Disclaimers For Chapter 1
Title: (Revised) Guardians Chapter 1 "Loud Awakening"
Author: Junko Mitani
Feedback: mitani3@beige.ocn.nt.jp
Date written (Original): June 29, 1997 - September 20, 1997 
 Corrections/Editing done: April 28, 1998
Date Written (Revision): May 1999 - June 26, 1999
Rate: PG13 - R for extreme violence, profanity, and mature subject 
matters.
Archivists: Feel free to distribute this story non-commercially. Have 
my name and 
date (both for actual writing process and for editing) written 
attached, and without tampering with its contents.
Writers & Readers: Please do not use any part of the story without my 
consent. I'm 
not such a tight-ass, so if you have an idea for companion pieces, 
tell me freely. You have no need to watch the RSD, because most of 
Jake's personality grew from my own interpretations.
Keyword: Consortium, Alien abduction, Serial-Murders, Cancer, 
Experiments, Suicides, 
France, Virtual Reality, Viruses, Minor Character Tortures, Ambushes, 
Betrayals, Secrets, Truths, Lies, Deaths, Lovers, Revelations, and 
Resolutions. 
Warning: A lot of UST. Extreme violence, obscenities, alien 
abductions, and very shippy 
segments ahead. Not for children under 17. There's plenty of UST and 
'talk' of 
sexual encounters, but there's no 'actual' act of anyone doing it. 
More 
importantly, I'll be pretending that Fox Mulder has a doctorate in  
psychology, which he obtained within the four-year period aided by his 
high 
IQ and eidetic (photographic) memory.
Classification: Cross-Over (XF/Red Shoe Diaries). MSR. Mulder/Scully, 
Scully/Other, 
and strong Mulder/Scully/Skinner/Other friendship. 
Spoilors: For XF, everything before Demons, because the book is a 
lead-in to the episode.
	For Red Shoe Diaries, everything up to Jake's Story.
Summary: The successful rescue attempt on a Jane Doe, who was found on 
top of an 
unfinished skyscraper one stormy night in Los Angels, CA by a very 
successful architect leads the authorities through an incredibly 
complex maze of deception surrounding the mysterious little girl. 
Stick around, if you dare! 
*Disclaimers of Characters Used: 
- Jake, Stella, the housekeeper, Alex, Alex's mother, Thomas, and the 
diner in Red Shoe Diaries all belong to ShowTime network, to the 
creators of the show including Zalman King and David Saunders. 
- X-Files characters Fox William Mulder, Tina Mulder, Dana Katherine 
Scully, Margaret Scully, Walter Sergei Skinner, Cancer Man, Marita 
Covarrubias, Byers, Langly Frohike (a.k.a. Lone Gunmen), and the SWAT 
team (or the Special Forces mentioned clones of Kurt Crawford, Aaron 
Pendrell, Melissa Scully, Bounty Hunter, Bambi, Samantha Ann Mulder, 
and William Mulder all belong to the X-Files writers including Chris 
Carter, James Wong and Glen Morgan, David Duchovny, Alex Gansa and 
Howard Gordon, Paul Brown, and Frank Spotnitz. 
- All characters noted in Disclaimers used by me for this story were 
used without permission of the people or companies responsible for 
their creation or production. The X-Files belongs to the Ten Thirteen 
Productions, Twenties Centuries Fox Network, and the show's creator, 
Chris Carter. All characters mentioned above have been used without 
the permission of their creators, producers, or distributors. No copy 
infringement was intended. 

Exact Location And Date Unknown
Downtown Business District
Los Angels, California
9:30 PM Pacific Time

The sun set long ago. The skeleton of what would soon be a skyscraper 
occupied the deserted construction site. Moonlight encased the 
building, traced each metal frame to create the ghostly, yet 
mysterious shifts of light and shadow. A beam of flashlight cut 
through the darkness and stopped as it found the stairs leading to the 
gondola. A man's shadow blocked the moonlight that illuminated the 
gondola's operator box, and soon the gondola awoke. 
It was a very unusual, if not insane, action to take for anyone to be 
out in the deserted and incomplete building construction site at night 
all by himself; let alone climbing one all the way up to the top. 
There had been a very strong and unexpected thunderstorm that had been 
attacking the city until half an hour ago. It started just after six, 
when everyone had gone home; save one. 

The day hadn't gone by the way that he'd wished it would. His project 
team had yet another argument that almost ended in violence, then one 
of their construction workers with a severe drinking problem had 
screwed up and fell off a ladder. Then this storm graced the city with 
its appearance, and this was just the perfect ending for a perfectly 
rotten day. 
As practically always, the man had stayed late at the site's temporary 
office, mostly reviewing tomorrow's schedule sheets that he found 
lying on top of one of his associates' desks. Fate dealt its Joker 
card when the rain started, because he decided to wait out the storm 
after flipping a coin. He'd been watching the sky with fascination as 
the lightning struck the city; his eyes tracing each shape until it 
struck the skyscraper that he was building. 
Thinking of the mess being created on his building by the brutal 
storm, he'd cursed and waited some more for the storm to die down 
before risking his life by going out in the middle of the storm just 
to check things out. 
Just when the storm reached its peak, the building was struck by a 
particularly bright lightning. The man closed his eyes against the 
blinding beam, but the light grew even brighter and he resorted to 
shielding his eyes with his hands. The accompanying sound of a thunder 
followed like a thousand bass drums exploding in front of him. 
Although it only lasted for several seconds, he detected the loud 
noise vaguely forming a series of rhythmical waves; rising and falling 
with each pulse. Afraid that something might have loosened if not 
collapsed, the man kept waiting for the storm to clear, so he could go 
check it out. The tremendous noise and the bright light died 
simultaneously. Another set of lightning and thunder soon followed, 
but they were far away.
	"About damn time." The man mumbled as he grabbed his Mega 
flashlight and a helmet. He stepped outside, looking up at the 
building for a cursory observation. It had sustained as much damage as 
he first expected. Plastic cover sheets and a few tools were still 
left exposed, scattering everywhere. They made him trip over several 
times, nearly sending him over the edge to fall off.
	He remembered a Terry Pratchet novel about a God reincarnated as 
a tortoise. The tortoise was mumbling something about tortoises 
plunging to death after being dropped by hawks; because hawks decided 
that tortoises were too much of a trouble to eat, but they didn't 
think about that until they captured those poor tortoises and were 
airborne. He didn't want to be the tortoise. 
As he kept on checking each floor for any damage that was in need of 
an immediate repair, he thought he heard something move. Deciding that 
he was hallucinating, he climbed back onto the gondola and pressed the 
"UP" button at the side of the switch box. Two more floors to go, and 
he'd be done. There were about twelve more floors to be added later, 
but the construction process itself started only a few weeks ago. It 
was a miracle they've come this far without stepping on anyone's toes 
or strangling anyone. The rain summoned the dull smell of dirt and 
metal. The man inhaled them as if to censor any dangerous spot that he 
might step in. 
Placing a box of iron spikes back into its wooden box, he walked over 
to a pile of wooden panel that lay exposed and replaced the plastic 
covers that had been blown a short distance away. 'What can I say', he 
thought, 'I love my job'. His passion for architecture had driven him 
up to the top of the ladder, so to speak. He was very proud of his 
accomplishments, but his private life had suffered in return. More 
than he ever imagined possible. 
When the gondola reached the top of the structure, he climbed out 
while being careful not to slip on the water. The top floor fared the 
worst, with the water puddles created on every available spot. He 
looked up to the rapidly clearing sky, smiling as he spotted stars 
peeking through the clouds. He walked along the protective metal 
railing, where he saw the edges of each frame extended several yards 
into the air.
He inhaled the fresh night air, quietly thinking back to the old days 
when nothing but the act of designing buildings mattered to him while 
working. Lately, he barely had enough time to sleep. He belated 
himself for looking at his watch out of a habit, and hated himself 
even more as he read the time. He carefully took the final turn to 
return to the gondola, and felt as if his blood was trying to drain 
through the soles of his shoes.
	A person was standing; as rigid as the metal pole its body 
rested on. Panicking beyond comprehension, the man threw away his 
flashlight and dashed for the jumper. Approaching close enough to see 
the person's face, terror smothered the rest of him. It was a child. A 
child had somehow ended up on the top of this fragile building. Not 
only that, this child somehow climbed out of the security railing and 
chose to test just how long it would take to lose balance; to end up 
smashed like a water melon on the asphalt below. 
He reached the railing and climbed out without a word. Just then, the 
sky cleared even faster and the moonlight grew bright enough to give 
him the side view of the child's small frame. The child's long braided 
hair and the general figure told him that it was probably a girl. Her 
back faced him, seemingly oblivious to his approach from behind her. 
With the rapid flow of adrenaline pumping into his system and his 
panic urging him on, he took several deep breaths to psych-up. 
Afraid if she might lose her balance from shock, he approached her as 
slowly as his desperation allowed. His panic drove him to become 
oblivious to the distance from the ground below, as well as to the 
water dripping from everywhere. He even ordered himself to ignore the 
risk factors as he first sat down on the metal. Straddling the pole 
for more balance, he inched his way behind the girl until he zeroed in 
on her close enough to grab her. He moved so quickly, she didn't have 
time to protest. Instead, she merely released a gasp before ending up 
in the waiting arms of her rescuer. 
They didn't move for a long time. The man was terrified, and the girl 
was simply frozen on the spot. As he finally decided to move with the 
girl still held tightly in his arms, he released a few deep breaths to 
calm himself down. He placed his right arm with his palm flat on the 
metal surface to push himself backwards. His left arm still held the 
girl securely as he did this. He had to turn around at some point, but 
he dared not until he had the security of the metal railing touching 
his back. 
He kept inching his way back while trying his best not to look down. 
His mind had returned to reality at the most inopportune moment and 
set off all the previously ignored warning bells. He grabbed and 
turned the girl's fragile body around to finally face her. A pair of 
deep hazel eyes met a pair of sparkling green eyes within inches of 
each other. Time froze as they regarded each other in silence, feeling 
each other's burning gaze. The spell was broken when the man finally 
spoke with a trembling voice.
	"All right, listen. I'm going to stand up. You have to hold on 
to me very, very tightly." 
	He didn't wait for her reply before gripping the metal railing 
with his right hand. He used his left hand to secure the girl. He 
carefully pulled up his left leg, and moved his hips a few inches to 
the right to make just enough room for his left foot to stand. 
Gritting his teeth, he tightened the grip of his right hand and pushed 
himself up as fast as possible without losing balance. 
His right foot caught up with his left about half way up, his right 
arm now burning with pain and threatening to come out of its socket. 
He finally wrapped his elbow around the metal to alleviate the pain. 
He then slid upward until the railing ended. Quickly closing the 
distance between his feet, he took another deep breath. Just when he 
turned around slowly to let the girl off his left arm, he felt his 
right foot slip. Panic returning instantly, he literally threw the 
girl's body over and inside the metal railing. 
Just as her body landed flat onto the concrete floor, his left arm hit 
the metal railing as it slipped past him. His right arm tore away from 
the railing as well, now joining his left hand that gripped the edge 
of the metal pole below. He screamed with the attack of sharp pains as 
it finally registered in his mind. 'I'm not going to make it', he 
thought. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring directly 
into the girl's eyes. He froze on the spot.
	Her eyes held a haunting look he knew all too well. The sadness, 
loss, and an infinite emptiness that were displayed in them were too 
familiar for his comfort. As his eyes locked with hers, he thought he 
saw the girl's mouth move. No sound came out of it, but he knew she 
wasn't silent. She was trying to tell him something. 'What? Did she 
want to say a prayer before I fell off and get splattered on the 
ground?' Feeling his strength ebb, he closed his eyes and only thought 
of one person. 
	"Alex...?" His lips whispered the name before he could stop it. 
'Will I be finally joining you?' After all, the act of climbing out of 
the railing to play the role of a hero could be considered a suicide 
attempt. 
	"Get up." His mind caught the words and his eyes snapped open. 
There was only the girl, silently looking down at him through the 
railing. Then he heard it again. "Get up." ...It was the same voice, 
and the girl still wasn't speaking. Narrowing his eyes, he stared 
carefully at her. "Get up." Again, he heard it. 'Alex?' He dismissed 
the idea. She was long gone. 
	Suddenly, he felt his left hand shifting his weight upward and 
realized what his body was trying to do. His mind joined his body 
without protest. He gritted his teeth again as his right arm buckled 
slightly with pain. He swung his legs for assistance, then summoned up 
all his remaining strengths onto his arms, finally succeeding in 
hoisting his legs up around the metal pole. His hands came up to grab 
the metal railing once he straddled the pole. With his eyes still on 
the girl, he inched forward close enough to grab onto the security 
railing before finally pushing himself to a standing position. 
As he spilled onto the concrete floor beyond the railing, he felt his 
head take a generous bounce and scrape against the concrete floor five 
feet below. The moment a blinding shock of white-hot pain and an 
intense dizziness attacked him, he gave himself the permission to 
black out. He laid still on the spot, feeling the cool surface of the 
wet concrete and the girl's haunting eyes looking back at his as he 
closed his eyes. 
	He had no idea for just how long he'd been 'out of it', but when 
he opened his eyes, the moon was still up. His mind was at a pause, 
feeling only the cool night breeze gently caressing his cheeks. He 
blinked slowly a few times, taking in the strange comfort of his 
surroundings. 
Then, he made a critical mistake of moving his right arm. Immediately, 
a jolt of pain shocked him back into reality. Something moaned and 
moved next to him, over his left arm. He sat up, and nearly jumped 
from yet another shot of pain that ravaged his stiff back. By now, his 
head was a pulsing mass of pain, and he yelped as it blossomed inside 
his skull. Then again, he heard the sound from his left; a little 
louder and longer this time. He painfully turned his head to identify 
the source of disturbance. When spotted the girl looking at him 
wearily from a few feet away,  he remembered everything. His jaw 
dropped in response to the terror he recalled. Resting his hands on 
his bent knees, he leaned forward.
	"You...?" He couldn't think of anything else to say to the 
girl.' What am I supposed to say?' It was tough to keep a cool head 
while it was filled with a cocktail of emotions. He felt turmoil of 
anger, sadness, relief, frustration, and hurt; all handed out to him 
nicely in a shaker. The girl silently stared at him. After several 
failed attempts to speak, he finally sighed and pushed himself up to 
his feet. He unintentionally roughly grabbed the girl's arm and 
dragged her toward the gondola. He was going to kill her parents for 
letting such a little girl wander around alone late at night, only to 
end up in a place as dangerous as a building construction site. 	A 
slight moan that escaped the girl's mouth stopped him. Turning back, 
he knelt down to see where she was hurt, and found the girl's arm 
badly bruised. He closed his eyes and damned himself for hurting such 
a small, helpless child. 'Okay, calm down.' The man ordered himself. 
He sighed and looked into her eyes, wrapping his hands around her 
waist. He needed to let it out.
	"I'm sorry for grabbing you like that. I'm sorry for throwing 
you over the railing, and then onto the concrete. I understand that 
you're in pain. But let's get something clear. Don't!! Under any 
circumstances! Ever do anything like that again!! You scared the hell 
out of me! What if I couldn't throw you in?! What if I let you fall?! 
Do you have any idea how high off the ground we are?! This is the 
floor eighty. There'll be fifteen more. Four floors up will be high 
enough to kill us both! What am I supposed to say to your parents if 
you didn't make it and I have to face them by myself?! How am I 
supposed to live with myself for the rest of my life!? I'd rather die 
out here than doing that!!" 
	Having to let his words come out in a rush, he finally stopped, 
closed his eyes, and let his hands drop to his knees. He was very 
surprised that the girl hadn't responded. He waited for his breaths to 
stabilize, with his eyes kept closed the whole time. He was alive. 
They were alive. They needed to return to the ground. He processed the 
information slowly inside his head until they were etched in his mind. 
Slowly, he opened his eyes. The same pair of green eyes stared at him. 
He sighed and stood back onto his feet in search of his abandoned 
flashlight. He found it in no time and wrapped the black string around 
his right wrist to let it dangle in the air. 
	He could hold absolutely nothing on his right hand or his right 
shoulder. The entire right side of his torso felt like a gigantic slob 
of pain, and he knew instantly that the shoulder was dislocated. He'd 
done it many times while playing basketball, and he knew just as well 
how to pop it back into place. He glanced over to the girl and turned 
away from her. He hoped he managed to keep his scream to a minimum as 
he heard the bone click. Not wanting to let her go, even though he 
trusted her to keep herself safe, he picked up her small body again 
and held her against his left shoulder and chest. She looked no more 
than seven or eight. Too small for a nine-year-old, and too big for a 
six-year-old. 
Upon safely touching the ground, he locked up the temporary office and 
made it to his car, all the while holding the girl in his left arm. 
After buckling her into the passenger seat, he climbed inside his 
white BMW driver's seat and shut the door. That was when he realized 
it would hurt to drive, and that he would have to use his left hand 
for gear shift. He didn't want to call a cab, because he didn't want 
to wait for it. He also didn't want to call an ambulance, because if 
he did, the police would be milling around the construction site until 
well into tomorrow's lunch hour. He mentally calculated the distance 
to the nearest hospital, and decided that a mile was close enough. 
	"I can't guarantee my driving tonight will be a textbook safety-
drive. But the hospital's just ten minutes away. Just be patient with 
me." He said as he turned on the ignition, grimacing at the movement 
of his injured arm following the gear. After making the trip without 
leaving any smoldering cars behind them, he checked into the Emergency 
Room, carrying the girl in his left arm as he'd done before. 
	Police was called immediately as he told his story to the 
stunned doctors. He insisted on staying by the girl, afraid of leaving 
her alone, even though they were in a confinement of a hospital. They 
were led to the Radiology department for X-rays at the same time, and 
the technicians let him inside the girl's X-ray room when his were 
done. His focus was on getting her to safety; so much so, that he 
didn't remember that they are yet to introduce each other until he 
began filling out their admission forms and insurance information. He 
hated people referring to all identity-unknown females as 'Jane Doe'. 
He never understood why it had to be that way instead of naming them 
something a little more authentic; like 'I'm Mystery', or even 'What's 
My Name?' would do the job. 
	The girl obviously had to be thoroughly filmed, thus she was 
taking long. He focused his eyes again on the tiny body lying on the 
bed. And saw the unmistakable terror in her eyes and her rigid body. 
Contrary to his previous emotional turmoil, he couldn't help giving 
her a reassuring smile from a corner of the room. 
	When they were led back inside the examination room, two police 
officers were waiting for him to take his statement. He climbed off 
his bed and stood beside the stretched form of the little girl. He had 
no clue as to why he felt the need to do as such, and he didn't pursue 
the matter. He told the story carefully from the beginning, ending 
with how they came to the hospital. The doctors called their in-house 
psychological counselor for consultation. The police took down his 
name, social security number, addresses for both his home and office. 
He watched as the girl's assigned pediatrician talked to the officers, 
then talked to the psych counselor who failed to bring the girl to 
utter a word and have given up trying. He had to tell the officers 
that they were welcome if they wanted to check out the construction 
site, but that the rain would wipe off much of the evidences. Officers 
agreed, and soon gone off to check out the missing persons reports. 
The psych counselor recommended the hospital to keep the girl for a 
few days under observation. Remembering that they hadn't even learned 
each other's names yet, he sat down on the stool in front of her bed 
and extended his hand for her to shake.
	"We skipped introductions, didn't we? I'm Jake. Jake Kathler. 
Nice to meet you."
	The girl was still silent, but she looked down at Jake's 
outstretched hand and shook it briefly. A genuine smile broke over his 
face, and he thought he heard her breathe easier. The nurse moved her 
into her own room and Jake followed inside. They sedated the girl 
fairly heavily sedated due to her irrational behavior earlier. Still 
afraid of leaving her, he settled down onto the comfortable chair set 
next to the bed. He was being careful not to hurt his dislocated 
shoulder as he surrendered himself to his own chemically induced 
sleep. In the following morning, a volunteer carried in a cart with 
their breakfast on it. Jake passed on the offer and sending his meal 
back untouched, so the volunteer could give it to the next person. 
The girl had slept through the breakfast, but she shocked the entire 
hospital staff and Jake when she woke up screaming at the top of her 
lungs. She kept looking around her and at herself, seemingly getting 
no idea about where she was, or how she got there.
	"It's okay! It's all right! It's me, Jake." He cupped her face 
in his palms and made the girl look into his eyes. She shut up at 
once, and dove into his arms without a pause. Having anticipated none 
of this, Jake yelped as her tiny arm hit his injured shoulder. He 
gritted his teeth and forced another yelp back down his throat. He 
released his breath to calm down, sliding his left-hand up and down 
the girl's tiny back. 
"It's okay. You're okay. We're all okay. We're safe." He kept his 
voice low and consistent, hoping that this old trick would work. Much 
to his relief, she eventually released her death-grip on his shoulders 
and sat back down on the bed. "What scared you so much? ...Can you 
tell me your name now?" Jake asked, aware of the nurses still watching 
them closely. The psych counselor from the previous night appeared in 
no time at the door, but he kept himself there. Seeing that the girl 
was still non-responsive, Jake looked up to see the counselor still at 
the doorway.
	"Mr. Kathler, we haven't yet received anything productive on 
this girl. The police hadn't yet found anything on her, and as you've 
said last night, they couldn't find any plausible reason to how she 
ended up on the top of your building." 
	"Give them time. She'll remember somehow. She doesn't have to 
talk if she doesn't want to, or maybe she can't; in which case, she 
can write or maybe sign her words." He shrugged.
	"Are you sure you want to be responsible for her medical bill?" 
The short, broad-shouldered man asked and Jake nodded, giving his "why 
not?" look. The counselor shrugged and left to answer whoever was 
paging him. The nurses left after changing the IV hooked onto the 
girl's arm, leaving them alone again. 
	"It's okay." Jake mumbled. "You can have time. Just, please let 
me know all about you when you're ready." He almost missed the tiny 
nod of her head that made him smile again.


Henry Barrington's Hospital
Los Angels, CA
9 AM Next Day

Jake had no need to notify his office about what happened to him the 
night before, and why he couldn't come into work the next morning. The 
police had rummaged through the entire building, mostly asking 
questions which only Jake could have answered. The local morning TV 
news mentioned the orchestrated version of Jake's 'heroic act'.
In short, everybody in the city including the local newspapers knew 
what happened to him and the little Jane Doe. Jake could feel his 
blood slowly climb up to turn his face bright red. Now that he looked 
back to the event, he didn't think it was heroic at all. It was rather 
a stupid and careless thing to have done. The more he remembered the 
events that transpired the previous night, the worse he felt. 'What 
was I thinking?' He asked himself with every minute that passed by. 
'God, what the hell was I thinking?!' They both could have been dead 
by now, left smashed on the wet asphalt for some poor city employee to 
clean up.
	Insisting the workers that the construction process should 
continue as scheduled, Jake hanged up his cellular phone and dialed 
the number for his house. The nice lady whom Jake called by her first 
name answered, delighted to hear his voice now that she also had heard 
of the incident. Jake assured her that everything was fine, but he 
needed her to feed Stella for him. She told him she would, but that 
poor Stella hadn't had much of an appetite since he was gone. He 
apologized to the both ladies.
He also told her that if the police turn up nothing from the missing-
persons reports and the hospital is ready to let them go, he'll ask 
the department of social services to let him take her in. He thought 
it beat the idea of sending the girl off to some facility, where 
strangers would be surrounding her. Agreeing that he was doing the 
right thing, the woman asked him what the little girl would like to 
eat. He answered that he honestly didn't know, because the girl hadn't 
spoken a single word. 
Leaving the culinary issues with her, he asked her a huge favor of 
bringing him some clothes, his computer briefcase, and a few casual 
outfit for the girl. He looked over her medical charts and read out 
the girl's size. Jake also told her to use the petty cash box inside 
his computer desk drawer, which she always used to do glossary 
shopping for Jake. 
"It would be my pleasure, Jake." She replied with enthusiasm, making 
him smile.
"You're a Goddess, Elly. Thanks." Jake thanked the heavens for letting 
her have such a wonderful lady in his life. It was also at his 
insistence that Elly called him by his first name, and to never call 
him 'sir'.  
	The police kept any information about the girl's condition or 
identity out of the reach of press. It had been Jake's idea to check 
for all possible avenues of official investigation before running to 
the press with pictures and ask the public to find her parents for 
her. When questioned why, Jake told them he didn't want anybody else 
other than her real family to take her. One way or another, he added. 
The police backed him up and they all went to work. 
Elly arrived much earlier than Jake ever expected her to, and soon 
Jake changed into one of his clean designer suits. Elly had selected 
for the little girl a blue denim over-all with a white tee shirt, and 
a sundress much like the one she wore the previous night. He loved 
Elly even more for bringing them her homemade lunches of a whole-size 
grilled chicken sandwich packed with red bell peppers, sliced 
tomatoes, cucumbers, and Monterey Jack cheese. He split it in half and 
let the little girl taste it a little. She only took a bite before 
deciding it too spicy, and gave her share back to him. Jake ate the 
remain of the girl's sandwich without hesitation, much to Elly's 
surprise. He somehow didn't mind sharing food with the girl, and he 
didn't even know why. 
	Jake was released hours ago, and knew that the girl would be 
released by the noon next day. All that afternoon, Jake was beside the 
girl's bed with a notepad and a pen placed in front of the girl. He 
kept asking her every once in a while to write or say something, so 
they could communicate easier. So far, the pages remained blank, and 
the girl remained silent. The test results for her came back and the 
resident clinical social worker/psych counselor soon came to visit 
what he called the 'famous local hero'. Jake blushed and shook her 
hand. The man gave Jake a few words of appreciation before leaving the 
room. 
	When the girl fell back asleep, Jake took out his laptop 
computer and set it up to start working on a personal essay about the 
sources of inspiration for his work. The essay was for the next issue 
of Professional Architectural Journal, which also had an Internet web 
page, where his essay will also be archived. Writing suited Jake; 
everyone in close proximity to observe him told him so. He disagreed. 
'Alex was the one with a taste for writing', he always thought. She 
was the one who wrote journals and diaries, pasting photos in the 
books and keeping them all in the dark for him to find too much later. 
Jake saved the document before shutting the computer off, and picked 
up the notepad and the pen he took out of his briefcase, kept separate 
from the set he got for the sleeping girl. Jake's learned hands flew 
over the pages in a familiar routine, an assembly of lines and shades 
gradually growing into a rough sketch of a large building. His young 
mind was still full of new ideas. Its seemingly unquenchable hunger 
for new discoveries, deeper knowledge and understanding of his 
profession hardly giving his body the time it needed for rest. 
'Interpretation is everything.' he always said. 'For expression 
without interpretation is impossible'. 
	The girl slept through the rest of the day, and she didn't wake 
up until eight that evening, which was when the same hospital 
volunteer wheeled in their dinners. She finally showed some signs of 
an appetite by consuming her Chicken Fettuccini-Alfredo and all of her 
vegetables. However, Jake had passed on the offer yet again. Jake was 
exhausted, yet his hand kept tracing the lines he'd been drawing, 
along with some side notes. He admitted that he was one of those 
people who get so engrossed in their task at hand, that they become 
oblivious to the passing of time. It didn't take him too long to fall 
asleep. 
Jake never noticed when the girl reached for Jake's notepad that was 
still left open on his lap, and began flipping through it.
	The next day began when 'the big boys' who made the contract 
with Jake for him to build the skyscraper called on his cellular to 
ask him if the police was finished with their 'poking around'. They 
also asked him whether he got out of the hospital. After informing 
them of his status, Jake confessed to them that the construction 
process was now delayed due to the police involvement. Before they 
buried him and his firm's reputations, Jake promised to be at the 
construction site as soon as the social worker leaves. 
When asked about the girl, he told them about her scheduled discharge 
from the hospital by noon the next day, at which time he could leave 
the girl in Elly's hands because she'd agreed to stay overtime until 
his return. The men on the other end agreed, then reminded him that 
his firm partners were dying out there without his being around to 
oversee the construction process. Jake made a brief and clear apology 
before hanging up. 
Jake hoped the girl would get along with his long-time companion, 
Stella. Stella already understood that not everyone she liked would 
necessarily like her back, but Stella also knew the difference between 
the good guys and the bad guys. Judging from what he could observe 
about the girl, Jake was sure that Elly and Stella would both gladly 
keep her their company. Unlike the hospital staff and the police 
officers, Jake found it to be very little trouble not knowing the 
girl's name. He often refrained from calling anyone by names, except 
for Alex. It was like he never remembered their names. He just felt it 
silly to address them by their names every time he talked to them. 
	Promptly at noon, the girl's assigned pediatrician came into the 
room with a set of release forms for the girl. The doctor signed his 
name on the 'attending physician' section, then asked the girl to tell 
him her name, so that her file wouldn't remain a Jane Doe. However, 
she only stared at the doctor standing in front of her and looked 
away. Jake noted how her grip on the bed sheets had tightened, 
wrinkling the white sheet as her knuckles whitened. Jake took the 
clipboard from the doctor and asked if it was okay for him to write 
his name as the girl's 'emergency contact' and his address as her 
'temporary address'. The doctor agreed, but inevitably, the patient's 
name remained a Jane Doe.
	"It'll be okay." Jake said, trying to convince the doctor. 
"She'll be fine." Just then, a tall woman in a pair of khakis and an 
Oxford shirt walked in, smiling as she spotted Jake and the girl on 
the bed. 
	"Hello. You must be Jake Kathler. I'm Linda Lowry from the 
Department of Social Services."
	"Oh, you're the field social worker. Of course." Jake replied as 
he shook the woman's hand. Even though Jake knew she was going an 
extra mile to make him feel less intimidated, he still couldn't help 
looking at the woman like a one-person court operator: a judge, a 
jury, and an executioner. He couldn't bear the thought of the little 
girl ending up in a strange facility somewhere, its floors packed with 
homeless kids. 'She wasn't a homeless.' he said to himself. 'She had a 
home. Give her time and she'll tell me'. 
	"I understand you wanted to take us to your house for 
assessment?" Linda asked, looking at him as if to ask for a 
confirmation. He simply nodded. "Do you have any experience with 
children?" The question puzzled him for a moment, but he knew it was 
coming. Sparing her time and energy, he began giving her a run-down of 
what she might need to know.
	"If you're asking me if I am a father, that 's a no. Have I ever 
had an intention to be a father? Yes, I was engaged before, about 
...three years ago. Do I like kids? Yes, I do. Do I have any 
experience being a legal guardian? No. A foster parent? No. Have I 
been around kids at all? Yes, I have. Although I must admit it wasn't 
too often. Do I get along with kids? That depends completely on the 
kids I'm with, because they are just like adults. Do I get along with 
this particular girl in front of me? So far, so good. I believe she 
trusts me. 
"Do I have a criminal record? Nope, just one parking violation ticket 
I got three years ago. Do I drink? Very little, and I mean it. I have 
no hard liquor or beer in the house. I drink wine once in a while, 
though. Do I keep my house clean? That's what I hired Elly for. She's 
my housekeeper as well as one of my closest friends. Do I have any 
pets? Yes. I have a very well trained dog named Stella, and she loves 
kids. 
"Do I have enough room to fit in the three of us, and the housekeeper? 
Wait and see, Linda. But to give you a hint, is an entire loft big 
enough for you? It was a glue factory before I bought it, but don't 
you worry your busy mind about some evil chemical substance giving us 
cancers or turning our hair green, because I checked for them before I 
ever moved in. Do I have a steady job? Yes, I do. I'm a professional 
architect, and one of the executives of our firm. 
"Do I have enough spare time to spend with this girl? I normally 
don't. However, I can conduct the business right from my own house, 
because it's also my private office. I'll hold meetings in my house, 
so I won't have to go anywhere this girl can't. Once she gets used to 
living with me, I plan on taking her to work with me; in which case, I 
won't let her out of my sight. But considering the incident that 
happened a few days ago, I don't think I'll ever take that chance. 
Once is enough. Also, since you are here by the orders of the DSS, you 
are very welcome to stop by my house at any time for whatever reasons 
you deem as necessary."
	".... ...Thank you, Mr. Kathler." Linda she choked out the 
words, finally seeing that he was finished. She immediately began 
writing out her notes on what he just said. 
	"Please, call me Jake." He said, offering a somewhat apologetic 
smile. "I'm sorry if that came out a bit forcibly. I'm not too good 
with interviews. I mean, I'm fine, really. But I... well, the last 
time I talked to the police and the social services were when Alex.... 
Ummm, check your records. It's all there." Jake waved his hand as to 
indicate his dislike of the subject. Linda looked at him, then to the 
girl, and understood what the man's gesture meant.
	"The police gave me the copy of your case files, Mr. Kathler. I 
know what incident you're speaking of, but I still need to ask you 
some questions regarding some issues concerning that case. It's a 
required procedure, and I'm sorry." She said, trying not to get into 
them in front of the girl. Jake gave her a slow nod of thanks, and 
looked at the girl in front of him. He noted that her green eyes were 
sparkling again. 'Searching for the answers to Linda's questions', he 
thought. 
Jake covered his discomfort with a smile, then stood up to pick up 
their over-night bags and his briefcase while Linda reached for the 
freshly cleaned, nicely dressed girl off of her bed. She jerked, 
trying to free herself from the woman's hold. Jake stopped and sighed. 
He let Linda put her down and knelt down in front of her just as he 
had done when he first rescued her.
	"I know that you're still sore from the fall you took. I know 
you don't know this woman, and you don't want her touching you. I 
would like to lift you up and hold you like I did before, but my right 
shoulder's busted. Okay, here's the deal. We need to go five floors 
down by an elevator, and then we need go to my car to go home. I think 
you're healthy enough to walk on your own, but one of us will have to 
hold your hand while we do. Or you can get the easy ride on a wheel 
chair, and I'll push. Which one would you like?" 
Jake spoke as he pointed to the wheelchair resting beside the bed. 
"You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to write anything 
like I've been asking you to do. Just take my hand, and I'll walk you. 
Or point to the wheelchair, and you'll have the ride."   
	Jake could feel both the girl and Linda's eyes on him, both 
searching for their own answers. But he couldn't help letting out a 
chuckle when the girl's tiny hand reached for his left hand. He gave 
her a smile and stood up, handing his over-night bag to Linda. "Would 
you help me with this, please? I need my left hand free, and I can 
only carry my briefcase on my left shoulder." 
	"Certainly." Without a complaint, she took the black bag from 
his hand and gestured for them to move. Jake was focused on the 
traffic in the hallway, that he missed the girl looking back to stare 
at Linda's brief smile following behind them. 




Jake's House
Canoga Park, CA
7PM Same Day

The elegant dinner Elly cooked for them was served promptly at seven, 
for Linda needed to return to her office. Elly, who had stayed 
overtime yet again, had received high praise all around for her 
cooking. It was plainly obvious that Linda wanted to stay for much 
longer. The girl's move-in process had gone fairly smoothly, and Linda 
suggested only a few things that needed to be fixed around the loft 
before she gave Jake her seal of approval. 
The issue was the unusually small number of walls in the house. Jake 
purposely kept everything in the open, including his bed, and had very 
few walls and doors to separate each space. Jake promised her to call 
a furniture rental company first thing in the morning to install the 
girl's own bed. There was no use buying new furniture since the girl's 
stay was only until everything could get sorted out and her parents 
could be found.  
Linda had to agree with Jake on the fact that this was an easy place 
for anyone to keep an eye on the girl. Plus, this place was absolutely 
gorgeous in its simplicity. Linda's trained eyes also noted the girl 
had been fairly relaxed since she had stepped inside, making Linda 
wondered if the girl was slightly claustrophobic. But what she found 
the most astounding was how much the girl seemed to trust and need 
Jake Kathler. Even when he escorted Linda out to the door, the girl's 
small form was clinging firmly to the fabric of his denim-clad left 
leg. She made a mental note to suggest counseling sessions for Jake in 
the future, after the girl's parents were identified and the very-
attached pair will have to say good-bye.
	"Well, that was fun." Jake said as he closed the door. He showed 
his houseguest to the bed, which Elly made neatly every day. He opened 
the covers and sat the girl down on the mattress before start untying 
her small shoes. "I don't know if you are tired or sleepy, but it's 
almost nine o'clock. I don't mind if you don't want to go to sleep 
just yet. If you want to watch cartoons or something, I'll turn the TV 
on and you can watch it for as long as you want. But I need to be 
working over there, so I can't sit down with you and watch it. But you 
come to me whenever you need something, all right?" 
Jake saw her nod to the question, and nodded back. He eHeHtook her 
socks off and handed her the white pajamas Elly picked out for her 
earlier at the boutique with her other clothes. He saw that her green 
eyes focusing on him, but not on his eyes. 'She's thinking', he 
thought. "I believe you can get changed on your own. The restroom is 
just behind those glass doors, so you can help yourself to anything 
that's in there except for my razors. Get ready for bed, and you can 
do anything you want within legal limits." 
He stood up and walked over to the large white desk, where numerous 
blueprints declared their own places. He switched on his main desk 
computer sitting on its own desk next to the work desk. Next, he took 
out his laptop from his briefcase, inserting the saved essay document 
into the much larger desk computer to be transmitted to the journal 
editors via Internet. He then checked all his e-mails and phone 
messages. He replied all of them, and scribbled down a few numbers. 
Recognizing that half the phone messages had been from his business 
partners, he didn't wait for the morning to call them. The phone was 
answered on the second ring.
	"Hey, it's Jake. I'm sorry that I didn't make it. But believe 
me, things are getting a little funky here. ...I'll have to ask you 
guys to move all meetings that require my presence to be held at my 
house. ...Yes, that's exactly what I said. Move them all down here, 
because I can't leave my house. ...Well, let's just say that I have a 
very special houseguest whom I cannot leave. ...No, it's nothing to do 
with the big boys! Believe me, she's a very nice girl. You'll like 
her. ...No! You know how I feel about relationships. ...Okay. Thanks, 
man. I owe you a big one."
	When he hanged up smiling to himself, he felt a slight pull on 
his right leg and lowered himself to face the little girl. 'What are 
you talking about?' her eyes said. He squatted, placing the phone down 
next to his feet. "Well, that was my friends at work. I needed to tell 
them to come down to this house whenever they need me there. Remember 
the roof? ...Of course you remember the damn roof! What am I saying?
"Anyway, when we first met, I was there to build the building. That 
building still needs to be built, and my friends need my help, because 
I designed it. I also believe that there will be many days when I 
really need to be working at the building. If that happens, Elly and 
Stella will keep you company. But if Elly can't make it, I'll take you 
with me to work. You'll be in our office, and I'll make sure that 
you'll be safe there. ...Just in case you're thinking about it, I'm 
sorry to say that I can't let you climb the building again. You'll 
give me a heart-attack if you do." Jake stood back up with the phone 
in hand. The girl's eyes followed his every move.
	He gave a sharp short whistle, and soon the ever-loyal Stella 
came running up to them. He rubbed her head, looking straight into her 
large warm eyes. "Stella, keep her company for a while in front of the 
TV, will you? I'll be over there in a few." He pointed to the TV set, 
then to his desks much like he had done with the little girl. But the 
girl didn't head for the television set, but walked directly to his 
desks. He followed her and watched her closely to see just what she 
was trying to tell him. 
She pointed to a stuck of printing papers for his color laser writer. 
When he handed her one, she asked for more by stretching out her hand. 
He handed her about five more sheets, then smiled when she pointed to 
an opened wooden box full of coloring pencils. They were normally used 
for the blueprints of outer sketches he'd done to be drawn by the 
computers later for presentations. He gave the whole box to her, and 
watched as she walked away toward the coffee table with Stella on toe 
from behind her. Jake faced his workload and settled himself down into 
the chair.
	It was rare for Jake to get any decent sleep, and he ended up 
staying up working until three in the morning. Not only that, he'd 
done so non-stop before finally calling it quit. 
	"Hey, you're not alone right now. Remember?" He mumbled to 
himself as his mind focused back on what was around him. He turned to 
the bed he told the girl to sleep in, but with a sick horror, he found 
it empty. "Oh, shit!" He jumped off of his chair in search for her. He 
hadn't gone any more than ten steps before he found her asleep at the 
coffee table where she had been busy drawing before falling asleep 
there. He released a sigh of relief as he found Stella practically 
wrapped around the girl's tiny body, both deeply asleep.
He couldn't pick her up and take her to bed because of his injuries. 
Instead, he made due by taking a blanket out of his bed and draped it 
over both sleepers. Stella's eyes popped open at the commotion, but 
she didn't make a move when she noted Jake's index finger pressed 
vertically against his lips. He quietly picked up the scattered 
coloring pencils and crayons, returning them all into the wooden box 
sitting on the coffee table.
	When he began collecting the papers, his entire body froze. His 
mouth stayed slightly open, and only his eyes darted from one sketch 
to another. A long time passed before he was able to verbally respond 
with a "Wow!" 
The drawings were clearly above and 'way beyond' as Jake noted, the 
capability of a normal seven-year old. Jake's trained eyes quickly 
found some of them to be three-dimensional, with complicated lines and 
circles darting across the papers from edge to edge. 
There were two sketches he failed to understand. They had been drawn 
with such vivid and bright colors, containing what looked to be vague 
human figures scattering here and there. He took them all back to his 
desks, intrigued by the chaos radiating from each one. He really hoped 
she'd be able to recreate the images on canvases. If anyone with the 
right training could see these drawings and recognize her artistry, 
she could have a fairly stable life on her own. ...Just as he had. His 
talent in architecture was discovered at early adolescence, and it had 
taken him up to where he was now. The girl was no more than seven, and 
was already showing signs of becoming a master artist. 
Jake placed the drawings back onto the coffee table and sat down. For 
several minutes, he watched the girl sleeping soundly next to Stella, 
but this time with a renewed respect for her. He then went to bed with 
the one question he'd been asking himself since day one: 'How could 
anyone have left her out there?' 
	


Jake's House
Canoga Park, CA
8:30 AM Next Day

The bright sun penetrated through the tinted glass of the framed 
windows, forming square patterns on the smooth surface of the loft's 
polished wooden floor. Jake opened his eyes at the familiar sensation 
of Stella's tongue mopping his entire face. He moaned, wanting to stay 
asleep. 
With his eyes still closed, he reached over to Stella and patted her 
on her head. She gave a slight snort, followed by a whimper. That was 
when Jake remembered he hadn't taken his daily walk to the diner 
yesterday or the day before; when he had practically begged Elly to 
get his mail for him. He grunted and forced himself to get up. He 
opened his eyes as he felt his feet touch the floor. Stella 
immediately placed her paws on his lap, licking his face some more.
	"All right. ...All right girl! I think you cleaned my face well 
enough. ...Let me hit the shower, all right? Then we'll go for the 
walk." Yawning, he stood on his full six-foot height and stretched his 
body to get his blood going. He closed his eyes and stretched himself 
further into a tiptoe position as he felt the sleep forced out of his 
system before he again put his feet back down on the floor. 
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep up with your schedule. I never 
meant any disrespect." He said as he opened his eyes again, his mind 
now clear and ready.
That was when he came face to face with the little girl who now stood 
at the opposite side of his bed, and the rest of the world dove back 
into his head. He'd have to take the girl with him to the walk. He 
gave her a smile. 
"Morning." He said as he lightly patted her on the top of her head. 
The girl kept staring at him, and it took him a little while to 
realize he was dressed only in his gray boxer shorts. Although that 
was practically how he slept every night, it sure looked unwelcome in 
front of a little girl. Embarrassed, he apologized to her for his 
indecency before walking toward the shower room. 
Jake kept rubbing his eyes with his hands, which was why he never 
noticed the pyramid made of the wood blocks on the floor until he 
stepped on top of it and fell on his rear. He gasped as the hard edge 
of the wood came in contact with his flesh through the fabric of his 
athletic boxer shorts. He worked on trying to get his breath back 
under control as he heard the girl's footsteps coming toward him. He 
cursed under his breath and held out his hand toward the girl to 
gesture her to stay where she was. "I'm fine, I'm fine. It just hurts 
a bit." Jake grimaced as he stood up, rubbing at the angry bruises he 
was sure were developing on his rear cheek.
	Once he was showered, he quickly got dressed in one of his 
starched blue jeans and a white long sleeved v-neck tee shirt. The 
girl had been playing with his basketballs, keeping Stella company on 
the court. He motioned for the girl to come to him, and true to his 
guess, Stella followed at her heels. He grabbed his keys and wallet 
out of the pocket of his trench coat.
	"I need to take Stella for a walk, but I can't leave you here 
alone. I'd like you to come with Stella and me. We usually stop at a 
little diner near West Hills, where I usually eat my breakfasts and 
afternoon snacks. They have a bunch of post boxes inside, and that's 
where I get my mail. I hope you're hungry, because they always have a 
decent breakfast menu. Their homemade granola and fruit muffins alone 
are worth the trip, you know. Plus, it's not too far away. ...Is that 
okay?" 
Jake looked into the green eyes with a hopeful look, and was rewarded 
with her walking to the front door. Relieved, he grabbed Stella's 
rarely used leather leash and followed her.
	It started about three years ago. Out of his need for finding 
answers, he placed an ad in the personal section of a local newspaper, 
asking for any woman willing to trade the experiences of their lives 
for his reply. Sometimes he replied in writing, with an enclosed 
personal check, because that's what he promised. 'Willing to pay top 
dollars for your experiences.' That was the deal, although not every 
woman who wrote to him wanted him to pay her. He knew this, because he 
had several of his checks returned to him. 
The idea had grown out of Alex's passage in her diary. Only when she 
wrote it, she was not planning on acting on it. Alex thought of 
herself as a woman 'out of control', hungry for an adventure because 
her fiance made her 'too happy' who spared little time for her. But 
for him, the purpose of this weekly ad was to understand just what 
goes on inside women's minds. The best way was to ask them directly. 
Their physical distance created by corresponding afforded both Jake 
and the authors enough privacy. The authors didn't need to know who 
their mystery 35 year-old wounded man was, nor what he did with his 
life. Just Jake's 'why' was good enough for many authors, and 'by 
writing out these experiences', he thought 'authors could learn 
something about themselves that they hadn't noticed before'.
	They walked along the port's security railing, watching the dark 
water sway in rhythm. Jake wondered if the girl had ever seen an 
ocean. She never freaked out or showed any particular fascination 
toward oceans or lakes she'd seen on television, so he figured she 
might have lived along a coast, near a lake, or in an island. 
Jake frequently took driving trips out to the beaches nearby, 
sometimes taking the route over Santa Monica Mountains. These days, 
such drives were to get away from his work and concentrate on the 
issues in his personal life. He'd often saved the women's letters to 
read on such occasions, because he wouldn't be drawing any attention 
to himself there, not even if he read the women's letters aloud while 
walking along the port with Stella by his side. 
Eventually, Jake pointed to a reddish brown brick building ahead of 
them. It was a simply constructed, single-story building. A fairly old 
aluminum trashcan was placed just outside its entrance, announcing its 
open policy regarding its customer's lifestyle. In short, everyone was 
welcome. Jake pushed open the diner's glass doors and stepped inside, 
then held the doors just long enough for the little girl to step 
inside. She walked just a half step into the diner, stopping to look 
behind her. Her eyes were fixed on Stella, whose leash was now tied 
loosely to the patio railing. Jake realized her concern, and 
immediately went about explaining Stella's predicament.
	"Unfortunately, Stella can't come inside. We won't be in here 
for long, and Stella's used to the wait. Don't worry, she'll be all 
right out there. Restaurants for don't let live animals inside unless 
they are working for the police or as a seeing-eye dog. I've also 
heard of a few pets-only restaurants where the only dining customers 
are pets, but I'm afraid this isn't one of them." 
Still holding one of the glass doors with his left hand, Jake hoped 
she wouldn't start protesting by planting herself at the door as he 
saw her head outside. However, the girl only went to pat Stella on her 
head before stepping all the way into the diner and headed toward the 
tables. She declared one by the windows as their table. Jake smiled 
with relief and followed her. A familiar waitress came over to their 
table immediately, pouring a generous serving of fresh coffee into a 
mug that was already set on the table in front of Jake. He smiled his 
greeting and picked up the menu for the girl to read.
	"Hi, Jake. I see that you're busy." The waitress got right to 
the point, instead of starting off with a nice 'good morning'. Jake 
nearly choked on the steaming bitter liquid he was sipping. Coming 
from this woman, he knew that the question could mean a hundred 
different things. 
	"Hi yourself. Go easy on us, will you? I've had enough of that 
teasing already."
	"I know. I heard about the amazing stunt you pulled. No wonder I 
hadn't seen you around for a while." She leaned forward to get closer 
to Jake, then offered a handshake to the girl who took it with a 
remarkable replica of Jake's all-business attitude. Jake wanted to 
laugh aloud at the sight, but he settled for another smile.
	"Yeah, well... You can make my morning a very happy one by 
kindly getting me an order of Denver Omelet with, and a side order of 
whole-wheat toast with that delicious apple jam to eat in here. I also 
want to order a bag of homemade granola to go." Jake's eyes focused 
back to the girl in front of him.
	"Okay. The toasts are to be done a bit on the crispy side, 
right?" Raising an eyebrow at his inattention toward her, the waitress 
kept running her pen over the memo pad.
	"Yeah." Jake nodded, still keeping his eyes on the girl who 
studied the menu like it was written in a foreign language. He shifted 
in his seat, trying to read what the girl was thinking.
	"Did you want harsh browns with your order?" The waitress could 
tell that Jake was nervous. 'For what?' She wondered for a moment, 
then decided to leave it alone. She knew from experience that Jake 
wasn't very much of a morning person. She had seen Jake Kathler come 
into this diner nearly every day, usually to order brunches and 
afternoon snacks. Although he ordered breakfasts on the rare occasions 
when he decided to have one, he'd never ordered a 'real food' here 
before. It was because he never stayed long enough, but also because 
he always came alone except for the large dog and he apparently 
disliked making the four-legged lady waiting. 'What's with you?' the 
waitress silently questioned him.
"Yeah, that'll be nice." Jake replied without looking away from the 
girl in front of him, who was now eyeing the counter rather than the 
menu. Her tiny neck was craning, her eyes searching for something to 
point to. Jake held out a hand for the waitress to wait for the girl's 
order, then kept on watching what those green eyes focused on the 
most. When he figured out, he smiled. 
"Muffin?" Her little head spun back to meet his eyes, and a tiny nod 
gave him the answer. "Okay. Which one?" He asked, standing up from his 
seat and squatting beside the glass display case that housed all the 
pastries. She followed him and pointed to the row of blueberry 
muffins, then to the chocolate muffins. Jake ordered two of each with 
a glass of milk, because he knew she had it for dinner the previous 
night and she liked it. He was yet to figure out what kind of milk the 
girl favored the most, but he figured 2% was all right. 
The waitress smiled and placed two of the muffins out of the ordered 
four into a brown pastry bag and placed it into the girl's tiny hand. 
She then placed the other two onto two paper napkins and handed them 
again to the girl's free hand. Jake gave the waitress a smile of 
thanks and headed back for their table. 
	"Okay, which one do you want to eat first? The deal here is you 
get to pick which one you can eat right now, but you have to finish 
one to have another. You can eat as much as you want, for as long as 
you won't make yourself sick." He watched as she picked up the 
blueberry muffin and began unwrapping. Her glass of milk arrived just 
in time. Upon seeing the girl's over-stuffed mouth, the waitress gave 
her little customer an honest smile.
	"She's so adorable, Jake. You should come here with her more 
often. We could use some change in atmosphere here." The woman 
commented, resting her free hand over the belt of her uniform. Jake 
nodded his agreement. Many out-of-town small diners such as this one 
hadn't had many children as customers. In what Jake could see of the 
diner's kitchen beyond the long counter, the veteran cook was flipping 
Jake's Denver omelet over the flaming old frying pan.
	"The chances are good, by the looks of it." Jake replied as he 
watched the cook call for the waitress to get over to the counter. The 
woman rolled her eyes. 
"I'm coming!" She called out before she headed for the burly man. When 
she returned with the steaming plate and set it down in front of Jake, 
he saw the girl's eyes widen a little. Jake took a bite to savor its 
delicious taste, then took another. The girl still worked on her 
blueberry muffin, but her eyes were set on him. The corners of his 
mouth curled up a little into a teasing smile. "Finish that, and I'll 
share this with you." He said and continued to enjoy his meal.  
	Jake had been noticing a strange welcoming feeling he hadn't had 
for as long as he could remember. The question was simple, as was the 
answer. 'How long has it been since I had a decent breakfast with 
someone, and really enjoyed the experience?' He was forced to admit 
that it had been 'pretty damn long'. 
When Jake was still living with Alex, she left for work early every 
morning, thus leaving little chance to share a breakfast table with 
him. They'd both slept in on the weekends, and Jake often worked on 
Saturday afternoons. Plus, his frequent out-of-town business trips for 
meetings, seminars, or guest lectures hadn't helped them any. 
Before meeting Alex for the first time, or before joining his current 
firm as a partner, Jake's life had been even crazier. His bosses 
worked their subordinates hard, thus forcing Jake to be up every 
morning at five-thirty and still be forced to resort to grab a bite or 
two in his car on his way to work. 'So, how long has it been?' He 
asked himself again, swallowing with horror when he failed to 
remember.
	The intensity of the girl's gaze snapped him out of his reverie. 
Jake soon realized that the girl was finally done with her first 
muffin and was now after his omelet. He laughed aloud at her serious 
expression, and cut a rather large piece of its untouched corner. He 
moved it over to the coffee saucer that came with his coffee mug, 
watching as her eyes followed the piece of omelet the whole time. She 
took a bite without waiting for it to cool down, then rewarded him 
with a tiny smile. He nodded his approval, then cut another piece and 
added it onto the little dish without being asked for it. 
After getting up and paying for their check, he asked her to stay 
sitting down at the table while he retrieved his mail. He made sure 
each month that the newspaper would run his personal ad on their 
Sunday editions. He smiled as he pulled out the contents of his 
mailbox. Four new letters to add to his growing library of what he 
came to refer to as the 'Red Shoe Diaries'. 
'Should be an interesting day', Jake thought as he led their way out. 


Jake's House
Canoga Park, CA
10 AM  

The police was waiting for him in front of the house when he returned. 
Narrowing his eyes, he unleashed Stella and motioned for her to get 
inside. Jake also noticed Elly,  already in for the day and starting 
the laundry. Jake turned to face the officers and cleared his throat. 
They shook his hands for greetings. Stella gave each of the officers a 
once-over, much to their discomfort and much to Jake's appreciation. 
Stella sniffled a little before moving away from the door and 
accepting them in. Jake patted her on her head for a 'thank you', and 
watched as she retreated to the stuck of pillows lying in front of the 
television set. Jake noted with a glance that the TV had been tuned 
into a 24-hour music channel for their morning selection.
	"What can I do for you, officers? Have you found anything on the 
girl, yet?" Jake asked hopefully, and was answered with their heads 
shaking a negative answer. Jake nodded his acknowledgement and 
motioned for them to sit down at the kitchen counter. The shorter one 
of the two rested his hands on its marble surface, while the other 
took out a note pad from the inner pocket of his suit jacket.
	"It's been three days, and we haven't found any missing persons 
report matching the girl's profile. We'll keep searching, so don't get 
us wrong here. But all the candidates who are being checked out right 
now don't look at all promising. We usually keep these cases open and 
active for as long as we see fit, then they become open-inactive, 
which means we don't go out on a limb to look for them. 
"Usually, the percentages of finding missing children 48 hours after 
they disappeared is very low, and to actually retrieve them safely 
would take miracles. The department chief is under pretty heavy 
pressure to push this case through because of the media attention."
"Oh! Don't we all love to talk politics until we're blue in the face?" 
Sarcasm dripped from Jake's each word, and the officers had the grace 
to wince.
"...My point is, we're at a dead-end here, and the chief is currently 
thinking about passing this case up to the FBI."
	"The FBI?" Jake was puzzled. 
	"Yes." The other officer said, now reading out of his notes. 
"We've also been thinking about telecasting over the local news about 
this case, and hopefully someone with a sufficient amount knowledge 
regarding this child will..." Jake's hands involuntarily shot out to 
stop the officer from going any further.
	"Wait a minute." Jake quickly pulled his hand back. "Are you 
talking about the local news? Or, are you thinking...? I mean, surely 
you're not talking about one of those newsmagazines, Unsolved 
Mysteries, the Today show...stuff like that. Are you??" 
Jake's voice climbed high enough to be overheard by Elly. Officers 
looked impatiently at Jake and then at each other. Jake shook his head 
resignedly and lowered his voice down. "Absolutely not. We don't know 
whom this girl was with during the period in which she was missing. 
Kidnappers are usually someone who know their victims well. I don't 
want to risk the chance of her kidnapper coming here to find her."
	"Well, it is certainly a risk worth taking..." The first officer 
complained, no doubt being sandwiched in between the pressure from his 
higher-ups' and the one cast over them by the public. Jake leaned in 
closer to the officers, and together they formed a tight circle.
	"No, I won't do that. I'm sorry for being difficult here, but I 
need to take these precautions. Nearly half the city knows what 
happened on that stormy night. Sure, some don't give a damn about what 
happens to her, or to me. But it terrifies me to know that the sick 
bastard who took that little girl out of her home may still be out 
there, looking for her." Jake's anger-flushed cheeks grew redder each 
time he paused to take a breath. There was no way he was going to 
allow this girl's story to be turned into the media's flavor-of-the-
month.
The second officer sighed resignedly. The first officer was rolling 
his eyes with a 'why me?' expression plastered on his entire face. 
Both officers plainly saw that Jake not only put his feet down on this 
one, but that the man was digging his heels deep into the ground. They 
needed a compromise before Jake threw them out of the door; thus 
leaving them to face their superiors without a peace offering to ward 
off the blows on their service records.
	"How about at least running an article in the papers if I 
promise to authorize no use of your photos? Just one photograph of the 
girl, with a short summary of what help we need from the general 
public. ...I understand that she doesn't communicate verbally, but 
that doesn't mean she's mute. The public has always been a great 
source of information, and they've provided us with clues to the leads 
that none of us could get to on our own." 
The officers hoped Jake would give in to this one. Jake was calmed 
down by this time, sitting back down in his kitchen stool and looking 
at the girl in question. She was petting Stella and staring back at 
him from the other corner of the room. He pursed his lips into thin 
lines, silently telling her his decision as well as his apology for 
not being able to include her opinion on this matter. Jake turned back 
to the officers and finally nodded his consent. Both officers exhaled 
a breath of relief and muttered words of thanks that Jake felt very 
undeserving.
 	After the officers left, Jake got ready for the meeting with his 
associates. He didn't have any table that would be large enough to 
seat everyone comfortably. He immediately resorted to using the 
kitchen counter as substitute, which was just vacated by the police 
officers. Spreading out the blueprints he had been working on the 
previous night, Jake hooked up his screen phone with the modem in case 
they needed to have an on-line conference. 
Next, he changed from his casual attire and got into a business suit. 
He even made enough coffee to satisfy all the twelve firm partners 
probably for hours. The house was already spotless clean, thanks to 
Elly. By the time the cavalry arrived, she was done with the laundry 
and had gone to the mall to pick up some more outfits for the little 
girl. Jake again considered himself fortunate to have found such 
dedicated woman for a housekeeper.
Stella kept the girl company at the basketball court, but Jake never 
forgot to open a fresh pack of printing papers and to place the box of 
coloring pencils within easy reach for her. Soon enough, he stopped 
hearing the sound of basketballs bouncing on the floor followed by 
Stella's claws clicking busily on the floor.
	The meeting had gone overtime, then kept dragging on for even 
longer. Jake exhausted himself just by trying to give detailed 
explanations for what should go where, and why. 'It's a fucking 
skyscraper for crying out loud!' Jake screamed inside. 'Why don't they 
just get it?!' 
Repeatedly at great lengths, Jake informed the entire panel that he'd 
ordered all the models to be made at the usual shop; told them they 
would see all the points he's been addressing to them once they see 
the models. He was damn tired of repeating himself for Lord knew how 
many times in the course of the last four hours. His partners remained 
reluctant to go ahead with Jake's meticulously constructed plans, 
mumbling something about the rising cost of the supplies. 
The problem was, they wanted to switch a few materials to the cheaper 
brand. Jake kept refusing this flat-out, claiming that the 
government's safety inspector would mark them off for it. 'Quality', 
he stressed again, 'is the only thing that will assure us our good 
name'. In return, Jake agreed to do their firm's television 
advertisement, which he'd been refusing to do for the past four 
months. 
Jake didn't see how a twenty-second TV commercial would change the 
quality of their work in any way, and he wondered about how they were 
going to afford it. But looking at the mess that his house had become 
since opening up the meeting, then looking at the tired faces of its 
every occupant, including Stella; Jake decided he was too wiped out to 
care. 
	The meeting finally broke at three in the afternoon, five hours 
after it began and two hours over-time. Jake nearly hauled the group 
of sorry looking men out of his front door in his haste to get rid of 
them. Once seeing the cars drive away and out of his sight, Jake 
headed straight for his closets. He threw out his jacket and trousers, 
not bothering to change out of the dress shirt. He slipped back into 
his blue jeans and donned a fresh pair of socks. 
"What a day." Jake couldn't even bring himself to contemplate just how 
long it would take to clean up the mess of coffee stains and the used 
coffee filters clattering the kitchen area, not to mention the 
blueprints and the reading materials that scattered haphazardly on his 
work desk. Instead, he headed directly toward the basketball court and 
found the girl watching television with its volume turned way down, so 
as not to disturb him and his sorry excuse for colleagues. 
'How did she figure that out?' He wondered, not remembering teaching 
the girl the full function of his television set. But then, any seven-
year old nowadays knew how to use computers. He sat down heavily next 
to her on the floor and stretched himself on the cool hardwood 
surface. When he opened his eyes and focused on what was on the 
television, he nearly had a heart attack, because it was tuned into an 
adult movie network. He dove for the TV remote, changing it into the 
Learning Channel.
	"Just how long have you been watching that?!" Jake made a 
scolding face, though it didn't remain there for long. "I'm very, 
truly sorry that it took this long. Thanks for being so patient, and 
even more for keeping the volume down. ...But I really hope you 
weren't watching that adult channel for too long." Jake reached his 
left hand to pat her on her small back. 
Jake also spotted two crumpled plastic wrappings on the floor and 
judged the girl had eaten her lunch. Also judging by the crumbs around 
Stella's mouth, he figured about a half of them went to the girl's 
four-legged new friend. Jake gave Stella a look of 'we'll have a long 
talk later, Miss.' Stella gave him a whine. 
Jake didn't want to have to speak for the rest of the day. His voice 
was already hoarse from inhaling the cigarette smoke his associates 
puffed out into the air like chimneys. Jake was allergic to the smoke, 
but not so much that he couldn't tolerate them for some time. This 
house was large enough for the smoke to get evened out, but he made a 
mental note to open the ceiling windows soon as he regained enough 
energy to give a damn. The top windows were equipped with a remote-
control system, and he used them often for demonstrations of new 
building models aside from the large light he used to replicate the 
movement of the sun.
	 Both his body and mind were now demanding a long nap, and it 
was getting increasingly harder to keep himself awake. He meant to ask 
her about her drawings, since it looked like she's done some more of 
her masterpiece work; but his body protested from speaking to open up 
another discussion.
	"I need a little nap. Right now, I'm having trouble remembering 
my full name. Please don't go anywhere without me, and please wake me 
up if someone's at the door. Thanks." He barely finished as he drew a 
pillow that lay nearby and rested his head on it. 
Jake didn't respond when the little girl curled up next to him with 
her own pillow in her hands. He remained non-responsive as the girl 
went to sleep, practically hugging the pillow under her head and 
shoulders. Neither of them minded when Stella joined beside the girl, 
again wrapping herself around the girl as if to protect them.
This was exactly how Elly found them when she entered the house. She 
smiled and placed her load from the shopping on the majestic hand-
curved wood bench by the basketball court. She then pulled a blanket 
she took earlier from Jake's bed covers and covered the three sleepers 
with it. Stella's eyes popped open, but upon seeing Elly pressing her 
index finger on her mouth just the way Jake always did, she went back 
to sleep. Elly managed to clean up the mess from the meeting without 
waking any of them, and began preparing their dinner.


Jake's House
Next Day

Jake was still a bit tired when he went to the hospital with the girl. 
He generally went there for the follow-up check on his shoulder. The 
girl was given a cursory examination and got done before Jake. He took 
her home, but he was summoned to the construction site before he could 
even sit down, because their supply company reps came over to smooth 
out a few bumps that developed in between them. Jake groaned, knowing 
he couldn't possibly take this one into his house. 
Pushing away the guilt he felt, Jake confided their situations to Elly 
and asked her to watch the girl; and he meant 'really watch' the girl 
for him until he returned. She agreed, much to his appreciation. 
Walking over to the girl, Jake explained the story and asked for her 
forgiveness. When she shrugged, he gave a little kiss on her forehead 
without thinking why. Wincing upon looking at his watch, Jake grabbed 
his briefcase and flew out of the door before Elly could change her 
mind. 
	The ordered rental furniture arrived just as he returned from 
the office. As he was signing the forms, Linda arrived unannounced and 
checked everything over. Jake expected her to visit them, because he 
allowed her an unlimited access. His reasoning was, if she was to 
announce her visit to them  each and every time, then 'the bad guys' 
(exactly Jake's wording) would get their chances to bury all evidence 
of child abuse.
	Linda, surprised that he would deliberately make the suggestion, 
agreed. After arranging the bed somewhat close to Jake's but still 
allowing the occupants to have some privacy, Linda gave Jake another 
seal of approval. Jake placed a few large plants in between the beds 
as sort of a screen. He made a mental note to get a few real screens, 
complete with wheels at the bottom, like the ones used by many 
hospitals. Linda added another seal of approval, because the satellite 
cable company guy came to personally set up the blocking chip for 
Jake's TV, so that no inappropriate program would be accessible to the 
little girl. 
Jake could tell that something was bothering Linda, just as it was 
clear to him that she wasn't telling. When he asked anyway, she 
reluctantly confided in him that if Jake grew too close to the girl, 
it would do them a serious damage when the time comes to for them to 
let each other go. Jake was very aware of that fact. They were nearly 
too close for any two strangers who'd known each other for less than a 
week, and he didn't mean it like the passionate lovers who'd decide to 
get married over-night. It was something deeper. Something stronger. 
He felt as if they wouldn't need a spoken word to communicate with 
each other. 
	After some consideration, Jake asked Linda to bring in her 
overnight bag and asked her to make any additional assessment, but to 
watch how they communicated closely. Jake believed he was close to the 
girl as anyone could be, given the difficulties of the situation. 
Linda agreed, still puzzled at the series of unusual requests this man 
sprang on her, but understanding that they were more than any social 
worker could ask for in an investigation. 
Linda immediately saw that Jake was trying to prove himself. This 
man's level of commitment didn't make her feel any easier about the 
possible difficulty of their inevitable separation. She'd need to 
check out where this man had taken the little girl to, and his usual 
hangouts to complete her field report. She hated acting like a spy, 
but they were necessary procedures and she was sure Jake would 
understand. She also made a mental note to fully check Jake's 
background. He knew too much about her needs in this investigation; 
especially considering that he had no professional training in social 
services issues.
	The next morning, Jake took the girl and Linda with Stella to 
the diner where he got his mail. Taking this rare opportunity, Jake 
told Linda about how he loved this diner, and how everyone in here 
knew him for years. 
	"If you have any questions," he told her, "ask the waitress over 
there; the woman with long brown hair. She has ears like the black 
holes when it came to gossips. Nothing escapes". Linda laughed at this 
one. 
When he walked over to his mailbox while they waited for their order, 
Linda asked the little girl if he always talked and acted like he does 
in front of her. When she insisted the girl that she had to know, she 
nodded. Linda nodded back, thoroughly impressed that a single man with 
his level of inexperience with children could show this much affection 
and patience to a total stranger. As a professional, she couldn't just 
give Jake an all-round A's without making sure that he would stay this 
way everyday until they could find her parents. She'd seen enough 
dead-beat parents, adoptive and biological, to learn not to trust 
anyone until she eliminated her every doubt. Jake returned with the 
mail, grinning at several hand-written envelopes before stashing them 
inside his trench coat pocket. 
	"Letters." Jake said, smiling shyly. "Women write to me." When 
pursued further, his expression darkened a few shades and he muttered 
it had to do with Alex. They changed the subject. The same waitress 
gave them a frown before asking Jake how many friends he would be 
bringing with him tomorrow. 
The little girl went straight for some muffins and a strawberry 
croissant. Jake ordered the Denver omelet again, and Linda settled for 
a bowl of granola with yogurt. After their meal was finished and Jake 
was paying their bills, Linda told him that she was needed at her 
office for the day. 'I'll be by at about seven', she told Jake. He 
nodded and said the dinner would be waiting for them by then. 


Jake's House
2 PM Same Day

It was just an experiment to see what would come out of them. Jake 
towel dried his wet hair, then headed for his work desks. He switched 
on his computer and the virtual reality machine, then checked his 
computer scanner again. When all was done, he took out the new three-
ring binder where he placed the girl's additional artwork upon her 
consent. Every time Jake checked on her progress and picked up the 
ones that were done, she just worked on more. The binders Jake used on 
the drawings could hold about seventy-five such plastic pocket sheets, 
and more than half of this second binder was already filled up. He 
carefully took out the pages containing what he thought were three-
dimensional drawings and placed them in a neat pile next to the 
computer. 
	When he first asked her what each drawing was supposed to show, 
she shrugged and kept her silence. They were sitting down on the floor 
with glasses of lemonade set next to them. He was sitting behind her 
with his left leg stretched out and his right bent at the knee, so 
that the girl could sit in between them. She'd pulled her legs up to 
her chin, and stared at the pages of her artwork that Jake spread in 
front of them on the floor. The plastic covers reflected the sunlight, 
making the plastic edges shine like pieces of crystal.  
	"It's okay if you can't tell me right now. I just think you are 
a fabulous artist, and I hope you know how good you are at this. I... 
well, when I was little, I used to draw buildings in my notebook pages 
and didn't listen to the teachers talking in front of their 
blackboards. They soon found my notebook full of the drawings and I 
got busted for them. But I stayed on with the habit. All my life. 
"Eventually, people started telling me how good I was at doing those 
drawings. I didn't know that they were important back then. I thought, 
'what is the big deal? They're just drawings'. But as I grew up, 
things changed and so did my ideas." 
With that, he reached for a box of colored wood blocks he usually used 
to kill time, or to let his mind zone out. But he treasured them since 
they were also proven useful in getting some of his best and the 
brightest ideas in the past. He took them out and began stacking them 
up one by one. His other hand was still resting on his bent knee. The 
girl stared at the blocks, but she didn't reach for them.
	"During my own renaissance period, I began to read things, and I 
mean, reading as in really looking at things. Looking at them from 
every possible angle that you can think of. Things like the furniture 
in my bedroom, staircases, ceilings, and the entire exterior of our 
house and the neighbors'. 
"When I was at school, I looked at the school buildings, class rooms, 
shapes of desks, and studied about how those things were created and 
connected with each other. So, I went to a school where the teachers 
taught kids like myself to be able to use these ideas into their own 
work." 
Jake pointed at the space where a dozen or so metal model of the 
buildings stood reflecting the sunlight. 
"Look." He pointed to the miniature city, making sure that the girl's 
eyes followed his. "They all are ideas that grew out of my school 
notebook pages. They just got built." He hoped he was making sense to 
the girl.
"I was just like you. You have these wonderful ideas flowing out of 
your mind, and they are still trapped inside your drawings. I want the 
world to know how good you are. I want them to know that you are an 
artist, and so much more than what you..." He was stuck, searching for 
the right word. "...What others seem to think you are capable of." 
	With that, he reached out to the wood blocks again. They were 
now shaped like a tower or a building of some sort. The openings 
deliberately created in between each block left the room for sunlight 
to crawl through, further enhancing each light and shade. He turned it 
around in front of the girl, taking care to do so very slowly, so as 
not to break the figure. The lights danced and disappeared with each 
movement of the blocks. Jake was still mesmerized by this trick. 
	"It's been over thirty years looking at these blocks, and I 
never get bored." Jake stood up and walked over to his computer desk 
where his virtual reality machine was set up. "With your permission, I 
would like to see some of them in my computer, so I can see them 
better. But I'll understand if you don't want me to. Believe me, if 
someone came into this house, looked through all my blueprints without 
asking for my permission first, I'll be very angry. A lot more than 
when we first met." 
	Jake paled instantly, catching his slip. 'Open mouth. Insert 
foot.' It took guts to force himself to face her again, but being a 
good masochist that he was, he succeeded. He didn't know whether to be 
relieved or worried upon noting no change on the girl's expression or 
complexion. 
"...I dearly apologize for that. But I was really, very scared that I 
could have lost you." As he spoke, Jake wondered not for the first 
time, if the girl could see through his soul if he just looked at her 
hard enough. She said nothing, but she did touch her hand to his arm. 
Taking it as a positive sigh, he released a breath he'd been holding, 
then headed for his computer. He sat down at his desk chair, and just 
when he thought he might be going too far with this VR idea, the girl 
tugged at his left shirtsleeve and handed him the large binder. 
	Stunned for a moment but recovering fast, he looked into her 
eyes. "Are you sure about this? I mean, if you don't want to do this, 
I..." The girl only looked back at him for a moment before walking off 
to keep Stella company. He nodded to himself and turned back to the 
computers. Just then, he heard his phone ring and he reached for it 
out of pure reflex before his mind registered the move. The call was 
from his partners. They needed his blueprints right away, and the time 
was critical.  
	"What the hell?! I thought we're going on schedule!" He yelled 
into the receiver.
	"We were, Jake. Believe me. That is, until they called on an 
emergency meeting and told us that they're drawing a new deadline. The 
new date's three weeks earlier than our original schedule, and they're 
expecting us to finish the job by then."
	"Fuck!!" Jake kicked the chair he'd been sitting in, sending it 
crashing to the floor. "Are they nuts?! There's no way we can pull 
that off!"
	"I know. We're all on the phone right now, trying to get their 
story. I'm calling from my cell because of that. We have no idea just 
what or who got fucked up in there, or down here."
	"Call them. Rush everybody into my house immediately. We're 
holding an emergency meeting here."
	"There's nothing we can do until we get a hold of them..."
	"We can have a screen-phone conference! I don't give a shit! 
Gather everybody in here and get those bastards on the line! I'll 
personally chew their ass off."
	"Jake, calm down. We can't lose this deal. We can't get too 
greedy on this. We'll just hire more people and do our job. They said 
'the pay off's big'. I know them longer than you do, Jake. They keep 
their word."
	"Oh, man. I've got a kid to take care of." Jake's voice suddenly 
dropped as he looked around for the little girl, but she had gone into 
the restroom. He silently wished she hadn't heard or seen his 
outburst. 
	"So do I!! I've got three kids at home, Jake! I don't give a 
shit what you have to do! This is our future we are talking about, and 
I've been sacrificing my marriage for it!!" Jake bit on his lower lip, 
realizing his selfishness.
	"Okay, okay! All right. It's your turn to calm down now. I'm 
very sorry about your family life. Find out how big the 'pay off' will 
be, and we'll negotiate to see if we can buy some more time out of 
them. I think they're feeding us this crap to scare us. Find their 
bottom line, then find our gray areas. All the same routine. Try to 
find where we can stand without tripping over one another. All right? 
I trust you to keep things under control until I get there. Elly's got 
a day off, because I made her put in too many overtime for the past 
week. I will have to have Linda watch over her until I return."
	"All right, Jake. How much time do you need?"
	"Give me half an hour. If the traffic isn't bad, I'll be there 
in twenty." Jake hang up the phone before hearing another word. This 
really was a trouble, but Jake knew at least a part of their clients' 
reasons. The girl's story had attracted wrong kinds of attention to 
the building. Their clients didn't want to hear any more stories about 
him and the little girl getting a brush of sudden death. They wanted 
to get this whole construction phase over with to evade further risks 
to their business. 
Jake also suspected that maybe a few of their egos were damaged in the 
process, but he couldn't take on the dilemma issue, because his firm's 
clients were located in France. Jake called Linda on her pager, hoping 
she wasn't on the witness stand for the day. He was relieved to see 
that the pager wasn't turned off. When she returned his call, he 
explained their situation.
	"All the hell's breaking loose at our office, Linda. I don't 
think I can get her in there. It's no place for a little girl, believe 
me. The room will be filled with cigar smoke, coffee cups, and a dozen 
or so extremely frustrated men who are ready to stampede. I gave Elly 
a day off, because it's Friday. Apparently, our current clients don't 
have the sentence 'take it easy' in their vocabulary." 
	"Jake, I'm a social worker. Not a baby sitter. I'm sorry, but 
I'm in the middle of a court session." 
	"What?! You're in court?" When things go wrong, they go wrong 
all the way.
	"Yes. I'm an expert witness. I was able to answer your call, 
because the judge declared an hour recess and I have fifteen more 
minutes. I cannot be with the girl."
	"Oh, my God." Jake didn't hide his disappointment, and Linda 
didn't expect him to. 
	"Welcome to the frustrating lifestyle of a legal guardian. 
...I'm not joking, Jake. There'll be more situations just like this 
one. Even if I was able to get to you, you're responsible for the 
little girl, so you'll have to act like it. You need to be able to 
drop everything and place her on the first of all your priorities. Ask 
yourself, Jake. What about the next time?" The question stung Jake 
like a dagger.
	"All right. I'll take her down there with me, and I'll try to 
get everything under control as fast as I can. I'll tell my guys to 
shut the hell up when they start throwing cherry bombs. I'm sorry, I 
panicked. It's just that this probably never happened if no one found 
out about you-know-what."
	"Bad publicity, huh?" Her voice indicated it wasn't a question. 
Jake narrowed his eyes.
	"How'd you know?" 
	"Everybody's after a throat to cut, Jake."
	"Thanks for the encouragement." He muttered before hanging up. 
He faced the little girl who now sat in front of the TV, brushing 
Stella's fine fir. He swallowed hard, trying to push down the knot in 
his throat. He hated to do this to her again.
	When he finally made it to the office, everybody was stunned at 
the arrival of an unexpected guest. 
	"What the hell is this, Jake?! This ain't a Goddamn child care 
center!"
	"I had no choice. Get on with the meeting, shall we? Please keep 
everything under control here, since we have a guest."
	"Who the fuck cares, Jake?! Where're the blueprints? We need to 
change strategy if we're going to finish this on time."
	"No, we can't change a thing. They'll notice soon enough. These 
guys are pros. They've hired many private firms just like ours before 
our name even got to their doorstep. They know where to look." Jake 
stood his ground as he put the blueprints in question up on the white 
board with magnets. The girl was busy looking around the office and 
everyone in it.
	"I have to agree with Jake on that. We'll have a law suit in our 
hands if we..."
	"Hey, it's easy for you to say! You're not the one who has to 
tell those guys sweating their asses off out there to hurry up, 
because some bastards left a little girl up on the top of the damn 
thing." Jake moved so fast, no one had the time to stop him. Jake 
slammed his fist into the table just in between the careless man's 
hands, startling them both. Jake needed to vent his anger some way. 
This wasn't one of the best ways, but he couldn't hold it inside any 
longer.The entire room was silent until Jake began yelling.
	"You fucking bastard! We're damn lucky I was there and she's 
alive! Think about what would have happened if she ended up dead!" A 
dam broke as another flood of angry words and kicking of metallic 
objects started up in the office. 
However, even in this situation, Jake never missed the girl flinch 
under his left hand as it lay on her shoulder. Jake sighed and stared 
at the men throwing accusations at each other, including Jake himself. 
Jake looked down at the girl who sat in the chair next to him. What he 
saw made him flinch, too. Was he seeing her tears? Washed onto the 
shore by the waves of shame and stress-induced nausea, he closed his 
eyes and abruptly stood from his seat. He couldn't bear to see the 
little girl being thrust under fire. Breathing deeply, Jake asked 
everyone to calm down. 
"She's not the one to blame. It could have been far worse."
	"Whatever. Let's just think about what we have to do here, all 
right? Jake, you made the mess. You clean it up." 
	"Enough!!" Jake shouted, and the room again fell silent. 
"...Okay. I'll make the announcement, you guys set up a new schedule 
by tomorrow noon at the latest. Start taking names for those willing 
to work overtime. Increase our labor-force by twenty-five percent by 
the end of the week. Have the personnel office review each application 
for criminal records. Conduct interviews five minutes max for each 
applicant." Jake ignored the complaints that flew around the room. He 
was already going out an extra mile or two for his colleagues, and he 
intended to make sure that everybody shared the burden of this crisis. 
It took them about three more hours of bruising each other's egos to 
finally balance out their workload, so no one had the heart to 
complain. 
Jake's assigned workload was to conduct the announcement and to talk 
to their clients personally to find out just what the hell really 
happened up there. This meant  he had to fly to Nice, France. It was 
no vacation, since he only had two days including the hours he would 
spend on both of his flights. But in the end, Jake's plan of 'letting 
the guys vent out and smoothing their feathers' worked just right.  
	"Meeting adjourned. Everybody go wherever you go to when you're 
brainstorming. I'll be at my house if any more emergency comes up. 
We're professionals, guys. Let's just keep it that way, and show those 
big boys in France what we are all about." Jake concluded and picked 
up his briefcase. Jake faced the girl who followed after him. "Let's 
get out of here, huh?" He whispered, opening the door for her. 
However, she opted to exit at the very last; after all the towering 
men spilled out into the hall. 
Jake pulled up his car in front of an ice cream place, and asked her 
if she wanted something. She climbed out of his car and went inside. 
Jake smiled and followed her.
	"I knew you would like ice cream." Jake said as he ordered a 
scoop of whatever she pointed out for him to get. Jake got a mint 
chocolate chip shake for himself, and scooped up a spoonful of one of 
the better human inventions. He smiled as the girl tried to take a 
much larger bite out of her strawberry ice cream than her tiny mouth 
could handle. He quickly grabbed a paper napkin and wiped her face 
clean. 
"I am so sorry you had to be there to begin with. But I am even more 
sorry for making you listen to us yelling at each other. Believe me 
when I say that those kinds of arguments don't happen often. But when 
it does, it gets ugly." Jake tried to look for the best way to 
apologize to her for his pending absence. But after looking into her 
'do tell' look, he put his spoon down and leaned in closer. 
"I know you heard what I have to do. I have to go to France for two 
days. I would love for you to come with me if I could just find a way. 
France is a beautiful place to visit." 'Although it's as dangerous as 
Washington, D.C..' Jake added silently. "There's a rather large 
possibility that you cannot come with me. If that is the case, I'll 
have to have you stay with someone else. Elly might be able to watch 
over you and stay with you at my house until I return. She has her own 
family to take care of, so I'll let her bring them over with her. This 
is good for the both sides, since you'll have someone to play with. 
It's only for two days and no more. I promise I'll call from wherever 
I can, and Elly can set up a speakerphone for us, so I can speak to 
both of you at once. You don't have to speak to me if you don't want 
to."
	Jake watched the girl squish the spoon around in her bowl, her 
gaze dropped and her appetite suddenly gone. He reached across the 
small table and touched her face, making her look at him. 
	" I hate to use this term on you, but this is something I've got 
to do for all of us. ...Hey, there. Don't look so sad, because I'm not 
going anywhere you can't reach me. I'm not abandoning you, and I 
promise I'll be back. But I need someone to keep Stella company for 
me. She loves you very much. I can tell, because she wants to be with 
you. She sleeps with you, plays with you, and she wants to protect you 
from the bad guys. 
"Let me tell you something. Believe it or not, Stella can be a very 
powerful ally. Stella's very protective, almost like a mother. She's 
also fiercely loyal, like a fellow soldier. She's a hard thinker like 
a wise monk. I didn't put her through obedience schools. She never had 
police canine training. I never even taught her any tricks. What I 
taught her were house rules and the public rules. I take 
responsibilities as a pet owner, but I don't baby her that much. 
"It took me a long time to figure out why she was so good to me. I 
used to think that there must be something she was trying to hide from 
me, until I wised up and realized she behaves the way she does only 
because that's the way she is. She'll miss you very much if you come 
with me to France. But if you don't come with me, I'll be worried sick 
about you, because that's the way I am. Deep down, though, I believe 
that everything will be all right; sometime, somehow.
"Also, there is nothing to worry about Elly. She is at the house to 
cook us meals, clean the house, then go off to shop for our food, and 
she's there to love you. We all want what guarantees the most safety 
for you, so you can go home and have your life back." 
Having said what he needed, Jake pulled his hand back. He expected her 
to disagree with him. To throw him the 'how dare you' look and gaze 
out of the window. But he was completely unprepared for what came 
next. She fidgeted, scooped up another spoonful of her vanilla ice 
cream, which by now was half-melted and slushy, from its place next to 
the strawberry ice cream. He barely noticed the metal spoon being 
raised, then his eyes met the girl's sparkling ones fixed on his face.
	"OH!" He exclaimed as the freezing, sweet, and very sticky 
liquid splashed all over his face. A little of it stuck in his hair. 
"Ahh, damnit! I can't believe you did that!" His words sounded angry, 
but his face betrayed the harshness of his words. He searched for the 
napkin dispenser, being careful to do so without opening his eyes. 
"Okay, you got your revenge." Jake added as he wiped his face clean, 
but it was a waste of his time and effort as he felt another attack of 
ice cream on his face. This one hit him right on the nose and dripped 
over the table. He got more napkins and wiped it off as quickly as he 
could. She finally ceased fire, and Jake finally opened his eyes to 
see her giggling. He couldn't help the laughter that escaped his lips. 
"Okay, now you really got your revenge. You win, and I surrender. 
Ready to go?" Still smiling, he asked as he fumbled in his trouser 
pockets for the car keys. He stood up, throwing out the soaked napkins 
and leaving a large tip for the unfortunate waitress who would have to 
clean up the mess they've made. Right before opening the passenger 
door for the girl to get in, he stopped and faced her again. "I need 
to know. Will you forgive me for this? For leaving you?" He was asking 
her honestly, and he knew she understood his intentions. She patted 
him on his hand and jumped inside as he held the door for her. 
	When they returned, Linda was waiting for them in her car.
	"Hey, how was the court?" Jake asked, getting answered with a 
'don't you dare ask me that again' look. Jake nodded his understanding 
and gestured her inside.
	"I'm not here to discuss my day, Jake. The question is, how was 
your day? From the way you expressed the situation to me earlier, it 
must've been ugly."
	"It was." Jake said as he held the door for the two ladies to 
walk in. 
	"And? How did you both handle it?"
	"We both went there. Some cussing words flew around and they 
made her cry, but we brought the situation down to an okay level."
	"They made her cry?"
	"A couple of guys said something mean to her." He said, 
shrugging.
	"This is a professional meeting, Jake. I feel like I'm listening 
to a teenager describing a food fight in a school cafeteria." 
	"Very close. We had that minutes ago." Jake pointed to the ice 
cream splattered on his clothes and in his hair.
	"What?" Linda's exasperated look made Jake turn serious.
	"It's the little girl's way of getting revenge. Look, 
everything's made up. Some big company in France hired us originally 
to build the skyscraper where we had the near-fatal accident. As we 
guessed, they want to keep their names clean and put all this behind 
them. So they decided to cut the time allotted to us by three weeks. 
It's a major set back, and everything we've been planning to do came 
crumbling down on us. I really wished she didn't have to be there, 
listening to us arguing with colorful swearing words. Things like this 
doesn't happen often. We trust each other."
	"So, what happens?" Linda was straight to the point. Jake raised 
an eyebrow.
	"So, now I have a shit load of work to do, though mostly at 
home. So, now I have to prepare a bunch of questions to ask our 
clients within the next week to find out what the hell is going on and 
I'll get my chance to chew their asses off. So, I have to fly to Nice, 
France for two days including the time for travel. So, I'll probably 
lose my sleep for the next five months until the damn building is 
done. So, we have to hire twenty-five percent more workers to speed up 
everything. So,..."
	"Okay, okay! Stop there. You said you need to go to France?" 
	"Yeah. Is there any way that she can come with me?"
	"What?! Are you nuts?"
	"No. I couldn't help asking. ...For her." Jake moved his eyes 
toward the girl's direction. 
	"Oh. ...I'm sorry, but there's just no way that we can..." Linda 
was speaking directly at the girl, but she turned away from Linda 
before hearing the end of the sentence. Linda sighed and didn't bother 
with the rest.
	"I'll call Elly and invite her. She can bring whomever she wants 
to stay with in here for as long as she's willing to stay with the 
girl until I return. Elly, as you may already know, is a mother 
herself. This place is more than enough to fit them all in." Jake's 
hopeful look alone was screaming, 'please, please, pleeease?'. Linda 
noticed Jake was trying not to look desperate, though his words 
betrayed his efforts. She exhaled a large breath and decided to take a 
pity on them both.
	"Well, under the circumstances..."
	"You can trust her, Linda. I trust her. She's been with me ever 
since I bought this place and moved in. She's very much a family 
member to me. She didn't quit when Alex's death came down on me and I 
was left in pieces. She saw me through more troubles than you can ever 
imagine." True to Linda's guess, Jake began promoting Elly.
	"I'll come over every day and check."
	"Fine. Stay here with them if you want."
	"Nope. As much as I love your reclining chair, I can't stay here 
until I get done with the case." She said as she reached for her 
overnight bag. He gave her a nod of thanks and watched the door close 
again.
	"Well. Looks like it's just the two of us again. Tell me when 
you want to eat dinner, and I'll order-in whatever you want. I'll be 
in the shower, which will give you some time to relax. Listen to the 
radio or CD, if you want. You could watch TV, if that's what you want. 
But if you just want the music, you could leave it on after I get out 
of the shower, and I'll read you a book." Jake said as he took off his 
jacket and tie, placing them inside the dry-cleaning laundry basket. 
When he came out, she was brushing Stella's hair again. He released a 
breath of relief and sat down next to them. Stella's eyes were closed, 
enjoying the feeling of the comb going through her fir. He told her 
he'd be at the computers working with her drawings, because he never 
got a chance to do it before they left. She nodded and kept her hands 
busy. 
Jake felt guilty more than ever for not being able to spare more time 
for this girl; to do what regular people did to their children, like 
playing cards, reading stories, teaching chess, playing Monopoly, 
etc., etc. But as Linda repeatedly warned him, he was afraid of 
getting too close to this girl. He had to maintain safe distance. Jake 
winced visibly as the word 'safe' and 'distance' crossed his mind side 
by side. Emotional distance was one issue he still had considerable 
difficulties with; even before Alex happened. But as it was usually 
the case with Jake, he felt he wasn't yet ready to tackle the issue, 
and never will be.
	The five images Jake scanned separately into the computer nearly 
gave him a headache. They seemed to have some connection with each 
other, but many of the figures in each drawing wouldn't match with the 
rest. However, Jake knew just from the first glance that there was a 
deep meaning to each figure, each line and each spot that had been 
displayed to him. They weren't pointless doodles in any sense. 
He looked for a couple more drawings off of the small pile and scanned 
them in, hoping for a solid clue to the solution. Eventually, all the 
pages were stored inside the computer and he walked over to the artist 
and placed the borrowed pages back in. She looked over to him and 
pointed to her abdomen. He smiled.
	"Are you hungry, little Picasso? Good thing, because I'm 
starving. You get to pick the restaurant this time. Do you want hot 
sandwich? Burgers, chicken club, meatball, or even veggie burgers? No? 
How about some Italian pasta, then? Chicken pasta, veggie pasta, cream 
pesto, even seafood pasta, or ravioli? No? Okay, how about Mexican 
food? Taco, burrito, nacho...? No? Fine. How about Chinese? Egg roles, 
Kan-Pao chicken, broccoli beef, steamed rice, stir fry, garlicky 
beans, veggie delight...? No? Hmm... understandably, the Princess's 
being hard to please this evening. How about pizza?" Finally, he got 
her hand raised. "Great. What do you want on it? Pepperoni? No? 
Mushroom? No? Green bell peppers? Good..." 
Jake ended up ordering a large deep-pan pizza with green bell peppers, 
black olives, Italian sausages, tomatoes, and extra cheese. He was 
more than amazed at her digestive system, and hoped her arteries would 
last past fifty years. He was still thinking about her artwork when 
they heard the doorbell ring, and was met with an exhausted pizza-
delivery guy. 
"Here you go, sir. Twenty-eight minutes, close call." The man had been 
caught in traffic, and was very afraid of facing his boss literally 
empty-handed. Jake took pity on the guy, because he'd had the job when 
he was still a student in Chicago. Jake left the young man a big tip, 
making the pizza guy's day. Jake and the girl ate on the floor as they 
watched Discovery Channel. Jake told the girl to brush her teeth while 
he cleaned up the mess on the floor. 
	He knew she was ready to drop into sleep when he noticed her 
eyelids growing heavier every minute. He told her to call it a day and 
go to sleep. She changed into her pajamas and went to bed, but not 
without getting Stella to sleep with her on the bed. Normally, Jake 
would refuse it flat-out, but he gave them his permission, much to 
Stella's delight. It was a sort of peace offering from Jake, since 
he'd made them bear all the trouble that sprang over them. 
Jake was done preparing the reading materials to be stashed into his 
briefcase along with the contract papers. He briefly thought about 
finishing what was left of the packing for his trip in the morning, 
but soon discarded the idea in favor of getting it over with. 
At around five in the morning, he went over to the virtual reality 
machine against better judgement. He hoped that through virtual 
reality he'd be able to navigate inside the girl's drawings much more 
freely. He had been saving the fun, and he definitely wanted to 
experience them before leaving. The images had been scattered, 
confusing, and somewhat undefined on paper or computer screen, but he 
was glad to note that through the virtual reality, they clearly came 
into focus. 
First, Jake isolated every image with unusual curves or acute angles 
that didn't make sense. He then isolated indefinable shapes into 
another corner of the screen. The rest of uncertain figures and colors 
were pushed over to another wall. By the time this was done, the 
images were turned into a jigsaw puzzle. 
Next, Jake drew a smaller cubicle into the screen and began placing 
the odd-angled images carefully inside the small cubicle edges to make 
them fit into the folding corners. He did seven drawings in this 
manner; taking pain-staking care with each one. By the time he was 
done, he cursed his curiosity and wished he hadn't started it in the 
first place. 
'If they are really what I think they are,' he thought with a sick 
horror, 'we've got a whole lot more work to be done'. Suddenly, 
calling in the FBI became an attractive idea. Jake hastily saved 
everything including the two-dimensional versions, and practically 
threw out his virtual reality machine. He closed his eyes and rubbed 
his temples. 
'Calm down', he told himself over and over. 'Soon it'll be ...What 
time is it now?' Realization dawned on him when his eyes caught the 
bright sunlight cutting through the blinds.
	"Fuck!" The word escaped his mouth before he could censor it. He 
bolted out of the chair and ran toward his closet to get dressed. True 
to his guess, the doorbell rang as he was knotting his tie. He punched 
in the security code to open the front door, and was greeted within 
seconds by two furious men.
	"I'm sorry, guys. Really." Jake apologized, hoping to avoid 
another argument. But once the visitors got a good look at Jake's pale 
face, all fight left theirs.
	"What happened to you, Jake? You look like the death himself."
	"Nothing. ...I just ended up pulling an all-nighter, trying to 
write out our strategy for the big meeting. ...Did you get my ticket?" 
Jake dare didn't tell them what really made him nauseous.
	"Got you booked and ready, Jake. Can we have the copy of your 
new strategy?" It wasn't really a question, and it was never meant to 
be.
	"All printed and done." Jake walked over to his work desk and 
picked up a thick manila envelope. "For everybody." He added for their 
benefit. As the men went about looking through the pages for any 
loophole, Jake turned around, and for the first time that morning 
looked for the little girl. 
Jake learned she was out of her bed a long time ago, and found her 
perched on one of the kitchen stools. She was staring at him, and 
probably had been for a while. Somehow, when he smiled, it came out 
disfigured; like the bits and pieces of her artwork. Jake wanted 
nothing more than to drop to his knees and weep in the face of such 
degree of unspoken horror and honesty. He resisted.
	"All right, boys. When am I off?" Leaving now was completely out 
of question for Jake, and he wouldn't have moved a foot out of his 
front door if he wasn't holding in his hands the future of his 
partners and the firm. 
	"Sunday. Bright and early at eight." The man whose marriage 
collapsed from overworking muttered as he handed Jake the flight 
ticket. Jake's eyes slightly widened at the Concord ticket. His 
partners really did take Jake's time constraints problems seriously.
	"Super-sonic flight? Thanks, guys." Jake patted the guy on his 
shoulder, putting the ticket on the edge of the kitchen counter.
	"You're due back Tuesday at midnight." The man added with the 
finality that said 'don't argue, it's done'. Jake nodded his 
understanding.
	"They're expecting your arrival by six for a dinner meeting at 
the downstairs restaurant of your hotel. I don't know what it's for, 
so don't ask. Then, they want you in their office by nine Monday 
morning." The second man said as he gave Jake a copy of his schedule. 
Jake nodded again in acknowledgement and took it.
	"I'll be there. How are the business at home?" Jake didn't need 
to add further explanation for the two men to know what he was 
referring to. They shuffled their feet, looking decidedly 
uncomfortable. Jake resisted an urge to sigh.
	"They're working on it." 
'Yeah, just what the hell does that mean?' Jake asked silently.
	"Okay, I'll be by at around noon. Good work, guys." Jake 
concluded as a gesture of finality, and walked toward the door. The 
men recognized the gesture and followed Jake to the door. Having 
restored some order and direction for their business, the three men 
briefly looked at each other before they nodded and parted. 
Jake felt his knees buckle the moment he locked the door. His body 
slumped against the smooth surface of the door before sliding down to 
the floor. Stella, who had been sitting at the girl's feet, saw him at 
the door and came running. He gathered her large body into his arms 
and collapsed fully on the floor with her. She kept whimpering, 
nuzzling and licking his face, concern for her master obvious. Jake 
kept his face pressed against her neck in the hope that Stella's long 
fir would prevent the screams roaring inside his head from getting 
past the gigantic knot in his throat. 
Jake was tired. So, very tired. This oddly familiar situation brought 
Jake's mind back to an equally familiar, painful one. The last time 
this happened to Jake was when he threw Alex's red suede-covered diary 
across the hardwood floor after reading her confession. He also knew 
from the previous experience that if he stayed in this position any 
longer, he'd be yanked back into that darkness. Then, he'd really be 
in trouble he couldn't afford.
	"I'm all right, Stella. I'll be fine." He muttered before 
letting her go. "Go over to her. We'll go for a walk, and we'll eat 
breakfast just like we did yesterday. Then, I'll have to go to work. I 
promised them that I'd be there in two hours." 
Alhough Jake had no idea which part of this that Stella understood, 
she went over to the girl as she was told and stood guard. The girl 
changed into her shorts and a cotton blouse Elly picked out for her. 
Jake threw on his suit jacket and grabbed the leather leash for 
Stella. While waiting for her to get ready, Jake dropped heavily onto 
the chair closest to the front door. 
His stomach began doing somersaults the minute he saw food on other 
people's plates, and he ordered two plain toasted bagels with cream 
cheese for the morning. The girl, in turn, didn't seem to want 
anything. When persisted, she reluctantly pointed to a glass of milk 
left by someone on the nearby table, then she pointed to the last bag 
of granola inside the display case. Most of the customers who came in 
were ordering lunch, but neither of them felt like devouring 
sandwiches. 
Jake picked up his mail, seeing two envelopes for Red Shoes. He opened 
them up as soon as he returned to his seat, instead of waiting until 
bedtime to read them as he had been doing ever since the girl came 
into his life. The idea here was that if he read the letters and not 
the girl's eyes, he wouldn't have to be reminded of the horrible 
images he was facing earlier. It was when they left the diner that the 
girl finally took his left hand and pulled on it hard.
	"What is it?" Jake asked, his voice soft and controlled. She 
kept staring, although it was more like glaring, at him until he saw 
himself in her green eyes. Almost instantly, he saw in his mind the 
girl's drawings separate themselves into individual images. He closed 
his eyes in a vain attempt to shut himself out of the world he never 
should have discovered, but closing his eyes actually worsened his 
predicament. He opened his eyes again with a painful moan. He was 
stuck, with no rocks to hide under. 
Seeing no one else in sight, Jake finally sighed and knelt down in 
front of the girl. He first felt her hand underneath his jaw, then 
felt her other hand over his cheek, stroking and wiping a few tears 
Jake failed to restrain. For a while, he was lost in the strange and 
comfortable warmth transcended by her tiny hands. Once feeling fairly 
relaxed, he dropped Stella's leash he'd been holding in his left hand, 
knowing Stella wouldn't go anywhere she wasn't supposed to. He wrapped 
the left arm around the tiny strong girl and drew her close. 
"What have they done to you?" Jake muttered the ultimate question 
under his breath. He felt her breathe, her arms now rigid at her 
sides. "You know, you really should tell me why you drew them." 
	When he opened his eyes again to look into the green abyss of 
her eyes, he knew he would have to get ready for whatever lay ahead of 
them. Ditching the girl and flee was never in Jake's choice, and he 
knew the girl trusted him. He stood up and patted Stella on her head. 
Then he took the girl's hand with his right, being careful not to move 
it too much. 
As if they read Jake's mind, a police detective came into the firm's 
temporary office at the construction site just as he was mulling over 
a list of new employment candidates at a desk. They hadn't noticed at 
first, because it wasn't the uniformed officer whom Jake met with on 
previous occasions. Jake took their conversation to a secluded corner 
of the office, trying not to pay too much attention to the close 
stares from the rest of the office's occupants.
	"I have a good news and a bad news." The detective began once he 
showed Jake his badge.
	"Fine. Give me the bad one first." It was his habit to prepare 
for the worst first.
	"As the officers notified you earlier, the department chief was 
under a heavy pressure and was thinking about passing on the case..."
	"To the FBI." Jake wasted no time.
	"Yes. We've been trying every possible avenue within our reach 
to search the girl's identity, but it seems this case needs a larger 
hand. The good news is, I've explained the situation to the FBI Los 
Angels field office, and they're sending someone right away." It was 
plainly obvious that the detective was relieved by this news. For 
Jake, this meant the case was getting some serious attention. After 
what he'd seen in the VR, he couldn't help but feel a bit secure in 
the knowledge that they now had the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
or what commonly referred to as 'the fed' or 'the big guns' by the 
local enforcement, on their backs. 
	"Just how 'right away' are we talking in here?"
	"As in Monday." Jake winced. 
	"Please make it Wednesday. I'll be out of the country for two 
days. I'll be returning on Tuesday at midnight, which is also 
Wednesday morning."
	"Sir, this is important." The detective frowned.
	"So as this. If I don't go..." Jake indicated the temporary 
office and his colleagues. "These people and all our sweating hard 
workers outside will lose their jobs. Then you'll be getting cherry 
bombs for Christmas."
	"Where will you be?" The detective sighed, apparently not 
wanting a conflict.
	"Nice, France." 
	"All right. I'll tell them, and you better be in by eight 
Wednesday morning." The detective warned Jake with his best 'I'll get 
you' look, and turned for the door.
	"Wouldn't miss it." Jake called out as the man exited the room. 
Next, Jake called Elly to explain their situation. She generously 
agreed to house sit and to watch over the girl for him during his 
pending absence. Jake was a bit more than surprised to hear that Elly 
wouldn't be bringing her family over to his house; opting instead for 
asking her neighbors to watch over them. 
"How is she?" Jake asked Elly as casually as he could manage. He 
decided to spare all his words for the girl until he got home.
	"She's fine." Elly said. Jake almost laughed when he heard about 
the girl bake cookies with Elly; almost, but not quite. When he 
finally came home at nine, the whole house smelled of sweet homemade 
cookies. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he inhaled 
the appetizing aroma. 
	"Welcome home, finally." Elly greeted him as she came over. He 
hugged her for thanks, then dumped his briefcase on the wood bench by 
the basketball court. He then carried his blueprints over to the 
sketch desk and opened the rid of the case.
	"I'm so sorry for being late, Elly. I couldn't get out. I feel 
terrible."
	"Well, everybody needs an extra hand or two sometimes. I'll be 
off if there's nothing further."
	"You've done enough, Elly. Thank you again." Shedding his jacket 
and shoes, he directly walked over to the girl who was sitting on the 
floor, perusing one of Jake's Architecture Monthly issues. He also 
noted the hairbrush lying on the floor in front of the television set, 
and figured Stella got her fir brushed again. Picking up the brush and 
pulling the nearby trash basket close, Jake picked the wadded fir out 
of the hairbrush.
	"She'll have no hair left by the end of the month, you know." He 
laughed as he eased down next to the girl, grabbing a pillow nearby to 
rest his head on. Elly brought him a small dish loaded with cookies. 
Jake munched on them, laying on his left side and successfully 
leveling his eyes with hers. She kept her hands moving on the 
magazine, presumably looking for interesting pictures or diagrams, but 
soon turned her head to face his. 
"But, thank you. She needs to leave minimum count of hair on your bed. 
Besides, she loves you as much as she does anyone, including me." He 
kept his voice gentle, trying not to show any sign of exhaustion. 
Apparently, he wasn't succeeding. His eyelids were growing heavier 
every second. Although his mind was alert and kept demanding him to 
stay awake, his body had other ideas. His mind finally gave in for a 
rest when he felt the warm touch of the familiar tiny hands stroke his 
hair. He didn't even notice when Elly covered him with the blanket 
from his bed and left.


Ritz France 
37 Parmanado Des Anglais
Nice, France 06007
9 AM Paris Time

The moment he stepped into the hotel restaurant and faced over a dozen 
French men who spoke with thick-accented English, Jake realized how 
big a mistake was to come to Nice by himself. His clients stared at 
him as if he was a piece of specimen under an electron microscope, 
ready to be dissected. His hunch was proven accurate as they each 
began questioning him just what happened to him, the girl, and the 
building.
Jake carefully selected his words, but knew never to screw around with 
them. He told them that the girl was fine; that she was in fact living 
with him at his house for the time being. Then he told them that the 
investigation was still open and active, but refrained from mentioning 
the FBI involvement in the case. Jake figured his clients only wanted 
their chance to vent steam, and he was their most suitable target. He 
let them ask about whatever they wanted, answering what he could. He 
needed to prove to them that he and his colleagues were worth their 
money. That, they were an honest firm with highly trustworthy people 
working as a solid team. 
	When he returned to his room, he immediately picked up the phone 
and gave his colleagues the Reader's Digest version of the lovely 
dinner meeting. He then called home and was answered by Elly who told 
him everything seemed fine but the girl was missing him. She then 
handed the phone to Linda, who came to check on the girl. He talked 
with her about the FBI's pending arrival, but she already had the 
information. Jake was relieved, but he never forgot to ask her how the 
girl was. 
Linda was a professional, and if something was wrong from her point of 
view, he wanted to know. Linda told him that the girl was physically 
fine, but Linda needed to know if it was okay for the girl to sleep 
with Stella, because the girl never went to bed without the dog. 
Chuckling, Jake told her about the little deal they made regarding 
their sleeping arrangement. He also told her to get the girl to do as 
much drawing as she wanted, because practically that was the only 
method she had to express her feelings. Linda scolded at him, saying 
she never intended to take the girl's only hobby away from her. He 
apologized, but he didn't elaborate on what the girl was trying to 
draw. It would only give Linda a heart attack if he told her.
	The next morning after taking a pill-induced sleep, Jake arrived 
in their meeting room, located on the third top floor of a majestic 
downtown office building. He was five minutes early as he took his 
assigned seat. In truth, he planned to arrive much earlier if not for 
the cab driver who didn't understand Jake's directions until he wrote 
his destination down on a piece of paper. French was once a topic of 
his interest in high school, but he never pursued it seriously. 'You 
just live wrong.' Jake scolded himself. 
In the meeting, Jake stressed the fact that nothing was delayed or 
damaged by the subjected incident over a week ago, and they were still 
working right on the original schedule. When they asked if he was 
saying that his firm couldn't handle the little 'push-up' in their 
schedule, Jake grunted under his breath and handed them each a copy of 
his firm's new construction schedules.  
	"As indicated in the reports, we will manage at the rate you ask 
for. We can still do the job, gentlemen. What I'm saying, is that 
these kinds of changes need to be made on our mutual decision." Jake 
kept his poker face to its perfection.
	"If you have problems with meeting our demands, we can simply 
give the job to someone else." Jake's stomach did a gorgeous 
somersault upon registering those words. He suppressed a gasp and 
plastered his best confident smile.         
	"No problems, gentlemen. That's what I came here to tell you. 
We've managed to plan everything under your new deadline. No cheating. 
No cheap tricks. Let's close the issue and let me hear what you have 
in your minds." 'It better be good, you elegant pieces of shit!', Jake 
thought. The men weighed their options while looking and whispering to 
each other. 
Soon, Jake was excused out of the room, so they could talk behind his 
back. All they had to do was speak in French. But they must've known 
Jake's previous interest in their language and took no chances. Jake's 
nerves would have exploded if he had to wait another minute in 
silence. Fortunately, they led him back on time and informed him of a 
fifteen-percent increase in pay, plus a contract for a new cruise 
ship. Though it wasn't for a skyscraper, Jake took the deal anyway.
	It was a bit flattering when they designated him to do the 
design. When Jake asked for their reasons, he was told that one of 
their partners had seen another cruise ship Jake designed earlier in 
his career and absolutely loved it. Jake figured he could do the 
design and give the management job to the others, but they told him 
his firm was not to be involved. They wanted the construction phase of 
the ship to be handled exclusively by them.
Jake questioned their intentions, because he wondered whether they 
were trying to break his firm apart, or trying to fetch him into their 
firm. He had to go through a similar situation once, which bought him 
high level of recognition and a lot of heartache. He wasn't willing to 
do it again. He still had two more contracts to work on, and only one 
of them required his presence in the actual construction process. As 
if reading his mind, they handed him another project file; this one 
for a shopping mall they were to own and build in Los Angels, which, 
should Jake take the deal, would be handled by both their firms. Jake 
visibly relaxed.
	The meeting finally broke in an enthusiastic mood. Problems were 
cleared up with solutions, and the promise of 'damage control' was 
kept. They invited Jake to a dinner party, and he accepted it without 
question. It was a formal gathering and he rented a tux for the 
occasion. He was proud of his accomplishments, and he was sure his 
colleagues would be, too. 
At the party, Jake was invited by several women to 'keep them company' 
after the party, which he turned down by making up excuses. They were 
rather mundane ones such as he was afraid of losing the deal he had 
just made if this got out; or that he had a flu; or that he was simply 
too exhausted. 
Jake's eyes widened when he was told that he 'didn't have to move' if 
he didn't want to; that she 'wouldn't care' if he 'fell asleep'. She 
was whom he believed was the most persistent woman he'd ever 
encountered in his life. He kept warding her off with mild attempts, 
but she followed him practically everywhere he went. She got him again 
while he was ordering another drink. She was purposely waiting until 
she caught him off-guarded. Jake was pressed hard against a wall with 
a surprising speed, and barely managed to place his champagne glass on 
a nearby table before her hands and lips began invading in his private 
territories. Finally deciding 'The hell with this!', Jake fled from 
the party. 
Thinking of the bizarre sexual encounters written in the women's 
letters, Jake didn't want to imagine how this woman was to dish him up 
as her dessert. He went straight back to the hotel, walking directly 
toward the phone. He called the office and gave them their victory 
dance. Next, he called home and reported to them that all was more 
than fine; that he would be home with a lot of gifts. He asked Elly if 
she was comfortable sleeping at his house, and she replied she was 
fine. 
Detecting a hint of hesitation in Elly's soft voice, Jake persisted 
until she told him the girl seemed to be having nightmares. All happy 
thoughts vanished as his mind replayed the images of the drawings. He 
really wished the girl could talk to him on the phone and tell him 
just what would make her feel better. He realized the stupidity of his 
question a moment later, and settled on simply telling the girl over 
the phone that he loved her.
	After sneaking in about two hours of shopping time at the 
airport before boarding his flight home, Jake checked them in with his 
suitcase, because he couldn't carry them inside without using his 
right arm. Though the shoulder seemed to be healing faster than it 
normally did, the residual pain still bothered him. He knew the drill.                    
'Just five more days.', he told himself. 
Los Angels was a road map of streetlights as the plane prepared for 
landing. He didn't know just how to be ready for what was to come. He 
only knew he had to be. His car waited for him in the parking lot, 
looking rather lonely sitting there all alone. He drove directly to 
his house and opened the front door; not forgetting to put down the 
rubber stopper to keep the door open, so that he could get all his 
luggage inside. Elly hurried over to the door and helped Jake haul in 
the bags.
	"She went to bed at about ten." Elly reported as she closed the 
door. Jake nodded a thanks and sent her back to bed; saying he'd been 
sleeping odd hours and there was no way he could go to sleep for the 
rest of the night. As Jake instructed, Elly had been using his bed. 
She was reluctant at his request of going back to sleep, but she 
complied at his insistence. He walked over to the little girl's bed, 
spotting  Stella and smiling as her eyes followed his every move. She 
wagged her tail when he patted her on her head and caressed her neck.
	"Hey, I'm home. Thanks for keeping her safe for me." He said 
looking at the sleeping girl, and kissed them both before heading for 
a much-needed shower.



Jake's House
Canoga Park, CA
8 AM, Next Day

The two men who arrived at his doorstep precisely as scheduled 
couldn't have said 'FBI' better with their dark suits, conservative 
ties, guns, and their official budges. Jake introduced himself and the 
girl, shaking hands with the agents. Elly left an hour ago after 
making their breakfasts, thus she had the blessing of missing this 
meeting. 
The girl's instant mood change alarmed Jake. He sensed her reluctance 
to stay in the agents' direct line of vision, as well as her lack of 
facial expression. It was unlike her to be so wary, but then, who knew 
what her kidnappers looked like? They could have been wearing suits 
and ties just like these federal agents did; or maybe their height 
were similar. Jake explained the agents their situations as the agents 
took close notes on the details and told him that the case would be 
regarded as a case of child psychological trauma involving PTSD; 
therefore the Investigative Support Unit would be making the case 
assessments. Jake nodded and asked them what he could do and needed to 
do. They told him to 'be supportive', 'be understanding', and to 'be 
cooperative'. 
They also explained Jake that they needed to take her to a research 
center in Costa Mesa, which was recommended by their top specialists; 
a group of federal agents who were currently assigned to the FBI 
Headquarters who had been trained to handle cases involving children 
and emotional traumas. Jake was furious at their refusal to let him 
accompany them to the facility, but they promised to bring her home 
every night after the sessions, so that she could see him and his dog. 
They were federal agents, and Jake knew he didn't have a chance to 
argue against their decisions. He waited until then to hand over the 
binder for the girl's artwork to the agents. 
	"As you can see, she is at a very advanced level of artistry. I 
believe these drawings have hidden clues which you need to get the 
right leads in this case." Jake let the agents flip through the pages, 
but he never told them about the virtual reality machine nor about the 
three-dimensional images he'd witnessed. He didn't want them taking 
her to a mental institution, afraid that the girl could have another 
panic attack and gets locked up for good. Especially if he was not 
there for her to tell her it was safe. However, Jake felt it safe to 
tell the agents about the nightmares that the girl reportedly had 
while he was away.
	"What kind of nightmares?" They asked, and Jake claimed 
ignorance, because he was away at the time; that he'd only learned 
about them from his housekeeper over the phone, and of course, the 
girl wouldn't or couldn't talk to him. Next, they asked him to go over 
the events that took place during the 'rescue attempt' in every detail 
imaginable. Jake told them all he could remember, right down to when 
they left the hospital. They tape-recorded Jake's every word and 
watched him so closely, that Jake felt like a suspect in a federal 
crime. 
When they finally got done with the interview, they focused their 
attention on the girl and began asking her questions; asking her to 
respond in any way possible. Jake was aware that they were experts, 
but he didn't trust them. It was difficult to draw the line of 
loyalty. He didn't know just how much nor what information he revealed 
to the agents would be helpful or harmful to the little girl. She 
needed someone to trust, and Jake, Stella, and Elly each successfully 
earned it from her. 
Jake asked the agents to give him a few moments and walked over to the 
girl. He knew that she knew they were going to be separated - again; 
although not for long. He knelt down in front of her just as he had 
been doing since the beginning.
	"All right. You're intelligent, so I know that you understand 
every word we just said. They'll give you a few tests; none of which 
will be too demanding or dangerous to you. You'll be perfectly safe, 
even if you don't feel like you are. At the end of each day, you'll 
get to come back here. Stella and I will be waiting for you at the 
door. I know that you'll hate to leave Stella here, but this is 
something you have to do to find your way home. 
"This is also a home for you, and I'm happy to make it your home. But 
first, we need to find the bad guys, so they can't do this to anybody 
else. Right now, you are the only person who can help the FBI catch 
the bad guys. Forgive me for not being able to come with you, but 
you're such a strong girl. You can do it." 
Jake needed her to understand that he wasn't going with her, because 
he had no choice other than to stay behind. Her green eyes locked on 
Jake's hazel ones for a few moments before she gave in. Releasing the 
breath he was holding, he lightly kissed on her forehead and stood up 
to see her off.
	"When should I be home?" He asked the agents and was told to be 
back by about five p.m. to six p.m.. They gave him the numbers for 
their cellular phones in case of emergencies, then left with the girl 
and her binder. Next, he called Elly and told her to take the day off, 
then explained why he was alone at home with Stella. Having to get the 
entire house to himself for the first time in nearly two weeks, he 
used the time to concentrate on work. 
Jake kept himself at the work desk until the agents returned with the 
very unhappy and exhausted little girl. The agents told him they were 
slowed down considerably because of their lack of communication. It 
didn't surprise him when she only ate a couple of the remaining 
cookies from two days ago before dropping down on her bed and went to 
sleep. He took her shoes and coat off before covering her tiny body 
with the comforter, motioning for Stella to be quiet when she jumped 
on her bed. She wagged her tail in reply, and licked his face as a 
gesture of understanding. Jake gave her his thanks with a smile. When 
the same agents returned to pick up the girl the very next morning, 
she refused to go. 
	"Darling, please. Help them, so they can help you." Jake pleaded 
as he tied the laces on her shoes. She could do it by herself, but he 
wanted to do it. He hugged her with his left arm and kissed her on her 
forehead. "I know you hate to do it, and I hate not knowing what they 
are doing with you at the research center. But I cannot go with you. I 
would love to, but all I can do is wait here for you. The faster 
they're done with you, the earlier you get to come back. I guess 
that's the deal they made with you. You'll be fine." He had no idea 
for just how long his words would have their desired effects on her. 
'She might think I'm just pushing her off', he thought as the car 
drove away. He watched until they were out of sight, and stepped back 
inside to close the door. His foot bumped into Stella's ribs, and he 
heard her yelp.
	"Oh! Sorry, girl. I didn't know you were there." He knelt to 
stroke her neck for apology and returned to his workstation. As much 
as he hated to admit, his mind was not in work even as he thought 
otherwise. He did his work as planned, but he didn't feel as 
productive as he should've been. The recent turn of events was taking 
its toll not only on him and the girl, but on Stella as well. 'This is 
incredible.' he thought more than once. Not even when Alex died, had 
Stella been so affected by her absence. Jake's sudden loss of his 
sense of humor, appetite, and focus worried his colleagues, saying 
behind his back that Jake was 'reduced to a working machine'; to which 
others replied, 'Oh, yeah. Just like three years ago.'.
	The next day was the same as before. Jake and Stella saw the 
girl off, she returned completely spent, falling asleep immediately 
after coming out of a bath. Her appetite was close to zero, and dark 
circles began announcing their presence under her eyes. Jake sat 
beside her on her bed and buried his face in his left hand while 
gently stroking her sleeping form with the recovering right hand. 
All that the agents would say was they were making progress, but Jake 
had no means of confirming that. He remembered Elly's comments about 
the girl's nightmares. Since he had seen so little of her lately, he 
decided to stay up for the night and settled in a chair set next to 
her bed. It was a precaution in case he ever fell asleep and she had 
another nightmare; even when his bed was only ten feet away. He knew 
Stella's presence was very much a help to the girl. He made a mental 
note to let the agents at least take Stella with them next time. The 
next day, Jake was surprised to see the agents agreeing to take Stella 
with them.
 	"But the dog stays outside during the sessions." The agent 
warned, to which Jake replied 'Fine.'. Jake took Stella aside, 
explaining over and over again not to hurt the agents even if she 
didn't like what they were doing to the girl or herself. Then, he saw 
them off. 
	By the fifth day, Jake was ready to rip the agents' look of 
professionalism right off of their faces. He could tell that the 
agents were also exhausted and had better things to do. When they 
returned the girl home, they finally asked Jake to let them in for a 
little talk. He led them to the couches by the coffee table where they 
took their seats. Jake was relieved to see the girl and Stella playing 
in the basketball court. He didn't want to exclude them from the 
circle, but Jake didn't yet know what the agents wanted to talk about.
	"What can I do for you?" Jake asked politely. The agents cleared 
their throat.
	"I'll be honest with you, Mr. Kathler. She's not responding to 
the sessions well. We've made little progress from the drawings you 
gave us. They were sent to the Cryptology and behavioral science lab, 
but we have next to nothing so far on her identity or the reason why 
she was at the top of your building."
	"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Jake's comment dripped with 
sarcasm. But realizing it was a mistake he couldn't afford, he quickly 
added, "So what are your plans?" The agents looked at each other in 
silence before speaking again.
	"There is a department within the FBI which specializes in cases 
that reached their dead ends. It's a small department, but the agents 
assigned to the department report directly to an Assistant Director. 
Their offices are located in FBI Head Quarters building in Washington, 
D.C. 
"This department is made of two of FBI's best agents. They've solved 
cases where no one had a clue how to start. They're quite used to 
being out on the field, and they know what they're doing. They've both 
been through hell and back many more times than you can imagine. I 
would like to hand over this case to them. I assure you, they've 
maintained a success rate of over eighty-five percent, and that's  
higher than the rest of the departments' average score." Jake sighed 
tiredly. He could see these guys were tucking their tails in between 
their legs and running for cover. Jake shrugged and raised his arms in 
mock surrender, already wondering what they were planning to do with 
the girl next.
	"Okay, you're giving up the case. Can I trust these good agents 
of yours?"
	"They're not my agents. Special Agent Fox Mulder is an Oxford 
trained psychologist with an excellent service record in Violent 
Crimes Unit. He has earned a very high respect among our Behavioral 
Science Unit. He was one the best VCU criminal psychological profilers 
in FBI history; that is, until he broke away from the FBI mainstream 
and got into his own department. You can trust this guy, Mr. Kathler."
	"Sounds really good on paper, but what about the other one?" 
Jake asked warily, wondering just what was the Bureau's 'mainstream' 
but leaving the question aside.
	"Special Agent Dana Scully is a forensic pathologist. She also 
has an impeccable service record as one of the top instructors at the 
Quantico Forensic Science department, but she's committed to her 
current position as Agent Mulder's junior partner. She does all the 
department's autopsies, and she's known for her thoroughness. She is 
most famous for the depth of her knowledge in genetics and physics. 
She is also a medical doctor, and she's proven herself quite capable 
in the past. She's reputed to being extremely competitive, demanding, 
and dedicating."
	Jake tried his best to hide his amazement. 'Jesus!', he thought. 
'Where is this case going??' 
	"At this point, it's practically out of our hands." The second 
agent officially declared their surrender.
	"Fine." Jake replied and rubbed his chin. "When?" 
	"As soon as I can contact Agent Mulder to set things up, and the 
Assistant Director Skinner grants him to investigate this case. 
...Agent Mulder is very quick to respond when it comes to a case of 
his interests, and AD Skinner is usually flexible on him. Give him two 
days."
	"Sure. Fine." Jake replied as if to throw the words away. But 
when the agents began standing up to leave, he stopped them. "Nope. 
I'm not done with you two." Looking at their 'What now?' looks, he 
picked up his cordless phone. Waving at the girl and her four-legged 
friend, Jake motioned for the girl to come close to him. "Hey, what do 
you want to eat? We're ordering dinner." 
The agents stared at each other in disbelief, to which Jake added: "I 
don't care how busy you are. You're off of this case, so you have at 
least some time until tomorrow comes. You gotta tell me more about 
these agents. I don't think I want to trust anyone without knowing 
what to expect." 
	Jake turned to the girl and gave her the usual menu run-down to 
see what she felt like eating. She chose Italian, so Jake gave her the 
run down of some of the healthier selections. She held up her hand at 
chicken parmesan. The agents watched the unlikely pair with clear 
looks of amazement. When that was over, he turned to the agents and 
asked them what they wanted. He told them to choose whatever the type 
of food they wanted, because he was buying. They both chose Chinese 
food. Jake retrieved his phone book and ordered in, then settled back 
into his chair with the girl sitting next to him. Soon, Stella joined 
in at her side and the three of them stared at the two uncomfortable 
agents who shrunk in their seats.
	"Now, tell me. What exactly do they do? Undoubtedly, they're 
amongst the FBI's top. Why are they working by themselves? From 
listening to their credentials, they deserve a break or two." The 
agents fidgeted uncomfortably, and Jake savored the torture he put 
them through.
	"The department was originally created by J. Edger Hoover 
himself; to satisfy the Bureau's wide range of interests, some of 
which are out of the organization's mainstream." Here was the magic 
word again. This time, Jake didn't miss the opportunity to clear more 
of his doubts. 
	"What do you call as your 'mainstream'?"
	"Well, departments such as Anti-Terrorism, Violent Crimes, Sci-
Crimes, Foreign Counter-Terrorism, Cryptology, Pathology, Missing 
Persons... those popular departments." The agent shrugged again, 
clearly too spent to be talkative. Jake nodded. 
"It sounds to me like this mystery department gets to clean up the 
rest of the Bureau's mess? Fun." Jake said, already feeling sorry for 
the department's two assigned agents. However, his visitors quickly 
rose to defend their ego.
"Mr. Kathler, you're way over your head." 
"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. But you made it sound as if their 
department was the Bureau's big dumping ground." Jake waved his hand 
in an apology. The agents again shifted in their seats to relax a 
little. 
"As I said, they work on cases that have been deemed unexplainable or 
too complex to be solved by conventional measures. Sometimes they help 
with our units in dead-end cases, and sometimes in VCU-related cases. 
Agent Mulder is most famous for helping to catch Monte Props in 1983. 
You can check it out yourself, because it's unclassified. His thorough 
knowledge in cults, especially satanic cults, serial killings, and 
various mythologies helped solving crimes which none of us managed to 
get out without having nightmares. I still see some of them in my 
sleep. 
"Agent Scully has had her share of scares working with Mulder for five 
years. Suspects had kidnapped her twice at her own apartment, and 
three times out in the field. But she's like a bulldog. She never lets 
go until she has what she wants. She's stubborn as hell, but it takes 
guts staying on with her current job. These agents seem to prefer 
being left alone, but they do get all the help they need from 
everywhere including Sci-Crime Unit. Plus, they have connections all 
over the US and abroad; including the US Congress and the New Scotland 
Yard. The local police forces often seem to grow fond of them wherever 
they go out on cases." 
	"Have you worked with these agents before?" His interests 
already piqued, Jake carefully controlled his excitement. He had no 
idea how these agents looked or behaved. From what he heard, they 
sounded like Mr. Steed and Dr. Peel.
	"Once in Los Angels; although Agent Mulder was working there 
alone."
	"Where was Agent Scully?" Jake could tell he hit a tender spot.
	"Well, she wasn't available." The agent squirmed in his seat. 
Jake kneaded  the man's answer, but he soon decided to let it go in 
favor of another question.
	"Can I ask you one more thing?" Jake's expression was remarkably 
and deliberately innocent.
	"If we can answer." The agent stressed the 'If' part.
	"Why are you looking at me like I'm some alien from outer 
space?" Jake saw one of the agents choke on his coffee at his words. 
Jake narrowed his eyes.
	"Uhm..., what do you mean?" The other agent recovered faster and 
asked him in return. Jake sucked in a quick breath, raising his hand 
for an added effect.
	"When I first met you, you stared at me for several long seconds 
before asking me if I'm Jake Kathler. You looked like you've seen a 
ghost or something right then. This has been nagging at me, but you 
haven't stayed long enough to let me ask you the question. I've only 
been saving the fun until now." 
	"Nothing, Mr. Kathler. Nothing's wrong." The coffee-stained 
agent insisted as he waved his hand in dismissal. 'Like hell there 
isn't.', Jake thought. He wasn't about to be thrown into another 
screwball situation, just because these guys couldn't do their jobs.
	"Well, we've recognized you and Agent Mulder have a lot in 
common. I'm sure you'll get along just fine." Jake furrowed his 
eyebrows at this comment.
	"Just what convinces you of that? I'm an architect, and the 
guy's a former psycho-hunter. Just how can we be more different?" Jake 
leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. He honestly didn't know 
if he should be offended by their comment.
	"I can't really tell you more, because all information is 
strictly confidential..." The coffee-stained agent began pulling his 
final defense, and Jake sighed.
	"Look, I hate to be nosy here. But at this point, I can't afford 
to trust anyone. I maybe paranoid, but something about all this gives 
me the creeps." The coffee-stained man made another choking sound 
while the other agent gaped at Jake with disbelief. Jake handed his 
handkerchief to the choking man and simply asked, "Your timing stinks. 
Doesn't it?" The agents now looked rather miserable, wanting to be 
anywhere but at where they were now.
	The doorbell rang after a few more nervous chatters went on in 
between them. The agents watched as Jake signed the bill and handed 
them their dinners. Grateful for the intervention, they mumbled 
something about needing to get back to their office. Jake decided he'd 
tortured them enough, and released them from his house. They 
immediately thanked him and made their swift exit. Jake still couldn't 
understand the reasons for their earlier responses, but at least the 
prospect of being left alone with the girl for the next two days 
cheered him. As he turned to her, he saw her smiling. 




Department of the X-Files
Office of Fox Mulder, Special Agent
J. Edger Hoover Building Basement Floor
Washington, D.C.
11 AM Eastern Time Next Day

"Excuse me?!" The man asked as he listened again to the man on the 
other end of the line. 
	"Mulder, I'm telling you. This case has your names written all 
over it."
	"Just how does that supposed to make us feel?" Fox Mulder 
muttered, leaning back in his chair. It squealed with many unanswered 
complaints, but it always accommodated him in the end.
	"I don't care about how you feel. This one's got the seal of an 
X-File curved into it."
	"We've got other open cases..." He began his 'Don't come crying 
to me.' speech, but the man cut him off.
	"Look, Mulder. You know damn well that it's not easy for any of 
us to ask for your help." 'Hey, that's true', Mulder thought. The 
exasperated agent on the other side of the line exhaled a quick breath 
to retain his calm before Mulder hanged up on him. "I'm telling you, 
man. The guys in Los Angels are throwing their hands up in the air on 
this one." The desperation in the agent's voice bought Mulder's pity.
	"Tell me why I should be so interested in your missing persons 
case in Los Angels." Mulder deliberately slowly asked the question, 
knowing he was giving himself away. It was one of his habits.
	"There's a Caucasian female, approximately seven years of age. 
An architect named Jake Kathler, found her about a couple of weeks ago 
on the top of his unfinished building as she was trying to jump. This 
building is a skyscraper, and practically impossible for such a small 
girl to be climbing up all by herself. Kathler claims he saw the girl 
standing at the very edge of a horizontal metal pole, which was 
sticking out of the safety railing. Kathler's attempted rescue 
succeeded, but he ended up with dislocated left shoulder, a couple of 
bruised ribs, and a mild concussion. Kathler drove to a nearby 
hospital with the girl and checked her in. When she woke up the next 
day, she panicked, because she was seemingly unaware of where she 
was."
	"The girl's in shock. It's perfectly understandable. Memory loss 
is also a pretty common symptom to appear after a trauma; especially 
in children." Mulder pondered the situation, carefully concealing his 
piqued interest.
	"She recognized Kathler, and has been with him ever since. 
Kathler claims she hasn't spoken, written, nor signed a single word. 
Our guys already confirmed this. The girl refuses to cooperate unless 
Kathler's with her."
	"Go on." When a few moments of silence followed, Mulder 
persisted.
	"They even tried taking Kathler's dog with the girl, but that 
didn't make her talk, either." Something got caught in the corner of 
Mulder's mind.
	"Wait a minute. Is she living with him?!" This was something 
new. Normally, they would have taken her to a psychiatric hospital, or 
to a childcare facility ran by the US Social Services.
	"There's a state social worker named Linda Lowry who's checking 
out their situations. So far, she hasn't indicated any serious problem 
arising in between Kathler and the girl. The local authority 
investigated this case for a week before passing it onto us. Kathler 
refused to do any televised interview, nor to release the girl's 
picture to the general public except for the newspapers. This hasn't 
helped the case one bit, but Kathler's paranoid, and he didn't want 
the kidnapper come looking for them. There were no eyewitnesses except 
for Kathler at the scene, and no one except the girl can describe her 
kidnapper. 
"...This girl draws weird pictures, and Kathler presented us with a 
binder full of those. They're down in Cryptology and the ISU. We've 
found several symbols and some of what looked like human bodies, but 
they're all colored and... Hey, you heard enough! It's been our 
headache for the past five days, and they haven't been able to bring 
her out of her state. Kathler claims that the girl's some kind of a 
genius, but it could be just the opposite. Look, Mulder. We have 
enough cases chasing serial killers. If you can't find her parents or 
where she belonged to, that's fine. All we need from you are a few 
clues to go after. You're good at that."
	"I'll take a look at it, but I can't promise that we can 
investigate this. Your timing always stinks..." Mulder frowned when 
the line was suddenly disconnected.
Regardless of what front he put up, he knew in truth that it was 
anything but another missing person's case. He picked up his cellular 
phone and called Dana Scully, his long-time partner. 





Margaret Scully's Residence
Baltimore, Maryland
Same Time

"What the hell were you thinking, Mulder?! I told you I would be 
staying with my Mom for the rest of the week! Why couldn't you be 
considerate enough to at least consult me before saying yes?! " 
Scully barked the moment Mulder briefed her on their new case. Mulder 
winced visibly, knowing she wouldn't see how much her words affected 
him. It also hurt to realize his own stupidity. To Mulder, what she 
could've said: "What, you think I'll just follow you around like a 
good servant?! Fuck you, Mulder!" Feeling rather miserable, he broke a 
pencil in half and threw them into the trashcan. 
"Don't take this case, Mulder. I can already smell one of your 
'paranormal bouquets'." Scully added, perhaps to relieve the tension 
that seemed to have settled in the air around each of them, and to 
give him an additional warning. Mulder's instincts told him to stick 
with the case.
	"I'm sorry, but I get to take the pick of the cases. I have a 
hunch this one's got something interesting for the both of us."
	"My hunch says stay away, Mulder." Scully always wondered about 
that herself. 'Why don't I get to pick out our cases?' Then, she was 
always reminded painfully that Fox Mulder was the designated 
department head, because he was the one who revived the damned 
department from the pit of the FBI history. 
	"So, arm yourself and meet me down at the airport. Nine sharp, 
tomorrow morning."
	"Mulderrr..." She raised her voice a couple of notches with 
annoyance. She knew what was coming next.
	"I'm going down there with or without you, Scully. It's okay if 
you want to spend time with your family, because you don't do that 
enough. Come catch up whenever you feel like it." Mulder never meant 
these words as an ultimatum, but that was how they sounded to both him 
and Scully. She was silent for a long while.
	"What aren't you telling me, Mulder?" She knew there had to be a 
whole lot more than just a girl climbing up to the top of a building. 
A whole lot more than a girl who refuses to communicate with anyone 
except for her rescuer. A hell of a lot more than just an ordinary 
missing persons case. She just knew him too well.
	"I don't wanna spoil the fun for you, Scully. I'll tell you more 
in person." 'Mulder and his mind games', she thought. As much as she 
hated to admit, she was curious. But just when she thought he was 
going to hang up on her, she heard his much gentler voice.
	"The truth is, I do need your help. Scully, it's still fine with 
me if you want to spend some more time at your mother's. But I need to 
have you helping me at some point; whenever you can make it." 
	What was it about him that made her want to stick around? After 
all, it wasn't like he was twisting her arm. She always had a choice 
of staying or leaving. She stared at the ceiling and closed her eyes, 
quietly damning Mulder and his grin.
	"Scully? ...Scully? Are you there?" Mulder's persistent tone 
brought her back. She buried her face in her palm and released a 
resigned sigh for her answer. 'What am I getting myself into now?' 
	"Damnit, Mulder." To Mulder, it meant 'Fuck you, Mulder.' 
"Oooh. I love it when you talk dirty." Mulder chuckled, purposely 
making her blow up at him. He wasn't disappointed.
"Fuck you, Mulder." This time, Mulder really laughed.
"I deserved that. I owe you a big one, Scully. I'll make it up to you 
when I can." Mulder's laughter evaporated the moment he voiced the 
last sentence, making him wince by bringing back the promises he'd 
broken in the past.
"Yeah. If I had a nickel for every time I heard that one. ...What's 
the flight number?" She asked, hastily grabbing a pen and a scratch 
paper.


Continue to Chapter 1, Part 2...

*Disclaimers - Please read from part one. Thank you.


En Route Los Angels, CA
Next Day, 11AM

"Listen to this, Mulder." She reached out her hand and shook her 
sleeping partner's shoulder.
	"Hmm?" He answered groggily, his mind wanting to dive back into 
his rare opportunity to sleep.
	"The police indicated very little evidence of anyone being at 
the top of that subjected building. There are no eyewitnesses, no 
fingerprints, nothing too promising. All traces of evidence was washed 
away by the storm."
	"What exactly are you saying?" He didn't like her beating around 
the bushes.
	"I'm saying there's no proof that anyone was even up there on 
top of the building at the estimated time this reported event took 
place. It is bizarre enough that anyone chooses to stay so late at 
night all by oneself, especially for anyone to go back to the 
construction site fully aware of the danger. 
"Besides, it's highly improbable that any little girl would go 
wandering around in a stormy night, and climb on an unfinished eighty-
story building on her own. Look at the height of the metal railing 
alone. It's five foot two, and the entire top section of the building 
is surrounded by it. How could a seven-year old girl climb over it 
without any person or object to assist her, then be crazy enough to 
walk over to the very edge of a metal poll?"
	"The railing is your height, but that doesn't mean that the girl 
can't be there." He stopped once he saw her menacing stare aimed at 
him. She let him pass with his apologetic grin.
	"How did she end up there? None of this makes sense, Mulder. 
This man Jake Kathler could be orchestrating this fiasco in order to 
get a little publicity. I checked the local news, and it seems Kathler 
was made into some sort of a local hero."
	"That's a no, Scully. When I spoke to his colleagues, they told 
me that this incident brought them so much negative attention, they 
almost lost the job to someone else. From what I heard, some big 
private construction company in Nice hired them two and a half years 
ago via recommendation of a top Asian enterprise."
	"Maybe he's trying to destroy his own firm, to cash out the 
firm; get the firm's market stock; net share, the profit..." Even as 
she spoke, Scully knew her argument was weak. She just couldn't help 
putting up a fight against Mulder.
	"So, why would the girl trust Kathler in the first place? From 
the police and hospital reports that I gathered, it seems as if this 
guy's the only connection with the real world for her. Kids sense 
these things, Scully. They see you right through." Mulder's tone grew 
stronger, accentuated by the single slash of his hand in the air. 
However, his face still looked ready to slip back into sleep.
	"This Kathler guy could be threatening the girl so badly, that 
she has to show her trust in him if she wants to live."
	"The state social worker said Kathler gave her his permission to 
visit them any time of any day, Scully."
	"I noticed. But she doesn't stay there every hour of every day."
	"Kathler wanted her to. She even stayed over for a couple of 
days."
	"So what?! The woman isn't there every day! In fact when I 
checked, she was in the middle of a nasty child abuse trial. She's 
only checking the girl at Kathler's place once a day right now. Who 
knows what goes on after that?"
	"What about the dog?"
	"What?" Her facial expression blanked. Mulder tilted his head a 
little and leaned closer into her.
	"Kathler's dog, Stella. The girl seems to be so fond of the new 
four-legged friend of hers, our LA guys even let her take Stella to 
their later sessions."
	"She probably feels secure when she's with the dog. I don't 
know. Maybe the dog's trained to attack her if she disobeyed Kathler. 
Maybe Kathler threatened the girl to take Stella with her for safe-
keeping." Even as Scully grimaced at how little chance she had of 
winning this round with Mulder, he threw his arms in the air in the 'I 
had enough of this bullshit' gesture. Scully sighed, knowing he was 
right.
	"What do you want to do? Stay with them during the entire course 
of our investigation? I still need to analyze the drawings. I haven't 
seen any of them yet, and you know how ugly profiling work can get. Do 
you think I really want the poor girl and Kathler see me doing that?"
	"Well, no." Scully was forced to agree with Mulder on this one.
	"According to this case file, Kathler told the local agents 
about a particularly bright lightening; and really unique sounds of 
thunder that followed. He said that the lightening was like a beam of 
direct light, that it was too bright to bear even after closing his 
eyes. He'd had to shield his eyes with his hands because of its 
brightness. As for the thunder, he reported that it had a strange 
rhythm, like a bunch of waves washing over him." Mulder tried not to 
be too obvious of what he was trying to get at, but of course, Scully 
saw right through his tactics.
	"Don't." A flicker of something close to anger or challenge 
crossed Mulder's features at her quick response. He always hated being 
figured out so quickly, but he'd always loved a challenge, especially 
ones brought on by Dana Katherine Scully.
	"Don't what? Kathler also said that the lightning he was 
indicating lasted much longer than any he'd ever experienced. He also 
indicated that when the next one came just seconds later, it was at a 
very far distance." He saw her take a quick breath.
	"Let's just save the fun until we know more. Okay?" She 
practically pleaded for him to stay quiet on his reliable-yet-
unconventional theories. Mulder stared at her for a moment before 
looking down at his hands. After a long moment of silence, Mulder 
released a deep breath and caught her attention. 
	"Scully, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dragged you away from your 
family. I'll have to visit your mother again and apologize to her in 
person. I haven't seen her for a long time, and to be quite honest, I 
miss her. I've also known for a while that you've been under 
significant pressure from both of your brothers to get out of the 
bureau; if not out of the X-Files and my life." 
Mulder paused there to see her rigid expression fixed on her computer 
screen. He saw her gaze wobble a bit without leaving the computer. He 
reached over and abruptly closed the laptop. The movement startled her 
enough to make her face his determined expression.
	"Mulder..." She was about to protest, but she stopped in mid-
sentence and let her eyes close just to have some semblance of privacy 
from his eyes. 
	"Please, just hear me out." Mulder smoothed out his voice to a 
mere whisper. 'The tone of a confider', Scully thought. She waited for 
him to speak. "For this investigation only, I'm willing to back out 
things get too dangerous for us. Now, I've never done that for 
anybody, but this case isn't our original file. Plus, I don't want 
this case to drag on for too long."
	"Afraid I might miss my next appointment?" She asked, her eyes 
snapping open. Mulder saw her anger hiding behind the blue eyes. He 
knew he screwed up and ran for cover.
	"No. I mean, I don't..." 
	"We're not going back, Mulder. Until I have my answers." Her 
head span back to face him, and what he saw in that steel-cold gaze 
spoke her determination more than anything else did. He nodded before 
he reached over to her again and flipped her computer top back open. 
Then he moved the computer in between them, so that he could study the 
screen with her. A small smile floated on her face just for a brief 
second, gone undetected.


Canoga Park, CA
Same Day
Noon  

Linda stared at her note pad and wondered why Jake wanted to have the 
D.C. FBI agents to stay at his house. Los Angels Bureau office told 
her that they'd agreed with Jake because he wanted their new team to 
get used to the little silent girl.
	"And", the agents added later, "it would save the tax payers 
some money". Linda had no personal objection to this devising of their 
plans since the girl would be with Jake and Stella. Plus, Linda was 
allowed free access to the Kathler property; to go in there any day at 
any time she wanted an inspection. Linda listened as the agent on the 
phone informed her of all details of the 'big league' FBI's arrival. 
The local sheriff was to greet the agents at the LAX and inform them 
of Jake's request. 
	"Wait 'till you meet this guy. Should make things interesting." 
The agent on the phone said before hanging up. 'Whatever', she 
thought. Despite the easy stance she kept toward Kathler case, she 
wasn't as uninterested to its outcome to completely abandon it. Not 
even after the FBI involvement became undeniable. She would have clear 
answers on her own once the extensive background check on Jake arrives 
at her desk. 
She wrote the information down, and went back into the courtroom for 
yet another long day. She was done as an expert witness, but she still 
needed to keep an eye on the prosecution team's progress.	



Jake's Loft
Same Time

Jake looked around the house and wondered just how to keep everything 
in order. There was practically no privacy for anyone, but that was 
exactly why he chose for the agents to stay at his house. He wanted to 
create a non-threatening environment in which the girl could decide 
whether or not she wanted to learn to trust them; that the agents 
weren't coming there to harm her, him, nor Stella. 
Jake still wondered how the agents would react to this living 
arrangement, but they could have enough time to themselves outside the 
house. Essentially, the agents could speak with whomever they wanted 
to in and out of the loft. The local Sheriff was supposed to bring the 
agents to his house, but other than that, Jake had no idea as to what 
to expect; much less how they were planning to handle this case. 
Elly was already in for the day, trying everything she could think 
that could make the agents feel welcomed in this house. His gratitude 
toward her was received as always. However, she refused to take the 
rest of the day off as he suggested, claiming that she'd had enough 
time-off and she didn't mind staying late if it was for the lovely 
girl. 
	The girl was now drawing again. The first thing Jake noticed 
upon coming home from Nice was a pile of her drawings lying about on 
the kitchen counter. Although Elly had somewhat straightened them up 
in a corner and pinned them down with the coloring pencil box, some of 
the newer ones had been left scattering. Jake was never happier to 
have followed his foresight when he bought another large three-ring 
binder and another two boxes of the plastic sheets. Now he sat beside 
her, taking each artwork and slipping through the rings. 
It had been a near disaster when Jake told everyone in the office that 
he would be at his house for practically 24 hours a day until the FBI 
investigations are to be completed. Seeing the havoc his statement was 
creating, Jake promised his colleagues he would sneak in a few on-site 
work hours here and there. He told them he still planned to attend 
every important conference or meeting that the firm would hold via his 
screen phone. When they still protested, he asked them if they would 
want the FBI coming in and out of their offices every time the agents 
needed something he already had at home. Everyone shut up at once.



Los Angels International Airport
Los Angels, CA
3 PM

"I'm sorry about the delay." The Sheriff apologized as he placed the 
agents' luggage into the police cruiser. They shook hands then, and 
Mulder insisted it was no problem.
	"We've been through much worse." Scully added for the older 
man's comfort. The warm weather was a nice change from the chill of 
D.C., and Scully congratulated herself for packing light clothes 
instead of her wool business suits. It wasn't until the car started 
that Mulder asked the sheriff where he was taking them.
	"We were told that our lodging accommodations had already been 
made. We weren't informed of the location." Scully spoke as she turned 
her attention away from the scenery to the officer. 
	"Well, when your agency called me to pick you up, they were 
short on details. They said you'd know why when you get there. Believe 
me, I've been to the place once myself, and that's a hell of a lot 
nicer place than some of the business hotels around here." This got 
Scully's hopes up, getting more than tired of seedy motels that Mulder 
had a knack for booking them into.
	"Why were you there?" Mulder asked, thinking it odd. "Was it job 
related?" He added. The sheriff's slight nod was accompanied by a long 
sigh.
	"Yeah. There was a suicide there a while back, and I was one of 
the first on the scene." The older man spared the agents a swift 
glance via rear-view mirror before concentrating on driving again.
	"How comforting." Scully mumbled, her spirit sinking fast. She 
looked at Mulder, but she saw that his mind was hard at work. "What is 
it, Mulder?" She asked, but he shook his head and stayed silent. 
Narrowing her eyes, she turned her focus back to the scenery.
	It was very uncharacteristic of them, but the warmth and 
humidity in the LA air, coupled with their jet lag caught up with 
them, lulling them into sleep. When the Sheriff woke them up, Mulder 
found his head buried quite deeply in Scully's strawberry-scented 
hair. He hastily straightened himself before smoothing out the few 
tangles formed in her hair where his face had been. She narrowed her 
eyes while scrutinizing the motive of his actions until she saw his 
apologetic grin, which was when she decided to let him off the hook. 
When Mulder stepped outside, he faced a gust of ocean air and a 
decidedly deserted industrial section of the city. Traffic was low, 
and there was a metal fence and a railroad just a few yards ahead. 
Mulder had to admit he hadn't stayed in any place like this, mostly 
out of the fear for his life. He couldn't count the number of times he 
examined corpses in places like these.
	"Oh, my God!" Scully exclaimed, and Mulder could only imagine 
what was running through her head at this very moment.
	"At least we're armed." Mulder offered, but this only earned him 
a glare.
	"This way, agents." Sheriff herded the agents and led them to a 
loft that stood directly in front of them. The brick building had a 
few steps leading to a darkened corner of the building. Here and 
there, they saw exposed steel pipes, iron pipes, and metal round polls 
that were supporting the loft's outer structure. The entryway to the 
front gate was set passed the dark, poorly lit steps. When they 
reached the black entrance gate, a computer-operated security system 
appeared in front of them. The concrete driveway and the black fence 
that stood at the side of the building seemed to be the only 
indication of anyone living there. The Sheriff pressed the doorbell 
before seeing the fence was unlocked and began leading the band up the 
stairs. Mulder followed close behind Scully, being extremely careful 
not to bump into her for the fear of retaliation. 
	The marble door opened before they reached for it, and a middle-
aged Hispanic lady with one of the warmest smiles they'd ever seen on 
a human being greeted them. The Sheriff, along with the agents, shook 
hands with her. The woman named Elly took their luggage inside one by 
one before letting them through. Scully was the first to enter the 
loft, and the sight that greeted her was nothing she'd ever expected. 
Mulder heard her gasp and almost expected her to run out of the door. 
However, he soon learned why.
	"Oh, Scully! This is definitely the best motel I've ever been." 
Mulder exclaimed, taking in the high ceiling, tall windows reaching 
the floor to the ceiling, the immaculately polished hard wood floor, 
and the white washed surface of the gourmet kitchen counter matching 
the color of walls. All windows and the bathroom doors had slightly 
tinted glass. There were spaces for small windows and shelves that 
looked like they'd been curved out of its concrete walls. Numerous 
fluorescent lights were placed vertically on the sidewalls for 
illumination, and there were very few lamps around. 
	Mulder stopped dead when his eyes located the collection of 
miniature city buildings glistening in the sun light. Scully came to 
notice them and turned back to Mulder, obviously stunned. There was a 
large light fixture that one would normally see in a photo or film 
studio; complete with a controller to set its height and the canisters 
at the bottom for mobility. It was set directly against the wall, 
obviously to light the miniature buildings. Mulder turned to see Elly 
staring at him intently. 
	"Where's Mr. Kathler?" Immediately sensing something wrong, 
Mulder asked her and produced his badge. Elly's eyes never left Mulder 
as she gaped at him. Mulder narrowed his eyebrows. Scully looked back 
as the Sheriff told them he'd like to get back to his office if they 
were all right. The man's hand was already grasping at the front 
door's stainless-steel handle, indicating he was done with his 
chauffeur duty. Both agents relieved the man from his escort duty with 
their thanks. The Sheriff said his good-bye and closed the door. 
Because their heads were turned, they didn't notice Jake approaching 
them from behind with the girl by his side, holding his left hand.
	"Right here, Special Agents Mulder and Scully." Jake saw the 
agents turn around to face him.
	Then, all was still.
	"Uhh... Right this way, Agent Mulder and Agent Scully." Elly 
recovered first and motioned them toward the kitchen. Still, nobody 
moved. 
	"...Oh. My. God. I knew there was something real funky going on 
in here, but I never expected see my ...clone." Mulder's voice was 
mere whisper, but it was audible in the deathly quiet of the loft.
	"Clone?" Jake recovered next, narrowing his eyes. "Do you mean 
like 'Dolly the sheep?' I'm a half-Scottish human male, but I was 
never involved in any of their genetic experiments, and I'm not a 
card-carrying member of the Church of Scotland." Jake failed to 
suppress his laughter toward the end. Scully snapped out of her shock 
and produced him her official badge.
	"Dana Scully, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent." 
Not really noticing as she read her credentials backwards, she 
carefully moved to shake Jake's hand. Jake appreciated her concern for 
his healing right shoulder.
	"The forensic pathologist / medical doctor / physics expert? 
It's nice to meet you, finally. I've heard a little about you from the 
local agents. I hear you two are one of the kind; to say the least." 
Jake smiled to her before offering his hand to Mulder. "Special Agent 
Fox Mulder, I hear you're a psychologist / one of the top criminal 
psychological profile experts. Nice meeting you, especially. I'm Jake 
Kathler, the architect." Mulder was still staring at every inch of 
Jake, but he came to his senses quickly enough and awkwardly shook 
Jake's offered hand. 
	"This must be the little girl you've rescued." Scully said, 
turning to the girl at his side and kneeling in front of the girl to 
level their eyes. 
	"Oh, yes. She's been the light of my life for the last two 
weeks." Jake replied and watched as the girl warily shook Scully's 
hand.
	"Ah... Uh... Please. Call me Mulder." Finally recovering, Mulder 
held up his badge to Jake. "I hope you weren't raised in Chilmark, 
Massachusetts; that you never visited a small town called 
Quanocautaug; that you never known a William Mulder and a Tina Mulder. 
I also sure as hell hope that you'd never met a girl named Samantha 
Ann Mulder, nor heard about a lost twin." 
Mulder felt Scully's elbow jabbing him into his side and winced. Jake 
understood exactly what Mulder was getting at, and shook his head 'no' 
to all questions.
	"Both of my parents are deceased. Their names were Samuel and 
Cindy Kathler, and I don't have a sibling. I grew up in Quantico, 
Virginia; Annapolis, Maryland; and spent some years in Chicago. ...I 
eventually ended up out here to start my own life." Finally noticing 
that they were still crowded behind the loft's front door, Jake 
motioned for them all to take a breather in the kitchen where Elly was 
waiting for them with the same warm smile she had when she answered 
the door before.
	"What can I get for you?" Elly asked as she saw them settle down 
on the kitchen stools, the little girl included.
	"Coffee would be very nice. Thank you." Scully spoke first, 
smiling at the pleasant woman. 
	"Cream or sugar?" Elly asked as she filled up a large mug.
	"Just cream, please." Scully answered and gratefully took the 
steaming mug Elly handed to her. There was absolutely no dishonesty in 
this woman's expression, and Scully hoped her instinct was right.
	"Me, too. Black." Mulder followed, noting that it had already 
been freshly made. For Jake, handed a mug and an Earl Gray tea bag. 
Jake smiled and thanked her. Mulder turned around to examine the rest 
of the house, and almost laughed aloud upon seeing an indoor 
basketball court. 
Large metal-framed lights that reminded him of typical indoor sports 
facilities illuminated part of the ceiling over the basketball court. 
The panel of the basket goal was made of a clear fiberglass, the metal 
hoop matching with the net made of chains. On the polished hardwood 
floor were all the necessary lines for a game; drawn in yellow, black, 
and white paint. Against the wall directly below the basket goal was a 
narrow tree planter lined with a layer of smooth gravel. He saw small 
trees plated in it, but they were very likely fake. 
'Boy', Mulder thought, 'I wouldn't mind living here myself'. 
	"So, I guess you've heard my request for your staying here 
during the investigation." Jake began. Mulder turned around and 
nodded. "I know this must be very unusual, but it's for the best. This 
girl still refuses to talk to anyone; myself included, although I 
don't really feel the need for it. ...I must warn you that I'm being a 
little paranoid here. I, as much as the girl here, need to learn to 
trust you and your organization. The last time the police came to see 
me was three years ago, when I first met the Sheriff." Mulder nodded 
an understanding.
	"The suicide of your fiancee." Mulder finished for him, knowing 
it must be painful for the man to be talking about it. Scully turned 
to Mulder, obviously surprised by the revelation. Jake nodded, 
silently wishing the subject never came up, but appreciating Mulder's 
obvious knowledge of the incident.
	"Yes. That was an unpleasant experience."
	"Mr. Kathler." Scully began, needing to change the subject.
	"Please, call me Jake. You were saying?"
	"Jake. I've noticed a near complete absence of walls here. I 
mean, how do we...?" She paused, turning around and raising her arm to 
indicate the rest of the spacious house. Scully belatedly took notice 
of the basketball court, then and a large hand-curved wood bench that 
was placed against the wall, set next to a drum-shaped basket full of 
basketballs. 'I can get used to this', she thought. She smiled at the 
obvious delight in her partner's eyes. Jake threw an arm in the air in 
an expression of helplessness before settling it back on the kitchen 
counter and exhaling. 
	"I'm sorry if privacy is what you are asking for. I live alone, 
which says a lot about my little need for walls. Also, I need to keep 
this place as spacious and comfortable as possible for my work. Right 
now, we need to keep absolutely everything in the open. I know that 
you'll need to talk amongst yourselves, but you can do all that out of 
this house. All I'm asking is for you to stay here, so that you can 
learn about this girl and me. I can only ask you to bear with me on 
this. To tell you the truth, I'm afraid for her safety. I have never 
left her alone, and I've spent minimum time out of this house.
"If you're also worried about the basic living arrangements here, I've 
taken liberty of calling the furniture rental company and get you your 
own beds. Where you want to have them arranged is entirely your 
choice." Jake added, knowing the question was coming up sooner or 
later, very likely from Scully.
	"I'm sure it'll be fine, Mr. Kathler." Mulder was about to 
continue, but Jake held up his hand to halt him.
	"Not you, too. Please call me Jake." Mulder resisted the urge to 
answer 'Whatever' before it was out, and decided to get right down to 
business to get themselves out of their increasingly uncomfortable 
conversation.
	"All right. ...I believe your requests shouldn't be a problem, 
but I'd like to have the girl's drawing as soon as possible, so that I 
can get started." 
Mulder knew he would have to confine himself to somewhere he wouldn't 
be disturbed in order to create a profile. However, that method was 
usually reserved for cases involving violent criminals. This time, the 
subject of his profile was sitting right before his eyes. He decided 
to take a look at the drawings first and see just what was so 
intriguing about them before deciding on his course of action. 
When Jake went to his work desk and got the two binders for the agent, 
Jake pondered whether or not to hide his virtual reality machine that 
still lay untouched on the computer desk ever since he'd isolated 
these horrible images. Deciding to postpone the task, Jake moved back 
into the kitchen.
	"Thank you." Mulder took the binders carefully as if they held 
answers to every secret of the universe. Scully observed the girl who 
was watching Jake as she played with the tiny wood blocks. Her large 
green eyes didn't look as though they were looking at a vicious 
criminal. As far as Scully observed, the girl never acted in fear, nor 
had she ever eyed Jake as if she was afraid of him. Then, Scully 
reminded herself that she'd spent less than half an hour with the girl 
in this house, therefore she couldn't afford to make any assumptions, 
yet. 
Sensing Scully's intense eyes, the girl turned around to look at her 
observer. Scully smiled, but she was met with the girl's wary, 
searching gaze. Scully sensed a whole lot more work and trouble 
waiting ahead for them than she'd first expected. She turned to 
Mulder, who kept flipping through the pages of drawings with an utter 
astonishment.
	"You're right, Kathler. She's a real find." Mulder said as he 
slid one of the binders toward Scully's direction. Jake nodded his 
appreciation, but decided not to insist Mulder to call him by his 
first name. Jake was afraid that if he stuck around the subject too 
much, Mulder would sense that something was wrong. Considering the 
agent's expertise in psychology, the man might force Jake into opening 
up a can of worms that Jake wasn't ready to open, much less to 
liberate it from deep inside his past. 
Scully took the binder from Mulder and began flipping through the 
pages. Scully's eyes widened a moment later, then wandered toward the 
girl who still kept staring at her. Mulder took one of them out of the 
plastic cover and studied it even closer. "I'd like to make color copy 
of everything in here. I need to examine them. And I mean, examine 
them. I need to form a profile on this girl, and..."
	"That'll be fine with me. I've already saved all her drawings in 
the computer with my scanner, and..." He nearly told Mulder about the 
three dimensional versions, but kept his mouth shut. "If you need the 
original to mull over, just ask the artist for her consent." Jake 
motioned for the girl and Mulder nodded toward her. Scully sighed and 
finished her second cup of coffee.
	"I'll unpack and settle down first. I'll need to change out of 
this suit, and..." Scully craned her neck toward the double smoke 
glass doors. "I assume that's your bathroom?" She asked, seeing Jake 
nod. It was obviously going to be a long day.
	"Help yourself for anything you need. I've had Elly here to get 
you your own bathrobes, and there's more than enough supply of towels. 
There's a bathtub and shower set up separately."
	"Thank you." Scully nodded gratefully and left the counter. 
Although Jake's hospitality was flattering, Mulder couldn't help 
wondering whether Jake was being himself or trying to patronize them. 
Jake watched Scully go, then turned back to face Mulder.
	"One of the agents who came to pick this girl up everyday..." 
Jake began as he patted the girl on her back. She cut Jake off, and 
gestured him to help her off of the tall kitchen stool. Jake wrapped 
his left arm around her and let her off. 
That was the first time Mulder ever noticed the black-and-white 
spotted large dog waiting at Jake's feet. The girl patted Stella, and 
the dog led the girl to the general direction of the television. 
Mulder heard Jake laugh. 
"She brushes Stella everyday in front of that television. Thanks to 
her, Stella's never been more beautiful in her life." He said as he 
sipped his tea before continuing on with their previous conversation. 
	"Anyway. There were two agents, and when they came to pick up 
the girl each morning, she refused to leave the house. I had to tell 
her every time that she needed to do this to find her way home. I told 
her what she was doing was important, and that helping the agents 
would help her, too. I told her we all loved her; reassured her that 
even Stella loves and feels the need to protect her, which is true. 
Stella's very protective, and she follows the girl everywhere. The 
girl even got me to let Stella sleep with her in her bed." Jake 
flashed an indulgent smile that spoke the depth of his love for the 
girl, and Mulder silently appreciated Jake for giving the little girl 
what support she felt she needed.
	"All this time, she's never tried to go out on her own, or...?"
	"No. She knows she's in trouble, and I feel safe to say that 
myself." Jake paused and sipped his tea. "I guess now they sent you 
here to find answers. You know, when I first heard about you, they 
told me you and I have a lot in common. I never knew what kind of 
'common' points they were talking about." Jake laughed again, and 
Mulder joined in the laughter. Mulder quickly noticed that Jake 
expressed himself fairly freely, and Mulder thought the girl was 
helping the situation. When being face to face with Jake Kathler 
during his private hours, one could feel his emotion and read his 
gestures easily.
	"You know what they say about every person having five 
identical-looking people in the world. ...What did they tell you, 
exactly?" Mulder couldn't help feeling wary, already anticipating 
typical responses he received in the past to this line of questioning.
	"They told me that you're the best that the Violent Crimes Unit 
has ever had, but you broke away from them to start your own 
department; under a direct supervision of one of the FBI's Assistant 
Directors. The agents also mentioned that you two investigate cases 
that were either labeled unexplainable, or just too messy and complex. 
You two also prefer to work by yourselves, but you have connections 
all over the country; many of who work for governments, both domestic 
and foreign. Oh, and that the local police forces tend to grow fond of 
you."
	"...Oh." Obviously surprised, Mulder pondered how to explain his 
current work.
	"But, do you know what's really weird about them? Just a couple 
of days ago, when they decided to hand over this case in your hands, I 
wanted to get some revenge on their previous attitudes and I made them 
stay here for a chat. I told them that I wasn't going to let them go 
until they told me enough about you. They got real nervous and shrunk 
in their seats." Jake was sure that the agent shouldn't miss the joke.
	"Yeah, I bet they did." Mulder gave him a resigned grin, then 
buried his head in his hands. Jake kept on, not understanding why 
Mulder should feel anything less than utmost pride for all his 
accomplishment. Jake detailed the stories, which were told by the two 
FBI agents, including the details about Scully's abductions and the 
nature of Mulder's work.
	"Elly usually goes home at night, so I ordered our dinners on 
the phone. They ordered Chinese food, and we ordered Italian. They 
told me to check out one of your cases in public record. Something 
about a serial killer named Monte Props in 1987?"
	"1988. Yeah, that case got me some attention from the higher-
ups, but... Sorry, please go on." Not wanting to interrupt, he 
motioned for Jake to continue. Jake nodded before getting to the part 
about the coffee stains, and how they fled from his house the moment 
their dinner arrived. Jake stopped to ask if Mulder wanted another cup 
of coffee when he thought he saw Mulder wincing. Then Jake noticed 
that the poor man was trying to laugh his head off, but laughter just 
couldn't find its way out of him. 
	"Jake? ...Tell that to Scully when she comes out of there. She 
needs to hear this." Nearly choking, Mulder struggled to keep his 
breath under control. Scully showed up shortly, frowning at her 
partner's beet-red face. She'd changed into her ivory summer suit, 
with matching high-heels. Her gaze was aimed straight ahead as she 
seated herself back into the kitchen stool, missing the sight of Jake 
admiring her. Her hair was still slightly wet, leaving the strands 
slightly curled with the moisture.
	"Tell me what?" She asked Jake, who'd grinned at her and told 
her to give Mulder some time to recover. When Mulder eventually 
recovered, he disappeared into the bathroom to change his clothes. 
Scully knew Mulder could hear her own laughter as Jake told her the 
story. Jake had deliberately spared Scully the part about her being 
kidnapped. 
Scully answered some of Jake's questions by telling him that they've 
investigated several alleged alien abduction and serial murder cases 
in the past. She also told him about Mulder's nickname, and how 
everybody claimed that the X-Files give them the creeps. She also let 
on about the fact that it was the departmental policy to trust no one 
until they were proven trustworthy. Jake nodded now that some of the 
puzzle pieces were falling into place, amazed by the heart of the 
matters concerning the X-Files.
	When Mulder came out dressed in his gray summer suit, Scully 
noted improvement in his hairstyle, now that they were going to start 
work. His earlier laughter was gone, and she now realized the familiar 
hungry grimmer in his eyes, hunting for answers. He nodded to Scully, 
motioning for her to be ready.
	"Jake? I know our arrival in this case wasn't at your request. 
But it is our job to provide you with necessary protection just as 
much as to solve the case. Here's our cellular numbers in case of 
emergencies, and don't answer the door unless it's Elly, Linda, or law 
enforcement officers. We should be back around sometime in the 
evening." 
Mulder instructed as he handed Jake one of his business cards. Jake 
nodded and watched as Scully took one of hers out of her thin wallet 
made especially for housing her badge. She walked over to join her 
partner, both picking their briefcases up off of the floor beside the 
door. 
	"We will be at the construction site. It would help us if you 
accompanied us, but..." Jake cut Scully off, already shaking his head 
'no'.
	"I told them I wouldn't be at the office unless it's absolutely 
necessary. Besides, I don't think you have any problem entering the 
building; even without your badge." Mulder grinned in response and 
held the front door open for Scully. 
	"Something tells me we should skip the construction site, and 
head straight for the hospital to check out the doctors who treated 
the girl." Mulder said warily, but Scully stayed silent while buckling 
her seat belt. 
Scully had talked Jake into letting them use his car, since they 
didn't get a rental at the airport. Jake was reluctant with the idea 
at first, but he'd waited no more than two seconds before answering 
'yes'. 
"Scully, I'll drive to the hospital first, then you drive to the 
construction site and see what you can find in there. I'll call you 
once I'm done. ...If you're still stalled in there, I'll haul a cab 
and join you. If you get done earlier, call me and pick me up. I don't 
want to have to explain who I am to everybody I meet at the 
construction site."
	"Okay, that saves us some time." Scully agreed, straightening 
her skirt. 
	"I just can't get over the feeling that time is running out on 
me." Mulder muttered and turned on the ignition. It didn't take Scully 
much effort to find the fastest route to the construction site and to 
the hospital on the city map. Mulder followed her directions to the 
letter as nearly always, trusting her navigation skills. 
Upon arriving at the hospital entrance, Mulder couldn't help grinning 
at the amount of attention which Jake's white BMW caught from the 
onlookers; not to mention the cat-calls thrown at the beautiful red-
headed woman who slipped into the driver's seat and adjusted the seat 
before she glared at them. 


Henry Barrington Hospital
Los Angels, CA
An hour later

Mulder read through the girl's medical record once more from page one. 
He hadn't heard from Scully yet, no doubt looking for everything there 
is to look for. 'Well, well...' he thought, 'Wait 'till Scully gets 
this one'. He imagined every possible angle of her pending attack 
against his theories; save one. There was a time when even she 
couldn't argue with him. He stopped again at a report of the girl's 
blood work.
The girl's white blood cell count was sky-high, and release of certain 
type of glucose had been recognized, indicating the symptoms of a 
prolonged weightlessness. His attention also focused on the 
physician's note about her blood-chemical abnormalities.
	Mulder called Jake at his house and requested him to bring the 
girl into the hospital immediately. Jake demanded his reasons and 
Mulder insisted that time was critical. They couldn't possibly discuss 
this matter over the phone. Jake was still reluctant, but Mulder let 
on that it was indeed a medical emergency. Jake finally agreed to wait 
for Scully to come pick them up. Mulder hastily hanged up and pressed 
on the first speed-dial button.
	"It's me. Come down to the hospital right now."
	"Why? What happened?!" Her voice had to be raised over the noise 
in the background.
	"Right now. Bring Jake and the girl in here. They're already 
waiting for you to pick them up at the house." He hanged up the phone 
without waiting for her response, not caring about manners at this 
point. Next, Mulder stalled the attending doctor who conducted initial 
exams on the girl. 
	"Is this going to affect my career?" The veteran doctor asked 
nervously.
	"No, but you might become famous later. Some members of the 
media might find this case interesting." Mulder decided that this 
doctor didn't need to know the term "the media" indicated here were 
the tabloids, UFO fanatics, and various cult groups. Jake arrived in 
less than half an hour with the girl, led by Scully, both looking 
ready to deck him.
	"Okay, Mulder. What the hell's going on?" Scully barked the 
moment she caught up with him. 
	"This is the doctor..." Mulder gestured toward the ill-at-ease 
physician who obviously wanted to be anywhere but where he was right 
then. 
	"I know who he is. Come on, spill." Jake was insistent. The 
doctor had already recognized the physical resemblance of the agent 
and the architect, began calmly explaining the girl's test results. 
Scully snatched the folder of the medical test results out of Mulder's 
hands and carefully read every page. There was a remarkable similarity 
to the case they pursued five years ago. She looked up from the report 
and met Mulder's intense gaze. She rolled her eyes as her fears were 
confirmed.
	"Mulder, you're not suggesting..." Mulder jerked his head to cut 
her off.
	"I'm not, Scully. I'm only telling you the truth. Right there." 
He pointed at the blood work section. Jake craned his neck above 
Scully's head to read the file. The girl kept holing onto Jake's left 
hand while silently watching the adults arguing about her health as if 
she wasn't even there.
	"Are you absolutely sure that everything indicated in the 
physical was done correctly?" Scully interrogated the poor doctor who 
nodded at her repeatedly, offering to do the tests again if they 
desired. Scully went for the idea without waiting for a second to 
answer. 
Not liking the exclusion treatment brought upon him and the girl, Jake 
pursed his lips and lightly patted the girl's small head with his 
right palm. His eyes narrowed when the agents began talking about 
doing the full genetic work-up to see if there was any genetic 
abnormalities or diseases that predisposed the girl into her current 
condition. 
'More tests?' Jake inwardly winced at the thought. But then, they were 
the authorities and he was merely a guardian; officially or not, Jake 
was a guardian none the less. He wanted to call Linda, but realized 
there was nothing she could do against the FBI. Hearing Jake's sigh, 
Mulder turned and found Jake on his knees, explaining their new 
situations to the little girl. Mulder kept watching for the girl's 
reaction, and noticed her gaze drop from Jake's eyes to her tiny feet.
Mulder knew full well how tough things had been for her, and he wanted 
to complete their investigation as soon as possible. Scully was still 
inclined to drop the case, but Mulder sensed she was still daring him 
to change her mind.
	"Nothing's wrong on the X-rays, Scully. But what if we ordered 
the CAT Scan, PET and the MRIs? I bet those would clear up more 
questions for us."
	"Or they'll produce more questions." Scully got in her last 
punch. 
	"Can't hurt. Is there any reason why we shouldn't?" Mulder 
shrugged.
	"As a precaution, they maybe worth it." Scully agreed and looked 
at the veteran doctor who added the tests to his growing list. 
	"Could someone explain to me what exactly PETs are? I know what 
MRI is, because I've been through it whenever I got head-injuries, but 
I've only heard of PET." Jake asked from behind them, not liking to be 
left in the dark.
	"PET stands for Positron Emission Topography, and it shows brain 
activities. It tells us which areas of the brain are active and which 
aren't. The subjects receive an injection of radioactive glucose which 
produces a reaction in the body that produces gamma rays." Scully read 
out of her memory. Jake nodded, understanding what he needed. 
	"Okay. How long do these procedures take?" Jake asked Scully, 
who mentally calculated the hours. 
	"I'd say come back tomorrow morning and do the rest. It takes 
about half a day, including the genetic tests and the second exam... I 
don't know. Might take an entire day."
	"Can't we do some of those right now?" Mulder asked Scully, not 
wanting to delay anything. Scully glanced toward the doctor still 
standing behind her. 
	"Whichever is available. Right, doctor?" She asked the man, who 
nodded and told them to give him about half an hour to find out just 
what is open. She thanked him, then suggested the rest of them to go 
down to the cafeteria in search for something edible. Mulder knew her 
suggestion was more out of the need for changing their pace than 
satisfying her appetite. 
When they returned, the doctor told them he had scheduled the girl for 
the PET. Everything else would take more than two hours of wait. 
Mulder thanked the man, and the veteran doctor was finally liberated. 
	"What is the problem with the MRI?" Mulder muttered. "They are 
just a snapshot of the brain. They don't even take a full second to 
shoot. I expected that to be the first."
	"Mulder, you've been through them many times before. They take a 
while to prepare, and then another long while before they come out in 
print. Not to mention the fact that the injected radioactive glucose 
needs to be absorbed into the system."
	"Can I go in with you guys? I mean, to inside?" Jake asked 
Scully with a hopeful look. Mulder followed Jake's eyes. 
	"Might be possible with our credentials. I'm a medical doctor, 
Mulder's a doctor in psychology, and you're the patient's temporary 
guardian. I don't see too many problems." Scully said as she pressed 
the 'UP' button on the elevator. One arrived just a few seconds later, 
inviting them into the car.
	"Psychology isn't a hard-core medicine, and my specialty areas 
are still regarded as magic tricks. Scully, even you know why John 
Douglas changed BSU to VCU: gotta get the 'Bull Shit Unit' joke out. 
...I've been thrown out of these hospital exams before, and that was 
after I showed them my badge." Mulder said as he gazed at the 
ascending floor numbers. Next to them, Scully furrowed her eyebrows. 
	"They don't have to know that, Mulder. Don't look at me weirdly 
if I address you as a doctor up there." Scully stepped out of the 
elevator first, letting Mulder and Jake go ahead of her, followed 
closely by the girl. 'Well,' Mulder thought, 'every bit helps'.

	
Jake's House
Canoga Park, CA
7 PM

Elly's hand-cooked dinner and an excited Stella greeted them when Jake 
opened the door. The girl practically dove herself toward the loyal 
canine, rolling around on the floor together until Jake made her a 
proposal. If the girl went to wash up for the supper and was done 
eating, she could play with Stella as much as she wanted for the rest 
of the night. 
Mulder inhaled the appetizing aroma that filled the air, and asked 
Elly what smelled so heavenly. Mulder's stomach growled at the sight 
of chicken kachetoria and a large bowl of Caesar salad. His eyes 
popped open at Elly's mention of their dessert.
	"She baked a sweet potato pie!" He whispered excitedly to 
Scully, who let out a soft laughter in response.
	"What?" Jake asked Scully as he sat down at his seat. The ever-
present little girl had taken her seat, saying no to the spicy Mexican 
dish and going directly for the salad. Her eyes stayed on the dessert 
as she attacked the salad. 
	"Oh, it's nothing. Mulder has a thing about sweet potato pies. 
He's nuts about them, and they're hard to find. Especially the good 
ones." Elly laughed at the comment, and promised to bake a couple more 
tomorrow. Mulder smiled sheepishly before digging into his dinner. 
Scully took her share of the food, but decided to get changed first. 
Jake watched as Mulder craned his neck until she was out of sight, 
then added a few more chicken pieces and another scoopful of salad 
onto her plate.
	"She needs to eat more." Mulder commented before asking Jake to 
keep quiet. Jake nodded, watching the girl wipe her mouth clear of the 
dressing before she went after the pie.
	"You know, you're doing a great job of taking care of her." 
Mulder commented honestly, knowing the man must be walking through his 
personal uncharted territories.
	"Thanks. I would like to think so. I have an excellent advisor 
here." Jake's reply was just as honest, his adoration toward the girl, 
as well as his respect for the experienced woman standing in front of 
him shown clear in his eyes. 
Scully returned in a black tank top and a pair of dark blue jeans. As 
she took her seat, Mulder watched her until he was convinced she 
didn't notice his tricks. 
Scully rolled her eyes when Mulder took two large pieces of the pie 
for himself. He said no to the offered whip cream heaping over 
everyone else's plate for the fear of ruining the taste.
	Elly placed the dishes into the dishwasher and turned it on 
before leaving for the night. Jake watched as the girl came out of the 
bathroom in her white cotton pajamas and motioned for Stella to come 
with her to her bed. 
	"She's really exhausted." Jake said out of concern, seeing the 
two agents nod in unison.
	"Has she been like this a lot?" Scully asked. Jake nodded, 
dropping his gaze.
	"Ever since those Los Angels agents came to take her for tests. 
They completely worn her out, and I have no clue as to what they did 
with her." A clear expression of helplessness washed over Jake's hazel 
eyes, the sight driving an ache through Scully's chest and stomach. 
She sensed this man needed solid answers much more than he needed 
encouragement.
	"All we know is that they were trying to bring her out of her 
current mental state in order to enable her to communicate with us. I 
say we'll go check it out as soon as possible." Scully said, looking 
at Mulder for confirmation and getting a nod.
	"Why don't I go by myself, Scully? I'm the psychologist here, 
and you as the medical doctor, should stay with Jake and the girl to 
oversee the tests."
	"What about the construction site? I doubt anything helpful will 
come from it, but..."
	"That can wait. They're construction workers employed under 
contracts. They're not going anywhere for another five months."
	"All right, then. You go to the testing center, and I'll go dig 
out some background info on the doctors." 	  
	"Deal." Mulder nodded and went into the bathroom to get changed. 
Scully watched Jake as he headed for his work desk.
	"Working late?" She asked. Jake turned his chair around to face 
her.
	"Yeah. I hope you don't mind. I tend to do this often, and 
occasionally into early morning hours. I promise to keep my working 
hours to minimum while you're here."
	"No, you go ahead. Believe it or not, Mulder never gets a decent 
night's sleep since he's an insomniac. I've been working beside him 
for nearly five years, so I'm quite used to it." This was something 
Jake would have to know sooner or later.
	"Jesus. Just how much more do we have in common?" Jake asked, 
smiling as he turned to face his blueprints only to turn back a few 
seconds later. "Agent Scully?"
	"Dana." 
	"Dana, don't tell me Mulder's good at basketball."
	"Actually, yes. He's very good." Scully grasped her hands behind 
her back, her expression beaming with pride without her realizing it. 
Jake stared up at the ceiling, shaking his head in awe. But of course, 
Jake hadn't had the chance to see the videotaped spectacular 
performance of Mulder at the last year's annual FBI Basketball 
tournament. 
	"Thank you, Scully. Wanna play one-on-one sometime?" Mulder 
suddenly invited himself into the conversation, making Scully jump. 
When she tried to reply, she saw that Mulder was addressing Jake 
directly.
	"Sure, but not now. I'm full, and she's sleepy." Jake pointed at 
the girl already curled up in bed with Stella. Mulder smiled at the 
sight, then abruptly swallowed hard. Scully immediately noticed his 
mood change by the way Mulder looked longingly at the sleeping girl. 
Scully knew exactly what he was thinking at that moment, and she 
needed to pull him out of his reverie before it caused damages Mulder 
couldn't afford.
	"How about you let me in, and one of us keeps the score?" Scully 
joined in, trying to reel Mulder back into the present. True to her 
guess, Mulder turned to look at her, a little startled. But before he 
opened his mouth, she declared, "Don't you give me crap about my 
height, either." Mulder chuckled in response, but he quickly devised a 
retaliation plan. 
Scully cried out in surprise as Mulder quickly reached for her head, 
messing with her neatly styled hair. She tried to slap his hands off, 
but Mulder's height enabled his hands to wade off the moves. Soon, 
Mulder successfully raked his long fingers through Scully's silky red 
strands, tossing them around in his hands like he would do with a 
salad. 
She decided her defense was useless, especially after he crushed her 
frame against his with one arm; placing her hands over her waist as 
she bore the embarrassment in favor of hearing his rare laughter. Jake 
laughed at their exchange and shook his head.
	Sleeping arrangements were fairly hard to make for the agents 
who were used to the confined space of apartments and motel rooms. 
Scully secretly hoped Mulder would sleep though the night without 
having his usual nightmares; especially the ones about Samantha or 
herself being abducted. 
Scully eventually settled at the coffee table and turned on her laptop 
to make her field journal entry. She knew Skinner wasn't too happy 
about them pursuing this case, because he'd already had another case 
pending their investigation. However, Mulder again managed to convince 
Skinner that this Kathler case was worth their time and the manpower 
it demanded. Looking at what this case is already becoming, she began 
to agree with Mulder. 
	When she returned to her bed wearing the same tank top and a 
fresh pair of cotton shorts, she found Jake still hard at work. She 
noticed he was wearing large headphones as he moved in between his 
computer screen and the blueprints. Next, she looked for Mulder and 
found him seated at the kitchen counter as he had been for the last 
three hours. Mulder was still reviewing the girl's drawings and making 
notes on his legal pad. Knowing better than to distract him while he 
did profile work, she walked over to Jake and muttered a soft 
goodnight. Jake returned it with a smile and put his headphones back 
on. It took no longer than fifteen minutes for Scully to join the girl 
and Stella into the world of sleepers.
	

Jake's House
Canoga Park, CA
Next Day
8 AM  

Jake came to the state of wakefulness by the feel of Stella's full 
weight on his back. When he turned, he was greeted by Stella's morning 
ritual of mopping up his face until he was fully back in the real 
world. Jake groaned and begged Stella to give him a few more hours of 
sleep. Getting the hint, she climbed off of the bed and walked off. 
Up until four o'clock this morning, Jake had been immersed in his 
work, oblivious to time flying past him. However, Jake was more than a 
little shocked to find Fox Mulder still awake at that Godless hour, 
seated at the coffee table where he was the furthest from the beds 
lining next to each other at one corner. By that time, Mulder had 
shunned his tie, shoes, socks, and rolled up both sleeves of his open 
shirt. Jake's eyebrows shot up at the sight before him, but his entire 
body froze when he'd noticed the agent's eyes. In Jake's eyes, Mulder 
seemed 'a zillion miles away'. The intensity of Mulder's gaze would 
have been enough to terrify anyone who made the mistake of approaching 
too close to him at that moment. 
Focusing back on the here and now, Jake hoped Mulder was asleep by 
now. 
When Jake felt a small hand touch his hair, he smiled knowing who it 
was.
	"Hey, you." Jake mumbled. "Up already?" When he finally opened 
his eyes, she was sitting up on his bed, her legs dangling off of the 
edge. "Come here, my sunshine." Reaching with his left hand, he drew 
her close enough for her a hug. "I'd love to get up, but please give 
me a little more time. I'm very, very tired right now." Jake kept his 
volume to whispers, so as not to disturb the agents. The girl somehow 
understood his desperation and climbed off of the bed. "Thank you." He 
said as he gave her a small wave and curled back up under the covers. 
	About ninety minutes later, he heard the distinct sounds of feet 
shuffling on the hardwood floor and opened his eyes. He saw the petite 
form of Scully making coffee in the kitchen, still in her sleeping 
attire. Jake stretched his body, finding himself ready to finally get 
up and about. He quickly threw on his bathrobe that had been left 
hanging from the edge of his bed and walked to the bathroom for a 
shower. 
	"Morning." Scully's voice greeted him, stopping him in his 
tracks. 
	"A beautiful morning. There's a bag of granola in the 
refrigerator next to the milk. You should eat something." Jake said 
before closing the bathroom door. Out of the corner of his eyes, he 
saw Mulder stretched out on the couch, his feet up on the coffee table 
and was apparently asleep. The coffee table was now covered with the 
girl's drawings and a stack of wood blocks that Mulder must've used 
while brainstorming. Jake noted an open legal pad resting on Mulder's 
lap, half filled with notes. The sight hadn't changed when Jake came 
out of the shower, now freshly dressed in one of his dark summer 
suits. Jake was happy to note that Scully took his suggestion, and was 
now munching on the granola, perched on one of the kitchen stools. 
	"This is delicious. Where did you get this?" She asked pointing 
at the bag of remaining granola, and Jake told her about the diner and 
the mailbox. Scully smiled, saying she should get a bag or two for 
herself before heading back to D.C. Jake suggested they all go there 
every morning, because that's when Stella gets her morning walks. 
Scully offered to walk Stella for exercise in mornings or at evenings 
after getting back.
	"Are you sure?" Jake was surprised, to say the least, at the 
idea.
	"Uh-huh. I don't mind. I don't know if you do this, but Mulder 
runs anywhere between five to ten miles daily if he has the chance. I 
also do this, but not much outside my apartment." 
	"Treadmills?" Jake got the idea and was answered with her nod.
	"I'll just follow Stella. She should know your usual route." She 
finished the cereal and looked at her wristwatch. "Tell me when you're 
ready, and we'll leave. The first test starts at ten." Jake nodded at 
her, then turned to nod at Mulder.
	"What about him?" Jake sure hoped the guy wouldn't need to be 
slapped awake this minute. To his relief, Scully shook her head 'no'.
"Leave Mulder alone. I booked his flight, and it doesn't leave until 
noon. I set a travel-size alarm clock next to him. He doesn't sleep 
enough as it is." Jake agreed before taking his share of the cereal 
into a bowl and poured milk. 
'Funny', Jake thought. 'They care about each other in such similar 
manner'. The night before, Mulder tricked Scully into eating more. In 
the following morning, she made him sleep in. 
	"Does he always work like this?" Jake asked, looking at a 
sleeping Mulder. Scully nodded.
	"Not every day, as in 'every day'. But yes, he does. He often 
cares too much." Jake nodded to this, turning to head for the coffee 
machine to make himself a fresh cup. When he took his mug off of its 
rack, he took notice of the local morning newspaper for the first 
time. It sat innocently at the corner of the kitchen counter, daring 
him to pick it up. Jake flipped through them, relieved to note that 
the publisher had taken out the girl's missing-person article. But his 
pleasant expression turned into a deep wince as he read a headline in 
a small corner space: "FBI involvement in Kathler case". Scully pursed 
her lips upon seeing Jake's reaction, obviously have read the same 
page earlier on. Jake told her he and the girl was ready to leave as 
soon as he was done eating, obviously regretting that extra hour of 
sleep he'd given himself before ever checking out the newspaper. 
Imagining what the little article was costing Jake, Scully 
deliberately acted as if their latest bad news in their growing list 
of bad news had done them little or no damage. She rinsed her bowl in 
the sink, knowing the dishwasher was still full of clean dishes from 
the night before. She then went off to change into her usual business 
attire. 
	

Henry Barrington Hospital
Los Angels, CA
Noon Same Day

Scully watched as the girl's body was placed under a CAT scan machine. 
Jake stood next to her behind the glass wall that separated them from 
the girl. Scully was still in the middle of reviewing the PET results 
from the day before. 
It didn't surprise her very much to have found unusually high active 
areas of the brain, which were indicated by the glowing dark red color 
on the monitor screen. When the subject is tested for processing of 
Language and Music at the same time, the red areas would normally be 
concentrated on those areas, greatly reducing the other areas in turn. 
In the resting state, it wouldn't normally show any red glow except on 
the very back areas of the brain. 
However, in the case of this girl, even the very center areas of the 
brain came up bright yellow instead of the bluish green that's 
commonly seen in normal person. 
	When the MRIs came back, Scully's trained eyes detected an 
unusual fluid flow around the areas between the cerebrum and the sinus 
cavity. Feeling a pang of nausea, she quickly folded them away and 
focused on the girl inside the machine. The filming process was done 
in less than a second, but the wait was long before and after. Jake 
sighed next to her, relieved that the test was over.
	"Two down, three more to go?" Jake asked her without looking 
away from the girl who got dressed again until she was to change into 
another hospital gown. Scully nodded and exited the room to wait for 
them in the hallway. 
	At three o'clock, the three of them ate late lunches in the 
cafeteria. Scully's cellular summoned her attention. Mulder spoke 
rapidly, clearly in some state of confusion.
	"It's me. ...I've got some of the testing results here, but they 
did nothing more than regular standard tests on her. On the first day, 
they made the girl take neurological and psychological evaluations, 
which took a total of twelve hours, because the girl wouldn't 
corporate. But she got through them anyway and went home. On the 
second and the third day, they began doing the interview sessions. I'm 
waiting for the tapes to see just what they were doing with her, but 
I'm guessing they were just standard one-to-one therapy sessions done 
to get her to respond."
	"So, what is bothering you so much?" Scully wanted to get to the 
point.
	"Well, on the fourth and the fifth day, the girl's charts 
indicate that they did what some psychiatrists would call a 'play 
therapy'. It's where they bring in a child into a room that was 
specifically designed to be comfortable for the child. A room such as 
this has lots of toys, dolls, and coloring tools just like a kid's 
room. 
"Experts who are often accompanied by officials from the Social 
Services or law enforcement agencies, watch what their subject do with 
the objects around them from behind a two-way mirror. It's mostly to 
analyze what triggered their subject's maladaptive behaviors like they 
did in the famous McMartin case and in our own Horvey case. 
"It's nothing too different from the regular therapy sessions they've 
already done, and they've done these only a half of each day. The rest 
of the hours are simply blank, which doesn't make sense, because 
according to Kathler, the girl didn't return until five or six o'clock 
every day." 
Mulder paused for Scully to digest the information, then asked for her 
findings. Scully carefully selected her words, trying not to get her 
partner too excited in his current situation.
	"I haven't much. Not yet, anyway. The PET results came back and 
I looked at them, but nothing seemed to be really wrong. You're right, 
Mulder. This girl's brains are far more active than any normal human 
being, especially in the area of art and language. We finished the 
MRI, and just by looking at the images on the computer screen, I 
couldn't see anything major to worry about. 
"We just came out of the CAT scan, too. I didn't see anything 
seriously wrong in there, either. Nothing noteworthy other than an 
unusual fluid flow that's located around the front section of the 
cerebrum. I'll know more when they give me a copy of the results for 
the two tests."  Mulder's obvious relief at hearing the news was heard 
through his deep sigh. Scully instantly realized how exhausted her 
partner might be at that very moment, and opted for cutting their 
conversation short.
	"Well, that's good. Look, I'll check over all the records they 
have in here. But, I want to return with the copy of each taped 
session, so I may not make it by the time my plane leaves. In that 
case, I'll catch another flight. If you need me sooner, I'll drive." 
	"It's okay, Mulder. Take your time. We're all fine in here." 
Scully tried to sound convincing. 
	"I think I will. While they're making the copies, I'm gonna 
catch medical staff and official who came in direct contact with the 
girl."
	"Do whatever is necessary, Mulder. Just try not to get thrown 
out again, all right?" 
Scully joked and heard his answering chuckle. Jake eyed her intently 
as he cut the grilled chicken breast in small pieces for the girl, and 
waited as she gazed at him. 
"Well, I think he's going to get stuck in Costa Mesa for now. He's 
getting the copies of the girl's therapy sessions, and that's what's 
taking him so long. He's going after everybody who had direct 
connection with each procedure to interrogate them. Well, technically 
I should say that he's questioning them, but in this case, they're one 
and the same." Scully said as she stashed the phone back into her 
jacket pocket and returned to finishing her turkey sandwich. Jake 
nodded and helped the girl finish with hers.
	The rest of the tests went smoothly, but they were told that the 
results wouldn't be in until later in the evening. Scully suggested 
Jake to leave her to wait for the results, so he could return home 
with the girl and go walk Stella. He nodded her his gratitude, and 
then told her he'll ask Elly to wrap up Scully's dinner on a plate 
ready to be reheated once she got home. She nodded back and watched as 
the genetic test - the final test of all - progressed. The procedure 
itself didn't take long, because all they had to do was take three 
samples of blood: one for Scully to take to the Lone Gunmen for their 
own testing, and the other two for the hospital labs. 
She noted the girl's fear of needles from early on, but the girl knew 
Jake and Scully were there to watch over the routine; only slightly 
wincing as the needle went in and out of her arm. Jake kissed her 
forehead when all was done, then he told her how strong she had been. 
Scully watched as the two exited the room before ever pulling her 
phone out of her pocket. Finding the line to be busy, she waited for 
several minutes and called back. This time, he answered on the second 
ring.
	"It's me. The tests are all done, including genetic testing. All 
I have to do is wait for the results to come back. I sent Jake and the 
girl home, so I'm free to move about for awhile. I'll go down to the 
records' office and get started on the background check. How about 
you? Anything?" Scully was put on hold for a few moments until he 
spoke again. A puff of air he exhaled before speaking signaled 
troubles.
	"Scully, listen to me. I've checked all the people who were 
directly connected to the testing, but nobody's talking. They sounded 
as if they were cooperating, but there were at least five hours of 
sessions that I can't find on tape, and I doubt they'll ever be found. 
The therapist who conducted the recorded sessions on the fourth day 
suddenly went out of the country for an unspecified period of time, 
and I can't get hold of him. The initial psychological evaluations I 
told you about indicates nothing too out of ordinary. But you said the 
girl's got an abnormally high active brain, so it doesn't make sense 
that her IQ is slightly above average and her language scores are just 
below average. Scully, I think the test scores here were switched with 
someone else's."
	"Put her through them again, but do so only under our strict 
surveillance.  We'll see what we come up with, then." This time, 
Scully hated herself for being right.
	"You're right. I hate to do this to her, though... See if you 
can get that done, and I'll dig around here for some more. ...At this 
point, we have to assume that every single test result they've given 
us was falsified. I think they're just buying themselves more time 
right now. You do that background check, and I'll do the ones for 
staff here. I definitely won't be back tonight." She could picture him 
wincing, and sent him her sympathies.
	"What's the matter? Afraid of missing a pie or two?" 
	"Oooh. Scully, don't remind me! That pie was the best I've ever 
tasted." His tortured tone made her laugh. She promised him they would 
save some for him, in exchange for a backrub later. 
	"Just your back?" Mulder's whine was a bit short of conviction 
for Scully.
	"Don't push your luck, Mulder." But of course, Fox Mulder was 
nothing if he wasn't persistent. Right now, he was trying to make Dana 
Scully blush, and to have a bit of fun before plunging into troubles 
ahead. He was very sure she understood this.
	"Oh, I don't mind doing a pushing or two for you. It just 
depends on what I can push..."
	"Don't even go there, Mulder." His attempts falling face-flat, 
Mulder put a bit more effort into his whining technique.
	"Come on, Scully!" 
	"Going where?" Scully hoped he wouldn't go as far as making 
another joke out of that one.
"Ha-ha. At least let me massage your feet. You're my Goddess, so I'll 
get down on my knees, then kiss and nibble on your right toes until 
you're out of breath..." 
	"Mulder!!" 
"...All right. I'll do your back, and then I'll leave you alone. I'll 
be good."
	"Deal." Scully silently congratulated herself for keeping her 
flush out of her voice as she hanged up.
Next, she called Jake and reported him of Mulder's situation. Jake 
told her to take as much time as she needed, because it looked like 
his workload was going to get him another twenty-one-hour day. He 
laughed when she told him about the pies, and he told her not to 
worry, because Elly had just baked two fresh ones. 
Thinking it better to give him all the news at once, Scully told Jake 
about needing to put the girl into the evaluations again, all the 
eight hours of them. Jake sighed and demanded the reasons, but she 
could only tell him that the hospital employees had tampered with the 
test results. Scully decided Jake didn't need to know about the 
possibility of shadow government sneaking around and switching files. 
	Scully headed down to the records' office, but found it locked 
up. Frustrated, she got the custodian to open the door for her. She 
walked straight to the computer, but no one was inside to give her the 
passwords. She found the keys to the filing cabinets inside the 
secretary's desk drawer and began opening file drawer after another. 
She couldn't help wondering if this was a part of 'the conspiracy' 
that her partner claimed to have found himself in. 
This idea grew more plausible for her once she found the keys to the 
personnel filing cabinets to be missing. To make matters worse, the 
files in personnel files cabinets are the only ones that she couldn't 
access in the entire office. She could find everything else; from the 
records of all their patients, including the results for all tests 
performed on them. 
	Not wanting to wait until tomorrow, she finally called Mulder. 
He didn't answer until the sixth ring, and when he did, she could hear 
the sound of water running in the background. She figured he'd checked 
into a hotel, and was in the middle of taking a shower. She was put on 
hold, and soon the sound of running water stopped.
	"Scully? What's up?" Mulder sounded tired, but fully alert.
	"As much as I hate to admit, Mulder, I think you were right." 
	"What? Which part?" His voice rose a few notches, and finding 
absolutely no trace of his usual sardonic humor in his voice, Scully 
sensed trouble on his side. 
	"I'm in the Records office now, and it's completely empty. I 
mean, they usually keep a few night persons roaming around. The door 
was locked, so after I got the custodian to open the door, I went to 
the computer and found it password-protected. I rummaged through the 
secretary's desk and found the keys, but only the ones to the 
personnel records are missing. Mulder, I tried every single cabinet, 
so I'm sure. There's a key for everything but the personnel records."
	"Fuck!" She heard him sit down heavily as he released a 
frustrated groan.
	"Yeah, I know. ...I forgot to tell you something. When they took 
the blood samples out of the girl today, I took an extra vial for our 
own use. So, the genetic tests are safe even if they try to tamper 
with them."
	"Good call. ...Scully, my own search's ending up in flames, too. 
I can't get my requests through, because they won't let it. I don't 
want to waste any more time here, and especially the hours I'm gonna 
waste bothering with getting court orders on them. I'm even thinking 
about calling Skinner to have him make them talk."
	"That desperate, huh? Why don't you see if you can get them by 
tomorrow?  I assume you packed your overnight bag before you left, so 
don't worry about rushing everything through. I'll go back up right 
now and see if the rest of the test results are in. I'll call you for 
any emergency."
	"Okay, Scully. Be careful." Mulder barely finished before ending 
their connection. Scully locked up and left as quickly as she came.


Jake's House
Canoga Park, CA
Same Time

The computer screen illuminated Jake's face with various colors and 
faces. Jake sat in front of it, scanning-in the new drawings one after 
another. Now the girl was lying on her stomach over the polished 
hardwood floor at his feet. Stella claimed her own spot, curled up 
beside the girl. Jake was done with the drawings in no time, placing 
all the pages back into the plastic covers before handing them back to 
her.
	"Here we go. Thank you very much, again." Jake said, standing 
from his seat. The girl eyed the computer, then the virtual reality 
machine and back to the computer again. Jake went into the bathroom to 
check on the bath that he drew for her earlier, calling her over when 
it was ready. She came in and Jake left the room as usual. 
	Jake knew it was a bad idea to go under it again. The first time 
had proved how emotionally trying it would be for any sane person. But 
when he saw Mulder's intensity at analyzing the drawing, he knew there 
had to be a reason. Mulder took all binder samples with him, but 
neither him nor Scully knew about the ones he had in the virtual 
reality machine. He began analyzing those left undone. 
First, Jake took out all the two-dimensional, flat surfaced images, 
then started connecting one to the other as if making a box out of 
four separate papers. Of course, even if he was right, he had no way 
of knowing which page connected with which. He had to have the 
computer try all the combinations, but he'd never had such high-level 
of computer skills. He'd just have to do what he could and leave the 
rest for later. 
Jake had been so engrossed in the task at hand, he never noticed the 
girl coming out of the bathroom. She took one look at Jake, knowing he 
would be there for a long time. She approached him, and even stood a 
few feet away from him, but he never noticed her. She began watching 
him as his hand slightly tilted in various angles.
His eyes were covered with a large eye-mask, and his hand was in a 
strange black grove that had wires going through the surface of each 
finger. 
She watched and saw that those thin wires on the grove were connected 
to the back of a white square box sitting on the desk in front of Jake 
where all other wires joined. She walked over to the other side, and 
saw that each wire had a different shape and a matching hole to be 
connected to. 
Next, she focused on the flat square shaped box where she had seen 
Jake place her drawings and press the glowing green button. She also 
remembered that each time he pressed that button, whatever she drew on 
papers came up on the black box with a white frame. She already knew 
that the framed box was called a 'computer', and that it was useful to 
everyone. 
But even with all this knowledge, she still didn't know what Jake was 
watching behind the masks. She knew that it was very interesting and 
extremely frightening to him. She left him alone and went to her bed 
to keep drawing, silently promising herself that some day soon, she 
was going to find out what mysteries were held behind those black eye-
masks. She stared back at Jake, still wearing the weird toy, still 
engrossed in whatever scary images he was seeing. 
In fact, Jake had been intrigued enough to not notice Scully's 
presence in the house until she called his name. Jake jumped up from 
his seat, sending him and the VR machine tumbling down to the floor. 
Jake squealed as fear, shock, and pain hammered him all at once. 
Scully took a step back, immediately crouching down to help him.
"Dana?! Oh, God!" Jake took a series of deep breaths, stretching out 
on the floor. He pressed his hand against his chest to calm his 
pounding heart, while trying to come up with a suitable explanation 
for this embarrassing predicament. When he opened his eyes to face 
Scully, his eyes narrowed upon taking a notice of the dark circles 
under her eyes and the way she walked as if each of her body parts 
weighed a ton.
"...How're you? You look exhausted." He asked her, seeing her nod in 
response.
	"I am, but I'm fine." She answered and dropped into the chair 
next to the coffee table, where Mulder had been mulling over the 
girl's drawings earlier. Jake took out the wrapped plate of dinner for 
her and put it into the microwave. He saw her take off her jacket and 
high-heels, heading for the bed to retrieve her nightwear to change. 
When Scully came out, she wore a long white nightshirt that had red 
printed letters that said "I love you" in French over many scattered 
little red hearts. When he pointed this out, she told him that it was 
a gift from her elder sister. Scully seemed to be grateful when he set 
the plate in front of her at the kitchen counter, but he knew she had 
no appetite. Remembering the way Mulder said she needed to eat more, 
he decided to persist.
	"You need to eat, Dana. You're exhausted tonight more than 
yesterday, and if you don't eat, you'll exhaust even faster tomorrow." 
Jake handed her the silverware and watched as she began to eat Elly's 
famous rolled cabbages.
	"You sound just like Mulder." Scully said as she took the last 
bite of the first, and immediately began working on the second. Jake 
was shocked to see that he had been right. She was exhausting faster 
every day. He decided not to ask her about their investigation. He 
must have looked as grim as he felt when she added, "and you look just 
like him, too. Right down to the mole on your right cheek" just to 
loosen the tension permeating in the air around them.
	"Yeah, well. At least I don't have all the memorabilia that 
Mulder seems to have engraved in his flesh." Jake saw Scully flinch, 
obviously shocked that he'd noticed. "Come on, Dana! The guy walked 
around in his boxer shorts while trying to find his razor. I've seen 
bullet scars; one in his thigh, and another one in his shoulder. I'm 
pretty much scar-free." He said as he sipped his tea and handed Dana a 
mug of steaming hot chocolate. She only nodded him a thank-you and 
finished it in a matter of minutes.
	 Looking at her from across the counter in her nightshirt and no 
make-up, she looked like a very tired seventeen year-old girl instead 
of an FBI special agent. He served her dessert and saw her expression 
that said she couldn't possibly finish it. He made her try it anyway, 
and tried to cheer her up by talking about whatever good memories he 
had of his old days. He started up by talking to her about the time 
when he had been a troublemaker, who never listened to the teachers 
and drew weird shapes in his notebooks. Next, he told her about when 
he had been a college student who sneaked into girls' dorms in the 
middle of the night to watch movies in their rooms. 
Scully laughed at his stories and gave him a few of hers in return. At 
the mention of her elder sister in these childhood stories, Jake 
couldn't help himself from asking after her sister and dearly wished 
he hadn't when he heard of the woman's ill-fated end. When he asked 
about her 'Captain Ahab', it also turned out to be a sore spot for 
her. But in turn, she talked about how brave, how noble, and how 
caring the man had been to his 'Starbuck' as well as to the rest of 
the Scully family. 
Hearing how wonderful the man must have been, Jake wished Bill Scully 
had also been his father. When Jake said so, she told him that it was 
exactly what Mulder had said. When Jake asked why, she grew 
uncomfortable and withdrawn, so he quickly told her to forget he'd 
ever asked.
	After placing the dishes into the dishwashers, Jake saw her turn 
on her laptop to write in her findings for the day just as she had 
done the day before. He shook his head, thinking he could never take 
her job even if he had the skill for it. Yet, this young woman whose 
height barely reached his chest was doing it like it was the most 
natural thing to do in her life. 
	Having spent nearly an entire day with the little girl, though 
most of it was tough on her part, Jake eased down next to her as she 
watched television and brushed Stella clean. As much as he hated to 
break the moment, he decided to tell her about the tests that she 
unfortunately would have to go through again. He reached over to her 
with his left hand and gently took her right hand. She watched his 
move, her eyes searching. He forced himself to smile.
	"Hey, there. I hope you were okay today. I know that you hate 
the machines, and I'm sorry if I ignored you, because I was working. 
It was something I needed to do to help finding you your way home, 
because I met those nice agents only yesterday. It's not that I 
believe they are trying to hurt you in any way. I just had to do 
whatever I could do on my own to help you, because I don't know if I 
can believe that they are really, truly good people. You are better at 
judging people than I am, because you are very strong person and your 
heart is still pure. ...I do think they are good people, though. What 
do you think?" 
Jake kept his voice low as he spoke, and his smile grew warmer when 
she touched his face. 
"I really like that woman with the red hair, and I also like that man 
who looks like me. What about you?" 
Jake asked as he let go of her little hand, and moved it to stroke her 
long chestnut brown hair. He saw that she was deep in her thoughts, 
and all he got for an answer was when she wrapped her tiny arms around 
his left arm. Her head came to rest on his shoulder as she buried her 
face in the fabric of his shirtsleeve.
	"Wanna fall asleep on the floor again, baby girl?" He asked, 
remembering at least two mornings when he woke up on the floor wrapped 
by the blanket Elly had thrown over them. He also remembered a hell of 
a backache he got each time he put his body through the discomfort. He 
sighed. 
"I'll make a deal with you. You can fall asleep with me right here; 
then I'll carry you to your bed after you do, so you can wake up in 
your own bed in the morning. I promise to bring Stella to you, too." 
Jake spoke as softly as he could, his recovering right hand still 
caressing her tiny head. He felt her nod, and he gently patted her 
back for an answer. He was fairly sure that his right shoulder was 
well enough already to steady the girl's body long enough to transport 
her into her bed. Then after tucking her in safely, he could go back 
under the VR to finish analyzing the rest of her drawings.
	All this while, Scully wondered if Mulder was all right. She 
knew he would be, but he wouldn't be if she had to tell him about the 
fate of all the test results from the day. It was highly unlikely that 
the test results were 'accidentally misplaced', according to the 
hospital's explanation, and even more doubtful when they told her the 
test results had been sent to the Records office in another Henry 
Barrington's hospital located in New York City. 
When Scully barked at them for these mishaps, they assured her that 
everything was going to be fine, and that all will be set straight by 
tomorrow. 
'Come get them after the girl's psychological evaluation', they said. 
'Like hell I will', she said. So, Scully had no more to go on for now 
other than the PET and the MRI results. The last vial of the girl's 
blood sample was still in her briefcase. 
She really hoped Mulder would call for an update, but figured he was 
probably treading his own path. Scully really wanted the CAT scan. It 
would have been enough to either confirm or disconfirm her suspicion 
about the girl's health. All the initial X-rays showed nothing 
threatening, but now, she didn't even know if they were really the 
girl's films. 
When she finally called it quit and placed her laptop back into her 
briefcase, she spotted Jake stretched out on the floor in front of the 
TV. Stella was curled up beside him, limiting Scully's view of the 
other two sleepers. The corners of her mouth curled up into a smile at 
this rare sight of peace. Just when she thought he was asleep, she saw 
his right hand moving up and down the small form of the girl.
	After several more minutes of observation, Scully saw Jake bend 
his knees, feet flat on the floor, and sit up with the girl still held 
securely in his left arm. She saw that his right shoulder was 
recovering as it was estimated, but he was careful enough to avoid 
putting too much of the girl's weight on it. Instead, he had the right 
arm wrapped around the girl as an extra hold. 
Scully watched as Jake slowly got to his knees, then up to his feet, 
all in an effort not to wake the girl in his arms. He then took one 
careful step after another until he came to the girl's bed and lay her 
down just as slowly as when he lifted her off the floor. She heard the 
bed being turned, then heard a low whistling sound as Jake called 
Stella toward the bed to join the girl. She had been deep in thoughts, 
childhood images of her father carrying her to bed flashing in her 
mind, that she nearly jumped when Jake poked his head from behind the 
screen. Seeing her response, he came around the screen to her bedside.
	"Did I startle you? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." A genuine 
concern filled his unlined face, and she could only shake her head 
'no'. As Jake spoke, his voice was kept delivery soft; not like the 
seductive velvety tone that her partner seemed to have perfected, but 
in a tone that felt like a gentle spring breeze. 
	"It's okay, Jake. I was just remembering the time when I was her 
age. My father used to carry me to bed and tuck me in, too. I can't 
say that I don't miss it." Scully looked down at her feet and wiggled 
her toes. Jake squatted down beside her and brought his hand to her 
cheek. She looked up surprised, but she didn't pull away from his 
touch, nor removed his hand from her face.  
	"I can't say that I don't miss the same, either. But, don't you 
think that because you miss it, you can give it to others?" 
	Looking straight into the man's honest affectionate eyes had 
nearly shuttered Scully's composure, but she had managed to respond 
with a nod and a smile, anyway. 'This man', she thought, 'still has a 
lot of innocence preserved in his heart'. Although his heart had 
suffered a major setback of his fiancee's suicide, unlike her or her 
partner, he hasn't yet seen all the horrors that they had seen. 'God, 
how would I love to go back in time and live a normal life?' She 
thought. However, living a life without knowing what she and Mulder 
had come to know meant living a life in lies, and she never wanted 
that. She wanted a life in which none of her questions was left 
unanswered. 
Scully returned to reality when she saw Jake stand up. He was smiling 
down at her, his hand still warm on her cheek. Soon, it moved to touch 
her hair before it left her. He placed a caste kiss on her cheek 
before leaving her bedside. 
	"You should go to sleep, Dana. I'll be working again, but I 
promise to keep quiet." He whispered before walking away. 
Then she was left alone, and all she could think about was her Ahab.


FBI Regional Office
Los Angels, CA
1:30 AM

Fox Mulder stared at the computer screen in disbelief. Of all the Jane 
Doe files created in the last two weeks, there was only five possible 
cases matching the girl's description. 
	"I'm just not seeing anything here, Agent Mulder." The computer 
tech mumbled as he punched in some more numbers. "Out of all the test 
results you've asked for, there's nothing that showed today's... I 
mean, yesterday's date. These cases are pretty much scattered all over 
the country. Miami, Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, and the last one's in 
New York. You said that the girl was at Henry Barrington's in LA?"
	"Yeah. Attending physician is... Crokkets."
	"That's what I've been trying to process this with, Agent 
Mulder. It's just that... nothing's coming up." Bewildered, the 
technician threw his hands in the air.
	" Fine. Check out each Jane Doe. I don't care whose tests those 
turn out to be. I know the girl well enough to know which ones are 
hers."
	"That'll take us hours, Agent Mulder." The tech, being an FBI 
agent himself, released a breath that was a combination of 
frustration, exhaustion, and some hope for gaining more sympathy out 
of the older agent. Mulder nodded an acknowledgement.
	"I trust you. Do the best you can."
	"It's gonna cost you, sir." The tech tried his best to keep the 
smirk off his face. Mulder released an exasperated sigh. The kid knew 
how the 'favor game' was played in the backyard. Mulder had no doubt 
that this young agent was going to be on a fast track to stardom if he 
kept up his skills as a good bureaucratic dancer. 
	"I already gave you two seats at the Knicks game, Hall." 
	"Yes, sir. But you're putting me in a pretty tight spot here. I 
respect your superb investigative skills, and I'm not going to insult 
your intelligence by assuming that you don't have the means of 
attaining the answers you seek from me. Besides..."
	"Stop it, Hall. Just stop it." Mulder shook his head resignedly. 
Seeing the older agent's reaction, Hall's large eyes lit up.
	"If you don't mine my asking, sir, do you like hockey?" 
"...You a fan of Minnesota State team?" Mulder knew that the man was a 
die-hard hockey fan. He almost laughed at the answering delight in the 
younger man's face.
	"Deal." 
	Mulder sighed and checked his watch. Then he cursed. He'd wanted 
to call Scully before she went to sleep. Calling her now was 
completely out of the line. He mentally went over all the news he had 
to tell Scully:
'Hey, Scully! Guess what?! The tapes had been sent to the disposal 
allegedly by a clerk's mistake. I could only get the ones I already 
have, and I don't even think they're originals!' He scratched this one 
out as quickly as it came to him.
'Hey, you ready for this?! The Jane Doe's test results I tried to 
check out as soon as they were in the computers? They're gone! Bum! 
Just like that!' He shook his head 'no' to this one, and wrapped is 
head in his arms.
"...Tomorrow." Mulder said to himself. 'First thing tomorrow morning, 
we'll find that the records had been eliminated, which means that all 
the hours of work on those test results were wasted, thus the case 
would almost certainly be thrown out of court for lack of evidence.' 
	Mulder looked at his watch again, then to his cellular phone. He 
eventually decided on letting Scully find out for herself and call 
him. He copied all the records that the cleaver kid retrieved for him 
into two zip-up floppy disks before hastily leaving the building. He 
didn't have the time or the right training to review and check 
everything in the disks unless he got to the hospital himself and 
questioned everyone who Scully tried to check out. 
Next, Mulder called the FBI's Los Angels office and had them head out 
to the courthouse to get the warrant. Since most of the doctors who 
were working at the testing center in Costa Mesa had some type of 
residence in close vicinity of LA, Mulder assumed it best to have both 
cities covered. 
	Mulder still had the girl's drawings, consisting of myriad 
complex images, symbols, and letters he'd never seen; being displayed 
in vivid colors used and spread all over each picture as if they had 
lives of their own. He remembered the Cryptology reports, but they 
still had no clue as to which language, much less the definition, 
these characters belonged to. 
As was usually the case, Mulder already had a theory. He just wasn't 
dumb enough to raise them in front of the local agents. He would only 
give them another chance to make a whole new series of 'Spooky jokes'. 
Mulder returned to his hotel room, making sure no one followed after 
him. It took him only ten minutes to decide on his plan, get checked 
out of the hotel, then get into his rented car to the airport. Once 
there, he returned the rental car and hauled a cab. 


Jake's House
8 AM Same Day 

Just when Jake was ready to go to the diner with the girl and Stella, 
the sight of one of his business associates stepping out of a car 
greeted him. Jake rolled his eyes in bewilderment and asked them what 
they wanted. Much to his shock, the man informed Jake of an accident 
one of their firm's associates got involved in. The guy, whose name 
was Nicholas Chunovic, had been placed in charge of conducting the 
hiring. 
Jake instantly realized what this meant for the rest of the team. 
Further more, the accident also involved Chunovic's wife and their two 
kids. The three had all been taken into the ICU; with Mrs. Chunovic in 
a coma, the two kids in 'touch and go' condition, and Chunovic himself 
sustained a severe concussion, coupled by a compound fracture on his 
leg.
	As devastated as Jake felt at this point, he knew what he had to 
do for the rest of the day. Jake looked back at Scully who winced at 
the announcement. Elly was getting another day off that day, because 
one of her kids got a nasty food poisoning at school. Jake had to 
choose quickly. He thought about the previous night's conversations in 
between himself and Scully, then recalled the little girl's hunch that 
it was safe to trust Dana Katherine Scully. Sensing what he needed to 
say, Scully held up her hand to get the three men's attention.
	"I'm Special Agent Dana Scully with the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, and I believe we've met before. I can watch the girl 
for Mr. Kathler. I am armed and  fully capable of securing this 
witness." She felt strange saying the words while dressed in her 
leggings and sweatshirt, but no one cared about that at this point. 
Jake nodded gratefully and rushed inside the loft to get what he 
needed at work. Scully looked down at the girl who now held Stella's 
leash in her tiny hand.
	"I know I don't really know you, yet. I also realize you want to 
be with Jake, and I'm sorry that this had to happen to him and his 
friends. But we have to help him right now, and the best thing for us 
to do right now is wait here for Mulder." 
Scully hoped the girl wouldn't ignore her, but the girl stared at her 
directly in the eyes and slowly headed back to the house. Relieved, 
she followed the girl and almost bumped right into Jake at the front 
stairs.
	"Thank you, Dana. I appreciate it." Jake said and turned to the 
girl. "You, my sunshine, are going to be here with Dana. She's a 
really nice woman. You also know that I like her and trust her. She'll 
keep you safe while I'm gone, so go on to the diner with her and 
Stella, instead. She'll take you for the very last test you have to do 
for today, and all will be done. I will be back as soon as I can, I 
promise." 
Jake was practically begging her for understanding. The girl nodded 
slightly and kissed on his cheek. Surprised at the move, Jake released 
a chuckle and returned a kiss on her forehead. 
Next, Jake reached into his jacket pocket and handed Scully his keys, 
telling her what each key belonged to. She tried to take out the key 
to his BMW, but he flatly refused. Jake convinced Scully that he'd 
already had a ride to the office in front of him. He also stressed the 
point that in case of any emergency where the local police wouldn't be 
of any help, she would need the car. Admitting her loss in this 
argument, she reluctantly accepted Jake's generous offer. She promised 
to get her own rental car once Mulder returned. After seeing the car 
drive off, Dana turned back to the girl who stood just a few feet away 
from her.
	"So, do you want to stay here and eat your breakfast? Or, would 
you rather go to this diner of Jake's taste and get your breakfast?" 
She trusted the dog and the girl to lead their way. She wasn't too 
surprised to see Stella whimpering at them both, begging her to let 
her take a walk. Scully complied after locking up the house;  taking 
her badge, an extra gun clip, cellular phone, wallet, and the two key 
rings inside a small waist pouch. She securely clipped her hip 
holster, her service weapon securely encased inside. She thought twice 
about that extra clip before deciding to leave it in the pouch, 
thinking 'you never know'.
Although Scully had never been to the much-talked-about diner, she 
began smelling the unmistakable aroma of freshly brewed coffee, sweet 
pastries; mixed with the greasy scent of fried eggs and bacon, all 
wafting out of a simple flat building with double glass doors. They 
went inside and Scully let Stella in, not knowing the house rules. The 
girl stood in front of Scully and pointed a finger outside. 
Realization dawned on Scully, but she smiled and suggested that maybe 
they'll allow Stella inside just this once, because she was a law 
enforcement official. Remembering what Jake had said to her about 
service dogs before, the girl nodded and quickly chose a table for 
them.
	Just as Scully thought, her FBI badge and a glimpse of her gun 
under the sweatshirt shut up the waitress. When Scully noticed that 
the woman seemed to recognize the little girl, she introduced herself 
and stressed the point that Jake was her personal friend. To reassured 
the young woman, Scully told her that Jake was in no way having 
trouble with the law, and that he was also a personal friend of her 
partner. The waitress laughed before turning to face the girl and 
asked her what she wanted this time. 
Stella whimpered beside the girl, and she stood up with Stella at her 
heels. Scully watched as they both walked up to the display case. The 
girl soon pointed to one of the cream Danishes and held up two 
fingers. Scully laughed and looked at the waitress who wrote down the 
order with a knowing grin. The woman eventually added the blueberry 
muffins to the girl's order. Scully ordered two bags of granola to go, 
a fruit salad, and a tall glass of orange juice as her meal to stay. 
Scully looked around in the diner slowly, most of the seats now filled 
with customers in a relative, but not too much hurry. An occasional 
soft laughter from all around the diner comforted her. She relaxed in 
her seat, listening to the sound of feet shuffling, to the sound of 
morning papers rustling here and there. She also liked the chime that 
greeted each customer with a clink as they walked through the glass 
doors. 
A pure delightful smile slowly broke over Scully's face as she enjoyed 
the orchestra of all these little morning noises as they pleasantly 
stirred the moist air in the building. Seated in this place, 
especially in the company of an adorable little girl and an equally 
adorable dog, Scully could almost forget who she was, and what 
business brought her into this city of Canoga Park. 'Yes.' Scully 
thought as she took a deep breath of relief. 'Just my kind of place'. 
	Scully's eyes eventually drifted to a wall that was occupied by 
the rows of mailing boxes, making her realize that Jake's mail might 
be threatening to burst through the box's metal walls by now. She 
fished for the small mailbox key from the key ring and walked over in 
search for Jake's box. When she found it and opened the door, she saw 
that it had a lot of personal mail, all of which were addressed to 
'Red Shoes'. This puzzled her. For a moment, she even suspected they 
might be for someone else. But then, she wasn't the one to make the 
decisions on who wrote to Jake, or what alias he used for personal 
correspondence. 
'Does Jake have a side-business of selling shoes?' Scully wondered as 
she returned to their table, seeing that her fruit salad had arrived. 
The girl was tearing small pieces of the cream Danish and throwing 
them in the air for Stella to catch in her mouth. Needless to say, 
Stella was doing an excellent job of it. Scully couldn't decide 
whether to laugh or cry as these scarce ordinary picture of peace and 
joy were displayed before her.
	

Henry Barrington Hospital
Same Time
Records Department

"What can I do for you, sir?" The secretary asked politely to the 
human definition of chaos standing in front of her.
	"I need access to the personnel record files."
	"Are you with the department, sir?" The woman's gaze was 
innocent. The man reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a 
thin leather wallet. Woman's eyes widened at the sight of the opened 
badge, especially at the three blue and bold capital letters in the 
center.
	"No, I certainly am not. I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder with the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation." The angry man read each word as if 
they weighed a ton. The woman scurried away, but soon an older gray 
haired man appeared from the back. 
	"What can I do for you, Sir?" The man asked while the scared 
secretary stood behind the man as if to hide from Mulder.
	"Like I was saying to that capable secretary of yours, I need 
certain personal record files for our investigation. I've spent the 
last two days being constantly bounced around like a ping pong ball. 
Please excuse my temper, but my sympathy's worn thin these days, and 
my patience's gone to the Sahara Desert. 
"Go get the records. I have jurisdiction over you people, and your 
crap about confidentiality won't mean a squat to me. Move, now!" 
Mulder exclaimed as he wedged himself in between them and the row of 
desks behind.  
	"If I refuse?" The older man asked without the same smoothness. 
Mulder fumed, but he wasn't about to walk away.
	"If you refuse, sir, you'll get a court order stating exactly 
what I'm telling you now. If you would be stupid enough refuse to 
cooperate with us even with that court order, you'll find your asses 
landing in the federal court, if not in one of our roach-filled 
prisons. You don't have a choice!" 
	"...Dolly, please open the cabinets." All the fight seemed to 
have left the older man in an instant, and he moved aside as the woman 
opened the black filing cabinets. Mulder gave out the names of all 
hospital staff in question, but the files for the doctor who handled 
the girl's CAT scan, and the doctor who was put in charge of the 
girl's genetic testing both turned out to be missing.
	"Get some patient records for those physicians. They're the only 
items I have to prove that these doctors actually existed in order to 
continue investigating them. Now, go get them." Mulder never backed 
down. The gray haired man pulled out one patient file for the missing 
doctors, and reluctantly handed them over to Mulder.
	"If you're looking for the full names and the signatures of 
these doctors, one folder for each doctor should be enough." Mulder 
nodded an agreement to this one.
	"Let's hope so. Next, I need you to pull up the daily schedule 
for all the staff that needs to be interviewed. Go back about two 
weeks, and up to the ones for tomorrow. I'll also need a hard copy of 
everything you find on this subject."
	"Sir..." The older man seemed to have had enough of the 
difficult federal agent. However, when Mulder glared at the man, he 
went straight to work. 
While the older man was working his ass out of his job for the good of 
his country, Mulder looked at his watch and wondered just when Scully 
was coming over. Mulder didn't call her when he got to Los Angels, and 
he still didn't call her when he reached the hospital. He knew a lot 
of what had happened in the course of her day. He was very sure that 
she was as devastated as he was with the recent turn of events, and 
was undoubtedly wearing herself out with work. Maybe not eating at 
all. 
Mulder didn't have the heart to drag her out of her bed and very 
possibly make her sick. 'When was her appointment again?' He wondered 
even though he tried not to remember, much less try to find out the 
details. 
Eventually, Mulder called the FBI Los Angels office to speak with the 
kid agent who had become an ally for Mulder and asked him to check out 
everybody in the printout he just got from the hospital. Mulder told 
Agent Hall that he was going to return to the FBI's LA office soon as 
things became a bit more stable. 
To compensate Agent Hall, Mulder offered the young agent to officially 
include his name in their investigation team. Jumping at his chance to 
work with 'The Bureau's Top Guns', Hall had practically agreed to 
become the team's slave. Mulder had to smile before hanging up. When 
the printouts were done, Mulder carefully reviewed them until he found 
them to be complete. He faxed them all to Agent Thomas Hall.
	Next, Mulder called the Records Office at Henry Barrington 
Hospital in New York City to request the official copy of the little 
girl's misplaced testing results. Mulder deliberately stressed the 
word 'official', because he'd already had the 'unofficial and correct' 
copy for himself and Agent Hall. If a word of each version mismatched, 
Mulder was going to nail the hospital with lawsuits. 
The same gray haired man in the Records Room stared at him open-
mouthed as Mulder made the call to New York. When Mulder thanked the 
older man, he made Mulder exit the room as quickly as possible without 
being overly rude. 
Mulder's next stop was the Neurology Department. He ascended the tiled 
stairs two at a time to cancel the girl's psychological evaluation 
that had been scheduled for the day. Mulder had only half an hour 
before Jake was due for arrival with the girl. Mulder knew he probably 
looked like he'd been in a solitary confinement cell of Alkatraz, but 
he was only going to see Jake and the little girl who didn't seem to 
like him a whole lot. 'After all I've been through,' he thought, 'who 
the hell cares? For as long as Scully doesn't fume at me for not 
calling her yesterday, I'll be fine.'
	So, it was much more than a surprise to Mulder when the familiar 
white BMW pulled up to the hospital's general entrance, and Scully 
stepped out the vehicle with the little girl. It took only a fraction 
of a second for Scully to spot him, and her disheveled 'Oh, not 
again.' stare made him a very sorry man. He surrendered his case and 
trotted over to the car, wondering if Scully was going to bother 
lecturing him about taking better care of himself while on-duty this 
time. 
When Mulder climbed into the car, he was even more surprised to find 
Stella sitting in the passenger seat, undoubtedly with the girl. 
Mulder dropped his briefcase and overnight bag next to him in the 
backseat.
	"I need to return to the Kathler's, and so do you." Scully 
furrowed her eyebrows at his words, as well as at his expression. She 
shook her head in protest.
	"But, Mulder..." Mulder cut her off with a dismissive shake of 
his head.
	"Forget the tests. I've canceled it." The adults missed the girl 
sighing.
	"But, why?" Scully turned her body as much as she could to face 
him better.
	"We've got to do this somewhere else, Scully. I'd like to take 
her back to DC with us, and get her tested by our own experts." At 
times like these, Mulder hated himself for being right. He saw Scully 
look back at the girl, whose gaze locked with hers. Scully took a full 
minute of arguing the pros and the cons of their situations; 
speculating all that she would have to hear from Mulder before she 
nodded and turned on the ignition. As soon as Mulder saw Scully's 
response, he released a relieved sigh.  Feeling that everything would 
be all right at least until they returned to the loft, Mulder 
stretched out in the comfortable backseat and closed his eyes. Scully 
silently wondered if he was sick, but as if reading her mind, his 
words followed after her thoughts.
	"I'm all right, Scully. I admit I'm tired, but I'm not sick. 
I'll be fine as soon as I settle down and rest a bit." Scully looked 
back at him through the rear-view mirror for a short while before 
turning her full attention back to the road. 
Stella climbed into the backseat through the space in between the 
front seats, and much to Mulder's surprise, began mopping his face 
clean. Mulder moaned first to protest, but then seemed to find the 
struggle useless. He soon began returning the gesture by wrapping his 
large hands around Stella's head to stroke her fine fur. 
Stella soon found that the backseat floor was comfortable enough, and 
stretched herself out beside Mulder. Soon, she had her paws alongside 
Mulder's right arm that had been hanging down from the edge of the 
seat, and rested her head right underneath his chin. Mulder found her 
presence strangely comforting, and let himself enjoy it the entire 
trip home. 
Scully remained silent.
	

Jake's House
Same Day

"What are these, Mulder?" Scully asked the moment Mulder handed her 
the ZIP disks. He was setting the Zip-Open special drive, which he 
spotted on Jake's computer desk before the last time he left this 
house. 
	"I'd love to say that it's the Holy Grail, but not quite. In 
these disks, I've got the whole Jane Doe testing results. There are 
five subjects, all of whom undergone exactly the same tests as this 
little girl here had yesterday, and within the period of last two 
weeks. You're the medical expert here, but I'm sure even I can spot 
which one's our Jane Doe..."
	"New York." Scully cut him off. 
	"So, you found out?" Mulder was relieved and disappointed at the 
same time.
	"Yeah. They told me that all our girl's records had been 
mistakenly sent up to their Records Office in New York."
	"Let's hope they're right. Did they tell you to come back and 
get the girl's results from them?"
	"Yeah. They said it should be ready by sometime today."
	"Good. Match them up with what we have here. If even one word 
differs from the original, the bastards are caught red-handed."
	"Sure. You said you wanted to take her to DC with us, but I 
don't think Jake's going for it."
	"Well, I'm sorry but he'll have to. Remember, we have a job to 
do, and an awfully big one by the looks of it. I hate to tell you 
this, Scully, but I don't think they'll give you the right files when 
you go there. I made Agent Thomas Hall ...he's the new member in our 
investigation team, by the way. ...Scully, hold your claws until I'm 
done. ...I made Hall check out the files from this particular Henry 
Barrington's, and he found absolutely nothing on the girl. It's as if 
the girl hadn't arrived at the hospital in the first place. 
"In the testing center in Costa Mesa, I found that they'd already 
destroyed the remaining session tapes, thus forcing me to leave there 
only with what I already had. The tapes had been allegedly sent to the 
Disposals Department by another clerical error. ...They're cleaning 
house, Scully. Any additional testing anyone does on this girl at that 
hospital, or at the testing center, is worthless." Mulder's voice rose 
with tension, and Scully swallowed hard at these revelations. 
	"Mulder, how do you know that this Agent What's-His-Name can be 
trusted?"
	"Agent Thomas Hall reminds me of Pendrell. He practically 
volunteered to be our slave for a chance to work in a real case."
	"Mulder..." Her voice showed both tension and her rising temper. 
Mulder mentally smacked himself in the face.
	"I'm very sorry about that. I never meant any disrespect for 
Pendrell. He was a very valuable ally to us, and he cared for you in 
many ways. I'm also truly sorry we never really got to catch the 
shooter." The last statement delivered another mental slap to Mulder's 
already damaged psyche. Scully sighed her resignation.
	"Mulder, Pendrell was a good man who he never deserved to die so 
young; especially not for me. I'll never give up searching for the 
shooter, with or without your help. ...Anyway, about Agent Hall?" 
Not wanting to elaborate on the subject, Scully pushed Mulder to go 
on. He waited a long moment to make sure it was all right to continue. 
She waved her hand.
	"I checked this guy out, and he couldn't be cleaner. I mean, 
he's twenty-five, graduated out of Duke University when he was twenty-
one. He's a computer expert as well as a playboy. He uses his charms 
well to get connections all over the office. Don't look so 
disappointed, Scully. He's not bad. He's just like a high school kid 
who loves to sneak a peek in girls' locker rooms from the corner 
windows. He's got no criminal record other than two parking 
violations. Oh, he's also a huge fan of New York Knicks, and the 
Minnesota State Hockey team."
	"And you know those specific pieces of information, because...?" 
Scully was now standing with her hands on her hips. Seeing her in her 
casual wear and a ponytail, she looked like a demanding high schooler 
than his FBI partner.
	"Well, that's how I bribed him to get me the data on these ZIP 
disks in the first place. He got real excited, because this is a real 
case that's got a lot of computer work in it. He's like a hound. He 
can smell any misplaced documents from practically everywhere in the 
world, and knows exactly where to look for them. The problem here is 
that in this case, most of them had already been taken or deleted." 
Mulder sighed at the mention of the lost records. Scully stared up at 
him as if to protest, but she soon dropped her arms at her side and 
took the gray disks out of Mulder's offering hands. 
	"Let's see." She said, walking over to Jake's computer. She had 
never even touched the computer until now, and she was impressed with 
the level of all the installed software. Lucky for them, the machine 
was made by the same brand as the one Scully had in her own apartment. 
To Mulder's credit, Scully soon noticed the downloaded plug-ins and 
the document translators. Mulder undoubtedly remembered to download 
into the ZIP disks, knowing what kind of computers Jake owned. 
Mulder picked up the virtual reality machine that had been lying next 
to the laser printer. He toyed with it, looking as if it would jump up 
and chew his nose off at any given moment. Scully restarted the 
computer and began opening the files. Her eyes narrowed at the amount 
of information it gave her. 
"Jesus, Mulder. This is incredible! It's got all the graphics and 
films, too. Not to mention the meticulous notes of updates." Scully 
didn't spare him a glance, her eyes seemingly glued to the computer 
screen.
	"Yep. Just like viewing the scanning screens at the hospital. I 
was lucky to have Agent Hall. He's very cleaver." Mulder said as he 
returned the VR machine to the desk, then walked to the refrigerator. 
Delighted that the sweet potato pie was still there, he helped himself 
two pieces from the dish, then he got a glass and filled it with milk. 
He brought them over to Jake's computer desk and placed them over a 
round side table that had been set nearby for just such occasions. 
Scully gave him a sigh, as well as a brief smile at his choice of the 
meal.
	"It'll take me hours to get through all this data, Mulder. Why 
don't you get some rest? I'm guessing that you haven't slept in more 
than 48 hours, and I know that you brought the girl's artwork with 
you." Scully kept her eyes on the computer screen, though her voice 
spoke enough of her concerns. Mulder took a large slug of milk and 
nodded. 
	"Wake me up when you're done, and if you have to go somewhere 
for whatever the reason, either wake me up or leave me a note. You 
should leave the girl in here, though. ...Where's Kathler today, by 
the way? And what about Elly?" Finally noticing their absence, he 
asked, and stuck his loaded fork close to Scully's mouth, gesturing 
her to take a bite. She looked at Mulder with a questioning gaze but 
went for it, eliciting a small smile from Mulder.
	"Jake gave Elly another day off, because one of her kids got a 
nasty stomach flu from the school lunch. As for Jake, he's gone to the 
office. His business associates pulled up in their Lincoln and got 
Jake. He gave me all his keys, and told me to take the car."
	"Why? When staff like that happens to me, I usually end up half-
dead." Mulder's trademark grin appeared.
	"Well, one of his office partners, a Mr. Nicholas Chunovic, got 
into a real serious car accident. The entire family's currently in the 
ICU. Mrs. Chunovic is in a coma with a 'touch-and-go' condition, while 
Mr. Chunovic sustained a compound fracture and a massive concussion. I 
don't have details on their two kids, but they are both currently 
listed under critical conditions. 
"The rest of Jake's firm associates are in a long meeting, trying to 
come up with a way to cover this man's shift. Also, don't you forget 
that this happened after that famous incident with their employers in 
Nice." Scully arched her eyebrow as she crossed her arms in front of 
her chest for emphasis. Mulder nodded thoughtfully and finished the 
milk.
	"But he's in his office, right? I mean, if we need to contact 
him."
	"Sure. But I suggest we only call on emergencies." Scully said 
as she took another bite of the pie delivered to her mouth. Mulder 
nodded at the comment, but felt it would happen soon enough. When he 
finished the pie, he took the dishes to the dishwasher and went 
straight to his assigned bed, which he hadn't used until now. Scully 
heard him getting changed, surprised that he actually followed her 
suggestion. She really hoped he wouldn't have his nightmares while 
their stay in this house. 
Scully felt a slight tug at her leg, and turned to face the little 
girl holding another one of her drawing. Although Scully hadn't seen 
much of them, she knew they held clues to just where this girl had 
been, as well as the clues to learn what had happened to her. She 
gazed at the drawing for a while, but had no idea what to say to her. 
She handed it back to the girl, then asked her what it meant just to 
see her reaction. She gave none. 
Next, Scully asked the girl if she wanted something from the kitchen. 
The girl shook her head 'no', then pointed to the white square-shaped 
devise lying beneath the VR machine that Mulder was playing with 
earlier. Scully looked at the devise closely, instantly realizing that 
it was a scanner. 'That makes sense', she thought. The guy was a 
successful architect. Therefore, using the devise to scan-in his 
designs and viewing them with the VR machine must help him. 'But what 
does this have to do with the artwork?' Again, Scully took the drawing 
out of the girl's hand and pointed to the scanner.
	"Did Jake use this a lot?" She asked, being careful to keep her 
voice low, so as not to disturb her partner. The girl only nodded, 
followed by a small smile. That was when Scully figured out what the 
girl really wanted. 
"Do you want me to copy your drawing for you on the computer screen?" 
Another nod. She then felt a slight tingling on her skin as she 
realized what it must be about.
"Did Jake use this machine to get all of your drawings into the 
computer?" This got Scully another big nod and a grin for confirmation 
from the girl. Scully suddenly felt like opening up someone else's 
personal diary. Why hadn't Jake said anything about using the VR 
machine to the authorities? But then, the answer was simple enough. 
They hadn't earned his trust, yet. She also understood why Jake hadn't 
yet trusted her or Mulder, but she didn't understand why this 
realization hurt her.
	Scully wiped her face with her free hand and stared down at the 
girl. True to her guess, the girl was now trying to put on the VR 
machine on herself, her tiny hands barely reaching the edge of the 
black headpiece. Scully still had the medical files to review, and 
quickly. She tapped on the girl's shoulder lightly to get attention. 
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you have this, yet. I still have work to 
do here, and I don't think Jake will be happy about your using this 
machine without my asking Jake for permission on your behalf. I'll let 
you play with it once I'm done here, but it will take quite a while. I 
hope you understand." Scully tried to get the girl to understand her 
reasons, because she was being honest here. So far, the girl had been 
more than cooperative toward them, despite the difficulties their 
investigation imposed on her. Suddenly, Scully remembered how Jake 
talked to this girl and used the same method. 
"Hey, I'll make you a deal. I'll have your drawing scanned right now, 
and it'll be saved up inside this box. When I'm done with my homework, 
you can have all the time you want with this, okay? It'll be all yours 
once I'm done, and you can have it until Jake comes back." 
Scully hoped this one would work better, and was relieved when it did. 
The girl watched as Scully closed the medical file and searched for 
the right files to get the computer connected with the scanner. She 
then placed the drawing carefully onto the glass panel and closed the 
rid. She clicked on the 'Ready' button on the computer screen, then 
pressed the 'Start' button on the scanner. Lastly, Scully handed the 
drawing back to the girl and thanked her. The girl nodded again and 
trotted her way back toward the bookshelves, where she had been 
looking through some professional photography books. 
	Three hours later, Scully stood up from the chair to stretch her 
body, then she walked to the kitchen to make herself some coffee. 
While it was brewing, she settled herself on a kitchen stool and 
watched her partner, still soundly asleep. Mulder hasn't woken up 
anyone so far with his terrifying screams for his sister or for Scully 
herself. 
Scully hoped that the nightmares would leave her partner the hell 
alone. It made things much harder for him to live with than he 
deserved. He suffered enough already in the past. It was infuriating 
that this man had to suffer from their countless encounters with 
tragedy and betrayal, with the knowledge that his sister was still out 
there, waiting for him. To this day, Mulder had not even been able to 
escape from the memories and fears in his sleep. 
	Scully's eyes eventually rested on Mulder's briefcase, where he 
undoubtedly kept the tapes of the girl's sessions, as well as the 
printouts from the hospital's Records Office. When she was only half 
way through the file, taking her time in thoroughly examining it so as 
not to miss anything, she began having a growing feeling that the 
girl's health was in jeopardy. She thought of the extra vial of the 
girl's blood in the freezer, secured in a small padded metal 
container. It gave her a chill. 
Scully remembered Mulder's earlier words about calling up Skinner to 
have the man get himself involved in this investigation. The idea 
became really attractive, especially now. 
'How long?' Scully thought with a sick horror. 'How long before they 
start following us around? Or, attempt to snatch this girl away? Or, 
try to assassinate her, as well as Mulder and myself??' Scully 
recalled Mulder telling her during their flight down to LA, that he 
was willing to back off. For her.
	"Damnit!" Her voice was a tense whisper. Just then, the coffee 
machine behind her signaled it had done its job. She let her shoulders 
relax and chose not to move a muscle for several seconds. 
Mulder stirred, and Scully saw that he was muttering something in his 
sleep. She tensed immediately, ready to interrupt his sleep if 
necessary. She looked to the girl who sat by the television, watching 
some documentary about African wildlife. Scully couldn't dare let the 
girl hear Mulder scream. It could trigger a panic attack in the girl 
that initially resulted in her current state. 
When Scully was sure that her partner was fine, she retrieved his 
briefcase that still lay on top of the coffee table. She felt a little 
guilty for snooping, but then, her partner would understand. Bur 
first, she returned to Jake's computer desk to finish reading the 
medical files. 


Jake's House
Same Day 4:30 PM

Mulder awoke with a start at the sound of Scully's voice talking over 
the phone. He swallowed hard as his consciousness made a successful 
comeback to the real world. He slowly opened his eyes, instantly 
greeted by the faint hint of sunlight that had crawled through the 
screens, telling him that it was still day. He stirred under the 
covers, and saw Scully walking passed by his bed. 
Although Scully had her cellular phone pressed to her ear and was 
blocking his view of her face, her voice was another matter entirely. 
Mulder furrowed his eyebrows, noticing how distressed she sounded. 
When he focused closer on the background noise, he could hear the TV 
and the sound of someone moving around. He guessed it was most 
probably the little girl. The rhythmical clicking noise that followed 
the shuffling feet must belong to Stella. He smiled, then pulled 
himself up to work the kinks out of his tall frame. As soon as he 
stood up, Scully stopped her pacing and came directly over to him. 
	"Mulder, we've got a problem." A thousand reasons for their 
having 'a problem' flew through his awaking mind. When he didn't 
speak, she answered for him. "Mrs. Chunovic was just pronounced dead 
at the hospital. Mr. Chunovic took a serious down turn because of it. 
The kids are also doing worse. Jake said either of the kids could go 
at any moment, and that the entire firm's gone to the hospital to 
watch things over. Jake's also staying there, but he's mostly at the 
office, finishing the rest of their work. He can't come back here for 
the night, and nobody has a clue just when he can. So..." Scully 
sighed and placed her hand over her hip. Mulder nodded.
	"We can't leave the house."
	"Yeah. Or one of us can stay here while the other gets to go out 
there to dig for some more clues, but..." Mulder firmly shook his head 
'no', cutting her off.
	"Forget it, Scully. I'm not going. If you have to go somewhere, 
you go without me. I need to be around the girl and observe her. I 
didn't tell you before going to sleep, but I've got the tapes in my 
briefcase..." Scully nodded deeply.
	"I know. I have them."
	"Oh." Her statement alone was enough. "The medical files?" He 
asked as he walked over to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee for 
himself. 
	"I'm done with those. I'll need to go over them again one by one 
with you." Mulder nodded his agreement with the plan. She nodded back 
and further lowered her voice. "I was kind of hoping that we could do 
it without having that girl around. She's smart, and she understands 
what we say. I don't think she's good at writing nor reading, but in 
conversations and observations, she's very good. I don't want her 
getting scared and delay her recovery." Mulder raised his eyebrows 
while taking a long sip of the bitter brown liquid, putting down the 
mug with a sour face.
	"Time's flying away, and Jake's gone. We have no choice. I still 
need to watch those videos, with or without her being in the house." 
Mulder was speaking the truth. Scully nodded before motioning him over 
to Jake's computer desk. He detected the 'There's more' look on her 
face and quietly followed her.
	"Bring it on, Scully." He said as he pulled over a chair that 
was set near a window, then set it next to her before sitting down in 
it. She pulled up the hospital record from New York's Jane Doe. He 
stared at the CAT scan image.
	"Tell me what I'm looking at, Scully." His eyes searched for any 
sign of abnormality that he could recognize.
	"Look at the cerebrum and the nasal cavity." Scully pointed to 
the area with a pen.
	"All right. What about them?"
	"There's a very small area where blood vessels from the sinus 
cavity are gathering. It's right there, at the blank dark space. It's 
showing up blank, because that area is filled with clear fluids. Now, 
on the very edge of the brain tissue at the cerebrum, there's some 
abnormality in the flow of the fluids. It seems as if some foreign 
body 's been abandoned there, or a blood clot is developing in there. 
It's barely recognizable at this point, and very easily missed by 
physicians. Even if they detected this, they might just treat it with 
blood thinning agent. If the clogging worsens, they may try to 
surgically remove it. It could be anything, Mulder. An impact 
resulting from an external injury, or a developmental abnormality, or 
a..."
	"An implant?" Paling fast, Mulder stared at the image he 
couldn't interpret.
	"No, it's organic." She saw Mulder's head turn sharply. "We 
didn't even find a scar on the back of her neck, Mulder. You already 
knew that." She dropped her gaze.
	"A growth? Like a tumor?" Mulder was hardly listening to her.
	"Mulder, I'm not sure. We need a biopsy to determine that. At 
this point, it's much too early for anything to really show up on 
ordinary tests."
	"If it is so damn small that it's virtually undetectable, how 
long could she have had this?" Scully should have known that Mulder 
would jump on a sinking ship.
	"It depends on the person. Maybe she was born with it. Maybe she 
acquired it. Don't rush into any conclusion here, Mulder. If it is in 
fact a blood clot, then she needs an in-vitro blood-thinning agent. We 
need to take her to a specialist, but we should take care of other 
issues first. The girl can wait, because it's not yet life 
threatening. Other things are."
	"Like?" His eyes never left the screen image.
	"Like, the gene test that we have to do on the girl. Like, 
tracking down the doctors before they end up dead. Who's behind all 
this? How many more subjects have found themselves in the middle of 
these situations as our girl has? For how much longer can we keep any 
of us safely involved in our investigation?"
	"Okay. Anything else?" Mulder tore his eyes off the screen and 
faced her. Sensing that she had something big under her sleeve, Mulder 
watched as she picked up the VR headpiece and handed it to him.
	"Here's Jake's pet project." Mulder narrowed his eyes at her 
words and took the devise from her offering hands. "When I was 
reviewing the files, the girl came up to me with another one of her 
drawing. She pointed out to the scanner, which is that white box right 
in front of you, and insisted that I take her drawing. Seems like 
Jake's been doing that with every single one of them." Mulder's 
eyebrows jumped an inch, followed by a moment of pause and a shrug.
	"Well, Kathler already told us about making the copies."
	"That's not all, Mulder." Scully kept staring at him.
	"Was he viewing them with this?" Mulder held up the machine. She 
didn't need to answer. "So, he was analyzing the pictures himself. Did 
you get a look at what he was doing?" Mulder's self-loathing was back 
in charge as he repeatedly cursed himself in his head for not noticing 
the damn equipment on their first day in this place.
	"I did. ...Sort of. I'm not a computer wiz, Mulder, and neither 
are you. But those pictures I had a chance to look through on the flat 
screen, not the VR screen, they looked as if they had been rearranged. 
They looked way too clean for them to be the originals."
	"The guy couldn't afford to trust us, yet. We can't blame him 
for being cautious. As for Kathler's method for analysis, I'd been 
doing the exact same thing myself. I've got a notebook full of the 
stuff I've isolated according to the images' pattern and the frequency 
of repetition."
	"Mulder, it's better to do it this way. It's more efficient and 
it's done by science. You don't have to wreck yourself by trying to 
analyze something that is impossible to analyze."
	"It's not really impossible, Scully. I mean, I've seen the girl 
and she hates hospitals flat-out, though she hides it really well. Her 
exhaustion comes more from the stress of being alone in a strange room 
with strangers who surround her with machines, than from the 
procedures themselves. I've recognized several shapes that could only 
be tables or beds. Aside from several images that looked like human 
bodies, but they were a little too out-of-shape for humans." 
Scully shot him a look of warning, with a touch of exasperation thrown 
in for free. Mulder resisted the urge to toss her an innuendo about 
this quickly becoming their pattern, and kept on.
"I can't be definite, because all the colors get in the way. Mostly, 
she's used gray, green, yellow, blue, and red. There are some black 
and brown, but they're used mostly for the letters and symbols. 
Cryptology guys also thought the images were somehow connected with 
one another, and they've printed up a copy of all the strange symbols 
and letters they could isolate out of them. According to them, none of 
the letters or symbols has ever been used in this world." At Scully's 
look of skepticism, Mulder shook his head out of frustration. Mulder 
stared her down hard as he shifted his feet.
"By the way, that list included all the known classical languages from 
Greek, Egyptian, Inca, Aborigine, Eskimo, Ainu, Mayan, Native 
American, Tibetan, Icelandic, plus all the known ancient African, 
Polynesian, and Micronesian tribal. All this research, and still they 
had no clue as to where the characters used in our girl's drawings 
came from. Yet, they came up in every drawing she's done since Kathler 
rescued her. So, they called it a dead-end."
	"I think that it's time you call Agent Hall. He's a computer 
expert. He may as well know enough about VR machines." Scully said, 
handing Mulder her cellular phone. Mulder knew this was as close to an 
admission of defeat from Scully as he was going to get this time 
around.
	"Why don't we just drag Kathler out here? It's his toy, after 
all."
	"I don't think he knows too much about the machine, Mulder. 
There were several drawings that seemed to have been abandoned half 
way through."
	"Fine. I left Hall with a homework of tracking the missing 
doctors for us, but I'll do it. I've told him some stuff about you, 
and he said he wanted to see you. The kid practically offered himself 
to us." Mulder said as he dialed the number out of his memory. Scully 
sighed and got off of the medical file. It took Mulder only a couple 
of sentences to get Hall to leave the office and rush to the airport. 
	"Scully, could you see if Kathler at least saved the originals? 
You know, before dissecting them?" Mulder said as he looked at his 
watch, frowning at the time. 
	"Yeah. It looks like he made two folders. One for the originals, 
and another exclusively for mutilation." She arched her eyebrow again 
for emphasis, meeting his own raised eyebrow. 'Cleaver man', they 
thought simultaneously.
	"Okay. Could we go over the tapes in the mean time?" Mulder 
said, already walking toward the TV set where the girl was. Scully 
watched as Mulder knelt down in front of her just the way Jake had 
done, and explained why the partners needed to have the TV set to 
themselves for just a while. The girl shrugged and called Stella over 
to play around Jake's model buildings. 
Scully inserted the first tape, a legal pad in her hand. Mulder made a 
quick trip to the kitchen and got himself another two slices of the 
remaining pie. Scully rolled her eyes at the sight, but then she 
remembered Elly wouldn't be in to cook for them. Realizing this, she 
told Mulder to pause the tape and got herself a bowl of granola with 
yogurt on top. When she returned, Mulder gave her an appreciative 
look. Scully knew she had to eat something, and it also kept him from 
hovering over her.
Mulder's cellular phone rang before they could ever start on the first 
tape. He took it out of his abandoned jacket pocket, and listened in 
intently. Scully kept staring at the paused image of the girl and a 
middle-aged man that looked to be a therapist, but literally jumped a 
few inches as her partner cursed loudly and drove a vicious kick into 
a leg of his bed. 
	"Call me as soon as you know more!!" Mulder yelled into the 
phone, marching his way back to his stunned partner. 
	"Mul...?" Scully never got a chance to ask what was wrong.
	"All the hell's breaking loose, Scully. Before I came back, I 
told the guys in Los Angels to make house calls on these doctors. Now, 
their houses are going up in flames as we speak."
	"What!?"
	"The fire department's raising their arms up in the air. 
Nothing's salvageable, and if there were anybody in there, consider 
them gone." 
	"Mulder, we should have the local police secure the families of 
these doctors..."
	"It's too late, Scully. They're already missing." His voice 
slightly shook at the end. "We can't leave this house. They've already 
alerted the police in this town, and they're all watching those houses 
round-the-clock until our guys in LA get there to collect any 
evidence. It's only a matter of time before someone tries to get to 
us. In this house." 
Mulder honestly looked desperate. Scully reached up and took Mulder's 
hand to lead him back to the television set. They needed to finish 
viewing the videos before something else happened to them.
	"Mulder, calm down and tell me what I'm looking at on this 
screen here. You're a psychologist, and I'm a medical doctor. We'll do 
what we can, one step at a time." 
Mulder's piercing gaze would have been enough to scare anybody away, 
except for Dana Scully. Mulder took several deep breaths before 
settling himself back in front of the television set. He took a moment 
before turning his attention back to his partner.
	"I'm sorry, Scully. I shouldn't have blasted off like that in 
front of her." He apologized, pointing to the little girl, now 
standing a little uneasily beside Stella at the computer desk. Mulder 
faced the girl and Stella, trying to amend the mishap. "I'm very sorry 
if I scared you just now. I won't let that happen again." With that, 
Mulder turned back to the screen. The girl kept her position, her eyes 
slowly moving toward Jake's computer desk.
She hated machines, but she hated the thick fog in her brains even 
more. The fog appeared every time she tried to remember things too 
hard, or for too long at a time. She had fragments, but not the whole 
story. She was getting tired of being ignored even when she was the 
center of attention. She again asked herself if she could survive 
through the experimentation she had planned for herself. So far, none 
of the adults realized her motives. She hated herself for what she was 
about to do to herself, Jake, and their new friends.
She felt the smooth cool surface of the desk, and slid her hands on it 
a couple of times before finding the switch she was looking for. It 
didn't take too much effort on her part to get the brand logo on the 
black screen, and within minutes, she was staring at a row of icons to 
choose from. She knew that it was the one at the very left end of the 
third top row, because she saw Jake select it each time he wore the 
huge headpiece. 
She inserted her tiny hands into the groves with the myriad wires, 
tightening the elastic band around her tiny fingers. She hoped she was 
doing this right. Finally getting that done, she reached over to the 
VR machine and tried to pull it over her small head. Frustrated to 
find it too large for her frame, she began playing with it to see if 
she could adjust it the way her parents did for her every time they 
let her listen to a walk-man. She eventually found the adjusting 
button, and finally eased it over the top of her head. It was still a 
little unsteady, but the straps were tight enough to stabilize it. 
	She didn't have to wait for too long for the first image to come 
up. Frustrated now to find them not in their original order, she moved 
her hand. Then, the picture moved to the same direction her hand did. 
She released a laugh, moving her hand around again, and watching the 
pictures move according to the movement of her wrist. When she tried 
to grab the edge of the desk to steady herself, she recognized the 
picture sort of wobbled around like there'd been an earthquake. 
She soon found out how the movements of her fingers made the pictures 
move. Excited now, she began moving around the three-dimensional space 
even faster, watching the little images scatter around. She released 
more laughter and began playing with them as if the whole thing was a 
big jigsaw puzzle to her. 
	When she grew bored of that particular picture, she pulled the 
headpiece off of her head, and brought the arrow shaped cursor down 
one more row to see what that one had in store for her. She had seen 
Jake go into this one only once, and after that, he'd hugged her with 
tears in his eyes. She knew what he saw in there didn't make him 
happy. But they were her drawings, and she had no idea just which ones 
had been copied in there. 
She reluctantly clicked on the new image and put the headpiece back 
on. She frowned as she was met with yet another folder with another 
row of icons. She had no idea how to select the pictures out of the 
folder, but she knew that at least one of them was always selected for 
the users. The image came into view, and she felt the whole world 
crash down on top of her.
	A piercing scream of a child bounced off the loft's white walls, 
mixed with the sound of Stella barking. Immediately following was a 
loud thud, along with the noise of several objects crashing down on 
the floor. Both agents jumped at the loud noises, startled. Mulder 
immediately sprung to his feet, while Scully grabbed the remote to 
stop the tape. As Scully got to her feet, she heard a high choking 
sound, followed by Mulder crying out for her. Stella barked 
hysterically, running around the area in tight circles. Scully rushed 
over with her gun drawn, but the sight that greeted her was nothing 
she expected.
	"Call an ambulance! She's having a seizure!" Mulder yelled 
without taking his eyes off of the girl's convulsing body. He had his 
arm around the girl's tiny head, the other covering her torso to stop 
her from damaging herself any further. Stella was still jumping around 
them frantically, but Mulder finally wore out his patience and roughly 
shoved the dog away. Stella nearly lost her balance, but she recovered 
in an instant and stared at Mulder in surprise. 
"Scully, look through the medicine cabinet and see if there's any 
medication for this! Fucking son of a bitch! Kathler should've told us 
about this!" Scully was already on the phone, requesting medical 
assistance and reporting the girl's condition. When she was done, she 
looked around and realized what must have happened.
	"Mulder, I don't think this has anything to do with an existing 
medical condition nor the blood clot we found." She said, trying to 
assess the girl's condition as best she could under the circumstances. 
It gave her a shudder to look at the girl's eyes moving rapidly in 
their sockets. Her tiny body sprung up and smashed back down onto the 
floor with each attack.
	"What?" Still recovering from his own shock, his reply was 
barely audible.
	"I think she was in the virtual reality. The computer's on, and 
so as the VR headpiece."
	"But, she..." Mulder's voice tensed as he realized their mistake 
of leaving the girl unattended.
	"Mulder, this girl's mind is exceptional. I've seen the girl's 
IQ test from the file Agent Hall retrieved. Her score was far into a 
genius's level, and she's at an age where she takes everything in like 
a sponge. It might be easy enough for her to use anything in the house 
if she'd seen someone doing it." Her voice wobbled as she tried to 
steady the girl's body under her hands.
	"Damn it! I shouldn't have left her alone, Scully." She saw that 
his eyes had grown moist, and a slight shade of red was covering the 
whites. Stella once again tried to approach the girl, and Mulder 
immediately stuck his hand out to shove her away. This time, Stella 
retaliated with an unmistakable growl of rage. Mulder instantly drew 
his hand back and glared at her. It wasn't until the girl's seizures 
stopped and the paramedics took over the scene that Scully noticed a 
thin trace of drying tears on her cheek. 
	"We're taking her to the Henry Barrington's. I don't know if..." 
The driver of the ambulance said as Mulder climbed into the passenger 
seat, but Mulder cut him off.
	"No, we don't!! We go anywhere but there!!" Mulder nearly 
screamed, and everyone who rode in the back heard it.
	"But, it's the closest..." Mulder's tension was contagious as 
the driver raised his voice.
	"I don't give a flying fuck!! That hospital is under FBI 
investigation for malpractice and record tampering. That girl is one 
of their victims. She won't be safe there. Go somewhere else." The 
driver threw his hands in the air and complied. Just then, he heard 
the door to the passenger door open and Scully appeared. She handed 
him his cellular phone, and pulled at his arm to take him out of the 
paramedics' earshot.
	"Mulder, one of us should stay here no matter what. I'll ride 
with them to the hospital and explain everything to Jake, including 
the test results. You should stay here and finish analyzing the 
pictures. Something in there scared the girl to half-death. You've 
been facing those drawings from the beginning, so you should finish 
them. Also, we can't forget about Agent Hall's pending arrival, can 
we? Someone's gotta open the door for him." Scully added the last 
statement as an attempt at half-job of a humor, then patted Mulder on 
his arm for reassurance.
	"But..." Mulder half raised his arm, stopping when he realized 
he had better go with it. He was too devastated to remain rational and 
coherent. He withdrew his hand and nodded. Seeing his response, Scully 
immediately hopped into the passenger seat. 
	"It'll be okay, Mulder." He barely heard her voice as the 
ambulance came to life, and the siren ripped thorough the moist air. 
Resigning himself to the tasks at hand, Mulder made his way back into 
the loft. 
	Conversation with Jake was difficult, as Jake demanded the hows 
and the whys of the situation. All Mulder could do was to tell the 
enraged man to get the explanations from Scully, and that he needed to 
stay at the house to await the arrival of an additional federal agent. 
Jake hanged up on him abruptly, and Mulder didn't even know it until 
the familiar 'Ready' tone came through the receiver. 
Mulder blankly stared at the VR headpiece, the empty coffee mug Scully 
had left, and a pile of papers lying scattered on the hardwood floor. 
His knees suddenly lost their bearings, his feet instantly turning 
into sponge beneath his limbs. Unable to sustain his balance, he 
dropped onto the floor on his rear with a thud. He didn't move for a 
long time before getting up and setting up the VR machine. Stella 
stayed at a safe distance away from him, but never left his side. He 
stared at her, and strangely thought he could read exactly what the 
dog was thinking. 'Yes', the eyes seemed to be saying. 'I never should 
have trusted you. All of this is your fault'. Mulder swallowed hard 
and forced himself to look away from those prying eyes.
	Scully was right, again. Mulder needed to know what frightened 
the girl into the seizure. He sighed once as he took the seat at 
Jake's computer desk, the mess on the floor completely ignored. The 
moment Mulder adjusted the headpiece and inserted his hands into the 
attached hand piece, he realized the machine hadn't been turned off 
nor damaged by the impact of the fall. Mulder was now staring directly 
into the image the girl had seen. His jaw dropped at the sight that 
hit his eyes. 
Mulder had been right all along. With the aid of the VR machine, Jake 
had figured out just as much or more than Mulder had without the 
machine. Jake had his own interpretations on the drawings, and had 
even tried to paste several pictures at each corner of the three-
dimensional screen as if to form a cubicle. Mulder noted especially 
that several drawings were three-dimensional, which was the very 
reason why he couldn't quite place the colors and shapes of each 
image. He smacked himself on the head for not realizing the trick 
early on.
	Agent Hall called on his cellular just when Mulder began viewing 
the dissected version of the pictures. Hall told Mulder that he was in 
Canoga Park, and was now only minutes away from the house. Mulder told 
the man to make it under one minute, hanging up on the agent before 
hearing the poor man's reply.


Prescott Hospital
7PM Same Day

Jake looked far worse than Mulder did, and he didn't look any better 
after Scully explained all the information they've received during 
their investigation. He buried his head in his palms and deflated in 
the chair set by the girl's bed. He took the cup of coffee Scully 
handed to him and stared helplessly at the still form of the girl in 
front of him. He hadn't spoken in more than half an hour, and Scully 
had already told him all that she could. When he finally opened his 
mouth, his voice was barely audible. 
	"I wondered why she didn't stop me or pull me out from under VR, 
even when it meant having to wait for me for hours at a time. I had no 
idea she was trying to learn how I used the computer and the VR 
machine. If I'd known that she was a true genius, I'd have hid the VR 
machine out of her sight." 
	"It's not your fault, Jake. It never was. In fact, it was no 
body's fault. Don't ever forget that." Scully patted his back for 
emphasis, wondering just how many times she'd said the same phrase to 
Mulder. 
	"But, I should have been more careful. I was responsible for her 
care and support..." Jake trailed off, his words only renewing his 
self-hatred. 'Yep.' Scully thought, 'Definitely have a lot in common 
with Mulder'. She sighed as she tried to search for the right words to 
speak.
	"We all should have been much more careful, Jake. Being too 
careful, though, as we had been at first, could also mean trouble. We 
didn't trust each other well enough to disclose all information. To be 
completely honest with you, even if I trusted you as much as I trust 
Mulder, I still wouldn't have divulged any unconfirmed information. I 
might present it as a theory, but never as a fact." Said Scully, as 
she watched Jake take another sip of his coffee. She then listened as 
he began telling her just what he had seen the first time when he went 
under the VR: 	
	When he saw the first drawing, his eyes popped wide open behind 
the black viewing devise. People. There were people in there. Jake was 
sure, because there were a couple of figures that had sets of long 
legs and arms. They even had heads, but their limbs looked so out of 
shape for any human body. 
This first drawing had a lot of red and pale bright greenish colors 
spread all over the scattered human forms. Jake had no clue as to what 
they were. But then, this was art. He found what looked like symbols 
and letters that had been drawn over the bright colors, so that he 
didn't recognize them at first glance.
	On the second drawing, there was what looked like a board that 
was almost large enough to be called a table. The object was drawn 
with a few large machines that had obviously been attached to it. 
There was a very thin red light coming from the center of the machine, 
and from the looks of it, it was directed straight down to the table. 
What shocked Jake the most was the parts of what looked to be human 
bodies, though he hoped they weren't. According to the drawing, these 
body parts had been broken, twisted in very unnatural positions. Jake 
also recognized what looked to be tongues hanging out of their opened 
mouths, forcing him to wrestle his nausea. Two small round holes drawn 
above the open mouths indicated their eyes, but they gave him no other 
clue than the fact that they were open.
'Murder?' Jake wondered as he felt bone-freezing chill crawling up and 
down his entire body. 'Jesus, this girl saw murders?' But, just as it 
was with the first drawing, he had no idea what other drawn bits and 
pieces indicated. 
	Jake moved on quickly through the other drawings. The third 
drawing showed unmistakable image of a building. Its exterior was 
wrapped in gray and black, while its central parts mainly consisted of 
yellow and red. 'Fire.' he thought. 'Fire and smoke.' Then, there were 
images of what looked to be people running out of a black car. 
This image of a burning building was hard to detect on the computer 
screen, because it had been written in the folding corners of two 
walls. >From the looks of it, it was no ordinary, clean shoot-to-kill 
murder. There was such a large quantity of red used in this drawing, 
so much that it almost covered an entire wall of the cubicle. If the 
red splatters used in this drawing were supposed to be human blood, 
Jake was looking at a possible eyewitness to multiple homicides. 
	Scully listened silently as Jake finished giving her his witness 
accounts, nodding or frowning occasionally for response, but never 
actually speaking. She mentally took notes of Jake's story to later 
report to Mulder. The emergency physician who was assigned to care for 
the girl came to report the status of his patient. Scully shook hand 
with the doctor, who knew about Scully's knowledge in medicine. 
	"Well, the good news is that she's calmed down now. However, I 
wouldn't risk moving her anywhere for the night. She's already tried 
and succeeded in attacking one of the orderlies by biting his hand. I 
should mention that he was bitten really hard. ...She's sedated now, 
and I hate to do this to such a little girl, but she's going to be in 
restraints for the rest of her stay in here."
	"Oh, my God!" Jake exclaimed, his hand covering his mouth and 
his chin. Scully bit her lower lip and nodded her acceptance. They 
were lucky enough that the girl wasn't sent to a psychiatric 
institution for children.
	"Thank you, doctor. I wouldn't want her to hurt herself, 
either." She said as she lightly patted Jake's arm. The doctor nodded 
and walked away. She pulled out her cellular phone and called Mulder. 
Since he'd answered on the first ring, there was no doubt he'd had the 
phone lying on a table or somewhere in front of him all along, waiting 
for this very call.
	"Mulder, she's okay for now." She didn't waste time with 
pleasantries. She could hear his sigh of relief over the line. She 
wouldn't be surprised if his eyes were swollen half-shut from crying. 
After all, she remembered the torture he'd put himself through after 
losing Melissa, not Scully's elder sister, but the woman he believed 
was his wife in one of his past lives. She also remembered him hit 
rock bottom after losing the battle with the alien bounty hunter in an 
effort to protect the clones of his sister. Then, there was what she'd 
heard from her mother during the time she was missing and he had Alex 
Krychek as his new partner. 
	When Mulder wouldn't speak, she listened hard and heard a 
consistent hitching that was either sounds of someone heaving or 
choking. She stared up at the ceiling as she softly called his name. 
She got no response. She knew what she needed to do.
"She's not out of the woods, yet. But she's going to be okay, and 
we're all here to watch over her." As she spoke, she walked into the 
room where Jake was holding the girl's tiny hand. Scully saw the hand 
sticking out of the white restraining band, suddenly feeling her heart 
muscles contract painfully at the sight. She lightly tapped on Jake's 
shoulder, eliciting a slight flinch from him. He looked into her eyes, 
his deep hazel eyes now glowing from moisture they held there. Feeling 
Jake's penetrating gaze, Scully's heart skipped a beat. She tightened 
the leash on her emotions and slowly handed Jake the phone. 
	"He needs to hear you speak. He's in quite a shock himself, and 
he needs to know that she's okay. But most urgently, he needs to know 
that he isn't the only one to blame for this incident. Please, Jake. 
Talk to him." Scully kept her voice calm, hoping Jake wouldn't start 
throwing accusations at Mulder or herself. 
Jake looked at the phone, then to her, before finally taking it. She 
was relieved, but then she saw his thumb was moving toward the 'Talk' 
button to hang up. Scully gripped on his wrist before the finger got 
there. 
"Please, Jake. I'll explain why later. You're going to crush him with 
this if you won't at least talk to him." Her tone and her eyes were 
the testament to her sincerity. Jake narrowed his eyes at her words 
before swallowing hard and brought the phone to his ear.
	"Mulder? She's fine for now. She looks exhausted, in restraints, 
sleeping under the effects of some sedatives. I don't know just what 
your problem over this is, but I understand that not every thing was 
your fault. I wasn't there when this happened and you had work to do. 
Don't worry, because I'll stay here with her tonight. I'll have Dana 
come home and bring me a change of clothes or whatever else that I'm 
gonna need in here. If you want to help us, you keep on searching for 
your answers." 
Jake stopped abruptly, obviously wanting to add something else. 
Finally deciding against it, he handed the phone back to Scully. She 
took it from his slightly trembling hand and mouthed a 'thank you'. 
Jake nodded, then resumed holding the girl's hand. Scully understood 
why he was sending her home. It wasn't just to bring him his clothes, 
but also to go take care of Mulder. She brought the phone back to her 
face.
	"Mulder, I'm on my way. I'll bring Stella out of the house with 
me when I come back here." She waited for a long moment before he 
agreed with a barely audible 'All right'. "I'm hoping Stella would be 
able to help the girl pull herself together. After all, Stella has the 
girl's trust." 
Although Scully couldn't help wincing at some of Jake's earlier words, 
she knew he was trying to understand the new enemy he had come to 
face. It was hard enough just learning about the myriad conspiracies, 
kept and played by the shadowy figures within the US government. Then 
life becomes harder, knowing that these conspirators had support 
system all over the world like an endless web of secrets and lies. 
Life becomes almost unbearable the moment you gain the knowledge that 
these evil souls give no second thought about sacrificing hundreds of 
lives and destroying thousands more by decidedly inhumane methods. 
That his best friend in the world whom he discovered only two weeks 
ago, had fallen into these people's hands as one of their countless 
victims. 
Scully called a cab on her cellular, realizing that she didn't have a 
ride back since she'd come in an ambulance.


Continuing on to Chapter 1, Part 3...

*Disclaimers - Please read it from part one. Thank you.


Jake's House
30 minutes later

"How much have you told him?" Mulder asked after a brief, though very 
tight, embrace at the door. Scully took his arm, and made him sit down 
on the kitchen stool.
	"Not much. About the test results and the personnel records 
missing. I also told him about someone cleaning the mess around here. 
Jake was shocked, of course. But then, he's got a right to know this. 
To know what's happening, so that he'll know what we are dealing with 
here. We still don't know exactly what's wrong with the girl.
"I know it was hard for you to listen to him speak like that, Mulder. 
But he's been through so much today. His partner's wife died. The 
man'22s children are still barely alive, but the man sure won't be the 
same. Jake's been pushing himself over the limit trying to cover for 
the man's workload at the office. He needs someone to trust. But he 
also needs to vent out his steam. We're easy targets." 
She tilted her head a little so she could look into his eyes, which he 
had slightly out of focus from hers. She reached over to touch his 
cheek with her hand, stroking his tightened jaw muscles while forcing 
him to really look at her. His swollen eyes blinked a few times, and 
he released a deep breath. His hand came to cover hers that was still 
resting on his cheek. She felt his fingers slip down the length of her 
forearm, then come back up to entwine his fingers with hers, taking 
her hand off his face. 
	"I need to explain what I've seen in the VR images, Scully. Come 
take a look." He said as he jumped off the stool, her hand still in 
his, and pulled her toward the computer desk. She swallowed hard, but 
followed him anyway. She reported everything she could remember about 
Jake's witness accounts, about what he told her that he had seen. 
Mulder nodded to all of them, and gave her the headpiece to have her 
view them all for herself. She gasped, and her fingers moved fast 
under the hand pieces. Mulder watched her reaction with understanding. 
She snapped the head-piece down to let it dangle from her neck. Their 
eyes met.
	"Are you sure about this? I mean, that she's a witness to a 
murder?"
	"Murders. There are at least three. One body had been intact. 
About the other two, maybe more... They're in pieces, Scully. Although 
I don't believe they're all humans."
	"Don't." Her eyes shot him a warning look he'd grown so familiar 
with.
	"Be with me for a second, Scully. I need you to go with me on 
this. The red is obviously blood. Human blood. The others, I think, 
are the alien-human hybrid blood - like the samples we found from the 
clones."
	"And this is believable, because...?" Scully threw a hand in the 
air.
	"Because of what we've experienced before. Those human bodies 
could be our girl's family. The green goo could be from any clone. The 
girl saw something that triggered her repressed memories to come back, 
and it scared her so damn much, she's lying in a hospital bed in 
restraints. As soon as Hall gets here, we need to figure out how to 
recreate the exact crime scenes hiding inside these colors, symbols, 
and other bits of images we haven't figured out yet. Then we can ask 
the girl if any of them are right, but not before we check the reports 
on homicides matching the description of the recreated images. 
"We have the vial to get the girl's DNA map. If any of the homicide 
file has the girl's family, their DNA testing included in the file 
should match up. We're one step ahead of them, Scully. They may have 
the copies of the drawings. But they haven't figured out just what 
were in them. I ought to be fuming at Kathler for concealing 
evidences, but on this one, we ought to present him with an award." 
His words grew stronger with excitement, as did the intensity in his 
eyes.
	Scully just let him flow, knowing some of his wild ideas turned 
out to be very right in the past. When she was sure he was finished, 
she told him to call her for any emergency because she might just end 
up staying with the girl at the hospital especially now that the girl 
was found to be their key witness to a possible multiple homicides. 
Mulder told Scully not to bother, because he'd call her as soon as 
Hall got to the door and let her talk to him about whatever they want. 
When she asked him what he exactly meant, he only shrugged and told 
her the kid wanted to get acquainted with her. He didn't tell her it 
was a part of the deal. Already sensing what her partner really meant, 
she promised to get the scores even once the case settled. She hastily 
left the house with two over-night bags, one for Jake and the other 
for herself. Mulder saw that she'd also taken Stella and her laptop. 
This will be a long day. 
	It didn't take more than twenty minutes before Agent Hall 
arrived, very much disappointed to have missed Scully by bit. To keep 
Hall's mood up, Mulder refrained from telling the poor man about her 
not returning for the night. Mulder gave Hall the Reader's Digest 
version of what had happened so far, and the young man widened his 
eyes at first - then quickly furrowed his eyebrows.
	"Agent Mulder, that doesn't make sense. If she's the one who 
created the artwork... why would she get so scared of them, she needs 
to be hospitalized?" This was a good question. Mulder sipped his 
coffee and rubbed his chin with his free hand.
	"It could be a form of defense mechanism. Traumatized victims 
sooner or later will need to let their demons out; to understand 
exactly what had happened to them, and to look for best solutions 
possible for every one of the cases. 
"The drawings were our girl's mind crying for help. She's been doing 
the drawings ever since she was first rescued. She flat-out refuses to 
speak and doesn't read well, although she has the mind of a genius. I 
don't know if that was due to the shock from whatever happened to her, 
or if she got hurt and had brain injury. Or, maybe she had not been 
exposed to a reading form of language due to such a long-time 
isolation from the real world. Or, maybe she just found language too  
...primitive as a method of communication. Either way, we still don't 
know enough."
	"I heard in my psychology classes that Language Acquisition 
Devise works only till puberty or age 12, right? That's what happens 
to wild children who were raised by animals or raised in complete 
isolation and captivity by their own family members as a form of child 
abuse?" Pleasantly surprised, Mulder raised his eyebrows.
	"Good call. Yes, that's true. If a human being isn't exposed to 
an adequate amount and form of language by that time, the child can't 
learn language higher than that of a toddler no matter what or how 
hard the child tries. In our girl's case, I think it was her defense 
mechanism that made her draw those images deliberately obscure; 
intentionally unclear."
	"That's when we came and poked around with them..."
	"Yeah. I feel like shit for that, but I wasn't allowed much of 
one-to-one talk with the girl. Jake was overprotective, and she was 
practically following Jake everywhere. She was just beginning to open 
up to me and Scully. Now I may well have killed her, maybe worse. I 
know I'd rather die than spend the rest of my life locked up in a 
hospital; especially in restraints."
	"So, basically you want me to isolate every image and gather 
them up according to types, so you can recreate them to reveal the 
crime scenes?" Hall saw Mulder nod. "Well, it looks like this guy 
Jake's done most of the work for us. I'll print them up and you can 
start putting the pieces together. I've called some people before I 
left. They said the symbols look like an ancient Mayan or Native 
African language in origin, but..."
	"It's okay, Hall. Take one step at a time, and we really 
appreciate you're here. I was surprised that you didn't pull any of 
the 'Spooky Mulder at work' crap. Do you believe in paranormal 
phenomena?" Mulder threw one of his favorite cherry bombs to the young 
man.
	"Well... I guess you could say that I have an open mind, but I 
tend to rely on logic when looking at individual cases. I need to keep 
my skepticism, or else I'll jump into every hoax thinking it's the 
real thing." By this time, Mulder was mentally doing conga.
	"Gee, why don't you submit your transfer request through Skinner 
and work with us?" Mulder was only half joking. It was very rare to 
find an ally with an open mind. Then, a bitter memory of Alex Krychek 
came to his mind and he shook them away quickly. 'No', he told 
himself. 'I checked this guy out.'
	"Thank you for the offer, Agent Mulder. But I'm not even a field 
agent yet, and... I don't think they'll accept my application there. 
But, please don't hesitate to ask me when there's anything I can do, 
at any time. I seriously need some excitement in my life to survive 
other than computer crimes and my office desk." Mulder laughed soundly 
at this comment, but he was cut short when his cellular phone summoned 
his attention. He grabbed it off the computer desk.
	"Mulder? It's me." 
	"Hey, Scully. Where are you?" Mulder could swear he saw Hall's 
ears grow larger upon catching his partner's name, and smirked. The 
kid was too damn honest for his own good.
"I'm at the hospital, and I was just thinking. Can we call up someone 
to check the entire list of children recently gone missing? Find any 
possible matches, but try the official channels first."
	"I had the same thoughts, Scully. I also want to run a check on 
police reports of homicide involving family and / or kids that took 
place recently."
	"Why don't I send myself to D.C., or have AD Skinner personally 
do it for us, so there's less risk of tampering?"
	"No. I need you right here, Scully. I think it's just about time 
to call in our cavalry."
	"Cava...? Mulder, you're not thinking about...?"
	"Why not? They're safe. I can trust them with the extra vial, 
and once the girl confirms the recreated versions of the drawings as 
her actual witness statement, then we can have them cross check with 
the recent murder case reports. They tracked down the answers for the 
branched DNA in the past. We'll have a helluva lot shorter list to 
check."
	"Someone still has to go to D.C., and deliver the vial to them 
in person."
	"I will if I have to. Just stay close to the girl and Jake. They 
need you there. I'm useless if I stayed in the hospital. Neither of 
them probably want me there, anyway."
	"Oh, all right. Go ahead, call them." Scully didn't sound 
excited, but he knew she trusted them. The bottom line was, both 
Mulder and Scully were getting desperate. "We've got Agent Hall. Send 
him down here. He is armed." Mulder grinned at her comment, and looked 
toward the young agent whose fingers flew on the keyboard like he was 
playing a piano. "Oh, and I'll need to bring Stella back to the house 
in the morning. They let her in any time during the day, but she can't 
spend the night in here." 
	"Fine. Everything's on hold until things clear up. I'll send 
myself down there and will be back with their version of the answers. 
Want anything from your apartment? This is definitely gonna be one of 
the largest out-of-state cases we've ever got."
	"No, I'm fine. Thank... Wait. Maybe a couple of CDs out of my 
collection would be good. Please pick something soothing that'll help 
me sleep." Mulder fell silent. Scully needing music to sleep? 
'Nightmares', he thought bitterly. He concentrated on her voice at the 
end of the line.
	"All right. Want me to stop by at your Mom's? Tell her you're 
okay and to check things over?" He carefully avoided the part about 
her 'appointment'. 
	"No, but thanks for the offer. Go get the answers, but be sure 
to come right back, Mulder."
	"Agreed." Mulder answered and waited for the dial tone. When he 
looked up, he finally noticed Hall staring at him expectantly. Mulder 
nearly laughed. "Be glad, Hall. She's coming."
	"Agent Scully?" His eyes grew brighter. 'God,' Mulder thought. 
He will be one sorry man if she found out just what kind of 'Scully 
Tales' he had been throwing on the kid. The kid's gonna have a broken 
heart so deep the sound can be heard. Mulder nodded and patted Hall's 
shoulder. 
	"Keep up your good work, Hall. She'll be impressed." Mulder 
said, knowing full well that the poor young man would now drive 
himself up the walls to get the work done. Mulder knew he was guilty 
as charged, but right now he needed the young agent's support, and he 
needed it badly. 
Scully arrived shortly with Stella who was looking very tired but 
intact. Scully let the dog in ahead of her, exchanged a few 
pleasantries with the anxious young agent, and listened intently at 
Hall's detailed explanations on what he was doing. Scully gave Mulder 
a few scolding looks, asking him why Hall proceeded to treat and speak 
to her like she was the Empress of the Bureau. Mulder shrugged with a 
grin, but walked off to call their secret ally, and to get ready for 
his trip back to D.C. 
	Hall printed up the copies of the drawings for Mulder to mull 
over during the flight, and Mulder tucked them neatly into his 
briefcase along with a pair of travel-sized stainless steel scissors 
and a tiny tube of rubber cement. Then he placed the vial carefully 
into the metal freezer container that Scully got from the hospital. 
Once he booked his flight departing in just three hours, he left the 
house in a cab.


Lone Gunmen's Office
Washington, D.C.
5 AM Next Day

The familiar metal click of the door answered by Frohike was strangely 
comforting, as it always made him feel. Byers and Langly were at the 
desk, mulling over the articles for the next month's issue of their 
newsletter.
	"So, no Scully, huh?" Langly asked, noting Mulder's rather spent 
expression. Mulder shook his head no.
	"Not this time, boys. Sorry about that, Frohike. But believe me, 
I would be the last person Jake Kathler want sticking around for 
protection. Scully's got his trust." Mulder carefully controlled his 
voice as he snapped open his briefcase and produced the small metal 
casing.
	"So, this is it." Byers said, carefully opening the box with 
gloved hands.
	"Yeah, that's the only one I've got. If we need more, I'm sure 
we can get it from the girl. But right now, she's got enough needles 
sticking into her. I don't want her to get stuck with another one."
	"You've seen her?" Frohike asked with concern. Mulder shook his 
head. Byers lifted up the small, thin glass tube under a light for a 
closer examination.
	"Scully and I both would like you to bring up records of any 
recent murders occurred that involve entire families or children. Say 
...a couple of years or so. Screen them all against the description of 
our mystery girl. We're not asking you to give us 'the one', guys. 
Just a relatively short list of names is fine. I need them both in a 
floppy disk and hard copy, so I can look them over on the way back. 
Keep the vial for safekeeping." Mulder instructed them as he took his 
seat in an offered chair, and carefully placed his load on the floor 
beside one of the crowded desks.
	"The screening takes time, Mulder. Why don't you go if there's 
any other errand pending." Byers tipped in, nodding to the door with 
the male version of Mona Lisa smile. Mulder nodded appreciatively, but 
when he returned four hours later with Scully's CDs and a dark summer 
business suit that he took out of her closet along with several 
blouses in a plastic bag, none of the three stooges were smiling.
	"Come on, guys. I'm waiting here." Unable to quench his growing 
fears, Mulder ushered them and they gave him the screened test 
results. It really wasn't a surprise for him to see the same symptoms 
of weightlessness and the unusually high white count. Next, he was 
presented with a fairly thick binder and a computer disk containing 
the possible candidates of the girl's parents. Mulder flipped through 
them but decided to let the more urgent matters to rest.
	"Mulder, you said she doesn't have any implants?" Byers asked, 
and Mulder nodded. 
	"I'm wondering why that is myself. Why would they let her go 
without tagging her?"
	"Maybe, just as an assumption, she was spared from them, so they 
can use her after she grows up." Langly said as he munched on a candy 
bar. Mulder quickly closed their distance to mere inches.
	"What are you saying, exactly?" The instant Mulder's insistent 
gaze locked with his, Langly realized he should have Byers do the 
talking in this one. Mulder practically radiated tension from every 
pore.
	"She may have been trained as a conduit. All reported abductees 
who came back with horrifying experiences had unexplainable scars or 
implants. They were used as guinea pigs, and they usually fall among 
below average, to normal, to slightly-above average intelligence. But 
this girl's a genius. Maybe they wanted to use her as a sort of 
communication devise."
	"You mean, because they knew what their experiments were doing 
to the other abductees?" Mulder felt a new wave of anger rising in his 
psyche.
	"If they knew what this girl is capable of, or will be capable 
of, there's no chance they'd waste her. They might be even trying to 
teach her their language. That could be where the still-unidentified 
symbols and letters came from. I mean, you had that as a theory 
yourself." Langly indicated the enraged Mulder hovering over him, 
wanting to divert his gaze. True to his guess, Mulder stood up and 
rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
	"It makes sense. We didn't detect any signs of tampering with 
the girl's reproductive organs. No implant behind her ears, nothing in 
the sinus cavity, nothing in the abdomen, and no scars on the back of 
her legs. No holes in her teeth, either. Nothing like Duane Barry or 
Scully." At the mention of his partner's name, Mulder felt his blood 
run cold. 'Why didn't they spare Scully? She sure is intelligent. How 
dare they classify her as dispensable?'
	"The only thing being tampered with is her memory and 
communication skills. Maybe she was brainwashed to keep silent. Maybe 
it wasn't the trauma that made her mute." Frohike took the turn.
	"To keep the uniform code of silence about the existence of 
extraterrestrial life on Earth?" Mulder growled each word deliberately 
slowly, so that sarcasm dripped from them. The paranoid trio shrugged.
	"So, you don't think there's any way for her to regain her 
speech abilities?" Mulder hated the idea of the girl and consequently 
Jake, forced to learn to sign.
	"With these lines of assumptions, that's a no. They can regress 
memories, they can literally make people return with cancers, they can 
harvest babies, and they can even produce alien-human hybrids. They 
even taught people how to do selective memory drain surgery which you 
yourself have undergone." Byers added when he felt it right to remind 
the man of their knowledge that Mulder had seen  very important things 
that had been taken away from him, and thus from all of them.
	"So they can easily figure out how to suppress parts of normal 
human function like speech, mobility, hearing, language composition, 
vision..." Mulder's words were mere mumbles.
	"The list goes on and on." Langly finished for him.
	"What if I ordered the girl to undergo regression hypnosis?" 
Mulder couldn't think of any other way.
	"That might make her talk, but I don't know if she should 
remember them. You said yourself that she already had a panic attack 
episode." Langly said as he finished his candy bar, crumpling the 
wrapper.
	"Yeah, but all that still provides no explanations to who she 
belonged to."
	"Mulder, you must consider the possibility that her parents are 
already dead." Byers said as he turned back to Mulder from the 
computer screen. His eyes showed only his honest concern and sympathy 
for the girl. "She used lots of red, and what looked like severed body 
pieces, didn't she? Could very well have been blood. Could have been 
that her entire family was abducted, and ...her parents didn't get so 
lucky and they were butchered for experiments later. Assuming that the 
oddly shaped figures were the little gray men, then all the gray she 
used could double with the aliens. You said each two-dimensional 
version may add up to big cubicles, right?"
	"That seems to be the direction we're headed, including 
Kathler."
	"So, in that case..."
	"Kathler would probably be the social services' first choice for 
an adopting father." Frohike added, his gaze facing the surveillance 
equipment towered in front of him, deep in thought.
	"He would be delighted, believe me." Mulder shook his head as to 
say it was no problem.
	"Not with the consequences. He'll never know when or what their 
next attempt on her is going to do to the girl. He'll wrack his brains 
worrying about the next time. They may have avoided implants on the 
girl, because they didn't need any." Langly added bluntly, but Mulder 
knew there was only sincere concern behind the man's thick glasses.
	"Just what does that mean?" Mulder already had a guess.
	"She may have just lucked out. Maybe she was an ordinary girl 
with an ordinary level of intelligence, but the abductors performed 
little experiments on her and activated parts of her brain such as 
language and art, to an abnormally high level to monitor how human 
brains can be improved. The girl may have had contacts with other 
abductees and that's how she came to witness those tables and desks 
that she draws." Byers held up his index finger just as Mulder made a 
move to respond.
	"We just don't know, Mulder. We all have our own ides, and which 
ones you consider credible is your choice."
	"Yeah, sure. It looks like I need to take chances putting her 
through hypnosis just to determine if she still possesses speech 
ability. I know that normally, about up to 1/3 of our brains get used 
in a lifetime and the rest of them might have extrasensory abilities 
and other really neat stuff that the evolution process left unused. 
They may have tried to see what kind of things they could discover and 
then observe." Mulder hated the idea even more, but he couldn't think 
of anything better. 
	"We'll try to form some kind of patterns with the letters, but 
all we can do is just wait for more drawings." Langly mumbled as he 
leaned back in his chair and reached for the remains of his soda in 
the bottle. Byers nodded his agreement.
"She's the mysterious one with the puzzles and most decidedly, the 
answers."
	"Shit. I hate to explain all this to Scully, let alone Kathler." 
Mulder grumbled, but none of the gunmen volunteered to be the 
sacrificial lamb for Scully in his place. 
	"Just do what you always do. Present them as ideas. Just watch 
your back for the armed cleaning service crew, and prevent our girl's 
next abduction."
	"They've gone through this much trouble with her. They'll 
definitely want her back." Mulder said, feeling his stomach flip 
again. He glanced at his wrist watch and grumbled again at the time. 
Hastily gathering his things, he headed for the door. "Look. Be as 
busy as you want, guys, but promise me to spare time for us later. I 
think we have to rely on you a lot in this case." 
	"Any time, Mulder." Byers promised, and watched as Frohike shut 
the door just as Mulder slipped out of it. 


Prescott Hospital
Oakland, CA
Noon

Scully expected Mulder to return at any moment, but without a call of 
reassurance, nothing was certain. She knew he wanted to go down to New 
York to chew the Barrington staffs' asses out, but she doubted he'd 
waste such time. She kept calling Hall every hour for update, but so 
far they proved unproductive. 
About half an hour ago, Hall called her and told her he'd try a 
different approach. Instead of trying to dissect the images piece by 
piece, he'll try to 'peel off' the drawings by layers. Hall told 
Scully the drawings might have been done as those of Estcher. Each 
drawing had layers, and by separating them one by one, it might lead 
to answers. 
When asked just how that was possible, Hall told her he'd analyze just 
what images lay on the same depth, insert a block in between each 
layer according to the order they had been drawn, then lift them off 
individually. Scully made an 'oh' sound for a reply.
	Scully had been so wrapped up in the matters at hand, she'd 
forgotten to check with the personnel office for the patient records 
they'd promised to get for her earlier. She requested a security guard 
to be posted for watch during her absence as a precaution. Just as she 
was off the elevator, Mulder called on her cellular and told her he 
was already in a car - a red Ford Taurus, and he would be at the 
hospital within fifteen minutes.
	"I have a lot to tell, Scully. I'm not excited about it, but the 
guys found a fairly manageable number of candidates in a pile of 
murder cases. I flipped through them during the flight, but I fell a 
sleep in the middle of it." Scully detected his frustration, but she 
was actually relieved that he'd slept.
	"Don't worry about that, Mulder. Just get here soon as possible 
without killing yourself or someone else. I'm on my way to the 
Personnel office to get those Jane Does' records to look for a match 
with the ones we have. I've posted a guard at the door for the time 
being. Jake's firm partners have been raising hell at Jake's absence, 
and he's still shaken up. The girl isn't out of La-La Land, yet. The 
doctors have no clue for how long. She's not in a coma, though, which 
is a good news."
	"It all sound to me like she's in a catatonic state." Scully 
pursed her lips as Mulder's tortured voice came through the line. She 
reached for the door knob, talking as she walked inside.
	"Well, they said it's not so serious. Her vitals are so far 
stable, and other organs are also functioning normally." She said as 
she saw a young man in a business suit leave the room. 
	"Maybe she's too far gone, Scully. ...I just made the last turn, 
so I'll be there in no time." Scully let out a breath of relief.
	"Look, Mulder, I'm already inside the office. Don't wait for me. 
You should go directly up there, because very few people know who's 
really at the girl's bedside. Even some hospital staff think it's you 
up there. It might be better." 
	"Okay, see you in a few." Mulder said before hanging up. Scully 
smiled briefly before facing the office receptionist waiting for her 
at the desk. 

The girl's room
Same Time

Jake kept staring at the girl's sleeping body as if willing her to 
open her eyes. Nothing had changed so far, and the only notable event 
had been a change of her IV bag that fed her some nutritious fluid. 
Jake was fiddling with the girl's fingers, studying them in detail as 
he had done so for hours, when he heard a slight 'thud' noise in the 
hallway, followed by a swift opening of the door.
	"Dana? That was fast..." Jake's words stopped dead at the sight 
of two men in non-descriptive black uniform enter the room, followed 
by two more men who were dragging the unconscious security guard after 
them before shutting the door. Jake jumped out of his seat, but he 
didn't have a chance to even let out a cry for help. Before he knew 
it, his vision was lost; his mouth was gagged; and his body was thrown 
hard onto the cold tiled floor. All air escaped from him as someone 
roughly sat on his back, while another bound his wrists and legs with 
duct tape. He struggled, but the only thing the effort got him was a 
series of blows to his sides and head. Beside him, he heard another 
man ripping the covers off of the girl's bed, setting monitors and 
machines into a rampage in the process. 
	"NOOOO!!" Jake screamed, but words didn't reach past the gag in 
his mouth. He gasped when he felt himself lifted off the floor in a 
fireman's carry. He heard foot steps all around him, and eventually he 
heard the door close. He was barely conscious. He had no clue where he 
was being taken, but he knew that the girl was close by. 
'If only I could make sure she's all right'. He thought for the 
thousandth time in the past two minutes. 'Please, no matter what you 
do, don't hurt her anymore'. Jake hoped Stella had been there to guard 
the girl at her beside, where she belonged.
	 Jake eventually heard a creaking noise of metal move against 
metal, and immediately caught a whiff of the foul odor wafting off of 
chemicals and some raw materials. His body began breaking into cold 
sweat even faster when, true to his sick guess, he felt his feet 
dangle in the air. He tried desperately to struggle against the hands 
that kept trying to push him through the narrow opening. 
Jake lost the fight when he received another blow on the base of his 
neck, eliciting a choked gasp through the gag. He could swear he heard 
the men laughing as the inevitable happened,then felt his battered 
body connect with some smooth and slick surface of thin plastic. He 
welcomed the unconsciousness.


Prescott Hospital
The girl's room
Same Time

Mulder exited the elevator and nearly mawed down a nurse who came 
running through the door. He steadied his balance and was immediately 
greeted by an army of hospital staff in panic. When he saw Scully 
frantically trying to push the stretcher with an unconscious security 
guard lying on top he dashed toward her. Scully spotted him 
immediately, and motioned for him to get to the girl's room. He ran to 
the door without a comment, his weapon out and ready to fire. 
Scully soon followed Mulder, finding him standing in the middle of the 
room. His arms dangled at his sides, his frozen gaze locked on the 
empty bed, now ransacked and left with the monitors still beeping. 
Scully stopped dead at the sight, but soon walked over to the bed, 
past the still form of her partner, and began turning off the machines 
one by one. When she was done, she turned back to face the snow-white 
complexion of the terrified man in front of her. 
	"Mulder, I'm so sorry. I don't know how long they've been 
watching us. I should never have left here. It's very likely that Jake 
was mistaken for you, considering they know your history with cases 
involving children, let alone abductees." Scully took his hands in 
hers, and took his gun out of his grasp. She lifted the hem of his 
unbuttoned jacket and placed the gun back into his hip holster.
Even after she pulled him to the chair to let him sit down, she saw no 
response from him. The sight was almost too painful for her to watch. 
His gaze never left the empty bed. She took his face in her hands, 
forcing him to face her. He didn't even blink as his glassy eyes met 
with hers, and she silently gasped at the absence of life in those 
hazel eyes. 
	"We'll find her, Mulder. And we'll find Jake. The entire 
hospital security staff's looking for him now, and I really doubt they 
were able to carry Jake out of the hospital. It's likely they've left 
him somewhere within the building to buy themselves some time." When 
he showed no sign to respond, she finally snapped and lightly slapped 
his face. "Damnit, Mulder! Don't you fade out on me now, you just 
can't! Focus!!" 
	"... Scu...lly?" Mulder's voice sounded as if it had been choked 
out of him. 
	"Mulder! What happened in here would have happened sooner or 
later. I should have been more careful. Come on, Mulder. You have to 
tell me what you found! You said something about the list of the 
possible candidate for the girl's family. Where is it?" She 
desperately wanted to keep him talking before she lost him, too.
	"In ...briefcase. ...Car." Nothing but his mouth moved. It was 
like watching a robot talk.
	"Okay, give me the keys." She saw his right hand achingly slowly 
reach the pocket of his trench coat, and she grabbed them the moment 
they appeared in his hand. Seeing no further response, she slapped him 
once again, but this time she did so soundly. Mulder blinked once 
slowly, then again, and his shoulders hitched slightly. If she could 
elicit a complaint of pain, he was back.
	"Agent Scully!" A security guard burst in the door, facing 
Mulder's back, therefore not seeing his rapidly-swelling face. Scully 
turned to face the very excited guard, who motioned urgently for her 
to follow him. 
	"What happened?" She asked, springing into a dash.
	"We found him." The man said as he began running with Scully 
following closely, trusting that Mulder heard the man.
	"Where?" Scully asked as the guard held the elevator door open 
for her to slip in.
	"In the bio-hazardous waste chute. He's a bloody mess, what with 
cuts and bruises all over his body. No one knows what he cut himself 
with."
	"Call up the infectious disease specialists down here and run 
every test imaginable." She sure hoped no lethal virus entered his 
system. It was just too unfair. 
	"We're already paging them." The guard said as they heard the 
elevator reach the basement.
	"Good work. What about the girl?" Scully already knew their 
answers, but she couldn't help asking.
	"No, Agent Scully. I'm sorry, we haven't found anything yet." 
Scully released a deep sigh at the confirmation of her fears. The 
guard looked at her sympathetically.
	"It's not your fault. Just keep searching for her." She said as 
she hurried down the corridor toward the gathering of a few security 
guards at one of the double metal doors. The moment she walked in, she 
saw the nearly unrecognizable form of Jake Kathler, now untied and 
sprawled on his stomach, lying still on the floor. Scully gave him a 
cursory exam and tried to stop the bleeding, though none was major. 
Soon a stretcher was brought down to take him down to the ER. Scully 
followed, not trusting Jake's safety even within the confinement of 
the ER. Any one of "them" could disguise themselves and slip some 
poison into Jake's IV or slip a scalpel between his libs to pierce his 
heart. Scully used her medical degree and her FBI clearance to plant 
herself next to the busy physicians and nurses to watch over the 
procedures. 
When she saw that all emergency first-aid was done for the moment and 
they were moved to an observation room, she saw Mulder enter. He was 
recovered,though he was still deathly pale. Scully discarded the latex 
gloves, masks and cap she wore into the nearby yellow hazardous waste 
basket, and walked over to him. She was a bit surprised when he drew 
her into his arms, then tightened his hold on her. 
	"Scully, I'm sorry I lost it." He began before she could say 
anything, then he released his hold on her to lock his gaze with hers. 
She shook her head no. 
	"It's all right now that you're back. Sorry I slapped you. I was 
just..." 
	"Scully, I ought to be thanking you for snapping me out of the 
dark. Besides, I don't think anyone else's voice would have worked." 
He admitted sheepishly, sweeping the room with a quick look and 
relieved when he saw no one staring at them. But the survey cost him 
the chance of seeing Scully blush before she put her professional mask 
back on.
"Keep an eye on Jake while I go get your briefcase out of the car." 
Scully said as she moved for the door, but she stopped at the touch of 
his hand on her upper arm.
	"No, I'll go. You stay here and keep an eye on Jake. I don't 
know anything about medicine, and if someone tried to do something 
funny, I wouldn't be able to stop it, let alone save him. Besides, 
having us both side by side is too much trouble. I'll go talk to Hall 
and see just what he dug up. Keep me posted on Kathler's conditions. I 
will probably be back soon, but..." Fully alert on the matter at hand, 
he faced her intense gaze with one of his own. The fire was back in 
his green eyes. She nodded her approval.
	"Okay, Mulder." She said as she returned Mulder his keys. 


Jake's House
25 minutes later

Mulder nearly crashed into a stop sign that was standing just a few 
feet away from Jake's loft while trying to park the car. He cursed and 
jumped out of the car, but it didn't slow him down one bit. Mulder 
spotted the unmarked van when he approached within twenty feet. He had 
his weapon ready to fire as he ran up the stairs. 
Just when he tried to listen in to see if he could go in without back 
up, the familiar barking of Stella came through the marble door. When 
he tried to pull the handle, he heard Elly scream, followed by a 
series of loud noises and shuffling of feet. Mulder opened the door 
just a crack when it slammed into his face. He nearly fell off the 
stairs with the impact, but the man who burst out of it didn't seem to 
notice as he ran down the stairs with Jake's computer. Mulder was 
dizzy, but he recovered fast enough to jump inside and lay flat on the 
floor to buy some time. 
He saw four men, two holding Elly down to the floor and the other two 
who were working to remove his VR machine and scanner from Jake's 
computer desk.
	"Freeze! FBI!" Mulder shouted, now in crouching position. They 
hardly looked at Mulder before firing on him. He fired back 
immediately as he rolled toward the back of the large wooden bench, 
then toward the miniature city for cover. His head and body were 
quickly peppered with flying fragments of the walls being torn by the 
raining machinegun bullets. Mulder emptied the whole clip just going 
in for cover, but when he took a quick look, now standing up against 
one of the tallest model buildings, he only saw one of them holding 
his leg and screaming on the floor. The other three quickly closed in 
on him while he changed the clip and shrugged off his jacket. He threw 
the jacket in the air, and immediately heard them fire. He stepped out 
just long enough to fire about another six bullets, three in the 
general direction of the other man with Elly, and other three toward 
the man behind the computer desk. He heard another scream, but he 
couldn't see where the fallen man was. 
	"Freeze!" The man's voice came to call for him. Mulder stayed 
behind the cover. "Surrender your weapon, and come out with your hands 
behind your head." Mulder nearly laughed.
	"That's my line, you fucking son of a bitch!" Mulder said, 
checking now for his back-up piece strapped to his ankle. 
	"I still have the poor housekeeper with me, Agent Mulder. I'm 
behind the kitchen counter, so you can't shoot at me again." Mulder 
cursed himself for not getting that guy first. Elly's life meant a 
spec of dust to them.
	"Didn't think it was me, did you?" Mulder began talking instead, 
carefully placing his backup piece into the waistband of his trousers 
at his back, and sliding his Sig Sauer on the floor toward the door. 
He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the shirt to the second button. The 
collar was choking his movements, and to execute his plan, he needed 
to move real fast. He came out, his hands behind his head as 
instructed. He saw for the first time that the man at the computer 
desk had been shot in his shoulder, and was trying to stand up. The 
first man he shot was still bleeding and moaning at the spot he was 
shot. The voice was coming from behind the kitchen counter. 
	"My, my. What a party it turned out to be." The speaker said as 
he pulled Elly to her feet, his gun planted at the terrified woman's 
neck. Mulder tried not to gasp at the sight. Her face had been badly 
bruised, her mouth gagged and her wrists bound with a rope. 
	"Yeah, now that you had your fun, let Elly go. You wanted me. 
You have me." Mulder said as he closed distance. He knew it was a 
really dumb idea, but he couldn't let Elly be in the hands of these 
men any longer. Elly's eyes spoke of fear that had very little to do 
with her own safety, but more for never seeing her family or her boss 
again. However, what caught him by surprise was her fear for Mulder's 
safety. Mulder decided to keep talking. 
"It's bad enough that you've mistaken Kathler for me. I know you have 
the girl. Kathler ended up in the emergency room. You've got Kathler's 
computer, I've seen one of your men ran out of the door. You have all 
that you came for. Now you can let Elly go, leave Kathler alone, and 
take me." Mulder was practically begging. But in his mind's eye, he 
kept his attention on the door, expecting the first man to come 
through the door at any second. He knew he was practically offering 
his life away, and he knew that the man would probably shoot him or 
take him hostage.
	Mulder needed a diversion to get to the next step. The man in 
front of him said nothing, but he kept motioning for Mulder to come 
closer. Mulder nodded and  approached slowly. 
"I'll do whatever you tell me to, but not before you let Elly go. 
She's an innocent bystander in this. She knows nothing about you, your 
group, or the girl. She means no consequence to you. Now let her go, 
and take me." He was automatically reciting the speech he'd given to 
Duane Barry when he traded himself with the hostages.
He saw the shooter exhale a quick breath, and heard Elly moan as she 
was hoisted off by her shirt collar and then kicked away on the floor. 
Mulder quickly ran to her, but not forgetting to do so with his front 
facing the man, and untied her wrists. But before he could relieve her 
of her gag, he was grabbed by his tie and was pulled up to his feet. 
It was now or never. 

Mulder quickly planted a punch to the man's jaw, pulled Elly to her 
feet and back behind the kitchen counter. He pushed her back down, 
plopping her up against the refrigerator door. Then Mulder quickly 
planted a bullet to the intruder's knee and another in the man's right 
shoulder. The man screamed, but he instantly fired back. Mulder felt a 
shooting pain on his upper left arm, but realized instantly that it 
was only a scratch. Then he heard another gunfire behind him, followed 
by a thud. He quickly duck behind the kitchen counter, checking to see 
where he was hit.
	When he felt nothing, he took the fallen shooter's machine gun 
and fired rapidly for cover as he darted out into the open long enough 
to see where the shooter had gone to. He didn't spot the men in black 
uniform, but instead his eyes caught Stella's white-and-black spotted 
coat lying on the hard wood floor. Outside, he heard the van pull out 
into the street, and for the first time noticed the fallen shooter at 
the computer desk had also vanished. Mulder's panic for losing his 
potential witnesses were lost in his grief for Stella. But before he 
could run to her and fall to his knees, he had things to do.
Mulder emerged slowly and carefully from behind the counter again, the 
machine gun now pointed directly at the man in front of the counter, 
where he had taken Mulder's bullet in his thigh. When he found the man 
also gone, he quickly surveyed the entire loft, moving toward the 
bathroom door, then to the beds. When he was sure all was quiet again, 
he returned to Elly's side where she was desperately trying to pull 
out the lag stuffed in her mouth. She tried repeatedly to cough the 
rag out, nearly passing out in the process due to reduced oxygen 
supply. Seeing the situation as hopeless, he got her consent to 
carefully dislocate her jaw to pull the awfully large wad of cloth out 
of her mouth. Holding her jaw securely with one hand, he folded the 
rag into a narrow band to hold her jaw securely at the top of her 
head. He apologized for her pain and inconvenience, to which she 
answered with a dismissive wave of a hand.
	Finally, Mulder ran to examine Stella, whose shiny coat now 
turned crimson for the most part. He soon discovered her blood woozing 
out onto the floor from her exit wound. He instructed Elly to bring a 
few clean towels. He took over the care for Stella, applying as much 
pressure as he could to the wounds. While Elly ran to the bathroom to 
grab clean towels, he retrieved his ruined suit jacket and covered the 
dog with it to minimize the loss of her body heat. 
When Elly hurried over to them with the towels, Mulder first removed 
the jacket and wrapped the dry towels around Stella's body, which 
Mulder used to make a tourniquet using a pen he found laying on the 
kitchen counter. Stella whimpered, but Mulder could do nothing but to 
keep applying the pressure. His voice shook as he tried to keep her 
alert and 'informed', as stupid as that might have seemed.
"I'm so sorry, Stella. I know it hurts like shit, because I had it 
done on me before. But it's necessary to stop your bleeding." When 
Stella didn't respond, Mulder assumed she fell unconscious. However, 
as he covered the rest of her as best he could with the ruined jacket 
and secured it with his tie, she gave a choked whimper and her body 
jerked with shock. Mulder closed his eyes momentarily in response. 
Mulder saw Elly standing up and walking toward the cordless phone. 
'Phone!' He instantly damned himself for not getting to it first. He 
must have really lost it to not realize his mistake sooner. She handed 
it to him before he asked for it; her whole body still shaking. He 
thanked her sincerely, then asked her to hold the pen still to prevent 
the turniquet from loosening while he spoke to the 911 operator. 
	"This is Special Agent Fox Mulder with the FBI, requesting 
emergency medical assistance at..." His voice echoed throughout the 
loft as he gave out the loft's location in Canoga Park followed by his 
budge number, and walked back toward the kitchen counter. 
He was about to assess the condition of the fallen shooter for the 911 
operator when the man pulled his backup piece toward him and fired at 
his head. Mulder felt another burning pain, but it also was a scratch. 
He dropped to his knees on impact, but he used it to his advantage as 
he sprang himself over the fallen shooter before the man could fire 
another shot. Mulder's knee embedded the man's injured leg, eliciting 
a scream. Mulder quickly held the man's uninjured left arm down and 
planted a firm blow to the head with the phone. Next, he seized the 
small gun out of the shooter's hand and threw it toward Elly. She 
gasped in fear at the sight of the weapon, but she immediately saw 
that nobody was attached to it. 
Mulder quickly apologized to the poor woman, and wasted no time as he 
flipped the shooter on the stomach and cuffed his wrists at the back. 
The 911 operator apparently heard the shot and franticly demanded to 
know if Mulder was safe.
	"Yes. I'm hurt, but I'm still here." Mulder reported as he 
picked up the phone again and began making reports. He told the 
operator that Stella is a trained police canine who took a bullet for 
him, and demanded that she was to be treated at the Prescott hospital, 
at the same level of care required for humans. Mulder even went as far 
as telling the poor operator that she'd be very sorry if the hospital 
staff failed to meet his demands. He was still panting, and his voice 
shook slightly as he gave out descriptions of the unmarked van and the 
other shooters. He knew these men were trained to disappear into thin 
air, but couldn't help trying.
	Stella's body shook again, and this time she kept trembling. She 
was slipping into shock, and with no painkillers to give her, Mulder 
was lost. 
"Stella, I've told the medics to take you in, so we'll all go there 
together. You can see Jake, and you can see Scully. We can all come 
out of there, fine and happy. Hold on, girl. Please." He spoke rapidly 
into Stella's ear, almost burying his face in her coat to monitor her 
shallow breathing. "Come on, keep breathing. That little girl will be 
real sad when she comes back and find you're not here any more. Jake 
loves you, too much to let you go like this. Please, girl. Stick 
around." 
Mulder was concentrating on getting the words out so much, that he had 
no clue how badly his own body was shaking. But the moment he felt 
Elly's hand gently massaging his back, the tremor in his body ceased 
almost completely. She then took Mulder's injured arm and applied 
pressure on the wound with a smaller towel. Mulder gasped as the pain 
hit, but his attention remained on Stella. They soon heard the 
familiar siren of an ambulance fast approaching.
	His head movement caused the blood from his scalp to drip onto 
the floor, and Elly quickly applied another towel onto it. Mulder only 
turned slightly toward her, his face still kept next to Stella's head. 
"It's okay, Elly. Head wounds usually look worse than they really 
are." Mulder said, trying to calm her down. "They're both just 
scratches. Nothing to be alarmed about. Just a few stitches and I'll 
be fine. I promise." He said just as the paramedics rushed into the 
house. Since Elly was unable to speak, Mulder gave them a quick update 
after identifying himself.
	"This woman has a dislocated jaw, perhaps several cuts in her 
mouth, and a mild concussion. This police canine has an entry wound 
and an exit wound from a single gunshot fired point-blank with an 
automatic weapon. Entry wound at the upper right shoulder, exit wound 
on the upper left hind leg. 
"I have two bullet wounds, but they're both minor. The man handcuffed 
behind the counter is only one of the four shooters who attacked us." 
Mulder kept talking as they hauled immobilized Stella, followed by 
Elly on another stretcher. Mulder stood up, his hand still holding the 
towel against the gash on his head. 
Mulder presented the medics with his badge, and instructed them to be 
brought to Prescott Hospital. By now the paramedics knew the scandal 
at Henry Barrington's, and they had no objections with the idea. 
Mulder grabbed his cellular phone out of the bullet-holed jacket 
handed back to him by one of the paramedics, and found it miraculously 
intact. He speed-dialed Scully, who had just been informed of the 
shooting.
	"Scully, I'm alive." Mulder said just as she answered.
	"Mul...?! Are you all right?"
	"Yeah, I have two bad gash, and Elly's bungled up pretty bad. 
But Stella ... She took a bullet for me, Scully. She's bleeding real 
bad. I told the dispatcher that she's a police canine, so you have to 
cover for me." Mulder said as he heard the vehicle pull out of the 
driveway. He talked while the paramedics worked on Stella. Elly was in 
another ambulance that was just about to pull out.
	"Where are you hit?" Mulder could feel her mind spinning into 
action, but he still hadn't her answer to his question.
	"Please, Scully. She's not going to make it anywhere else." This 
time, he heard her sigh.
	"Mulder, covering for you is a part of my job. Lying for you, 
however... oh, what the hell. I'll do this, but don't make it a habit. 
Now, where are you hit?" 
	"My upper left arm, and my head. Thanks about Stella, Scully. I 
owe you big." He took a good look at the gash on his arm, which was 
now attended to by one of the paramedics. He saw the unmistakable 
bottle of iodine make its appearance in the paramedic's hand and 
instinctively pulled away at the sight. Seeing his reaction, the young 
paramedic gave him a sympathetic look. 
"Sir, you know I have to do this, and that it's gonna hurt like a son 
of a bitch."  Mulder already knew that the gash was pretty bad, if the 
sight of exposed red flesh pumping his blood out was any indication. 
Mulder returned the woman an annoyed 'Who the hell do you think I am?' 
look, and gestured the woman to get it over with. He bit his lower lip 
hard enough to draw blood at the pain of disinfectant being poured 
onto it. He hoped Scully didn't hear the slight yelp that escaped 
through his lips.
	"Your head!?" Her voice rose a notch. Mulder released his 
bleeding lip and tried to talk.
	"Told you, Scully. It's a scratch." He just managed to say it 
before distancing the phone again for the EMT to now clean out his 
head wound. He bit the already bleeding lower lip once again, this 
time a little harder, before pressing the phone back to his face.
	"Fine. Oh, Agent Hall called." At the mention of the agent's 
name, Mulder felt a surge of relief. He thought Hall was already a 
goner somewhere. 
	"I thought they took him." 
	"No. He claims that someone called at the house asking for him 
to come over to the local police station, because someone was 
demanding to see him immediately regarding this case."
	"But no one knows he's in it..."
	"Maybe except the shooters. They may have been keeping watch on 
us from the start."
	"So, they made him get out of the house?"
	"Apparently." Mulder breathed a sigh of relief at her words.
	"Scully, I need you to get on the phone, and have Hall dispatch 
a team of agents from the Los Angels field office to get here and 
collect any necessary evidence." 
	"I'll get on it right away, Mulder. But right now, you need to 
take care of yourself." He could almost hear her thinking through the 
line.
"There are lots of blood stains from the shooters here, because three 
out of the four that attacked us are injured, and from the guy I 
managed to apprehend. The guy's with Elly in the other ambulance." He 
knew he should calm down, or Scully would worry about him even more 
than she already did, but he just couldn't stop talking until 
everything was out. "He's got a bullet in his leg, and another in his 
arm. He's got a concussion, because I hit the guy in the head with a 
cordless phone while I called the EMTs. The guy shot at me, and that's 
how I got the gash on my head." 
	"...All right, Mulder." It was obvious that she realized what he 
was doing.
	"Scully, stay with Jake. I know you want to come down to the ER, 
but you can't leave Jake alone again. They know now that it wasn't me 
they dumped through the trash. I hope you're still in Jake's room?"
	"Yes, I am. He's not conscious yet. So far, he's got a nasty 
doze of flu, bronchitis, and hepatitis B viruses into his system. The 
doctors put a grand total of forty stitches in his body. He's in the 
clean room, recovering."
	"No HIV?"
	"It's too early to know, Mulder. They found several hospital 
gowns with HIV positive blood smeared on them, but they were at far 
bottom of the chute. Jake's HIV negative to begin with, and the 
doctors think it's highly unlikely that he'll ever get infected with 
it from this incident. Hepatitis B is what the doctors are keeping the 
closest attention on, and they've taken every precaution." Despite her 
words, it was painfully clear to Mulder that she was worried sick 
about Jake. He lowered his head in resignation. Life was just meant to 
be unfair.
	"Okay, Scully. I'm coming up as soon as I get done in the ER. Is 
Hall still in town?"
	"Yeah, he's headed down here." Her reply contained a silent 
question.
	"Good, because I need him staying with Elly and Stella. They are 
the only ones who can identify the shooters in court when we get 
there."
	"A dog? Witness?" He could almost hear her chuckle, finally 
breaking the ice and the tension that settle in between them. He was 
also sure she was picturing his goofy grin.
	"Dogs have strong sense of smell, and she's seen them all. 
Couldn't hurt, could it?" 
	"Not as long as we won't be laughed out of the court."
	"They are the only witnesses, besides myself, who can identify 
them. Tell Hall to guard them with his life."
	"I'm sure he'll be up to the challenge." Mulder could almost 
imagine the kid's excitement. "But once you get here to watch Jake, 
I'll go interrogate the shooter before something else happens. Agent 
Hall doesn't know much about this case, and I don't think you two 
should be in the same room much less carry on a productive 
conversation." Mulder grinned at her words.
	"All right, it's a deal." Just then the ambulance took a sharp 
turn, and Mulder had to hold onto his seat in order to keep his 
position. 
	"Don't tell Skinner just yet. He'll know sooner or later, 
anyway. As soon as Hall's team gets there, send someone to the 
building construction site. They may try to ransack Kathler's office, 
especially now that everybody's out." Mulder said as he readied 
himself for the next turn. 
	"Sure, Mulder. I'll see you soon." Scully said before hanging 
up. He slightly grinned at the phone before stashing it back into his 
trousers pocket, and concentrated on observing Stella's progress. 

Prescott Hospital
Oakland, CA
10 minutes later

The moment the double doors opened, a team of doctors and nurses 
greeted them. Mulder saw from the corner of his eyes that Stella had 
been rushed into surgery, no doubt Scully's words taking effect. 
Mulder was soon led into an examination room. Once he was positioned 
on the examination table, he surrendered himself to their care. 
Mulder's heart was still beating fast, and he realized this the moment 
they attached him to a cardiogram. He felt really lucky to get away 
with such little consequences. He'd expected a bullet in his head, 
shoulder, leg, or the gut. He knew that if it weren't for Stella, 
they'd be pronouncing him dead by now. 
After assuring the ER team that he had no injury on his lower 
extremities, they let him keep his trousers on. Once they stopped the 
bleeding and thoroughly cleaned out the cuts on him, the nurses 
quickly shaved the area of his head wound and brought in a surgical 
intern to suture both cuts on him. In the mean time, Mulder lay on the 
table and tried to calm down while thinking through their next move.
	"So, they said you're an FBI agent?" The young female intern 
asked as she busied herself. Mulder pulled himself out of his reverie, 
and nodded. "Must be a tough job. I've met your partner. She's really 
through. She told me you were with a police canine." Mulder again 
nodded. "Look, I know what you're trying to do, Agent Mulder. But all 
registered police canines have a special tag on their collars." Mulder 
turned his gaze to the brunette, and pursed his lips as to say, 
'Busted.' The woman gave him a little smile. 
"Don't worry, I won't get her kicked out of here. The people upstairs 
know the dog's with your people, and they know that she's a hero. They 
even got a veterenarian up there just now. They just prepped the dog 
while they waited for the guy. He's supposed to be one of the best in 
town, and the guy just happened to be free because of a cancelled 
appointment at his own office. They'll take good care of her." Mulder 
breathed easier, and closed his eyes. Soon he lost the track of time.
	"I'm done with your arm, sir. Now I'll need you to sit up on the 
bed." The intern's voice brought him out of his relaxation stage. He 
took a quick look at the stitched arm, and raised his eyebrows at the 
impressive handy work. The woman noticed and chuckled. "Yeah, I'm 
pretty good at it. You won't have too big a scar when it heals. It was 
a really nasty gash, though. You might experience pain lifting heavy 
stuff for a while. The bullet cut through some of your muscle tissue." 
Mulder winced but nodded again. She brought another needle with a 
longer thread up to his head, and told him to hold his head still. 
Once again, Mulder closed his eyes and was back to the image of the 
drawings he'd been analyzing in his mind. With Jake's computer gone, 
all he had left was the copy the Gunmen had in their safe. 
	"Excuse me, sir. You can't be in here." The intern's warning 
brought Mulder out of his reverie again, only to be met with the sight 
of Agent Hall trying to get inside. Mulder took the woman's hand in 
his good right hand, stopping her.
	"It's all right, doctor. He's a federal agent, Thomas Hall." 
Mulder said as he motioned for Hall to come inside. 
	"Oh. Finally, you spoke." The woman said with a relief, and 
returned to her task at hand. Mulder grinned and thanked her. He 
detected Hall's nervousness and made the younger man take a seat on 
the edge of the examination table.
	"Agent Mulder, we've got another problem." Hall kept his tone 
rather low and conspicuous.
	"What is it?" Already narrowing his eyes, Mulder's voice also 
dropped a few notches down.
	"The ambulance that carried the shooter and Elly was attacked by 
a bunch of guys matching the descriptions you gave to us."
	"What?" His head moved with his tense whisper, threatening the 
doctor's hands to go off mark. She warned the agents to keep it cool.
	"Yeah, the word came through just now. Elly's fine. They're 
driving her down here right now. They tried to snatch Elly, too, but 
the passing police cruiser spotted the scene and the thugs barely had 
enough time to haul their asses with the shooter in the back."
	"Oh, fuck." Mulder closed his eyes and covered his face with his 
hands. Hall looked at Mulder sympathetically.
	"I'll stay with Elly as you requested. Stella's in surgery, but 
I'll keep an eye on her outside the recovery room. Elly has a room 
already assigned to her, so I'll be there until Stella gets out of the 
OR. I told them to bring Stella into Elly's room once she's out."
	"Thanks, Hall. Good job." 
	"Oh, I'm enjoying it. Anyway, I meant to ask you. Did they get 
the computer?" 
	"Yeah. They tried to hassle out with the VR and the scanner, but 
they so far managed only the main computer and Kathler's laptop."
	"Oh, no, not the laptop. I have it. It was pretty dusty when I 
opened the top, so I ordered a cleaning job at a shop. I thought I 
might need to borrow it later, so..."
	"Hall, I don't care why. Good job." Mulder said as he gave the 
kid another seal of approval. At least Jake won't lose all his hard 
work down the drain. 
	"Can I get you anything?" Hall asked, genuine concern adding 
years to his young face. Mulder chuckled. 'My, my,' he thought, 'a 
complete room service.'
	"Just water, thanks." Mulder replied, then winced sightly as the 
needle hit a particularly tender spot.
	"Can I get anything for you, doctor?" Hall asked the petite 
brunette, who shook her head no, but with a seductive smile dancing at 
the corners of her mouth. Mulder was thoroughly impressed with Hall's 
smoothness with women. He saw from the corner of his eye that Elly's 
stretcher had arrived, and he felt his heart sink. Soon his cellular 
rang, and he answered it on the second ring. It was Scully.
	"Mulder? I'm heading down to the local newspaper office, 
instead. I know the shooter is gone, and I know Elly's fine. I'm also 
guessing that you're pretty much through with the ER."
	"Yeah, I'll be up to Jake's room shortly. Why the newspaper?"
	"They said they had a reporter come in to talk to Jake and the 
girl when the police recommended them of placing an article in the 
paper about her. I've talked to several hospital personnel, and the 
description of the reporter matches one of the shooters that you gave 
out. That's probably how they knew where to find us and what's around 
where in Jake's house."
	"Oh, Scully. Don't tell me he bugged the house."
	"That's my suspicion, yes. But if so, it'll turn up soon with 
our local agents' search. They're combing through the area as we 
speak."
	"But how is that possible? There was virtually no chance of 
anyone..."
	"I'm checking out the cable guy who came to install the blocking 
tip on his satellite system, and all the furniture delivery guys who 
installed our beds and the screens."
	"Okay, I'll be at Kathler's ASAP." Mulder said as he hang up and 
reported the situation to Hall, who dropped his gaze to the floor. 
Mulder accepted the offered water and finished it in seconds. The 
surgical intern was soon done with the job, and sent him out with a 
good luck handshake. Mulder thanked her before apologizing  for the 
catastrophe. Hall and Mulder split in the lobby, Hall to head out to 
Elly's bedside, and Mulder to go meet with Scully. 
Mulder showed up without his blood-soaked tie, his blood-stained shirt 
half buttoned and untucked to cover his gun strapped to his hip. With 
his head wrapped neatly in gauze, he looked fit to be roaming in a 
medic camp in a battle field. 'Which I practically am', Mulder 
thought. Scully's eyebrows shot up at the sight of her battered 
partner, but she accepted his offered embrace. 
	"Hi, Scully. Good to see you again." Mulder whispered in honest 
before pulling away. Scully breathed with relief and looked up into 
his eyes.
	"Mulder, I'm sorry I wasn't there. But you should admit, you 
were nuts to not call for a back-up." Her scolding look spoke of her 
earlier frustrations at his ruthless actions. Mulder smiled 
apologetically. "You should change your shirt. Borrow a scrub, maybe. 
I'll see if I can fetch you one. Stay here." She said as she stepped 
out, so that Mulder was left alone in the room with the patient. 
Mulder took a moment to himself before he faced the sleeping form of 
Jake Kathler. The man's face, so like Mulder's own, was now bruised 
and bore several small cuts. His upper body was bare except for the 
gauze that covered nearly his entire torso and head. Mulder wondered 
how the nurses would tell them apart with the both of them wearing 
nearly identical gauze on their heads. 
Mulder saw the IV bags delivering whatever needed to fight the 
infections in Jake's body, and he silently wished Kathler would stay 
asleep for awhile, before Mulder would have to deliver him the 
devastating news regarding the events of the day. He knew that at any 
moment, the sketch artist would come through the door to take the 
composite sketches of the shooters. 
When Scully returned with a blue scrub shirt, Mulder was facing the 
window, watching the city move as if nothing was out of ordinary. He 
quickly got changed with Scully's assistance. He was a bit surprised 
when she handed him her extra clip for him to keep, but he accepted it 
without a comment. He told her he would contact Elly's family while 
Scully checked out the reporter. He wondered if he was asking too much 
to have a change of clothes brought down for both Jake and himself, 
but she told him she would try. She left with a promise of calling him 
soon as she knew anything. Mulder thanked her again and watched her 
go.   
	It didn't take long for Scully to inform Mulder that the 
reporter had indeed been a fake, that no one by the name of Richard 
Melbrick existed. She went on to tell him she needed to locate the 
hospital personnel she had spoken to before, and have them give out 
their man's descriptions to the sketch artist Mulder was currently 
with as soon as she gets done. Mulder told the artist the news. She 
eagerly agreed to do the other one. 

Prescott Hospital
An hour later

When Scully finally located the nurse who'd given her the information 
on the fake reporter, she asked if Scully wanted her to ask around to 
see if anyone else had seen the man. Scully, readily surprised at the 
comment, told her they'd appreciate her help.   
	She returned to Jake's house where the combing search was still 
under way, and grabbed their over-night bags to stuff them with their 
clothes. Scully had been wearing the dark suit Mulder fetched for her 
out of her apartment. It took her no more than ten minutes to find and 
stuff Jake's Boston bag with his change of clothes, but she stayed 
there to watch the experts work. 
Scully hadn't seen the house since it had become a crime scene, and 
wanted to capture as many details as possible. There were three large 
assemblies of blood stains. One was beside the computer desk, another 
particularly large group was located behind the kitchen counter where 
Mulder and the shooter struggled. 
Another large puddle was located just a few feet away from the kitchen 
counter which undoubtedly belonging to Stella, according to the 
process of elimination and the white fur that scattered around in the 
area. Scully recalled seeing how the towels used as the tourniquet 
that Mulder had applied on Stella had soaked up the dog's blood, and 
figured this was the right spot. Scully saw another blood-soaked towel 
on the floor nearby, and figured it was Mulder's blood that stained 
it. 
There was a relatively smaller puddle of blood streaked by a boot-
print lay about five feet away from Stella's blood, and Scully figured 
this one came from the shooter who got shot in the leg. She could 
picture the incident as if it happened right in front of her. Words, 
gunfire, screams... She shut her eyes against the disturbing images.
	The sight of devastation that was sustained by the house could 
have made the most heartless architect weep. There were two walls that 
faced the kitchen, one of which housed the front door. They used to be 
spotless white walls, which now looked like a pair of beehives. Half 
the miniature city was now knocked down to the floor, leaving the 
polished wood surface badly scuffed. Several slugs were still left 
embedded in their spots, waiting for the ballistics to pull them out. 
At the computer desk, she saw that the intruders hadn't had enough 
time to take the VR machine away. She wanted to look closer, but the 
fingerprint technician asked her to move over. She complied and moved 
back to the wall behind the red wooden bench, where she found several 
shuttered windows, and half a dozen bullet holes that had permanently 
ruined the bench. Scully sighed, but her eyes rested on the stack of 
drawings - the originals - that had been left underneath some of the 
pillows resting on it. She hastily gathered them up and stashed them 
all into her over-night bag before being caught in the act by any one 
of the technicians. 
Next, Scully needed to contact the Gunmen now that they were the only 
ones who had anything useful to get them a lead on this case. She knew 
Mulder wanted to visit them himself, but she wasn't about to let 
Mulder go anywhere alone. Also, since Gunmen only trusted him or her, 
she knew the trip had to wait and thus needed to let them know of 
their delay. 
	She was about to leave the house when an idea popped in her 
head. As almost an after-thought, she walked to the refrigerator and 
true to her guess, found a freshly baked sweet potato pie that Elly 
cooked earlier in the day. She carefully packed the whole pie into a 
take-out dish, and rested it on top of Mulder's clothes in his bag. 
She then packed a can of dog food and a small bag of kibbles for 
Stella in Jake's bag. Just when she closed the trunk of the car, her 
cellular summoned her attention.
	"Agent Scully?" Scully immediately recognized the nurse's voice, 
and her instincts told her to brace herself.
	"Yes, Mary. I'm heading back to the hospital right now. What's 
up?"
	"I've spoken to several girls here and some guys working in the 
ER, but they aren't talking to me. One of the guys, his name's Craig, 
told me secretly that they've been ordered not to talk."
	"Okay, Mary. We'll keep it confidential if you are still willing 
to help us do the guy's sketch. I believe they didn't get to you, 
yet?" There was no need to explain who the 'they' Scully was referring 
to.
	"No. I will help you with the description, Agent Scully. I'll go 
up to Mr. Kathler's room and have it done there."
	"Thanks a lot, Mary. Agent Mulder's with the artist. He's my 
partner, and you can trust him." Scully hang up, quickly pressing the 
first speed-dial button for Mulder's cellular. He answered on the 
first ring.
	"It's me, Mulder. There'll be a nurse named Mary coming into 
your room to talk to the sketch artist do one on the fake reporter. 
...There's something else."
	"Yeah?"
	"She asked around the hospital for me. They weren't talking, 
because apparently they've been threatened."
	"Oh, this just doesn't get any better." Mulder's exasperated 
sigh didn't help cheering her up. 
	"Mulder, they hadn't gotten to her yet, but be alert while she's 
there." 
	"I sure will." Mulder hanged up without another word. Scully 
frowned at the phone, but figured Mary probably had arrived there. She 
decided to check with Agent Hall before making him deliver the bags 
for Mulder and Jake. She told Hall she would stand watch; that she 
wanted him to go back to Jake's house to oversee the progress of the 
technicians. Hall promised to keep up hourly updates. 
Scully finally settled down in the chair positioned next to Elly's 
bed, waiting for Stella's arrival. She then called the Gunmen for 
their update, and to give them a friendly warning from her to be extra 
careful. 


Jake's Room
Prescott Hospital
Oakland, CA
6 PM

Mulder noticed the briefcase that Scully managed to salvage out of 
Jake's house, and opened up to fetch the Gunmen's list of the girl's 
possible families. He had forgotten to give it to her, but moving to 
go anywhere now was out of the question. Mary had gone long ago, but 
he sensed from the way Mary stared at him that she was either very 
embarrassed or very scared of him.
Mulder laughed aloud when he discovered Elly's homemade sweet potato 
pie on the very top of everything inside the overnight bag. 'Scully, 
you never cease to amaze me.' He thought as he took the pre-sliced pie 
and shamelessly devoured the first piece. He could almost picture her 
radiant smile.
	He reviewed each list again, making notes on the margins. 
Without being able to conduct any questioning in person, the only 
option left to him was guess-work. He pulled out the salvaged portion 
of the girl's drawings packed inside his briefcase and studied them. 
His memory replayed the images he'd navigated with the VR machine, 
trying somehow to figure them out. Then, there were the Lone Gunmen's 
wild theories that their mystery girl was a conduit; that she was a 
communication devise; a guinea pig to experimental brain surgeries... 
and now the girl was taken again. Mulder massaged his temples with his 
fingers, frustrated that the gauze on his head was not quite allowing 
him do it the way he wanted.
	Mulder sighed and reached over the remote to switch on the TV. 
The incident at Jake's house was now a public matter. Although Mulder 
didn't believe it would be kept quiet, he fumed at the mention of a 
possible 'kidnapping', and the involvement of the FBI agents who had 
been staying at Jake's house. 
Mulder knew about Linda persistently calling them nearly every half an 
hour ever since yesterday, but they hadn't had the chance to meet with 
her in person. Now that the girl was gone, the security cut Linda off 
at the hospital entrance and didn't even try to patch her calls 
through. Mulder felt guilty about that, but there was really nothing 
he could say to the social worker except that he was sorry, and that 
they were doing everything they can. 
It was just the same with Jake's fuming business partners. Mulder had 
them stopped at the entrance of the hospital and had Jake's room 
listed under 'location confidential'. Mulder called the Lone Gunmen 
for their update, but he was surprised to hear that Scully had already 
been in touch. He immediately called Scully, not wanting to interrupt 
her, but knowing deep down that she wouldn't mind the company.
	"Hey, Scully. Thanks for the pie." Mulder said the moment she 
answered. 
	"Mulder, I know you too well not to trust you with your health. 
Elly's pretty shaken up, and I had her husband visit her for comfort. 
He left not long ago, and now it's the kids' turn. The children love 
Stella, but she's still unconscious and unfortunately unable to return 
their love. 
"I've got Stella's charts here, and she may have some difficulty doing 
running and jumping in the future. She caught the bullet in the air, 
so it got twisted inside her body. It entered her body from the left, 
then it nicked the spine which bounced the bullet a bit downward 
before exiting from the right. The trick here is that since Stella was 
airborne at the time, the speed of her body falling to the floor 
helped the bullet to stay above any vital organ. This is why the exit 
wound is located about half an inch below the entry wound. 
"With the latest technology in animal physical therapies, Stella might 
just make a full recovery. But considering her age, it might take much 
longer." 
	"Oh, God. Jake's going to kill me." Mulder's voice was a 
tortured mumble. A slight pause interrupted their conversation.
	"Mulder, this is the first time you called him by his first 
name." 
	"Oh. Well, I... I don't know. It just feels weird, you know. The 
guy's like my mirror image and I hate my first name, so I guess I feel 
awkward calling him by his first name. I..." He knew he was rumbling, 
but stopped at the sound of her soft laughter. He shrugged, knowing 
she could picture him doing it even if she wasn't here.
	"It's okay, Mulder. That's how he wanted to be addressed in the 
beginning."
	"I didn't even think about it. ...Scully, is there anyone listed 
as 'next of kin' to Jake?"
	"Nope. No one." This sounded strange.
	"Are you sure? I mean, the guy looks like he's got lots of 
connections." 
	"Mulder, think about it. We have so many connections all over 
the world, and we're listed as each other's 'nest to kin'. What does 
that tell you?" 
	"It tells me that we only trust each other." The words escaped 
his lips before he could stop them. When no reply came, he dropped the 
subject and went straight for the list in his hand. "I'm sorry, 
Scully. Forget I said that. I called you originally to tell you that 
the Gunmen gave me a list of recent murder victims involving families, 
and out of those, they singled out cases involving a child matching 
the description of our Jane Doe. This still left ten names, and I 
wanted to ask you for your opinion." 
Mulder spoke rapidly, a habit he had whenever he wanted to get out of 
a hole he dug for himself. Scully remained silent for a few more 
seconds, but then told him to table everything at least until Hall 
gets done sweeping Jake's house for evidences and bugs. Mulder agreed, 
then hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Scully, I didn't 
mean... I mean, you are the only one I trust, but you have your 
mother, your brothers, and I..." He never got to finish it.
	"Mulder. quit it. You are the only one I trust when it comes to 
the X-Files."
	"...Thanks, Scully. You ought to know that you are the only one 
I trust. No matter what." Mulder said as he stared out of the window. 
Another pause slipped in between them before Scully spoke.
	"I'll call on favors and try to get the DNA and fingerprint 
tests express-delivered to us, but I doubt it would do us any good. 
The girl's got no criminal record, and no testing results would be on 
file unless she had some kind of genetic abnormality and was in 
studies or in hospitals for gene therapy. I don't know, but I'll do 
this anyway, just for our peace of mind."
	"You're the expert, Scully. I've been thinking about having the 
Gunmen make a house-call, to have them come down here to work with 
us."
	"Are you sure? Would they do that?"
	"I haven't asked, yet. I was hoping you could ask them for me. 
Get Frokihe on the phone and talk him into it."
	"Mulder! You can't do this to me every damn time." She didn't 
bother hiding her annoyance.
	"It's not my fault that the guy's got it bad for you, Scully." 
He loved teasing her. 
	"But it's not ...ethical." She knew her argument was weak. 
Mulder smelled victory.
	"What can I say, Scully? It's not my fault that Frohike thinks 
you're hot, and it's not my fault that you were born beautiful." 
	"Mulderrrr...." Her tone was a last-ditch effort. 
	"Please?" Mulder deliberately kept his tone innocent. 'As a 
sweet child', he thought as he smiled.
	"Be thankful that I can't come up to your room at this very 
second and shoot you in your ass." Mulder chuckled soundly and thanked 
her. He then told her that as soon as Hall arrives at the hospital, he 
would have a hard copy of the names delivered to her personally. He 
got another sigh of resignation from her. 
	"What? Aren't you glad that everybody has a crash on you? You 
don't have to do much to pull off strings. Everybody loves you, 
Scully. That's much better than being 'the FBI's most unwanted'."
	"The same could be said for you, partner. Detective White; Dr. 
Bambi; Phoebe Greene; Miss Kilar; Miss Covarrubias; and finally 
there's Sarah/Melissa, whom you believe was your wife in the past 
life." Mulder winced at the painful memories of what that particular 
case brought into his life, although he wasn't sure how much the case 
really hurt him emotionally.
	"Okay, I'll..." Again, Mulder never got the chance to finish it.
"That's not mentioning my list of at least a dozen female bureau 
agents and half the bureau secretarial pool who have 'the hots' for 
you. I just wish you'd stop using me as a bait to pull off your 
strings. I'm usually the one to get stuck with the mess afterwards, 
and it gets tiring." 
	"Okay, I'll back off. I really am sorry." Mulder honestly 
apologized, and told her he'd get in touch later. Mulder knew that 
Scully rattled off the last half as sort of a cover, because she knew 
it was a sensitive subject for him. The mention of Christen Kilar was 
still a sore spot for him, and so was Phoebe, though he knew Phoebe 
wasn't worth his heartache. Christen was different. She was another 
name on the list of 'the people I've failed to protect', listed along 
with Scully's name.
Even after three years, Mulder still wondered if Christen had gotten 
her wish of finally becoming a vampire. Only by taking her own life to 
destroy the other three vampires who had gone on rampage through the 
city of L.A, did she become what she wanted to be. Mulder could never 
ignore, much less forget, that she'd probably have done so in order to 
protect his life. Why? Probably to allow him to find the 'someone I 
lost', and because she had already lost so much, she wanted 
desperately to join the world of the immortal. Now that he got his 
wish, what about Christen's?
	Mulder was deep in thought when the familiar tall frame of Hall 
appeared at the door. He thanked the younger man for his hard work, 
and handed him the list to be delivered to Scully. Hall told him 
they'd done all they could for now, and found only one bug that had 
been placed at the base of a plant that had been set between the first 
and the second beds to the right. 'Jake's and the girl's beds', Mulder 
remembered. 
All evidences that could have been collected were now in their hands, 
Hall said. The crime scene had been taped on videotapes as evidence, 
including the outside views and the tire tracks of the intruders' van. 
Only cleaning up and putting in an offical request for the repair 
services were left to do. Mulder thanked him again.
	"No problem, Agent Mulder. I'm enjoying this." Hall replied 
before closing the door. Mulder nodded to himself, and sure hoped Hall 
would keep 'enjoying' this case.


Prescott Hospital
Elly and Stella's room
11PM

Scully studied the list again, taking in each and every detail the 
pages could provide for her. So far, they all looked plausible. She 
called the Gunmen after Elly's visitors left and asked them to give 
her a complete police report on each of the family listed, because she 
had no way of getting to them for as long as she was stuck at the 
hospital.
Frohike, as much a sweetheart as he was, volunteered for the job. He 
faxed the data to a nearby 24-hour print service shop's rental fax 
machine where Hall received the pages and paid the bill. Hall had 
gladly played another delivery boy for Scully, getting a hug of thanks 
from her. Scully sent the agent back to his hotel room for a well-
deserved rest, and told him to come back at nine the next morning.
Now Elly was in another chemically induced sleep alongside Stella, 
though she checked periodically for any changes. She missed her 
Queequeg, the little pomelanian that Mr. Bruckman had left for her 
only to be devoured by an alligator at a lake on one of the X-Files 
investigations. Stella wasn't Qeequeg. Scully grimly admitted to 
herself that Stella was better-trained, warmer-hearted, and certainly 
braver than her beloved Queequeg.
Scully didn't have a clue why the canine chose to take a bullet for 
Mulder. Stella hardly knew him. But then, animals had a strange way of 
seeing right through people, and Scully could swear on stacks of bible 
that Fox William Mulder was very much worth fighting for. A long time 
ago, beneath the man's reserved, carefully-controlled features, Scully 
found a soul burning so bright, not even Hell could smother its light. 
Watching Stella's wounded sleeping form, she couldn't thank her enough 
for covering Mulder's back in her place.
	Scully noticed immediately that the family in Sacramento, CA, 
seemed a dead-on match to the Jane Doe's case profile they had. This 
whole family had been claimed victims by a serial killer. The killer 
had literally butchered the entire family and all his other victims, 
thus leaving a trail of bodies behind his killing spree across the 
country. In the case file of this Sacramento family in question, the 
couple's only eight-year old daughter had fallen prey for the inhumane 
act. But Scully could never believe that their Jane Doe is presently 
ten years old. The girl was way too small in size and looks to be 
anywhere close to the age of ten years. 
A family in Houston, Texas also looked to be a close match. In this 
case, the entire family had been left tied up on a train track and let 
the running train had severed them all in pieces, including their 
seven-year old daughter. The killer delivered the butchered body parts 
at the family's house, opened the door, and literally left the bodies 
scattered on the living room floor. Later, the killer wrote a note 
using the victims' blood to confess exactly what he'd done, and left 
the letter at a poor neighbor's doorstep.  
	Both cases had outright butchery and the use of metal surface 
for the cutting job. The girl's drawings had that much in common. 'But 
what about yellow, green and gray?' She asked herself, searching for 
answers. Yellow could have been the headlight of the approaching 
train, or the lightening the girl experienced before being rescued by 
Jake. It could even be the fluorescent light on the living room 
ceiling of the house. Green could have been trees, traffic light, or 
maybe the color of wallpapers in the house; could even be the color of 
clothing or the carpets. 
'So what are those symbols?' They were probably some images that their 
girl watched on a sci-fi television program. The girl loved 
television, and she loved watching videos. Scully knew that Jake let 
the girl watch the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, and the 
Sci-Fi Channel. The programs shown in these three channels often had 
'the little green (though they're gray) men' running around. Besides, 
the gray could have been something incredibly simple - like the color 
of asphalt or the gravel used for train tracks; could be even more 
simple things like furniture, for instance. 'Anything could be gray.' 
Carpets, curtains, blinds, and couches. Hell, even her own bedspread 
had a fair share of gray in it. 
	'Yes', she thought, 'that must be'. Yellow wasn't the light from 
the U.F.Os, the green wasn't from the alien blood combined with human 
DNA, and gray certainly wasn't from the E.B.Es' skin tone. Red, she 
agreed without protest, was from human blood. 'Mulder's getting so 
desperate, his mind's going haywire again.' She thought as she let 
herself zone out. 
'The truth is,' she said to herself, 'we still have a lot to look 
for.' What is brown indicating? All the other colors? She had no idea. 
There was a case in Alaska, which was also on the list of their 
candidates. This family had been camping in a forest when the attack 
came. They had all been dragged through the dark forest and into the 
cramped little cabin where they'd been tortured, starved, raped, then 
killed, and finally butchered. Their bodies were left for a park 
ranger to find a week later.
The brown in their girl's drawings could have been the color of the 
soil, or the log house the girl's been held in. If the girl had 
somehow escaped the cabin and ended up with a Post Trauma Stress 
Syndrome accompanied by amnesia, that could explain some things. Use 
of a stone-made, very possibly gray table for the butchering job, 
yellow for moonlight that lit up the forest enough for the girl to 
crawl out of the darkness of the cabin. Lots of green trees. Red blood 
splashed all over her clothes and probably on her arms and legs. 
	Scully was just about to call it a night when a very nervous 
Frohike called back on her cellular. "Agent Scully? This is Frohike, 
and I have some information for you that couldn't wait."
	"What is it, Frohike?" Sensing his tone, Scully lowered her 
voice.
	"The case in Sacramento. We were digging in a little deeper into 
the dossier, and Byers came across the employment record for the 
couples. He found that they had been long-time members of a cancer 
research team called Bionix, founded by a pharmaceutical called 
Genesis International. I don't know if you've heard of any of these 
organizations, but Genesis International is almost entirely owned by 
the United States' federal government."
	"Oh my God. That's just it!" Scully couldn't have been more 
certain.
	"I'll check all the other cases, but I..."
	"No. I had a feeling about this one, too. I'll check with Mulder 
right now, and have Agent Hall watch over the witnesses. One of us has 
to go there, no matter what. ...Oh, and Frohike?" Scully knew the time 
couldn't be more right.
	"Yes, Agent Scully?"
	"Mulder and I were talking about this for a while now, but... Is 
there any way you can make a house-call? We really, really need you 
guys down here. You know that they're cleaning house, and we've lost 
Pendrell after losing Mr. X. I doubt Mulder had contacted Marita 
Covarrubias regarding this case, and not even AD Skinner has all 
details. We never made updates with him, because this case stinks of 
Morley's."
	"Agent Scully?" Byers interrupted from the other phone. "I'm not 
sure if it's safe enough."
	"I know, I know. Really, I do. But I'm racing against time. Just 
today, Jake's house was attacked and Mulder happened to be there 
alone. The girl was taken again, and they critically injured the 
security guard at the door. They dumped Jake through a bio-hazardous 
waste chute, mistaking him for Mulder. I couldn't cover his back, 
because I had to stay here watching over Jake. I can't have that 
happen again."
	"I know, we watched the news." Now Langly was jumping in, and 
Scully figured they'd now put her on the speaker-phone. "Things are 
growing chaotic down there." 
	"We'll see what we can do, Agent Scully. Get some rest. You've 
been working non-stop." Frohike's voice made Scully feel strangely 
comfortable.
	"Thanks a million, guys. Frohike, you're great." Scully said 
smiling, and she knew Frohike probably looked about to melt on their 
dusty floor. She heard the other two Gunmen giggling in the background 
just before hanging up.


Prescott Hospital
Jake's Room
Oakland, CA
Same Time

When Scully called Mulder with the information, he insisted her to let 
him go. She immediately struck the idea on the ground that he wasn't 
fully capable of defending himself, and who knows what would be 
waiting there?
	"Mulder, you should know that if this one is our lucky winner, 
then the girl's name is no longer Jane Doe, but Vera Maxine Jarvis. 
She is a ten-year old, supposedly-deceased, orphan. She has no family, 
no appointed legal guardian, and not even distant relatives are 
mentioned anywhere in the file. Now, if that's true, then Linda could 
proceed with the adoption paperwork. But after all this chaos, I'm not 
sure if they'll grant Jake that girl's custody. We'll have to fight 
for them, but all this is just way too early to even think about, so 
keep it quiet."
	"Sure, Scully." Mulder could hardly swallow the words. 'Vera 
Maxine Jarvis, is the girl's real name?' Any name was more welcoming 
than Jane Doe, but if/when the girl is actually found, can she handle 
the consequences and the history attached to that name? 
	"The Lone Gunmen agreed to do whatever they could about making 
house-calls, so once again, you owe me big time. They saw the news and 
I think they're scared of showing up in town. I don't know about you, 
but I can feel the wheels speeding up."
	"Oh, I'm feeling my seat heating up here, telling me to stand up 
and get moving." Finding the real scent of his prey, Mulder was ready 
to roll.
	"Let me go, Mulder. I'm a medical doctor, and I'm quite up-to-
date on cancer research."
	"I know that, Scully. I do." Mulder tried not to choke on his 
words. He knew Scully's nasal tumor was still growing. "But, if the 
facility's owned by our federal government and is indeed a state-of-
art cancer research center, wouldn't they have you on their file? It's 
too risky, Scully. Once you knock on their door, they'll know exactly 
what you're doing in there." He hated reminding her of her illness. 
The line was silent, and he could feel her frustration and pain from 
deep in his bones. 
"Sc... Dana, listen to me. You know that I'll keep you updated on 
everything I'll find in there. All I'm going to do is to sneak in 
there with a fake pass and get into their main computer system, just 
like I've done in the Kurt Crawford case. I promise I'll notify the 
Lone Gunmen and take them with me. They said they'd do what they can, 
right? That means they know where they can go, but they're not sure if 
it's safe enough." 
	"Mulder..." Her tone was wrapped in rage. Mulder closed his 
eyes.
	"I know you're fully capable of doing this job, and I would've 
chosen you without a question if only our government didn't own the 
facility. Those MUFON women could've gone there for all I know. 
Please, Dana. Let me do this." He hoped she didn't take his motives 
the wrong way. The line remained silent for several more seconds 
before her tired and resigned voice replied.
	"Mulder, you're such a pain in the ass." Mulder couldn't help a 
chuckle.
	"Yeah, I know. But your ass is the better ass. Take care of it." 
His grin grew wider when he heard her chuckle. "Seriously, Dana. Will 
you let me do this? I swear I'll return with what we need, and I'll 
even return in one piece." He lowered his voice further. He soon heard 
her long heavy sigh, acknowledging her defeat. 
	"On one condition." She spoke in the firm, 'Agent Scully at her 
best' tone. Mulder blinked slowly as the familiar warmth filled his 
chilling, aching heart.
	"What is it?" Growing a bit weary, he looked around the darkened 
hospital room.
	"You must be accompanied by all the three Lone Gunmen. 
Otherwise, I don't give a shit about any objections you might have. 
I'll get there myself, by myself, and nothing you can say or do will 
stop me from going. Got that?" 
	"Okay. Let me call them, and I'll have them call you with 
answers. That way, you'll know that I'm not lying to you if I tell you 
I've got a green light. Deal?" 
	"It's a deal, partner." Scully's reply was forgiving, allowing 
Mulder to breathe easier. After ten minutes of fencing around, the 
Lone Gunmen agreed to assist him but not before Mulder gave them a 
three-day preparation period. The three-day time window was way too 
long for Mulder's taste, but it sure was better than throwing Scully 
alone into the mouth of death. 
The Lone Gunmen were nothing if they weren't thorough. Byers made 
Mulder agree to let them take a peek at some of the latest X-Files, 
and to let them take his photographs for the Gunmen's annual file 
updates. Langly made Mulder promise to write an article, under an 
alias in their next newsletter. Frohike made him promise to get 
Scully's recent, professionally-done photograph for his 'personal' 
collection. Mulder promised to ask Mrs. Scully for one, making Frohike 
swear a complete secrecy of it or suffer a horrible death. Frohike 
swore on the honors of all his predecessors that not a word of this 
will leave the room.


Prescott Hospital
Elly and Stella's Room
Next Day 9 AM

Agent Hall appeared promptly at nine, carrying a sack of breakfast 
consisted of both of their coffee and some pastries for Scully. She 
had been sleeping for the last seven hours and had nearly shot the 
poor young man before recognizing who it was at the door. Startled, 
Hall nearly dropped their breakfast to the floor.
	"Oh! I'm so sorry. Are you all right? Oh, God. I was sleeping." 
She rattled apologies as she holstered her weapon back, and offered 
the young man a seat right next to her own. Seeing the opportunity, 
Hall dropped into the seat and handed her a steaming cup.
	"Freshly brewed. Cream, no sugar." 
	"How did you know?" She was thoroughly amazed that Hall would 
know this, but then she figured that by this time, the man probably 
knew about her cigarette incident happened back when she was fourteen.
	"Well, you know. Agent Mulder..." True to her guess, the 
familiar name came up. She chuckled.
	"And people wonder why I'm still sticking around his office."
	"Well, he's a very bright agent. I could tell ever since I first 
met him. He's incredibly polite, too. That's very rare these days. I 
envy you, Agent Scully, that you can work beside a man as decent as he 
is." Scully only smiled and took another sip of the hot coffee. "And I 
am incredibly jealous of Agent Mulder, because he gets to work with 
such a brilliant, beautiful woman for a partner." Hall laughed 
nervously, being nervous that Scully might take his words negatively. 
She didn't.
	"Well, we keep each other on our toes, and we trust each other 
with our lives."
	"I've always wanted to be a Special Agent, too. Investigate 
cases, travel to places, meet people, and solve problems one by one. I 
still feel the same way, but I don't know. I guess I finally realized 
how naive I'd been. I never expected surprises like this in my wildest 
imaginations."
	"What do you mean, 'this'?" Scully asked, now looking directly 
at the young agent. Hall took his time searching for the right words.
	"People who destroy evidences. People who threat and even murder 
innocents; especially the people who do so without giving their 
victims a second thought. Burning houses. So much tax payers' money 
and hard work going down the drains, just so that our government could 
keep its unwritten Code of Silence." Hall's expression darkened. 
Scully dropped her gaze, not wanting to see the depth of the young 
agent's disappointment in his trusted government and in the world as a 
whole.
	"Yes, it is very hard to accept the reality, isn't it? But the 
truth, although it's very costly to our personal lives to pursue, is 
still worth fighting for." 
	"I don't know if I can do what you do." Hall shook his head and 
stared across the room. Scully nodded, as only the people who'd walked 
through the same path as which this young man began to walk, could.
	"Only you can know the answer to that. But you'll be constantly 
amazed to learn just how strong, and how vulnerable, you really are." 
	"I knew how a majority of the bureau saw you and your 
department. I've heard of many stories, both good ones and bad ones. I 
don't know if I can ever live, much less work, in an environment where 
everybody who passes me by thinks of me the way they think of you. I 
don't know how you put up with all this crap and pressure." 
	"Because we have to, and because we can. I know that I have 
people I can depend on if I fall. I'm not alone." Scully raised her 
head and faced Hall again, smiling. She saw him return it and nodded a 
reassurance.
	"I can see very clearly that you are not." He said, standing up 
from his seat. "I'm checking to see if Agent Mulder has something for 
me to do. Anything I can do for you?" Hall was clearly embarrassed 
that he showed her his weakness. She knew, because she had acted the 
same way before toward Mulder. 
	"I'm sure there is a lot that you can do for us, but not right 
now. Thank you for the breakfast." Scully answered and saw him off. 
That was how she realized Mulder had been right about Thomas Hall. He 
was a good agent. 
	Within an hour, the local sheriff came into the room to tell her 
the shooter matching the description of the sketch artist hasn't been 
found. She thanked him, but she had no high hope set for anyone to 
ever find the guy. Elly woke up just as Scully was making her field 
journal entry in her laptop which she salvaged out of Jake's BMW. 
	"Good morning, Elly. I'll call the nurse for you." Scully spoke 
as she reached for the call button.
	"Oh, no, no. That's quite all right, Miss Scully." The older 
woman's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Scully replied with a smile 
and pressed the call button anyway.
	"I still need to call them, Elly. Call me Dana, though. I get 
enough of the formality around here." Scully chuckled, trying to 
lighten Elly's mood.
	"Good morning, Dana, and thank you very much for watching over 
me."
	"It's really my pleasure. Besides, unlike my partner, you've 
been a model patient." Scully's face naturally broke into a smile as 
she offered Elly a glass of water.
	"How is Mr. Kathler, by the way?" Scully knew that Jake was more 
than just an employer to Elly. Scully always detected the same kind of 
affection her own mother showed towards Mulder in the way Elly cared 
for Jake.
	"He suffered a few viral infections, accompanied by lots of cuts 
and bruises. But the doctors are taking good care of him, and I 
believe he'll be fine in time."
	"Oh, no. What happened?" Elly's creased forehead supported 
Scully's earlier assumptions about Elly's mothering over Jake.
	"Well, he was... thrown in." That was all she could say. Sensing 
Scully's reluctance, Elly didn't pursue the matter. 
	"Have you been up late again, Dana?" The woman had practically 
been living half her life with Jake, thus she was an expert on the 
subject. Scully returned the woman a melancholy smile, suddenly 
missing her mother. That was one of the reasons why she stayed with 
Elly instead of going back and forth in between this room and Jake's. 
	"I confess that I haven't really had the chance. Yesterday was a 
big day for all of us, and I really hope you didn't hear any of our 
heated arguments over the phone last night." Scully made a sour face, 
remembering the catastrophe of the previous day. She was more than 
relieved when Elly shook her head 'no'.
	"No. Actually, I can't remember the last time I was awake." Elly 
laughed, and her warm soft laughter was something Scully needed to 
hear. "What day is it, Dana?"
	"Today's Friday. Your family was here yesterday."
	"Oh, right." Elly rolled her eyes and shook her head with 
disgust. Scully knew from the way Elly hid her wince quickly, that it 
hurt for her to talk even with the painkillers still in effect. The 
woman's dislocated jaw had been repaired and most of her bruises had 
turned into greenish-yellow as results of ice packs used for first 
aid, and the anti-inflammatory medicine the doctors gave her. But she 
still suffered a lot of pain in her back from the kick she received 
from the shooters, which knocked her to the floor. Elly's limbs had 
been bound with the duct tape at the time, and that just made 
everything worse.  
	"Elly, you don't have to talk. I know it hurts. They will 
release you from the hospital in a couple of days, and you may have to 
go back and forth between home and a Chailo practor, but everything 
else is fine. I'm sorry about your jaw. Mulder told me he had to do 
it." Elly took Scully's advise and silently nodded a 'yes'. She then 
tilted her head towards Stella's bed, quietly observing the mound of 
white/ black spotted fur. Scully noticed and walked over to Stella's 
bed.
	"I haven't checked on her since last night, but she's doing well 
so far. The lab technician was confused a little at first to have a 
dog go through a complete check-up. No serious infection was detected 
from the initial tests, and they're taking every precaution against 
any opportunistic infections. The blood work came out clean, but the 
vet suggested us to try lowering her cholestrol level. 
Stella also needs to move a little more. I know that since the girl 
came into your lives, Jake hadn't had much chance to take Stella out. 
I actually do own a pomelanian myself, and I offered Jake my service 
for Stella. But I hadn't had a chance to act on it; what with all this 
madness crushing down on us lately. Stella needs to go through 
physical therapy and she's not a young dog any more, so all her 
progress depends on her strength. I'm sorry I don't have a better 
news." Scully saw Elly's eyes close, and her hands reached up to cover 
them for a few seconds. 'Yes,' she thought. 'Dogs are indeed the best 
friend the mankind's ever had.'
	Her cellular rang, and Scully hastily fished it out of her 
jacket pocket. It was Mulder.
	"You're never gonna believe this." Scully furrowed her eyebrows 
at his bluntness.
	"Do tell." She didn't waste time with niceties in these 
situations.
	"Agent Scully, how are you?" Her breath refused to work for that 
moment.
	"Uh... Sir?" Her eyes widened, and she caught Elly looking at 
her with concern. She turned to face the windows. 
	"Agent Scully, I'm sorry to have come unannounced, but the 
enormity of this case summoned my personal attention." 'Oh, God.' 
Scully thought as she ran her hand through her hair.
	"Sir, you're not saying..."
	"Yes, I am, Agent Scully. My name is in the investigation team 
as of this morning." The first time Skinner had involved in a case 
being investigated by Mulder and herself, all three of them had ended 
up in a three-way stand-off in Mulder's apartment. The last time, 
Skinner was caught covering up evidences while posing as Mulder. She 
was at the hospital for her cancer treatment, and hadn't been there to 
cover Mulder's back. 'No,' she thought, 'this is a really bad idea.'
	"Sir, have you been updated on our findings?" Her doubts were 
proved right.
	"No. Agent Scully, I'll come down right now and you can give me 
your on-going case report. I will also use my own team of evidence 
collection experts to uncover any trace of evidences that may have 
been missed. A SWAT team's on full alert, and is available at any 
time." Scully froze at the nature of the A.D.'s involvement in the 
case. Skinner wouldn't do all this unless he was planning on taking 
over the case. But as if he read her mind, his tone remained calm. 
"Agent Scully, you and Agent Mulder are still the primary agents in 
the case. My involvement is strictly as a consultant." 
	"Thank you, Sir. Truth be said, Mulder was thinking about 
contacting you." 
	"I've met Agent Hall, and he's with us. I've just arrived here 
and we're in the lobby. I have one of my men posted there as a guard. 
We'll come up." 
	"Sir..." Scully's word hung in the air as the line went dead. 
Resting her hands on her hips, she turned around and met Elly's gaze. 
"Elly, Assistant Director Skinner will be here shortly with Agents 
Mulder and Hall." Elly knew Skinner was their boss. Her eyes widened, 
but before Scully could utter a word of assurance their door was 
knocked. Scully immediately noticed the absence of Mulder's gauze from 
his head. But as Skinner shook hand with Elly, Mulder whispered her 
his assurance that he was taking every precaution against an 
infection. Mulder was dressed in the charcoal-gray suit which Scully 
had brought for him, and somehow managed to look sharper than she'd 
seen him in the last five days. Skinner's presence always made 
difference in Mulder, as if he was wearing a full-armor before 
plunging into a war. Ever since he caught Skinner red-handed, Mulder 
became even more guarded and careful around the man. 
	Mulder suggested they leave Agent Hall to guard the room while 
they stepped out to the hallway. Hall agreed and took his seat in the 
chair Scully just vacated. Scully thanked the younger man and shut the 
door.
	"All right, Agent Scully. Let's hear it." Skinner ordered, 
crossing his arms in front of his chest. Scully sucked in a quick 
breath and braced herself.
	"As you may already know, the Violent Crimes Unit received the 
case from the Los Angels regional office. The VCU in turn contacted 
Agent Mulder after investigating this case for a week, asking him for 
his expertise in psychology, criminal profiling, and experiences he 
had in our cases with similar nature. We've flown in just two days 
after the call, and we've been staying at Mr. Kathler's residence upon 
arrival at his personal request. Linda Lowry, a state social worker, 
was allowed free access to the house at Mr. Kathler's request, and 
she'd been checking on the girl daily until her recent 
hospitalization. 
"Mr. Kathler had a job-related trouble, and we were trying to set 
things straight with the two hospitals that treated the girl, that 
none of us could provide an adequate supervision on her. Agent Mulder 
has gone to San Francisco for two days to investigate the 
psychological testing center to which she had been taken into. This 
went on from an early hour in the morning, lasting until late hours of 
the night for a period of five days. All this happened prior to our 
involvement in the case.
By the time Agent Mulder arrived at the testing, evidences were 
destroyed, files were misplaced, tapes were disposed, and all the 
hospital staff were suddenly gone on vacations or nowhere to be found. 
This was why Agent Mulder could leave the facility with only a few 
tapes and files for evidence to use in further investigation.
	"When I investigated the Henry Barrington Hospital, I've 
encountered at least one count of evidence tampering done in almost 
exactly the same manner as what Agent Mulder has witnessed in San 
Francisco. When I attempted to contact physicians who had involvement 
in the girl's treatment, I found the personnel office and the records 
office to be extremely uncooperative. They closed the office during 
the night and hid the keys to the employee personnel records. All of 
the girl's medical records including X-rays, MRI, PET, CAT scan, and 
genetic testing data had either disappeared without a trace, been 
destroyed, or somehow misplaced with some files kept at another Henry 
Barrington's in New York City. Only when Agent Mulder returned from 
San Francisco and threatened them with a court order, did they ever 
let him in. 
Agent Mulder found the files for the girl's attending physicians to be 
mysteriously missing from their file cabinets, and he could only take 
out an old patient record file for each physician just to have their 
full names and signatures copied." Scully paused for Skinner to digest 
the information. Mulder stayed silent, his gaze fixed on his partner.
	"Have you had any luck finding them?" Skinner asked, shifting 
uncomfortably. She nodded.
	"At this time the girl's name was still listed as Jane Doe, and 
we've checked about five Jane Does who had gone through either the 
same or similar testing procedures during the days in which the girl 
in question had been tested. Agent Hall tracked down the original 
files and gave us a computer disk containing the material. I reviewed 
the files at the Kathler residence, and found the girl to be extremely 
intelligent, especially in the field of art and language. That's when 
Agent Mulder learned that the psychological evaluation results were 
either falsified or switched with those of another subject."
	"So, you have the file. ...Why did she end up in this hospital?" 
Scully saw Mulder clench his jaw. She let out a small sigh before 
going on. 
	"Mr. Kathler has a Virtual Reality machine that he uses for his 
work as an architect, and as an attempt to analyze the girl' drawings, 
he has been scanning in the drawings with his computer scanner. We had 
a look at them, and realized Jake had been trying to do what Agent 
Mulder had been doing ever since his arrival. We were about to start 
watching the girl's taped therapy sessions at the psychological 
testing center when she got access to the computer. She knew how to 
operate the VR machine and the scanner. She eventually got into the 
file containing the analysis of her drawings, and immediately fell 
into a seizure. We brought her to this hospital instead of the Henry 
Barrington's, and so far there's no indication of a record tampering 
or anyone gone missing in this hospital."
	"Wait a minute. Kathler's been letting her play with...?"
	"No, sir. He didn't want her to use it, much less view her own 
artwork. It's easy for her to just watch someone do something and copy 
it. She seems to be having trouble reading and writing, which I 
believe were the result of her long-term isolation from the real 
world; preventing her from getting an adequate exposure to written 
English language. She does extremely well on visual and conversational 
communications, although she seems to be unable to speak. Mr. Kathler 
often commented on the lack of its necessity to establish a good 
enough communication in between them." Scully paused again, seeing 
that Mulder was staring at his feet and leaning heavily on the wall. 
She also saw that his eyebrows furrowed and his forehead creased as he 
often did while brainstorming.
	"Agent Hall tracked down the doctors who treated the girl, but 
their homes were set on fire and the doctors have disappeared. It was 
only yesterday that, as you know, Mr. Kathler was attacked while 
keeping watch on the girl. He was most likely have been mistaken for 
Agent Mulder. Mr. Kathler indicated there were about four men, all 
wearing an identical, black non-descriptive uniform. They'd beaten and 
tied him up, then threw him into a bio-hazardous waste chute. 
"Mr. Kathler is currently suffering from influenza, bronchitis, and 
Hepatitis B viruses. These infections occurred due to the contaminated 
air Mr. Kathler inhaled while he was in the waste chute, and due to 
direct contacts with contaminated fluids found on discarded medical 
tools and gowns his body made through the various cuts on his body."
	"Nothing else?" Skinner asked, his frustration and exhaustion 
clear in his tone. 
	"No, but they'll keep screening him for any other infections. 
There was an HIV positive glass vial and blood soaked hospital gown, 
but it was too far down the pile that I doubt he was infected with 
it."
	"What's the news on the shootings?" Skinner pinched the bridge 
of his nose, pushing up his glasses.
	"They also kidnapped the girl out of her bed, and we are still 
in search of her whereabouts. Agent Mulder returned to Mr. Kathler's 
residence for the fear of any further attempt to intervene our 
investigations. He found four men, possibly the same men who'd been at 
the hospital to kidnap the girl, trashing the house. Agent Hall had 
been out of the house because of a fake phone call requesting his 
assistance, leaving Mulder to arrive at the scene without a back-up. 
They'd taken Mr. Kathler's computer, severely injured his dog Stella, 
his housekeeper Elly, and Agent Mulder before taking off. 
"Agent Mulder successfully apprehended one of the shooters and injured 
two others before they drove away. It is our belief that these men 
were responsible for the attempt made on the ambulance in which the 
shooter and Elly had been taken in on their way to this hospital. 
However, as soon as they retrieved their injured accomplice out of the 
backdoor, they fled without any further harm done."
	"Why is the dog here?" It was a logical question on Skinner's 
part.
	"She was injured taking the bullet meant for Agent Mulder." 
Scully answered calmly, but she saw Mulder flinch behind Skinner. 
"She's also a valuable federal witness. She knows the faces and scents 
of these men from their blood. We also believe Stella is entitled to 
this level of medical treatment for her action." Scully ignored 
Skinner's frown. "She's recovering nicely, but her treatment will 
probably require an extensive physical therapy, and even then, a full 
recovery will be difficult. Until then, she will have to live with 
greatly reduced mobility due to the spinal cord damage." 
	"All right, Agent Scully." Turning to look at Mulder, Skinner 
saw the younger man straightening up in an instant. "Do you have 
anything to add to this?" Knowing there must be a lot, Skinner gave 
him the 'keep it short' warning stare. Mulder got the AD's message 
with a nod.
	"As Agent Scully has just mentioned, I've been analyzing the 
girl's drawings from the day one. Mr. Kathler kept all of her drawings 
carefully in plastic binders, inside plastic cover sheets. He informed 
us that he had them all saved in his computer, so the originals were 
free for me to 'dissect' and analyze. There were over seventy-five 
pages, and by the time she was hospitalized, there were about a 
hundred. I've looked at each of them, and noticed that her drawings 
shared many identical or extremely similar images. 
"The figures, symbols, and letters used in these drawings were all 
obscured by her use of vivid colors. They mostly consisted of yellow, 
green, gray, brown, and red. It took me a while to notice that some of 
the drawings had been done in three-dimensional style. At this point, 
Mr. Kathler hadn't trusted us enough to inform us about his own pet 
project with the drawings. Cryptology report stated that the symbols 
and signs used in the drawings were never in use by any known human 
culture in history."
	"What are you saying, Agent Mulder?" Sensing the direction of 
this report, Skinner sighed. Mulder only looked deeper into Skinner's 
eyes.
	"I'm simply saying that whatever these images stand for, they 
never existed in human civilization."
	"Mulder..." Scully began to interrupt, but Mulder silenced her 
with a raised hand.
	"Sir, please just let me finish. There's a lot more." Even 
though Mulder's voice was carefully controlled, the tension he 
radiated was almost stifling.
	"Fine. Go on." Skinner surrendered, allowing Mulder to let the 
man lead him.
	"When we had the girl tested at the hospital, we found the 
symptoms of prolonged weightlessness in the girl's blood work. We had 
the test results double-checked, so that they weren't falsified. Agent 
Scully also detected an abnormal flow of fluid around the girl's 
cerebrum and nasal cavity. Although it's not proven, it could be the 
very beginning of a tumor. We didn't find any trace of any implant 
ever been placed in the girl's body, very unlike typical alien 
abductees.
"It's my theory that whoever had her in captivity long enough for her 
to develop the condition of prolonged weightlessness, the suspected 
tumor growth, interfere her reading and writing skills, knew very well 
how valuable this girl was to them, or to us. They knew exactly what 
she was capable of. They never harmed her physically, while almost 
every reported alien abductee had suffered from severe physical and 
emotional abuse. 
"When this girl was returned, she was almost completely normal. She 
tolerated Kathler and accepted him as her protector. A guardian, 
almost. She seems to understand everything that everyone says to her, 
and she knows exactly what to do to show us what she wanted or how 
felt without using words. Alien abductees commonly report that spoken 
language was never in use for communication in their world. They use 
mind-scan. It..."
	"Mulder, stop it!! That's enough!" Scully's yelling was loud 
enough to make Skinner jump. 
	"You had your turn, now it's mine. Stay quiet, Scully!" Mulder's 
voice rose in response. 
	"Enough! I don't like this as much as you, Agent Scully. But for 
the sake of fairness, let him finish." Skinner cut in, his words 
surprising Mulder. Normally, the AD would have dismissed them outright 
with a wave of his hand.
	"Thank you, sir." Mulder nodded, then nodded to Scully. She 
looked away and stared at her feet. "As I was saying, sir, I believe 
that the girl has been a subject of their experiments, but not for any 
physical experiments. Her mind is young, healthy, and she's a genius. 
It comes as no surprise to me if they used her unique abilities to 
their advantage. Normally, it wouldn't make sense that the girl cannot 
communicate with any written or spoken language considering her level 
of intelligence. But then, I believe she's also suffering from a rare 
form of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome that triggered her seizure 
while she was viewing her own drawings with the Virtual Reality 
Machine. 
"I stayed behind while they took her to the hospital, and I got a look 
at the computer images myself. What I saw was an isolated group of 
severed human body parts, another group of what could be said as 
extra-terrestrials, then the isolated signs and symbols which I've 
mentioned earlier. All the colors used were gathered over at another 
wall. There were shapes of what looked to be tables and desks. Some of 
them drawn with images of what I believed were machines surrounding 
those tables.  
	"Now, there's no way of knowing just how much access to their 
labs that the girl was allowed. But assuming she was being held long 
enough to witness nearly everything, it's reasonable to assume that 
the girl witnessed the cloning of human-alien hybrids similar to those 
we've encountered during our past investigations. Use of green here 
was most frequently associated with images of the alien body, and some 
were overshadowing the severed human body parts. However, since the 
hybrids usually evaporate once their bodies die, I'm left with some 
questions and doubts.
	"There's another explanation for these severed body parts. I 
contacted my outside sources who had provided me with a list of recent 
murders involving a girl matching the descriptions of our Jane Doe. My 
sources isolated about ten case profiles and I had Agent Scully take a 
look over them. Among these cases, we found one that led us to a 
multiple serial murder case involving a family in Sacramento where a 
seven-year old girl and her parents were claimed as the perp's 
victims. 
"My outside source further confirmed that the murdered couple had been 
long-time members of a cancer research team called Bionix, which was 
founded by a pharmaceutical called Genesis International, owned almost 
entirely by our own federal government. I was about to go over there 
myself, when ...well, when you arrived here this morning. Sir, if I 
may, I'd like to leave here immediately to pursue the lead before 
something else goes missing." Mulder relaxed his shoulders, indicating 
the end of his report.
	"Am I to assume that your 'outside sources' won't be available 
to go on record?" Skinner aimed his iron gaze directly at Mulder. 
Mulder shook his head only once. It was Skinner's turn to clench his 
jaw and release a sigh of frustration. 
	"For security reasons, they can't. But they are reliable, and 
they have proven their loyalty to us and to the X-Files many times in 
the past." 
	"Agent Scully? What are your plans?" Skinner turned back to 
Scully, their eyes meeting with silence.
	"I was planning on keeping things under control here in Los 
Angels. It never occurred to me that you'd personally get involved in 
any of our cases again." A very stale silence settled over the three 
of them like fog, and Scully ran for cover. "Since you brought your 
men with you, I suppose there will be no further need for me to stand 
guard here. I have some of the girl's original drawings that weren't 
taken, and I have the computer disks containing the medical files in 
question. I can get started on straightening the facts and evidences 
to write up a preliminary report for submission. Mulder's outside 
sources have all the computer files Henry Barrington hospitals have 
attempted to fabricate. I'll finish up the reports on the malpractice 
suit filed against the hospital by listing out the names of both their 
medical and general supporting staff. I will provide the summary of 
what happened in there and submit them to you. I will also be sure to 
make a copy for the District Attorney's office." 
	"Very well, Agent Scully. Agent Mulder, keep me posted on your 
progress." With that, Skinner walked away. The moment the AD was out 
of their sight, Mulder and Scully both took a deep breath of relief. 
Then, Scully glared at Mulder and he felt her eyes impale him like a 
pair of rusted daggers.
	"I can't believe you could possibly think that the girl was 
trained by aliens to be a mind-reader!" Scully fumed at being forced 
to endure her partner's full report.
	"It's a theory, and I am entitled to subscribe myself to it." 
Mulder never lost his composure, and he stashed his hands in his 
trousers pockets to keep himself from pounding on the nearest wall. 
"You didn't have to raise hell and bark at me." 
	"I will, if your crazy theories directly chews out my rational 
ones. I have opinions, too, Mulder. I'm entitled to defend them." 
Scully covered her chest with her hand for added effect. Mulder leaned 
closer, their faces now only inches apart.
	"We both know that, Scully." Mulder lowered his voice to a mere 
mumble. She dropped her head and closed her eyes. The familiar touch 
of his hand on her jaw compelled her to face him again. 
"I wasn't trying to discredit you by arguing against your theories. I 
hope you know that I'm not trying to ditch you, either. They have you 
on their files, Scully. I'm sure of it. If you find the girl while I'm 
gone, then she's going to need someone she can trust to be with her. 
Jake and Stella may still be asleep, and even if they woke up in time, 
Jake doesn't know what the hell's going on and no one's going to talk 
to him. The same goes for Elly and Linda. 
"I need you to stay here in case something happens to me. Only you can 
keep everything together here. Not Skinner. Not Hall. There's nobody 
but you to hold the tether." To Scully's surprise, Mulder reached over 
to her and drew her into an embrace. His next words were a bit muffled 
because he buried his face in her hair. "I know how my theories make 
you run up the walls, but that's always going to be there. At least 
this time, you know exactly where I will be, and I'm not going there 
alone." 
	"You will be alone for three days. I know you're going there 
right now." Mulder broke their embrace to face her gaze, then 
responded with a slow blink and lowered his voice further. 
	"I have to go, Scully. We're losing time, and I think we both 
know that there's a whole lot more than just meets the eye. Contact 
the Lone Gunmen and tell them I'm heading out, and that I'd appreciate 
it if they could catch up with me as soon as they can. I promise I'll 
go home before dark, and play nice with other kids." Mulder grinned, 
and saw her lips slightly and briefly curl up on ends.
	"Mulder, you're such a pain in the ass." Patting his good arm, 
she claimed finality to this conversation before turning to go in the 
room. Mulder left the hallway smiling and shaking his head. 



Keneally Psychological Research Lab
Genesis International Laboratory building
Sacramento, California
11AM  

The friendly receptionist at the first floor lobby gave Mulder a map 
and told him that the entire third floor and the basement of the 
modern five-story building was occupied by Bionix. Mulder thanked her 
and got into an elevator. The fake security pass and ID had been faxed 
to the receptionist's computer before he left Castro Valley Airport, 
and his temporal name David Aaron Joyce was on the list of staff as a 
Keneally psychological research project's team member. He also had 
another set of passes indicating his name was William P. Forrest, and 
that he was a night security guard working on the third floor of the 
same building. 
Right now, he was playing the doctor. He had Forrest the security 
guard's uniform inside his hotel room, and he was yearning for the 
chance to rid himself of the lab coat and the stethoscope he currently 
wore. He had no idea where everything was, and he planned to play the 
doctor long enough to memorize the structure of this building and wait 
for the Lone Gunmen to arrive. Then, they could go hack into the 
Bionix's computer system in order to pull up the research data for the 
Jarvis' projects.  
	"Dr. Joyce? Pleasure meeting you." The middle-aged man greeted 
Mulder and introduced himself as Kenearlly, the head of the research 
lab and Dr. David Aaron Joyce's new boss. "It is fairly common for us 
to recruit new members into our studies half-way, so you should find 
yourself comfortable working with us here." The man was all smiles and 
was excited to show Mulder his work area. Mulder returned every smile 
the older man sent his way, feeling his Quantico 'role-play' training 
kicking in. 
	"This is Dr. Dutton." Keneally indicated an African-American 
woman in her late twenties, and they shook hands. "Dr. Dutton, this 
here is the new guy I was talking about." Surprised to sense the 
obvious pride Keneally had for him behind the words 'new guy', Mulder 
honestly felt guilty for lying about himself to the older man.
	"Oh. Dr. Joyce." The woman gave him a dazzling smile, a real one 
that reached her eyes and straight into the heart of anyone on the 
receiving end of it. 
	"I guess this is my assigned area?" Mulder asked Keneally and 
got a nod for an answer.
	"This is your table, and we all have a shared office down at the 
end of the hall. Your desk has your name on it, so I guess Dr. Dutton 
can show you the rest of the way." Keneally handed Mulder a thick file 
folder he had been carrying under his arm. Mulder's questioning gaze 
was enough for the man. "It's the document files for our past 
experiments. You'll also be observing therapy sessions at some point. 
Just monitor them today, and we'll test how good you'll be tomorrow. 
In this lab, sometimes we have animals or human volunteer subjects to 
come in and participate in our studies. But right now, things are 
slow. I've heard of your excellence in therapies, so I'll be sure to 
enjoy having you here with us." Another pung of guilt hit Mulder's gut 
at these words.
	"Thank you, sir. I appreciate the offer." Mulder replied, 
successfully hiding his frown. What the hell did the Lone Gunmen put 
in the computer to get him to be 'so highly regarded'? He was going to 
kill them for this. He wasn't really qualified to perform professional 
therapy. If he only had to analyze patient files, his job was a piece 
of cake. But this was no cake. This was a tiramisu.
	"You should be able to start right away. Case analysis is a very 
easy stuff. At some point, we'll submit our final report stating our 
findings. What you'll be analyzing is the results of tests we've done 
on our ongoing projects. They're just the wrap-up processes, tying the 
loose ends. The therapy sessions are the ones we just opened, and 
you'll be one of the primaries in the study. Now, get yourself 
oriented, and enjoy the day." Keneally concluded, and all Mulder could 
do in return was smile, but 'Enjoy the day? You ought to be shitting 
me!' was what he was thinking. 
	"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Dr. Dutton smiled against his 
discomfort. Mulder grinned nervously and faced the case files piled on 
the lab table in front of him next to his computer. 
	"Where should I start?" Mulder asked, pointing at the blank 
computer screen. Dr. Dutton hit a couple of keys and the main screen 
came up. 
	"Just compare each case file with the ones in the computer. If 
you spot any technical error, or if you happened to disagree with any 
prognosis made in here, you need to report it. Sort of a whistle-
blower." Dr. Dutton explained as she pointed to a file marked 'D-5'. 
Mulder nodded her a thanks. "Please call me Amanda, and you are...?" 
She tilted her head a bit in question.
	"David." 'David Aaron Joyce', he mumbled to himself. 'What an 
ordinary name'.
	"How lovely." Amanda said, staring him up and down. Mulder was 
in no mood to play mind games. He shrugged.
	"Well, it's a common name..." He muttered as he began typing in 
the first case file number into the demanded space. 
	"Actually, David means 'Beloved'. It's also the name of the 
Michelangelo statue. Lucky you. My baby brother didn't get off that 
easily." Mulder had no idea what his fake name meant, although he was 
familiar with the famous statue. 'Oh, yeah? Try Fox', he thought.
	"What's your brother's name?" Mulder asked, just to keep the air 
from getting stale. 
	"Promise you won't laugh." A corner of her mouth turned slightly 
upward, obviously daring him to do otherwise. Mulder nodded a 
reassurance.
	"I promise." 'What could be worse than Fox?' Mulder thought.
	"Star." Mulder's mind suddenly turned blank.
	"What?" He tried to keep his calm. 
	"That's his name. Star Clarence Dutton." 
	"That's ... unique." Mulder gave her an honest, sympathetic 
smile. The kid's childhood must've been hell. "Well, I know a man 
named Fox."
	"Really?! And I thought Star was pretty bad." She didn't bother 
hiding her pity, and Mulder grimaced.
	"You have no idea." Mulder replied and returned to his 'job'. He 
still had to figure out how to balance his triple duty. With the way 
things are going, he could be stuck in Sacramento for weeks, and he 
didn't have weeks. 


Schuster Hotel Room #640
Sacramento, CA
10PM

Mulder took out his security guard uniform. He at least needed to see 
the third floor before doing anything. He was going to go on duty as 
scheduled and play the innocent guard for the next three days. The 
Lone Gunmen was scheduled to arrive in time to bypass every security 
system in the third floor before he could gain access to the computer 
files. His shift was scheduled to start at midnight, and he needed to 
get cleaned up. But first, he would have to call the Lone Gunmen and 
Scully for update. Mulder had been on pins and needles all day long 
just thinking of a few nifty interrogation technique to use on the 
three stooges.
	"Lone Gunmen." The instant he heard Byers's voice, Mulder 
managed not to scream.
	"We have some communication problems here, guys!"
	"What's the problem?" Frohike's voice indicated a tone of alert.
	"Oh, nothing too major. Like, what the hell did you write in my 
personal file?! They think I'm a fucking God's Gift, and they're 
putting me into therapy sessions, because some crack genius out in the 
no-man's land thought I was the second Sigmund Fleud! I'm not even a 
practicing therapist!! How the hell am I supposed to treat real 
patients?! Are you nuts?!" The air ran out in Mulder's lungs, and he 
was finally forced to stop for a breath.
	"It's just for a week, Mulder. No problemo. I hate to tell you 
this, but you're the one who pushed it. We barely had enough time to 
get you accessed, so don't complain." Frohike snapped back, and Mulder 
realized his own selfishness.
	"Okay, I'm sorry. But this was something I wasn't ready for." 
	"You'll be fine. Just don't get caught."
	"Sure. Can you still come down here within two, three days?" He 
was practically begging.
	"We'll try, Mulder. Just hang on." Langly added with finality. 
Mulder gave up the fight and promised to be in touch. Next, he pressed 
the first speed-dial and was answered on the first ring. Scully was on 
the Lone Gunmen's side, and told him he would be fine as a doctor. 
	"Just do the job, Mulder. But don't get side-tracked or excited 
and go venture out until they catch up with you." 
	"I told you, Scully. I'll play nice with the other kids."
	"You did take your back-up piece with you, right?"
	"Yes. It's right next to my bus pass. I'll even be back before 
the street lights come on." 
	"Mul... Uhhh, whatever." Mulder smiled to hear her surrender, 
but he also sensed her exhaustion.
	"Seriously, Scully. I'm as safe as I can be."
	"Your shift starts from midnight?"
	"Yeah. Any changes at home?" 
	"Nope. Jake's taking a slight downturn because of the HBIG. It 
stands for hepatitis B immune globulin. Side effects are usually 
severe allergic reaction, plus pain and swelling at the site of the 
injection. Jake's suffering from the latter two. I can see the 
swelling. He's still asleep, so I doubt if there's any pain detected 
by his system. But he's fighting flu as well, so he's got a minor 
fever. Pretty soon, he'll start coughing from the bronchitis."
	"Jesus, I feel bad for the guy."
	"How's your arm and head?"
	"I cleaned them twice today just as you suggested. I have 
everything I need as medical supply in my suitcase." Dana Scully was 
practically his personal physician.
	"Good. Skinner only knows that you'll be working undercover, 
which means if anything happens to you out there, I'm the one who's 
responsible."
	"I'll be careful, Scully. I'll call you when I can. Get some 
sleep." Mulder said before hanging up.


Keneally Psychological Research Lab
Genesis International Laboratory Building
Sacramento, CA
9 AM

Although Mulder was used to staying up late, reviewing the briefing 
materials took until the hour before his arrival at the center. His 
security guard duty couldn't have been more boring, and it lasted 
until five hours ago. Having to face a computer screen for the first 
four hours of every day, only five hours after facing the monitors at 
his security desk all night, was a little too much even for Mulder. 
'At least I got to view the entire third floor', he thought. He needed 
to determine just how many people worked at night and when they got 
busy. But most importantly, he needed to figure out what the safest 
route would be for his army's invasion.
	Mulder, as expected, was called off his desk duty to go into the 
therapy session he monitored the day before. He was led into a small 
room filled with toys and dolls, but he knew his subject wasn't a 
child. Sometimes, having play-room helped calming down adult subjects. 
It helped them relax, and sometimes made them happier because they 
could return to their childhood innocence. It also helped therapists 
to make a better observation. 
Mulder tried to relax when Sarah Martin, his first patient and a 
twenty-six years old woman of average height, walked awkwardly inside 
and sat down on the carpet in front of him. There was no desk or chair 
anywhere in the room in order to avoid developing physical barriers in 
between the occupants. Mulder smiled and introduced himself to the 
woman. He knew there was somebody was monitoring them in that little 
cramped room behind the large mirror. He tried to ignore that piece of 
information.
	The subject had phobias of machines and people in uniforms. This 
condition was developed throughout her childhood, when she went 
through cancer treatment. All she knew was the hospital staff demanded 
her to be silent, rigid, and confined inside the enormous machines 
during each session. At the mention of cancer, Mulder realized 
everything this entire building housed was somehow related to cancer 
research. Suddenly, Mulder felt incredibly guilty yelling at the Lone 
Gunmen. They must've known, and decided not to spoil the fun for him.  
 	Knowing all their conversations are on tape, Mulder never made a 
move to take a note for official submission. Mulder never needed notes 
for himself, because he was an eidetic. He didn't even carry a pen. 
Upon reading the case file, he also shunned his lab coat, suit jacket, 
and his tie. He even unbuttoned the top two shirt buttons, so he 
wouldn't look like a doctor. These patients needed to let their 
feelings out in the open, and out of their system. The problem was how 
to reach them. 
Sarah began first to chew her nails, then she played with her long, 
braided hair. She fidgeted and shifted constantly while she talked, 
and sometimes she played with her shoelaces during conversations. She 
never reached out for toys or dolls to distract herself, or to simply 
play. Her expression mostly indicated insecurity, suspicion, fear, 
pain, agony, and, a little curiosity aimed directed at Mulder. 
	Mulder asked Sarah to describe her feelings according to a 
variety of situations. What does she feel when she's driving? Riding 
on a train? Flying in airplane? Staying in hospital rooms? The 
examination rooms? These sounded like a series of lame questions, but 
they were good to test the waters. Sarah replies she never flew on 
planes, nor rode on a train or a bus. She drove a convertible, and she 
took the top down even in the middle of a winter if the weather's all 
right. 
	Sarah Martin had a father who worked at a timber mill operating 
the saw-mill until he moved on to a job of monitoring and operating a 
meat processing plant which allowed the family to move closer to the 
civilization. After getting laid off, Mr. Martin got a job at a 
shopping mall construction site as a crane and gondola operator, but 
he was always requested to operate carnival ride machines whenever he 
and Sarah were in town. When the job was done, he finally got a 
permanent job operating the city's water processing plant, monitoring 
the system for any emergency. 
The father thought it was intentional that his daughter never 
participated in any of the 'take your daughter to work' day events 
despite his repeated requests. Mr. Martin was convinced that Sarah 
flat-out hated his work, and what he did to earn a living. Their 
relationship never saw its light since Mr. Martin died five years ago 
from an accident on the job. Mrs. Martin was a kindergarten teacher 
and stuck with the job ever since the day she started it. Mrs. Martin 
remains alive and now happily re-married to a wealthy banker who 
financed all of Sarah Martin's medical expenses. 
	Sarah Martin had a tough time adjusting as an adolescent since 
she hated rules, security guards and police officers. She tried to 
keep a job as a waitress at a diner with the few friends that she had. 
But Sarah felt she was never accepted, and she hated the uniform she 
had to wear, because it made her 'look dumb'. 
Next, she tried to become a professional chef, since she was good at 
cooking. But she couldn't get her license, much less finish the 
required courses, because she couldn't operate the electric 
industrial-sized food processor and the meat cutter. She also hated 
the huts and white aprons they had to wear as rules. Then, she tried 
to hold a job delivering pizzas. However, this didn't last a week 
since she had to keep the car top down while driving around, wearing a 
uniform. 
She was regarded as a delinquent student at school for her maladoptive 
behavior, and for refusing to follow the school rules, which didn't 
help her in any way. When describing circumstances that usually 
trigger her claustrophobia, she was never too accurate nor too vague. 
Floors began to swirl upon entering; walls began to close in; the air 
became non-breathable; sweat drenched the clothes; bones and joints 
became sponge. These were all typical claustrophobic reactions. 
When Mulder probed her on the somewhat sensitive cancer treatment 
issues, she immediately stated the fears and pains caused by the 
treatment she has undergone. When she was asked to concentrate on her 
fear of machines, she described the larger machines such as the CAT 
scans, MRIs, and the radiation therapy equipment. She claimed that 
they intimidated her; as if they were staring right down at her and 
saying, "You're mine now. You're under my control. I'm going to hurt 
you, crush you, and make you scream. I'm going to eat you up and you 
won't live to see another day." She also went as far as listing the 
hypodermic needles that were delivering drugs that made her sick. 
Mulder kept his reaction to a minimum, acting as if everything was 
under control to prevent Sarah Martin from thinking she wass any less 
a valuable person than others because of her conditions. But in truth, 
he had enough first-hand experiences with hypodermic needles, cancers, 
large machines, painful tests and prison cells to drive him up the 
walls. As a consequence, his reports of the day's session included 
many of his personal recollections and feelings in relation to the 
patient's statements.
	"The patient's phobic responses are completely natural, 
considering Miss Martin's age at the time she has undergone cancer 
treatments. She experiences fear of confined spaces from having been 
moved around from room to room; from one testing to another; from one 
treatment to the next. All she remembers as a young girl is her 
sufferings. Her physical pain, nausea, as well as her emotional burden 
of being left alone in small rooms. She had no one around to seek 
peace from, and to ease her overwhelming burden of helplessness. 
"The medical equipment identified by Miss Martin are designed and 
constructed to have the patient lying down, and require them not to 
move a muscle. It is just as bad as being in restraints, maybe worse." 
Mulder wrote on his report after the session, still wondering if he 
misled the patient in any way. But then, this was only their initial 
session. He couldn't expect any solution or a breaking point out of 
it. 
	"As for her fear of people in uniforms, it could be explained by 
the fact that the hospital staff in various uniforms operated the 
machines that Miss Martin described as threatening. To explain 
further, the numerous sessions of radiation therapy as well as the 
chemotherapy did in fact threaten her health in order to reach through 
to the cancer cells themselves. 
"It is completely natural that her mind generalizes her acquired fear 
for machines and uniformed hospital staff to apply to the outside 
world. Industrial machines, especially the ones requiring human 
assistance as the center of their operational system that are commonly 
used in such places as lumber mills, meat processing plants, 
construction sites, and carnivals easily apply to the extended 
category. Then, gradually over time, her phobias could extend their 
hands into smaller objects such as cement mixers, fire engines, 
cranes, and jet coasters. 
"People in uniforms tend to be in control of the objects or 
assignments they were given to manipulate or execute them. The 
doctors, technicians, and nurses at the hospital where Miss Martin was 
treated go through the same routine everyday while treating their 
patients. These routines followed by the hospital staff can extend 
Miss Martin's psychological generalization process to finally include 
police officers, post office workers, chefs, waitresses, pilots, train 
conductors, bus drivers, and even pizza delivery people.
	"As stated previously, her conditioned emotional responses are 
induced by her anticipation of pain and anxiety leading back to her 
childhood memories centering around the cancer treatments she received 
as a child. 
"As for solution, when it eventually comes, a series of training 
sessions focusing mainly on gradual de-conditioning of the subjected 
CERs, targeting closely on her social phobia - fear of being evaluated 
by others negatively, as well as claustrophobia, are the most 
recommended course of treatment." 
	Mulder concluded the report and printed it up, almost signing 
his real name at the bottom of the page before actually smacking 
himself in his face. When he was finally done, he headed straight to 
his hotel room and went to bed immediately after stripping down to his 
boxers. He had five hours to sleep before preparing for his night job. 



*Disclaimers - Please read one from part one. Thank you.


Prescott Hospital Jake's Room
Los Angels, CA
Next Day 8AM

"Agent Scully?" Skinner's voice summoned her back to the waking world 
of living.
	"Yes, sir?" She replied, quickly getting onto her feet. 
Everything was as it was before, at least from what she could see in 
the room. The Enya CD Mulder fetched for her from her apartment kept 
playing on 'repeat' mode. She turned off the soothing music and faced 
the Assistant Director.
	"We have another problem. The local fire department just passed 
their word to us. The offices of the doctors in question had been 
ransacked sometime last night, and their houses are going up in flames 
as we speak."
	"What?! Again?!" Not caring for her manners, she stashed her 
budge, glasses, and her gun in their designated places. She saw that 
Skinner brought in one of his agents, and knew she was to follow 
Skinner to the locations.
	"You haven't heard the worst part, yet. One of the houses was 
booby-trapped, and it blew up with an entire SWAT team inside."
	"How many did they get?!" Recalling old cases with Max Fenig and 
Patrick Modelle, she could almost smell the burned flesh through her 
memories. 
	"We don't know just yet. They're all heading here right now, and 
the entire ER staff is on alert with the burn unit." 
	"Couldn't they get to any of the other doctors' places?"
	"Just one. My team's securing it, and they're checking for 
bombs." 
	"Thanks you, sir." Scully was already busy thinking about how to 
break the news to Mulder.
	"No need. Agent Hall is supposed to join us at the scene." 
Skinner said as he pressed the elevator button. But when she tried to 
get out of the door after Skinner, his firm hold on her shoulder 
stopped on the spot.
	"Sir?" She turned her questioning gaze on him. Skinner shook his 
head 'no' again.
	"Not this time, Agent Scully. I requested you here, because they 
wanted as many extra hands as they could get. When I said 'us', I 
meant me, my SWAT team, and Agent Hall. Your presence is requested 
right here, and you'll remain here until I tell you otherwise."
	"But, sir..." She hated being left behind. The recalled images 
from the radiation burn cases played in her memory. That had been an 
exhausting day.
	"I need you here, Agent Scully. I hate to tell you this, but 
it's an order."
	"Yes, sir." There was no arguing with her boss's direct order. 
She pursed her lips and turned to head out to the ER. Skinner clenched 
his jaw as he watched her walk away, making a swift exit when an agent 
called his name. 
	It was another five hours before Scully could take a rest from 
the horrific scenes displayed in front of her. Another two hours 
passed before she finally allowed herself to be out of the ER. Her 
business suit, which she didn't take enough time to change from, was 
ruined and she figured it would not be restored even after a hundred 
dry-cleaning jobs. She changed into an official physicians' scrubs and 
a borrowed white lab coat, then discarded her ruined suit into a 
nearby bio-hazardous wastebasket. 
Skinner didn't return for the daily check-up, and Scully doubted he'd 
be back for the duration of the day. It was difficult to decide to 
hold her tongue to Mulder, but he didn't need to know about this, yet. 
She wondered how he was putting up working over eighteen hours a day. 
'Nothing new', she thought. But after getting a glimpse of hell, she 
yearned to hear his voice and to laugh at his dry jokes. 
	When she returned to Jake's room, the agent on guard asked her 
if she was all right. She told him she would really appreciate it if 
he could stand guard for about three, four more hours to give her a 
chance to rest. If not, she suggested him to have somebody else stand 
guard for the rest of the day. The agent agreed and told her to take 
all the time she needed. She thanked him and closed the door. 
She checked on Jake lightly, relieved to see the HBIG working well. 
Most of the swelling subsided, and his face now looked like it 
belonged to the right person. His fever also took a turn for the 
better. Some good news to cherish in a day of losses.
	The empty hospital bed next to Jake's bed was ready for her to 
sleep in ever since last night, though she hadn't used it until now. 
She kicked her shoes off, hanged up her lab coat, and crawled inside. 
As an after-thought, she took out her cellular phone from her lab coat 
pocket. After hesitating for a few seconds, she pressed speed-dial 2, 
and spent half an hour talking to a very worried Margaret Scully 
before finally falling asleep. 



Keneally Psychological Research Lab 
Genesis International Laboratory Building
Sacramento, CA
Same Day

The day started out just fine. His deskwork was on the receiving end 
of everyone's praise, and Amanda made him promise to join her for 
lunch. He figured it would be beneficial to the investigation to get a 
little personal with the young doctor, but he never forgot to review 
the background checks ran on every lab staff by the Lone Gunmen 
beforehand. Seeing that Dr. Dutton was given a clean bill of innocence 
by the Lone Gunmen, Mulder told himself that all will be fine; that, 
he could survive a lunch with Dr. Amanda Dutton without feeling too 
guilty for lying to her through his teeth about himself. 
Mulder didn't want to seem antisocial, since most suspicious 
individuals tended to be so. He needed to act very unlike him. So, he 
went along with Dr. Dutton's choice of conversation topics, and he 
even laughed soundly at every appropriate spot. He even as far as 
dancing to a couple of tango numbers with her on the dance floor of 
the restaurant, in front of a live band. However, his mind was always 
on the mysterious little girl and her drawings the entire time.
	The day took a serious nose-dive when Sarah Martin entered the 
playroom for another session with Mulder. She grew agitated, kicked 
and spat at him, all the while raining an impressive assortment of 
obscenities and bad names over him. It took Mulder only a few choice 
questions to her to figure out her problems. She had been having 
rather violent attacks of nightmares due to the memories she recalled 
during their first session. She had yet decided on who to trust around 
her, and because he was someone new to her, she began having strong 
suspicion that he maybe working to lock her up somewhere for life. 
Mulder held her down on the floor from her back, and settled her into 
a sitting-up position. He had his arms wrapped around and over Sarah's 
upper chest and arms. His strong jogger's legs lay over hers to 
prevent them from kicking him again until the orderlies came into the 
room to give him a hand, but he refused to have her removed from the 
room. When Sarah promised him that she would not to be violent, Mulder 
let the orderlies exit the room. He only washed his hands and face in 
a restroom located just next door before returning to the playroom. 
The observing therapist told him it may not be a good idea, but Mulder 
insisted. He silently swore he would wear his jeans, denim shirt, and 
running shoes from the next session.
	Mulder focused the day's session on her childhood. On how people 
around her responded to her being a cancer patient. It was just as he 
expected when she told him she hardly had friends because of her long 
and frequent hospital stays. Hospital beds, in Sarah's sense, were 
concrete tables with shackles. He asked her if she'd ever been put in 
restraints. She nodded quietly, but she didn't tell him how often that 
happened. Mulder knew from the history of the woman that she 
practically froze on sight of examination rooms and hardly moved. 
'Learned Helplessness', Mulder thought. 'Just like the girl' - or 
should he refer to her as Vera? 
Next, Mulder asked Sarah if her mother ever volunteered to come with 
her inside during procedures. She shook her head 'no', and told him 
Mrs. Martin was too afraid to come with her to chemo or to radiation, 
choosing instead to wait in Sarah's hospital room for hours at times. 
Mulder bit his lower lip. Children needed to feel secure. This 
patient's conditions would have been so much better if she had someone 
to trust around her. Especially when she was too little to understand 
what the machines were for, and how they worked to help her. Mrs. 
Martin's open admission to Sarah about her reluctance of following 
Sarah to the treatment sessions, perhaps out of the fear of witnessing 
her daughter's suffering, only served to add more anticipation of fear 
in Sarah.
	When Mulder called their two-hour session to a halt, he felt her 
eyes pleading him to stay and let her say something. Judging by her 
glassy eyes, he sensed a few words of apology coming his way, but he 
was surprised to feel Sarah's hands lightly touching his swollen 
cheeks and the corner of his mouth where blood was drying on a cut. 
She didn't say a word, but her eyes have spoken clear enough. Though 
as a rule Mulder never returned the favor, he closed his eyes and 
grinned as broadly as he could under the circumstances.
	"It's okay. Just ...try to let us help you. You need to let it 
out, so you can let it go." Mulder spoke, never forgetting to directly 
look into her eyes. It was important to earn her trust, because he had 
such short amount of time. 'Oh, God', he thought as he saw Sarah exit. 
'I can't just abandon this woman in the middle of everything'. He knew 
that if his covers were and Sarah found out, it could very well ruin 
the rest of her life. 
This case, Mulder realized, was exactly what he needed before he would 
be facing Vera again. This patient's case was a training session the 
Lone Gunmen chose to throw him in. When he exited the room a few 
minutes later, Dr. Keneally was standing by the door that led out to 
the hallway. Mulder feared he'd be chewed out for letting the woman 
slip into a panic episode. He apologized right-out for the incident, 
but he was answered with the man's large hand on his shoulder. 
Keneally then proceeded to tell Mulder how right it was for the man to 
select Mulder as his new staff member. Thoroughly stunned, Mulder 
couldn't find the right words in return, but Keneally was gone before 
Mulder could even thank him.


Bionix Cancer Research Center
Genesis International Laboratory Building
Sacramento, CA
1 AM Next Day

Mulder watched as a doctor he recognized as someone working from 9 PM 
to 3AM walk slowly down the hallway toward his security guard desk. 
Mulder watched him in the monitor even though it was easy to see the 
man by simply looking up. Just as he thought, the doctor was 
definitely heading towards Mulder's desk. It didn't make Mulder feel 
any better when the doctor walked right up to him, nervousness 
creeping through every pore on the man's skin. It wouldn't surprise 
Mulder if the doctor had a substance abuse problem.
	"What can I help you with, sir?" Mulder asked, his required 
uniform cap partially covering his face. The nervous doctor looked 
around in the room as if he was a criminal trying to weasel his way 
out of prison.
	"Well. I have a ...favor, to ask you." Mulder's eyes narrowed at 
the words.
	"Okay, ask me." He shrugged. The doctor smiled. 
	"There'll be a woman coming from downstairs. Her name's Chris, 
and she's ...well, she is my fiance. I want you to let her in. She's a 
real nice person, and I promise you, she won't cause any trouble." 
Mulder tried not to burst out laughing.
	"I don't know, sir. I can get fired..." Keeping his stony 
expression was very hard.
	"No, you won't. Not if you cover me and tell whoever asks you 
about her that she's one of us."
	"Okay, I'll make a deal with you." Mulder grinned at the plan he 
came up with. The doctor practically looked ready to jump. 'Anything', 
his eyes said. Mulder grinned wider.
	"I'll let her in any time during my watch, but only if you 
promise me to  keep quiet about my own dates." The doctor smiled 
conspicuously, and promised Mulder  that he was game. Mulder gave the 
doctor a high-five, and was about to sit back in his chair when the 
doctor asked if 'the lucky girl' worked in the building. Mulder 
flashed one of his evil grins, just imagining what this doctor's 
reaction would be.
	"No. It's a he, and sometimes there's more than one." Mulder 
chuckled at the doctor's expression as the man returned to his 
research. The doctor didn't need to know that Mulder's said 'date' was 
a group of three extremely paranoid heterosexual men who thought that 
everything and everyone was out to get them. At least Mulder now had 
someone to exchange some semblance of conversations with. 
The woman in question came about fifteen minutes later. She stood at 
the door, showing her building security pass that read Christy Owens. 
Mulder smiled and opened the security door. Chris smiled shyly and 
uttered him a quick thanks before heading toward the inner glass door. 
Mulder punched in the security code from his desk and opened the door 
for her. This time, Mulder was rewarded with her waving hand. 
'Unbelievable', he thought.



Schuster Hotel Room #640
5AM Same Day

Mulder wiped off the layer of makeup applied earlier over his 
swellings and a few scratch marks he got on his neck from the struggle 
with his patient. The last time he had been spat on, man or woman, was 
in the cult case where he had undergone regression hypnosis and met 
the woman he believed to be his wife in their past lives. He still 
couldn't rid himself of the heavy feeling that if he got there sooner, 
the woman/federal witness would have been saved. Scully's case report 
revealed that the woman and the cult group leader had stayed alive 
slightly longer than the rest of the group. This didn't help him get 
his peace of mind, because he kept wondering the 'why' and 'how'. He 
eventually quit wondering about it, because he was honestly afraid of 
the answer.
	Mulder sighed as he stripped off his security guard uniform and 
crawled into bed. He switched on the television and watched a little 
of the CNN. His eyes popped open at the report of a series of 
unexplained fires being set around Los Angels. Mulder immediately 
grabbed his cellular, now recharged, and speed-dialed Scully. It 
didn't surprise him that Scully answered on the first ring.
	"Scully! What the hell's going on?! Why didn't you tell me about 
this yesterday?!" He barked the moment he heard her voice. There was a 
moment of tense silence before she replied.
	"Mulder, you were gone. Even if I did call you, there's nothing 
you can do! You're stuck in Sacramento, working undercover. What the 
hell can you do about whatever that happens around here? Just do your 
God Damn job! I'm tired!!" Her reply was just as angry. Mulder winced 
and smacked himself in the face. He yelped before he could curse 
himself.
	"Sorry, Scully. I've had a hell of a day ...uh, two days here, 
and I just saw it on CNN. I panicked."
	"Mulder, are you hurt again? You just yelped like a dog." 
Regardless of how tired she was, Dr./Special Agent Scully always 
remained sharp.
	"Well, not really. I just got spat on, punched, slapped, then 
scratched, by my patient."
	"Oh, I'm sorry. I hope he didn't hit your arm or head."
	"No. It's a she, and it was just my face and neck. One giant 
bruise is on my shoulder, but it doesn't affect my jobs. It didn't 
take me long to pin her down, anyway. She's too thin and unhealthy to 
put up a good fight. So what's going on with you? You're up at five in 
the morning, and you are tired; meaning you've been up all night 
long." He scolded, much in the same manner she did with him.
	"The burning spree got us a team of burned SWAT agents. The 
house they went into was booby-trapped, and ..." Scully's voice 
trailed off. Mulder closed his eyes at the mental images of burned 
bodies. 'Did she say they were SWAT guys?!'
	"Oh, Scully. I'm so sorry I yelled at you. I had no idea. ...How 
bad?" 
	"Most of them with three, four degree burns." Mulder released 
another sigh.
	"Just like last time, huh? I assume you've been down in the ER, 
saving them?"
	"Yeah, just like in our Max Fenig case. We lost about six agents 
now. The other four are out of the surgery and now in the recovery 
room."
	"At least they're not dead. Did you manage to get anything 
salvaged?"
	"Yeah. One of them, ...the CAT scan technician's house, is 
secured and Skinner's on top of it. He's been up as long as I have 
been, and he's not back yet. I doubt anything useful will come out of 
it, since someone told me that the house was vacant for at least the 
two weeks, judging by the gas meter readings and the stuck of mail at 
the front door. ...Speaking of mail, I had someone get Jake's mail. 
There had been a couple of notice slip from the postal office, 
complaining that his mail box was packed with them." Mulder heard her 
soft laughter, and wished he could grow wings to see her laugh for 
himself.
	"How's Kathler and everybody else?"
	"Jake's still asleep, but he's doing better. The vaccination's 
working on the HB. Stella took a downturn two days ago, but she's 
stabilized now. They had a unit of matching canine blood sent from a 
nearby vet for transfusion. Elly's just about to be released to a 
safehouse." 
	"Good." Finally breathing easier, he debated whether or not to 
tell her about his patient. He didn't have to wonder for long.
	"How's your doctor duty? Lone Gunmen told me it should be just 
what you needed."
	"They called? Well, they were right about that. You won't 
believe how great this is going. The case profile is such a close 
match to our mystery girl's. She's got phobias on machines and people 
in uniforms. She's got her conditions because she's undergone cancer 
treatments when she was a small child, and she didn't have anyone she 
trusted to watch over her. Doesn't this sound familiar?"
	"Yeah. I guess it was good that Jake was with the girl, huh?"
	"He practically saved the girl's life, Scully. Twice." Mulder 
assessed the situation, and decided they'd both calmed down enough for 
the bad news. "Scully?"
	"Yeah?" Mulder hated to do this to her, but it was now or never.
	"I'm not abandoning this patient until I've prepared her for a 
real therapist."
	"Excuse me?!" The sudden change of her tone sent him a warning.
	"She's in a really fragile stage right now. If I just abandon 
her tomorrow when the Lone Gunmen get here, she's gonna crash. I'll 
destroy her life, and as a doctor, I cannot do that."
	"Mulder, what are you saying?! You're not even a..." 
	"I know that, Scully. I do. But right now, I have to be with 
her. I'm only training myself to be ready for Vera, but this woman 
needs someone to trust, and I think I'm receiving it from her. She 
apologized to me, and I can't afford to be wrong."
	"...Listen, Mulder. You're going way over your head. You have no 
professional experience treating anyone. This is practically your 
first official patient, and you're not even yourself."
	"But what I am, what my name is, and where I went to school are 
irrelevant in figuring out how to help patients get better as fast as 
possible." 
	"God damnit!! Mulder, you're an FBI agent! You're working 
undercover to retrieve the information on Dr. Jarvis' research. Your 
name is Fox William Mulder, and David Aaron Joyce doesn't even exist!" 
Her every word stung him like an arrow through his heart.
 	"What does that have to do with helping the patient?" His own 
voice grew bitter, but he had to fight for his patient.
	"It has to do with who and what are waiting for you out here; 
and out there. We're waiting for the information, so we can be certain 
of what got them killed in the first place, as well as who's behind 
all this. I don't want to have to treat another burned live human 
being in here again! I'm a doctor, but I'm also a forensic 
pathologist, Mulder! I have six of them waiting for autopsy at the 
morgue. Time's running out, remember?! Get the information as quickly 
as you can, and get your ass back here."
	"I'm not a medical doctor, Scully. But we are both trained to 
help people. I'll get you what you need in time, but don't expect me 
to just blow my covers and butt out of here. Not until she's ready. 
I'm rushing the procedures already, and if I go faster, I'll ruin her. 
I'll get myself out of my night job after the Lone Gunmen and I are 
finished, but not the therapy. Don't do this to me, Scully. It's 
irresponsible enough that I'm treating her instead of a practicing 
therapist. I owe her my very best." His voice sounded like the ocean: 
heavy and deep.
	"You have your precious doctor duty in less than four hours, 
Mulder. Go to bed." Scully finally called the argument a quit. Mulder 
could picture her motioning to hang up. He didn't want to end their 
precious time together this way.
	"Wait! I... want to thank you, Scully. I've been good with other 
kids as I promised. I think I bought the research team's respect, and 
I just bonded with one of the guys at third floor." 
	"What?" Scully apparently didn't get it. Relieved that he got 
her back in the conversation, he told her about Dr. Amanda Dutton and 
the young doctor on the third floor with his pretty fiance. "Oh, 
you're having all the fun." Her voice sounded less than enthusiastic.
	"I told the doctor that I'll keep quiet about his date if he 
keeps quiet about mine." 
	"What?!"
	"No, Scully. I didn't mean Dr. Dutton. I told him that it's a 
he, and sometimes there's more than one."	
	"Wha...? Oh, the Lone Gunmen?" It was apparent she couldn't 
suppress her laughter, and Mulder basked in victory.
	"Tell them not to get scared if somebody passed by us during our 
escape and I threw myself at them." Mulder winced at the image. He 
could picture her wrinkling her nose.
	"That's just gross." 
	"If I have to be the one to give Frohike a French kiss in order 
to get out of here alive, I'll do it. Too bad you aren't here." 
	"Go to sleep, Mulder." Her tone was flat, indicating she'd had 
enough.
	"Did I tell you that I was calling from my hotel bed?" 
	"Good night, Mulder." Scully emphasized 'good night' as if 
scowling a child.
	"All right. I'll be in touch when I can." Thoroughly satisfied 
to have saved their friendship, Mulder allowed himself a laugh. 



Prescott Hospital
Jake's Room
Los Angels, CA  
9AM

The announcement was brief, and to the point. They turned up empty-
handed. Nothing useful was found from the doctor's house; not even a 
fingerprint. Not a blood stain in the kitchen, and not a single sample 
of hair in the bathroom or the bedroom. 
	"I've called the team off an hour ago. There's nothing more to 
go on. All we can do is clean up the mess and wait for Mulder's 
return." Skinner grunted as he dropped himself into a nearby chair. 
Scully couldn't have been more sympathetic to the exhausted man in 
front of her, and concerning the state of this man's health, she 
didn't like one bit of what she had to say.
	"Sir? Agent Mulder's not returning."
	"Excuse me?" Skinner glared at Scully, his eyebrows furrowed in 
confusion.
	"He's getting the Jarvis' information for us at his night guard 
duty as planned, but he's not returning here just then."
	"Agent Scully, we both know that Agent Mulder doesn't have a 
choice."
	"I know that, sir. But he claims that after he sends us the 
information and gets out of his night job, he will remain at his 
therapist position for the time being."
	"For how long?" Skinner's expression never changed, and Scully 
again wondered how many more times she would be explaining her 
partner's absence to this man in the future. If her cancer should 
claim her life, it wouldn't be for long.
	"I don't know that, sir. But I assume it's only about a week or 
two. He's been set up to treat a patient who's suffering from multiple 
phobias, and I believe the case profile hit him too close to home to 
give up. At least not until the patient's ready to go on with a 
replacement therapist."
	"Is that what Agent Mulder told you?"
	"Yes, sir. He called me just this morning, because he saw the 
CNN report of the fire. He was upset that we didn't notify him of the 
development." 
	"Agent Scully, he's not even a practicing professional."
	"I know that, sir. I repeatedly warned him about that myself, 
but he seems to be putting his foot down on this one." Scully resisted 
the urge to shrug.
	"Just what makes him so self-centered?" Skinner's statement was 
an honest question, to which Scully knew there was no easy answer.
	"Sir. Agent Mulder claims that the patient has acquired the 
phobias through years of cancer treatment in her early childhood; that 
she had no one to watch over her. It is his belief that the patient's 
phobias are associated with the pain and stress the patient's 
experienced during the treatments." Skinner's gaze turned serious, and 
she knew what he was thinking. Scully broke her gaze away from Skinner 
and stared at her feet. Skinner sighed and stood up.
	"You said he'll get the information delivered to us. Just how 
does he suppose to do that?" The compassion in Skinner's eyes 
threatened to overwhelm Scully, but she dug her heels deep and held 
her ground. At least he was willing to let her off the hook, for now.
	"I believe he plans to rely on his outside sources, sir."
	"I'm going down there first thing tomorrow morning."
	"Sir?" Scully stood up, sensing trouble.
	"Tell him I'm personally coming to get whatever he gets out of 
there. I'll need to have a word or two with him in person, and I won't 
trust anyone outside our small circle with the level of security that 
this information requires."
	"Sir, that's much too risky..."
	"Agent Scully, do you have an objection to my decisions?" He 
nailed her with his iron gaze, almost daring her to challenge him and 
his authority. 
	"Sir, please. At least give him another day. His sources are 
very sensitive, and your arrival could put their connection to 
jeopardy. They've helped us many more times than I care to count, sir. 
Please. Just another day." Scully didn't care how she sounded. She was 
begging. They stood frozen in their positions, staring at each other 
for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Scully saw Skinner's 
shoulders relax.
	"One more day, Agent Scully. Then I'm sending myself down there, 
alone. I'm not showing up with the welcome wagons. I just need to know 
what he's doing with the case. It's my job to know what my agents are 
up to at all times." 
	"Of course, sir."
	"Now, where is he?" 
	"He's staying at Schuster Hotel, room 640." 'At least he didn't 
ask for Mulder's assumed name and office phone number', Scully 
thought. 
	"All right, Agent Scully. That'll be all." Skinner was already 
reaching for the door.
	"Sir, if I may?"
	"What is it?"
	"Please keep in mind that nobody here but the two of us know 
about this."
	"That's just fine." Skinner replied and left as swiftly as he 
came. Scully stared at the door, questioning her wisdom of telling 
Skinner everything. She quickly called the Lone Gunmen and notified 
them of Skinner's pending arrival. She stressed their need to keep 
Mulder in the dark about it. She made the Lone Gunmen promise they 
wouldn't leave Mulder twisting in the wind alone after their job was 
over. 
	"Watch over him for me", she said.



Keneally Psychological Research Lab
Genesis International Laboratory building
Sacramento, CA
Same Time

"Dr. Joyce?" The closeness of Keneally's voice behind him nearly 
dropped Mulder from his seat.
	"Yes, sir?" Struggling to control his breath, Mulder turned and 
faced the man. Mulder detected nothing wrong from Keneally's 
expression, and he loosened his stance. Amanda sat next to them, her 
fingers flying over the keyboard.
	"I've called in a couple of people, and I wanted to ask you 
something. Ever since..." Keneally's voice faded out inside Mulder's 
head. 'Oh, my God! He found out who I am! My cover's gone!' Mulder 
fought not to feint on the spot. But then, his ear caught the man's 
voice again. "... If you would like to join the research teams at Dr. 
Johnson's lab after you're done with ours." 
	"...Oh. That's... a wonderful offer, but..." Mulder blinked and 
forced his words out.
	"You don't have to make your decisions right now, Dr. Joyce. I 
just want you to think about it. You've already proven yourself 
worthy." Keneally patted Mulder on his shoulder with that signature 
warm smile.
	"Thank you, sir. Yes, I'll definitely think about it." Mulder's 
heart was still thudding furiously against his ribs. He managed to 
smile in return, and even offered a handshake. The man studied Mulder 
closely.
	"Dr. Joyce? You look like you could use some rest. Why don't you 
take the rest of the morning off? Come back here for your therapy 
session at 1PM as scheduled?" 
	"Oh. Thank you, sir. But I would just like to finish these 
files. I don't have much more to go anyway, and I haven't yet 
submitted my report to you from yesterday. I'll have it delivered to 
your desk by noon." 
It was a lie, but it worked well enough. The truth be told, Mulder 
kept his activities to a minimum in and out of the Keneally lab, 
because he didn't want anybody from the third floor to recognize him. 
Keneally gave Mulder a satisfied smile and told him to take it easy or 
he'd kill himself overworking. Mulder laughed at the statement, 
thinking how true it was. 
Amanda asked him to join her for lunch as soon as Keneally was out of 
their earshot, but Mulder declined, offering her his services to 
lighten her workload instead. Amanda widened her eyes, but she 
accepted the offer. Her eyes widened further as she watched Mulder 
take about a third of her pile and put them at the bottom of his 
rapidly disappearing pile. 


Schuster Hotel Room #640
Sacramento, CA
10 PM
Same Day

"Hello?" The unmistakable voice of Frohike greeted an exhausted 
Mulder.
	"Guys? It's me. Are you ready?"
	"Ready as we'll ever be." Langly's somewhat unsure tone of voice 
followed.
	"I've just changed into my uniform. Where are you?"
	"In the basement, as you suggested."
	"Good. I checked earlier, and there's hardly any traffic."
	"Did you get the equipment we left for you?"
	"Yeah, I have them right here. It's fun wearing one of these." 
Mulder adjusted the headset.
	"Adjust the camera just a little more to the right." Mulder knew 
that Byers was always business first.
	"How's this?" Mulder winced as he fiddled with the small camera, 
now pressing up against the healing bruise next to his left eye. He 
was hoping to avoid the spot, but it looked like he had no choice. 
	"That's fine, Mulder. Let it stay there. We can see your 
reflection in the mirror now. ...Jesus, what happened to you?" 'Byers, 
the sentimental business man', Mulder thought.
	"Oh. I just took a dozen blows in my head and face. I'll put on 
some makeup, and they'll be no problem."
	"All right. Where do we go?" Langly apparently led their way 
this time. Mulder closed his eyes to concentrate.
	"Do you see a small door to your right? It should be about 
twenty feet from where you are."
	"Yeah, I see it."
	"Okay, open it with the key I gave you. I stole that thing with 
every intention to return it, so be careful with it."
	"Gee, you're a difficult man to please." Frohike grunted.
	"Sorry about that. I'm edgy, because I'm up against many dead-
lines."
	"Okay, it's open." Byers cut off the chit-chat.
	"Start climbing up the ladder. It'll lead you straight to the 
sixth floor, into the medicine storage room. I know it's a narrow 
passage, but it's the safest route I could find. I don't know if you 
guys had time to do your own research, but..."
	"It's fine. We've found only one more route in this building, 
and this one's the quickest." Mulder could hear their footsteps making 
ascent. He couldn't see them, but they could see him. He wondered why 
it's not the other way around, but he soon figured the screen probably 
never fit into the padded envelope he received at the hotel front desk 
only two short hours ago. 
	"Guys? You've got to keep going. At the top, you'll see the air-
vent open at your left. Go through there and take a right at the third 
turn. Keep going, and you'll see the exit leading to one of the supply 
cabinets housing drugs for animal testing. There's a security-code 
entrance at the door. Type in the code: 182DSS179." Mulder could hear 
the three men trying frantically to catch up with his directions. He 
knew they needed to be quick, and he knew they had little chance of 
being caught, because he tried the route himself previous night. "Tell 
me when you get there." Mulder said as he sat on the bed with his legs 
folded, still concentrating on the mental images of the route. He'd 
prefer to settle at a table and chair, but then the Lone Gunmen won't 
be able to see him in the mirror on the wall directly in front of him. 
	"We're in." Byers's voice led Mulder to picture the shelves of 
narcotics the three men faced.	
	"Okay. Go to the door directly in front of you. Type in the 
code: 182DSS180. The room you're in now is where they store the drugs 
for chemotherapy. There's a small service elevator about the size that 
a big hotel restaurant would use. Get in on it one at a time, and go 
down three floors. The code for the elevator is 33576A."
	"Got it. I'll go in the last, guys. Hurry up." Byers ushered the 
other two ahead. 
	"The elevator will drop you right to the third floor research 
center. Now, this is where I need you 100%, because I'd never been 
able to go that far. When I tested it, I heard someone coming and had 
to leave. I know it should lead you to the floor's supply room next to 
three observation rooms. Go to the room #3, it's the one right next to 
you. To get out of the supply room, type in the code: 221DSS900. To 
get into the room #3, type in: 221DSS800." Mulder's heartbeat upped 
another notch. 
	"Okay, wait for the others." Langly's voice indicated the man's 
own tension. Mulder listened in closely and heard Byers's climbing out 
of the elevator.
	"Just let me get you through the routine. You're almost there, 
guys. The room #3 is the only room still left unoccupied. It's also 
the only one with a door in the ceiling. There's no security code 
required to enter that one. It should get you to the ventilation route 
for the three observation rooms and any other room within the research 
project center. You should be able to hear and see almost everything 
with the level of your equipment."
	"Got it. Gee, this is pretty tidy with the three of us." Frohike 
complained and Mulder nodded with sympathy, because he knew they've 
been watching his expressions through the screen. 
	"Like it or not, that's where you'll be until I get there. I'd 
have fitted in a couch and a TV for you if I could, complete with a 
bottle of red wine. ...I'll reach their main computer kept in the 
Research Records room. That's where they stock up all their final 
research reports, and it's just beyond the first observation room. 
You'll have much time. Hopefully, someone will come use the computer 
to give us the access codes and the password. If not, you guys will 
get to have fun hacking in." 
	"We're all in, and we have all the other access codes we used in 
our reader." Langly's somewhat exhausted voice reported, and Mulder 
finally released a breath of relief he had been yearning to let out.
	"Good work, boys. I'll cut the communication here, but call me 
on my cellular for any emergency." Mulder smiled into the mirror, now 
that he could look into it without getting nauseated. The Lone Gunmen 
wished him good luck. 
	Mulder settled into a chair sat by the round glass table where 
his Keneally-issued laptop computer was set up, and spent ninety 
minutes typing up the day's therapy report. He then left the hotel 
room wearing his uniform, but he also wore his back-up piece on his 
ankle for the occasion. He stashed the headset along with his cellular 
phone in his black leather backpack; followed closely by about a dozen 
computer disks, his Sig-Sauer with an extra clip, and William 
Forrest's security passes. He thought about bringing his FBI budge 
just in case, but decided against it. 
	The plan was, after he gets to the main computer and retrieved 
all needed information, he was supposed to hand over the disks into 
the Lone Gunmen's hands. Then, he was supposed to help them escape 
from the way they came. If any alarm goes off or someone reports some 
strange noise coming through the ventilation system, he was supposed 
to come out and assure everybody that it was just a false alarm. 
Next, he was supposed to go down to the first floor, where all 
security tapes from every floor were updated every morning precisely 
at seven. There, he would have to switch the third floor tapes with 
the ones from two days ago. He knew he couldn't use yesterday's, 
thanks to the Dr. Love incident. After receiving the Lone Gunmen's 
confirmation that they were safe in their van, he was scheduled to 
return to his post and complete his shift as usual. But the truth was 
that anything and everything can go wrong. 
Their emergency plan was to make their escape from the third floor 
front door, and Mulder would switch the security tapes later. If 
someone spot him sneaking the Lone Gunmen out, he was to bolt with the 
Lone Gunmen and act as if he was chasing the intruders but without 
success. Mulder already authorized the Lone Gunmen to punch and kick 
him if that happened, because they needed to "put on a show" for the 
crowd. If he gets fired from this incident, it was just fine with him, 
because he was going to quit the job tomorrow anyway. Then he can 
simply resign, claiming that the incident was due to his shortcomings. 
Anything that would get him out of the position was desirable, so he 
could concentrate on his day job.
	 
  

Bionix Cancer Research Center,
Genesis International Laboratory Building
Sacramento, CA
12:30 AM

He took his usual seat after a quick glance around him. He placed his 
backpack underneath the desk next to his feet, quickly checking over 
everything on the monitor and around his desk. When he was sure it was 
safe enough, he took off his uniform cap, took out his headset out of 
the bag, and switched it on. 
	"Guys?" He kept his voice low, but always a bit above whispers.
	"Hey, you almost worried us to death." Langly complained.
	"Sorry, guys. I thought you'd already know. There was an actual 
break-in at the second floor. Apparently, some college kids who 
mistakenly thought that was our narcotics stock room tried to play 
Mission Impossible just to get high."
	"Did you get the guys?"
	"Yeah. I was just reporting to work when someone yelled for me 
to get one of the guys who slipped away, through the chaos."
	"Well, we've got the security code, but not the password." Byers 
again got down to business.
	"What do you mean? How does anyone..."
	"That's the problem. That young doctor you told us about? He got 
a phone call just as he was about to give us the password, and he left 
the room." He continued without wasting time.
	"Damnit." Mulder couldn't hide his disappointment. "How long 
would it take for you?" Mulder asked, knowing they're already on top 
of it.
	"Just about five minutes more. ... Oh, wait! The guy's coming 
back in. He might just do the job for us."
	"Let's hope so." Mulder mumbled, and kept his eyes on the 
monitors. Several long seconds passed by, and he was about ready to 
scream when he heard a faint beep, followed by the sweetest,
	"We have it."
	"Yes!" Mulder closed his eyes and slapped the security desk with 
his palms.
	"Now, hurry up." Frohike demanded. Mulder soon left the desk 
wearing a pair of latex gloves and the headset. He strapped on the 
camera connecting to his headpiece, checking again for the computer 
disks and his cellular phone stuffed inside his small leather carrying 
bag which he took out of his backpack before leaving the security 
desk. He quickened his pace to a trot as he went through the inner 
double door, entering the center's main area. His black rubber sole 
boots made minimum noise, and though he occasionally had to dug or 
hide for cover, he was able to make a swift progress toward the 
Records room. Entering the security code for the metal door, he heard 
someone approaching the corner to his right, and quickly shut the 
door.
	"That was close." Langly's tension-filled voice came through the 
ear-piece.
	"Okay, guys. This is the fun part." Mulder announced as he took 
his seat in front of the computer.
	"Type in SROGERGDSS1. That's the security code."
	"Okay, done."
	"The password is TRAPPERS." Mulder's fingers flew over the 
keyboard, and soon, the 'access approved' message flashed over the 
main screen.
	"I'm in. You guys keep alert, all right?"
	"Sure. There are two people in the Observation room #3. We're 
checking out the rest of the rooms right now."
	"I'm looking for the Jarvis' files, but nothing saved under 
their names are coming up."
	"Try searching by date. They were killed two years ago, and 
they'd been doing researches for 12 years. Go back about two, three 
years."
	"I've gone back a decade, but everything from 1985 is either 
erased or misplaced. ...Wait, I've got it. Beginning in 1987, the 
Jarvis had been doing their own projects. I'm downloading it all. I 
don't have time to look for specifics right now. It looks like their 
earlier researches are centered on the relationship between all cancer 
cells and immune system in humans. I can see their files summarized 
according to age and gender groups. There's no mention of racial 
references." Mulder said as he watched the files being downloaded into 
the disks one after another. As he inserted the fourth disk and 
selected the next file, his hands froze momentarily on the keyboard.
	"What? What's wrong?" Byers's worry was clear in his voice. 
Mulder shook his head, and the Lone Gunmen's screen wobbled with the 
movement.
	"I'm in the 1990 files, and it's getting weird. The Jarvis 
apparently split  with their previous research team, and only the 
couple's names are listed on the titles here. These look like some 
kind of side-projects, but..." Mulder pressed the download key, 
clicking on the next 1991 - 1992 file in the mean time to open it. 
"Guys? I'm getting an awful lot of brain tumor research files in here, 
starting at the end of 1992." Mulder's voice rose with tension, and it 
kept rising as he continued the downloading process into 1993 - 1994. 
	His eyes now sparkling, Mulder knew he'd hit the jackpot. "Oh, 
this is sweet. Their researches were exclusively on brain tumors and 
their treatment." The tension was contagious to the Lone Gunmen, but 
Mulder stopped abruptly at the 1994 files. Immediately pressing the 
download button, he swallowed hard and began opening the final 1995 
folder. He gave its contents a cursory glance, and gasped.  
	"Are you all right?!" Frohike asked after several seconds of 
silence. Mulder stayed silent. Only the sound of Mulder's rapid 
shallow breaths could be heard over the noises of the disks being 
inserted and ejected. 
	"Are you all right? Is something wrong?" Byers asked with 
concern, wanting to call Mulder by name, but resisting the urge. 
	"What did you find?" Langly persisted, now getting scared.
	"Guys, we've got trouble. With a capital T." Mulder's voice was 
shaking. The Lone Gunmen looked at each other, then looked at the 
computer screen which Mulder was currently viewing, and began to 
prepare for their retreat. Their pack-up process was obviously audible 
to Mulder, for he stopped them and assured they were still safe. 
	"That's not the trouble; it's the data. Right before the Jarvis 
were killed, they called in a group of volunteer test subjects. I'm 
risking precious time here, but I'm looking at the subjects' 
individual files right now. These were all women of various age 
groups, various occupations, and identical location of the tumor."
	"Let me guess. Between the cerebrum and the nasal cavity?" 
Langly said as he stared at the screen images being copied. Their 
visual swayed vertically, indicating Mulder was nodding at them.
	"Bingo." Mulder's reply sounded somewhere between resignation 
and agony. 
	"What did they do with the group?" Not wanting to think about 
Scully, Frohike urged on. Mulder's fingers moved rapidly on the 
keyboard, and the four men watched as the computer screen flashed 
various images and data. Mulder was only following the titles and a 
few names listed at the bottom. All the four men swallowed hard at 
some of what they could read on the screen. 
	"There's a pretty lengthy file on what looks to be the new 
cancer-fighting agent, a new type of treatment. But that's all I can 
get out of looking at these. They're not my specialty." Everyone knew 
just whose specialty they were.
	"The people in the Observation Room #3 are heading out the door. 
You better hurry." Frohike warned Mulder, who immediately began their 
exit procedure.
	"So what's the trouble?" Byers knew there had to be more than 
just meets-the-eye for Mulder to freak out.
	"There's an additional member joined the Jarvis' research team 
in 1995. It's the first time in almost five years that the team took 
in an assistant." Mulder's index finger was pointing at some list of 
names.
	"Someone must've sent him to spy on them." Langly said as he 
rubbed his chin.
	"It's Kevin Scanlon." Mulder glared at the sadistic man's name 
on the screen.
	"Scully's Scanlon?" The three men exchanged another glance. 
'Trouble, with a captal T', their eyes said. The tension in the room 
immediately increased ten-fold.
	"Who else?!" Mulder hissed as he downloaded the last file. "I'm 
done. I'll meet you in twenty seconds." 
	Mulder brought the computer screen back to the main menu. The 
Lone Gunmen saw Mulder stand up, then they quickly packed up and began 
to move just as Mulder opened the door. Byers never turned off the 
monitor and kept guiding Mulder through the maze. Mulder quickly made 
it to the Observation Room #3, and passed the little leather bag to 
them along with the headset through the opening just as they were 
getting out of the ventilation system. He stashed the cellular phone 
into one of his uniform's front pants pockets, and took out the 
required flashlight from its belt holster for cover before making it 
out of the glass door. 
	Once he returned to the security desk, all he wanted to do was 
to crash in his chair and go to sleep. But just then, the pretty 
fiance of one of the doctors knocked on the front third floor door and 
smiled at him expectantly. Mulder grunted, because now he had to use 
the tape from yesterday to switch with tonight's. But he let her in 
anyway, this time getting not just a warm smile, but also a kiss on 
his cheek for thanks. Mulder couldn't help a smile. Hoping the Lone 
Gunmen had made it out safely, he finished the rest of his shift 
without much events. 
It was just when he returned to his hotel room that the Lone Gunmen 
called him on his cellular, informing him of their mission's success. 
Mulder thanked them and told them the tape switching procedure had 
been done smoothly. He stood under the shower while fully dressed in 
his security guard uniform for nearly half an hour in an effort to 
calm himself down. When he finally stripped, cleaned-up, and toweled 
himself off, he dropped onto the bed. Surrendering to, then welcoming 
in, the comfort of sleep.



Schuster Hotel Room 640
Sacramento, CA
7:15 AM

The persistent knocking on his door despite the "Do not disturb" sign 
yanked Mulder's exhausted body out of the realm of sleep, and into the 
cruelty of the real world. Quickly pulling out his Sig Sauer, he threw 
on a dress shirt that was left on a nearby chair from the previous 
day, and made a careful approach for the door.
	"Who's there?" Mulder asked, standing at the side of the door. 
All was silent for a long moment before another series of equally 
impatient knocks came. Mulder repeated his question, now taking off 
the gun's safety.
	"It's Skinner. Open the door." The firm, hurried tone of his 
superior shocked him. Mulder immediately opened the door and was 
greeted with an enraged Walter Skinner. Mulder tried to speak, but he 
couldn't find the words.
	"Agent Mulder, just what in the hell are you trying to do here?"
	"Before I say anything; why are you here, sir? Who sent you this 
time? Cancer Man?? Well-Manicured Man?? I can't trust anyone but 
myself, my source, and Agent Scully with what I've found." Mulder's 
bitter memories from the last such occasion  kicked in, murdering any 
reservations left in Mulder from showing his own rage against the 
man's betrayal. Skinner held his own anger in check upon Mulder's 
outburst, successfully remaining calm and collected. However, Skinner 
never bothered to hide his anger from his face.
	"I've only sent myself down here. Now, if your 'source' is 
really that reliable, you should check with them yourself. Agent 
Scully knows I'm here." Mulder shook his head, wondering why she kept 
it quiet, and wondering at the same time just what it was that he did 
wrong this time. But he didn't hesitate to call the Lone Gunmen on the 
spot, in front of Skinner, just to spite the man. 
	"Turn off the tape, guys. ...You know who this is, and I have a 
surprise visitor with me. He told me to check with you, because you 
might already know about it." Mulder listened in and widened his eyes. 
"What?! Scully told you, and you didn't have the courtesy to tell me?! 
Is he even clean?! ..., ...fine. Is he alone? You actually checked?! 
...Okay, that's all I needed to know. Thanks, guys." Mulder sighed his 
resignation as he stashed his cellular phone into his jacket pocket. 
He turned to Skinner, who now leaned against the door. Mulder nodded 
for Skinner to continue. 
	"I've talked to Agent Scully two days ago, and you told her that 
you wouldn't leave your patient? What is this all about?"
	Slightly arching his back, realizing what the problem was, 
Mulder offered Skinner a seat. Mulder then handed Skinner a bottle of 
mineral water, but Skinner eyed the bottle as if it would jump up and 
smack him in the face at any given moment. Skinner kept his eyes on 
the water bottle for a long moment before glancing back to observe 
Mulder, who now sat facing him from across the table.
	"I have to tell you about Sarah Martin, and about Vera Maxine 
Jarvis, from the beginning for you to understand the situation. I will 
submit to you a full copy of Sarah Martin's file for reference; in 
anticipation of when Kenearly's research team eventually finds out 
about who I really am; that I was a federal agent who was working 
undercover. 
"My outside source whom I cannot name, put me to work at the Kenearly 
Psychological Research Lab as a therapist with Miss Sarah Martin, who 
is my only patient. She's in her early twenties now, suffering from 
phobias to machines and uniformed people. Her phobias were induced by 
her childhood memories relating to her experiences with cancer 
treatments she's undergone. I've taken the challenge this case 
offered, and I did so personally, since the case profile closely 
matched with that of Vera Maxine Jarvis."
	"You found her family?" Skinner's expression gave nothing away. 
Mulder nodded.
	"We didn't want to tell you this before confirming it as a fact. 
After last night, I'm more convinced than ever that Vera Maxine Jarvis 
is our little Jane Doe's real name. If this is ever proven true, then 
her family, had been alledgedly murdered by a serial killer two years 
ago, which makes her an orphan who supposed to have died with her 
parents. 
"The Jarvis had been working for over a decade at the research center 
I was at for the last four days. In their research files, I found data 
on some kind of new cancer treatment developed by the Jarvis. Then, 
this new treatment had been tested on a group of women with brain 
tumors of an unknown origin. Now, I don't know the details yet, since 
I don't have the files here with me, because I handed them over to my 
source. I wouldn't trust them to anybody else, for the reasons we both 
understand. Especially when I know that this new treatment maybe the 
only chance for Agent Scully."
	"What are you saying?" Skinner's eyebrows furrowed with concern.
	"I'm saying that these women who participated in the Jarvis' 
studies are suffering from an identical brain tumor to Scully's Nasal 
Pharyngeal Mass. If Jarvis' discovery was the true reason for their 
deaths, including the alleged death of their only daughter 
Vera...Then, we need to protect her and her parents' research files at 
all cost."
	"Actually, that's exactly why I sent myself down here for."
	"What?! You already knew what I came here for?" Mulder hated 
being played for a fool, and right now, he felt like a joke of the 
month. 
	"No. All I know is that you've been checking out Bionix. I 
didn't know anything about the missing kid's parents ever being 
included in their staff."
	"Sir, I know that our time is precious. I will contact my source 
and have them make you a copy of everything we've found so far. But 
forgive me, I cannot let anybody except for my source to have the 
original copies."
	"That's fine. I'm personally involved in this case, and 
confidentiality of our sources will be kept intact."
	"What about Cancer Man? I know that the light from his Morley 
may well have set the arson spree around the country. He might even be 
the one who's responsible for the plastic explosives that blew up your 
SWAT team."
	"I know that myself, Agent Mulder. I had to watch them beg me to 
let them live. Some begged me to let them die and relieve them from 
their suffering. I had to watch them scream, cough their guts out, and 
ask me to relay messages to their families. Don't think for one second 
that I'm not affected by this. 
"...Mulder, have you any clue how hard it was on Scully to experience 
what I've experienced? She had to try saving these men, then losing 
them despite her absolute best efforts, because everyone knew that 
those agents were beyond help to begin with. She barely had a shut-eye 
before she was off to do the autopsies on the agents she'd watched die 
in her hands. Mulder, you had to have been there to understand what 
she'd been through. I'm a retired Marine officer returned from the 
Vietnam War, and still this was hard on me. 
"Mulder, you know how much I despise the man, and we both know that 
Cancer Man's untouchable. Not yet, at least. I also hope that you know 
how much I value you and Agent Scully's work. I didn't let you sell 
your soul to the devil, and by God, I will never allow that." 
Skinner's eyes were filling with pain that Mulder recognized within 
himself too often. Mulder swallowed hard, recalling the phone 
conversation with Scully. Six autopsies waiting for her at the Morgue, 
all of them whom she had either seen or treated. Mulder suddenly felt 
it difficult to breathe.
	"Sir? Are you asking me to trust you, after you posed yourself 
as me and got caught red-handed?"
	"You don't have a choice in the matter." Mulder thought Skinner 
was smiling, but he wasn't. 
	"I guess you're right this time." Mulder said with defeat. "You 
will have the copies of the disks within two days. I won't leave 
anything out from the original, and I also suggest you talk to Agent 
Hall, because he's the one with the detailed information about Vera's 
drawings inside the VR. He's the one who continued their analysis, and 
I believe he's still got Kathler's laptop."
	"He's already reported that to me, Mulder. I also have the 
cryptology report and your notebook containing your analysis." Skinner 
saw Mulder shake his head 'no'.
	"Sir, my handwriting in that notebook is practically unreadable. 
I'll type them up for reference." Mulder never wrote a word of them 
with the intention for someone other than himself to read them. But 
this time, Skinner shook his head 'no'.
	"I have Agent Hall's disk, and that should be enough for now. 
They're all locked up in the safe in my office."
	"Thank you, sir." Mulder nodded sincerely, watching as Skinner 
relaxed considerably and reached for the water bottle Mulder offered 
to him earlier.
	"What are your plans?" Skinner asked the younger agent after 
taking a slug of the drink. Mulder shifted a bit hesitantly, because 
he wasn't exactly sure just how far into the 'plan' Skinner needed to 
know.
	"I'm planning on having Agent Scully review and interpret the 
data in the disks; then have her report to you and me on the findings. 
Should my assumption proven correct, I would like you to recommend the 
new treatment to be done on Scully. The necessary recipe and the 
instructions for administering the new treatment should be included in 
the file. I, in the mean time, would like to contact anyone who's 
related to the Jarvis' research. The couple was working alone as a 
team, but there might have been technicians in their labs, or even 
their secretary who knew the details about their research projects. 
"These probably aren't reliable investigative avenues, but I can't 
dismiss the possibility of them leading us to answers. I know that if 
my guess is correct, Cancer Man or the Bounty Hunter will start 
cleaning up. Just like they cleaned up Los Angels and San Francisco in 
relation to this case; just as they had done before with the Women's 
Clinic and the Gregors three years ago." 
The word Gregors rang a distant bell in Mulder's overworked mind. It 
had something to do with what he saw the night before. Why does that 
sound familiar? But before he could lose himself in that question, 
Skinner spoke, taking Mulder out of his reverie.
	"You better move fast, Mulder. I'll give you up to two weeks 
before you'll be handing your patient over to your replacement 
therapist and make your full return to our current case."
	"Sir?" An idea hit Mulder, stopping Skinner from standing up to 
leave.
	"What is it, Mulder?" There was an unmistakable undertone of 
concern or worry in Skinner's voice, making Mulder wonder if it was 
directed at him.
	"I would like to request at this time to contact Karen F. 
Kosseff, who is our own Licensed Clinical Social Worker; to review the 
caes of Mr. Kathler and Miss Vera Jarvis to have her evaluate them."
	"For what? Adoption?" Skinner was as sharp as usual. Mulder 
leaned back in his chair, his body language speaking 'yes'.
	"Or, to recommend Mr. Kathler to be Miss Jarvis's legal 
guardian. If not, then at least for him to be Miss Jarvis's foster 
parent."
	"The state has..." Skinner shook his head 'no', but Mulder cut 
him off.
	"I know that Linda Lowry had been making the assessment, but she 
hasn't been involved in the case for about a week now, and she has so 
far given Mr. Kathler a full-round applause. This is now a federal 
case, since Vera's parents were federal employees. Our jurisdiction 
over this case won't be questioned, because the case was passed up to 
us from the local law enforcement to begin with. Karen Kosseff has 
trust from both Scully and myself. She also has an extremely high 
reputation from the Bureau." Mulder remembered the Calusali case, and 
how Scully talked about her. Skinner seemed to have a few words, but 
he simply nodded instead of speaking, and stood up from his seat.
	"Agent Mulder, I still think you are way too personally involved 
with Miss Martin and are therefore slowing down our progress in this 
case. However, considering the nature of your involvement with Miss 
Jarvis and what she is going to need from you, I'm going to allow you 
to continue with this. I'm going extra miles in this one, Mulder. The 
least you can do is trust me." Skinner said as he reached the door. 
Mulder was utterly surprised. His superior, this man, actually wanted 
to prove himself trustworthy. 
	"Sir?" Mulder asked, standing from his seat. Skinner turned to 
him. "Thank you." Mulder said with utmost honesty, nodding slightly. 
Skinner returned the nod silently and slipped out of the door, closing 
it firmly behind him.






Prescott Hospital
Conference Room #2
Los Angels, CA Same Day 3PM

Agent Hall requested the hospital to vacate the small conference room 
for the Bureau use. The hospital, knowing the publicity as well as the 
money this federal case brought them, gladly allowed the use of the 
room and even provided the agents with free bottomless coffeepots and 
trays of pastries. Scully widened her eyes when they had the same 
volunteer worker who's been filling up their coffee supplies, brought 
in deli sandwiches for dinner. Skinner's agents were tightly guarding 
the witness rooms, allowing any law enforcement official with a direct 
involvement to their investigation to create their temporary 24-hours-
open office. 
	Skinner returned to Los Angels just an hour ago and relayed 
Scully the messages from Mulder. Scully thanked her superior, feeling 
her excitement breaking through the roof at the news of possible cure 
to the cancer. Skinner returned to the ER where the families of some 
of the recently deceased SWAT team members gathered quietly to hear 
the inevitable from him. 
Scully turned in her autopsy reports upon Skinner's arrival to the 
hospital, therefore was aware that he knew what she'd found: traces of 
plastic explosives, kerosine, fragments of materials from the walls, 
glass windows, and various furniture that were deeply embedded inside 
the bodies of those men. Some even reached through the bones, to 
lungs, heart, and other vital organs including brain tissues. 
	The Lone Gunmen called on her cellular just as she was about to 
call Mulder. They requested her to be at a used bookstore located in a 
nearby shopping mall around 7 PM, so that they could deliver the disks 
to her personally. They made her promise to come alone, and to have no 
one following her. She promised to them to take every precaution, and 
didn't even identify the caller to anyone who asked her. It surprised 
her that Mulder actually allowed himself to trust Skinner again, and 
was even more surprised that Skinner told Mulder about the hell they'd 
been through in this hospital the day before. 
	"Mulder, are you sure we can trust him?" She asked him 
repeatedly, and got the same answer.
	"Not completely, yet. But I give that he's right. We have no 
choice in the matter, and he's going extra miles for us. He's trying, 
Scully, to regain our trust. Cut the man some slacks." Scully arched 
her eyebrows at her partner's words.
	"He's going to let me review all the files, and the Lone 
Gunmen's going to deliver me the disks personally. Apparently, there 
are two sets of them, because the originals stay with them. The 
meeting's going to be in a book store near a shopping mall at seven 
tonight. Dare I assume there's a lot to learn?"
	"Yeah, you won't be disappointed, Scully. You've got ten disks 
worth, a total of twelve years of cancer research data. The last five 
years are the juicy stuff. They've got the..."
	"I know. A possible cure for our cancer." Scully said 
appreciatively, cutting Mulder off in the process. Mulder stayed 
silent for a long moment. "Mulder, are you all right?" She asked, 
knowing he was loaded with an emotional turmoil.
	"I'm fine, Scully. The question is how are you? I mean, really. 
I know you had to smell a lot of crap yesterday, and some of the smoke 
you inhaled could cause a damage..."
	"Mulder, I'm fine. ...Ugh, damn it. I had a couple of 
nosebleeds, but only because of the stinging smell of the smoke. I 
haven't had a decent sleep in days, and I'm experiencing fatigue. Are 
you satisfied now?" She sighed, knowing Mulder asked for the trouble.
	"Not really, but that's not your fault. I suggest that when you 
review the files, start from the most recent ones. You'll get the cure 
first that way. You decide whether or not to try it out with your 
oncologist. Please call me as soon as you find anything that I should 
know. I'm counting on you with this." The tension in Mulder's voice 
was unmistakable, and Scully unconsciously brushed her mouth with her 
hand, trying to fight off the emotions welding up inside her.
	"Sure, Mulder." She barely spoke aloud before hanging up on him. 
When she returned from the mall with the disks, she immediately 
confined herself in the privacy of Jake's room. She left the agent 
posted right outside the door as their guard. She was happy for the 
opportunity to finally remove her gun holster and change into her 
casual outfit consisting of sweatshirt and a pair of leggings. She 
kept her cellular phone beside her on the small round table positioned 
in front of the windows. The table was set against the wall opposite 
from where Jake's bed was located, which allowed Jake an undisturbed 
view out of the window. After she unwrapped her turkey sandwich and 
sat down in front of her laptop with a can of root beer, Scully was 
ready.
	She worked diligently until she was so exhausted, she could 
barely remember her own name; but she was so fascinated with the 
documents, that she never noticed when she fell asleep in spite of 
herself. She woke up at the sound of someone calling her name. 
'Mulder? That voice sounded like Mulder.' She raised her head and 
looked around. The laptop screen was now on a screen saver, and a 
dragon was spitting out balls of fire around in the dark square space. 
She smiled, but it froze on her face when she heard the voice again 
from the general direction of... "Jake?" Scully jumped out of her 
chair. His eyes were open and fixed onto her eyes. Jake nodded a 
confirmation and stretched out his hand toward her. Scully took it in 
hers, mentally checking over the machine readings and Jake's 
expression. His eyelids were still looking droopy, but she couldn't 
miss the burning intensity that was concealed behind those beautiful 
eyes. He was clearly determined to clear away every one of his 
questions and doubts.
	"You've been asleep for awhile, and I didn't want to wake you. I 
see you were busy." His voice was a little hoarse, but intact. She saw 
that half the water in the pitcher sitting on the nightstand was now 
empty. Her smile was radiant.
	"How are you, Jake? We've been worried about you." Scully said, 
trying to find a way to break all the news to him. He nodded as if he 
understood her troubles.
	"Dana, I know they took the girl, because I heard them take her. 
I also know that they tossed me down the waste..."
	"Bio hazardous waste chute, Jake. You've been suffering from 
Hepatitis B, influenza, and bronchitis viruses. You are almost fine 
now. You had a fairly high fever, which is why you've been on a pain 
medication combined with the general vaccines and fever-reducing 
medications. You were pretty much gone for the last week." Scully 
smiled again and reached out to smooth out his fine hair.
	"Mmmm... I guess I've had enough rest to last for a month. How's 
everything around here? I know my partners must be raising hell. 
...Oh, how's the...?"
	"Mr. Chunovic is fine. He's still depressed, but he's not on 
suicide watch any more. He's actually trying to come back to work, so 
he could get some of his strength and his life back. The kids are 
doing better, too. One of them is almost ready to be released. They 
also buried Mrs. Chunovic together just three days ago. I'm so sorry 
you missed her funeral, Jake. I know how much you wanted to go." 
Scully kept her voice neutral, not wanting to make this any more 
painful for Jake. He closed his eyes at the last statement, slowly 
taking a deep breath. Scully reached out her hand again to his head. 
	"Careful, Agent Scully. If you keep doing that, I'm gonna lose 
it." Scully could already see his eyelids rapidly growing moist. She 
withdrew her hand.
	"Jake? There's a lot more you need to know, and none of it is a 
happy news." Scully felt guilty for what she had to tell him would do 
to him. Jake's eyes fluttered open, fear clear in his eyes. She took 
an inaudible deep breath to brace herself. "Your house is currently 
under repair. A couple of your walls took healthy dozes of bullets 
from an automatic weapon that Mulder fired when returning fire. The 
weapon originally belonged to the intruders; the same people who 
attacked you and kidnapped the girl, plus an unidentified man who was 
working with the other four."
	"What?!" Jake nearly jumped off the bed with shock, but Scully 
gently pushed him back down on the bed.
	"Jake, please. Let me finish. ...There were five men who broke 
into your house immediately after you were attacked. Mulder had enough 
sense to return to your house as you were carried to the ER. He went 
there without a backup, and Agent Hall had already been taken out of 
the house when he got there. I was here when it happened. Mulder fired 
and hit three of the five intruders, but he only managed to apprehend 
one of them. 
"This man is currently listed as a wanted criminal along with his 
friends, because he escaped on the way here. He had the assistance of 
his accomplices who drove in an unmarked van. They approached the 
ambulance that was carrying the wounded sniper and Elly, then attacked 
the ambulance. It was good that they only had enough time to fetch 
their injured before hauling their asses off. 
"I'm very sorry to tell you this, too, but they took your desk 
computer. The laptop was saved, because Agent Hall took it for a 
professional cleaning job. I hope your work won't be affected severely 
by this. The FBI can cover whatever the damages caused to your house, 
and as I mentioned earlier, it's being repaired as we speak." Deciding 
it was the best to give him all the news at once, she kept on.
	"Mulder told me that the intruders took Elly as a hostage and 
threatened to shoot her if he didn't give himself up, so he did as 
requested. Mulder always does this regardless of the consequences. 
...They'd bound and beat up on Elly pretty badly. She's also got a 
dislocated jaw, because Mulder had to take the gag out of her mouth. 
Mulder's got two bullet scratches and a dozen bruises from this 
incident. 
"...I have to tell you about Stella. She got off the worst, because 
she jumped to take a bullet meant for Mulder's head. She's with Agent 
Hall now. We've told the trauma surgical staff that Stella is a 
trained police canine, and that they'll be very sorry if they didn't 
treat her with the same level of care required for human patients. A 
long time physical therapy will be necessary for her full recovery. 
I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, Jake. I hope you know that 
the nobleness of her actions will be appreciated, and honored by the 
entire Bureau as well as the State of California. They'll present her 
with honors upon your release." 
The rapid change of expressions on Jake's face finally settled into 
the one of sorrow. Despite Jake's previous warning against losing his 
composure, Scully reached out to him again and caressed the side of 
his face. Her other hand stayed in his, and he squeezed it tightly. 
	"How's... How's Elly now?" Jake's voice was barely audible, 
obviously wrestling against his raging emotions with a series of deep 
slow breaths. Scully kept her tone deliberately smooth, though she 
doubted it helped either of them.
	"Don't worry, Jake. She's already discharged and is in a safe-
house secured with a top-level security. Skinner's keeping up with all 
the updates himself. She's as safe as she can get, and so are you."
	"I'm sorry, Dana." Jake blurted out, shaking his head. Scully 
stopped her caressing hand.
	"For what?" She honestly didn't know. 
	"For what you go through every day." His answer was just as 
direct. Honest. She shook her head 'no'.
	"We're used to it. It never gets easier, though. But Mulder was 
in it since he was twelve. Well, actually, he was neck deep in it 
since the moment he was born." 'Because of Cancer Man's deep 
involvement in Mulder family's lives, and because of Bill Mulder's 
involvement in the scheme of this global conspiracy', she silently 
added.
	"But seems to me like you're the one with the most trouble." 
Jake said, gazing at her hand; no doubt talking about her being 
abducted five times in the past. Scully again answered 'no'.
	"I chose to be in it. It's not Mulder who hurt me. It's them who 
took me, and took my sister's life mistaking her for me." She said 
matter-of-factly, then asked him if he wanted a nurse to check him 
over. Jake shook his head 'no'. 
	"But eventually, you'll need to get checked out." She insisted 
and returned to her task at hand. Jake stayed silent before asking her 
if he could see Stella. Since Elly had been discharged, Scully 
promised Jake she'd request Stella to be transferred into their room. 
Jake thanked her, then asked her for a permission to give his business 
partners a ring. Scully handed him his cellular phone and told him to 
take as long as he wanted, because she was wearing her headphone to 
listen to music, therefore his privacy was secured. 
Jake began dialing the number, but he stopped and asked her how and 
where Mulder was. She only said he was in Sacramento, working 
undercover. She had to be absolutely sure before breaking him the news 
about the missing girl's identity, or the nature of Mulder's 
undercover operation. Plus, she still had to decide how to explain her 
findings to Mulder. She knew that the Lone Gunmen would already know 
what she'd learned, and she knew them well enough to know that they 
would spare her the room to make the report to Mulder and Skinner.
	The subjected cancer treatment method explained a new cancer-
fighting agent to be delivered directly into the tumor via a series of 
injections. She had the formula, and she had a part of the 
instructions. But the actual step-to-step procedural guide was 
missing; possibly erased by Scanlon. She wasn't really surprised to 
find the evil doctor's name on the list, considering the Jarvis had 
been murdered not long after Scanlon joined the study. She had no clue 
to how the Jarvis' came to recruit him into their research. After all, 
the Jarvis never allowed an outsider to be a primary.
What Scully found to be the most disturbing was the data of alledged 
female volunteer subjects. Scully had their bios, but none was listed 
their names, social security numbers, nor the place of their births. 
Even in the Red Museum case she and Mulder investigated, the test 
subjects' bios left a list of credit card numbers. In this case, 
Scully simply had no idea just who these female subjects were. She 
immediately recalled the case of MUFON women. Scully vividly recalled 
about their being under the care of Scanlon, including Scully herself, 
before the doctor's evil deeds came to light and the man successfully 
disappeared; possibly dead. 
	She needed to have the complete treatment analysis. Who knows if 
Scanlon or Consortium hadn't modified the formula to speed up the 
progress of their cancer? She missed Agent Pendrell. He would have 
created the formula for her and run the test himself to prevent any 
tampering. She still remembered the fallen agent's memorial service, 
and the funeral service in which she had attended with Mulder. She 
couldn't help shedding a tear or two as she read her speech at the 
memorial service. Mulder had been seated at the second row, silently 
giving her his reassurances that she would get through the entire 
speech without breaking into pieces. 
	She knew exactly what Mulder was doing or planning to do at this 
moment. He was going after anyone who participated in the Jarvis' 
study, and had access to the lab results. She hoped Cancer Man would 
lose his cigarette lighter long enough for Mulder to get what they 
needed in time. 
	She didn't have to keep her vigil for long. Mulder gave her a 
ring, claiming he could only spare a few moments. He quickly gave her 
the names with either an address or a number to contact for the 
research technicians who worked for the Jarvis. He was gone the moment 
she told him she wrote them down. Recognizing the urgency, she 
directly relayed the messages to the Lone Gunmen and then to Skinner. 
The tension-charged AD personally requested his team a rush to track 
down the research staff, successfully delivering their findings under 
three hours.
	"Of the seven people Mulder reported, all but one have died from 
both natural and unnatural causes. One victim died from a car-jack 
attempt, one killed in a robbery, one was a victim of a hit-and-run, 
one died of an undiagnosed cancer, one accidental death from a severe 
allergic reaction to penicillin, and one died of a narcotics over-
dose. The only surviving staff member is in Vancouver, British 
Columbia, with his family." Skinner finished as he dropped a stuck of 
police reports and medical records. Each case file included the 
autopsy reports with the standard police reports. Scully looked 
through them quickly and set them aside, though her gaze never left 
them.
	Soon, she felt a warm gentle hand on her shoulder and looked up 
to find Skinner's eyes filled with nothing but concern. In their eyes, 
their shared disappointment for yet another loss was apparent. 
"Agent Scully, I could send some of my agents to check things over. 
This surviving man is our important witness. We can take his 
statement, or even a taped deposition due to the time constraints. 
Should you choose to go, I will get your the paperwork and push it 
through."
	'Canada', she considered the option. But before she answered, 
Skinner dropped another file in front of her. "This is the official 
report for the Jarvis' murder case. As Mulder speculated, their 
daughter Vera was listed as one of the 'deceased'. But I've looked 
into the last photograph taken of the girl, and one look at that file 
is all it takes to prove the case report wrong. 
"I've already contacted Karen Kosseff at Agent Mulder's request. She 
will be arriving sometime later tomorrow afternoon to make initial 
assessments on Kathler and Vera. It is an official federal case, and 
Miss Lowry is now off the hook. She had already had her name taken off 
the case, so there shouldn't be any conflict over jurisdictions. She 
can still provide her opinions, but that's about all she can do."
	"I'll be happy to meet Karen Kosseff, sir. If that'll save some 
time." Jake's voice suddenly cut through their conversation, making 
the agents turn to face him. Jake was now trying to sit up on his bed, 
smiling his 'eavesdropping: guilty as charged' smile.
	"Hello, Mr. Kathler. I see that you're awake." Skinner said and 
shook Jake's offered hand.
	"Jake. You should stay laying down." Scully gently reminded him, 
but Jake shook his head 'no'.
	"It's okay, Dana. I almost feel perfect." He smiled wider, then 
quickly turned serious and met Skinner's eyes. "You've found her 
family." It wasn't a question. Skinner nodded. Scully continued.
	"Yes. I have just received confirmation on the missing girl's 
identity. Her name is Vera Maxine Jarvis, and she'll be a ten-year old 
within ten days. Her entire family had allegedly been the victims of a 
serial murderer, but now that we know Vera's alive, she could lead us 
to whoever held her in captivity. We believe that the kidnappers had 
Vera for a total length of at least two years. 
"It is Mulder's theory that Vera had been abducted by extraterrestrial 
biological entities to be used as a test subject to experiments of an 
unknown nature. He came to this theory, because the girl is 
extraordinarily intelligent in the field of art and language, judging 
from the EPT results and the recovered original psychological 
evaluation. I can't tell you more right now, but maybe I'll be able to 
after my return from Canada." Scully turned to face Skinner, who 
nodded in agreement and left the room to arrange the paperwork.
	Scully gave the Lone Gunmen a ring soon as Skinner was gone, and 
asked them to find out whatever else they could about the new cancer 
treatment. She also asked them to check out Clive Shaw, the last 
surviving member of the research assistants, because she was flying 
there to personally meet him. The Lone Gunmen agreed to put a rush on 
it before asking her if Mulder was all right. She told them she hadn't 
contacted Mulder, since there's no news that was urgent to Mulder at 
the moment. She figured Mulder would need the time to get Sarah Martin 
ready to be handed over. 
The Lone Gunmen reported her about Mulder resigning from his security 
guard position for letting in an unauthorized personnel into the third 
floor main area twice. This incident was proven true from the others' 
witness accounts. But the Lone Gunmen figured Mulder had done it on 
purpose, since he needed to quit the job anyway. Scully snickered, 
knowing exactly who got her partner a forced resignation and why. 
The Lone Gunmen, as Scully guessed, commented about Mulder demanding 
his bosses and the director of the lab never to punish or reprimand 
the doctor, nor his fiancee for asking Mulder to break the security 
rules. He'd reportedly done so in exchange for Mulder resigning 
without entitlement to pay or a benefit from his services to the 
institution. Considering his job well done in the recent break-in 
attempt by the college students, his bosses let him and the 
'accomplices' go without further fuss. This show of chivalry was so-
like Fox Mulder, Scully could almost picture Mulder delivering his 
speech and making arguments with his 'superiors'. 
	Skinner arrived back in less than an hour and watched as Scully 
filled out the paperwork. Since she had little to pack, she spent the 
three-hour waiting time before she left the hospital for Castro Valley 
Airport finishing up the review of the files on the new cancer 
treatment. Although she had a great deal of hesitation, in the end she 
decided to review the folders delivered by Skinner during the flight. 
She again decided not to call Mulder to report about her leaving 
California, opting instead for Skinner to tell him if Mulder called 
for anything. However, she insisted she would be the one to call 
Mulder if she found any vital information.
	Stella's transfer order came through just as Scully was leaving, 
and she watched as Stella was wheeled into the room to be settled into 
a bed placed next to Jake's. 
	"Stella! Hey, girl! It's so nice to see you." Jake greeted her 
as he reached for her and patted her head. Still groggy under the 
effect of the drugs, Stella was incapable to return him anything more 
than a pleading look and a few licks to his hand. Scully also patted 
Stella on her head, and gave her a kiss on her forehead before leaving 
the room. Scully hauled a cab, produced her FBI budge for effect and 
told the driver to 'step on it'. Once airborne, she began reading the 
case files only to find a series of errors, mistakes, full of holes on 
essential clues and theories that had been reported in almost every 
investigation.
	The car-jacking case had no witness who was credible enough to 
be called one. Two intoxicated prostitutes and a Chippendale dancer 
whose mouth could be bought weren't credible witnesses in anyone's 
common sense. The robbery case had the suspects' fingerprint evidences 
misplaced and nowhere to be found. 
In the hit-and-run case, the vehicle matching the eyewitness' 
descriptions was found, and the sample of the subjected vehicle's 
scraped paint had been recovered from under the victim's nails. The 
car was found in a nearby river with the bodies of the driver - and 
his dog - rotting inside the vehicle two weeks later. 
In the fatal accidental penicillin allergic reaction that had occurred 
in an emergency clinic, a nurse was allegedly ordered by a doctor to 
administer penicillin for the unfortunate patient. The nurse claimed 
she hadn't read anything about the patient being a diabetic in the 
chart. The doctor, whose signature was found at the bottom of the 
slip, swore in court that he gave no such order; that the signature 
written at the bottom was not even his own, and the doctor turned out 
to be right. They terminated the investigation when the nurse had 
allegedly committed suicide from her guilt over the case. Anyone could 
have killed the nurse, especially before she gave out the description 
of the impostor who gave her the penicillin injection order. The 
police report stated that the nurse forged the doctor's signature and 
administered the penicillin. The report never once mentioned the 
nurse's motive for committing the crime.
	The narcotics overdose death case had been labeled a murder case 
from the beginning, and Scully found the signs of a struggle noted in 
the autopsy report. The woman had been first drugged, raped though 
there was not a trace of DNA evidence, and then shot in the right 
temple. However, what killed the woman was a cocktail of narcotics, 
and all the rest had been done post-mortem. Scully read the report of 
the homicide detective stating his findings from interviews with her 
colleagues, her parents, her husband, and her neighbors. All claimed 
the victim never did drugs, never smoked cigarettes nor cigars, never 
chewed tobacco leaves, and never drunk a drop of alcohol beverages. 
'She hated them all', they said. The perpetrator had never been 
caught, and the case file remained open, though it had been labeled 
inactive a long time ago.
The liver cancer death had also been investigated with holes, since 
Scully reviewed the man's medical record. He had been extremely 
aggressively treated with chemotherapy and radiation - before being 
loaded onto a surgical table without surviving through it. Scully 
remembered her own experiences with Dr. Scanlon, and felt her blood 
run cold. No chance of surviving an operation after being attacked by 
the said treatment methods. It was a naturally existing, inherited 
condition that had been taken advantage of. 
	The completion of the liver cancer file review finally led 
Scully to the last remaining case file. Scully took a deep breath as 
she picked up the folder, gazed at it for several seconds, and closed 
her eyes. 'You're an FBI agent, damnit!' Scully ran her fingers over 
the sleek manila surface of the folder, feeling her mind swim with the 
myriad emotions, questions and memories that ganged up to pounce on 
her. She ordered herself to calm down and open her eyes. 'Mulder needs 
this. Skinner needs this. Reading this will take us one step closer to 
put Cancer Man where he belongs. Vera needs this. ...I need this.' 
When her eyes finally allowed themselves to be opened, Scully the 
investigator teamed up with Scully the medical doctor. She slid her 
fingers in between the smooth yellow cover and the thick papers that 
lay inside. 
	The plane landed just when Scully finished reading, and the 
plane cleared just in time for her to place the documents securely 
back into her briefcase and join the other passengers on their way to 
the exit. She checked her weapon for the second time that day, and 
made sure that she had her back-up piece strapped to her sigh with an 
elastic belt. She even had a backup clip for the weapon along with the 
clips for her Sig Sauer. She hoped she wasn't going to need either of 
them. 
Skinner was true to his word about making safe travel arrangement. As 
soon as she exited the gate, two escorting agents approached her and 
showed her to the awaiting Cessna. She thanked them, and watched as 
the door to the tiny aircraft was closed shut. The pilot guaranteed to 
take every short cut to her destination known to man. When they 
arrived to a small airfield in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, 
a jeep that had been waiting for her to take her to the man's address 
greeted her. The vehicle was guarded closely by two agents. Impressed 
though not surprised with Skinner's thoroughness, she called him for 
an update. Skinner wished her the best of luck. She thanked him and 
entered the beautiful modern-country, three-story mansion. 
	Clive Shaw was a very polite and slender man in his late 
thirties. Scully shook his hand and took the seat in an offered chair 
across from the couch he was seated in. She gave him a quick over-view 
of their investigations and indicated his being their only hope to 
testify in court, or in a form of taped deposition about Jarvis' 
researches. 
	"I'm willing to do whatever is necessary, Agent Scully. The only 
question is whether I have enough time to accomplish what you're 
asking me to do. Just get whatever out of me that you need before it's 
too late. Also, I do ask you to protect my family's lives or you 
lose." 
'Very straight forward', she thought as she nodded, promising him that 
the bureau would do everything in its power to support him. She also 
told him that she would like to take him back to the United States to 
place him under a heavier protection. Shaw shifted nervously, but 
Scully assured him that the other agents would be there to protect his 
family. The man requested his own oncologist - who was also staying in 
the mansion at his own will to care for the man, to accompany them on 
the trip. Scully got Skinner's okay on this last-minute addition. 
	When she asked Shaw if he had anything for safekeeping regarding 
the research over the dinner that had been prepared for her by his own 
personal chef, he carefully observed Scully. She held the man's gaze, 
trying everything she could to prove herself trustworthy. Finally, 
Shaw nodded and told her about a safety deposit box rented in a bank 
in downtown where he had hidden two card board boxes full of what the 
Jarvis and other assistants had left for him. 
	"They all knew. Each and every one of them knew that they were 
going to end up dead no matter what they did. I already had the 
cancer, and whoever took care of them knew that I was just one of the 
victims they've created for their own selfish purposes." Shaw stared 
at Scully. When she asked him whether they all knew about Scanlon; 
especially about who he really was, Shaw looked at her briefly before 
nodding. "We noticed Scanlon was very... How do I say...? Well, his 
behavior was very suspicious around us. He was talkative and he was 
approachable enough to arouse no serious doubts, but he never really 
did anything in the lab. That is, except to watch over everything 
we've done, and then tell us what to do. We had a nickname for him: 
Scanlon the Scanner. But he was our superior, and he seemed to be 
getting along all right with both Dr. Jarvis." Shaw shifted in his 
seat and studied the pattern on the carpet in front of him. Admittance 
of guilt was clear in his eyes. He pursed his lips and slightly shook 
his head. 
	"We sort of passed these stuff around, until I was the only one 
left with the remaining of our research materials. The Jarvis' didn't 
tell us who was threatening them, but they were terrified. They told 
us something about their daughter being held as insurance to keep them 
quiet. There are some personal journals they left behind, but none of 
us had the guts to read them. We had our own problems of protecting 
our families and ourselves. I could tell that the Jarvis' didn't enjoy 
what they were doing in the lab. But I also knew that they were trying 
to find a cure for Dr. Jarvis, ...Mrs. Jarvis, that is; and for their 
daughter, because she carried the cancer gene that she inherited from 
Mrs. Jarvis. They didn't talk too much about their personal lives, but 
if you spend almost every day for five years with the same person, 
you'll learn a thing or two."
	"Yes, I know what you mean." Scully said, noting the man's need 
for a breather. She sipped her tea and watched a housemaid clear their 
table before returning her attention to the exhausted, dying, and 
incredibly brave man sitting in front of her. 
	"They had a group of women in their studies as you indicated. We 
never knew their names or where they came from. All we had were their 
serial numbers, ages, and the types of cancer they had. Most of them 
were suffering from Nasal Pharyngeal Mass. Their ages and ethnic 
backgrounds varied, but they were right along the U.S. Demographic 
statistics. They were all supposed to be volunteers, but I doubted it 
and so did the Jarvis. I mostly worked in the lab and hardly saw them, 
but the Jarvis came into our work area from time to time and told me 
that I was doing a good job. They... The Jervis were such wonderful 
people, Agent Scully. They didn't deserve to die in such a horrific 
manner. A serial murderer?! Give me a Goddamn break!" 
	"Did they give you any hint of where their daughter was or who 
she was with while in captivity?" Scully wanted to cast the course of 
questioning away from the issues of cancer for a while, fearing for 
Shaw's already deteriorating health.
	"No. They were extremely tight-lipped when it came to questions 
about their daughter. We didn't even know her birthday." Shaw watched 
as Scully took out the police file regarding the Jarvis murders, and 
saw her flip through the pages until she stopped. He knew what she was 
looking at, and the fact that the Jarvis' violent deaths had been 
reduced to a single plain folder gave him a shudder. Scully held up 
the page that she was giving a cursory glance for Shaw's benefit, 
pointing to a photograph of a girl for emphasis that wasn't really 
needed.
	"Does this girl look familiar to you? Perhaps the Jarvis had a 
copy on their desk or in their wallets?" Scully asked, handing him the 
file. He stared at the photograph for a few moments, then finally 
nodded. 
	"Yes, she looks familiar to me. I've never met her personally, 
of course. But... I think Mr. Jarvis showed me her photo just before 
their final Christmas together. She looked a little smaller and her 
hair was very short. But... I'd say that's her." Shaw spoke solemnly. 
Scully nodded and closed the folder. When she looked at the time, she 
realized the man needed his sleep, and so did she. Just as she closed 
her briefcase, she remembered to give Shaw two of her business cards. 
She'd written her cellular number on their backs and told Shaw to give 
one to his personal doctor, an old man named Dr. Claiborne.
	"I cannot thank you enough for your cooperation, and your 
hospitality. I'll call it a day, and we'll go to the bank tomorrow." 
Scully said as she shook Shaw's hand and went into her assigned 
guestroom located right next to Shaw's master bedroom. Once in the 
relative comfort of privacy, she updated Skinner. He thanked her, then 
asked her how she was doing. She told him she was fine, but knowing 
the man, she allowed that she felt a little nervous. He then gave her 
a direct order to go to sleep. She had to smile, thinking how he was 
like Mulder, sometimes. 
	Once she was out of the shower, she dove directly into the bed 
and stared at the wood-panel ceiling. She was finally alone, after 
living nearly two weeks without privacy. Somehow it felt odd. She held 
her cellular phone in her hand, and toyed with it for while trying to 
decide whether or not to call Mulder. She missed him. She also missed 
Jake, Vera, and Stella. Hell, she even missed 'the three stooges'. But 
most of all, she missed her mother. 
Scully decided to take care of business first, and called the Lone 
Gunmen to have them check out Dr. Claiborne. They agreed and promised 
to give her the results within an hour. Scully thanked them, wondering 
how to keep herself awake until then. She knew it was outrageous to 
call her mother at such an ungodly hour. But then, she knew that her 
mother was mostly alone in the house, having her sons out in the sea 
and her other daughter laid to rest six feet down the ground. She 
pressed the second speed-dial button, and got her mother on the third 
ring. 
	"Dana? Oh, how nice to hear your voice! How are you doing, 
dear?" She sounded a little sleepy, but it was apparent that her 
mother was not about to hang up without getting her peace of mind.
	"Hi, Mom. I'm sorry to call you so late at night, but I just 
wanted to hear your voice." She answered honestly. No use lying to 
her. She heard the signature soft laughter of her mother.
	"Oh, you know that you can call me at any time. Where are you 
now? Your voice sounds a little... distant." 'Mom, only if you knew 
how far away from home I really am.' Scully groaned inwardly. At the 
snail's pace that this investigation was going so far, there was no 
telling just how long it would be before she is standing at Maggie 
Scully's doorstep.
	"Well, I'm in Vancouver for a case. But, don't you worry about 
me. I won't miss my appointment." She didn't want to bring up her own 
cancer issues now, but it was what Margaret asked about with each time 
that her only remaining daughter went out of town, much less out of 
the country. 
	"Dana, I know you're being very careful. How is your case going? 
I know that you have Fox to watch over you." Another tender spot was 
nailed to the floor.
	"Mom? He's not with me here. It's a long story, but he sent 
himself to work undercover as a psychotherapist in Sacramento. I 
haven't seen him in about a week, and I haven't heard from him in two 
days. I worry about him a little, because this case hits very close to 
home for the both of us. But you know he does what he has to do." She 
could picture her mother's concerned expression. 
	"I know Fox is a strong young man, Dana. But you also know that 
he needs you. You two are so much alike." Scully smiled at the comment 
and nodded to herself. In her heart, she knew her mother didn't have 
to see it to know what she just did.
	"Mom, I'll be returning to Los Angels probably as early as 
tomorrow. Mulder should join us back there in a week or so. We'll both 
be fine, and you know you can call me if any emergency comes up. If 
you want to come visit me at the hospital during my regular treatment 
session, you're welcome to." 
	"I might take you up on that offer. I haven't seen you in more 
than two, almost three weeks, Dana. ...Are you sure you wouldn't 
mind?" Knowing her daughter's reluctance to let her mother see her 
weakness, she always asked for permission. Scully reassured her that 
it was fine. 
Once they said their good nights and she was off the line, she 
stretched out over the incredibly comfortable mattress. She lay there 
quietly, thinking just how to report her findings to Mulder. When the 
phone rang, neither the Lone Gunmen nor she wasted time. The Lone 
Gunmen gave Dr. Claiborne a clean bill of innocence. After hanging up, 
she rested her phone next to her weapons and her budge.  Finally 
breathing easier, Scully pulled the down covers and allowed herself to 
drift into sleep.


Schuster Hotel Room #640
Sacramento, CA
12:45 AM

His cellular phone was demanding attention. But after cramming his 
over-worked brains with text books and notes from numerous phone 
conversations with his Oxford professors and this nation's leading 
psychiatrists, he had no desire to even look at the phone lying next 
to him on the table. 
	But he felt it stubbornly calling to him. 'Something is wrong', 
the trills said. Fox Mulder sighed and took the call. He was going to 
hang up if it was the opening of another useless debate about therapy 
techniques. He wanted advises and answers. Not more questions.
	"Hello?" Not forgetting to remember his current identity, he 
suspended the habit of answering calls with his last name.
	"Fox?" Mulder's hazy mind tried to place the familiar, welcoming 
tone of the voice. When he didn't answer, the woman's somewhat 
concerned words followed. "Fox? This is Margaret Scully." Mulder's 
eyes finally lit up with realization.
	"Oh? ...Oh! Hello, Mrs. Scully. I'm sorry, I'm just... I've 
been..." He couldn't find the right words.
	"That's okay, Fox. Dana told me you were working undercover in 
Sacramento." This puzzled him. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to 
figure out what was going on.	
	"Mrs. Scully, this is a confidential information. I didn't 
realize Dana talked to you about this. I haven't heard from her in 
about three days now, and..." 
	"Fox, I think Dana is in danger." Margaret cut him short, 
freezing Mulder on the spot. He knew about the dreams she has, 
particularly before something bad happened. He swallowed hard.
	"Do you know why? Do you have any idea when...?" He trailed off.
	"No, I don't. I just... had a bad dream. I was just talking to 
Dana on the phone. She called me in the middle of the night and I 
could tell that she was very nervous about something. She said she was 
in Vancouver..."
	"Vancouver? Did she tell you why?" This thoroughly puzzled 
Mulder. She was on to something, and she wasn't telling him. He licked 
his lower lip and stared at the ceiling. He failed to remain calm.
	"She said she was on a case, but nothing more. She told me 
she'll be back for the treatment, and she told me to visit her at the 
hospital if I wanted to. She never invited me for any of her sessions 
except for the first time. Fox? She's scared about something." Mulder 
wanted to scream, realizing why she kept him in the dark. "Fox? Fox, 
are you all right?" Margaret's tone was now worried for him. 'Great.' 
Mulder grumbled. 'Fox Mulder on panic attack. This is just what she 
needs.' 
	"Yes. Yes, Mrs. Scully. I'm okay. We've lost touch, because we 
were to call only on emergencies." Mulder hated himself even more for 
being able to come up with a smoother reply. "I'll check with Skinner 
right now, and find out whatever is going on. I'll do whatever I can 
for you two from here." The last two words drove into his gut like a 
pair of spikes. 
	"Thank you, Fox. She doesn't show it too often, but I know she 
misses you." Margaret's smile could be 'heard' anywhere, and it never 
ceased to soothe him. She then told him she was going to wait up for 
any news. Mulder quickly dialed Skinner's cellular number, eliciting a 
reply that was something close to a groan from the man.
	"What is it, Mulder? This better be important." Mulder knew from 
Skinner's tone that he had been awake, probably getting as little 
sleep as Mulder had of late. 
	"Sir, what's going on with Agent Scully? Why did she go to 
Vancouver?" 
	"Oh, that." Skinner gave Mulder a quick catch-up with the 
investigation. The police reports, more cover-ups, and the last 
remaining witness alive from the Jarvis' research staff member. Mulder 
thought he'd feint after being bombed with so much shock. 'No wonder 
Mrs. Scully felt it', he thought.
	"Sir? I can't explain this in detail, but I just got a panic 
call from Mrs. Scully, telling me that Scully's life is in danger. She 
senses these things before they happen for real, and she's never 
wrong."
	"What are you trying to do, Agent Mulder?" Skinner was annoyed, 
but was somehow willing to listen. Mulder remembered Skinner telling 
him about his near-death experience in a mission gone awry in the 
middle of a jungle during Vietnam War. 
	"Sir? With all due respect, I'm only trying to assure my 
partner's safety. I know it sounds spooky, but just for our peace of 
mind, will you double the security assigned in Vancouver?" The line 
was silent for several seconds.
	"Agent Mulder? Do you have any idea what security level I've 
already assigned to them?"
	"Yes, sir. Not enough." Mulder put his foot down. Skinner again 
stayed silent for several tense seconds. Mulder held his breath until 
he heard Skinner's resigned sigh.
	"All right, Agent Mulder. I will take your suggestion into 
consideration, but only because she's the only one with a full 
knowledge of this case. You, mister, better get everything packed up 
and be ready to drag your ass back to Los Angels." Skinner didn't 
bother hiding his short temper and Mulder hadn't expected him to. 
Mulder thanked Skinner, hoping that the man knew how much he 
appreciated all the man had done for the X-Files. 
	 As soon as he was off the line, he called back Margaret Scully 
and told her the good news. Margaret thanked him dearly, then asked 
him for Skinner's number. Mulder gave it to her off the top of his 
head, knowing Margaret Scully was no threat to the Assistant 
Director's safety, or the national security. He was surprised she 
didn't already have all of Skinner's numbers. He picked up the dreaded 
phone again, motioning to press the first speed-dial, but stopped 
himself tad short. 
The truth was, no matter how much he missed her, he knew she had an 
awfully big day to finish without his assistance, and she was already 
exhausted beyond belief. She needed every minute of rest spared for 
her, and if he actually wanted to talk to her, he needed to be a 
better therapist, so he could leave Sacramento as early as possible. 
It hurt him that Scully hadn't updated him, thus making him useless to 
her. But then, he now had someone's life in his hands. Somebody who 
would have to live her life confronting fears that sprang on her from 
practically everywhere she looked.  
	The truth be told, he never thought it would be this hard to 
'de-condition' learned behaviors. One of the text book examples he'd 
read in Oxford on his second year psychology class looked very simple: 
a dog was set in body braces and placed in front of a wall with a 
small window. It's wearing a tube that was going out of its mouth to 
catch the saliva. A bowl of dried meat powder was produced in front of 
the dog, and out of reflex, it starts to salivate. Then the 
experimenter will ring a bell behind the dog. 
When the meat powder disappears, the salivation stops. By repeating 
this procedure regularly, the dog will soon begin salivating at the 
sound of the bell alone. But in this experiment, the test subject was 
a dog, and the test itself was done on the typical Classical 
Conditioning process. If only the bell keeps sounding and no meat 
powder was produced, the dog would eventually unlearn the process and 
stops salivating. 
Mulder would give almost anything to have such a basic case at hand, 
but life was always unfair to Fox William Mulder, and it certainly was 
unfair on Sarah Martin. First of all, Mulder couldn't tell her to stay 
away from hospitals in case she needed medical care. He couldn't tell 
her to avoid every restaurant or glossary store in town. He most 
certainly couldn't tell her to avoid every single police station, 
police officers, and security guards. 
	He typed up his letter of resignation to Keneally after the last 
session, and told Keneally that all he could do with the patient was 
to get her prepped; that the case would take years by him, and the 
woman didn't have years. Keneally, who observed the progress of the 
sessions, actually knew how hard the case was. David Joyce / Fox 
Mulder actually lasted much longer than anyone expected him to. Mulder 
thanked the older man and told him that he'd do the best he could. 
Mostly, Mulder knew he was excellent at gaining people's trust 
regardless of whether they were witnesses, suspects, or patients. He 
knew before he got her as a patient, that Sarah didn't even like the 
idea of therapies. But now, she was not only motivated, but was 
actually responding to the treatment. Mulder just needed to find how 
to lead her away from him and into her own method of finding answers. 
Right now, Sarah Martin was expecting for him to pull a miracle out of 
a hut. He couldn't leave. At least not until she was confident that 
she would make through the therapies regardless of who came to help 
her. To get to that point, she needed to understand that she was the 
true driving force in her own life, and that she was the only one who 
could pull her out of the water. He knew that if he bolted on her now, 
she would think he just locked up her case and threw away the key. 
	In his bathroom, Mulder nearly tore off his clothes and sat 
under the spray of scalding-hot water until it turned cold. He had to 
do better. He toweled off and barely made it to the bed before 
blacking out with sheer exhaustion. His last thought was of Scully, 
reading the thick medical file of the cancer-ridden federal witness 
she has to protect. He thought he saw her close her eyes, her 
expression rigid while she sat in an airplane seat.
  

Exact Location Unknown
Vancouver, British Columbia
9AM Next Day

They arrived at the subjected bank promptly at nine. A fully armed 
Dana Scully followed Clive Shaw on his right, ready to tackle him down 
to the floor and open fire if necessary. Looking at these two, it was 
almost inconceivable that federal agents who stood guard at every 
entrance and exit were surrounding them. She communicated with them 
through wire and the earpiece she wore. Clive Shaw wore a bulletproof 
vest underneath his sport jacket, and tried his best to behave as if 
everything was perfectly normal. 
They made their way quickly down to the basement, followed closely 
behind by another agent. Scully had to keep her FBI budge in her left 
hand at all times, showing it to every passing bank employee. They 
loaded into the elevator and watched the door reopen. Shaw led their 
way and Scully kept a keen eye on everyone inside the office as they 
entered.
	The agent behind them had a portable folding cart for the 
research materials awaiting them behind the metal door of the deposit 
box. The safety deposit box was rather a cabinet, and the evidences 
were carefully stored in standard office cardboard boxes. Scully was 
thoroughly amazed as she watched the assortment of research data, 
journal books, and samples in glass jars neatly crammed into the small 
space. The accompanying agent loaded them onto the cart as if they 
were cases of raw eggs made of gold. 
Scully let the agent lead their way back, and once they were in the 
elevator, requested to have a few agents standing guard to come give 
them a hand. Scully only concentrated on protecting Shaw. She knew all 
the agents assigned for their protection had the photos of Scanlon and 
Krychek with them. Krychek wasn't a suspect in the case, but 
considering the natures of this X-File, Scully couldn't be too 
careful. 
	They made a quick exit from the building, their moves 
undetectable to most of the customers. Scully rode in the backseat 
with Shaw, while Dr. Claiborne sat in the passenger seat next to the 
agent who was assigned the duty of a driver. Their car was sandwiched 
in between two more cars full of federal agents. The retrieved 
research materials had also been stored in the trunk of the middle 
car. 
Just when they took the highway route leading to the airport, Scully 
finally noticed Shaw staring at her with a mix of understanding, 
sorrow, and anger. Scully held his gaze for several seconds before 
asking him what was wrong. Shaw moved his gaze toward Scully's back, 
or rather, the back of her neck. She released a faint gasp, realizing 
that her ponytail was allowing the scar on the skin at the back of her 
neck to show. She silently cursed herself for forgetting just whom she 
was with. She had been prepared for a possible combat situation, and 
figured her hair would be in the way. She was wearing a pair of flat 
heeled, black leather lace-up shoes that would allow her to bolt if 
and when she needed to. 
	"I'm sorry I stared at you like that. I didn't know you had it." 
Shaw's apology sounded like a shock of thunder to Scully's ears. She 
didn't want to fall apart right now. When she didn't speak, he hunched 
his back a little and leaned closer to her. "Do you have the brain 
tumor?" Shaw's question was kept deliberately low, so that the driver 
wouldn't hear it. Scully swallowed hard, deciding that lying was 
inappropriate. A nod of admittance was enough, and Shaw released a 
long sigh. " I'm sorry. You didn't want me to know. No wonder you care 
about this case so much." Shaw stared out of the window. Scully stared 
at her hand and stayed silent.
	"Don't worry, because I'll keep everything confidential. But if 
you want advises from my oncologist, you know that he's with me 24 
hours a day." Very much aware of Scully's discomfort, he didn't 
elaborate on the subject.
	"Why did he stay?" Scully had to ask, for her own reasons.
	"Because he cares too much." Shaw said simply, staring at the 
back of the old doctor's head. They were silent for the rest of their 
trip to the airport. It turned out that ever since last night, the 
other agents assigned to Shaw had their instructions to inform the 
witness of their need to move quickly. Thus, Shaw was packed and ready 
to leave the mansion before Scully ever arrived. She was informed of 
this at their breakfast table. When the cars came to a halt in front 
of an airfield located next to the airport, they quickly transported 
the documents from the car and onto the aircraft. She was expecting 
the same Cessna that she boarded before; never the rear-jet that was 
parked in front of them. This was no 'extra miles'. Skinner must be 
out running a full marathon for them. Scully watched as the other 
agents busily checked the aircraft's every nut and bolt.
	 It was another half an hour before Scully and Shaw had been 
allowed aboard. She had one foot on the top third step, following Shaw 
to the door when she felt a burning sensation on her right arm, then 
on her right breast. The force knocked her sideways, the impact 
smashing her body directly into Shaw's lower back and sending him onto 
the floor of the aircraft's entrance. It wasn't until she felt herself 
sliding down the stairs that she felt any pain. 
All around her, people screamed and fired their guns at general 
direction of a tiny storage. It was a tiny building where the light 
sticks and the uniform vests had been stored for people on their night 
duty. The bullet had come from the right side of the stairs, from a 
silencer equipped long-range rifle. A group of agents took cover 
behind their three parked vehicles, and the remainder of them hauled 
Scully to her feet. But she was already getting her weapons ready to 
fire, and refused to be taken into the plane. 
	"Go! Go! Go!!" She shouted, pointing franticly at Shaw, who was 
trying to get himself back onto his feet. "Go secure the witness 
first! Get the plane ready for take-off! I'll follow you! Move!!" She 
yelled as she pushed two agents toward the stairs. Sensing her 
tension, they complied and grabbed Shaw by the belt loops to haul him 
inside. The storage unit exploded, the flying fragments raining on 
them from the wind. At a short distance away in the nearby brush, 
Scully saw movement and yelled for the agents behind the car to watch 
for it. 
Just when her warning was given, three men in combat suits jumped out 
from their cover and opened fire. Three agents were immediately down, 
their view obscured by the tall grass. Scully plunged herself toward 
the parked cars, taking her cover by lying flat over the trunk door 
and the rear window. She was careful to place her body directly behind 
the driver seat's headrest, and she aimed her weapon over the roof of 
the car. It was the best position that she could think of at the 
moment. The snipers were obviously trained for the mission, and she 
wouldn't want to risk getting her ankles shot from underneath the car, 
nor to place herself at the center of the rear window glass, exposing 
herself from the space in between the front seats. 
She knew she had at least one sniper, judging from the scream heard 
from approximately fifteen feet away. Another scream followed and she 
saw another sniper fall, taken down by the three remaining agents 
firing at once. Her right chest hurt like nothing Scully had ever 
experienced, but she knew she was still well enough to fight. 
	"Don't worry, Dana Katherine." She spoke aloud. "None of the 
vains exploded. No vital organ's been damaged. Focus." The aircraft's 
wheels began rolling, leading the plane away from the firing range. 
Scully continued to signal a 'go', throwing her arm toward the runway. 
Her briefcase was aboard with the documents, so she knew that if she 
never made it out, either Skinner or Mulder would get what she'd found 
and Shaw would still be there to assist them. She soon emptied the gun 
and fed it the extra clip. There was only one sniper left, but he 
could be anywhere. 
	"Cease fire! Hold your fire!" Scully yelled, quickly commanding 
the three able-bodied agents to pick up the injured. "Get them one by 
one! I'll cover you! Go, move now!!" Scully ordered the stunned 
agents. Knowing her size and condition, they quickly understood that 
Scully wouldn't be much of help in carrying a heavy load. Seeing their 
efforts, the rear-jet turned its wheels back toward them. Scully 
frantically gave them a 'no'. Quickly grabbing a radio lying on the 
ground a few feet away, she hopped back onto the trunk of the car and 
barked orders to the pilot.
	"No!! Don't turn around! Keep going! I'll send one of the cars 
loaded with injured agents. Keep your wheels rolling." Turning toward 
the agents who heard her command, she jumped off of the car she was 
on. Quickly killing her scream of pain, she opened the vehicle's front 
door with her injured arm. Her left arm kept firing the gun for cover 
while the three agents moved the injured agents. She saw one of them 
climb into the driver's seat while another moved to shut the rear 
door. Just then a rifle fire was heard, and Scully saw the agent 
limply lean against the open rear door. She grabbed her back-up piece 
while jumping off of the car, then gritted her teeth and motioned for 
the driver to take off. The car shot through the other two cars, and 
began its chase of the aircraft.
	"Keep going!!" Scully, now taking cover behind another car, 
barked into the radio. She then saw a camouflage jacket move through a 
thicket of the brush, no doubt aiming for the fleeing car. She never 
missed the chance. Dropping flat on the ground, she fired rapidly from 
underneath the car. The last remaining agent also saw the sniper's 
movement through the grass, and rapidly emptied his weapon from behind 
the open front door of the other car. 
When neither found the sniper was down, they jumped into one of the 
remaining vehicles and chased after the cavalry. She asked for the 
driver's primary weapon, indicating the inadequacy of her back-up 
piece in this combat situation. The agent quickly pulled it out and 
handed it to her along with his last clip. She leaned her body out of 
the open window, the gun aimed over the roof and her feet securely 
holding position under the passenger seat. Her knees and thigh muscles 
were doing most of the work on holding her weight. 
When she heard another gunfire, she saw that the bullet bounced off 
the jet's wheel, but it luckily missed the tire. When their car caught 
up with the other speeding car, she quickly commanded to have both 
cars going side by side in front of the jet's wheels to guard them. 
She kept her watch on the field, but she almost missed the camouflage 
jacket moving behind a further end of the brush, almost into the 
distant forest. She fired quickly, but the sniper disappeared. 
	When she was sure this battle was over, she commanded the jet to 
slow down. With the help of the three awaiting agents, they hauled in 
the three injured, one dead, agents on board. When the jet was finally 
airborne, six of them including the pilot remained unharmed. Scully 
was still panting when she fell into the long couch next to the three 
moaning and groaning agents. They all tried to make her rest, get the 
first aid ahead of the others. But again, they were met with her 
objection.
	"I'm the medical doctor here. I'll take care of the patients 
first." She claimed firmly and took out the doctor's bag she carried 
everywhere with her. The other agents stared at Scully with awe, but 
as soon as she began ordering them to remove the patients' clothing 
and start control the bleeding, they assisted her as requested. 
The pilot used the in-house communication system to tell Scully that 
the Assistant Director had been informed of the casualty. He also told 
her they were now under the AD's direct orders to fly to Los Angels 
with a stop in Seattle to drop off the injured agents. Scully nodded 
and thanked him. Shaw, now somewhat recovered from the shell-shock 
state, approached the agents and assisted them with the first aids. 
Scully thanked him, and to Dr. Claiborne who was helping them from the 
start. She thought it was very lucky that the three injured agents 
received only one shot each, considering the number of the bullets 
fired at them. 
Once the bleedings were under control and clean-out procedures were 
taken care of, Scully handed Dr. Claiborne a suture kit. At the old 
man's blank expression, she asked him if he remembered how to stitch 
up wounds. The man nodded, but admitted that he hadn't done any for 
decades. "Oh, well. You're gonna have to do it anyway. It's just like 
riding a bike." She said as she took her first patient. 'Desperate 
situations take desperate measures.' She thought as she injected the 
anesthetic into the patient. The man screamed, but he gritted his 
teeth until the drug took its effect and made it through the rest 
without another scream. She then heavily and tightly bandaged the area 
with dressing gauze and gave him some pain pills though she knew it 
would do no good. 
When she was bandaging the second patient, Dr. Claiborne was getting 
ready to dress the third man. Seeing that her turn had arrived, Scully 
told the doctor that he wasn't doing bad, and began removing her suit 
jacket. When she actually looked at the black ruined jacket for the 
first time after the shooting, did she realize how much blood she'd 
lost. The bullet had nicked muscle tissues from her upper right arm, 
slipped under her armpit, and was no doubt embedded somewhere in her 
right breast. 
She had just sprung to climb the stairs when the shot was fired, 
making the bullet travel in such way. She got off much easier than 
she'd expected, though. 'At least I still have my arm, and nothing 
vital was affected', she thought. She could have gotten the bullet 
past to her neck, making her choke in her own blood. Or take it at the 
shoulder and lose her arm. Or the bullet could have slipped through 
her underarm and injured her lung. 
The other passengers including Shaw had the courtesy to turn away as 
Scully stripped from the waist up, and had Dr. Claiborne attend to her 
wounds. When her arm was done, she sat down on one of the passenger 
seats. The two chairs were facing each other, allowing Dr. Claiborne 
to sit across from her. Scully saw the old doctor wincing, and asked 
what was wrong. She almost wished she'd never asked when the doctor 
informed her that they were now out of the anesthesia. Her doctor's 
bag was slightly larger than that of Dr. Claiborne's, but still it 
didn't carry enough of the drug to take care of so many people. 
Claiborne's bag was strictly for his only patient, and surgical 
anesthesia wasn't a popular item in cancer treatment. 
Fully anticipating the inevitable attacks of blinding pain, Scully 
grabbed her blood-soaked, bullet-holed jacket and tore the ripped 
sleeve off of it. She then placed the rest of the jacket behind her 
back, and pressed the button at the side of the chair to fully recline 
the seat. Dr. Scully just knew how to make things easier. The old 
doctor in front of her watched in astonishment as she stuffed her 
mouth with the torn sleeve and gave him a 'go'. 
None of the agents heard anything more than loud gasps during the 
gluesome cleaning and bandaging procedure, and none of the blood 
stained the pale gray seat. Through her blurring vision, Scully 
thanked the doctor and assured him she would be fine at least until 
they arrive in Seattle. The surgery to have the bullet taken out of 
her would have to be done by surgions, at a hospital equipped with a 
radiology and surgical department. 
	After her breaths returned normal and the swelling from her eyes 
subsided, she had Shaw hand her the over-night bag. She pulled out the 
pantsuit she wore the previous day, and a navy dress tee shirt to wear 
underneath. When she was changed, she took a bottled mineral water 
from a refrigerator and took three painkiller pills from its 
container. She finished off the entire water bottle in less than ten 
minutes. She stuffed the soiled suit back into the over-night bag, not 
forgetting to place them into a plastic bag first for evidence. 
When she returned to her reclined seat and lay down, she took out her 
cellular phone that she retrieved out of her briefcase. She realized 
where she was at the last minute, and reached instead for the in-
flight phone. She needed to call Skinner. She preferred talking to 
Mulder at that point, but she knew he was probably in a session, thus 
even Skinner wouldn't be able to reach Mulder. She knew Mulder never 
would take a cellular into the therapy room, and she knew it would be 
turned off while he was in the Bionix building. When she got Skinner 
on the first ring, she had no idea what she was going to say to the 
man, except to report that she was fine.
	"Agent Scully, are you sure?" Skinner asked her more than once.
	"Yes, sir. I'm in pain, but I have no damaged vital organ, nor a 
broken bone. I was extremely lucky, and the other surviving agents 
also have only one bullet in each of them. Thank you for the increased 
security measures, sir. I wasn't expecting it to be such a big deal. 
But..." Scully trailed off. She could hear Skinner's rapid breathing, 
no doubt suffering an extremely high blood pressure. 
	"Agent Scully, it was Mulder who requested to double the 
security."
	"What?" She couldn't help herself from raising her voice. 'Why 
Mulder?'
	"Yes, Agent Scully. He called me after midnight, claiming that 
your mother gave him a panic call and reported her dream about your 
life being in danger." Skinner's voice never faltered, but it grew 
considerably lower. When she didn't answer, he spoke with the 
gentleness that she very rarely heard in the man. "Agent Scully, 
Mulder told me your mother had such dreams before, and that she was 
never wrong. I'm glad I took their advice, or you may not be talking 
to me right now." 
	"Sir?" Her voice failed to disguise its tremble. "Has Agent 
Mulder been contacted? I know that he would never carry his cellular 
to disturb his therapy session, but I was wondering if you had any 
luck." Ordering her voice to stay with her, she tried to speak louder. 
It worked. 
	"No. I'm afraid he's turned off the phone, but I believe he's 
still carrying it with him." Judging from the fact that her mother had 
called Mulder with the panic, she thought Skinner was right.
	"It's fine, Sir. I'll try to reach him myself. I've lost blood, 
but not enough to drop me unconscious at any time."
	"If it helps, Agent Scully..." Skinner paused, no doubt 
desperate to deliver her some kind of good news. "He called me this 
morning and told me he'd turned in his letter of resignation to Dr. 
Kenearly." She could feel Skinner's anger toward her partner's recent 
behaviors as it radiated through the phone line.
	"Sir? With all due respect, this wasn't Mulder's fault. Even if 
he had been here to cover my back, if he hadn't called you last night, 
I doubt if any of us would have survived. My mother didn't have your 
cellular number, and..."
	"She called me last night after Mulder did to thank me for 
taking their advice." This puzzled Scully before she realized Mulder 
probably gave it to her mother when he called her back.
	"Sir, I'm sure Mulder gave her your number. I know Mulder will 
be back as promised, and he's been through another hell of his own. 
This is a particularly hard case for him, given its nature. I'm 
certain he wouldn't give it anything less than his very best, and 
more." Scully was afraid if Skinner was ready to send Mulder to 
another wiretap assignment. But when she heard another exhausted sigh, 
she knew that their partnership was going to be all right.
	"You don't have to defend him, Agent Scully. But if he doesn't 
get here by midnight tomorrow, I'm personally yanking his ass out of 
there, and in to Seattle. Tell him that." Scully exhaled her breath of 
relief and thanked her boss. Already imagining the protests she was to 
get from Mulder for taking herself way, way over the edge on this 
fiasco, she closed her eyes for a brief rest. 



Keneally Psychological Research Lab
Genesis International Laboratory Building
2PM
	
The good-bye wasn't short and sweet. It was downright nasty. It was 
still fine as he said his good-byes to everybody at the lab, and 
gotten out only with a round of their disappointments and miss-yous, 
plus one near-forced dinner date with Dr. Dutton. However, all luck 
changed when he faced Sarah Martin. Until this day, their morning 
sessions had been a series of rather rushed sessions. As he'd 
expected, the extent of her phobias, almost twenty years in the making 
had made accomplishing their goal far more difficult than either had 
ever imagined. Mulder had been spending the last two hours trying to 
convince Sarah Martin that she was ready for the higher level of her 
soul-searching; that his role in her life was now to end, though he 
won't ever forget what he'd learned from her. 
	Mulder's attempt to cut the ties with her very damn nearly sent 
her into another panic attack episode. But she calmed down when he 
took her hands, the first time he'd voluntarily touched her since the 
last episode that resulted in some degree of violence.
	"You taught me so much, Sarah. More than I ever expected. But 
now, you have to try and reach the higher goal. You're an incredibly 
strong person, and where you are going is somewhere I can't follow. I 
don't have anything more to give to you, Sarah. You need much, much 
more than I can ever give. I'll be honest with you. You may have 
already noticed, but I've been wracking my brains just trying to find 
the best way to help you, because you are worth it." 
Mulder meant every word, and each word was true. He'd been blown up in 
his face from time and time again by the hardship of treating a 
patient. But Mulder's natural craving for knowledge and his addiction 
for a challenge had taught him to bear it all; because pretty soon, he 
would need to apply everything he'd learned from treating Sarah into 
Vera. At least Jake would help the girl through the emotional issues 
Sarah didn't have anyone to share and bear with.
	Sarah sat in front of him, in the same cross-legged position she 
was in since the start. Well, except for the time she punched him in 
the face and scratched his neck. 
	"Sarah, listen to me. I'm not your savior. You are. In the end, 
you are the only person who can help you. We are only your helpers. 
Sometimes we guide you to help you find the answers to your questions. 
But that is only if you let us. I've been with you, because you let me 
in. But I did all that I could with you. 
"Think of this like when you're in school. You learn from certain 
teachers, all gifted in their own level and specialty. But after you 
pass the classes and go up to another class, you'll have different 
teachers. But that doesn't mean that the teachers want to throw you 
away along with your trust because they don't need you any more. 
That's not how this works. I'm only saying that you are ready for more 
than I am trained to help you with. But you have to keep going 
regardless of what or how long it takes." 
	"But, I hate school." Sarah's tone made her sound like a lost 
child. He dropped his hand to his lap.
	"This isn't a school, Sarah. This isn't a nice version of a 
prison torture chamber. All of this is whatever you make it out to be, 
and whatever you want it to be. This is a small room, I know. But it's 
a fine place for your mind to find answers you need. It can be an 
adventure for your mind and your soul. This very room can and will be 
your own battlefield, where your past will demand challenges, which I 
know you will bravely take. But this room also can and will be a nice 
comfortable place with every small step you take forward. 
"I need you to realize understand that anything... Anything that you 
find within yourself during your stay in this place ...will be yours 
for life." Mulder indicated the small room with his hands, and for the 
first time, saw a spec of hope in the young woman's eyes. Mulder 
wasn't going to lose that. "I wish I could be of more help to you, 
Sarah. But you are already much more than when we first started. You 
learned things. You taught me things. Now, you're ready to learn more 
things, and teach more things. But, not with me." 
	"So, you keep teaching and learning, too?" Sarah's penetrating 
gaze never allowed room for a lie. Mulder nodded. 	
	"Yes, I will. In my own way, I always will." Mulder had no idea 
how much of help he would be to Vera, but he knew that he had to try. 
Vera won't allow herself to trust a total stranger for a therapist. 
Mulder held Sarah's gaze. A very rare sight of a radiant smile slowly 
broke over his face.
	"Promise?" Sarah asked, and Mulder resisted himself from 
reaching out to her for an embrace. He wanted to. In fact, he wanted 
to fall to pieces and break into sobs right in front of this troubled 
woman. She never deserved the cancer or her inconsiderate birth 
parents that ruined such a wonderful person's life. 
	"Yes, I promise."  Mulder nodded, fighting tears. He offered her 
his hand to shake. It was a brief, firm symbol of a promise made; an 
undying trust established. "Thank you, Sarah. For all you've done." 
With this, Mulder declared finality and stood up. Sarah stood up after 
him, but didn't followed him out of the door. Instead, she watched as 
Mulder walked away whistling. Mulder didn't care who stared at him. He 
had survived the challenge. 
	He returned to his shared office, all souvenirs including a few 
good-bye and good-luck cards laying atop the assortment of copied 
reports and taped sessions of therapy to be submitted to Skinner. On 
his way out, Mulder stopped Keneally, who told him again that if 
Mulder ever want to come back, his old job was always his. Mulder just 
had to laugh at the statement. Then they exchanged a firm handshake 
for a good-bye, though never in spoken words, because then it would be 
forever. 
In truth, Mulder had nothing but respect for Keneally. If he had met 
the man while he was still enrolled in Oxford, he wouldn't have joined 
the FBI. That was a scary thought when he thought about it.
	


Schuster Hotel Room 640
Sacramento, CA
3:30 PM

He finally made it to the door with the heavy load he carried. His arm 
was ready to be rid of the stitches, and he had only a little trouble 
for him to carry the box. He had to make a few trips around the 
building while turning in his security pass and the lab coat as well 
as completing the necessary paperwork for leaving. The moment he 
placed the heavy box on the hotel table, his cellular phone summoned 
his attention. He'd only turned it back on fifteen minutes ago, which 
was when he'd gotten into his rental car. He picked it up and was 
greeted by Scully's voice.
	"Hey, Scully! Just who I wanted to talk to!" Mulder couldn't 
hide his excitement for leaving the city, and thus teaming up with her 
again. If he'd been listening to her more closely, he'd have detected 
the exhaustion hiding behind her all-business tone.
	"Oh, so you got out?" She asked, sensing his unusually cheerful 
mood. 
	"Yes! I'm heading your way right now. You're still in Vancouver, 
right?" He spoke rapidly, the relief of getting a mission 
accomplished. When she stayed silent, though, a very familiar sick 
nausea quickly killed his good mood. "Scully, what's wrong? ...Didn't 
Skinner take my advice?!" Recalling his earlier phone conversation 
with Margaret Scully, Mulder resigned to the fact that good times 
never last long enough. 
	"He did. He sent us the bureau's rear-jet for our trip back to 
the States with Clive Shaw. We've got two cardboard boxes full of 
documents to prove us right. Shaw's with Skinner, under the AD's 
personal protection. I'll join him soon."
	"So you came back. Does this mean you're back in Los Angels?" 
His voice turning serious, he tried to read every bit of trouble she 
wasn't telling him. There had to be a lot for her to avoid direct 
answers.
	"No, I'm in Seattle for the time being. With four other agents." 
'Seattle? What now?' Mulder thought, telling himself to calm down.
	"Why Seattle? Quit stalling, Scully, and please tell me what's 
going on." 
	"Mulder, we've lost an agent. He was shot in the back, and the 
bullet penetrated his spine before plunging itself into the heart."
	"What?! Scully, are you all right?!" He really wished he had a 
pair of wings, so he could fly this very moment and tell her how sorry 
he was for not being there.
	"Mulder, listen to me. Three or more professional snipers 
ambushed us. The small storage unit located twenty feet from away from 
our jet was booby-trapped. They might have thought we'd go there for 
cover, but we used our cars. Good thing we did, because it exploded 
when other agents fired at it. But... Well, it's a very, very long 
story that finished in less than ten minutes, so I'll tell you more in 
person." Mulder detected a very small gasp in her voice as she moved 
around. He could tell from the background noise that Scully was indeed 
in a hospital.
	"Scully? Don't ask me how I know this, but I know you're hurt." 
	"Mulder, stop your worrying right now. I'll give that I am hurt, 
but I was incredibly lucky. There are three other agents who didn't 
get so lucky. They're all in surgery right now. I'm already out, and I 
was moved into my own room just an hour ago." Mulder landed on his 
rear on the spot, unable to remain standing. 
"Oh, my God. Scully..." Words, even his breath were fighting their way 
out of him. His mouth was suddenly dry, and his throat felt clogged.
	"Mulder, listen. I requested them to use local anesthetics, so I 
would remain awake. It's not bad at all. I'm well enough to rejoin 
Skinner and Shaw. The bullet that took me came from the side. It 
nicked my upper arm much like you had yours, only it got me on my 
right arm. Then, it slipped under and came to rest in my right breast 
about an inch deep. It was fired from a long-range rifle, equipped 
with a silencer. But the other three snipers that fired at us didn't 
have silencers. That made it easier to identify where the shots were 
fired. 
"Mulder, I have no broken bone. There was no damage in any of my 
internal organs, and I didn't have any ruptured artery. I just have a 
bad scratch on my arm, and an inch-deep hole in my breast. I also have 
bruises, scrapes and cuts; but they're scattering everywhere on my 
body, and none of them was major. I have the extracted bullet in my 
possession for the ballistics. Thanks to you and Mom. You both saved 
our lives today." 
	"Uhm... Okay." Mulder barely managed to utter the words.
	"Mulder, listen to me. My mother's been contacted, and she's 
already on her way to Los Angels to join us. I know that you're going 
directly to the airport because you got this call. Don't kill yourself 
getting there. Make damn sure to stop at every red light and stop 
sign, because I'm not coming to bail you out of jail if you get caught 
this time. ...I'm alive and well, Mulder. I'll be quite sore for a 
couple of weeks, but I'm far better off than the others. 
"I also need to remind you, that I'm well enough to continue with this 
investigation. There's a lot to catch up here, Mulder. You just work 
on getting yourself back in Los Angels safely, and in one piece. We'll 
take the rest from there." Her surprisingly calming tone was 
contagious, and Mulder breathed easier. But earlier, he thought he'd 
have a heart attack, or even a stroke like the one his mother 
suffered. 
	"All right, Scully. I'm sorry I lost it again. It's me who 
should be comforting you right now, for God's sakes." Mulder got back 
on his feet to start packing. 
	"Well. I'm used to your over-protectiveness and your tendency to 
go on a rampage. Until now, you were doing something that someone had 
to be ready for. There's nothing to be feeling guilty about." Scully's 
voice was much more relaxed now, and Mulder could feel his own tension 
retreating into the darker recesses of his mind. 
	"I can't thank you enough, Scully. But can you go easy on my 
wallet and settle for a dinner?" Mulder asked, just wanting to make 
her smile. 
	"I'm pretty much famished. Sure, we'll be tied up over Jarvis' 
research material anyway. Shaw's unharmed, by the way. Nothing is out 
of control, yet. Just come on down here as fast as you can without 
causing trouble, and we'll take it all from there." Mulder was in awe, 
again, at his partner's capacity to be so giving. So understanding, 
and so incredibly strong.
	"Good work, Scully. You amaze me. I, uhh..., ...I'll see you in 
a couple of hours." He knew nothing was as easy as she tried to 
convince him. 'A hole in her right breast? That had to hurt like 
hell!' Mulder dialed Skinner's number and reported himself officially 
back on duty. When he requested Clive Shaw on the line, Skinner told 
him to save the fun. Mulder apologized for his earlier behavior, and 
promised Skinner his full involvement with the case.
	Next he called Amanda on her pager, and when she returned his 
page, he told her that he had a family emergency. She playfully asked 
him if he was trying to get rid of her. Mulder denied it flat-out, 
telling her that there had been an accident and he was flying to Los 
Angels in less than an hour. But he thanked her for all the time they 
spent together, and wished her the best of luck. Amanda, remembering 
all the tedious analysis work he'd done for her, forgave him and gave 
him her good-luck wishes with a light good-bye kiss over the phone. 
Mulder blushed and considered himself fortunate that Amanda Dutton 
wasn't there to see it.




*Disclaimers - Please read from the top of part one. Thank you.


Prescott Hospital Conference Room 2
Los Angels, CA
6:30 PM

By the time Mulder arrived at the conference room, Scully was through 
with nearly half of the materials that had been provided by Clive 
Shaw. Mulder nearly dropped to his knees once he saw her up and about. 
She was walking, talking on the phone, and reading files. She was much 
better than he'd expected her to be. Upon acknowledging his approach, 
she greeted him with a flash of her rare radiant smile and hung up her 
phone. Mulder walked right up to embrace her, though being very 
careful not to touch her. She stroked his hair while he practically 
buried his head in her hair. They were simply happy to see each other 
alive. 
	"Hey, Scully. It's so good to see you again." Mulder managed to 
utter while his eyes moistened.
	"Hi, Mulder." Scully gently broke the embrace, directing him to 
a chair. He sat down and began taking out the contents of a large 
carryout bag. She smiled her sincere gratitude and took the container 
for the 'stir fried vegetables with diced chicken breast'. The food 
had no hot spice, and it came with rice in a separate carton. She had 
only recently regained her appetite, thus in no mood for another 
fluffy donut or a sandwich that required a lot of jaw work. 
>From his personal experiences of numerous hospital stays, Mulder 
suspected she would be suffering from nausea; a side effect from the 
painkiller she was prescribed to take. One look at her expression, and 
he knew he made the right dinner selection for her. She widened her 
eyes when Mulder took out a much smaller white paper bag from the 
bottom of the big brown paper bag, and gave her a medium sized 
container of French Vanilla frozen yogurt. Mulder chuckled at her 
open-mouthed reaction. 
	"I told you I would bring in a dinner. Not a bite to eat, but a 
dinner. That means you'll get everything; complete with desserts." 
Mulder commented proudly and began eating his 'shrimp, scallop, and 
vegetable stir fry'. Scully knew, however, that he'd gotten her 
favorite dessert for her as a back-up plan in case she was too sick to 
handle any solid food. He was an expert when it came to gunshot wounds 
and the various consequences that come with regular chemotherapy. 
	"How's your mother? I thought you said she was going to join us 
here?"
	"She was. But Skinner was against it. After reviewing the new 
medical data here, Consortium's involvement in this whole mess became 
obvious. We agreed that my mother should stay home, instead of coming 
out here at such high risk of getting herself in the harm's way." 
Scully stared at her hands on the table, her index finger kept busy 
drawing circles on the Formica surface.
Mulder understood how badly Scully must've been missing her mother. 
She wouldn't be the only one to be disappointed at missing the chance 
to see Mrs. Scully, and Mulder knew Scully understood that. This was 
confirmed the moment their gazes locked onto each other, and 
reconfirmed by the sad smile they shared in that knowledge.
	"So... update me, partner." Mulder said, picking up an unmarked 
leather-bound notebook off of the pile in front of him. Then, he took 
another bite of his dinner. Scully swallowed the last bite of her 
rice.
	"That's one of the Jarvis' journals. There's quite a lot, so 
I'll give you a short version. You know that Vera has a suspected 
beginning of a brain tumor." She got right to the point. Mulder nodded 
at the mention of the disease, motioning for her to continue. She 
looked at him with a searching gaze, the one that told him to be ready 
for surprises, because it was going to hurt. He swallowed hard and 
leaned back in his chair. 
	"It turns out she inherited it from her mother. It's not an 
acquired tumor as we originally thought. I've received the full copy 
of the Jarvis' research file you and the Gunmen retrieved from the 
research center building. As you know, their independent research 
almost exclusively dealt with development of treatments for various 
form of brain tumor. They were killed when they were just developing a 
new cancer-fighting agent formula to test on a group of women. 
"According to the rest of their data, the couple's research didn't 
just focus on brain tumors. It was only the last five years of their 
lives that they dedicated their time into it, and there's a reason why 
they had to do it." Scully paused to take another bite of her dinner. 
She couldn't believe how hungry she really was. 'Must've been the 
exercise I got', she thought. Mulder finished his stir-fry, and now 
worked on the egg rolls he got as his side dish. Scully never had seen 
him order any dessert other than pies and an occasional cheesecake. 
She figured that a Chinese restaurant wasn't a place for either item. 
If Mulder considered egg rolls for side dish, Scully could bet a 
hundred dollars that he would bring out a bag of sunflower seeds for 
dessert. She wasn't disappointed when she saw him empty the big brown 
bag and a couple of white plastic bags, both of which were large 
enough to use as pillows, dropped on the table. One of them fell off 
the edge of the table, and Mulder bent to pick it up. She saw that the 
fallen bag had loudly claimed itself to be the 'jumbo size'. She 
refused to imagine how his dorm room at Oxford must've looked like 
during exam seasons. She shook her head in disbelief when he 
sheepishly met her gaze. 
"Seeds?" Mulder offered her one of the giant bags, shrugging when she 
gave him one of her cold stares and a shake of her head 'no'. 'Only 
you would do something like this, Mulder.' She thought. Just then, she 
realized the old sparks in his eyes had returnedp; making her wonder 
for a fleeting second if he'd read her thought. She tilted her head a 
bit and returned him the 'I win' smile for a test. His eyebrows jumped 
an inch, and she felt a slight ripple of excitement run up and down 
her spine. She quickly got them back to the important business at 
hand. They'd just have to continue this silent Ping-Pong mind-game 
some other time.
	"Mrs. Jarvis had been a carrier of the cancer gene that's 
currently developing inside Vera's sinus. Mrs. Jarvis got into the 
cancer research initially to find a cure for the world; herself 
included. When she got married to Mr. Jarvis, she knew they would have 
to find a way to avoid passing the gene to their future children. They 
didn't find the cure in time, but they still decided to take a chance 
and have a baby. Vera was the only child they decided to have. Right 
there and then, their research grew into a quest to cure their 
daughter. They heavily relied on the gene therapy technology. It was 
very highly experimental at the time, and the technology wasn't even 
fully developed. But they didn't make it in time to see their daughter 
saved."
	"What happened? I mean..." Mulder trailed off, but his eyes 
finished the sentence for her. Scully sat on the edge of the chair and 
put down the food. Her gaze drifted to her hands now resting on her 
lap.
	"The whole thing came crushing down on them when Mr. Jarvis got 
a promotion. He was revealed that the center did cancer researches 
relating to the alien abductees' undiagnosed and untreatable cancers; 
most of which were brain tumors. 
"Speaking of the devil, you'll find the samples inside the glass jars. 
They're extracted brain tumors from some subjects' brain tissues. 
Jarvis' were cut off from the rest of their old colleagues, and were 
instead given their own think tanks. They were desperately trying to 
get out of their positions. There are letters of resignation and 
transfer requests that they wrote repeatedly at great length to their 
higher-ups. They kept trying until the very end. I believe they were 
forced to continue with their researches, because their superiors kept 
threatening Vera's life."
	"My God, Scully. They took Vera just like they took Samantha. 
She's an insurance... an investment! ...I wouldn't be surprised if 
there are some clones of Vera running around alongside clones of 
Samantha in a field somewhere!" Mulder's words sounded as if they had 
been squeezed from his gut and through his mouth. Scully reached out 
and patted him on his left shoulder, careful of the stitches healing 
on his arm. He closed his eyes to shut himself out of the disturbing 
imagination, and lightly patted her on her knee. 
	"Mulder, I found no listing for Vera's relatives, but I did 
track them down. Mrs. Jarvis' family wants nothing to do with Vera. I 
don't think for a second that Vera would be happy there. Apparently, 
Mr. Jarvis was Mrs. Jarvis's second husband. After her first marriage 
ended rather messily, her family refused to be in touch with her. Mr. 
Jarvis had nobody from the beginning, because his parents were 
deceased and he was the only child."
	"Serial murder case was a cover-up... Who identified Vera's 
body?" He asked, knowing Skinner's agents assisted Scully in 
background checks to be done without his being around. 
	"The remains were deemed unidentifiable. Her parents were 
tortured extensively prior to their deaths. But the dead girl was 
unidentifiable even by dental record."
	"Why? I mean, they did have DNA technology..."
	"Yeah, but they didn't do that. It was an open-and-shut case, 
Mulder. The police believed Jarvis' were murdered by a serial killer. 
Other cases were piling up. Relatives of both sides wanted the remains 
cremated as soon as possible. Given the publicity, the details and the 
nature of the murders, the local homicide team was sympathetic."
	"Not even a dental record?" Mulder asked, watching her take the 
last bite of her dinner.
	"No. They didn't find her teeth, nor most of the head. A strong 
solution of acid was poured over the girl's face, leaving only some 
brain tissues and skull fragments." She said holding up the crime 
scene photo she nearly ran to the restrooms for. Mulder paled 
instantly. 'He must be thinking about Samantha and the clones', she 
thought, recalling how the clones corroded in front of their eyes.
	"Why didn't the police spot this? Anyone can see that if it is 
in fact a serial killer hit, he or she will follow patterns. It's 
obvious that whoever did this was extremely careful. They couldn't 
just dump a bucket of the solution and leave. They had to have been 
sitting or kneeling beside the body, pouring the acid bit by bit to 
create this. Someone wanted the girl's face to be unidentifiable, but 
didn't want the case to be thrown out of court, or go up to the FBI; 
to our VCU / BSU, let alone the X-Files." Scully sighed, not liking 
the haunted look returning on his face.
	"No one's talking to me about this, because the detective who 
handled this case is deceased; an apparent suicide by narcotics 
overdose. His partner believes that the detective was deeply affected 
by the Jarvis case, and was suffering from violent nightmares." Mulder 
nodded, but not in agreement. It was one of his 'yeah, I heard you, 
but...' nods. 
	"Or, it could be a very plausible lie. Where did the impostor 
body come from? I know it's not Vera, but it's somebody." This time, 
Scully leaned back into her chair. This was the shadow that was 
haunting Mulder's eyes, and she didn't like one bit of what she had to 
say in reply. She tried crossing her arms in front of her chest by 
habit; gritting her teeth when the white-hot pain ripped through her 
entire body. Mulder, ever the intuitive one, broke out of his reverie 
and almost stood from his seat to check on her. She shook her head 
'no', and went ahead with her report.
	"I've only been able to track down a body that had been stolen 
from a medical school, but the body was of a run-away homeless girl 
who died due to an automobile accident." 
	"So... no cancer?" Mulder gave up trying to get her to admit she 
was in pain.
	"No. Although the school said they detected a series of 
infections on the body such as ringworm and lice. That's normal, 
considering the girl's living environment. She also had dehydration 
and malnutrition."
	"Let me guess. She was about two sizes too small for a seven-
year old, just as Vera had been." Scully's nod was enough for an 
answer.
	"I guess Vera had been healthy, but her growth hormone may have 
been affected by her cancer gene. She's born five weeks premature and 
spent the better part of her first six weeks in an incubator."
	"And she still possesses that genius?" Scully stood from her 
seat and rested her hands over her hips. "Well, at least one good 
thing can come out of all this mess." When he was met with her pouting 
lips, Mulder closed his eyes with realization.
	"You haven't told Kathler, yet." It wasn't a question.
	"Karen Kosseff came by just a couple of hours ago and 
interviewed Jake. I couldn't possibly dispense either of them all this 
detail regarding this case." Scully said as she moved to straighten 
the strewn papers.
	"No, of course not. I'll tell him." Mulder agreed, remembering 
Jake's frighteningly familiar features and his four-legged loyal 
friend. Mulder had no idea how or where to start on Jake. Mulder 
reached for the melting frozen yogurt and handed it to Scully again 
with a clean plastic spoon. He then reached over the mess of food 
containers and utensils on the table, swiping them all into the big 
brown paper bag.  
	"I'll get to work and start catching up. Finish that dessert, 
and get some rest, Scully. You've been way over-working. I know it's 
selfish for me to say this, but I'm here now to back you up. I'm very 
sorry to have missed all that's been happening around here." Mulder 
stood up and gently placed his hand on her back; a gesture so familiar 
and so Mulder, she couldn't say no. "I'll come up as soon as I know 
something." 
	"All right, Mulder. He's with Stella in his room. I was staying 
there before this happened, mostly as a guard. Jake was unconscious 
and defenseless. Other agents wouldn't have recognized if someone 
tried to assassinate him under a disguise of a hospital staff."
	"Not to mention that you are a medical doctor." Mulder nodded.
	"I left instructions with Jake's doctors and the hospital 
security service to have a nurse posted 24 hours a day inside the room 
while I'm gone. I had her check everything before they were 
administered to Jake. He's off of the IVs now, and nothing much is 
required now except waiting for the stitch removal order." Scully said 
as she studied the frozen yogurt container. Mulder thanked her for the 
precaution. But when he headed for the door to escort her out of the 
room, she steered herself toward the brown leather couch that sat 
against a wall.
	"We don't have a room set up for us, Mulder. You were gone and 
Stella's in my place, so we'll just have to rough it here. We'll take 
turns, all right? Go over whatever in there that you want, and I'll 
get my rest." She said indicating the table covered with materials. 
Then she popped the rid of the yogurt container and took three pills 
out of the prescription bottle. 
Mulder watched stock-still on the spot as she downed the painkiller 
pills with the slushy yogurt and threw out the container into a small 
trash basket sitting next to the couch. She then lay down on the couch 
a bit stiffly and settled herself on her back. Mulder rolled his eyes. 
'Unbelievable', he thought.
	"Sculllllyyy!! You can't keep doing this to yourself! You've 
been shot in the chest for crying out loud! Look, I'll get you a room 
and a guard posted 24 hours...!"
	"Breasts are mostly fat tissues and blood vessels. Mulder, I'm 
fine. I know how to take care of myself. If you could just dim the 
lights a bit, I'll fall asleep faster. This is not your couch, but 
it's still comfortable enough." Scully didn't even bother opening her 
eyes. She was declaring the end of this argument. 
	"But, Scully..." Her mild attempt at humor on her last comment 
had fallen face-flat and she sensed his distress. 
	"You're here, so I'm safe enough. You go back to work, and I'll 
sleep." She said as she took out her pain prescription bottle and held 
it up for Mulder to see. Mulder dropped his shoulders, surrendering 
the argument before pushing her too far. He walked over to her and 
knelt down beside her. She kept her eyes closed, but she knew exactly 
where he was.
	"I'll give in this time, but at least try sleeping comfortably." 
He unbuttoned her jacket, then reached down to her feet and removed 
her lace-up shoes. Scully briefly smiled. Mulder looked at her, 
releasing an inaudible breath. "You amaze me, Scully. Always." She 
opened her eyes at the comment and met her partner's smiling face. He 
was shaking his head, clearly in awe. "What a trouper you are." She 
returned his smile and watched as he stood up. He removed his jacket 
and wadded it up before carefully sliding it underneath her head to 
substitute as a pillow. He then shook his head once more before 
walking back to the table. Scully smiled wider and closed her eyes 
again, falling fast asleep.


Conference Room #2
Prescott Hospital
Midnight

A slight knock on the door got Mulder to draw his gun and remove the 
safety. It was a move he made by reflex, but the moment the door 
opened, he quickly pulled it back.
	"Agent Mulder?" Agent Hall stood at the doorway, looking about 
ten years older than the last time Mulder had seen the agent. Mulder 
nodded and motioned him to come inside. Hall immediately recognized 
the heap on the couch, hidden almost entirely under Mulder's black 
trench coat. Mulder had thrown it over her a while ago when he checked 
her out lightly for any signs of bleeding. Seeing nothing alarming, he 
returned to work.
	"Sorry about that, Agent Hall. I didn't know it was you, and 
frankly, I hardly recognized you. By the way, that neat pile on the 
couch is my partner getting some rest, so keep your voice down. She's 
on painkiller pills, so I doubt she'll wake up at all, but we can't be 
too careful." Mulder spoke rapidly in a near-whisper and rested his 
hands over his hips, ready to listen. Hall nodded with understanding.
	"AD Skinner's still with Clive Shaw, and no one had a chance to 
update you on the girl's drawings I've been analyzing. These are the 
print-out." Hall indicated the long black sling case in his hand. 
Mulder threw his head back, remembering where he had left them. 
	"Oh, yeah. They didn't take the damn VR machine, did they?" 
Mulder said, lightly brushing his chin with his hand before taking the 
case from Hall and opening it.
	"Agent Mulder, there's a lot in there that I've found..." Hall 
refused to continue, instead finishing his sentence with a nod and a 
hard swallow. Mulder knew exactly what the young man was afraid of, 
and offered the agent his sympathies. 
	"Don't worry, Hall. You know you can trust us. Why don't you 
give me the sneak preview and tell me exactly how you did it all." 
Mulder directed the younger man to the chair and sat down in the one 
he'd been occupying for the last five hours. Hall nodded and followed 
him.
	"I know that you were trying to dissect the images to clear them 
up. What I did instead, was to analyze them by layers; like skimming 
them apart layer by layer, and... Well, I've come up with incredible 
images. My guess is that the girl, uh, what's her name again?"
	"Vera Maxine Jarvis." 
	"Vera? 'Truth'. Good name. Anyway, my guess is that she began 
drawing 'scary' images like you said, then began covering them up with 
the layer of colors, not necessarily to match them up, but just out of 
the desire to hide them. Then added another layer of drawing out a 
different fragment of her memory. Some colors, as you predicted, do 
match them perfectly. 
"There's a segment of the butchering. This little figure here seems to 
be melting on the floor. These figures here have unusually long arms 
and legs. Then, there are some weird solid black figures in the 
corner. ...I don't know what to tell you, but I think it corroborates 
your theories. I can't explain further without your observation. I did 
the best I could under the circumstances, and... Oh, can I use the 
white board?" Hall indicated the white writing board with some markers 
lining at the bottom.
	"By all means." Mulder nodded, watching as Hall took out several 
poster-sized copies. As they were spread out in front of him, Mulder 
found himself standing open-mouthed. 
	"There'll be more coming up from the basement, but for now, 
these should give you a few ideas for some new leads." Hall said, 
picking up the pointer stick used often by professors. 
	"Oh, my God. I'll be damned." Mulder's voice was feather-light. 
Hall knew Mulder needed close to zero explanation from this moment on. 
	"The one at the very left looks like a description of one of the 
examination rooms you talked about before. There's a table and a 
figure lying on it, though it doesn't look like a human being. Who 
knows? And the one right next to it has letters and symbols we've seen 
in others."
	"Holy, shit! Hall, this is terrific." Mulder shook his head in 
amazement.
	"There's more, Agent Mulder. A lot more. But this middle one has 
English alphabets."
	"What?" Finally returning to reality, Mulder turned to the 
younger agent. He nodded, his lips drawn thin as tension grew thicker 
in the room.
	"Yes. Except that they've been written backwards. Some are even 
sideways, tilting in such unusual angles, that we won't recognize them 
from underneath the layers of colors Vera used. The English alphabets 
seem to be occasionally thrown in among the... unknown letters." Hall 
was still very uncomfortable with the new discovery.
	"Angles? Like in third-dimensional images where they turn the 
letters around 365 degrees?"
	"Yes. I'll get to the 3-D parts soon, but not just yet." Hall 
seemed to find the carpeted floor suddenly too hot to stand on. His 
discomfort was oblivious to Mulder, whose eyes were glued to the rows 
of shapes that seemed to have the power to draw him into them. These 
images had cylinder or rectangular shapes and greenish colors.
	"And what's this... vague image that you isolated? I don't see 
any colors, but..."
	"That's a human face ...at least that's what it looks like. If 
it is, I say it's a woman. The figure that's standing next to her is 
also a human being, although he's got this big bulge on his back."
	"Oxygen tank." Mulder said matter-of-factly. Hall shrugged.
	"I don't know what the hell these rectangles are supposed to be, 
nor the cylinders. As you can see, they're colored in green. I believe 
they contain liquid."
	"Erlenmeyer Flasks. They're used to produce alien-human 
hybrids."
	"What?" Hall wondered if he was dreaming. 'Hybrids?' Mulder sent 
him another look of sympathy before continuing on.
	"Clones. If you ever see hundreds of your own sister running 
around in a field, you'll believe it." Mulder gave the young man a 
wave of his hand, dismissing the line of thought and urging him to 
continue.
	"This... Uh, about these tanks. When I had them on a super 
close-up, I could see obscure traces of a figure written inside each 
of the green. The only problem is that they're drawn in a light color, 
and before the green color was applied over them. I couldn't use the 
VR machine on this, so I had to do it by hand. I'm afraid many of the 
originals are, well, modified. I erased the green with an eraser to 
come up with those trace figures."
	"Yeah, they're the hybrids in the making. Also, this event 
hasn't occurred in the outer space, but it's happening right here on 
Earth. I don't believe that the aliens would need any glass container 
to grow these beings, much less the computer equipment to monitor 
them."
	"Oh, you've seen them?" Mulder never missed the shudders that 
ran through Hall's body.
	"Yeah, several times." Mulder's expression was a half-smile.
	"Oh, man. I thought I was going nuts here. I'm glad you agreed 
with me." Hall was truly relieved, eliciting a chuckle from Mulder. He 
watched as Hall took down the four printouts and began pulling out 
another batch. This time, Mulder helped Hall and they barely squeezed 
in the five poster-sized imageries. Then Mulder backed away several 
feet for individual observations. Hall stood beside Mulder; ready to 
deliver his analysis on the first image whenever the request came. 
Mulder nodded.
	"There are about five figures on this first print-out, all of 
them unmistakably human beings. The large rectangle with black spots 
just barely showing over all the red, black, and yellow seem to be a 
burning building. There's a car parked at the bottom of the building, 
and that's where the five figures are standing. But this scene is 
viewed from such height, that I don't know where she had been to draw 
this. I'm even suspecting this to be an aerial shot."
	"Have you any idea what the building is for?"
	"Well, no."
	"I think it's the old Bionix research center. It wouldn't 
surprise me if there had been a fire there around the year 1984, maybe 
1985. I'll have it checked out. I just came from their new research 
facility and it was much smaller than this building, but their 
security system was unusually tight. They had no data available on 
their brain tumor researches prior to the year 1985."
	"Agent Mulder, that doesn't make sense. Vera should've been an 
infant; not even a toddler. She couldn't possibly remember..."
	"If it was an incident big enough to be covered in a national 
news like the CNN, then the Jarvis may have taped the scene. See it on 
a big enough screen, and you just might remember it as if you're 
there. Explains the heights."
	"Who are these figures? They don't look like fire-fighters to 
me."
	"A rescue team, maybe. They often dress in a black special 
uniform, and they have the headpiece to go with the uniform." Mulder 
hoped he was right, because he hated his other guess. 
	"This image should be obvious to anyone with a functioning eye." 
Hall said, moving to the next image. Mulder nodded. A bright red 
coming from an oval shape in the center was drawn vividly. There were 
two gray figures that were towering over at each side, as if...
	"An abduction in progress. But it's been proven in the past that 
these gray figures were human beings in special suits. Now, the 
figures of the EBEs whom I believe to have encountered were all small 
in height and size. None of them reached half my height. They're more 
like dwarfs and not towering men. I think these aliens are fake."
	"So, has Vera gone up to space or not?" Mulder furrowed his 
eyebrows, suspecting for a fleeting moment if Hall had 'less than the 
best' of intentions.
	"I believe she has. She had symptoms of prolonged weightlessness 
on the medical records we've wrecked ourselves while trying to find 
them. But the fact of the matter is, the state of prolonged 
weightlessness experienced by astronauts can be reciprocated by our 
own existing technology. There are people who literally wear these 
hand-made suits and put on a fake show in order to discredit people 
like me and Scully as consequences." 
	"You two put up with a lot of crap. If you could look at the 
next image..." Hall didn't want to elaborate on the subject, because 
he didn't want Mulder to know just how scared he was about the 
'consequences' part himself. But before he spoke a further word, 
Mulder chuckled at the image in question.
	"It looks like a school." Mulder's tone of voice was an 
indicator to just how excited the man was about this one. 
	"Huh?" The puzzled look on Hall's face only made Mulder grin 
wider.
	"Okay, maybe it's a meeting. Look at these figures. These are 
obviously EBEs, and this large round bulge that's partially showing on 
left corner must be her hand. There is no desk or a chair, just the 
EBEs gathering around on the floor she's standing on. No one's armed; 
no one's wearing anything; but they're all looking at her, or rather, 
what she has in her hand or hands. 
"At the top half of the drawing, separate from the bottom half, I can 
see two of them side by side. They're hunched over beside a human 
figure that's sitting cross-legged on the floor. The human figure 
there has something on his or her lap, and some tool. ...I don't know. 
Maybe it's a training session."
	"Excuse me, I think I'll be sick." Hall really was pale. Mulder 
told him to go take a break, but he refused. "I'm sorry, sir."
	"You've been around Skinner for far too long. I told you to call 
me Mulder."
	"Mulder, I'm sorry. I've had about less than six hours' sleep in 
the last five days combined, and I'm a little tired. I'll go over the 
last three, and tell you about the three-dimensions tomorrow. I took 
most of these out of them. I connected them like Jake told me to, and 
bits and pieces of them that I mentioned came from them."
	"Jake?" The name felt like a thunder bolt to Mulder's heart, 
because he'd been working to gain Jake Kathler's trust from the 
beginning. The architect knew a whole lot more than he was telling, 
and Mulder didn't have a moment to spare on any more guesswork. 
	"Yes. He's the one who had me bring out the VR machine and told 
me what he was thinking. He told me to call him Jake, and..."
	"I don't care. So, he's been cooperating?"
	"Yes. He's been involved in these analysis ever since he woke 
up, and I was his guard for most of the time." Mulder released a 
breath of relief at the comment.
	"Good. He hadn't trusted me enough to show me these early 
enough. Does this mean we have his full support now?" Mulder needed 
assurances. Hall nodded.
	"But on one condition."
	"What? You made a deal with him?" This wasn't surprising. 
Kathler made a lot of deals on the job, as well as in his private 
life. Come to think of it, that was how Jake Kathler communicated with 
Vera when she first began to live with him.
	"Yes. Just that we'll keep all this a secret from our social 
worker."
	"Karen Kosseff. No surprise there. Sure, let's keep them away 
from her. It's irrelevant to her investigation, and therefore, she has 
no need to know." Vera's artistic talent and Jake's capability in 
parenting were two separate matters. 
	"Oh, and the Highway patrol people haven't found any signs of 
the girl yet. I'm sorry."
	"It's all right, Hall. We'll do our best, and we'll welcome her 
back as safely as we possibly can."
	"I have them calling me daily with updates." Hall stared off to 
somewhere far away. Mulder knew the pressure the young agent has been 
subjected to in such a short period of time. Looking at Agent Hall, 
Mulder swore to make a renewed effort to watch out for this man's 
safety and wellbeing.
	"You are one of the primaries on this case. Don't think for one 
second that you're not doing a good job. You are doing an excellent, 
important job no matter what anyone else tells you. I don't think I 
would trust any other computer expert within the bureau, because I 
know that the moment they come up with the same images that you've 
been dealing with, they'll either think you're a nutcase, or that 
they're the ones who'd gone insane and blow their brains out." 
Mulder's previous intense gaze grew with such warmth, that Hall 
actually felt his tension easing away. 'How does he do that?' Hall 
wondered. 
	"So, do you think Vera actually lived with these, uh, new 
people?"
	"Yes, I believe so. Why else would she know so much about them? 
Oh, I would love to really talk to her, you know? But from all the 
test results we've gotten on her, I think she knows exactly how to 
communicate with us. Just not with a written or a verbal form of 
language. I think she knows how to use mind-scan."
	"You mean, literally read people's thoughts?"
	"We don't have a definite proof, yet. But it's possible."
	"So, she's a psychic?"
	"No. She speaks and reads with her mind. She doesn't speak, 
because people who'd been around her never needed to do so. Assuming 
that Vera was a completely normal child with a high level of 
intelligence; according to the diary and journals Jarvis' left for us 
to find, she could have been surgically given this technology. We 
should  look really carefully, but we might get lucky and find a few 
scars on her scalp or in her optical nerves."
	"Optical nerves?" Hall narrowed his eyes.
	"Yeah, it's the technology to access an individual's memory. Not 
lobotomy, mind you. Don't get them confused. They drain selective 
memories from human brains. In fact, they achieve such level of 
results, that you may remember watching a movie in a movie theater, 
but not its contents. You remember going into the theater; you 
remember getting your soda and find a seat; but you don't remember 
what you saw or how you got home when you wake up the following 
morning."
	"You're saying it's all done by surgical procedures?"
	"Yes. They had it done on me. I remember calling Scully, and 
going to the location of the case. But I don't remember anything about 
what I have seen at the air force base we've investigated. I know that 
I witnessed some concrete evidence that proved the existence of 
extraterrestrial life on Earth. ...But they took it away from me. Next 
thing I knew, Scully was pointing a gun at a security guard by their 
front gate, and I was being traded for a guy who posed as a 
journalist, but was in fact an employee of their UFO project team.
"At the time, I felt dizzy and exhausted, but I still sensed we were 
in trouble. I could tell that she was really scared for me, so I just 
got in the car as Scully told me to. ...That happened nearly five 
years ago. They're probably capable to do variations of this 
technology by now. It's probably no trouble for them to access and 
activate the areas of the human brain that had been left unused, 
because through the evolutionary process, we've reduced our brain 
function to 1/3 of its original capabilities."
	"Well, I know that Vera draws and writes; perhaps in their 
language. They mostly look like some of the works by Estcher, but... I 
don't know. I wish we had more evidence, so that I could believe." 
Hall shook his head, his eyes searching for answers that are hidden 
before his eyes. Mulder knew how the younger agent felt, because he'd 
been where Hall was right now. It was a fun place to be in, but the 
fun fades quickly as one venture deeper into the cave of wonders.  
	"What's this last one here?" Mulder asked, not wanting to 
torment the young agent any further. If Hall was to actually follow 
the footsteps of Scully and him; Hall would be walking on the edge of 
life and death on daily basis. Mulder didn't want to lose their 
newfound ally.
	"Oh, that? That's the one Jake really freaked out about. He told 
me to tell you this is what he saw on the night when he first met 
Vera. Only it's slightly different from his own witness accounts." 
Hall said as he pointed to the bright yellow section of the drawing; 
unmistakably belonging to a beam of light. Mulder let himself taken 
into the image until he found what he was looking for. Through the 
myriad dark colors Mulder closely focus on, Vera had drawn a few 
horizontal lines over numerous vertical lines. Mulder remembered 
Jake's statements about the unusually bright lightning that lasted for 
several seconds.
	"Jake's right. This is the skyscraper Jake was hired to build. 
This horizontal shape is the security railing at the top of the 
structure. I don't think railings are there any more, because Jake's 
firm took pretty intense heat over the incident and the entire firm's 
busting their asses off trying to finish the building."
	"Yeah, Jake said he had to fly to France over it." Hall has 
apparently been spending some time with Jake. 
"Not only that, but there had been a last-minute change to the 
construction design and the building was supposed to have another five 
floors on top of that." Hall nodded to Mulder, remembering how Jake 
talked about it. "The poor guy got whacked because he looks exactly 
like me." Mulder added with a wince, obviously not getting over the 
guilt. Hall nodded again as he quickly searched in himself for a good 
reply.
	"But he doesn't have all the memorabilia you got from your 
investigations."
	"Hey, you never know. I think that in this drawing she drew 
about her experiences of living with Jake, or about when he rescued 
her."
	"He said he yelled at her harshly, because he was scared to 
death for her. He feels bad about it." Mulder shook his head in 
defiance, eyes still firmly fixed on the printouts in front of him. 
	"He shouldn't. His honesty was probably the only thing that 
afforded him her trust. I've seen him with her, Hall. They're perfect 
for each other. You haven't seen them together, but when you do, 
you'll know. I'm willing to back this up all the way."  Mulder pursed 
his lips and began taking down the precious printouts to be placed 
back into the case with the others. Hall shuffled his feet a bit, 
looking both uncomfortable and nervous. Noticing the younger man's 
distress, Mulder stilled his hands and silently urged the agent to get 
whatever trouble out in the open.
	"Mulder, I feel a bit safer if I could leave these here with 
you. I know you were here to review research materials, but I didn't 
know that Agent Scully was here with you. It's better to have both of 
you than one of you." Hall said as he handed Mulder the sling case. 
Mulder nodded and lay it on the table next to the two boxes. They 
finished the rest of the cleanup, and Mulder even made them a cup of 
fresh coffee with the coffeemaker placed at one corner of the room. 
Mulder checked on Scully again, taking a second to allow his fingers 
to caress her cheeks. When he turned around to return to his seat, 
Hall was engrossed in one of the Jarvis' journals. 
"Is she all right?" Hall asked, meeting Mulder's eyes. Mulder nodded, 
wondering what must be on the younger agent's mind. Then just as an 
idea, he had Hall sit down again in a chair.
	"Did you hear anything about what my partner's done in 
Vancouver? She's not telling me a thing, and Skinner's not talking." 
It was his hunch that Hall's smoothness with women and other agents 
got him the whole story. Hall's eyebrows shot up.
	"You mean, you don't know?!" 'Bingo', Mulder thought, shaking 
his head. "Oh, I assumed you'd be the first one to know. It's a legend 
among the guys upstairs. Even Jake heard some of it."
	"So, spit it out." Mulder leaned close in his seat impatiently. 
Hall chuckled, already imagining how much fun he was going to have 
with this. 



Prescott Hospital Conference Room #2
5 AM

Mulder hang up his cellular, having had the Lone Gunmen's confirmation 
on the late Jarvis' journals and their findings. The Lone Gunmen 
reported that Vera did in fact have an inherited cancer gene; that 
what the MRI and CAT scan showed were probably the suspected tumor 
growth. 
They also reported it was nearly impossible to recreate the subjected 
cancer-fighting agent without the level of sophisticated lab equipment 
seen in the FBI Headquarters, or in the FBI's Quantico research 
facility. Mulder grumbled with frustration, but he thanked them for 
the information. This meant the investigation team might have to take 
Vera back to D.C., take biopsies if necessary, and possibly even try 
the treatment on Scully. 
Mulder knew Scully didn't have much time, despite her appearance. He 
believed that was the reason why she took such an extreme course of 
action at the airfield: she wanted to prove to everyone and herself 
that she could still do her job. His phone rang again less than a 
couple of minutes later, and he was greeted by AD Skinner's droning 
tone of voice. The man sounded exhausted, but what alarmed Mulder was 
the tone of resignation hinted in the back.
	"Good morning, Sir. What can I do for you?" Mulder knew there 
was something very, very wrong for Skinner to show any signs of 
helplessness to a subordinate. 
	"Agent Mulder, the building is on fire." Mulder felt his heart 
skip a beat.
	"What? Where?! I...!" Mulder was about to rush to Scully when 
Skinner stopped him.
	"No! It's not this building, Agent Mulder; it's the Genesis 
International. On the third floor you've investigated."
	"Oh, God. How...? Just the third floor? The Bionix Cancer 
Research Lab?"
	"You know as well as I do that's the one. I've been told that 
the entire floor's been reduced to a pile of rubbles, and they're now 
desperate to save the building itself. The entire building may 
collapse, if all the weight of the top floors crush down on the second 
floor." Mulder paled, wondering the fates of his friends, not to 
mention Sarah Martin, on the fifth floor of the building.
	"Sir? The fifth floor is the Keneally Psychological Research 
Lab..."
	"I can only say that any further investigation in that building 
is useless. At least you got what we needed in time." Skinner was 
missing the point, but Mulder wasn't going to let this go without 
making sure that the Kenearly lab staff was safe.
	"Sir, have you heard of any news regarding the Kenearly lab?" 
	"Agent Mulder, I'm not at the scene. No one in the FBI with the 
exception of you, Agent Scully, Agent Hall, and myself know about what 
you were doing in Sacramento. All I can do is ask the officials for 
generic information." Mulder sighed.
	"Sir, you know as well as I do that Cancer Man heard about my 
digging around."
	"Calm down, Agent Mulder. There's nothing we can do. Concentrate 
on the matters at hand. I'm still with Shaw, but I can already feel 
the fire blowing at us. We need to wrap this case up. Submit your 
report on all new findings by noon today. I need to sign your reports 
and make them official before anything else happens."
	"Yes, sir. I'll get on it right away." Mulder rubbed his free 
hand over his face. The truth was, Mulder had been getting on it for 
the past eleven hours, but he needed Scully to finish it all up. Just 
when he was about to hang up, Skinner's voice stopped his thumb in 
mid-air.
	"Is Agent Scully there with you?"
	"Yes, sir. Should I get her for you?" He winced at the thought. 
She needed as much rest as she could get. Fortunately, the AD had the 
same idea.
	"No, that won't be necessary. You're the department head. Tell 
her that I'm going to give her a two-day time off as soon as she's 
done helping you with the report. Her appointment is at four-thirty 
this afternoon. She needs to fly there in time, and that means you 
must dismiss her by ten at latest. I'll have the temporary leave forms 
ready to be delivered to you. Understood?"
	"Yes, sir. Thank you." Mulder barely finished before the 
connection was terminated. Mulder sighed, looking at the printouts 
Hall had left for them. Mulder had been studying them for the previous 
hour, unable to take his mind off of them.
Mulder returned them to where they belonged, then touched the keyboard 
of his laptop. The swimming fish in front of him disappeared in a 
flash, replaced by the familiar images of the Bionix files; 
particularly the formula for the cancer treatment. He studied them for 
God knew how many times in the last four hours, and decided he'd seen 
it enough. 
Turning the computer off, he picked up the pile of police reports on 
Jarvis' research staff members that Scully brought. Mulder had to 
admit that he was scared to half-death. He knew he wasn't alone, but 
thinking of just how many more victims like Samantha and Vera; how 
many more women such as Scully and Penny Northern
there are. 
He turned to look at Scully, who was mercifully under a chemical-
induced sleep. His vision instantly blurred, and he quickly slapped 
himself on a cheek, luckily managing to avoid the stitches. He tore 
through the police reports, but soon he slammed them shut and buried 
his head in his arms. He knew how badly he needed to sleep, but his 
mind refused to turn itself off. 'Skinner was right', he thought. He 
could almost feel the engulfing flame licking at his back, and the 
stifling smoke stunk of Morleys.
	Mulder stood up, carrying the chair he had been sitting in. He 
was careful and quiet while approaching Scully; then stopping and 
setting down the chair about two feet away from her head. Somehow, he 
felt safer when he was closer to her. Time flew over them until he saw 
her stir, trying to shift herself on her right side. His hands quickly 
stopped the movement, gently guiding her to turn left. Her body 
complied, making him smile. He lightly removed a few strands of her 
hair that were straying out of place, and tucked them behind her ear. 
He smiled again, but the moment he looked at his watch, he was back in 
the real world. He needed to do as much as he could without her before 
it was time to wake her up. 
	It was eight-thirty when an agent brought him Scully's temporary 
leave authorization form. Mulder thanked the agent and went back to 
work. When he was done at about nine, he picked up his cellular phone 
and called Margaret Scully to inform her of the temporal leave that 
her daughter was ordered to take. She thanked him and promised to be 
at the hospital in time. 
As an after-thought, he asked Margaret if she wanted to wake Dana up 
for him, because it was time for Dana to leave Los Angels. Margaret 
laughed her signature laugh, to which Mulder responded with a chuckle. 
He sat down on the armrest of the couch and shifted his black trench 
coat until Scully's shoulders were exposed. He took an immense 
pleasure in gently touching her cheek. When she stirred but hadn't yet 
opened her eyes, he reached to caress her hair and continued the 
movement until her ocean-blue eyes fluttered open. 
	"Good morning, Scully. There's someone wanting to talk to you." 
Mulder smiled at her puzzled expression. It was apparent that she 
hadn't yet registered what was going on. He handed her the phone and 
gave her some semblance of privacy by leaving for the coffee machine. 
He got a fresh cup of coffee before reluctantly heading for a tray of 
pastries that was provided for them at the courtesy of the hospital.
	"Mom?" Scully's expression of surprise soon turned into a frown 
as Scully realized what Mulder had done. She sat up a bit stiffly on 
the couch and glared at him from across the room. Mulder was now 
wagging the authorization papers in front of his face and grinning. 
	"No, Mom. I'm fine, I..., I don't think I can leave..."
	"Yes. You can, and you will. By the direct order of the FBI 
Assistant Director Walter Sergei Skinner." Mulder closed distance in 
between them, speaking loud enough for Margaret to hear. Scully 
slapped him on his knee and poked the holy document that stared at her 
from inches away. She realized she was going no matter what; she could 
read Skinner's signature right where Mulder's index finger was tapping 
on. Mulder watched her like a hawk, but he respected her privacy 
enough to walk back to the table and pour his partner her cup of 
coffee. While tossing in and stirring the cream, he could hear 
Scully's side of the conversation.
	"Yeah, Mom. I'll see you at the hospital today, then. ...Sure, 
thanks for calling me. It's so nice to talk to you, too. ...What? The 
news report? Mother, I'm fine. I told you, I have no broken bones or 
ruptured arteries. ...Yes, I still have my arm. Yes, my breast is 
fine. ...Quit it, Mom!" Mulder choked on his coffee just imagining 
what Mrs. Scully might have said to provoke Scully's last comments. 
Mulder almost missed the rare sight of Dana Scully blushing. The 
possible reasons coupled with the sight of his partner's blush flamed 
his own cheeks. 
Mulder cleared his throat and downed a slug of the hot liquid for 
cover before he had the chance to consider the consequences of that 
particular action. His eyes instantly grew moist as the heat and pain 
registered in his brain. By reflex, he opened his mouth like a dog, 
trying to cool his mouth down. Seeing how he was breathing with his 
tongue sticking out of his mouth, Scully bit on her tongue to keep 
herself from bursting into laughter. She concentrated on what her 
mother was saying to spare Mulder the embarrassment of realizing he 
had been watched. Soon, Scully realized how much Margaret Scully was 
still worried about her daughter's wellbeing and she set about calming 
Maggie's nerves. 
"...Mom? Mom, you should sleep in. ...I took a nice na... oh, God! 
I've been sleeping for more than twelve hours. ...I'm fine. ...Okay. I 
love you, too." Scully hang up the phone and motioned to stand up, but 
Mulder beat her to it. Now fully recovered from his embarrassing 
predicament, he handed her the coffee and a jelly donut with a filling 
that he knew to be her taste. She thanked him for them, then looking 
down at herself, she thanked him for the coat. Mulder smiled and sat 
down on one end. 
	"I needed to have you awake, Scully. Skinner wanted us to submit 
a preliminary report to put whatever we found so far on record. He's 
having a hard enough time keeping up with everything. Just this 
morning at about five, he called me to tell me that the Genesis 
International building that I investigated in Sacramento just went up 
in flames. No, sit down." Seeing Scully's reaction, he quickly rested 
his hand on her left shoulder. "Skinner personally told me that he 
could feel the heat of the fire. I think you need to take an agent 
with you to escort you. Even if I don't order it, Skinner's going to 
assign you one, anyway. 
"He told me to dismiss you by ten at the latest; which means you need 
to be out of here by then. I've done all I could on my own, so I just 
need you to read them over in the computer and insert whatever 
additional comments you want. So far, I wrote that we have a shot at 
finding who's behind the arson and explain our need to reopen the 
Jarvis' murder case. If we go though everything in that pile and still 
have Clive Shaw to request additional information, we might just have 
the chance to get a good kick in Cancer Man's gut. But I did conclude 
that we don't have enough for a conviction just yet." Scully dropped 
her shoulders, realizing just how much effort Mulder was putting in to 
make things as easy as they could get for her. The best part was, 
Mulder tried his best never to make that fact obvious.
	"All right, damnit. But you better keep me posted." Scully 
warned him as she tossed the empty paper cup into the trash basket. 
She walked over to the table while munching on the donut, but headed 
for the coffee machine instead to get herself a new cup. Mulder knew 
what she was trying to do, and gave her the remains of his bottled 
mineral water. She took it gratefully and quickly downed two 
prescribed painkiller pills with it. She then sat down at the table 
and began reading. 


Jake's Room
Prescott Hospital
Noon Same Day

"My God. What the hell happened to you, Mulder?! You look...!" 
	"Stop. I know what I look like." Mulder pointed his index finger 
at Jake's refreshed, ready-to-be-out look. Jake rolled his eyes in 
disbelief. When he looked up, though, his eyes held a level of 
intensity that Mulder was so familiar with. Stella heard the commotion 
and lifted her head.
	"Very funny. That's not what I meant, and you damn well know it. 
When's the last time you slept?" His gaze held an accusatory, knowing 
look. Mulder dismissed the question with a wave of his hand.
	"That's not important. Look, I agreed to keep the deal you made 
with Hall. Karen's coming back again today to interview you." Mulder 
advanced further into the room, looking out of the window to welcome 
the sight of Los Angels under a blue sky.
	"Thanks for telling me that. How long have you been awake?" Jake 
didn't give up.
	"Look! I appreciate your concern, but we're only trying to keep 
everybody alive and safe to testify for us in court." Mulder was too 
exhausted to hide his temper. Jake nodded with an expression damn 
close to a smile. Jake's entire face was screaming: 'I'm not taking 
this bull shit from you'. 
	"You look, Mr. F-B-I! Do you have any idea just how many agents 
are crawling around in this hospital? Any idea how many teams 
Skinner's been sending around this fucking state? I'm safe enough. 
Elly's safe enough. Stella's safe enough by staying here with me. Your 
precious Clive Shaw is safe enough. Your little war room down stairs 
is safe enough. Hell, even Dana's safe, enough since getting the time-
off!" Mulder clenched his jaw so tightly, he heard his teeth complain. 
He quickly approached Jake's bed, gritting his teeth even more with 
the force of storm raging inside him.
	"What the hell did they say to you?! I'm fine, Jake! I've been 
away for two weeks, but I was in training. You're not responsible for 
everybody's life!" Mulder was shouting, and the nurse who'd been 
passing by the room looked in to see what was wrong. Her eyes rounded 
when she saw Mulder. He took out his budge and showed it to the female 
nurse. She left the room in a hurry. Mulder sighed, admitting his 
defeat. He dropped into the chair set next to Jake's bed, and turned 
to pat on Stella's head.
	"Thanks to you, she's recovering nicely." Jake resumed his calm, 
stretching his arm to its limit to pat her on her head. She looked up 
groggily and licked Jake's hand. Mulder shrugged and kept his hand 
moving over the large black spot on Stella's lower back. "I apologize 
for jumping up on you like that. But really, what went so wrong to 
make you care about Dana so much? 
"You give Dana the impression that you over-protect her. I can 
understand where that came from, because I've been living with you two 
for about a week before all this happened. On the first day, you told 
me that she needed to eat more. On the second day before you left for 
San Francisco, she told me that you needed as much sleep as you could 
get. 
"I have to confess that I've heard a lot of stories about you; both 
the good ones and the bad ones. You're not God, Mulder. Not every 
fucking wrong that happens to any of us in here or out there, is your 
fault. No one's fate, with the exception of your own, is in your 
hands. You have such degree of integrity, that you excessively burden 
yourself with the responsibilities of your job. Honestly, I never 
understood why anyone would refuse to acknowledge these truths. You 
should be getting nothing less than their utmost respect." Mulder 
grinned at the last words, but kept his silence. Jake pulled back his 
hand from Stella to rest it at his knees, over the bedcovers. "What's 
wrong with Dana?" The question was simple and straight. Mulder 
swallowed quickly against the imaginary knife that was tearing at his 
gut.
	"Ahh... I don't think I should be the one to be telling you 
that. It's her personal problem." Jake saw Mulder's gaze darting 
everywhere except on his eyes, and nodded his understanding for 
Mulder's need to hide his pain.
	"That serious, huh?" Jake muttered. Mulder didn't answer, but 
his jaw clenched. Jake dropped his shoulder and took a deep breath to 
change gear. "Let's just go over what we have on you here. I'll start 
by what I know or believe as facts. Aliens abducted your baby sister 
when you were twelve and she was eight. Your parents ended up 
divorcing because of this unfortunate incident. You escaped to England 
and eventually became an Oxford graduate psychologist. You were 
scouted into the FBI, then graduated top of your class at Quantico. 
You became the FBI's top VCU mind-hunter. You were their golden boy 
until one fateful day when you stumbled over the X-Files and got 
shoved down in the J. Edger Hoover building's basement. Your first 
name is Fox, and your nickname's 'Spooky'."
	"How'd you know that those are acutally 'facts'?" Mulder tapped 
on the floor with his feet, wondering more about how Jake learned so 
much about him than Jake's motive for coming out with this surprise 
attack on his ego. Jake shook his head 'no', clearly in a gesture that 
the man had this show for now. Mulder waved a dismissal. 
	"Now, on to the bad stories. You have a knack for ignoring 
Bureau protocols, and you rarely go 'by the book' in your 
investigations. You have little faith in the United States Government, 
yet you've worked throughout your entire career for Uncle Sam. You 
keep giving the Hollywood Sci-Fi writers a run for their money with 
your out-of-this-world theories. By doing this, you keep giving your 
high-ups good reasons to gang up on you and your department's 
reputation." Now Mulder furrowed his eyebrows, because he didn't know 
just who opened up whose big mouth to get Jake so very informed.
	"Have you any idea what kind of trouble your sources can get 
into by revealing this much internal information to anyone outside law 
enforcement community?" Mulder tried this mild threat to hopefully 
keep Jake's next attack at bay. It didn't work.
"Let's move on to the really bad stories. You've reportedly gone 
insane while searching for Scully after she was abducted, which leads 
us to the rumor of you having an encounter of sexual nature with a 
female suspect in a vampire cult case. This last rumor gave birth to a 
large population of broken hearted men, since there were lots of male 
staff in the entire FBI who suspected you as a single, devastatingly 
handsome, and utterly desirable homosexual male. The majority of the 
FBI believes you've been having a decidedly unprofessional nature of 
relationship with your partner despite their knowledge of evidences to 
contradict their groundless rumors."
Mulder was so shocked to hear the mention of that particular LA case, 
he didn't have the presence of his mind to silence Jake with a retort. 
In fact, his mouth refused to form a word in reply as he stared agape 
at Jake, who gave him a 'it's not a big deal' wave. Now Mulder began 
contemplating all sorts of enjoyable method of torture to conduct on 
Jake's own personal Deep Throats. 
"I want names, Jake. I want them right now. Who told you all this? A 
lot of what you just told me is classified information. Okay, I admit 
that a lot of people in the Bureau knew about the time when Scully 
went missing. A lot of people saw me scavenging in the dark for any 
clues leading to Scully's whereabouts, and I admit that I snapped at 
Skinner during a meeting held in his office. But why would anyone know 
about the cult case I investigated?"
"This is LA, Mulder. You were here, and so were lots of people." This 
was why Mulder was so reluctant to return to this City of Angels in 
the first place. He slammed a fist into his other palm, grimacing as 
the sharp pain hit the hand, then kept going until it bounced back at 
the socket of the arm. Seeing Mulder's distress, Jake threw his arms 
in the air, and winced at the pain the movement caused. Wanting to 
explain just what Mulder was getting wrong but not being able to find 
enough patience, Jake released a frustrated sigh and began yelling. 
"Why do you do all this to yourself, Mulder?! Do you think I've been 
airing your dirty laundry for nothing? Don't you get my point here? 
None of these details about your past changes a thing about how I feel 
about you! I bet the same goes for everyone who knows you well enough! 
People can whack me in the head again; they can even bomber me again 
with yet another load of skeletons hiding in your closet, and I still 
wouldn't change my mind about you! Dana's of the same opinion, yet you 
refuse to believe her!"
"You believe whatever the hell you want, Kathler! But regardless, I'll 
find out who tipped you with all this, and then I'll drop both of your 
asses before the Office of Professional Conduct for a hearing. Your 
new friend will be out of the job in a matter of seconds, and he'll be 
lucky if he avoids a jail sentence in the court of law!!" Mulder was 
now standing up, shouting into Jake's ears regardless of who heard 
him.
Deep down, Mulder knew there was some bigger plan at work in Jake's 
mind; that Jake was only taunting Mulder to yank him out of the 
closely guarded fortress of his heart. But goodness help him, Mulder 
was losing control on his pent-up rage.
"Dana's got horrible nicknames like 'Ice Queen' and 'Mrs. Spooky'. She 
lost lots of friends while supporting the X-Files and you. She lost 
her elder sister, who was shot dead mistaken for Dana. She had been 
abducted five times in the course of the past four years; one of which 
being an alien abduction. But still, she insists she wouldn't change a 
day of her life even if she had a chance." 
	"She just might take that back tomorrow for all I know. She 
shouldn't have been with me. I needed her, but she didn't need me. At 
least, not until recently. Right now, all she should be worried about 
is herself; not me. Never about me."   
	"Dana said you have a tendency to blame yourself every damn 
time, that it's exhausting trying to convince you otherwise." 'Deep 
Throat Number One.' Mulder thought, not being surprised, but rather 
hurt that she'd share so many private information with Jake Kathler; 
Fox Mulder's mirror image, and a perfect confidant.
	"I'm going to punish her for saying that. She better thank 
Skinner for getting her a time off." Mulder grunted, but Jake knew 
that Mulder wasn't mad at his beloved partner. The agent's forlone 
gaze betrayed the man's own words.
	"I didn't know you were her senior; that you were the department 
head. You never act like a boss. I know you act like a FBI agent as 
much as you need to, but it's refreshing to actually witness someone 
exhibiting a model behavior. I'm a boss of many people, and I'm a 
partner to many people; but none of us get along the way you do. I get 
angry. I kick and scream my gut out when something bothers the hell 
out of me. I don't go looking for fights, but I did pick up one or two 
in the past." Mulder noticed Jake's need to talk about something 
personal. He assumed Jake was trying to even out the score by airing 
out his own dirty laundry and opening up a padlocked closet of his own 
for Mulder's benefit.
	"Does this have anything to do with the official complaint filed 
against you by the construction guy? Thomas?" Mulder knew he nailed 
Jake when the man shifted uncomfortably before nodding his admittance. 
	"It was a game of 21, the extreme version. I wanted to get 
revenge, but I was so enraged, I actually endangered both of our lives 
that night. Alex killed herself because that guy didn't let her go. 
She told him she was getting married to me, and she needed to end 
their affair. Thomas threatened her by telling her that 'it ain't over 
until he says it's over'. According to her diary, this scared shit out 
of her."
	"That would scare anybody. She could've consulted this with her 
friends, then maybe even go to the police and talk to them." Mulder 
only wanted to distract Jake for a second with his interference, 
because Jake was suddenly looking pale and a bit green at the gills. 
The level of trauma Jake suffered upon learning the truth behind his 
fiance's suicide must have been devastating. Jake shook his head in 
defiance.
"I should've been home that night, Mulder. I should've taken time off 
when she needed me to; when she begged me to. ...She was giving me 
warnings. I know that now. The worst thing is that I knew she was in a 
whole lot more trouble than she was showing on the outside, but I did 
close to nothing about it. I didn't know why she was crying; why she 
was suddenly talking about how she used to think she wouldn't wake up 
the next morning if she fell asleep. I didn't think deep enough when 
she told me why she felt as if her mother was still controlling her 
life. 
"In her diary, she talked about a lot of things about herself that I 
never even knew or suspected. Like, why she was so fascinated with 
fire; why she felt she wasn't worth shit; and why she thought her 
friends would kick her away if she ever told any of them of her affair 
with Thomas. Mulder, I should've been there for her instead of taking 
her for-granted. I should've never made assumptions about what was the 
best for her, or what she was really thinking behind her smiles. 
...It's so hard to know." Jake was now picking on his nails, his eyes 
only occasionally meeting his.
	"Jake. It's my psychology degree, and two-week psychiatry 
training talking, but what Alex should've gotten is a professional 
help. It is obvious that the situation was out of control way before 
you came into her life. I retrieved your case file, and I know she had 
an abortion when she was eighteen. Her parents are divorced. Those are 
enough reasons for anyone to seek some type of professional help. 
"She should've confessed to you about having an affair with Thomas. 
She should've told you that she chose you in the end, because you were 
whom she wanted as her life-partner. She should've known you well 
enough to understand that you'd forgive her in time. What she was 
doing wasn't a crime, because legally speaking, anyone can have more 
than one sexual partner for as long as it stops before the wedding. 
What she did with Thomas maybe immoral, but not illegal. The true 
crime she committed was suicide." Mulder paused to wait for Jake's 
reaction, but this time, Jake was the one who stayed silent. Mulder 
leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
	"Jake. You know how long I've been doing this job. People take 
their own lives for many reasons. I've taken a case in Alaska where an 
ice-core sample research group was found dead. There was absolutely no 
survivor. They were infected with a species of worm that entered their 
bodies as hosts. The aggressive nature of the worms made their hosts 
lethal; thus successfully turning a group of intensely trained 
scholars into murderers. They kept killing one another until they were 
down to just two men and a dog. These two men had their guns pointed 
at each other. The moment they faced each other, they understood what 
they had become and the magnitude of the consequences of their 
actions. They finally pointed their guns to their own heads and pulled 
the triggers. Either way, results would have been the same. But I 
think it was their last-ditch effort to preserve what was left of 
their dignity, and to save the lives of our investigation team that 
they knew would eventually come looking for them. But they forgot to 
shoot the dog, and it survived. We've lost our pilot and a research 
assistant as a result of the same infection as the researchers died 
of.
	"There also was a case where a cult group committed mass-
suicides, and one of the victims was a woman who we both believed to 
have been my wife in our past life. We got our past names, layouts of 
the Civil War battle and the bunker that I never knew about before. 
It's a long story, and we've used regression hypno-therapy which 
afforded no credibility for our story. I didn't feel like finding 
anything more about my past life after that woman died of forced 
suicide, and the FBI was desperate to close the case to save face. 
Scully was worried, because I suddenly became someone else in my own 
eyes, and she felt uncomfortable, because I saw Scully as my fellow 
soldier in my regressed life. All of us reportedly have died in that 
Civil War battle against the Union army. 
"Then, there was a man who returned injured from a war, and 
desperately wanted to die. I mean, this guy deliberately threw himself 
into boiling water, and still didn't succeed. This man actually ended 
up surviving through a series of suicide attempts, and now works in 
the military base as a mail courier. There'd been no more suicide plan 
from the guy, and the last I heard, his bosses have been treating him 
very nicely. 
"Then, I've had that vampire cult case here, which you've already 
heard about." Explaining about himself and Kristin Kilar was something 
he never wanted to do again. How the hell was he supposed to know that 
there were security cameras set up in nearly every room of the huge 
mansion? Kristin never showed any concern for them, and it never even 
occurred to her to warn him about them. Well, he had to remember that 
she was already half insane before she even met him. All he had to do 
to close the case file after his return to DC was to tell his bosses 
that all DNA evidence had been destroyed by the fire, and that the 
fire also destroyed the security tapes in the basement. 
"There was this woman who was running from three vampires who kept 
chasing her wherever she went. She was protecting herself in every way 
possible, but she eventually took her own life to become a vampire 
herself. She didn't do this only because she was a definite believer 
in vampirism, thus believed she could kill them all by first becoming 
one of them before taking her own life, because a vampire can only be 
killed by another vampire. But she also killed herself to protect my 
life from the vampires.
"I was there to protect her, but she already knew that I needed to 
find Scully. This case happened during the time Scully was missing, 
and at the time I was investigating this cult case, I was beginning to 
lose hope of ever finding her. I think Kristen wanted to save my life, 
because she knew that this chase would never be over wherever she ran 
to, and regardless of whom she was with. Also, what gave her the final 
push was her knowledge that I was their next chosen victim. 
"During the short period of time that I spent with her, she told me 
stories about her past and about herself. I believe that my being who 
I am helped earning her trust. I asked her how she got herself into 
this vampire business. ...She was a victim of severe child abuse, and 
she became obsessed with blood sport after tasting her ex-boyfriend's 
blood by accident after he beat her up. At the same time, she told me 
that the jerk also tasted her blood, and together they got into the 
blood sport.
"She told me about how ...how her father used to beat her up, and that 
he once broke two of her tooth. After asking me if I'd ever tasted 
blood, and after describing to me how it tasted to her, she told me 
that when she bled, she at least knew that she was still alive. "
	"Sounds like the relationship between Alex and fire." Jake 
commented, nodding to himself. 'That's true.' Mulder thought.
	"My point in all of this talk is that people can and do kill 
themselves for many reasons. There are a variety of situations and 
reasons to trigger such cruelty against oneself, but Alex had many 
chances. She had every way to get herself out of her troubles. One: 
she had you. Two: she had friends. Three: she had time to act. Four: 
she wasn't suffering from any particular terminal illness. She was 
indeed suffering, but her suffering was an emotional pain of which she 
perceived and considered as an eternal one. 
"Alex could have gone to counseling at any time in her life. If she 
ever had, it's obvious that she wasn't in it for long enough. Or, 
maybe she wasn't motivated enough. She should have spilled her guts. 
She could have stopped you physically if she had to, just to keep you 
from going to work, so you'd eventually sit down with her to talk. She 
could've even left the house and told you that she wasn't ready for a 
marriage, yet. But she didn't take any of these options. Instead, she 
chose to give up living entirely. That's a very serious crime to 
commit against any faithful human being."
	"Have you been betrayed?" Jake's question felt like a sharp 
blade, plunged deeply into Mulder's already broken heart. Mulder 
thought up a reply for a few seconds before nodding a few 'yes'.
	"We were together ...or so I believed, ...in Oxford. I was in 
love with her from head to toe, but she only kept me for fun; a change 
of wind. What I didn't know at the time was that I wasn't the only 
favorite she had in her arms. I was young and stupid back then. I was 
getting top-level grades. I was regarded very highly among the 
faculties, thus they put me through the highest level of classes that 
Oxford had to offer. My successful academic accomplishments inflamed 
my ego, and I was also being considered as one of the best basketball 
players that the university had in their hands at that period of 
time." Mulder gave a defiant shake of his head to Jake's 'way to go, 
man!' look. Jake pursed his lips, getting Mulder's 'brace yourself' 
look.
"All this attention never helped my already inflaming ego, and on top 
of that, there were lots of girls who were willing to date me or take 
me out to dinners if not to their rooms. So, having me in their arms 
became a competition among the female students who lived on and off 
the campus. 
"I went out with a couple of women during my freshman year, but I 
quickly learned that they only wanted a few sentences about meaning of 
life from my mind before they got their money's worth from my body. In 
fact, none of the women who came on to me wanted their families to 
know who I was. None of them wanted to spend weekends with me if they 
weren't going to 'get any'. I was supposed to be their secret lover; 
someone who they wanted to know, only because I was a Scottish-Jewish 
cross, American male student from a rich broken family who had flying 
colors on his report cards and in basketball courts." 
Both Mulder's expression and tone of voice turned bitter as the 
memories hit. Jake tightened his pursed lips, his eyes holding a 
pained expression of one who understood the pain of betrayal. Mulder 
never gave Jake more than a few seconds of glance before nodding 
briefly and kept on with the rest of the story. 
"I sometimes helped them with their own homework or projects if they 
happened to be in the same classes as me. But that never helps any one 
to learn about each other. I admit that before I left US, no one who 
knew me or my childhood wanted to have anything to do with me. I never 
went to a prom. I never even went to the homecoming dances, and I 
never attended Christmas parties in which I knew kids from my school 
would attend. I was never ready to face the only game in which I knew 
I would lose, and that was the game of love." Mulder visibly tensed as 
the memories hit him full-force again. Mulder inhaled a deep breath, 
then held it for several seconds before releasing it. This exercise 
always helped Mulder in such a situation, and it worked again as he'd 
hoped. He'd never told any of this to anybody. Not even his old 
therapist knew about these issues to this degree, and it had been 
nearly a decade ago since he'd seen the female therapist in England.
"I was pretty good at covering my tracks, but Phoebe Greene was 
nothing if not brilliant. Her experiences in conquering men's hearts 
and leaving them to bleed to death helped her to see my covers right 
through. I believe she'd been spying on me until the time came for her 
to pounce on me. I say this, because when I met her, she knew how 
exactly to approach me. She knew what sort of behavior would best 
capture my attention, and she quickly learned what kinds of stories to 
pull on me to make me laugh or cry." Mulder was talking while keeping 
his eyes to the scenery outside the windows, so he missed Jake's 
complexion growing paler as he went on. 
"She always knew how to best show off her beauty to intrigue me; knew 
how to show me off to other girls as if I was her trophy that had now 
been captured securely in her arms. The very moment when I allowed 
myself to take a plunge into her arms, ready to give her everything I 
had in the world, was the moment when I dug my own grave. My conquered 
heart took all Phobe's fun out of having me around. 
"She spent about the next three months carefully dissecting me, 
picking my brains where she detected a tenderness. She then went about 
tearing me apart bit by bit, breaking my confidence and reducing me to 
nothing more than a pile of broken dreams, broken promises and 
despair. I must've looked like a night demon's leftover dinner at that 
point. Phoebe even succeeded in breaking my spirit, until it got to a 
point where a mere sight of her would nauseate me. She was just one 
who wouldn't quit until everything was complete, and this meant until 
I was incapacitated or beyond repair." 
Now Jake was visibly wincing, seriously questioning Phoebe Greene's 
sanity. Jake could think of a thousand tortures that a hoard of women 
who wrote to him would love to conduct on her. Just then, Mulder 
chanced a look at Jake and shrugged in silent acknowledgement. Jake's 
good hand made a flap-flap in the space in between his knees over the 
bedcovers, clearly attempting to say something, but not being able to. 
Mulder turned toward the windows again, leaning forward to rest his 
elbows over his knees. He exhaled a huge breath before going on with 
the last bit of his Phoebe story. 
"I knew from a long time ago before our break-up happened that she 
wouldn't be good to me. But I was already addicted to her spontaneity, 
her spark, her intelligence, and her body. She was like a potent 
narcotic that you just can't stop once you start. I should have known 
that when I finally gathered up my nerves to deliver my parting words 
to Phoebe, she'd already seen it coming from me. She knew it was about 
time, and she'd been planning on how best to deliver one last kick 
into my already-broken heart. She was ahead in her own game, and she 
never gave me the chance to hold an upper hand. After my call, asking 
her to meet me somewhere to talk in private, she very calmly asked me 
to come to her place, because she wanted to show me something. I was 
too stupid to realize what tricks she had up her sleeve, so I agreed.
"When I got to her place, her door was unlocked. For a second I was 
worried if something bad had happened to her, so I knocked on the door 
three times, three knocks each. There was no answer, so I really 
became worried and opened the door. I thought about calling the police 
at the sight of all the clothes scattering on the living room floor, 
but I realized there was no signs of a struggle. No blood stain on the 
polished hardwood floor, not a broken window nor china in sight. 
However, I did find an empty bottle of brandy on the kitchen counter. 
I was inspecting the pieces of clothing that decidedly belonged to a 
man's business wear when I got the first inkling of what was really 
going on in this apartment. I didn't own many business suits back 
then, and certainly nothing with pinstripes. I felt my blood rushing 
to my feet at the implications this situation offered me.
"The classic music coming from a CD player mixed with the groans and 
moans from the bedroom gave me even more evidences that my fears were 
realized. That she was fucking a man in her bed; the very Queen-size 
bed where I used to lie. The worst part was, this wasn't the only time 
I caught her sneaking around with another man. Each time I confronted 
her about her disloyalty to me, she managed to find a way to somehow 
blame me for her faithless acts. She never said anything to me 
directly, but asked me questions that were purposely formed to lead me 
to doubt myself, or hate myself.
"I burst into her bedroom, my arms full of all the clothes I gathered 
from the living room. When I saw her riding a red-faced man twice her 
age like a bronco, I threw their clothes in their faces and told her 
that it was over between us. That I never wanted to see her face or 
hear her voice again. She had the nerve to laugh at me, squeeze her 
new bedmate's balls in front of 'my' eyes, then ask me if I wanted to 
'join' them. I gritted my teeth and told the guy to enjoy her 
tortures. The guy shouted at me to get the hell out of his sight, and 
I gladly did as he asked. The last thing I heard as I was leaving was 
the guy reaching his orgasm. I remember puking my guts out just 
outside her front door." 
Now Jake gaped at Mulder, honestly wondering how the man ever survived 
the experience in one piece. No wonder Mulder never sold himself cheap 
despite the hungry eyes women often sent to him. From the strong words 
Mulder responded with to his self-loathing about not being there to 
support Alex, Jake had been suspecting that Mulder must've thought 
seriously about doing the same to himself before deciding against it. 
Jake wouldn't be surprised a bit if Mulder was suicidal around the 
time this traumatic event had taken place. Sensing Jake's prying eyes, 
Mulder stood up from his seat and began pacing in front of the 
windows. Jake noted the man's arms were crossed in front of his chest; 
a defensive gesture.
"Phoebe is a mind-player extraordinare; but a player who knows exactly 
what buttons to push to play her boys. Ten years after we broke up, 
she still had nerves to show up in my life to throw me and Scully into 
a spontaneous human combustion case, fully aware of my phobia for 
fire. She still knew, even after ten years, just how to play me. She 
alienated me from Scully, showed her old aggression and spontaneity by 
booking me into a hotel room without consulting me first, then flashed 
me that mischievous Phoebe smile that was drenched with seduction. She 
had us dancing, and eventually kissing in each other's arms. 
"I was stupid to have fallen into her trap again, but she made every 
move that made me want to believe she really wanted to make up for 
what she's done to me. The very next day, I caught her kissing the 
married guy whom she was assigned to protect. Did I mention that the 
guy had a perfectly lovely wife and two kids?" Mulder rolled his eyes, 
recalling his moment of realization that he was being had once again. 
At least this time she didn't ask him to 'join' in her fun with the 
distinguished gentleman in her arms. Jake released a gasp of 
disbelief, then cursed a blue string before getting himself calmed 
down enough to drink a whole cup of water and face Mulder's rather 
amused expression; no doubt enjoying every word Jake would have loved 
to spit out in Phoebe's beautiful face. 
	"Jesus fucking Christ!! Any sane person would wonder why she's 
still alive. How can this woman keep living with herself that way?!" 
Stopping and leaning against the window glass, Mulder shrugged and 
answered Jake matter-of-factly.
	"That's very simple: absence of guilt, and a complete lack of 
remorse. Love is just a game to her. Each man's heart is a card to 
play. When she came to me after ten years, she had me and Scully 
believing that there was a plastic bomb planted in our car. She left a 
cassette tape with a message, saying we were already sitting on it; 
that it was underneath my driver's seat, plenty enough to blow us 
forty feet up into the air. She even went as far as to booby-trap the 
vehicle's locking mechanism, thus trapping us inside. Then she yanked 
open the door and poked her head inside. She was smiling from ear to 
ear, while me and Scully thought we were both dead."
	"Why didn't you punch her in the nose?! That itself is an 
offense punishable by law. Even the English law would find her unfit 
for duty!"
	"We were like that when we dated. Wild. Impulsive. Crazy. Had 
sex over Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's grave." Mulder shook his head, 
laughing at the memory and Jake's expression.
	"Me and Alex had sex during someone's wedding ceremony, and 
occasionally in our bathtub if that adds up to anything." Jake 
shrugged. Mulder's snickering disappeared, and Jake realized what 
question was coming next. 
	"How did you propose her? You keep talking about it." Mulder 
tilted his head to a side, curiosity clear in his eyes. Jake smiled 
solemnly and stared at his hands.
	"On her 26th birthday. She had a birthday party at her office 
with her colleagues, but she didn't bring anybody home with her. That 
was just fine for me, because I was nervous and wanted to be alone 
with her when I popped the question. I had a paper doll suspended from 
the ceiling with the tiny velvet box for you-know-what hidden inside 
it. I blindfolded her and gave her my baseball bat. I then told her to 
break it and get her present. 
"She tried hitting the doll, but she kept missing it. I was out of 
patience, so I finally held her from behind her, and helped her crash 
it to the floor. She cried out with joy every time we hit the doll, 
and we succeeded after about two, three tries. I have to keep 
reminding myself that she was happy, really truly happy, if only for 
that moment. The moment that doll fell to the floor, she crawled on 
her hands and needs, trying to find the 'gift'. I turned on a fan that 
I set nearby, then took her to the bench I moved over a layer of 
imitation lawn. She asked me what was going on, so I said it was 
'atmosphere'." Mulder watched as Jake's cheeks reddened while the rest 
of his face broke into a shy, boyish smile. Mulder decided not to 
comment on it. 
	"I told her to wait, because I wanted to do this right. I had 
her open the little box, then took the blindfold off of her face. She 
looked startled when she took in the ring. Her eyes popped open, and I 
said, 'Marry me, Alex.' She began screaming, falling from the bench 
and rolling around on the floor." 
Mulder braced himself the moment that boyish smile evaporated from 
Jake's face, and they were reminded of how this particular story 
ended. Mulder thought about giving Jake a break and stop this 
confession banter that began with them, but Jake quickly gave him a 
'I'm all right, and I need to get this out' look. This time, Mulder 
pursed his lips.
"But she withdrew quickly. She was on the floor and didn't say 
anything when I lay next to her and held her. I told her to talk to me 
if she had any problem. She told me there was so much I didn't know 
about her. Boy, was she right. I didn't listen to her deep enough when 
she told me about why she used to be afraid to fall asleep. I 
dismissed it as jitters, or frenzy. You know, just a temporary thing. 
I recognized that part of her as her darkness; her shadow. I wanted to 
make her stop feeling afraid, so I told her that shadows made things 
beautiful in light. That's when she finally, and fully, accepted my 
proposal by saying 'yes' under her breath. That was the sweetest 
feeling I've ever experienced." He still stared at his hands, his eyes 
now closed. Mulder felt the need to speak.
	"Jake. In a way, it was a good thing that you guys didn't get 
married. Just think of the concept of marriage here. More than half of 
the marriages happen in this country end up in divorce, because people 
get married for wrong reasons. Maybe they did it too fast, too late, 
or illegitimately. Whatever it is, it sounds like your marriage was 
heading that direction. My own parents got divorced and that was a 
miserable experience. It's amazing to see a family like the Scullys. 
They stick together when it counts." 
This was something that took a lot of courage for him to admit to. 
He'd always been jealous of Dana Scully for being able to have such a 
stable family, but what he was most jealous of would have to be her 
mother, Margaret Scully. Seeing the loner's look that instantly made 
Mulder look ten years older, Jake silently damned Mulder's parents and 
his own. Jake sighed, not wanting Mulder to yet realize just how 
similar their lives were.
	"Look. I know you probably wouldn't have too many enjoyable 
memories by investigating this case. But you know I'll be here, and 
that you're always welcome to stop by my place with or without 
official reasons. In fact, you should stay at my place again. Bring 
your friends. Bring Dana. Bring Hall. Bring Skinner if you want. I 
might have some semblance of a social life by then." Mulder's chuckle 
relieved Jake.
	"Thanks. I'll remember that." Mulder smiled and returned the 
gesture when Jake gave him the high-five. Jake leaned back into his 
bed that had been angled a bit for comfort by one of the kind nurses, 
then began absently playing with his hands. It was again time to get 
serious and realistic. Jake had been working on this issue for a 
while, though he'd been hiding his efforts at all cost. 
	"I know that I'll eventually get Vera, but let's be realistic. 
We never know when that'll happen." No longer smiling, Mulder saw him 
swallow hard at the harshness of his own statement. Mulder stared down 
at his feet.
	"...What do you miss the most about her?" Mulder willed himself 
to look at Jake as he asked the question. Jake only needed a second to 
come up with his answer.
	"Her eyes. Like they're holding answers to all questions. Like 
she knows everything about me, just from looking at me through those 
deep eyes. But, I don't know. I also miss her hands. The way they 
showed me what she was thinking. She grabbed onto me with a death grip 
when I took her down from the security railing; and when I saw her at 
the hospital after getting her in for initial exams. 
"When I first discovered the level of violence she witnessed, I 
literally fell apart. I dropped to my knees, and I just had to hold on 
to her. Then, she touched my face. It was the most relaxing sensation 
I've felt in a long time. So, I closed my eyes and let it happen. By 
saying 'it', I meant about things like the circular motion of her 
hands, the pressure coming constant from her fingertips, and the 
warmth with which they wrapped me in. She has such tiny hands, and I 
knew she was trying to tell me that it was okay for me to open myself 
up. She knew how guarded I am about my weaknesses, and she was 
forgiving me for it. I couldn't help crying." 
	Mulder knew exactly what that felt like. Scully had seen him 
shutter to pieces, and she always managed to patch him back up. But 
when listening to Jake talk about Vera, he was moved at just how much 
strength was packed inside such a tiny body.
	"I guess Vera's hands are what Stella fell for, huh?" Mulder 
said, laughing with Jake. When the laughter calmed down, Jake pointed 
to the reclining chair set beside his bed, right in front of the 
windows.
	"Take that chair and go to sleep. I'll stay awake since I've 
been asleep for far too long. I want to have an on-line conference 
from here with the rest of my business partners." Mulder immediately 
began shaking his head, but Jake was having none of it.
	"Jake, I know what you are trying to do for me. But,..."
	"Don't get into that again. I'll personally report you to 
Skinner if you don't get some rest. Do you want to wait until you 
feint on the floor? I can throw you a pretty good punch from right 
here." Jake pulled a fist, ready for a jab. Mulder shrugged and called 
Skinner to see if he'd be able to catch some sleep while being at 
where he was. Skinner was surprised Mulder had been awake for over 
forty-eight hours, and ordered him to bed. Hearing Mulder's side of 
the brief conversation, Jake threw Mulder a blanket and a pillow. 
After a few seconds of hesitation, Mulder handed Jake his back-up 
piece. Jake took it and studied it as if it was a fine jewelry.
	"You know what happened to your house. You know what got you to 
stay here, and you know how suddenly the attacks came. Wake me up if 
anything happens." Mulder ordered Jake before putting his feet up on 
the radiator, then he finally closed his eyes.


Prescott Hospital Conference Room #2
Los Angels, CA
3 PM

Agent Thomas Hall looked through the police reports again, realizing 
he'd gone way over his head the moment he began hearing about the 
arson incidents, and about Vera's test results going missing. However, 
Hall never expected the case to come this far, and now that Mulder was 
getting his first sleep in two days, Hall was assigned to guard the 
temporary war room with another agent. 
This other agent who now sat across the table from Hall was all 
professionalism: tight-lipped, immaculately dressed in a black 
uniform, the man looked ready to for a war than an investigation. Hall 
preferred being stuck with a pit bull than facing the piece of giant 
rock in front of him. 
	But his temporary roommate didn't present too much of a problem, 
since Hall was engrossed in the evidences in front of him. He'd gone 
through the folders about the dead research assistants, paying close 
attention on how closely each arson details matched with one another, 
and how the cancers that had been the focus of their researches were 
brain tumors of all types. 
Most research subjects reported to have had implants made of identical 
and unidentified material in the back of their necks. Some had one 
behind their ear or on abdomen just above belly button. Some had 
unidentifiable scars from punctual wounds on their legs. Most claimed 
to have little or no memory about their abduction. When they do 
remember, their stories are about being confined to an examination 
table with the EBEs, or about running through a forest somewhere. 
Hall knew these people's daily struggle to be recognized, to be 
credited, or to be listened and understood. Hall wanted to believe 
these stories ever since he was a child. Now, proofs of their 
legitimacy were piling up in front of him higher each day. 
	Hall was now seriously contemplating whether he had a chance of 
transferring to Bureau's D.C. Headquarters, so he would be working 
with Agents Mulder and Scully. He knew the agents could use his help. 
Hall also knew that they didn't want him getting too close to them too 
fast; and he knew their reasons. The X-Files investigations made plane 
highjacking cases look like a walk in a park. Stories told by the 
hundreds and thousands of names, belonged almost entirely to women and 
children who had been taken, exploited, torn apart, stripped of their 
dignity, and sometimes stripped of their personalities; all in the 
name of national security and the government's plausible deniability. 
This was something no one could ever prepare Thomas Hall for. This was 
the side of human nature he never wanted to witness. Surely, he read 
textbooks and heard lectures about serial murderers, past political 
wars, holocausts, famines, religious wars, and the outbreaks of lethal 
viruses. But this was different. This was done right under their 
noses; out of reach from the eyes of the law; away from the hands of 
justice; all by the selected a few of their own. The things Hall came 
to learn were most likely what kept waking him up, screaming.
	He was deep into the Jarvis' journals when his cellular rang. He 
was greeted by Mulder's groggy voice, asking him to go get Linda Lowry 
at the door, because she just informed Mulder that she had the Kathler 
family's background check report, and it was important. Glad for any 
excuse to step away from the horrific truths staring back at him, Hall 
complied without hesitation.
	Linda was complaining to the guards about her being denied 
access when Hall arrived and thanked her for coming by. Linda 
practically threw the folder at him and left without another word. 
Hall felt guilty for their lack of social niceties, but the security 
needed to be tight. Hall delivered the folder personally to Jake's 
room, but he almost missed the fact that it was stumped 'CONFIDENTIAL' 
before Jake asked him what it was.  
	"Confidential documents." He replied a little too quickly, and 
this got Jake's stone-faced stare. Hall noted Mulder had dropped back 
to sleep, and left the room without forcing the man awake. Jake kept 
staring at the thick folder, but decided to give up before he got into 
another trouble.


Jake's Room 
Prescott Hospital
Los Angels, CA
9 PM Same Day

To answer his own questions to Linda Lowry's report on Jake Kathler's 
childhood, Mulder called on all her sources to check out the story 
himself. He knew how reluctant Linda was about dispensing any off-the-
record details, and he had a hunch they were important. Linda's 
initial assessment on Jake was proven accurate especially after 
reading her final report. No evidence of excess physical abuse, only 
occasional basketball injuries and a few bruises from typical 
adolescence street fights.
	 What caught Mulder's attention at first were the allay of 
negative comments from his school teachers about his 'inattention in 
class', 'lack of participation', and his 'tendency for self-inflicted 
isolation' from the rest of the class. Mulder nearly laughed himself 
silly at the next comment: he is always drawing shapes and lines on 
notebooks'. It was easy picturing Jake in his teenage getting a chalk 
thrown at him. 
Mulder's grin vanished the instant he spotted a few high school 
counselors' notes, accusing Jake of doing drugs on several occasions. 
They were later proven false, but his parents were called, the school 
principal was notified, and the damage was done. Mulder closed his 
eyes momentarily and swallowed a curse. When you're in high school, 
false accusations stung like hell, because very few around you had 
high enough moral sense to go out proving your innocence for you 
before jumping into conclusions.
Jake, as a result, was suspended from the school basketball team for a 
whole year before he was back to playing after changing school. The 
records showed clearly that in his senior year, his parents had sent 
him off to a boarding school in Chicago, Illinois. 
Mulder shook his head slightly as he read about Jake's former 
girlfriend, a reporter for the school's newspaper, openly criticizing 
the school counselors in the very same article where she viciously 
denounced the schoolmates who framed Jake on the narcotics-possession 
charges. Mulder's eyebrows jumped when he read how the reporter ranted 
about Jake's parents for falsely accusing her boyfriend. The girl must 
have been half out of her mind with wrath for making such an 
aggressive attack on so many school-related people with no regard for 
consequences. Either that, or she was head over heels in love with 
Jake Kathler, and knew a whole lot more about his life than anyone, 
including Jake himself, was telling. Mulder threw another sunflower 
seed in his mouth and chewed slowly, formulating plans to contact the 
girl. 
	Linda's thoroughness impressed Mulder, for she included the 
particular newspaper in her report. Miss Nicole Hedgwick, Jake's high 
school sweetheart and now supposedly a worldly-known political speech 
writer and a civil rights activist, wrote a very direct, no-nonsense 
two full-page article packed with her rage, transcending her anger to 
the readers even after sixteen years. Jake's transfer to the boarding 
school terminated their apparently healthy one-year relationship. 
Mulder knew very well what it was like to have someone he loved being 
taken away from him. Ironically, the boarding school was where Jake's 
talent was discovered, and it brought him to the top of the pack. In 
Mulder's own life, the get-away to Oxford in England which he made 
mostly due to Samantha's abduction, made him a psychologist and a top 
FBI agent. 'Why must life work in such cruel ways?' Mulder pondered. 
Mulder knew Linda Lowry must have contacted Miss Hedgwick, or else 
Linda wouldn't have found this much background info. Mulder also 
wanted to know just how much Miss Hedgwick knew about FBI's Kathler 
case. When he got her answering machine, identifying herself by her 
phone number, he figured the woman was getting harassed enough doing 
what she did for a living. Mulder left a message to call him back at 
the earliest convenience. 
	When Miss Hedgwick returned his call an hour later, the first 
words out of her mouth demanded to know if Jake was all right. Mulder 
was startled at first, then he smiled to himself, realizing she 
must've stayed just the same way as she had been in high school, if 
not more fierce. He eyed Jake and judged he would probably stay asleep 
through their conversation. Mulder knew from reading the file that 
Jake shouldn't be put on line without Miss Hedgwick's consent.
	"Yes, he's fine for the moment. I'm sorry to bother you, but I 
need to know about Jake Kathler, and he's under legal obligations to 
provide the state social worker and the bureau's clinical social 
worker with any necessary information relating to his childhood 
experiences..."
	"Agent Mulder? I know all that. He's taking care of an orphan." 
She cut him off, not the type to talk shop or make small talks. Mulder 
grinned wider, already looking forward to meeting with her. 'This is 
going to be interesting'.
	"I'm a primary investigator and a psychologist, so I'd 
appreciate it if you could tell me a little more..."
	"I've heard about you already. I'm in San Francisco. Why don't 
you come?" Mulder hesitated. "Agent Mulder?" Miss Hedgwick persisted. 
'They were in high school the last time they met. There's a good 
chance she won't recognize Jake.' Mulder told himself as he replied 
'yes'.
	"I maybe coming to San Francisco for a follow-up on an 
investigation..."
	"Where will you be staying?" She cut him off again, and this 
began to annoy Mulder. But judging from her article, he could 
understand if she was a bit overly concerned. 
	"I'll have to discuss this first with my partner..."
	"What time's your flight?" Mulder raised his eyebrows. The woman 
had a sharp mind. Mulder gave her his flight number, but she was gone 
by the time he proceeded to ask her about her knowledge of the case. 
Mulder gaped at his phone for a few moments with disbelief, then 
decided to leave Scully in the dark on this for a while. Just when he 
reached his car, his cell phone rang again.
	"Agent Mulder? Never mind San Francisco. I'm coming to Los 
Angels. I know about FBI blocking the press out of Prescott and Henry 
Barrington's hospitals, but maybe you can pass them a few words to let 
me in. I'll be happy to meet the bureau social worker in person."
	"What?!" Mulder's exasperation was heard over the phone line, 
but Miss Hedgwick stayed silent as Mulder stared up at the ceiling, 
pondering his options. The woman's silence only held out for two 
seconds. With a sigh, she reopened her mouth , but this time she spoke 
as if she was talking to a four-year old.
	"If something concerns Jake and he's about to be judged wrong 
again, I'm there. I won't let anyone tarnish his name or character 
just because his trashy parents ruined his life. If you want me to 
testify in court hearings, you're welcome to use me. Miss Lowry said 
that since Jake's parents are deceased, she had to rely on his old 
friends."
	"Uhh... Miss Hedgwick? You're jumping way ahead of ourselves 
here." Mulder blinked a few times and cleared his throat. His temper 
had subsided now that he got a hint of just how much this woman knew 
about Jake, and how much she must still care about him, even after 
more than a decade. Miss Hedgwick smacked something, and released a 
loud sigh in an apparent attempt to calm herself down.
	"Sorry. It's just that, when anyone talks about Jake, I get 
protective and a bit self-conscious. Old habits die hard, you know. 
Miss Lowry wasn't too informative about the end of Jake's spiteful 
parents, but I hope they died screaming, miserable, and alone. I can 
die a happy gal if they're enjoying their after-life being burned to a 
crisp in the very pit of hell for eternity. But don't worry about Jake 
inheriting their bad habits. Knowing him, I can assure you that he'll 
be an excellent father. He tends to give others what he couldn't have 
for himself, and that's what I loved the most about him." 
	"Meaning?" Mulder almost asked her if she's ever been treated 
professionally for her inadequacy in impulse control, but he doubted 
it. Then, he thought back to the Kathler family's financial statements 
included in Lowry's report. They weren't exactly a well-off family.
	"You'll know more in person, Agent Mulder. It's a little too 
personal a subject to talk over the phone, and it has nothing to do 
with money or objects." Again, Miss Hedgwick was sharp. Mulder nodded 
to himself and gave her the Prescott Hospital's address, but she 
already had it. "See you tomorrow." With that, she was gone again 
before Mulder could ask what time she'll be by. 'She's like a storm.' 
Mulder thought. The man already had enough trouble in his hands, and 
because Mulder had the man's personal authorization to 'dig up' 
whatever information he thought as relevant, he decided to leave Jake 
in the dark on this one, too. But it didn't mean he liked keeping 
secrets from the troubled man.
	


Prescott Hospital Main Lobby
Los Angels, CA
8:15 AM Next Day

After his San Francisco trip was canceled by Skinner, Mulder gladly 
used the time to go down to check the lobby hourly to find Nicole 
Hedgwick. He wore a pair of sunglasses and his clip-on FBI budge, 
hopefully as a warning in case she mixed him up with Jake. He kept his 
eyes on search for a said 5,8", thirty-six years old, short brunette 
haired female in a black business suit and a navy trench coat. Mulder 
spotted her slender form right away, and showed her his main FBI budge 
upon approaching her. 
When the woman took off her sunglasses, Mulder's eyebrows shot up an 
inch behind the dark lenses. She was gorgeous. Especially with her 
dark blue eyes enhanced by her dark hair. They shook hands as Nicole 
Hedgwick flashed him a full smile and began apologizing for her 
earlier attitude.
	"Look. Under the circumstances, I don't think I should see Jake. 
But I came all this way for your convenience, so at least buy me a cup 
of coffee." She jumped right to the point, leaving Mulder only a 
moment to nod before walking off to the elevator. She spared Mulder 
from the pain of asking her to stay out of Jake's view. When they sat 
down at a table in a somewhat secluded corner of the cafeteria, Miss 
Hedgwick looked around once more before staring back at Mulder.
	"Why don't you be polite and take your sunglasses off? I always 
prefer straight-talking with new people." Mulder uttered a quick 
apology and reluctantly took them off. Her eyes widened like saucers, 
indicating she hadn't looked at his ID photos long enough nor hard 
enough. Mulder closed his eyes for a long moment. 
	"I know what you're thinking. I look exactly like Jake Kathler. 
Only he's not my clone, and we're not related." Miss Hedgwick nodded 
in silence. "I'm sorry if our physical resemblance makes you feel 
uncomfortable." He added, watching her watch him. She shook her head 
with defiance.
	"So... this is how Jake, the grown-up version of the man I 
loved, looks like today? My God, he's beautiful!" She watched as 
Mulder briefly smiled, blushed, then cleared his throat not knowing 
how to respond right. She shook her head again. "No, I don't... I 
mean, you don't make me uncomfortable. It rather makes it easier. That 
is, if you don't mind me getting you two mixed up. You know, if I call 
you Jake by mistake on a couple of occasions and you'll let it slide." 
She never blushed. 'Not a type to get embarrassed easily', Mulder 
thought. He had no clue to how she and Jake had been a compatible 
couple. 'A lot has changed since high school', Mulder reminded himself 
as he nodded in agreement. "Where should I start?" Miss Hedgwick asked 
as she shifted in her chair, ready to talk.
	"Could you describe the relationship between Jake and his 
parents in general? If you can give me examples?" Mulder complied with 
her request of 'straight-talk' by getting rid of sugar-coating from 
his speech, yet without being rude.
	"Sure. Jake wasn't too open about them, but he told me they 
never wanted him in the first place. It was an accidental pregnancy, 
happened in the back of a van Samuel Kathler owned. They were watching 
one of those drive-in movies, too jolly indulging in free-sex slogan 
of the era. They were already grown-ups and had steady jobs. Sam as a 
divorce lawyer in a small private law firm, and Cindy a private school 
science teacher. Their collage degrees obviously didn't wise them up 
in the ways that they should have. 
"Jake was mostly left alone at home, wearing his house keys to school 
around his neck. His mother usually went to one of her lady friends' 
houses or to social gatherings, trying to elevate her status by 
mingling with the rich men's wives. Needless to say, that left us a 
lot of hours in his house to ourselves." As much as he liked watching 
her eyes travel everywhere and her hands jump up and down trying to 
emphasize her statements, Mulder recognized the drastic changes in her 
gaze as she spoke the last word. Mulder failed to restrain a grin. She 
immediately caught herself and apologized. Mulder shook his head no.
	"I understand how this must be like for you." He saw the corners 
of her mouth curl up into a knowing smile.
	"Well, what do you expect from a life? Anyway, when he was a 
little boy, he had nightmares like any normal boy. They were about 
typical things like monsters hiding under his bed or something. But 
his parents never came to him and picked him up; or even to hold him 
and tell him that everything was okay. Instead, they just stood at the 
door, flipped on the light switch, and scolded him for screaming loud. 
That he'd just cost them their precious sleep. Then, they'd tell him 
that if he had another nightmare, they were just dreams and were never 
real. In the end, they usually told him not to scream so loud next 
time. Tell me as a psychologist, Agent Mulder. How the hell a six-year 
old supposed to control his natural physical responses to what his 
mind registered as an immediate danger or a threat to his life?!" 
Miss Hedgwick's eyes were brazing ice storms. Mulder himself shook his 
head, sighing as he clasped his hands in front of him. Some of his 
worst suspicions and fears were being confirmed, and the reasons to 
why Jake so heavily guarded the details of his past. If any of this 
and more got to Karen Kosseff's ears, it will raise questions which 
neither Vera nor the lawyers can afford to answer. 
"I know for a fact his father called Jake a wimp. Cindy would tell Sam 
these nightmares will eventually go away, but that didn't stop that 
bugger from despising his son for being 'too soft', instead of 
accepting his son's sensitive nature. Jake had friends, but not many 
were willing to stick around for long. 
"It probably saved Jake from a lot of trouble when one of the 
neighbors' kids talked him into playing basketball, because Jake was 
tall and fast. In the basketball courts, Jake found his escape. You 
know, letting out his tension. Of course, he spared enough tension in 
his body to release in other places." Miss Hedgwick caught herself 
again and smiled apologetically. "Judging from your cherry-red face, 
you also played basketball for the same purposes?" Her observation 
skill was top-class. Mulder nodded his admission.
	"I didn't come from a happy home, either. At least Kathler's 
parents stayed together." He steered the conversation away from 
himself. She rolled her eyes.
	"Yeah, right! They barely talked in the mornings and at dinner 
tables. They acted like strangers, Agent Mulder. My neighbor's pit-
bull could show me more affection than this match-made-in-hell. They 
were better off getting divorced. They were so inattentive, I'm 
surprised they even learned we began dating. 
"His parents weren't too happy about this development on the ground of 
my taking up his study time. He wasn't exactly a straight-A student, 
because he devoted so much time doing sketches. I remember Sam Kathler 
wagging Jake's report-card inches away from his eyes as he came out of 
the house to meet me. Jake seemed embarrassed. ...No, humiliated; as 
his father handed me the report-card and asked me if I knew what I was 
doing to his son's school records. I graciously informed the bastard 
that we were going to the library anyway, so leave him the hell alone. 
I didn't know I shouldn't have said that. Sam Kathler humiliated his 
son even further by scolding him for letting a girl fight for him." 
Miss Hedgwick paused to calm herself down. Visualizing the incident, 
Mulder visibly grimaced. 
	"Jesus. Is that why you told me earlier...? About Jake's 
'tendency to give others what he couldn't have for himself'?" Now 
Jake's paranoia and over-protectiveness began making sense. Miss 
Hedgwick nodded and finished her coffee. She shifted in her seat 
again, seeing that Mulder was waiting.
	"I suppose you've read my newspaper article about his basketball 
teammates framing him for their own drug-possession charges?" She knew 
exactly what investigators looked for. Mulder nodded with 
appreciation, and she returned a nod of acknowledgement. 
"It was at the end of our sophomore year. I knew I was a year early, 
because I skipped the final year of my junior high. I was attending my 
gym class when I was told that someone from the principal's office was 
waiting to see me. I went there, but unexpectedly, my school counselor 
met me. Her eyes regarded me as if I was something filthy, but the 
rest of her face was plastered with a fake smile. It fooled everyone 
in my class except for me. 
"She took me to her office first. Immediately after closing the door, 
she asked me if I'd seen Jake that day. I answered no, which was the 
truth. Then she asked me again, and I answered no. She asked me if I 
was sure, so I said yes. When I asked her what the hell was going on, 
she didn't answer me. Instead, she asked me if Jake was having 
problems concentrating, and if I noticed any mood changes or if I ever 
had a fight with him. I answered no to all of them. Then, I changed my 
mind and told her about how his parents treated him at home. I thought 
I was helping Jake, but in truth, they used that against him as the 
motive to do drugs." 
Miss Hedgwick paused again, and Mulder excused himself to get them 
fresh cups of coffee, as well as to give her a break. He felt Nicole 
Hedgwick and Scully had several points in common. They both came from 
stable families, both were very ambitious women close in their ages, 
both were fiercely loyal to their causes and to their friends. As 
Mulder sat down, he asked if she needed a few minutes to herself. She 
answered no, and picked up where she left off.
	"She questioned me about everything including the status of our 
sex-life, though we didn't get physically involved until after these 
charges were cleared. They worked on separating us, but in truth, they 
brought us closer than we'd ever imagined possible. Before this insane 
mess sprang over us, Jake kept me as his best friend. He valued my 
intellect and my personality, which were the very reasons why he 
didn't want us to physically get involved. He was afraid of ending 
'us' as one of his one-night stand episodes." Seeing the change in 
Mulder's expression, she quickly raised her hand in defiance. "Don't 
misunderstand Jake, Agent Mulder. In his early teenage years, he was 
so lost, that he wanted to experience what a love is. His parents gave 
him next to zero of it, and I believe he wanted to replace the 
emptiness he felt inside by going out and sleeping with girls. 
"He was already a handsome boy, and many girls wanted him for 
unattached, spurs-of-the-moment affairs. Needless to say, that didn't 
help his case of the drug possession charges. I claimed to the 
principal that we were going steady, just so that they won't start 
asking me nor Jake about who he slept with and when. He never went to 
bed with anyone who wasn't ready for it. Meaning, if the girl was 
dating someone else, wanting him for a boyfriend, or if she was a 
virgin. He didn't sleep with anyone under-age, and never anyone over 
twenty-one. I don't know why he cared about the latter, but that was 
his policy. 
"He also stayed away from girls with bad habits, like doing drugs or 
committing petty crimes and getting away with them. So in the end, the 
list grew quite short. He didn't have such company every single day, 
either. Just ...whenever things got overwhelming at home, and he 
didn't feel like opening up to anyone." She spoke without a show of 
embarrassment as before. That alone intimidated Mulder, as just about 
everything else about this woman.
	"What about before? I mean, when he was under-age?"
	"I think his curiosity and desperation for wanting somehow to be 
loved by someone without the risk of a heart-break got the better of 
him. He told me he was scared to death of being caught; not just for 
himself, but for his sexual partners, because they'd be thrown in jail 
if this detail got out. But that thrill fed his craving even more. He 
just made sure that the others didn't tread the same path. I don't 
know of too many boys who lost their virginity before the age of 
nineteen or eighteen at least. But Jake wasn't one of them, and I 
believe for the same or similar reasons, neither were you." She 
smirked upon eliciting a deer-caught-by-a-headlight look from him.
	"You know just how to turn the tables, don't you?" Mulder tried 
to avoid her next question. He wasn't that lucky.
	"How old were you?" Miss Hedgwick didn't need to add another 
word.
	"Fourteen." That answer raised her eyebrows, and Mulder 
chuckled.
	"How interesting. So was Jake." This time, Mulder's jaw dropped 
open. She gave him a full smile. "Are you sure you aren't his lost 
twin?" Mulder's face broke into a rare bright smile.
	"I'm afraid not. I've checked into it already. I don't know how 
Jake looked at the issues of virginity. But to me, losing it was a 
relief. People keep telling you, 'You don't know shit about sex, 
because you're a Goddamn virgin!' So, I was like, 'Fuck you! I'll lose 
it faster than you!' I know it was a stupid idea to look at virginity 
as a label and sex as a game or a competition. But I was young, and 
therefore, stupid." Mulder shrugged, then returned her a smile that 
was stamped 'professionalism'. "Can we move on, please?" Miss Hedgwick 
smiled her apology.
	"Of course. ...After the counselor finished asking me about 
Jake's parents, she told me about the accusations Jake was facing. I 
jumped and said there must be some mistake, because to the fullest 
extent of my knowledge, Jake never did drugs. But you know how it is, 
Agent Mulder. No one believes that outright. But I believed, because I 
wanted to believe him. I began making a list of people to contact in 
my head, even as the stupid fat woman told me all about the 
consequences which I, as his self-claimed girlfriend, was facing. I 
told her that I'd do whatever possible to prove Jake's innocence... 
What is it, Agent Mulder?"
	"Nothing. You just remind me a lot of my partner. Go on." Mulder 
motioned for her to continue.
	"Okay. ...I heard a thud from two doors down, followed by the 
sound of a door slamming shut. I instantly recognized Jake's voice, 
arguing with his own counselor. I could hear him shouting something 
about his basketball teammates conspiring against him. He was 
bellowing that they planted the drugs in his locker and fed an 
anonymous tip to the coach. The counselor was yelling something about 
his suspension from the team. That was enough shock to shut Jake up. 
...The counselor took advantage of that as he rattled on and on about 
the consequences he now faced as well as about mine. I was listening 
to them, but I was also answering questions I was asked. For this 
reason, excuse my vague descriptions of my own interview. 
	"...My counselor asked me if I ever helped Jake studying, so I 
said yes. She then asked me if I ever did his homework, so I said no. 
Jake had too much integrity for that. But I know he did excellent in 
French. He did some homework for the boys in the team, and some of the 
girls he had a fling with." 
Mulder nodded. 'There's the reason why Jake was sent to France' he 
thought.
"I couldn't bare to listen to them arguing not only about Jake's 
innocence, but mine as well. His counselor was giving him a heavy 
guilt trip, and Jake was furious at the son of a bitch for including 
me in the guilty-party. I finally got out of the room and burst into 
the one Jake was in. His complexion was ghostly pale, in acute 
contrast to his counselor's beet-red fat face. I got sort of scared, 
because Jake's eyes were glistening with the degree of rage and 
anguish that I'd never witnessed on anyone I knew at the time. He 
quickly calmed himself down upon seeing me there. I declared his 
innocence, and as before, told both counselors that I'll do anything 
to find whoever was responsible. Jake buried his head in his hands, 
and I knew I did it again. I protected him as though he was completely 
incapable of helping himself."
	"Maybe he wasn't." Mulder's interruption only got him a glance.
	"Speaking out of experience, Agent Mulder?" She was quick to 
catch up.
	"Something like that." Mulder grinned in response.
	"I told the counselors to at least give Jake a chance to prove 
himself innocent. I pleaded his case anyway, because I knew they'd 
listen to me. I always had good grades and I had the faculty's trust, 
but that didn't stop them from calling Jake's parents. That same day, 
both Mr. & Mrs. Kathler were waiting with the school principal in the 
man's office when I arrived there with my school counselor. Evidently, 
Jake and his parents had been there for some time before I joined in. 
"Jake was seated in one of the four chairs that were set in front of 
the Principal's desk. His parents sat opposite from him, facing their 
son. I immediately saw that Jake was alienated not just by physical 
definition, but psychologically as well. That was their battle 
strategy, and I was damned if I let myself sit in the chair set for me 
in the very back of the room, facing the principal. Jake was already 
in enough pain, seeing me under fire because of him. I moved the chair 
and planted myself next to Jake and glared down at his sorry excuses 
for parents.
"The moment the principal finished informing me of the purposes of 
this ambush they called 'a meeting', Jake's parents openly accused me 
of knowing about their son's alleged drug habits and letting him go on 
with it. I thought I would go out of my mind and physically attack 
them. I screamed at them to leave us the hell alone, and that I could 
prove his innocence if they just gave me a chance. That is, until the 
principal told me to sit down for the second time. 
"Mrs. Kathler told me how unlady-like I was and told her son that I 
was exactly the type to avoid in a woman. Jake snapped at that moment 
and pulled me out of the room with him. He closed the door behind us, 
and told me to go before his parents killed me. I don't think he meant 
as a figure of speech. I think he really was, at the time, afraid for 
both our lives." Mulder's eyes widened with the implication of her 
last statement. This was what he was afraid of the most about this 
interview.
	"What?! Are you saying that Jake was physically abused by his 
father?"
	"No. Well, I don't know. Maybe a few minor bruises, but I think 
that being a lawyer, Sam Kathler knew exactly how to intimidate and 
frighten his son to half-death without ever touching him. He made Jake 
recite the bible, demanded him to do push-ups and crap. On a couple of 
occasions, the fucker made Jake go to bed without supper because Jake 
was late for it by five minutes. Samuel Kathler savored his 
superiority playing the hundred-bucks-an-hour verbal war that he 
believed he was so good at. Sam Kathler probably had thorough 
knowledge on how to break a person's spirit, as he did with his legal 
opponents and witnesses in the courtrooms. It was probably easy 
enough, especially if his subject is a seventeen year-old boy whom 
he's known all his life." On this, Mulder was in complete agreement.
	"I know of many stories reported by the surviving victims of 
domestic violence and other types of child abuse. A majority of serial 
killers and rapists came from abusive families, and I know what sick 
games they play." He shuddered, recalling many cases he handled during 
his days in the VCU, but he couldn't dispense any further information 
on these cases. Miss Hedgwick studied Mulder's expression and nodded 
her understanding.
	"I hope I'll never have to cross path with any of them. I came 
close to them a couple of times on the job. I was researching the 
rebels to write a speech after the Congo incident. These people I 
focused on were terrorists and often take no prisoner, but that never 
stopped me from sticking my nose into messy civil rights stuff. 
Sometimes you look through trash, and find gold inside. You know?"
	"I know exactly what you mean." Mulder looked at her with awe. 
This woman was a perfect mix of Scully and himself, only if she was a 
bit cooler-headed. X-Files office was located in the basement, partly 
because their department is where the cases thrown out from upstairs 
often landed. Mulder was tempted to call Scully down to meet Miss 
Hedgwick, and was already very sorry that she had to miss the fun. 
	"That's good to know, Agent Mulder. ...Anyway, Jake took his 
parents' distrust in him much harder than anyone had anticipated. I 
don't think he himself realized how much impact it had on him. He was 
trying to protect me more than himself. People stayed away from him, 
students talked trash behind his back, telling each other how it was 
likely that Jake would do drugs. 
"All this while, the real junkies laughed at us. They tried coercing 
me into giving up the fight. I told them to fuck off. This incident 
got me a few minor warnings from these thugs. Crank calls, anonymous 
harassment letters, people grabbing me on street corners for little 
chats... How was I to know that I'd be getting those on daily basis 
after I grew up?" Miss Hedgwick rolled her eyes at Mulder, who 
responded with a wince. She waved her hand in a gesture of dismissal.
"...We grew closer than ever after that incident, because we proudly 
showed the fucking world just how much we trusted each other, and 
because I proved myself right in trusting him." Her eyes lit up a bit 
with the obvious pride she still held over that victory. Seeing this, 
Mulder hated asking the next question, knowing it would ruin her good 
mood.
"Miss Hedgiwck? I hate to do this to you, but I would like a little 
more detail on what happened after you and Jake had your chat outside 
the principal's office." Mulder was only wondering why Miss Hedgwick 
suddenly edited out so much of the story after that particular scene. 
Everything she'd been filling him in on their past was very accurate.
	"After Jake shut me out of the principal's office and went back 
in alone, I still waited outside the door. The principal didn't want 
to alert the police and decided to place Jake under his parents' 
strict supervision, but not before getting the both of us tested for 
any trace of an illegal substance in our system. We were sent to the 
student health services' lab, and endured the suspicious looks from 
the staff there; but of course, they found nothing in either of us. 
"By the next day, my parents found out about it, and told me to stay 
clear of Jake Kathler. I did agree with them as a cover. That went on 
for two weeks, until I was stopped in the middle of a shopping mall by 
one of the school cheer leaders who had been requested to keep silence 
by one of the thugs about their plans to frame Jake. They wanted him 
out of their basketball team, because Jake was considered for the 
position of the team captain as soon as he became a junior, and they 
were jealous. It was convenient for them, since the police was already 
on their backs. Jake was their perfect target, considering his grades 
and reputation for inattention; plus yet another false accusation of 
being a sex-addict to top it all."
	"Why did this girl wait for two weeks to talk?" 'That's a 
reasonable question', she thought.
	"Because that's when the guy cheated on her and she dumped him 
for it. She no longer had a need to keep the truth to herself. She 
voluntarily went to the principal's office and made her statement. She 
then accompanied me to Jake's place and gave him the news. The 
principal's office notified the counselors and then our parents. The 
police caught the guys the very next day, and Jake was let off the 
hook.
"On the school records, Jake was said to have been chased out of the 
basketball team, but in truth, it was because he didn't want to go 
back. After his teammates pilloried him in such manners, who could 
blame him? He began playing outside of his school circle, and began 
training himself with neighborhood kids." 
She paused to finish her coffee and watched as Mulder stood up to fill 
their cups again. She watched his moves closely, and for the first 
time, realized that Mulder was practically the same height and build 
as her ex-boyfriend. Mulder felt her eyes as if they'd grown hands and 
they were touching him.
	"We can probably fit into each other's clothes." Said Mulder as 
he placed the steaming mugs on the table. She laughed and took a sip.
	"Probably. But, you move differently. Your movement is much 
smoother, and you often bring your hand up to your mouth for no 
particular reason other than out of a habit. Jake doesn't eat those 
sunflower seeds peeking out of that coat pocket of yours, either." She 
pointed to the plastic bag. Mulder took it out as if he'd forgotten 
about it and began munching on them. When he offered them to Miss 
Hedgwick, she gladly took a handful.
	"Did Jake's parents ever apologize for their behavior?" Mulder 
asked to see if there had been any indication of their plans to send 
Jake off to Chicago. He was relieved when she nodded.
	"His mother did. But Samuel Kathler never apologized for 
anything. Instead, he blamed his son for leaving himself vulnerable 
against such an attack. You know, for allowing himself to become a 
target. I didn't know about this until much later, when Jake had a 
nightmare and he didn't have time to censor his words before realizing 
he'd told me." Mulder shook his head almost impaceptively.
	"I've never seen Jake suffer from nightmares. But I believe he's 
had them, especially now that he's in danger. I'm an insomniac, and 
once we both stayed up all night, working." Miss Hedgwick nodded 
deeply, her mind walking down another memory lane.
	"Jake does that. He used to fight sleep. ...Well, until we got 
physically involved and he had reasons to drop near comatose. One 
time, he passed out and I had to literally push him off of me before I 
suffocated to death. I got scared, afraid that he had a heartattack 
and died. It turned out that these episodes of unconsciousness were 
fairly common in people after experiencing extreme orgasm. Only it's 
much more common in females. You can check. I heard it from Dr. Ruth." 
Miss Hedgwick enjoyed teasing Mulder, knowing he was fully aware of 
the physical resemblance in between himself and Jake. But this time, 
he smirked.
	"Be careful around me, Miss Hedgwick. Or you'll overheat 
yourself and drop into shock." She burst out laughing, slapping her 
hand against the table. But she began again without warning.
	 "Jake was a tender lover. Almost annoyingly tender and too much 
a gentleman. He was aggressive at anything and probably everything 
except for sex. He loved the intimacy of our relationship, because it 
involved both our hearts and minds before our bodies ever did. This 
was particularly true for me, because he was my first. He broke his 
rules but kept all the necessary ones, like committing himself to me 
before ever touching me. That's something to be honored in a man. Oh, 
and I learned later that he stopped having one-night stands even after 
we became apart, probably because he found in us the answers he was 
looking for. You know, the answers to his questions about what it was 
like to love and be loved."
	"That's a rarity these days." Mulder nodded his agreement, 
keeping cool now that he was comfortable talking to the woman, and 
because he remembered how Alex also felt Jake made her 'too happy'.
	"You're one of those rarities. I can tell." She smiled 
mischievously before letting Mulder off the hook. Then she pushed her 
chair away from the table to give herself enough room to do a stretch 
to get rid of any kinks from her limbs. She took a deep breath, and 
closed her eyes to give herself a moment. Mulder noticed her 
reluctance in getting to the next part, and gladly gave her the time 
to prepare herself. When she stayed silent for several long moments, 
he finally asked her if she was all right. She didn't reply, but 
instead began the rest of the story.
"After I went to Jake's house to personally face his parents, I heard 
Jake screaming, literally off the top of his lungs, demanding them to 
tell him why they could ever think of their son as a drug-junkie. Sam 
Kathler yelled back at Jake, telling him how weak-minded he was. I 
left them alone this time, and went to the library instead. Jake found 
me there and took me outside to personally thank me for getting the 
bad guys. I drew him close and told him I'd always be there for him. 
"That wasn't the first time we hugged each other. Hell, he kissed my 
forehead a couple of times before, and even that didn't happen until 
all the mess happened. But this time, it felt different. I didn't feel 
close enough to him. I mean, it was close, but I felt I needed to get 
closer. 
"I don't know how he understood me, but he took a step back and stared 
at me. That was the first time I ever saw his eyes hold that 
particular hungry look I was going to see on quite many occasions from 
that time on. ...His hand was still at the side of my face. I don't 
know why I knew that this was my cue, but I closed the final distance. 
That was the shortest, sweetest kiss I'd ever had; to this day." Miss 
Hedgwick's dreamy stare made Mulder blush again, until she spoke again 
without changing her expression. "That broke the walls between us." 
	"Probably because he realized that he really was in love this 
time." Mulder tipped in and saw her nod.
	"He didn't think he deserved me even after we said 'I love you' 
to each other. I thought he'd be the one to lead me in this subject. I 
knew how he made love to the others, because they were more than 
willing to share their stories with me. I probably intimidated him, 
too. All my boyfriends that followed after Jake told me so. Jake never 
said that about me, though." 
	"Jake doesn't strike me as a nervous type. He worries and gets 
paranoid, but only within appropriate measures." Mulder nodded and 
agreed.
	"We read textbooks, did book reports, and did other homework 
together every day. We began watching movies and TV programs while 
lying on the couch together, until that no longer satisfied us. But I 
never told him about the school newspaper article that I wrote. He 
never found out about it until it was published three and half weeks 
after the big revelation.
"By then, all our time together paid off and we both scored A's all-
round. He used to ask me before every test to give him a good-luck 
kiss. I thought it was cute, so I went with it. It also made a 
statement to the audience that we were indeed very much together. On 
the same day the article came out, he called me at around seven to 
inform me of his father's sudden departure, because he'd been called 
on by yet another top client. His mother was at her sister's house, 
nursing the poor woman back to health. 
"Jake told me that his father told his wife to leave Jake behind, 
because he had a test on Monday and he needed to study. Jake told me 
to come by, and I told him to give me an hour or so. ...Oh, did I tell 
you that we lived in Virginia? Close to Quantico, actually." The 
sudden change of direction brought Mulder out of his reverie.
	"Yeah, he did. But I didn't know where in Virginia."
	"Oh. ...Well, it was a Friday night and my entire family, 
including the dog, except for myself was gone on a camping trip. They 
left me behind for the same reason that Jake's parents left him for 
the house-sitting duty. Jake called me back and asked me if he could 
come over instead, because he didn't feel like being in his house any 
longer than it was absolutely necessary. I told him of my situations, 
then I told him to pack a few things and stay with me at my house. 
"We both understood this was the chance we've been waiting for. He 
came knocking on the front door, because there was no need to throw a 
rock to my window like he used to do. I could tell that he wanted to 
say something, but he couldn't find the right words. He was holding 
the copy of our latest school newspaper, and I understood why he would 
come racing to my house. He asked me why I ever wrote it before 
telling me that I was placing my future in danger by so openly 
criticizing so many people who could give me hell in a hand basket. I 
told him it was the complete opposite; that the incident forced open 
the parts of myself that I never knew existed. I never forget the 
relief and something else that I can't describe... gratitude, maybe... 
spreading over his face at that moment. 
	"I gave him my invitation ...to have me; make me his. But he was 
still reluctant, and told me to sleep on it and make sure that he was 
who I wanted as my lover. I insisted him to at least sleep next to me 
in my bed. I woke up in the middle of the night, and told him I 
couldn't wait any more." She laughed fondly at the memory. "That first 
time, he treated me like a soap bubble that could break at any given 
moment. He even washed me in the bathtub afterwards, for crying out 
loud!" She stopped abruptly when Mulder laughed softly. "He used to do 
that. The way you just laughed. He'd smile, then laugh just the way 
you did. His eyes used to shine and stretch out, just like yours did." 
She watched Mulder as his expression grew increasingly self-conscious.
	"We did well enough on our Monday tests, but we never stayed the 
same after that weekend. How could we? After waking up on two 
consecutive mornings with our bodies entangled? After learning that 
each of us spent hours watching the other sleep during wee little 
morning hours? How was I to stay at safe distance, when the man who 
walked and stood next to me in school was the same man who had my 
heart and gave me his in return? The same man who stood bare before me 
in the moonlight, his face graced with the warmest of smiles I've ever 
seen, and offered his hand for me to take? Impossible! 
"...Unlike his idiotic parents, Jake was always well-prepared, so I 
was never in danger of getting HIV which they discovered around that 
time, or get pregnant. Things went so smoothly, so comfortably. We 
were in love from head to toe. Soon, I became his safe haven and a 
sanctuary. I say so, because we were free in our arms, and because we 
felt that we were really, truly alive. Having the harsh world trapping 
us from outside, we had to stick together and protect each other. 
...Jake was reluctant to talk to anyone about his parents or about 
himself whenever I asked, because the subject was always too personal. 
I bet he was good at leading you away from the topic, too." Mulder 
nodded deeply in agreement, and she returned it with a sad smile.
	"Actually, yes. I never asked seriously. ...Come to think of it, 
I never heard him talk about his parents, other than the fact that 
they are deceased." Mulder narrowed his eyes, realizing how right she 
was. Miss Hedgwick looked down at her hands momentarily before 
returning her gaze to Mulder. When she spoke, though, Mulder thought 
he detected the slightest hit of a tremble in her voice. 
	"He thinks, that by keeping quiet, he was protecting those 
around him from his pain. I don't think the gory details like the ones 
I told you would score him popularity votes. But I wanted to be there 
for him, because he gave me so much of himself; above and beyond 
anyone has ever given me. I grew up because of what happened to us. 
Alhough I didn't know at the time, he helped me to learn how to 
express myself better, and I believe I helped him do the same; to 
teach each other to bring out everything that was, and still is, us. 
...I can still recall even the smallest details of our relationship." 
Again, her dreamy stare at Mulder made him a bit uncomfortable. 
However, to get more truths hiding out inside this woman's memory 
bank, Mulder needed to give her space to wander around. There 
obviously was much to revisit in the long memory lane, and Mulder had 
to allow her to recover before going too far, too fast. The last thing 
Mulder wanted was for the investigation team and Vera Jarvis to lose 
this woman's cooperation.
"He had plenty of one-night stands and brief relationships based on 
sex in the past, but that never gave him what he really needed. 
Eventually, he learned that our close friendship was what he most 
craved for. You are right, Agent Mulder. He was very scared of getting 
physically involved with me for that precise reason. But, do you know 
what convinced me that Jake was in fact in love with me?" 
Miss Hedgwick looked into Mulder's warm eyes, but got a 'no' for an 
answer and smiled. 
"When he first touched my body through the fabric of my night shirt, I 
could feel his hands slightly trembling. When he released a breath, it 
came out just as unsteady. I noticed just how nervous he was from that 
discovery. We were sitting on my bed with our legs crossed. I always 
braided my hair before going to sleep, so I had the braids on. I 
thought about losing them, but Jake was against it for some reason. It 
was pretty clear to me that he wasn't going to make the first move. I 
thought it strange, but I stayed quiet and began tracing the curves of 
his shoulders. He breathed quicker then, and reached for my foot to 
start started massaging my body. Right then, I could swear I saw his 
eyes watering. But he gave me no indication of any tears coming, so I 
didn't question him.
"I couldn't imagine what he was thinking at the time, mostly because 
he was so good at the foot massage, that I'd stopped thinking all 
together. Now that I'm a grown-up, I think it was his love that 
watered his hazel abyss. I've experienced physical pains caused by my 
dire need to be with particular individuals. ...For the most part, he 
was a reactionary. By saying that, I meant he responded better than 
initiating. It wasn't because of his lack of confidence or performance 
anxiety, but because he was a hard thinker with a tendency to act 
impulsively on occasion. This was probably because he didn't want to 
push me into or toward anything. Any woman who he falls in love with 
will be spoiled rotten, believe me. I know I was, because I've never 
met another man who treated me with so much faith and trust. He never 
intimidated me, and I mean, never. He treated me as an equal. 
"...By saying that he's a reactionary... I'll just give you a few 
examples. ...If I said I was hungry, he'd give me a run-down of all 
kinds of food that came to his mind until I decided on something. If I 
asked for a kiss, with or without verbalizing the request, he'd kiss 
me in a hundred different ways before I demanded something more or 
less from him. If I initiated sex, he'd practically surrender himself 
to me, and give me a thousand responses to my every touch. Ask 
yourself, Agent Mulder. How many others, men and women that you've 
ever come to know, can show so much devotion in another?" Mulder was 
in awe again, almost hearing the puzzle pieces falling into their 
appropriate places in his mind. People rarely changed. Mulder grew 
serious, now that he'd almost uttered his partner's name in response. 
He didn't want this woman misunderstanding the partnership he had with 
Dana Scully.
	"I agree with you, Miss Hedgwick. Jake does certainly have those 
characteristics intact to this day. That little girl in question 
neither spoke nor wrote to communicate with us. Jake did exactly what 
you said when ordering food for her over the phone." Mulder nodded and 
shifted in his chair to find a bit more comfortable position, since 
his rear was aching everywhere, only because the hospital cafeteria 
chairs were never designed for people who wanted to sit in them for 
hours at a time. Miss Hedgwick smiled and stared off into somewhere 
far that only she could go.  
	"...When he stopped his massage, I slapped him on his 
beautifully-curved shoulder and complained. I was completely relaxed 
and almost groggy from the massage. But I was also half-awake and 
aroused. You know how you feel as you surface from or descent into 
sleep, and you can feel your body responding, in fact demanding, 
sexual contact?" Miss Hedgwick didn't bother taking Mulder's 
discomfort into consideration. Mulder nodded without a word, to which 
she gave him a nod and smiled. 
"That's what I was feeling, Agent Mulder. Imagine my frustration when 
he stopped those beautiful hands of his and told me to sleep on it. I 
tossed and turned restlessly until I managed to gave fallen asleep, 
but I woke up about an hour later. He had his arms around me, holding 
me close. I felt his breaths on the back of my neck, coming long and 
steady. That was too much sexual stimulation to handle. Too damn much. 
I shook him awake, and told him..." Mulder had had enough. 
"That you couldn't wait any more. You already told me that part, 
Nicole." 
Her dreamy look instantly changed into that of annoyance, and she shut 
him up with her frigid glare. 
Mulder, on the other hand, was stunned. This woman had the ability to 
always come straight to the point, yet she was readily allowing 
herself to indulge so much and so deeply in these 'more than a decade 
old' feelings. There could only be one name to call this phenomenon 
with, and the worst part was that she didn't yet know it.
	"Let me finish, Agent Mulder, or I'll make you tell me 
everything about your first lover. ...Okay. We understand each other, 
then? Good." Seeing Mulder nodding to all her demands, she continued. 
"I don't know about you, but he had a strong and well-coordinated 
back. Not necessarily flexible, but his back muscles and backbones 
worked like a whip. They enabled him to score in basketball games, and 
to make the tiniest of movements that women so loved in bed. None of 
my other boyfriends that followed after Jake had the patience or the 
care that Jake could show. 
"He had a different style of vision and expression in everything. I 
believe these characteristics contributed to the success of his work. 
He looks at, then really feel, how things are made. He wanted to learn 
how I was built and how I responded to everything from inside and out. 
He learned some of those answers from the massage he gave me. 
"His being my first made me want to study him. You know, really learn 
him inside out as he wanted to learn about me. I can still recall how 
his side muscle and ribs jumped and slid under my palms. I learned how 
he sweated and smelled differently depending on situations, and 
learned how soft his skin felt against mine. I treasured the way his 
collarbones reflected in the moonlight. They were so beautiful; the 
true work of art by the Mother Nature. They were the favorite spot for 
my eyes to rest on, if not counting his gorgeous eyes. No other man I 
went to bed with had such beauty."
	"Because you're still in love with him." Mulder risked 
interruption, and she immediately snapped out of her 'intense but 
dreamy' studying of Mulder's features.
	"It was an innocent love, Agent Mulder. It was, and still is, 
the purest love relationship I've had in my life. But we were a couple 
of high school kids, and what we had could easily be interpreted as a 
typical kids' play." Mulder immediately sensed he'd struck a nerve, 
and he decided to risk a bit more to dig a little deeper.
	"I wasn't letting you make fun of me for nothing. You lose your 
playfulness completely whenever you get into the details. This first-
time thing happened nearly twenty years ago, yet you remember it all 
like it happened two days ago, and you treasure it like the rarest 
diamond. I doubt you remember much of our first conversation, but I'm 
a trained psychologist as well as a criminal-profiler. I know how to 
get inside people's heads. Don't lie to youself." Mulder used her 
short temper to his advantage and dared her to snap at him. She didn't 
disappoint him.
	"How dare you accuse me of lying?! You've only known me for a 
day, Agent Mulder. You don't know shit, and don't you dare think you 
know Jake, either! Just because you guys spent a couple of months 
together in hell and you two happened to look exactly alike; that you 
force me to think twice about who I'm speaking to!!"
	"Exactly." Mulder nailed her, pointing at her with his index 
finger. Miss Hedgwick gasped and gritted her teeth almost hard enough 
to crush a few. Never a type to go down without a fight, she half-
stood on her feet and leaned in closer to Mulder with blazing eyes.
	"Do you really think you can get inside my head, G-Man?! You 
have no idea what agony we've experienced being torn apart from each 
other and not being able to fight the fact. The last time I was with 
him... That last time we were together in any sense... you don't know 
how my body hurt feeling his hot tears ran down my chest without a 
sound! You don't know how hard his body shook against mine when he 
sobbed! You wouldn't even know how my ears hurt when he actually cried 
in my arms!" 
Miss Hedgwick turned to leave the room, the two of them already 
getting a few curious stares from the rest of the occupants. But the 
same moment Mulder reached for her hand, she turned around and sat 
back down. She swallowed hard and decided to get this over with. They 
both already knew that they were both going to be limping away from 
the battlefield; that, for some reason, they were kindred souls. She 
slapped the surface of the Formica table and glared at Mulder.   
"You fucking asshole! You'll never know how much pain he forced 
himself to endure in his childhood, or how tightly and closely he held 
it inside. You'll never know how difficult it was for him to open up 
that side of him. He never showed his vulnerability to anyone except 
for me during the course of our relationship!" 
Mulder's eyes dared her to go on, to finish her losing battle. She 
glared at Mulder's piercing gaze; the hardened core of a serverely 
scarred soul peeking from the tiny corners of his hazel-green eyes. 
She almost got lost in the honesty of this man's grief, for whatever 
the horror this man may have experienced in the past, but forced 
herself never to get caught in it. 
"Special Agent Fox William Mulder, you can take your FBI budge, your 
Oxford psychology Ph.D., and shove'em up your tight ass!!" 
Her hand slammed into the table hard enough to turn a few more heads 
in the distance. Mulder resumed his calm, because he anticipated this 
reaction. 'So, she is still in love with Jake; exactly from head to 
toe.' Mulder thought as he watched her hastily straighten herself, all 
the while studying his professional expression with annoyance. 
Mulder glanced down at his hands for a moment before returning them to 
Miss Hedgwick's dark blue eyes. It was his turn now to move in for 
attack. It was clear that she was catching up to be on the same page 
as Mulder. She obviously wanted nothing more than to get the hell out 
of this place, never to return. As much as he hated to do this to her 
or to anyone, Mulder couldn't afford to lose her. He leaned in closer 
this time and lowered his voice to near whisper.
	"Then why don't you tell me about it?" This time, Miss Hedgwick 
stayed silent. Mulder decided to push on, so as to make her realize 
what she really came here to do. "I think you have a lot of anger 
stored up in yourself. You need to let it out or it will consume you 
in the end, like it's doing it to you right now. I also have a feeling 
that you hold answers which Jake has been looking for a long time. So 
far, he's only mentioned his former fiancee and a brief affair with 
another woman that he was involved a couple of years ago. 
"I have to admit that you are probably right about his regarding your 
relationship as a child's play, or as one of his youthful mistakes 
that's not worth remembering nor mentioning. But if there's something 
more, and I believe there's a whole lot more, then I think you should 
let it out. Not necessarily to me, but to someone who can guide you 
out of this. It's not healthy trapping yourself in rage like this. You 
need to find a way out." 
	"I'm perfectly capable of handling my own problems." She glared 
at him, reminding Mulder of his partner yet gain.
	"I know you are. Not now, though. Not in this one, anyway. I 
think you are experienced enough to recognize it. I understand that 
this scares you, although I don't know just how much. If you don't 
want to talk to Jake and you don't feel particularly compelled to look 
for a stranger to be your shrink or a confider, then why don't you 
talk to me? Right here and now. You've already given me a place to 
start, and consequently a place to start for yourself. But I'm not 
him, and I can't be with you for long. So, if you talk to me and still 
feel lost, then you need someone better and closer to you."
	"You're still trying to get me to talk to Jake, aren't you?" 
Miss Hedgwick looked at him wearily. Mulder's eyebrows shot up in 
response.
	"If that's what you think, maybe that's what you need to do." 
Mulder watched as the woman's expression registered fear, resistance, 
worry, and finally, resignation. Mulder resumed his calm. She sighed 
and dropped her hands on her lap.
	"Thanks for the offer, Agent Mulder. I think I'm better off just 
dumping this on you and leave it there." 
Mulder's eyes slightly widened in response, having half expected her 
to walk away or throw him another fit of argument for the hell of it. 
He knew Scully would, and did. Mulder closed his eyes and nodded in 
silence, a quiet insistence for her to go on before she changed her 
mind. She took a deep breath before returning her eyes on him. 
"We came to the end of our junior year. I still remember that day 
clearly. Jake came to school real upset. His eyes were swollen raw as 
if he'd been crying through the night and that morning. He wore 
sunglasses, so no one noticed. We found privacy and I persisted him to 
talk to me, because he was so quiet. He told me his parents had been 
secretly conducting his transfer procedures with the school 
administrators. 
"...He was all set to go to a boarding school somewhere in mid-eastern 
states. They told him he was free to do his sketches and play 
basketball all he wanted; because his artistry was what he was wanted 
for, and the school already had him included in their basketball team 
as a primary player.
	"Jake resisted, of course. That is, until my own parents got 
involved. They told him in secret that he was doing me and the rest of 
the world a huge favor by leaving. That, he caused me so much trouble 
in the past already, and neither family wanted us together in our 
senior year. They were afraid of his reputation reflecting negatively 
on my school records when I'll be selecting and entering a collage." 
Miss Hedgwick stopped to calm herself and to give Mulder a break. She 
watched Mulder as he deflated in his chair, his palms rubbing his face 
and raking his hair with his fingers. She'd already told Mulder the 
events of the last time she and Jake had been together, so she chose 
to skip through it. With a huge sigh, Mulder lowered his hands to rest 
them on the table in front of him. She didn't detect tears in his 
eyes, but they looked a little blood-shot as they locked onto her 
already much more swollen ones.
"How did...? I mean, how did you come to know about your parents lying 
to you in the first place? When was it?" 
Mulder's deep and velvety tone of voice sent a wave of tingling 
sensations down to her chest, to rest at somewhere around her churning 
stomach. Deeper than Jake's satiny tone, but none the less sweeter, it 
soothed her tension-bound body. Restraining herself from asking him 
another question just to make him speak again, she cleared her throat 
and stretched her body. By now, Mulder knew what she was doing, and he 
tightened his jaw as he braced himself. 
	"They... my parents kept me in the dark until after I graduated 
from graduate school and came home. One evening, I was looking through 
a walk-in closet in my father's study to pick out a tie for him to 
wear to a business conference he was attending with my mother. We were 
doing fine by then, mostly because after I got my Bachelor's degree in 
political science, I accepted my father's peace offering of letting me 
go to whatever school I wanted to go. 
"They already knew I was going all the way, and that I would request 
them to let me go for Master's and Ph.D. It wasn't really a life-
changing event, because I had a full scholarship to get into Yale. But 
I was their only child, and they hadn't lived with me, nor seen me 
until I graduated from the University of Pennsilvania. My mother had 
been pleading her case to let her spend some decent time with me, but 
I hadn't forgiven my parents fully, yet. That's the reason why I never 
returned home for the Thanksgiving dinners and the Holidays. I always 
went on a trip by myself, once even to Chicago. 
"I should have at least tried to find Jake right then, but I didn't. I 
didn't have the big picture on what exactly happened to us. Plus, I 
never heard from Jake after we were separated, and I knew he probably 
had a whole new life in Chicago; probably with a steady girlfriend, if 
not with a hoard of women trying to get him into their beds. 
"I couldn't live with the guilt that I used to shoulder for Jake, 
because just thinking about him and what he must have been going 
through almost killed me. I was even hospitalized for a bleeding 
ulcer; then for the beginning stage of a bulimia, before I was forced 
into getting counseling for my insomnia. I've never gone through a 
decent counseling session, if you haven't already guessed. The 
psychological counselor was convinced that I only needed a 
prescription for sleeping pills." 
She was only stalling the biggest issue here, and she knew that Mulder 
was aware of the fact. She released a nervous laughter as she told him 
about the hospitalization. She was half-afraid of what Mulder must 
have been thinking of her outbursts. She knew that if she told him too 
much, this man had the authority to get her committed. When he reached 
out and touched her hand now restlessly picking at each other's 
fingernails, she released a deep breath. Mulder gave her hands a brief 
squeeze before pulling away. His eyes never left hers, giving her his 
assurances that everything could still go be all right in time. 
"Obviously, you both have been through hell and back. But I think you 
know what you need to do here. Tell me what happened after you went 
into your father's closet." 
She gritted her teeth and fought her tears away. Nearly twenty years 
of training fighting her past enabled her to succeed, but experiences 
told her she wasn't going to last forever. She took a deep breath, 
then ordered herself to get through the rest as quickly as possible 
and get the hell out of the room before she embarrassed herself even 
further. She closed her eyes momentarily to take herself back into her 
father's walk-in closet, on that fateful day. It was easy, for she'd 
done it so many times before. She could describe everything about the 
room, to the extent of describing the way that old closet and the damn 
box of secrets smelled. She began.
"On its top shelf, I found an old, beautiful wooden box with hand-
curved patterns on the surface. I took it in my hands, but I broke a 
light bulb in the process. I'd never seen that box before that day. I 
wanted to know where he got it, and where it was made. When I opened 
the rid, there was a beautiful red velvet fabric covering the inside 
of the box and the inside of the rid. Its beauty would have taken my 
breath away, if I never found that the box was full with official 
school forms and notes regarding Jake's school transfer. I was smart 
for not read them until I saw my parents off. 
"...I've learned that all of them were written by my parents, 
addressed to our high school administrators and Jake's parents. Those 
documents didn't shock me too much, because I remembered Jake telling 
me about the conspiracy. I just never expected my parents to be the 
driving force behind it. What terrified me the most, was when I went 
down to the basement storage unit to look for a light bulb to replace 
the one I broke. 
"I was trying to reach the top shelf which I wasn't quite tall enough 
to even touch without stepping over the lower shelves. My left foot 
tripped over several small cardboard boxes on the second bottom shelf 
that I couldn't remember ever being there, and they went flying to the 
floor with me. I found myself showered with letters from Jake that I 
never knew existed. All of them were opened, sent originally by Jake 
to the house and to the school I went to."
	 Her voice already shaking with pain and rage as much as her 
body, she was forced to pause in order to compose herself before it 
got out of her control. But for the moment, Mulder was busy looking 
away and shutting his eyes against the pain this bit of information 
stirred up in him. Mulder's own deep rage made him go pale, and this, 
even Miss Hedgwick noticed. 'He looks just like Jake in the 
counselor's office that day.' She thought as she fought back more 
tears and heard Mulder mutter something close to a growl under his 
breath. She chose again to get the story over with as quickly as 
possible. 
"They filed a document in juvenile court, refusing to dispense any of 
my personal records including school documents to Jake, along with a 
restraining order that had been filed against him. Jake's parents 
actually went to the court with my parents to file it, because it was 
their mutual decision. Our parents both swore the judge that the 
documents were being filed also at both of our consent. They claimed 
we had both agreed that our relationship wasn't in a healthy state, 
and that it would become an obstacle in our future. 
"No wonder neither of us could get hold of each other! I never knew 
where he was, because for some reason, I couldn't find out where he 
lived. The letters I wrote to him had to go through his parents, and I 
knew Sam Kathler would never let his son get to them. When Jake first 
told me about the transfer, he didn't even know which school he was 
being sent to. To top it all, our parents adopted a new offence 
strategy and in fact begged Jake repeatedly to keep his whereabouts a 
secret from me until at least we both entered collage. Then they told 
him and eventually convinced him that this was the best thing to do 
for all of us. 	
"Jake agreed, because he was facing four adults who were constantly 
trying to break his spirit by convincing him that he was a hell of a 
screw-up. That, he's doing great because of my help, but what about in 
two, four years? Did he want to burden me with responsibilities of 
'taking care' of him while I was trying to get on with my own life? 
You know, the stupid crap like that. 
"Jake was very strong, but even he had his limits. They recognized 
quickly that he was weakening. I've no doubt that Sam Kathler taught 
my parents how to manipulate and inflict guilt tortures on his own 
son; so that he may finally come to 'recognize his inadequacy' and 
leave me alone. 
" Neither of us knew just what our parents were planning behind our 
backs, and at that time, I believe neither of us were sure of our own 
futures enough to over-ride the court's restraining orders even if we 
knew about them. So, after finding out about the letters, I decided to 
postpone the confrontation with my parents. "
	"Wait a second. Jake still doesn't know a thing about all this, 
does he?" Realization dawning, Mulder asked with round eyes. She 
reluctantly shook her head 'no'. Mulder sighed and rubbed his chin 
with his hand. She only hoped he would be too shocked with the truth 
to have enough of a presence of his mind left to read out her Miranda 
Rights after this interview is over.
	"All the inside details about the exchange between my parents 
and his didn't come from Jake's letters, because he obviously cut most 
of his ties with his parents after he went to Chicago. He never 
questioned them, because he was already too busy trying to figure out 
a way to live through each day. If you must know, I literally beat 
them out of my father, then yanked the rest out of my mother. I'm glad 
they talked before I ended up murdering them, or otherwise you'd be 
conducting this interview over a glass shield, in a maximum-security 
prison somewhere. 
"I went to Jake's parents', but they called the police on me when I 
slammed Samuel Kathler up against their kitchen door. ...I took 
kickboxing lessons through out collage, including the graduate school, 
and all that workout finally paid off. I tore into the house like a 
hurricane at their dinner time. That moron severely underestimated my 
capabilities, and he threw punches like a little girl. I left there 
before I got caught, but the police didn't come after me. I think Sam 
Kathler was too proud of his precious male pride to tell them he was 
beaten by a girl. 
"My father spent three days in a hospital, all the while Sam Kathler 
made the ER interns busy with setting the fat man's limbs in casts, 
then made his dentist a very rich man. My mother had to wear a wig for 
two months until she grew back a head full of hair. None of them had 
the guts to file any lawsuit regarding the incident. Instead, they 
each told the police that they had been robbed and none of them saw 
their assailants' faces. I was all ready to turn myself in if they 
ever had me arrested. I'd have been proud to do it for as long as Jake 
wouldn't be accused of the same crime as an accomplice.
	"For a while, I thought about hiring a lawyer or go public with 
everything I had, so that I could at least apologize to Jake on-air. I 
could have even found Jake with the connections I've got in Capitol 
Hill, if not through the various influences I have in civil rights 
activist organizations all over the world or with Hollywood. But I 
always decided against these measures at the last minute, and I don't 
even know why. 
"I eventually filed my own restraining orders against Samuel and Cindy 
Kathler, then against my own parents before I decided that wasn't good 
enough. I legally changed my identity and took myself out of my family 
circle. I haven't seen them in over a decade and a half now, and still 
it's not long enough. ...Jake never returned home and I finally moved 
on with my life."
	"You've read Jake's letters." It wasn't a question, but it was 
better than starting an interrogation on her. Mulder winced, already 
picturing what the revelation must have been like for Miss Hedgwick. 
She tried to reply as she fought yet another emotional roller coaster, 
then finally found it a losing battle. Mulder could only wait until 
she recovered enough, reminding himself never to reach across the 
table to touch her, because he wasn't the right person for the task. 
Only Jake Kathler was. But it was hard. 
She kept dubbing at her eyes and clearing her nose with paper napkins. 
Once composed enough, she apologized to Mulder for the mess now 
scattering over their table. Mulder shook his head 'no' to tell her it 
was all right. This explained her confessed violent reaction and 
previous harsh remarks about Jake's parents.
	"I did read them all, and they were everything I expected them 
to be. ...The act of ignoring any human being who screams to be heard, 
to be felt, and to be learned, is the worst crime to commit, Agent 
Mulder. Because silence is the worst poison against humanity. I've 
learned that from traveling around the world, being a listening ear to 
the people whose lives are as valuable as stray dogs to their 
governments. What I've found in Jake's letters were constructed by 
exactly the same elements as with these victims of silence.
	"Of course, Jake has a financially stability, a enjoyable work, 
and a rather flexible life, considering he's able to work at home. 
...I was going to add the word 'safe' to the list, but that's no 
longer in his possession, so don't count that. ...Money and objects 
hold no personal meaning to you when you're face to face with a 
suffering human being. When you look into these people's eyes, you go 
straight to their souls. Even if they don't have eyes, they open up to 
you by whatever means available to them.
"I've seen them use the touch of their hands; tapping of their feet; 
even the tone of their voices. If they don't have any of the above, 
they go to the extent of using the extra sensory perceptions. Human 
limbs only exist to carry out what their minds interpret as their 
world to its physical existence. Fortunately, Jake could use his 
hands, eyes, and mind. They enabled him to write to me in so many 
words; to endure the long hours he must've spent in writing them. 
	"My parents were in contact with Jake, Agent Mulder. Every 
single letter he's ever written to me was already opened and read by 
them. In some of the letters, Jake asked me why my parents were 
telling him to 'stop writing' to me, because I 'never want to see you 
again, anyway'; to use their exact words. He didn't want to give up 
until he's heard from me personally. But of course, I didn't. I was 
busy getting my degrees; and by my final year in collage, I was also 
busy fucking my new boyfriend. My saying 'fucking', isn't in any way 
an exaggeration. I used him as much as he used me. We were each 
other's tension reliever, as well as sex toys. 
"I killed off Jake's spirit, Agent Mulder. Do you have any idea what a 
cruel thing that is to do to any living human being? Especially to 
someone who loves you as much as he loved me? 
"...It's like many of the POW stories I've heard. You live days and 
nights in a cold cell, all alone. Your neighbor prisoners keep 
changing and dying every week. The only thing that's keeping you alive 
is a bowl of soup that's served every eight hours, and the thought 
that maybe one day you'll see the light of day again, to return home 
to your loved ones. 
"Many POWs die in the end with starvation, physical or mental disease, 
exhaustion, or by their own hands. ...That is, if they still had their 
hands, but you know what I mean. The lucky ones who finally manage to 
escape or get liberated to return home find themselves declared dead 
by their lovers and wives who were already happily married to someone 
else. ...I trapped Jake's spirit in that cold prison cell, and I 
unknowingly let it live a slow death of hope; to starve it to death." 
Miss Hedgwick finally exhaled a large breath and buried her head in 
her hands. Mulder stayed silent, his face resting on his hands now 
clasped in front of his mouth. He was deep in thoughts, recalling 
several old X-Files that involved POWs, medical experiment facilities, 
phantom limbs, avenger of deaths, and the restless souls getting 
revenge from beyond their graves. He shook his head to get himself 
back to the present.
 	"Do you still have the letters from Jake?" Only Mulder's lips 
moved. He saw her head shaking a 'no' and squeezed his eyes shut. Here 
was the answer to why Jake stuck to 'letters' from those troubled 
women. He thought about suggesting Miss Hedgwick to take a break, but 
she began before he could utter another word.
"I wish I could've kept them all. He wrote beautifully. Most people 
do, if they are desperate to describe their desperation in their 
stifled voices." 
"What about the papers in that wooden box? The court documents and the 
school forms?"
"I have those in a safe place, Agent Mulder; otherwise you won't be 
able to do anything about them." Mulder nodded appreciatively, but he 
hated asking his next question.
"What happened to the letters from Jake?" Miss Hedgwick visibly 
winced.
"...My father took them out and burned them over our barbecue grill. 
He did this while I was tearing through the house and packing up my 
stuff to get the fuck out of there on that same night. Opening such a 
large number of letters without my consent... He would've been locked 
up in jail for over a century, and I'd have been a billionaire." 
Her bitter laughter dripped sarcasm. 'So, here's the reason why people 
praise Jake for his writing, and he thinks he's not good at it.' 
Mulder thought, playing back Jake's earlier words from memory.
	"Miss Hedgwick? ...Or whatever your..." Mulder waved his hands 
in the questioning gesture. Miss Hedgwick pondered whether she should 
lie, but she no longer felt any need to hide herself from this man. 
	"Eve. Eve Austin." Mulder's eyes rounded and he took a sharp 
breath as recognition hit him. 'My, my. Should I ask for an 
autograph?' Mulder thought idly. She indeed was a globally known 
political speech-writer who worked for Mulder's Congress connections, 
including Senator Matheson. He also knew she occasionally worked in 
the White House. She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, realizing 
Mulder remembered her true identity as well as what she did for a 
living. "Don't tell anyone. Only a handful of people know it." Mulder 
never intended to, and he was also busy thinking how to convince her 
to make her confession to Jake.
	"I won't. ...Miss Austin? If you find it too difficult to meet 
Jake in person again, you need to at least talk to him. If you can't 
do it now, then at least do it after this case is over and done with 
in court. It'll take months, but the case will close. I can assure you 
that much. ...You need a closure, or you'll carry this burden around 
forever. It's not too late to make it up. Telling the truth is always 
the first step toward forgiveness."  
Mulder kept his voice in control with considerable effort while 
mentally torturing the two sets of dead-beat parents with every method 
he could think of. He hated to sound like a rehearsed cliche, but he 
chose to be honest with this woman over his worries on how he sounded. 
He saw her shake her head in the negative again.
	"Like I told you before, I don't think I should see him. Now 
that he's a father, I can't take the risk of dropping this bomb on him 
and permanently ruin him. Please just let him think I left him." This 
was a possibility Mulder took seriously.
	"Nicole... I mean, Eve? You don't know Jake as he is today. But 
I know how damn close he came to be destroyed by the secrets that had 
been kept from him in the past. He's got a zero-secrecy policy in 
relationships for that reason. Three years ago, his fiancee committed 
suicide over her pent-up guilt for carrying out a secret affair with 
another man. The brief affair he had the following year ended, because 
the woman confessed to him later that she was already married; but she 
didn't do it the best way. 
"...There's one more thing about Jake's letters. Are they the reason 
you found out he stopped having one-night stands as you said before?" 
Seeing her nod in response, he continued. "In my own life, I was 
forced to watch my family tear itself apart, then I watched it being 
consumed by its own past secrets. My own relationship policy carries a 
zero-tolerance for lies, and I won't defy it for anyone including you. 
You can't ask me to lie to Jake for you. I'm your confidant, but Jake 
has to know the truth. He's got every right to know. 
"Jake still carries the burden of his fiancee's death, and he puts out 
an ad in local newspaper every Sunday, asking female readers to write 
to him about their own experiences with relationships, sexual 
encounters... Your story adds the key piece to the answers he's been 
searching for probably all his life." 
Miss Hedgwick / Austin was silent for a long time, trying to digest 
the information Mulder hit her with. The unfairness of this whole 
situation made Mulder swallow hard. A while later, she took her head 
out of her hands and stared directly into his eyes.
	"Promise me something, Agent Mulder. Promise me that you'll keep 
our conversations confidential until all legal matters concerning Jake 
Kathler in your hands are solved and dealt with. Never spill a word 
about my arrival here, or about what just took place. Linda Lowry only 
knows about my name change and about the court documents on record. 
She knows nothing about Jake's letters, nor about the minor harassment 
episodes I got while being a high school student. She also knows 
nothing about our first weekend together, but maybe that can be 
spilled without a harm. But, I intend to keep the rest discreet.
"Jake probably won't recognize me now, because I altered my facial 
features when I changed my name. I'm pretty confident that even my own 
parents won't, either. I thinned my jaw bone, widened my mouth, and 
thinned my lips. I then made my nose smaller and straight. ...It took 
several punches in the past from kick-boxing, anyway. It was good that 
I had the surgeries. Did you really think I'd come down here if I 
thought Jake would be in the same building we'd be in, and may 
recognize me? 
"I'll meet with the bureau social worker as I first suggested to you, 
but I won't tell the social worker any more than what I already told 
Miss Lowry, and never a word to your partner nor your other 
colleagues. With luck, you are still free to contact me and use me as 
a character witness and to confirm the contents of those official 
Kathler documents as I promised before. But in the mean time, try 
forgetting ever meeting me."
	"I can't." Miss Austin was already leaving the room when 
Mulder's choked answer stopped her.
	"Why?" She asked, her eyes begging him to forget she even 
existed. Mulder took a moment before facing her again.
	"I have eidetic memory, Eve. It's physically impossible." He 
watched as she shut her eyes tightly, clearly regretting ever meeting 
Mulder. She walked back to him, sighing deeply.
	"Within twenty hours, I'm due for arrival in Tibet. I've written 
a few speeches to be delivered there by a couple of hot shot Hollywood 
actors and a US senator. I can't tell you which senator that is, 
though. He's not sure yet whether the public should know he'd even 
gone there. ...My life is filled with chaos, because that's just the 
way I like it to be. Who knows? I might get away with a couple of 
bullet holes in my jacket next week, when I go down to Bosnia. I may 
still be alive the week after that, when I'm in Algeria. But I can't 
guarantee about the week after that one, because I'll be in Baghdad. 
Good luck with getting a hold of me, Agent Mulder. ...At least keep 
the promise, will you?" The dark blue burned into his hazel before 
Mulder finally nodded.
	"It's hard, but I'll sure try. As long as you keep your end of 
the promise." Mulder gave her the look that said 'better do it, or 
I'll spill.' She nodded appreciatively. Mulder took out one of his 
cards out of his wallet and wrote down his e-mail address along with 
his home phone number. When he gave it to her, she stared at it for 
several seconds before taking it and stashing it into her jacket 
pocket.
	Mulder was ready to say his good-bye when she grabbed him abruptly by 
the knot of his tie and drew him close. Her other hand swiftly grabbed 
the back of his head. and tilted his face upward. She never gave him a 
moment to react before she sealed his mouth with hers, along with her 
past. Mulder grabbed the ends of his chair to keep from toppling 
backwards, thus couldn't ward her off. 
The kiss was practically an airtight seal made stronger by the vise-
grip of her strong hands. It hurt like a blow to his mouth, and Mulder 
swore she was trying to peel his lips away from his face. For several 
times, he unsuccessfully tried to speak, but if it was possible, his 
efforts only served to tighten their kiss further. At the moment it 
didn't dawn on him that she might mistakenly think he was kissing her 
back. She released him after what felt like an eternity. She took a 
series of deep breaths, looking at the disheveled man before her as he 
blinked and tryed to catch his breath. 
	"Promises sealed. Good luck with the rest of the case, and you 
all better keep yourselves alive, Agent Mulder." Miss Austin 
concluded, seeing that Mulder managed to send off his own good-luck 
wishes with a wave of his hand. She straightened herself before 
walking away as briskly as she first stepped through the main door. 
Mulder was left open-mouthed, slumping back into the chair. So much 
has just happened in this place; so many revelations made on both 
sides; so many questions had been answered, and so many new problems 
were presented for the takers.
When Mulder finally stood up to leave, he found it very painful to 
close his mouth due to his rapidly swelling, severely bruised lips. 
'It's a miracle they're still on my face', he thought as he cleared 
the mess on their table. Hastily filling a paper cup with ice tips and 
a little water, he walked out of the deserted cafeteria. He took his 
sweet time getting back to his workload, trying to come up with some 
excuse for his new on-the-job injury. 'If phoebe is fire, then Eve is 
a tornado as she said so herself.' Mulder thought. He saw how much of 
her had been destroyed by her family secrets. The woman was not only 
hurt and self-destructive, but she was downright reckless. 
Mulder now recognized the pattern in women Jake managed to pick out. 
They were all self-destructive, all had secrets that destroyed them, 
and all had so much to live for. Mulder hissed at the sharp pain when 
the bruised lips came in contact with cold ice, and wondered if Miss 
Austin's lips were sustaining as much damage as his lips had. He was 
sure she meant to.
	"This adds a whole new meaning to 'occupational hazard'." Mulder 
muttered as he headed for the elevator.