not moving.

"Shit-for-brains," Snyder snarled, looking at Ryder. 

He looked at her, still a little shocked.

"Now." She said, pointing to his walkie-talkie. "And get your head out of
your ass before I shoot you myself."

Spurring into action, Ryder picked up his walkie-talkie and gave Millard
the instructions.

While they were waiting for Millard to get there, Ryder ventured a
question.

"So, Snyder," He said, looking tentatively at her. "Why does Ramsey want
these two Feds dead so bad?"

Snyder snorted and looked at him. "You're a member of his little terrorist
group are you not?"

"Well, yeah." He answered.

"And you haven't heard the story of this Mulder guy?"

"No."

Snyder shook her head. "Well, before Ramsey started his own little militant
faction, he belonged to another one, where apparently, this Mulder guy had
infiltrated and tried to take them down. They had him and were going to
kill him, but he somehow got away. Ramsey said his leader never really
explained what happened that well. And, when they disbanded, Ramsey got a
group of them together, and evidently, Ramsey and a few of the others still
hold a grudge."

Ryder looked confused. "Well, he doesn't really talk much, he just kind of
preaches. So what does this lady have to do with it? What did she do?"

"Nothing. They're just really close, and Ramsey just really doesn't like
Mulder."

"Huh." Ryder said, turning to see the big hulk of Millard approaching from
behind him. He had all of their weapons and three bags of gear. He handed
them out wordlessly and stood next to Ryder as he strapped on his pack. He
easily dwarfed the shorter man by a foot and a good 100 pounds.

"All right," Snyder said, cocking her gun, "shoot anything that moves. Ask
questions later, got that?"

"Yeah." Ryder said, bending to tie his boot.

Millard just grunted and brushed past Snyder. "This way." He said gruffly. 

"You sure, Millard?" Snyder asked from behind him.

He didn't answer but kept walking along his own path.

"Guess so." Ryder quipped, and began following him.

Snyder had to almost jog to keep up with his long strides. Well, she
thought to herself, as long as this bear knows what he's doing, at least
we'll find them fast. 


End of Part 10/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 11/20


Phillips crouched down in the brush and looked at the sight ahead of him.

Snyder was there, standing in front of what remained of the cabin, talking
to two men he didn't know. They were strapping on packs, and they had guns.
Ugly ones. And lots of them. Shit. This was not good. This was definitely
not good. 

Snyder had been his partner for a little over a year, and while at times he
didn't care for her or her personality, she'd always been loyal and her
integrity in the line of duty had never once wavered. Some judge of
character he was. It looked as if she'd been in on this since the
beginning. 

He shook his head trying to rid himself of the pain of her deceit, he
wouldn't deal with that now. Now, he had to get to Mulder and Scully and
move them. Warn them. He had to do *something*.

He silently backed out of the brush and headed as quietly and quickly as he
could toward where he had left them. 

When he was far enough away from the cabin, he broke into an all-out run.
He dashed through the trees praying he'd make it to them. His legs already
hurt from the exertion and he still had a ways to go. He bent his head and
continued.

He finally got to the top of the knoll he had left them on and leaned on
his knees, trying to catch his breath.

Mulder stepped out from behind a large oak tree and walked up to him.

"What?" He asked, as Scully moved from behind another one to his left.
"What is it?"

 Scully approached him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Phillips? What
happened?"

"Sn- Snyder." He managed to push out between breaths.

"Oh my God," Scully said, pulling her hand back. "Is, is she okay? Was she
there in the? is she all right?"

"NO!" Phillips heaved. " No, she, she? she is the-"

He was cut off by a bullet ripping into a cedar tree directly above
Mulder's head.

They immediately scrambled down the side of hill, away from the blast, and
Mulder pointed off to the right. "This way!"

Spurred on by adrenaline, Phillips kept up for a ways, but soon had dropped
back considerably. Scully, quite a few yards back from Mulder and his long
legs, yelled at him to stop.

"MULDER!" 

He slowed and looked behind him. Scully was about 15 yards behind him and
Phillips a good 50. He stopped and ran back to her. 

"Scully we shouldn't stop!"

"I know, Mulder, but we can't just leave him!"

Mulder nodded and seized the opportunity to catch his breath. He listened
for a moment and heard the unmistakable noise of their pursuit, but beyond
that, he also heard the falls again. Making a mental note to keep heading
in the same direction, he turned to Phillips as he approached.

"Come on, Phillips, you can do it, we gotta keep moving."

He grabbed his arm and pushed him ahead of him. "Yeah," Phillips breathed
out. "I'm okay? just keep going!"  

Another bullet buzzed past their heads, and they threaded their way to the
left, through denser thickets, hoping to use them as cover. The ground was
getting steadily rockier and steeper, hindering their already exhausted
efforts, and causing all three agents to stumble repeatedly. 

The roar of the falls was getting unquestionably louder and Mulder prayed
that the noise would help them. 

They climbed to the top of an incline and weaved their way through more
thickets. There were boulders strewn about here and there, and they passed
them by steadily. 

Mulder had taken the lead again, and he broke out of a dense thicket, to
edge of the river. He looked in the direction of where the river was
flowing, the same way they had been heading, and found himself on top of
the falls. They had trapped themselves. There was no where left to go. They
couldn't cross the river, and they couldn't head back. The only route open
to them was to head in the direction of the cliff and hope that there was a
way down. 

Scully broke through, followed by Phillips, and Mulder grabbed her hand and
pulled her toward the cliff. The three ran to the edge and looked down. To
their left, was the raging river and falls, to their right, jagged edges of
rock with no path any human could follow, and behind them, a large man was
breaking through the trees where they had emerged. He was carrying a
colossal rifle with a large black sight and was heading directly toward
them, with his gun held to his eye. Mulder gulped and drew his own weapon
looking to Scully and Phillips as they did the same. There, just above
Scully's heart was an unmistakable red dot of a laser.

"Drop them!" The large man called as he got close. "Or the woman gets it."

Mulder dropped his gun, Phillips doing the same, while Scully hesitated. 

"Scully drop it." Mulder said. "Please."

She looked over at him and slowly lowered her arms, eventually dropping the
gun at her feet.

"Kick them toward me." The large man said, his gun not moving an inch.

They kicked them, and Mulder looked up and threw a silent thank you to the
Almighty when he saw Snyder approaching the man from behind.

Why isn't she firing? Mulder thought to himself, as she got closer. Then it
occurred to him, as she brushed past the man and trained her gun on them.
She was the one. She hadn't been sent to protect them, she'd been sent to
kill them.

"You bitch." Phillips snarled. "All this time. All this time." He shook his
head in disgust.

"I am sorry, Jacob." She said, haughtily. "But they do pay me more. And
really, money *is* one of the two things everything comes down to, isn't
it?"

Phillips snorted his abhorrence. "And the other?"

"Sex, of course." She said matter-of-factly, as another, shorter man came
up and stood next to her.  "Which you were really never that good at my
dear." She then brought up her gun and shot him. He was hit squarely in the
chest, some of his blood spattering both Mulder and Scully. He looked up to
Snyder, his face a twisted mask of confused emotion.

Scully jumped at the suddenness of it, and Mulder swiveled his head to her
as Phillips body crumpled to the earth with a hebetated thud.

"Jesus, Snyder!" Mulder yelled, taking a step towards her.

The large man swung his gun to point it at Mulder, and Snyder shrugged.
"Ah, ah, ah Agent Mulder. You'll be soon enough I assure you."

Mulder was about to take another step when Scully reached out and grabbed
his arm.

He turned his head to look at her, and she took another edging step toward
the edge of the cliff. 

"Oh please don't do that." Snyder said, sheathing her gun. "You're going to
die either way, but I need bodies to show to my employer, and if you should
end up down there, it will make it just so much more messy."

Mulder took another step back with her and looked over the edge,
considering jumping. It wasn't *that* far. No person would probably survive
the fall, but the alternative was less than appealing. 

He turned to Scully as Snyder and her goons took another step closer.

"Last Chance Falls, huh?" He said, with a nervous chuckle.

She peered over the edge, and recognized his intentions.

"Fittingly ironic." She said, biting her lower lip.

Their pursuers took another step closer, closing the gap between them. 

Mulder grabbed her hand and stepped right on the edge. He looked at her,
and licked his lips. "Think we can do it?"

She squeezed his hand in response and looked down, closing her eyes
momentarily. She opened them and gazed deeply into his. "What the hell."

"Scully, I?" Mulder said, turning towards her.

"Save it." She said, cutting him off. "Tell me when this is all over." She
leaned in close to him. "You jump, I jump." She whispered, turning to face
the cliff.

"Always." Mulder finished. 

Millard took another step towards them and reached out with his left hand.
Ryder did the same on their right, and they leapt, hand-in-hand.


Part 11/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 12/20


 
Looking back, Scully could no longer contend as she always had, that time
was a universal invariant. For the split second that she and Mulder hurdled
off of the top of Last Chance Falls to the icy depths below, time
undoubtedly slowed. Like a high-drama moment in an action/adventure movie,
her world was converted to slow-motion. Each second of the fall recalled
with perfect clarity, leaving her with enough time to go through a plethora
of various emotions. Terror of what would happen when they hit. Hope that
everything would be all right. Horrification that she had actually
consciously jumped off of a cliff. Reassurance that she wasn't alone. And
an odd sense of wonder that, while she was in free fall, she actually
pondered how their landing would be impacted considering the fact that they
were both still wearing their backpacks. 

Mulder would agree with Scully's version of events, *his* only differing in
the fact that the only thing going through his mind throughout the fall
was, oddly enough, the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Even his gifted, Oxford
educated mind couldn't fathom why, of all the things he could think about
on the way down, he would sing to himself about the second coming of the
Lord. 

He was on the words "where the grapes of wrath are stored" when they
impacted with the river. Time made up for its sluggishness then, with
unrelenting force. They were immediately separated and thrust under the
frothing current. Mulder was turned upside down, and pushed chest-first
into a underwater boulder. Had not the rock been made smooth by the
ceaseless current, he surely would have been split in two. As it was, it
just felt like it. The remaining air that had been in his lungs was
abruptly pushed out, and he had to focus all of his energy on not sucking
in the river that swirled around him. Unsure of which direction was up, he
kicked his legs in a panic, praying that which ever direction he was
propelling himself, it would result in his emergence from the water. Luck
was with him, and he pushed through the surface and into the light of day.
He sucked in a huge lung-full of air which burned with a searing intensity.
He was swept past jutting rocks and logs whose branches snagged his
waterlogged backpack numerous times. He was eventually able to grab a hold
of a large boulder and let the water pin him loosely against it, enabling
him to catch his breath and try to get a firm hold on his nerves.

He rested his head against the stone, trying to focus on the act of
breathing rather than the white-hot pain that was the result of doing so.
It was then that he felt it. Something brushing up against his left
shoulder. In the sad state he was in, he would  have elected to merely
ignore it with a detached apathy, had it not been soft and yielding. He
raised his head and dragged his eyes to his left, and was met with the
image (that he would never be able to forget) of Scully bobbing past him,
her head lolled back on her backpack, which was thankfully working as a
life-vest, with a nasty looking gash on her right temple. Forgetting his
own agony, he spurred into action and grabbed her pack as she floated by
him. He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Leaning against the boulder for a moment to gather his strength, he took a
deep, agonizing breath and shoved off in the direction of the shore. He
didn't have far to go, but the extra weight of Scully and both of their
packs were taking their toll. He managed to find a small pool where the
current was little more than an eddy, and used the last of his strength to
push Scully up onto a shallowly sloping rock, following her with one last
exhausted effort. He looped his arm around her, gratefully finding a strong
 pulse, and her even breathing.

He laid there next to her for a long, long time before rolling awkwardly
onto his back and lifting his head. 

He surveyed the area and was pleased to find that they were on the opposite
shore of the river from the direction of the cabin. It would take their
pursuers a while to get down to this level of the river and they would
still need a way to cross it. He also discovered that they had floated a
long way from the waterfall, buying them even more time. 

He scanned the opposite shore and not seeing any sign of them, decided that
he needed to get them both past the brush and into the woods, out of sight.
He made it to his feet and rolled Scully over, before picking her up. He
noticed then that her lips had taken on a blue-ish hue and she was
shivering slightly. He had been to tired to notice that he too, was very,
very cold. 

The short rest he had taken had restored some of his strength, and he came
up and pulled Scully under the shoulders, half-dragging her through the
bracken lining the edge of the river. He spotted a dense thicket of cedar
trees, and made his way for them. 

Once in the small natural enclosure, he laid Scully gently down and
unstrapped her backpack. He removed his as well, and regarded Scully with
some apprehension. He needed to get her out of her clothes and warmed up
fast before she developed hypothermia. He couldn't start a fire though, the
smoke would definitely draw unwanted attention, and he didn't think
anything they had packed had stayed dry. 

He threw up a silent prayer and opened up her pack first. He sorted through
her soggy belongings and did manage to find a small can full of dry
matches, a hunting knife that Phillips must have given her, a couple of
cases of ammo she hadn't taken out yet, a waterlogged novel he'd never
heard of, a couple of candy bars, a box of apple-cinnamon Powerbars, a
couple of peanut butter sandwiches and canteen full of water. He wrung  her
sopped clothes out and unhooked her sleeping bag, laying them all out to
dry. He opened his bag and started to rummage through his things. Beyond
any luck he was used to, some of his belongings had actually managed to
stay dry. He dumped everything out and pawed through his cloths to find the
driest ones. Two pairs of socks had managed to escape the river intact and
just a tiny bit damp. He also found a pair of untouched sweatpants and a
sweatshirt that had been in the middle of the bag. There was also a
relatively dry T-shirt, a damp but otherwise untouched sweater, and also a
couple of pairs of boxer shorts that he'd thrown in at the last minute. He
threw up a silent thank you and once again regarded Scully. He had seen her
naked before, in much the same circumstances, but he still felt slightly
awkward, (and a little too excited) about undressing her.

He put his misgivings aside and quickly stripped her fleece, sweater, and
long-sleeve T-shirt off, leaving her thin, silk long underwear on, figuring
they would dry quickly. He removed her boots and socks and quickly replaced
them with one of his thick pair of wool socks. He then worked her jeans
about half-way off when he got another nasty surprise. He hadn't noticed
before, but most likely a sharp rock had cut through her jeans and long
johns and made an ugly gash about 5 inches long on the back of her right
thigh. The cold water had luckily stopped the bleeding, but he still needed
to clean and dress it. He peeled her jeans the rest of the way off and  put
his sweatshirt on her before seeking out the first aid kit. It was dry and
he made quick work of attending to her wound. He finished dressing her, and
finally slipped the last remaining pair of dry socks on her hands. 

He looked at his watch, hoping for the cover darkness would offer, and
tried to ignore his own uncomfortable state. He laid out the rest of his
things to dry and huddled up to wait for dusk and whatever it brought with
it.


End of part 12/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 13/20


Mulder was startled out of light doze by a groan a few feet away. He
unfolded himself, pleased to find that his clothes (those he was wearing
anyway) were mostly dry, and crawled over to Scully.

Daylight was waning, and he figured they had about 20 minutes before dusk
entirely took over. As soon as that happened, he determined, he would build
a fire.

As he knelt by her side, Scully groaned once more and her eyes fluttered
open. Her brow crinkled and she brought her sock-clad hand up gingerly to
her left temple.

"How ya doing?" Mulder asked quietly. 

"Mulder, I'm dizzy." She said, her voice cracking.

"Why don't you just close your eyes, Scully, I'll get you some water."

He brought one of the canteens to her lips and she took a few sips. She
then abruptly pushed the canteen away from her and sat up quickly, turning
away from Mulder.

Startled, he made a move toward her, but pulled up short when she began
vomiting. He grimaced and pulled up on his knees behind her, pulling up her
hair, and gently rubbing her back. She wretched a few more times, coughed
twice and turned back to Mulder. 

"I feel much better now." She said, wiping her mouth and taking a deep
breath.

Mulder nodded and handed her back the canteen.

"Here." He said, unscrewing the cap. "This should taste a little better
now."

She gratefully swallowed a couple of gulps, and handed it back. He put the
cap back on and tossed it back by his still-damp clothes.

"Mulder?"

"Yeah?" He said, turning back.

"Could you help me up please? I don't want to be near that." She said,
gesturing to her right.

"Understandable." He said, getting up slowly himself.

Once she sat back down, Mulder got up and kicked some dirt and leaves over
the mess she had made.

"There. That should do it."

He sat back down, gingerly. His chest still hurt like hell.

"You okay, Scully?" 

"Yeah," she replied, "I'm fine."

"Uh-huh." He said, looking at her skeptically. "Fine-fine, or fine?"

"I'm okay, Mulder." She said, smiling at him reassuringly. "Really. I just
hit my head. I'll be okay. The back of my leg does hurt a little bit
though. And can I ask you how I ended up wearing what I'm wearing, and
where the hell we are?" She had just looked down at her clothes. She had
worked the socks off of her hands earlier, but she was still wearing his
things.

"You were freezing Scully, I had to change you before you got sick."

"You've been doing a lot of that lately." She smiled at him.

He grinned back. "Yeah, well, you really hurt yourself Scully, you've got a
nasty gash on the back of your leg, and your head doesn't look so great
either. I'm just amazed we both made it out of that alive."

She nodded and looked around at the enclosure they were in. "They haven't
found us yet. I suppose I was out for while, I guess that's a good sign."

"Yeah, maybe they thought we bit the big one and gave up."

"Not bloody likely, Mulder." 

He snorted and got up. "Do you think it's safe to build a fire, Scully?"

"I don't know. It's dark enough, but we're not all that far away. I think
we should leave here and get as far away from them as possible. I think I
can manage a little travel tonight if you can."

"I'd love to agree with you Scully, but do you honestly think you can make
it anywhere? You were unconscious for a couple of hours, your leg is in
nasty shape, and for all I know, you might have a concussion. I'd never
forgive myself if something happened to you."

"Well Mulder, we've arguably been in worse situations than this, and I
think that if we don't get at least a mile away from here, we'll both be
dead by this time tomorrow. I think it's worth the risk, but we should
leave now if we're going, it's going to be really dark soon."

Mulder contemplated her words for a moment and finally acquiesced.
"Alright. But if you need to, we stop, and no holding out on me either. If
you're hurting, you tell me."

"Deal." She said, getting up shakily to gather their things.

"No." Mulder said, stepping in front of her. "You sit. I'll get everything.
Just rest."

Deciding it was useless to argue with Mulder in mother-hen mode, Scully sat
back down.

Mulder quickly gathered their things and then stopped, kneeling by Scully's
bag. He picked something up and then turned around.

"Here," he said, handing her one of the candy bars that had been in her
pack. "Eat this if you think you can keep it down, you're going to need all
the energy you can get, you haven't eaten anything since this morning."

"No, Mulder." She said, holding it in her lap. "We share, I'm not the only
one who was hurt today, don't think I don't notice how you're moving.
*Neither* of us have eaten since this morning and we'll *both* need our
energy." She unwrapped the bar and broke it in half, caramel stretching out
and alighting gently on her fingers. She handed him  half and he took the
offered piece with painstaking slowness. He then nodded, deciding he
wouldn't get anywhere arguing with her, and took a bite. 

He grinned with his mouth full and picked up his pack. He strapped it on
his back, and bent over, wincing slightly to pick up Scully's. He stole a
glance at her, hoping she didn't notice, and was relieved to see her
hungrily intent on the candy bar. She looked up at him and blushed. 

"Milk chocolate, fresh-roasted peanuts, caramel and nougat. Nothing else
like it." She said with a smile. "Here, Mulder," She spoke, gesturing
toward her backpack.

"Uh-uh, Scully. I've got it, don't worry about it."

He strapped her pack onto his chest carefully, and walked up to her,
offering her his hand. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." She said, taking it and hauling herself slowly up. A
moment of dizziness swept over her and grabbed Mulder's shoulder for
support.

"Whoa, there." Mulder said, putting his arm around her waist. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she said, taking a careful step back, "just stood up too fast."

Mulder eyed her carefully and took a breath. He nodded his head and parted
the brush away from the river. "Lets go Scully."

She limped slowly toward him. She chuckled a little, as she neared him.
"This is going to be a long night."

She had no idea.



XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Now Chil the Kite brings home the night
   That Mang the Bat sets free-
The herds are shut in byre and hut,
   For loosed til dawn are we.
This is the hour of pride and power,
   Talon and tush and claw.
Oh, hear the call! ? Good hunting all
   That keep the Jungle Law!

           ~Rudyard Kipling

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX


End of part 13/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

AUTHOR SIDEBAR: Okay, folks, Slippin' (AKA Kasey) has had a traumatizing
three weeks, with a massive case of writer's block. Contrary to popular
belief, I have NO idea where I'm going with this story. Until, low and
behold, along came Pam Gamble, my savior (and a MUCH better fanfic writer
than I) and wrote this interlude to perk me up. Worked like a charm. I
loved it, and I hope you will too! I had to put it in here!!!

Last Chance Falls Interlude
By Pam Gamble

**** this is NOT part of the story, it's just a little comic relief ****

Mulder stood in the middle of the woods, hands resting on his hips.
Frustration rose off of him in waves.

"Goddammit, Scully, how long are we gonna wait here?"

He looked down to see his partner's head resting on her knees, as she
curled herself into a tight ball, her back against the trunk of a
wispy tree.

"We don't really have any choice, Mulder. We have to wait here until
she comes to get us."

"Why?" He paced back and forth, dead leaves crackling under his feet.
"So we can wait for them to come and pick us off like dumb animals? We
could at least hide."

Scully's head shook again. "No, Mulder, we can't."

"Well, why the hell not?" His voice was getting louder.

Scully looked up patiently, her tone placating. 

"Because we are characters, Mulder. That's all. I have tried to
explain the medical significance of this to you before."

Mulder huffed, ready to ignore her yet again. Scully rose slowly from
her resting spot, brushing her jeans off with her gloved hands.

"We, you and I, are characters. We are incapable of making any kind of
rational, planned movement. To do so would put us at risk of becoming
something we are not. Do you want to risk that?"

"Do I get to  pick who I want to be?" Mulder smirked.

Scully shook her head, but she could feel that she was getting through
this time.

"No," she smiled. "You can just sit here with me, and wait." Mulder
watched as she sat down in the v of a large tree, and he moved to sit
beside her.

"And when Kasey is ready to finish her story, she will. And then we
can get out of these woods."

Mulder reached an arm around his best friend. "Well, I hope it's soon.
There's a Knicks game on tonight."

Scully laughed. Mulder felt an unreasonable sense of pride in getting
her to laugh like that.

"So, Scully, this 'character' thing. It just means we can't use our
brains, right?"

She crinkled her nose in thought. "Well, if I remember correctly from
the one class I took in Physics of Fictional Characters, involuntary
functions, such as breathing, are possible. Also, physical movement,
as long as we don't have to think too much about it. Then, we lose
control. Kasey basically has to think for us."

Mulder's  voice became seductively low. "Y'know, Scully, I can think
of one physical activity that requires very little cerebral action at
all. Matter of fact, I don't need my brain to even be in the same room."

Scully turned to him, her eyes dark. "Are you thinking what I'm
thinking?"

"God, I hope so." Mulder said as he adjusted his jeans.

"What about the men chasing us with guns?" Scully asked as they moved
back onto the leaves and began to take off layers of clothing.

"They're not invited. I'm not that kinky."

Scully grinned. "Well, I guess if we can't run, neither can they.
Unless Kasey writes their part of the story first."

Mulder ran his hands down her hips. "She wouldn't do that. Me and
Kasey, we're pals. She owes me one."

"Mmmmmm...okay."

Leaves crackled beneath them, and although they were still waiting,
they really weren't thinking about anything at all.  Except maybe each
other.

"The answers are there. You just have to know where to look."--DS/Pilot

THANK YOU PAM!!!!

**** Now back to the story ****

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

(It's getting USTy in here? somebody open a window?)

Part 14/20


They made their way with painstaking slowness through the timberland.
Through thickets of dense evergreen, and sparse copses of aspen. Moving
with the sluggishness of the injured, but the fervor of the hunted. 

Scully soon found a walking stick and was making good use of it. Her
stiffness had quickly evaporated, leaving her leg to throb dully, pointed
only occasionally by a sharp pain. Her nausea and dizziness were  more
reminiscent of a particularly nasty hang-over. 

Mulder kept a slow, but constant pace, looking worriedly over his shoulder
often. They had been hiking for over an hour, and had  managed to get a
little further than they'd hoped. Mulder guessed that they were heading
northwest. 

"Mulder," Scully breathed through gritted teeth.

Mulder turned to her, his brow raised in concern, "You okay?"

"Um," she paused, slightly out of breath, "I need a minute."

"Of course," he said. His chest wasn't feeling all that hot either. He
pulled up and unstrapped the backpacks, setting them on the ground beside a
large fallen log. 

Scully's leg was now throbbing with an excruciating constancy. 

 "Mulder," she said, settling gingerly beside him, grasping his offered
hand,  "I don't know how much further I'm going to make it tonight."

He glanced at her pain-filled expression. She'd brought her hands up to her
temples, her eyes were closed tightly, and her brow was creased. He winced
himself, sympathetically. "That bad?"

She gave an imperceptible nod, and he reached across to rub her back
lightly. He pursed his lips and looked around. There wasn't much to see,
the darkness covering everything in shadows, just the ghostly silhouettes
of trees all around. It was as good a spot as any to make a camp. He
rummaged through the packs, and finally came upon what he was looking for.
He took out the first aid kit and handed Scully two Tylenol tablets, and a
canteen. She smiled her thanks, and he set about the next order of
business- starting a fire.

He cleared away piles of leaves, until he came to the dark, Wisconsin soil
on the forest floor.  He looked to Scully, who had slid down and was
leaning with her back against the log, her legs stretched out in front of
her.

"I'm going to see if I can scrounge up some firewood. You'll be okay?"

She nodded, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the log.

He didn't venture far, keeping Scully within the confines of his vision the
entire time. He had no trouble finding enough, happily noting that it
hadn't rained in quite a few days, and that all of the tinder was fairly
dry. 

Scully watched Mulder work with one eye open. He had brought back enough
wood to start and maintain two fires, and was presently trying to get his
kindling to light. He'd already burned enough leaves to keep an entire
neighborhood of children busy on any given autumn day, and she could tell
that he was thoroughly frustrated.

"Thought you said you were an Indian Guide..."

He visibly jumped, bringing a wide grin to her face.

He turned to look at her amused expression, and grinned himself. "I thought
you were asleep."

She shrugged, still with a smile on her face, and he nodded at her legs.
"Tylenol kicking in yet?"

 "Yeah," she replied, "you wouldn't mind some advice from a former girl
scout, would you?"

He shook his head. "At this point, I think that all of my delusions of
rugged, fire-starting, manliness are sufficiently shattered-- What do you
suggest?"

"Twigs, Mulder, lots and lots of twigs."

He astutely took her advice, and they soon had a roaring blaze. Mulder
spread the sleeping bags and the remainder of their clothes out to dry, and
wearily slid down next to Scully, sucking in a short breath when he bent at
an odd angle. 

His pain didn't go by unnoticed, and Scully, whose leg was indeed feeling
better thanks to the miracle of acedomediphin,  grabbed the opportunity.

"Mulder, why don't you let me take a look at that. You could have broken
ribs, or a bruised sternum."

He chewed on this for a moment, looking over at her concerned expression.
He knew that no matter what, there was really nothing she could do to take
the pain away, but thought perhaps it might give *her* a little peace. He
choose her peace of mind over his own discomfort and nodded.

"All right," she said, gingerly scooting closer to him,  "take off your
coat, lift up your shirt, and lie back." 

He passed up the opportunity to make a snide sexual innuendo, and did as he
was told. 

He was considering just how cold the air was on his chest when her hands
made contact with his skin. The cold instantly evaporated, and everywhere
her hands went, liquid fire followed. He sucked in a chortled breath.

Scully paused, her hands still on his chest. "Sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No," he pushed out quickly. God, no. Nothing should feel this good, he
thought. His pain was gone and would remain at bay as long as Scully's
hands continued to gently, yet firmly massage his torso as they were doing
now. Extremely un-partner-like thoughts sprang up in his mind, and he
shifted uncomfortably, trying to fight his body's reaction. Scully took it
as a sign that she was hurting him, and backed off, tugging his shirts back
down. He immediately missed the contact, and the pain in his ribs flared up
again, as the exquisite tightness in his chest died down. 

"I don't think you cracked any ribs, Mulder, though I can't be sure without
an X-ray," she announced, "but you do have some nasty bruises, both on the
bones, and off." 

Mulder nodded and zipped his fleece back up. He leaned back against the log
and took a few breaths to calm himself. What an asshole, he thought. We're
in the middle of the forest being hunted by a hoard of gun-toting madmen,
and suddenly, all you can think of is how truly turned on your partner
makes you. Jerk.

Scully lurched him out of his self-depreciating funk with a comment that
she couldn't have timed more perfectly. It both excited, and scared him
shitless at the same time.

"Mulder, do you think you could change the bandage on my leg before we go
to sleep?"

"Uh? yeah," he said, grounding his palms at his eyes, "that would probably
be a good idea." Bad idea, he thought to himself, *bad* idea. 

He pulled over the now-dry sleeping bags, and gathered the first aid kit.

Scully started to carefully take off her pants, and Mulder turned away
quickly, inclining  himself not to look.

"Mulder?" Came her voice, after a few moments, "? anytime?"

He took a deep breath, and turned, pausing where he stood when he caught
sight of the creamy-white expanse of her skin. He closed his eyes and
swallowed hard. He knelt down and worked as quickly as he could, willing
himself to finish soon, before any more inappropriate thoughts belayed
themselves. 

He put the last strip of tape on, and backed off, throwing the old bandage
into the fire. 

"All set, Scully."

She slowly turned back over and pulled her long johns and jeans up. "Thank
you." 

No, thank *you*, Mulder thought, nodding to her and biting his lower lip.

She crawled in her sleeping bag, and Mulder did the same, after throwing a
few more logs onto the fire. He closed his eyes and willed himself  to
dream of large, fat men. It of course didn't work, and his last conscious
thought before he slipped into unconsciousness was that, if there really
was a God out there, He truly did have a cruel, twisted sense of humor.   


End of Part 14/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 15a/20


The first thing Mulder was aware of was a nudging to his left arm. For some
reason, he had himself convinced that it was a twig that was somehow
managing to move against his elbow and irritate the living shit out him.

 They had been on the move for 4 nights. Four nights of pure adrenaline
rush. Four nights of muscles so tense that Mulder was sure that if he
clenched his jaw any tighter his teeth would shatter. Four nights of being
on the edge. Mulder thought about control. Or lack thereof. Positive now
that the edge he was standing on had shifted beneath him, so that he was no
longer looking down and seeing the crashing waves of exhaustion and defeat,
but that he was hanging over the edge, holding on by a single fraying rope
that was his sanity. And there was nothing below him. Not water, nor sand,
nor rocks, nor air. Nothing.

And Mulder was sick of it. Sick to death of running. Of snapping his head
to listen to every rustle of leaves, every snapping twig, and every flutter
of wings when a bird took to flight. He just wanted to shut down. To crawl
up into a ball, relax every muscle in his body, and wait for Snyder and her
goons to come and whisk away his limp corpse to do with it what they would.
But he couldn't. For every time he pictured himself letting go of the rope,
he's see Scully standing on the edge looking down at him with a look not of
apathy or empathy, but something in between. And he knew he couldn't,
wouldn't leave her. Not if the last thing he saw was that particular look
on her face, boring through his face, down his throat, and into the very
depths of his heart. 

The nudging grew insistent, and he angrily opened his eyes. What he saw was
Scully, gently prodding him in the arm, her eyes wider than he had ever
seen them, and he got a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach that grew
in intensity when he smelled it.  And even more so when he heard it.

The smell wasn't one he could easily identify. It wasn't unlike raw sewage,
but more reminiscent of a rotting carcass. One that had sat in the sun for
days, and had only been touched by flies.  

The sound however, he'd know anywhere. He'd seen enough documentaries on
the Discovery channel to know the gruff grunt of a bear when he heard it.
Pointed every few seconds by raspy sniffing sound, the grunts were getting
a little too close for comfort. The noise of rustling leaves about five
feet away, where they had left their backpacks the night before, pinpointed
the animals exact location. 

Mulder wasn't going to risk moving, and mouthed "play dead," to an alarmed
Scully.

Maybe alarmed wasn't the right word to describe the play of emotions across
her features. Maybe aghast horror was a slightly more descriptive
narration.

Regardless of how frightened Scully was at the moment, she squeezed her
eyes shut and took a deep breath.

Mulder mirrored her actions and willed them both not to budge an inch. He
threw up a silent promise that he would live the rest of his life with a
constant twitch if his body would just, at this moment, not move a
millimeter.

After a few seconds, the shuffling of the animal got closer. Having been
facing Scully the entire time, and not ever seeing the animal behind him
was a little unsettling, and he wondered with an odd sense of curiosity
what kind of bear had happened upon their camp.

The leaves rustled a little more no further than a foot away, and Mulder
clenched his jaw tightly. 

Then it happened.

A cold, wet nose on the end of a massive snout pushed it's way into the
back of his neck. He had no doubt his galvanic skin response spiked to a
personal life-time high. The animal sucked in a breath, and his neck grew
even colder. But the smell when the bear let out his breath nearly
overwhelmed his senses. Mulder was almost positive at this point, that
never in his life had he smelled a stench so utterly putrid. He fought an
overwhelming urge to gag, and nearly slumped with relief when the animal
withdrew its snout and took a step above his head. 

As relieved as he was with the animal's withdrawal from his person, he
again went definitely rigged when the bear circled above their heads, and
around behind Scully. It sniffed a few times, as though testing the air,
then slowly, hesitantly, shoved his nose into Scully's back. Mulder, with
one eye cracked open watching in fascinated horror, saw her eyes scrunch
shut and her lips press together, and he thanked whatever Gods may be for
the fact that she stayed limp throughout the onslaught. The bear did it a
couple of more times before sneezing once, and bringing up a massive paw to
push her onto her stomach.  

Mulder's mind was screaming. Where the hell is my gun? WHERE THE HELL IS MY
GUN?  He couldn't think, and he was afraid to move. But when the bear
started to claw at her sleeping bag, Mulder was spurred into action. 

He pushed open his own sleeping bag and with lightning speed was up and out
of it, facing the bear. The animal looked up quickly and stared at him. He
took a couple of gradual steps backward. The bear then pushed his snout
down into Scully's back. 

Horrified that the animal would clamp down on her with its teeth, Mulder
shouted. 

"Hey, hey, hey!"

The animal quickly looked up and took a hesitant step in Mulder's
direction. 

"Yeah, that's it! Come on! Come on!" He shouted franticly, taking a few
more steps backward.

He started waving his arms, and the animal took a couple of steps closer,
clearing Scully and stepping on Mulder's sleeping bag. 

"Come on! Come on!" He called out again, trotting back a little more
quickly.

The bear bolted once in his direction and then stopped.

Scully saw what he was doing and sat up quickly. 

"Mulder! What the hell are you doing?!?" She screamed. What the hell was he
thinking anyway? Scully thought frantically to herself.

The bear turned and looked at her again, and then back at Mulder, as if it
couldn't decide which one to accost. 

"Come on bear! Yeah, leave her alone! Come on! Come and get me!"

"MULDER!!" She screamed in desperation.

The bear took one more look at her, back at the flailing Mulder, and bolted
with lighting-quick speed at him, leaving her to her own devices.

Mulder stopped moving as soon as the bear charged, and only one thought
crossed his mind.

Oh shit.

The animal closed the distance between them in an instant and before he
could even move, it rammed its head into Mulder's gut, hurtling him seven
feet through the air, and into a large birch tree. It scuffled up to him in
a flash, and before Mulder's body could even register that the wind had
been knocked out of him, the animal lifted his massive paw, struck Mulder
in the throat, and his world when entirely black.

End of part 15a/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 15b/20


Everything happened so fast, Scully barely had a chance to think much less
move. But as soon as she saw Mulder flying threw the air, and colliding
with a tree, she was up and had her gun in hand before you could say Winnie
the Pooh.

She crossed quickly to the side, and had the bear in her sights as soon as
the animal lifted its paw to strike Mulder. When the paw came crashing
down, she didn't hesitate for a second, and fired her gun.

The bullet hit its target with a sickening squishy-thud, and with its
impact, the bear grunted once and turned it's attention towards her. It
took a step towards her, and she fired again. She could see that she hit it
squarely in the chest, but the animal kept moving. She fired twice more,
and still it charged. Terrified, Scully emptied the rest of her magazine on
the animal, and when it was about five feet away from her, it slowed to
stop. It took another step closer to her, only this time at an angle like a
drunken sailor, and it's front legs buckled underneath it. It's head hit
the ground, pushing up a mound of leaves, and it's backside followed. It
let out one more wheezing breath, and went entirely still.

She let out a long, shuddering breath, not totally unlike the bear's,  and
lowered her gun. If Snyder and her cronies didn't already know where she
and Mulder were, they surely did now. Twelve gunshots is, after all, a lot
to go on.

Uncaring, she tossed her gun towards the sleeping bags and the now
smoldering fire, and rushed to Mulder's side. She quickly found a pulse,
and was relieved beyond belief when she saw that the blow to Mulder's
throat hadn't been as hard as it looked. A blow such as that one could have
easily killed him, or snapped his neck, and she mused that it must have
glanced off the side of his neck instead of hitting it dead-on. 

She quickly totaled up his injuries and pulled his still unconscious body
into her lap. She hugged him close and thought desperately about her next
move.

Of all of the sticky situations they had been in before, from narrowly
escaping liver-eating madmen, to fighting tooth and nail with pituitary
gland-sucking Africans, to escaping a UFO infested with hostile aliens in
Antarctica, she had no clue just how the *hell* they were going to get out
of this one.

End of part 15b/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 16/20


Making the best of her FBI survival training and the ever increasing light,
Scully quickly made a litter out of a few long poles, promptly collected
their gear, and got Mulder situated in the hastily built stretcher. 

Stepping into it, she took a deep breath and made ready to get underway.
After a quick mental pep-talk, she threw her weight into the makeshift
harness? and barely moved an inch. She tried a few more times, and
breathlessly stepped out of the litter, crumbling to the forest floor. 

After a few moments to catch her breath, she moved sitting Indian style,
and regarded Mulder, the forest, and their precarious situation. 

As to Mulder, she didn't know *what* to do. He was unconscious, completely
unresponsive. She feared that the glancing blow to this throat might have
caused permanent damage to his vocal chords and larynx, but more than that,
she knew that if he didn't arouse soon, he was in serious trouble. A lot of
good your voice does you when you're dead. She knew if he didn't wake
before nightfall, he might not ever wake at all.

As to the forest, they were in a pretty dense area, with tall trees all
around, and a relatively flat surface. They'd been heading in a
northeasterly direction, hoping to come across some kind of civilization.
That, and it was the exact opposite direction that Snyder had been when
last they met. Which brought her to the last and more pressing matter. 

Their situation.

After days without any sign of pursuers, they had begun to think that
perhaps they were in the clear, but after her emptying her gun on the bear,
Scully was fairly certain that if they hadn't known where to look, they
certainly did now. And try as she might, she could not move Mulder. 

She decided to set the camp back up, make ready in case their pursuers did
come, and pray to God that they'd make it out alright.

She finished setting everything up by noon, checked Mulder's vitals and
tucked him into his sleeping bag a little tighter, started a fire, and tore
open one of the last remaining Powerbars, and settled in for the count. 

She awoke with a start. She could have sworn that she heard someone
shouting her name. She gripped the steel of her pistol a little tighter,
and looked quickly around in a crouch. When nothing immediately happened,
she lowered her gun slightly. It was then that she looked towards Mulder.  

Seeing his eyes open and watching her, she started and jumped. "Jesus!"

Then she looked at him again, and a look of realization washed over her
features.

"Jesus, Mulder! Oh my God! You're awake!"

She bent down to him and touched his face. "You're awake."

"Well, yeah?" He replied in a questioning tone.

"And, and you can talk!" A smile he didn't get to see very often brightened
her face.

"I learned it as a child."  He replied, confused at her behavior. 

She didn't move, she just sat there dazedly looking at him.

"Scully, what's going on?"

Her smile faded and she turned serious once more, brushing his hair back
from his face, "Mulder, I thought I'd lost you."

"Lost me? What the hell happened? And where the hell are we?" Exasperated,
he gazed pleadingly at her, "Scully, you gonna fill me in here, or we gonna
play twenty questions?"

"Well, Mulder," she started to explain, "how much can you remember?"

He closed his eyes in concentration, and then opened them, fixing her with
his gaze. "Surprisingly little."

"How little?" She asked.

"Um," he said, looking around glancing at the trees and fire, "none of it?"
His tone questioning. "Listen, Scully, the last thing I remember was, was,"
he thought back to sitting in his apartment talking with her. "Was when you
came by my apartment to drop off the file for the Fielder's case."

"Mulder, that was a little over two weeks ago," she stated, peering at him
with her lips pressed together, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Two wha?? I am the only one here with a profound sense of Deja vous?"

Her lips raised in almost a smile. "Mulder, you honestly can't remember
anything?"

He shook his head.

"Well that's not good. Not good at all. Mulder, we've got to get you to a
hospital."

He averted his stare and glanced around him. "For some reason, Scully, I
get the impression that we're a long way from an ER." Bringing his eyes
level with hers again, he asked, "Well, are you going to tell me what
happened?"

She regarded him seriously once more, and her face took on a pained
expression. 

"Look Scully, I'm alright. Aside from a few bumps and bruises, I think I'll
live?"

She sighed and looked at him, with one of her patented
'You-always-manage-to-get-me-into-the-shittiest-situations-you-asshole
look.'

He smiled triumphantly. "So, you gonna tell me?"
 
"Humph," she snorted, "how long you got?"

She parlayed the entire story to him, sparing no detail. She was pretty
sure that if they hadn't been stuck in the middle of the Goddamn Wisconsin
forest for proof, *he* would actually pull the role of the skeptic and not
believe *her*.

"You wanna run that by me again, Scully?"

The eyebrow raised. It answered his question.

"Jesus." He looked at her, his eyes pleading. "Jesus, Scully. What the hell
are we going to do?"

"Exactly what we've been doing for the past week and a half. We're going to
run. We're going to run like Gump, and I'll be damned if we're not going to
make it."

She got up to stoke the fire. Mulder watched as the firelight flickered
against her features. He saw pure determination on her face, a look he had
only seen a couple of times before. The hospital in Allentown. The hospital
room with Modell, when he had a gun to his head. By God, he thought, we are
going to make it.

Just then a branch snapped somewhere off to his left. He jerked his head to
the side with enough time to see Scully dive protectively in front of him
with her gun raised, in a very unScully-like manner, and point it in the
direction of the sound. He looked to her face and saw the red dot of a
laser just above her left brow. A gun fired before he had the chance to
warn her.

End of Part 16/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 17/20

It took 5 agonizingly long seconds for Mulder to realize that the shot had
come from Scully's gun. A shadowy figure on the outskirts of the firelight
took one haphazard step into it's glow before falling to the earth with an
abrupt thud. The figure that was once Ryder let out a gurgling last breath
and went still. 

Mulder looked to Scully, who was still crouched, holding the smoking gun
out in front of her poised to shoot again. They sat there motionless and
silent, waiting. Nothing happened, until not too far off in the distance,
they heard a call. Two of them actually, one of them decidedly female, the
other decidedly male. 

Scully shook her head, tucked her gun back into her pants, and looked
Mulder over.

"We've got to get out of here, Mulder, are you up to it?"

He pushed himself out of his sleeping bag the rest of the way, but not
without wincing.

He took a short breath, happy to find that if he breathed shallowly, it
didn't hurt as much and answered, "I'm a little worse for wear, but I think
under the circumstances, I'm up for it." 

Scully offered him her hand, which he gratefully grasped and hauled himself
to his up. The dizziness hit him forcefully, and he swayed on his feet. 

Scully reached out to steady him, and he shook his head. "No, I'm okay.
Come on," he pulled her the opposite direction of the sound, "I'll be fine,
come on!"

Mulder's pace was slow at first, his head, neck and chest hurt like mad,
but he tried his best to ignore the pain, keep jogging, and hold his eyes
on Scully's backside. Which wasn't altogether unpleasant.

The gray of morning soon began to light their way, but sounds of their
pursuers was getting increasingly closer. They stopped often for breaks, as
Mulder's breathing became more and more difficult.  

Mulder sagged back against a tree, each breath he took searing like fire
through his entire chest. Scully noticed a slight gurgle to each breath,
but didn't say anything aloud. She wasn't sure how much farther they could
keep running. Even if they did manage to escape their hunters, they no
longer had food, water, or anything to keep warm. It was only a matter of
time before they died of dehydration, starvation, or exposure. Not to
mention the extensive injuries Mulder had sustained throughout this trip.

She looked over at him once more, when a shout came from no more than 80
yards behind them. Mulder stood up straight and started to move again.

"Come on, Scu?" he pushed out between ragged breaths, "gotta keep mov?" 

This time she didn't follow him. 

"Mulder, no." She reached out and grabbed his arm, gesturing to her gun
which had found its way into her hand. "We can, we can hide. Ambush them."

Mulder motioned to their surroundings. "There's no where to hide, Scully."
He took another agonizing breath. "We've gotta keep? keep moving."

A bullet then whizzed right in between them, and ripped into an unfortunate
birch. Mulder pushed Scully in one direction, shouting, "GO!" And  took off
at an awkward pace in another. Hoping to divert their pursuers attention to
the weakest of the two.

It was almost 10 minutes later that Scully realized Mulder wasn't behind
her. She stopped and turned around, looking frantically in each direction.
There was no trace of him. A branch snapped relatively close behind her,
and she wheeled around and kept running, hoping it was Mulder. 

The brush was getting steadily thicker, and she headed for the thick line
that was spreading out before her. She dove through before another shot
tore through the tangle of leaves and branches to her right. 

She rolled into a tuck, through the branches and leaves ripping at her hair
and skin, out onto something soft, and yielding. Puzzled, she paused and
felt beneath her, looking down. It was sand. She looked up and was stunned
motionless when her eyes feasted upon a vast ocean of blue. Well, not
ocean, she mused to herself, more like lake. Great Lake. In their travels,
they had happened to fall upon Lake Superior. That is, if they had been
heading northwest as they'd thought. The never-ending breadth of white on
blue went on forever, and the coast to her right was all sand and trees,
while on her left, it gradually got rockier until the monstrous waves were
crashing into a sheer rock wall. Though along it were huge boulders jutting
out of the water like back of a great sea beast. She could understand how,
with the blood roaring through her ears, how she hadn't heard the waves,
but she should know that smell anywhere. Growing up in the navy, the scent
of open water was as constant and permeating as anything, and she learned
to love the smell, knowing that whatever base her and her family would end
up on, the scent of open water would always remain the same. Though without
the salty tang of the ocean, the spice of the breeze was none too
different. 

A snapping of twigs not too far behind her snapped her out of her fond
memories and into a most unpleasant one. She glanced to her right again,
and then to her left. Thinking for a moment, she splashed out a little into
the water to cover her tracks, and ran like mad to the left, toward the
cliffs. 

To the right would have surely been suicide, there was no where else to
run. The cliffs and rocks skirting the water on the left were no less
dangerous, but she was bound and determined that if she were to die today,
she would rather be drowned or crushed by mother nature than shot in the
back by Shana Snyder.

Making it safely to the beginning of the cliffs, Scully waded out into the
freezing water to climb up onto the first of the boulders. She managed to
get up the slippery surface of the rock, and proceeded to carefully jump
from one to the next. She nearly lost her balance three times. 

As she leapt, she found that she was coming upon a small cove that had a
shoreline, with a large rocky overhang. She decided it would be best to
head for it. She stole a quick glance over her shoulder in enough time to
see Snyder emerge onto the shoreline just as confusedly as Scully had.
Knowing she'd be seen just as soon as Snyder glanced in her direction,
Scully dove into the water without hesitation. 

The shock of the utter chill of it took her breath away. She slowly
recovered and started swimming her way toward the shore. It wasn't that
far, but the waves were brutal and she had to fight to not get slammed into
the protruding rocks. 

By the time she made it to shore she was absolutely exhausted. She crawled
up out of the water just out of reach of the waves, and crumpled into a
wheezing, dripping, freezing ball.

Had she been less tired and more alert, she most likely would have heard
the footsteps, and felt the sand shift next to her, before two large arms
wrapped themselves around her torso and face, covering her mouth so she
couldn't scream. 

End of Part 17/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 18/20


Despite her exhaustion, Scully managed to thrash about for a couple of
seconds before the arms around her tightened and she felt warm breath
against her ear, whispering. " Shh, shh ?it's me, Scully, it's me." 

She slumped to the ground in relief. She was almost too overwhelmed to
twist around and grasp Mulder like a vice. Almost. 

He chuckled a little, crooning softly, "easy, Scully, I think I'm broken."

She eased her grasp around his midsection slightly, but she didn't let go,
and she didn't say anything. 

"Come on, Scully," he said, steering her in the direction of the immense
overhang, "lets get out of sight."

They walked up to the cliffs and found that the jutting rocks actually had
a opening which led to a small cave. He half ushered, half leaned on her
for support a ways inside before they both sunk to the soft sand in the
relatively sheltered, dry cave. There was enough illumination from the
entrance, however, to see without too much trouble. 

They laid there for a while until Mulder noticed how badly Scully was
trembling. He tilted his head back to look at her, then got up and started
undoing his belt buckle.

"Alright, G-woman, give me the gun and strip."

She wiped the wet hair back from her face, and through chattering teeth
asked, "wh? wh? what?"

He had to admit, she looked adorable, but she was going to catch her death
if she didn't get out of her clothes. "Relax, Scully, I'm just going to
give you some of mine. Don't worry, I have plenty."

He stripped off his jeans, revealing his long underwear, which left little
to the imagination, and tossed them at Scully. He stripped off his
turtleneck too, and turned around, going to the cave's entrance to give
Scully a bit of privacy. 

He looked in both directions, and was relieved to see neither Snyder or
Millard in the cove. He returned to find Scully looking even more adorable
in his clothes. His jeans were a good foot longer past her feet, and the
waist was drawn so tight with his belt that the material was bunched up
around her waist. However, she was still shaking pretty violently, and
carefully eased himself down at her feet, grabbing one of her legs and
pushing the jeans up to her knee so he could vigorously massage her foot
and lower leg. He gave the same treatment to her other leg, then carefully
scootched up beside her, unzipping his jacket.

"Come here," he said, "I think there's enough room in here for both of us."

She wordlessly cuddled up inside the V of his legs and eased herself
carefully against his chest.  He pulled the fleece around them both and
zipped it up. He held her tightly, resting his chin on her shoulder and she
soon warmed up. She shifted a little after a while, and he loosened his
grip on her to let her go, but remained in his lap. She spoke up.

"How did you find me?" She asked, " what, did you smell me again?"

He chuckled at her and explained.

"Actually, after we got separated, I just kept going until I hit the beach.
I made my way past the rocks, managing to stay slightly more dry than you,
and I found my way into this cove. We must have come in from different
sides. There you were, lying there. God, Scully, I thought you were dead."

Instead of reassuring him of her presence here on earth, Scully did the
most unexpected thing in the world. She turned her head up toward him and
kissed him. Hard.

After recoiling slightly from shock, Mulder began kissing her back
vehemently. She somehow managed to twist around underneath his coat, and
was kneeling between his outstretched legs, her hands wrapped around his
waist inside the fleece, deepening the kiss until Mulder could barely
breathe. But that was okay, he didn't want too.

She began kissing her way down his jawline, her cheeks rasping against his
newly grown beard, when he finally got enough air to speak.

"Scully, ahhhh?" he cut off, as she began nuzzling his earlobe, "not that
I'm, uh, complaining, but what are you, what are you do-" She cut him off.
"Shut up and kiss me Mulder." 

He happily complied. 


End of 18/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 19/20

Mulder awoke to a mouth-full of sand and hair. And though it was a most
unpleasant combination, and his chest still hurt like a mother-fucker, it
was one of the most pleasant mornings he had yet experienced. He nudged
Scully gently, who was spooned up against him, and softly kissed the side
of her neck. 

"Morning," he whispered lightly.

She stirred, stretched and yawned. "Mmm? morning," she murmured, snuggling
up closer against him. "What do you say we hop in the car, find an IHOP and
grab something to eat?"

"That," he said, chuckling slightly, and wrapping his arms around her
again, "sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, I think I left the keys in my
other pair of pants."

"Damn."

Mulder smiled and gingerly sat up, taking her with him. He reached out with
his right arm and felt her clothes. "These dry yet?"

"I don't care," she retorted, "I like being in yours better." 

"Yeah," he said, still trying to adjust to the awkwardness of this new
aspect of his relationship with his partner, "I like my clothes better when
you're in them, too." 

She smiled and was just turning around to plant another kiss on his lips
when a loud voice echoed through the cave, and gunshots resonated off the
walls. 

Inside the cove, Mulder thought, the shots sounded an awful lot like they
were from an automatic weapon. And then he froze. They *were* from an
automatic weapon. A couple of them, and there wasn't just one voice, there
were several. 

He unfastened himself from Scully as quickly and painlessly as possible and
shuffled out to the entrance of the cave with Scully hot on his heels. As
soon as he emerged from the entrance, all hell broke loose. 

Voices shouted, a few more guns fired, and were abruptly silenced, bodies
came splashing through the water, and quite a few men decked out in
military garb stopped and stared at the two wayward agents with open
mouths. 

Mulder, realizing that he was standing there clad in nothing but his long
underwear, fleece, and sparkling personality, looked from one man to the
next, trying to figure out what to make of the situation. Finally, a young
man of no more than 20, peeled his eyes off Scully, who looked only
slightly less odd than Mulder, with jeans that folded past her feet like a
child's sleeper and a turtleneck with arms folded up many times, and spoke
up.

"Uh, I'm private Kedzie." He offered, slightly flustered, "can I help you
folks?"

"Private?" Scully asked, confused.

"Yes, ma'am," the boy continued, "Michigan National Guard. I don't know how
you did it, but you folks managed to walk into a training mission."

"Michigan?" It was Mulder's turn to be confused.

"Yes, sir, far as I know," the private offered with a smile. "Why don't you
folks just wait right there."

Mulder wrapped his arm around Scully's shoulder as the boy waved another
soldier over, who had the communications pack on. 

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "we really hauled some ass."

"I don't care what state we're in, Mulder," she replied honestly, "I'm just
glad it's over."


End of Part 19/20

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Part 20/20
(Epilogue)


Mulder and Scully were airlifted to the Keewenau County Hospital, and both
were admitted for dehydration, though Mulder had also suffered several
cracked ribs, a bruised larynx, a mild concussion and a slight case of
bronchitis. 

They contacted Skinner who sent in the infantry.

 His cabin lost just one wing, and was thankfully salvageable. The body
they had found had belonged to a hunter that had gotten lost several years
ago while bow hunting in the vicinity. Phillips' body was recovered and
sent back to Washington for a hero's burial, though the body of Ryder was
never found. 

Though Skinner had called in every available man and woman from 15
different field offices in the Great Lakes region, they found no trace of
either Snyder or Millard in the backwoods of both northwestern Wisconsin
and all along the eastern part of Michigan's upper peninsula. 

They, and the people who hired them remain missing and unknown.

Perhaps it isn't over.


END. 
Hallelujah Amen.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Feedback is oh-so-yummy! red_phile@yahoo.com 

*** Visit Slippin' Mickeys fanfic WebPages!
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Crater/slippin.html  ***